amateriat
We're all light!
After having done a few (extremely rare) all-digital photo shoots in late summer/early fall (it's an election year...), I had a bit of a small revelation about my attitude toward digital photography in general, and digital cameras in particular. Up until now, I've been cool with the concept of shooting digitally, but, for the most part, couldn't stand the cameras, for a host of reasons I won't torture you by rehashing now. One of the biggest bugbears for me has been size and ergonomics: Fred, in another thread, nailed the control-layout issue cold: just because the thing is, in fact, more or less a computer with a lens mount and sensor slapped on either end, doesn't mean we should have to interact with it like a computer or smart-phone. Leica, for all its technical foibles on the road to digital refinement, pretty much gets this better than anybody.
The thing is, I plan to be flying the film flag for some time to come, so I won't be doing any big-ticket (or even medium-ticket) digital purchases anytime in the foreseeable future. I'd had my eye on the new Panasonic GF-1, but besides having second thoughts on popping for one at the current going price, I got to thinking about The Size Thing again: the "serious" shooter in my armada is a borrowed Olympus C-8080, a capable camera in a number of ways, but a trifle hangdog in others (s-l-o-w buffer, especially when shooting RAW, intermittent shutter-lag issues, and a really low ISO service-ceiling by contemporary standards). The biggest pain, however, is that it's too big to carry with my standard RF kit as I've been accustomed to carry it, especially with that ‡µ©%*&≠ large (and non-reversible) hood.
I do also have the tiny-tiny Casio EX-850, but size is about the only thing going for it (although, curiously enough, its shutter-lag performance is better than the Oly 8080's). Performance is okay for most casual stuff, but start to get a bit ambitious and it punks out.
So, now, the deal is this: I'm no longer interested in going between a pair of digitals. I want just one now, with most of the performance perks of the Oly (with the requisite gains in high-ISO performance, DR and processor/buffer speed since it was made), in a package not much more than 15-20% bigger than the Casio, give or take a few points. And I want a hot shoe, and optical VF, even a less-than-perfect one in this case (which is all that's on offer, anyway).
Tried the G9. Something about the gestalt with that one bothered me–nothing terrible, mind you, it's a decent camera in a lot of ways, but it wasn't doing it for me.
Recently played with Nikon's P6000. I'd been a bit mystified by the camera's low profile since it was released. There were owners going on with love/hate stories about it online, and very few in-depth reviews. My hands-on impression, given my plans for it if I get it, is positive: reasonably fast, really good low-light capability, overall good IQ, great handling, perfect size, and solid feel. Built-in flash seems okay, but I think that hot shoe is going to get a lot of use. Yes, the optical VF has a degree of offset (one look at the front of the camera dropped a big hint.)
It's something that I can drop into a pocket of my Domke 803 almost without thinking, or have tag along with my Contax Tvs. And will come in handy for the numerous practical things where a digital camera is the better solution.
(Catches breath)
So...anybody else here fool around with this International Digicam of Mystery?
- Barrett
The thing is, I plan to be flying the film flag for some time to come, so I won't be doing any big-ticket (or even medium-ticket) digital purchases anytime in the foreseeable future. I'd had my eye on the new Panasonic GF-1, but besides having second thoughts on popping for one at the current going price, I got to thinking about The Size Thing again: the "serious" shooter in my armada is a borrowed Olympus C-8080, a capable camera in a number of ways, but a trifle hangdog in others (s-l-o-w buffer, especially when shooting RAW, intermittent shutter-lag issues, and a really low ISO service-ceiling by contemporary standards). The biggest pain, however, is that it's too big to carry with my standard RF kit as I've been accustomed to carry it, especially with that ‡µ©%*&≠ large (and non-reversible) hood.
I do also have the tiny-tiny Casio EX-850, but size is about the only thing going for it (although, curiously enough, its shutter-lag performance is better than the Oly 8080's). Performance is okay for most casual stuff, but start to get a bit ambitious and it punks out.
So, now, the deal is this: I'm no longer interested in going between a pair of digitals. I want just one now, with most of the performance perks of the Oly (with the requisite gains in high-ISO performance, DR and processor/buffer speed since it was made), in a package not much more than 15-20% bigger than the Casio, give or take a few points. And I want a hot shoe, and optical VF, even a less-than-perfect one in this case (which is all that's on offer, anyway).
Tried the G9. Something about the gestalt with that one bothered me–nothing terrible, mind you, it's a decent camera in a lot of ways, but it wasn't doing it for me.
Recently played with Nikon's P6000. I'd been a bit mystified by the camera's low profile since it was released. There were owners going on with love/hate stories about it online, and very few in-depth reviews. My hands-on impression, given my plans for it if I get it, is positive: reasonably fast, really good low-light capability, overall good IQ, great handling, perfect size, and solid feel. Built-in flash seems okay, but I think that hot shoe is going to get a lot of use. Yes, the optical VF has a degree of offset (one look at the front of the camera dropped a big hint.)
It's something that I can drop into a pocket of my Domke 803 almost without thinking, or have tag along with my Contax Tvs. And will come in handy for the numerous practical things where a digital camera is the better solution.
(Catches breath)
So...anybody else here fool around with this International Digicam of Mystery?
- Barrett
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