At 08:02 PM 5/31/1998 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
>On Sun, 31 May 1998, Joel Wilcox wrote:
>
>> I've been following this P&S thread with a little interest, since I keep
>> thinking that I ought to pick up an XA, but then I think "Why?" since I
>> have an Oly Stylus zoom which I rarely use -- it's just not the camera my
>> hands go for.
>
> I'm not selling XAs. In fact, I hope they lie unwanted, so the price
>goes down, and I can buy a few more (how many IS too many?). But the lens
>is vastly superior to your Stylus Zoom and faster. If you know how to do
>manual fill, you can bracket fill-flash easily, and with the A-16, with
>quite a range. If you're happy with the Stylus Zoom, hey, why bother...
>Fill-flash definitely adds apparent sharpness to hand-held images, and
>can do so even with minimal fill.
> *= Doris Fang =*
>
Thanks for responding, Doris.
There is no implicit criticism of the XA in my comment, which is more about
me than photography. My brother owns two of them and I play with them
whenever I see him in wonder and fascination. Also, as you suggest, to
compare the XA with the Stylus Zoom is to compare apples and oranges in a
way -- except on the topic of fill flash, which is the my favorite thing
about the Stylus Zoom, and seems to be one of your favorite things about
the XA.
I haven't done much "manual" fill flash. When I've tried, I've had some
success by finding an exposure a half stop slower than the flash can
illuminate at the distance. This involves 1) composing and focusing, 2)
reading the distance off the lens barrel, 3) figuring what stop is required
shooting the flash in manual mode, then 4) selecting a shutter speed/f-stop
combo which is a half stop slower than the flash so that the flash provides
50 0.000000ill.
This works well, but it is always sort of a brain teaser. I know that
there are conveniences of the flash that I should explore (modules that
provide half the output in manual mode, or 1/4, etc.). Still, it is
tedious if one doesn't use it quite a lot, and that's why I admire the
deftness of the fill feature on the Stylus Zoom. Dead on accuracy to the
central subject with beautiful ambient light all around. One of my goals is
to develop the skill to accomplish the same thing with my OM-1.
Suggestions welcome!
Joel
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