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[OM] On weddings, travel and new cameras

Subject: [OM] On weddings, travel and new cameras
From: Ken Norton <image66@xxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 00:44:03 -0500
I just got home from shooting a wedding tonight (6:30pm-11:30pm).  I hope
the marriage lasts long enough that they get to look at the proofs
together.  Sometimes you just want to shake them up and ask them if they
really know what they are doing.  This is the last wedding I shoot for this
particular company.  I've decided that it's time for me to go back to being
very selective with my weddings.  Besides, I make a LOT more money on my
own anyway.

This resurgance of discussion of buying a new OM-4Ti or getting the latest
wonderbrick from Canon, Nikon or Honda, ahem, Minolta is rather
interesting.  For these wedding shoots I've been using a Canon A2 with
28-108 lens and wonderwidget flash on a doohickie weeniebob flash bracket.
If I could, I'd use my own equipment, thank you.  The image size in the
Canon viewfinder is smaller and more distant than that of the OM cameras.
Is this important?  You bet!  One thing I like about the new Contax 645 is
the big viewfinder image. The A2 is tiring to use after a while when
shooting verticals with flash and all.  The Olympus or even ANY Nikon will
be more comfortable to use in the long run than the A2.  Now here is a real
big suprise:  The Olympus IS-3 will focus lock on a recessional far better
than the A2.  I'm having to "trap" focus the Canon during the recessional
shots (prefocus on a pew)otherwise it may hunt or never lock on the couple.
 I've never missed a recessional shot with the IS-3, but I'm getting only
75% with the Canon.  In sports mode it may be better, but sports mode isn't
exactly what I want to be in when shooting weddings.

Furthermore, the Canon flash does this stupid preflash thingy which fires
everytime you click the shutter-release to the first detent.  I try to be
as flexible about this as possible, but excuse me, but neither my IS-3/G40
combo, nor my OM-2S with Dedicated flash do this and my exposures are
pretty near perfect.  I must say, though, that the Canon flash does reserve
enough power for two decent flashes, so I do manage to get a second shot in
immediately sometimes.

One thing to remember when selecting any new camera these days is how easy
is it to focus in manual mode.  A camera which is designed as a manual
focus camera is far superior at focus checking than an autofocus camera.
The Canons are miserable to try and figure out what is in focus.  You have
to rely on the red boxes lighting up.  Am I missing something here?  Again,
and you will be sick of me saying this, the Contax 645 autofocus is amazing
as you can really manual focus with it!  With my OMs I can easily see what
is in focus and what isn't.  Of course, the 2-series screens enter a bit of
a challenge in some conditions, but...

I'm doing a bunch more travel again (actually doing some contract work for
my former employer) so I may be looking some of you up if I'm in town.
(BTW, Anybody in Kansas City this week?  M-R I will be at some tiny <g>
media outlet in town).  

In conclusion...  Hey, quiet up there in the peanut gallary!  ...selecting
camera gear is a major decision as the equipment must really fit the way
you operate.  I personally find the human interface of the Canon EOS
cameras to be really awful.  They are feature rich and good cameras, but
they don't fit my particular "style" of shooting.  I know that I'd be
disappointed converting from OM to Canon and possible even OM to Nikon.  I
shoot more with a medium-format style, which the OMs fit very nicely into.
I've never really been a "point-and-shoot" photographer, with the exception
of zone focus/exposure street photography, and the EOS cameras (and similar
types of cameras) just don't make it easy for somebody who thinks their way
through a shoot.

So, therefore, don't worry about "wasting" your money on a brand new OM-4Ti
rather than the EOS-3.  In two years you won't be tired of the 4Ti, nor
wanting to trade it in on the newest wondergadget.  Just wait until the
EOS-3Xcess comes out with full-screen focusing!  And you thought that the
blob in the middle was great.  The 4Ti has a terrific track record and you
know that barring any oddities in your sample it should last for many, many
years flawlessly.  Olympus lenses (F2 series being really terrific) are
fantastic and operate even when the batteries die.  Hmm, imagine that--a
lens made with glass and metal!  If you want a new 35m camera that is as
good as an investment as it is as a camera, I'd look at Lieca, Nikon F3 or
F5, and the OM-4Ti or 3Ti.  (I'd put the EOS-1n in the list, but it is
nearing the end of its life and some form of replacement will come before
too long.  However, it is still a great camera).

Of course, you could save your pennies, like me, for the Contax 645-AF.

Ken (alms for the greedy) Norton
Image 66 Photography / Audio Engineering

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