I still remember the time when I'd only been into film SLR photography a
short time and was still getting to grips with a new mechanical film SLR (a
Zenith IIRC) - and 'Darth Vader' came to an event (may have been a custom
car show or something) that was going on at the time - held in the function
halls of the local race-course. This was around the time of the first Star
Wars movie - so around the late 70s. Anyway, as you can imagine, there was a
big crowd of people eagerly waiting. When Darth Vader arrived I started
setting up the SLR (looking for an aperture that let me shoot fast enough to
avoid shake - and get the metering needle in the middle) and by the time I'd
focused well enough he was already walking away! I got a good shot of the
back of him. In constrast, my wife just pointed her Kodak Instamatic as he
approached and got a fantastic, properly exposed and in-focus full length
shot of him striding purposely [seemingly] towards us. She enjoyed herself
for weeks after that ribbing me how her little Kodak Instamatic (which cost
£1 at a car boot sale) had outperformed my SLR. I wasn't particulartly happy
(or upset) by this, but it did make me think about getting a camera with
more automation - and with at least aperture priority! I also realised that
I could have set the exposure first and pre-focused to a large extent on the
crowd waiting for where he was going to have to walk - before he arrived.
Except I didn't know exactly when he was going to show or if he'd walk where
we were expecting him to. And I had expected to be able to get a good shot
of him signing autographs as he passed down the hall - but he was of course
surrounded by crowds. I'd used a standard lens rather than the 70-210mm
because of the indoor light levels - had I used the tele I might have gotten
a decent longer shot. Sometimes the big, sophisticated camera with all the
bells and whistles may not be the one that gets the best results! Which is
why I've kept my tiny Oly 2mp camedia p & s compact and it's anti-shake
properties which works well even when shooting thrugh the window of a slowly
moving bus (even though it does eat batteries) - and why I'm also keep my
little Oly Pen 35mm compact.
Allan
PS No trees were harmed in the sending of this message and a very large
number of electrons were asked their permission to be terribly
inconvenienced. (And threw a party for them afterwards for being really cool
about it).
Disrupting the unnatural balance that you, as a conscious human being and a
confused mass of energy, have created.
-Disturb the mind -
>From: "om2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <om2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [OM] Re: [SPAM] So, it's a good camera
>Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:09:46 -0500
>
>
>I too rely on my E-1 to deliver the bacon. I shot about 300 pictures on
>Sunday, all at ISO 800 indoors at West Point, NY (the United States
>Military Academy) for an indoor track meet. I guess I could have used
>another two stops, but I got about 50% keepers, which is average. Shooting
>indoor track, I focus manually on the inside lane anyway, so fast AF
>doesn't add any value.
>
>Larger file size? No need for 95%+ of my use. Most people that order my
>prints don't go above 5x7, so the extra processing time, energy, and
>storage space is just wasted. In fact, I shoot SHQ JPG >95% of the time,
>as I don't need the extra flexibility or dynamic range offered in a RAW
>image. I talked to a pro last year who shot middle-school sports and he
>was shooting at the equivalent of SQ mode on my E-1 (He used a 20D). Why?
>His clientèle only ordered 4x6's and the small file size made his CF cards
>go further, his post processing workflow faster, and the upload time
>quicker.
>
>So I sit back and laugh at the photographers who spend their time arguing
>about whether the 30D or the D200 is better. They proudly stand up in the
>online forums, beat their chests, and proclaim to the world that "I'm outa
>here. I've switched to the new Canikon, and my POS old Nicanon that I had
>is crap and is for sale!" And then they post photos with their work and
>they're often mediocre at best. Gearheads.
>
>We had a guy come to our local photo club and show lovely black-and-white
>20x24's that he'd shot. He unfurled 20 or 30 of them, one after another of
>gritty inner-city gym portraits. They really were great. The guy that was
>the main subject bought 500 of himself of different poses, but chose color
>prints. (Yea, I guess he likes himself!) So what's interesting about
>this? The photographer didn't remember what camera he used, "one of the
>Canons; I don't remember which one". No proclamations either about the
>latest and greatest printer. He had them done at a Sam's Club in central
>NJ! They have an Epson 9600 at this particular store and offer 20x24's for
>$8.00. Yep, you read it right....$8.00! His black and whites were as
>rich and detailed as anything I've ever seen. But we had to really badger
>him to reveal where he got the prints done. as he was a little embarrassed.
>
>So, as Michael Reichman wrote about this week: It's not necessarily only
>the photographer that matters, and it's not only the equipment. You need
>both. But a superior photographer can produce superior photos using
>modest, capable equipment. You can't get the shot if the gear can't
>perform.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Skip
>
>
>Original Message:
>-----------------
>From: AG Schnozz agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx
>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:54:20 -0800 (PST)
>To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [SPAM] [OM] So, it's a good camera
>
>
>I despise this current photographic world where we have to buy a
>new camera every 18 months to stay "current". My E-1 is far
>from worn out and probably will outlast any practical
>application of the camera. Last night I shot 514 pictures in
>about 45 minutes and with every click of the shutter (during a
>Christmas Children's Musical) only I heard it. Nobody around me
>was disturbed other than maybe the occasional time my LCD lit up
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