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Re: [OM] Contax G

Subject: Re: [OM] Contax G
From: "Carlos J. Santisteban" <zuiko21@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:38:51 +0200
Hi Ken, Moose, Bob, Chuck and all,

From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>It wasn't that long ago that I frequently railed against P(ark your brains)
>Mode and was proud to say that only a tiny fraction of my pictures were
>taken in it. Being a PROFESSIONAL and EXPERT, I used Aperture Priority Mode
>instead. I know, I know, a fine point.

LOL! Anyway, on my GF-1 I mostly use P-mode... which is "really" Aperture
Priority at fixed f/1.7 with safety shift :-)

With the control dials of modern cameras (especially if it has just one,
like the GF-1) I don't see the point of A and S modes -- provided there is
Program shift. Manual should be kept for testing or unmetered purposes, I do
use it for flash close-ups... but I don't really know how to control the
tiny GF1's flash :-(

Anyway, the worse thing of the GF1 (interface wise) is not IMHO the lack of
a second control dial, but the *extremely* slow operation of it -- damned
thirds-of-a-stop! And a full stroke of the thumb gives just *two* clicks
(2/3rds of a stop). Thus, P mode rules (but not the "idiot proof" iA mode)

...that's why I'm lusting for the Fuji X-100, which can go from f/16 (or P)
to f/2 with a quick flick of the, oh Lord, aperture *ring* on the lens
barrel! ;-)

>The E-1's
>metering system isn't nearly as slick and Program Mode more often than not
>sucks pond water. The DMC-L1's Program Mode (Double-A) is quite good, but
>the metering system is the E-1's with Panasonic and Leica's take on it
which
>is better in some situations, horrible in others. Unlike the Minolta, I
>can't really trust either camera in Program mode except in very narrow
>situations.

Well, one thing is the exposure mode and another the *metering* mode. Maybe
you can't trust the metering, not the P itself -- unless they're interlocked
in some way.

>But the AEL/AFL button tends to be
>sacred ground. I've tried remapping it to be the AF activate button, but
>really isn't necessary because I choose cameras where the MF/AF switch is
>easily adjusted.

The GF1's AEL/AFL button is also configurable. I tried to set it as AEL, in
order to lock focus (as usual) with the half-press of the shutter release...
but it will lock _exposure_ anyway. So I left it as AFL, useful when the
focused subject is bad for locking exposure: center subejct, lock focus,
recompose avoiding the backlight or so, half-press, recompose, shoot -- not
as bad as it sounds.

MF/AF switch on it is horrible, though.

>Or is it the
>rear dial or the front dial? Does it rotate to the right for increase or to
>the left? Oops, right on front, left on rear--unless the dial is changed to
>exposure-compensation which rotates right for increase on one camera, but
>that's decrease on another.

A relative (photographer of a local newspaper) has the EOS-30D and the 5D
Mk.II. I really have hard times _trying_ to use them...

>But the OM system had its quirks too. I'm still clueless as to what the
>exposure-compensation dial on the OM-3Ti is for. It's a MANUAL camera for
>Pete's sake!
<inter-message snip>
>I just adjust the stinkin exposure so the meter reading is one stop
>overexposed! DUH!
>
>:)
>
>Actually, in the specific case of the OM-3Ti, it does somehow function
>as an exposure-compensation for the dedicated flash

It makes sense. The Leica R6.2, another manual camera with TTL flash, has it
too. The weird thing on it is that the exposure compensation goes in half
stops, instead of the always attainable thirds of the ISO dial...

There may be another reason for it... the OM-3 (and the 4, and the 2SP) has
one of the nicest (if not the most) display of manual exposure, with a large
and detailed range, while the R6 has the simple under/OK/over indication.

From: Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>No, no, AG. When one is a PROFESSIONAL and an EXPERT, one uses Manual Mode
exclusively

When I'm using manual mode, I rarely count on the camera's meter anyway...
having successfully shot Kodachrome 25 on a meterless Zorki-4 (with
Jupiter-12 35/2.8 lens) gave me enough confidence ;-)

From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>This all reminds me of the ansel adams hyper-picky metering. Every wannabe
>AA with a view-camera is using the pentax spot-meter to get 30 readings,
>consults a pocket noteboook, writes down a bunch of stuff, stares at the
>scene some more, repeats the whole process two or three times and then ends
>up with the same exposure as if they would have just stuck in incident
meter
>in the air to begin with.

...or what the Sunny-16 rule said :-) BTW, the GF1's "program" mode solves
that as 1/3200 @ f/3.2 (!!!)

>How do I know how a camera will respond under certain circumstances?
>Practice and test under those circumstances. That way, when confronted with
>those circumstances in the real world you know instinctively how to
respond.

Couldn't agree more...

From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
>On 4/9/2011 7:06 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>> I've begun using P mode fairly regularly with the Samsung WB650.
>
>My default settings are Program mode, EV-2/3, ISO 80. I often use Av, but
want it to wake up ready for anything without
>thought.

Nothing to do with the Samsung, but the EV -2/3 is what I used on the
EOS-300D. I no longer apply that on the GF1. You already know about its
"program" mode... so I switch between two settings: P (most likely Aperture
Priority at F1.7) and A (which I have set at F8, for close-ups or whenever I
need more DOF)

>The manual doesn't say, but experimentation shows that Auto ISO tops out at
ISO 400. I'd rather have a 200 tops option,
>too, but at least it won't go 800 or above, which starts going into
abstract pointillism.

It seems the switching speed (the one over it starts stopping down) on the
GF1 depends on the attached lens; with the 20mm or a manual lens is 1/30 --
would love to be able to change that, like in the M8. With a much larger
sensor than a compact, I set the auto-ISO top at 800 (640 on the M8). What I
am not able to understand is the point of auto-ISO in *manual* mode,
automatically (an logically) disabled on the GF1 but infuriating on the
M8...

From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>I don't know the answer either and it gets even more complicated when
>you select ISO 3200 on the Sammy.  At 3200 its drops the resolution from
>12MP to 3MP.  I assume it's combining four pixels into one.

I think the Canon S90 has a similar feature. It should be nice,
signal-to-noise ratio increases by 6 dB and those low-light shots rarely
would need more than 3 MP anyway.

Cheers,
-- 
Carlos J. Santisteban Salinas
IES Turaniana (Roquetas de Mar, Almeria)
<http://cjss.sytes.net/>
-- 
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