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[OM] Re: An out-of-date comment on Digital

Subject: [OM] Re: An out-of-date comment on Digital
From: W Shumaker <om4t@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 11:04:46 -0400
There are lots of technical reasons to chose a camera system, a film
type, or a particular digital camera. My film to be scanned is backing
up here on the desk, and several rolls have yet to make it to the lab,
all the while I'm having great fun with the E-1.

I think any serious film shooter should be able to take "film camera
discipline" and apply it to digital cameras. In fact, a film (slide)
shooter has an advantage when switching to digital. The E-1 lets you
roll off 12 shots in 4 seconds. I can quickly fill a 512mb flash card
with 10mb raw files (48 shots). The fact you can do it with no
incremental cost makes it easy to have "camera diarrhea." But I assure
you, once you get over the ease of taking pictures, and get sick of
looking at crap, the film discipline will return. To get full
resolution, you need the tripod; for great shots, you still need to
compose; the light is the same light reaching the camera; and
ultimately your attention returns to the subject, not the camera. The
difference is how the camera dances with you changes how you can
dance with the subject.

The instant review is limited on the camera display, you really have to
upload them to the computer to know what is good or not. (The E-1 LCD
will show a histogram, or show hilights that are clipped, but it is
still limited - you can't check accurate focus). Without the live LCD,
you spend your time looking through the viewfinder, and it becomes a
subject, composition and light, the same as any camera.

The E-1 is a different dynamic than a P&S digital, such as the C-5050.
Autofocus is fast, shutter delay is very short - very responsive. It
has only 3 sensors, so it can make some intelligent focus decisions,
while still being controllable - with only 3 focus sensors, you can
somewhat figure out how the camera thinks and work with it. With two
lens (14-54mm/2.8-3.5 and 50-200mm/2.8-3.5) you have ~35mm equivalent
of 28-400mm. After spending 4 hours in the woods yesterday, the E-1
feels surprisingly light weight, and much more comfortable than my
initial concerns. A comparable OM-4t with lenses is more weight and
likely two bodies to cut down on the lens changing or film choice.

However, magic is not a quantity, rather it is a quality. If a camera
has magic for you, that can make all the difference. An OM-4t loaded
with your favorite film and prime zuiko mounted has magic. I think
the E-1 has magic as well. Who know, maybe the magic is not in the
camera? So quantity over quality (of shots) is in you, and I'm sure you
would find that photographic magic once you got over camera diarrhea
and your attention returns to the subject, yourself, and the photo.
After all, the real moment, the choice, is the one when you push the
button, and it is the same moment no matter what the camera. How you
get to that moment and what you experience afterward might be
different.

Wayne


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