amateriat
We're all light!
(Bet you didn't think I, of all people, would have one, eh?)
Galfriend's elder son (he's a Senior at Vassar this semester) came to me with an urgent request: to retrieve some important files from his iPod (with a dying hard disk) to a CD-R or someplace other than his lame 'pod (which, by modern tech terms is pretty old...my iPod Photo, the last 'Pod available with FireWire interface, is a youngster by comparison). I gave it the (ahem) college try, then hit on an old techie trick I've rarely used: I put the iPod in the freezer section of our 'fridge for about 20 minutes, since the thing was pretty warm/hot when he handed it to me. There are other details involved, but to keep a long story short, the trick worked, and he was over the moon. "If you need any favor lat me know..."
I couldn't think of anything immediately, but then I remembered something.
"Do you still have that Olympus digital with you?"
"Yeah, I do", he said, after thinking for a moment about it. "I'll bring it up."
I just wanted to borrow it for a while. I recommended it to his Dad as a gift about three years ago, and then (in a fit of enlightened self-interest) put it through its paces to make sure everything was in order.
It's a C-8080. I recommended it because it was about the only digital camera of the moment I would be caught dead shooting with, at least based on its ergonomics and specs, more-or-less in that order. I took it for a brief tour-of-duty and fell in love with it, which was somewhat unexpected. I loved the form-factor, the control layout (mostly), the reasonably-fast buffer (even shooting RAW), and the red-eye-free flash operation, with the option of off-camera flash with the conventional hot shoe. A bonus was the swiveling LCD and solid construction. Olympus never made a digital camera like this before, and, frankly, hasn't made one like it since. (Of course, neither has anyone else...and I'm including Canon's G9 here, too.)
Having the camera back in my hands after this rather long hiatus, the familiarity is comforting. When news hit about the new "mirror-less" 4/3 sensor design, the first thing that I thought of was, "Wouldn't it be cool if Olympus made a somewhat thinner version of the 8080, with a crazy-higher ISO rating?" I wasn't thinking about dSLRs because, frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about them, at all. The 8080 represented a serious digital "Third Way", where serious photography (however you care to define it) could find its way with a serious tool which broke the mold: solid, versatile, precision, but smaller, lighter, and certainly stealthier than your standard-issue Pro dSLR (which, to me, is among the more-obnoxious photographic instruments of recent times...and, no, I've never had someone smush a Speed-Graphic in my face as a child). The fact that there's a Magnum shooter using an 8080 in the field says enough for me, but I probably grokked this camera's goodness before he did. Alas, I don't shoot for Magnum...
Not the latest, or with the "mostest" megapixels, yada, yada. yada. I don't #µ©%√π care.
Of course, I'm coming from the perspective of a dedicated film-shooter, and not about to change that for the near future at least (well, as long as I can buy the stuff without selling a kidney...).
And, I ask: why aren't there more (any?) digital cameras line this out there right now? The only other digicam I can stand is my little Casio EX-850. I generally dislike SLRs now, dSLRs in particular, and "pro" dSLRS, to borrow a CIA term, with extreme prejudice.
What to do with a guy like me, except shoot me? (Don't go there...)
- Barrett
Galfriend's elder son (he's a Senior at Vassar this semester) came to me with an urgent request: to retrieve some important files from his iPod (with a dying hard disk) to a CD-R or someplace other than his lame 'pod (which, by modern tech terms is pretty old...my iPod Photo, the last 'Pod available with FireWire interface, is a youngster by comparison). I gave it the (ahem) college try, then hit on an old techie trick I've rarely used: I put the iPod in the freezer section of our 'fridge for about 20 minutes, since the thing was pretty warm/hot when he handed it to me. There are other details involved, but to keep a long story short, the trick worked, and he was over the moon. "If you need any favor lat me know..."
I couldn't think of anything immediately, but then I remembered something.
"Do you still have that Olympus digital with you?"
"Yeah, I do", he said, after thinking for a moment about it. "I'll bring it up."
I just wanted to borrow it for a while. I recommended it to his Dad as a gift about three years ago, and then (in a fit of enlightened self-interest) put it through its paces to make sure everything was in order.
It's a C-8080. I recommended it because it was about the only digital camera of the moment I would be caught dead shooting with, at least based on its ergonomics and specs, more-or-less in that order. I took it for a brief tour-of-duty and fell in love with it, which was somewhat unexpected. I loved the form-factor, the control layout (mostly), the reasonably-fast buffer (even shooting RAW), and the red-eye-free flash operation, with the option of off-camera flash with the conventional hot shoe. A bonus was the swiveling LCD and solid construction. Olympus never made a digital camera like this before, and, frankly, hasn't made one like it since. (Of course, neither has anyone else...and I'm including Canon's G9 here, too.)
Having the camera back in my hands after this rather long hiatus, the familiarity is comforting. When news hit about the new "mirror-less" 4/3 sensor design, the first thing that I thought of was, "Wouldn't it be cool if Olympus made a somewhat thinner version of the 8080, with a crazy-higher ISO rating?" I wasn't thinking about dSLRs because, frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about them, at all. The 8080 represented a serious digital "Third Way", where serious photography (however you care to define it) could find its way with a serious tool which broke the mold: solid, versatile, precision, but smaller, lighter, and certainly stealthier than your standard-issue Pro dSLR (which, to me, is among the more-obnoxious photographic instruments of recent times...and, no, I've never had someone smush a Speed-Graphic in my face as a child). The fact that there's a Magnum shooter using an 8080 in the field says enough for me, but I probably grokked this camera's goodness before he did. Alas, I don't shoot for Magnum...
Not the latest, or with the "mostest" megapixels, yada, yada. yada. I don't #µ©%√π care.
Of course, I'm coming from the perspective of a dedicated film-shooter, and not about to change that for the near future at least (well, as long as I can buy the stuff without selling a kidney...).
And, I ask: why aren't there more (any?) digital cameras line this out there right now? The only other digicam I can stand is my little Casio EX-850. I generally dislike SLRs now, dSLRs in particular, and "pro" dSLRS, to borrow a CIA term, with extreme prejudice.
What to do with a guy like me, except shoot me? (Don't go there...)
- Barrett
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NickTrop
Veteran
The deal breakers for all digicams to me is selective focus - bokeh, etc. and 400 (and usually it's 200) and above high ISO performance. This does seem like quite a nice one for a digicam. Still like my ancient (2004) Panny FZ1v2. Only 2 megapixels but 12x zoom @ 2.8 is a nice spec. BUT same as all of them ... where's my selective focus? And 400 ISO reminds me of the "back seat" of my old Nissan NX 2000. There for show (and in the case of the car, insurance purposes) only.
Interesting you mention your dislike of DSLRs. I agree. Everytime I get tempted, there's always a deal breaker, a basic thing I think is a requisite photographic requirement I take for granted with film cameras that you can't get - or have to jump through hoops, or spend a lot of dough, that I take for granted with a film camera...
For example, I was getting tempted with the Nikon D40. Looking at them just tonight... Nice size, nice price. Hey - I think I'll slap a nice fast 50 on it. Oh - forgot. 50 = 70 in digital land. That's a portrait lens. So, I'll have to get me a fast 35 I can slap on the D40. Oh - there's hardly any sub f2 35's. Autofocus and metering is - of course, out. And Nikon mount doesn't play nice with adapters. So I guest it's that 3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens. Oh forget it. I'l stick with my basic fast 50 rangefinders...
Like I said. Always a deal breaker. If it wasn't so late, I would start a "why I hate DSLRs" thread.
Interesting you mention your dislike of DSLRs. I agree. Everytime I get tempted, there's always a deal breaker, a basic thing I think is a requisite photographic requirement I take for granted with film cameras that you can't get - or have to jump through hoops, or spend a lot of dough, that I take for granted with a film camera...
For example, I was getting tempted with the Nikon D40. Looking at them just tonight... Nice size, nice price. Hey - I think I'll slap a nice fast 50 on it. Oh - forgot. 50 = 70 in digital land. That's a portrait lens. So, I'll have to get me a fast 35 I can slap on the D40. Oh - there's hardly any sub f2 35's. Autofocus and metering is - of course, out. And Nikon mount doesn't play nice with adapters. So I guest it's that 3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens. Oh forget it. I'l stick with my basic fast 50 rangefinders...
Like I said. Always a deal breaker. If it wasn't so late, I would start a "why I hate DSLRs" thread.
amateriat
We're all light!
Nick: Here's where it gets even stranger for me: The 8080 utilized an EVF, which i've hurled invective at some years ago with other models. dSLRs, for everything I dislike about them (and their film-burning counterparts) have optical viewfinders, which theoretically for me are superior. But, save for very top-end models (Canon and Nikon single-digit series, etc.), you don't get anything approaching 100% VF accuracy. You get it with EVF, this Oly included. The EVF on this one could be better, but I can live with it (again, I'm not trashing my film-burners for it, after all, and it's not even mine...for the moment, anyway. 
).
I grok your point about selective focus, BTW. I'm just pointing out what I strongly feel is the best of the pack in certain critical respects. Other opinions will vary.
).I grok your point about selective focus, BTW. I'm just pointing out what I strongly feel is the best of the pack in certain critical respects. Other opinions will vary.
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wallace
Well-known
Can't speak for the 8080, but I use the 5050, only 5mp but f 1.8 !!
It gives very good A4 prints. I hope that some day there will be
a rebirth of the Olympus C-line...
wallace
It gives very good A4 prints. I hope that some day there will be
a rebirth of the Olympus C-line...
wallace
Tuolumne
Veteran
Try the Canon G9. It's a beaut and good to about ISO 800 with Noise Ninja.
/T
/T
monochromejrnl
Well-known
anyone hear about the Nikon P6000? when is it hitting store shelves???
DougK
This space left blank
I'll chime in with a vote for the C-7070WZ. I've made some pretty good 11" x 14" prints with it. I only wish it had an EVF like the 8080, instead of the cheezy optical VF that it has, so that I could use it at eye level and fold in the LCD. Other than that, though, it's been a really great camera.
kevin m
Veteran
The lack of selective focus isn't a problem, it's a feature.
amateriat
We're all light!
Again, I can't say I have a lot of love for EVFs, but the alternative, as offered on nearly all would-be "prosumer" digicams, is dismal: optical VFs which are neither accurate (in framing or parallax) nor informative (no exposure or focus info other than those annoying idiot lights just outside the eyepiece). I like the fact that Casio included an optical VF on my EX-850 (it was, in fact, one of the very last models Casio made with one), because for me it's better than just having the LCD to rely on, but it ain't great. The EVF in the 8080 at least gives me edge-to-edge accuracy and pertinent in-finder info. Of course, this camera isn't my Main Axe, so that helps me deal with the EVF ever better.
- Barrett
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POINT OF VIEW
Established
I have always been a RF person, I will always be a RF person, therefor the answer is easy. The only digital RF camera in the world, that is production today the M8.
NickTrop
Veteran
??? I never said I wanted a digicam. For a digicam, the Olympus looks like a decent one but I have absolutely zero deezire for any digicam. My post is that you're crippled by relatively low ISO capabilities with digicams and you don't have selective focus with them. The digicam I do own is 4 years old, 2 megapixels and I basically use it in place of a big zoom lens and for macros.
You can give me the highest end digicam and I doubt I would use it.
DSLRs are huge pricey affairs with slow zoom lenses typically. Bleh.
kuzano
Veteran
C-8080WZ.... One of the finest Digitals I've owned
C-8080WZ.... One of the finest Digitals I've owned
Testament to the cult... Bought it used for $400, sold it two years later for $400. Now two more years and guess what they are selling for....???
If the darn things would go down in price I'd pick up another, but they are simply worth it.
Bought an e300... liked it, but not as much as the 8080. Bought and e510... but now selling that to get some money in the wallet for the Micro 4/3rds. If that doesn't match the 8080... well. Have had 2 or 3 Sony prosumers and 4 Fuji Prosumers. Can't think of one that outshot the 8080.
C-8080WZ.... One of the finest Digitals I've owned
Testament to the cult... Bought it used for $400, sold it two years later for $400. Now two more years and guess what they are selling for....???
If the darn things would go down in price I'd pick up another, but they are simply worth it.
Bought an e300... liked it, but not as much as the 8080. Bought and e510... but now selling that to get some money in the wallet for the Micro 4/3rds. If that doesn't match the 8080... well. Have had 2 or 3 Sony prosumers and 4 Fuji Prosumers. Can't think of one that outshot the 8080.
Thardy
Veteran
Mine won't selective focus, but it will take a photo out of focus.
amateriat
We're all light!
First Portrait Shot..ready, steady, go...!
First Portrait Shot..ready, steady, go...!
A few years back, I was tagged to conduct a computer/camera/Photoshop "camp" for kids. Never did this before, and I had no digital camera at the time, but I had just gotten the 8080 to "test out" for its future owner, and thought it would be ideal. But I'd barely had time to even scan the "quick-start" fold-out sheet. I shoved a 1GB CF card in the thing and ran off to hopefully engage and entertain a handful of 7-13-year-olds. In all, it worked out fine, but one of the things I promised was a mini portrait sessions with all the kids, and I wasn't into making half-baked shots. I ran through the camera's menus, held my breath, and hoped the flash wouldn't be too lousy.
I needn't have worried...
(I've shown this one before, but I like it so much...)
I've had far-worse hasty getting-to-know-you sessions with cameras in the past (an Alpa 11 seems to suddenly come to mind...). This one was almost shockingly easy. It almost seems to have that Maitani mojo happening, somehow.
- Barrett
First Portrait Shot..ready, steady, go...!
A few years back, I was tagged to conduct a computer/camera/Photoshop "camp" for kids. Never did this before, and I had no digital camera at the time, but I had just gotten the 8080 to "test out" for its future owner, and thought it would be ideal. But I'd barely had time to even scan the "quick-start" fold-out sheet. I shoved a 1GB CF card in the thing and ran off to hopefully engage and entertain a handful of 7-13-year-olds. In all, it worked out fine, but one of the things I promised was a mini portrait sessions with all the kids, and I wasn't into making half-baked shots. I ran through the camera's menus, held my breath, and hoped the flash wouldn't be too lousy.
I needn't have worried...
(I've shown this one before, but I like it so much...)
I've had far-worse hasty getting-to-know-you sessions with cameras in the past (an Alpa 11 seems to suddenly come to mind...). This one was almost shockingly easy. It almost seems to have that Maitani mojo happening, somehow.
- Barrett
kevin m
Veteran
I love that one.
With all the MFA's about, there oughta be a Sistine chapel in every town.
literiter
Well-known
I love that one.
With all the MFA's about, there oughta be a Sistine chapel in every town.
It took my better half 30 years to get over the damage done by her MFA. She tells me it would have been better to just go out and do it than to have all that virtue imposed on her by others.
kevin m
Veteran
I don't doubt it. I went back to college full time in my mid-30's to finish my B.A., and I was honestly shocked at the politics involved in getting an M.F.A.. A historian wondering what life was like as a eunuch in the Sultan's harem could do worse than 'go undercover' by applying to an M.F.A. program.
My friends at SIU (Southern Illinois University) in the graduate film school program confessed that one of the big motivations for getting an M.F.A. was simply having access to the gear; sync-sound movie cameras, Steenbecks and the like. I wonder if that has changed now with video editing and computer power being so much more affordable.
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Nh3
Well-known
Nikon D40 + Sigma 30mm 1.4 HSM.
50mm, autofocus, ISO1600 in D40 is decent.
There is a setup for all those one camera one lens folks.
50mm, autofocus, ISO1600 in D40 is decent.
There is a setup for all those one camera one lens folks.