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[OM] Re: magic pixels; please pass the mustard

Subject: [OM] Re: magic pixels; please pass the mustard
From: "Wayne Harridge" <wayneharridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 21:36:22 +1000
> 
> All things being equal, a larger sensor allows more pixels, 
> or larger pixels for the same pixel count, or some 
> combination of these, resulting in greater resolution, lower 
> noise at high ISOs, or some improvement in both.
> 

"All things being equal" I can't dispute that, much the same argument can be
put forward for 35mm/MF/LF in film.  It boils down to what level of noise &
resolution is acceptable to each individual should they actually consider it
rather than just following the marketing BS.

> 
> It's worth noting that reviews of the E-500 (which I recently 
> bought, mostly because I got a really good deal) have 
> remarked that noise levels above 400 ISO are not as low as 
> those from cameras with larger sensors. Is anyone reading 
> this surprised?

Nope !

> 
> By the way, my "learning curve" with the E-500 has been the 
> longest and shallowest, by far, of any product of any type 
> I've ever owned. The camera's basic operation is trivial -- 
> you don't need even to glance at the quick-start sheet -- but 
> understanding the features well enough to take full advantage 
> of them is another matter. The user manual is utter garbage 
> (and the manual for the FL-36 flash even worse -- 
> megapixels.net complained about it), written by people who 
> understand neither the English language, photography, nor 
> this particular camera. (You should have heard the insulting 
> response I got from an idiot, not-dry-behind-the-ears 
> customer-service managers when I complained.)
>

I would have the same comments about the E-300 - the printed "manual"
supplied with the camera is absolute crap, the one you can download from the
Oly website at least seems to list all the menu items but you need quite a
bit of prior knowledge to understand how to use them.

> 
> I'm in the process of finishing a critical letter, which 
> Vince Marino has promised he will read and pass along. No 
> offense, Vince, if you're reading this, but Olympus is no 
> different from any other Japanese company -- they're so 
> afraid of losing face by being proved "wrong" that they 
> refuse to listen to their customers' complaints.
> 

Hope somebody listens and takes some positive action.

> 
> > Maitani's suggestion for the OM-5 did not pass the mustard with the 
> > board.
> 
> This is OT and perhaps a little too ad-hominem to be 
> justified, but as a professional writer, I have to say 
> something about the way people mangle and conflate metaphoric 
> expressions.
> 
> It should be "did not cut the mustard" or "did not pass muster".
> 
> Why do people use such expressions when they haven't given 
> one microsecond's thought to what they're saying? Consider 
> the recent condensation of "The proof of the pudding is in 
> the eating" to "The proof is in the pudding." Don't use words 
> and expressions unless you know what they mean.
> 

One of my favourites:

"I could care less" rather than "I couldn't care less"

nice reversal of meaning by dropping a few characters !

...Wayne



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