I think I missed something here... Just why did you decide
against the 8080? I like the feel of the 8080 much better.
Also, once you do get a *REAL* digicam, the 8080 will make a
nice backup camera for serious pictures too.
This discussion about write speeds is rather interesting. My A1
is able to do five RAW images in a burst! No camera lockups,
etc. Sorry, only three JPEGS in a burst. Unless the camera is
able to support WA (which I don't think any digicam does),
you'll only see incremental speed improvements. However, my
LEXAR 1GB 40x WA card screams along pretty good in the A1. In
fact, in comparative testing, this card frequently comes out on
top or near the top for many cameras--regardless of WA support.
Draining the card into a computer is a pain. The included reader
and my computers must be 1.1. It'll take about 35 minutes to
drain a full card on my home computer. (longer if I'm gaming)
I have changed my shooting mode methodology. For a while I was
shooting RAW almost exclusively. Fine and dandy, except that it
made editing down a pain. JPEGs are easier to deal with, but
the image quality isn't "ultimate" like the RAW files are. When
shooting portraits and events, I'm using JPEG. The ability to
instant review with pixel-level zoom-in is very handy. And so is
the ability to quickly copy the images to the computer and
quickly print is important. For "stock photo" style shots, I
prefer shooting in RAW. I copy everything to the computer and do
a batch conversion to an easily digestable size--like 800x600.
These I proof quickly and determine which ones are probably the
keepers. The keepers then undergo a hands-on conversion to TIFF
for editing and printing. Otherwise, like 90% of my files, they
go into long-term storage without further immediate action.
If I were to do this all over again, my ONLY change would have
been to get the A2 instead of the A1. But I do not regret going
with the M*nolta. It is a serious featured camera. If the 8080
had a mechanical zoom, I would have definitely considered it.
Issues that I've fought with the A1 that will influence my next
camera purchase: Viewfinder (the EV s*cks). Zoom in on RAW
review. Interlocking controls (accidental mode changing). Noise
level of sensor (I really like shooting 10-30 second exposures).
Weatherproofing (I'm sold on it). Voice annotation during review
(M*nolta's implementation forces annotation during instant
review only). Image Stabilization sure is nice--makes street
photography a dream. Larger and smoother monitor--Olympus has
this figured out.
As to the "expose to the right" argument? I'm a little leary
about that. Unless you know when a color channel has gone
out-of-gamut you run the risk of getting strange colorcasts in
your highlights. I actually have less problem with noise
expansion when raising values as compared to lowering values.
When lowering values, you may also tend to increase saturation
as part of your post-production and printing procedures. This
additional processing will increase the noise. I get my best
results when exposing it as I do with Velvia. I figure that if
I can nail exposures with Velvia, digital shouldn't be any
pickier than that.
Best part of my going the direction I did, and I see Joel
thinking of the same thing, is that I bought time. I bought
time for Olympus or Canon to come out with the "Digital OM-2S"
that we so desparately want.
AG
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