Foggy Morning Breakdown

farlymac

farlymac

PF McFarland
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7:24 PM
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Jan 1, 2009
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I got another Olympus Stylus down at Goodwill for $2. It's the Quartz Date model, so all the buttons and lettering are done in a gold tone, very chic on that black body. And it had a battery in it, so I was able to test it at the store before making my purchase. I did more testing at home, and everything seemed to be functioning properly.

This morning was completely fogged over, so I put some Ilford FP4 Plus in the Oly, and headed out. Everything was going great, until I got past frame 18. Then the motor drive started a rattling clicking sound, and would not move the film anymore. I couldn't even do a mid-roll rewind. So I took it down to the photo lab, where they removed the film, and processed it.

The scans are pretty good. But I don't think the images are as good as what I got from my other Stylus (which Mom now has). I see a lot of edge distortion that only existed in the far corners of the other camera, and the images don't seem to be as sharp, giving consideration I was shooting in the fog. But I was using a film that is an ISO 125, whereas in the other cam I used 400 speed. So one would figure a bit of sharpness could be gained using the FP4 as opposed to Ultra-Max. Didn't happen.

Oh well, $2 for the camera, and wasting a half roll of Ilford wasn't too bad. I did get some decent images out of it.


Bringing It Down by br1078phot, on Flickr




Catching A Wave by br1078phot, on Flickr




Foggy Travel by br1078phot, on Flickr




Silhouette On 18% Grey by br1078phot, on Flickr




East Hill Cemetery North by br1078phot, on Flickr




Channel In The Fog by br1078phot, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157638396860013/

See all 14 photos at the above link.

PF
 
Two things: one, I have a Olympus Stylus Infinity and the auto-focus was/is fooled in fog, and two, fog in my experience also fools meters. Mostly, they overexpose shots, but some times if in trees or other dark subject go the other way.
 
I think it's just the fog, John, that makes me think they aren't sharp enough. Foreground stuff is decent. And, the Stylus seems to handle the exposures pretty well. Or did. It's a junker now, unless I decide to open it up, and find the offending gear.

PF
 
I'm probably the only guy on the planet who hates those cameras. Twenty years ago, living in NYC, shooting for a weekly, I bought a brand new Olympus Stylus from B&H to carry with me when I was moving through the city and had my "big camera" in my bag. Wanted something I could grab quick, snap open the front cover, out would pop the lens, and I could quickly snap a picture. That thing failed on me CONSTANTLY. Brought it back to B&H, thinking I had gotten a bad one, and they replaced it. New one did the exact same thing. Snap the cover open and the lens would just sit there, nothing would happen. Missed quite a few shots with that thing till I finally took a hammer to it and tossed the pieces in the bin.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Never could understand how anyone worked with those cameras, but PF, you've obviously found a way. Bravo.

Best,
-Tim
 
Timmyjoe said:
I'm probably the only guy on the planet who hates those cameras. Twenty years ago, living in NYC, shooting for a weekly, I bought a brand new Olympus Stylus from B&H to carry with me when I was moving through the city and had my "big camera" in my bag. Wanted something I could grab quick, snap open the front cover, out would pop the lens, and I could quickly snap a picture. That thing failed on me CONSTANTLY. Brought it back to B&H, thinking I had gotten a bad one, and they replaced it. New one did the exact same thing. Snap the cover open and the lens would just sit there, nothing would happen. Missed quite a few shots with that thing till I finally took a hammer to it and tossed the pieces in the bin.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Never could understand how anyone worked with those cameras, but PF, you've obviously found a way. Bravo.

Best,
-Tim
Click to expand...

Thanks, Tim. I always try to get the best out of whatever gear I'm using.
PF
 
back alley said:
i like the cemetary shot...
Click to expand...

I had completely forgotten about that place, Joe. I was just driving around looking for dense patches of fog, and knowing that it's always worse over in Salem, I headed that way. As I pulled into the Salem Museum's parking lot, I saw the cemetery, and just had to get some shots in there. Could have done a whole roll with a different camera set-up.

PF
 
Fog and windows play havoc on the autofocus, but if you block the AF transmit or receive window, the camera focusses on infinity.
 
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