Choosing a Camera

[Colin Southern]

I respect and admire the quality of your work.

Once again Colin I find your photograph very disturbing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Later's folks - I'm out of this thread.

One more to leave you with (not shot with a P&S!) ...

[flashback]

Is that a Walther? PPS?

[Colin Southern]

Is that a Walther? PPS?

Good eye Jack - Walther PPK.

Good old 007 stuff

[jcuknz]

The sad thing is that people play with guns and either shoot their freinds or get shot by law enforcement officers who from a distnce cannot tell toy from tool. Since NZ has strict gun laws I assume the models held toys. The image quality is of colin's usual impecable standard but image content questionable. I am sure at the lighting levels colin tells us he uses he could have used a good bridge or MFT camera. It is almost as easy with the later as with the big toys.

From Wiki .... Application of the term troll is subjective. Some readers may characterize a post as trolling, while others may regard the same post as a legitimate contribution to the discussion, even if controversial. Like any pejorative term, it can be used as an ad hominem attack, suggesting a negative motivation.

As a photographer of greater or lesser enthusiasm of some sixty plus years I am less hidebound by conventional thinking as I have seen it in various forms over the years and acted in divergence numerous times when the logic of the situation led me .... choosing 35mm over MF .... dumping a Leica for a fixed lens japanese camera ... and other situations when working for TV which would not be of interest to the readership of this blog.

[ajohnw]

John ... you omited to mention that there are accessory viewfinders for the Olympus... I bought the VF-2 which at the time cost more than the camera $178 v. $205 ... it works well apart from not 'feeling' right compared to a built-in finder.

The interesting aspects of my exercise were firstly that the old M42 mounted, which I guess makes it at least 30 years old, Pentax Takumar 50mm f/1.4 gave me the sharpest result.

The second aspect from which I am gently laughing at myself is that during setting the GH2 up I 'noticed' a scale beside the image on the LCD which enables me to choose a small focus area ... so I am no longer mourning passing the G3, where I first discovered this feature, over to my son I had thought the earlier GH2 didn't have this feature which I believe is a key to accurate use of AF in the way I manually focused my earlier film cameras.

You are obviously an Olympus fan, I find the menus incomprehensible I largely treat it as a P&S having focus and aperture in the Takumar lens. Using the 'Auto-MAN' slider to focus at f/1.4 and shoot at f/16 etc ... the EVF maintains the same brightness in both positions.

I did mention that the viewfinder is an expensive option. I wouldn't say I am an Olympus fan more that I appreciate the direction that they have taken with these cameras. Some reviewers do too. Cameras in real terms haven't moved much for some years apart from better sensors in some cases. Pen's etc have. True the full Oly menu's are daunting but are worth getting into even if only to program the button functions.

As to the kit lenses I find it's perfectly possible to crop good sharp images out of the full frame for display on a PC. The 40-150 is perhaps a bit weaker in that respect at the long end but takes very little work to sort out. One draw back of the 12.3mp sensor is fringing but most processing software has facilities to remove that. Just important to correct that before doing anything else. It's only likely to happen in back lit subjects.

My main reason for going the Pen route was in built image stabilisation as that makes the use of a variety of manual lenses feasible. Problem - not available during focusing only when the shot is taken. Many people use Panasonic lenses on them as well. As mentioned personally I would give the to 200mm a miss and save up for the 100-300mm - I pixel peep mainly to get some idea of how much extra focal length I can get via cropping. I'm being over critical of the to 200mm in some ways. Many people are very happy with them and they do have good contrast..

I've used a variety of manual lenses on a Pen but for relatively easy critical focusing with the magnified view 50mm is the maximum focal length. Mine is an Olympus 50mm F1.4 as I was around when the bought it out and mags really tested lenses. In those days I was purely a Nikon man. A 100mm macro lens can be used in the same way but with some difficulty. A manual 50mm macro lens will block the light from the flash.

The Pens also have several focusing options. I haven't found that aspect a problem other than at relatively low light on the E-PL1, the E-P3 is better in that respect. Oly seem to have done that on purpose. The newer Pen's use Sony sensors. Pass on those but going on the EM-5 they look to be pretty good.

It's also probably worth mentioning that the earlier 10mp Olymus SLR's are a good 2nd hand buy. Many people like them and the cameras and lenses are relatively cheap now for what were essentially flagship models in some cases.

If some one wants an idea of menu's etc the best place to look is dpreview. They have extensive reviews on a large number of cameras. Another site is better for bridge cameras. Search any type and it will come up. They include actual full frame shots and even sample raw files. Very useful for gauging capabilities. I did try one of the super zooms recently but it went onto ebay within a month of me buying it. There are just too many limitations in my view. Better than compacts but still having similar limitations as the sensors are generally too small. Yet another option though.

John
-

[Colin Southern]

The image quality is of colin's usual impecable standard but image content questionable.

Here's a much "safer" substitute for you John (except for the guy upstairs in the line of fire). Sadly, not shot with a P&S either

[Stagecoach]

I am sure at the lighting levels colin tells us he uses he could have used a good bridge or MFT camera. It is almost as easy with the later as with the big toys.

JC

I had ceased participating in this thread a while ago because I considered it was not only going downhill but was eventually going to reach the bottom.

My suspicions are now confirmed and we have reached the "" why does anyone need to drive a large 4 X 4 when a small hatchback will get you from A to B, most of the time ""

Grahame

[Colin Southern]

why does anyone need to drive a large 4 X 4 when a small hatchback will get you from A to B, most of the time

Because the small hatch can only deliver in good -> ideal ("bland") conditions, whereas the 4x4 operates in far more rugged and exciting terrain (I've owned 3 of them )

[jcuknz]

I ask the same question of myself as a 'small' 4WD owner these past nine years and thinking I may need to replace it one day ... though the salesman suggested it would be my 'last' car I think I may be living longer than he anticipated.
I have also driven a medium sized pickup in the States. Medium as opposed the the monstrous things they have over there and fortunately fairly rare in NZ. I have my HT licence and as the only member of my family having one drove a rental 5 tonne van from Wanaka and back to collect furniture for my daughter-in-law setting up house a year or so ago. All in one day with a rest while the 'slaves' loaded the furniture.

I remember from 4WD club that the then new baby Suzuki's got through when the big fellows sank in the mud. I think my Escudo is about right for the occasional mud hop ... a couple of my favourite shots with my FZ20 .back in 2004 ...
'Fun on the High Side' and 'Two Tone"




and I did take the wee Canon out last night with my Dolphin torch and got this which I quite like.
"Night Guardian" as the figure marks the burial place of the ashes of my companion of fifteen years ... Smudge also a white cat who has graced these pages in the past. Now gone nearly two years.
One of my Bonsai in the background.
I took a flash shot but it hopelessly burnt out the white figure and Dolphin light was easier than fooling the simple automatics of the s20.