NickTrop
Veteran
Okay, I've established:
1. SLRs - necessary evil. Better than RFs for interchangeable lenses. Must have/necessary evil. Need a fast 50 - almost any will do. I have the old radioactive 1.4 Tak. Also, a portrait lens is mandatory. The Jupiter 9 Sonnar copy is the best. It's f2, compact, has a 15 blade aperture, and I love the delimiter ring. If you "must" have a wide the 24mm (4.4 Photodo rated) Sigma is a great choice. Anything beyond this for a wide, like anything faster than f 1.4" are for "spec drunk" gear collectors.
Small, light, virtually same body as the Cosina Bessa fakes with the 1.4 Tak, 24mm Sigma, J9 portrait lens (and a cheap 19mm super wide) = best SLR kit, hands down, bar non. I have the best SLR kit.
Next...
2. DSLRs are futzy, big, and loud. They cause people to run from you when you want to take their picture. They are overkill for how 90% of people who own them use them, posting pics on the web, or making small prints. Chimping shots is no fun, handing the creative control over to a microprocessor is no fun. You can keep them. Don't own one, don't want one. Besides, they're all basically the same.
Best "non-purchase" of an overrated technology that everyone else bought - ME!
3. However, digital has its place. Compact super zooms! A 35-420 35mm equiv. zoom with image stabilization that can be used hand-held with f2.8 brightness across the focal range of the zoom is a luxury and useful! Best camera for this is a hacked Panasonic FZ1. (Hacking the firmware gives it aperture and shutter priority modes. It kina sucks w/o it...) While it only has 2.1 megapixels it's 3x as much as you need for the web, and enough to give you 250 (approx) dpi on 6x4s. 5x7 even look okay, and I've even printed acceptable 8x10s with this camera.
Smartest use of digital award goes to, ME!
So, we have our "interchangeable lens" base covered, needed mostly for portraiture, verrrrrrrrrry smartly. We recognize the advantages of digital - takes the place of the big zoom, covered smartly with a tiny ultra light super zoom.
3. It's okay to have a "novelty" camera to fool around with for fun. That's the Zorki 4K with the Summar... I have the "funnest" novelty camera/lens to fool around with.
Next, we move to other formats. No small format (35 mm) can match medium format. I don't care what lens, or what camera you have. The problem with MF cameras, however, is they tend to be BIG, and lugging them around is a PAIN. Did someone say TLR? Bahhh... Who wants to see reverse images. It's unnatural and annoying.
That brings us to folders. Most folders, however, are too crude. I especially dislike scale focus, which cheats the lens. You might get "acceptable" focus if you're good at guessing depth, but you'll never achieve the kind of critical focus as you can with a rangefinder or an SLR.
So, if you want optimal quality in your photographs, you need to "step up" in format. You need a folder for their portability but one with RF focus to get the most out of the lens. I chose the Iskra. Portable, great lens, RF focusing, and a film counter (mine works)! Beautiful results, better than any 35mm. Period. And because it's easy to carry, I actually use it - often.
Best SLR system - me
Best non-purchase of a dslr - me
Best "novelty" camera w/ Leica lens - me
Best use of digital (for their hand-held zoom capability) - me
Best MF camera - me.
...to be continued.
1. SLRs - necessary evil. Better than RFs for interchangeable lenses. Must have/necessary evil. Need a fast 50 - almost any will do. I have the old radioactive 1.4 Tak. Also, a portrait lens is mandatory. The Jupiter 9 Sonnar copy is the best. It's f2, compact, has a 15 blade aperture, and I love the delimiter ring. If you "must" have a wide the 24mm (4.4 Photodo rated) Sigma is a great choice. Anything beyond this for a wide, like anything faster than f 1.4" are for "spec drunk" gear collectors.
Small, light, virtually same body as the Cosina Bessa fakes with the 1.4 Tak, 24mm Sigma, J9 portrait lens (and a cheap 19mm super wide) = best SLR kit, hands down, bar non. I have the best SLR kit.
Next...
2. DSLRs are futzy, big, and loud. They cause people to run from you when you want to take their picture. They are overkill for how 90% of people who own them use them, posting pics on the web, or making small prints. Chimping shots is no fun, handing the creative control over to a microprocessor is no fun. You can keep them. Don't own one, don't want one. Besides, they're all basically the same.
Best "non-purchase" of an overrated technology that everyone else bought - ME!
3. However, digital has its place. Compact super zooms! A 35-420 35mm equiv. zoom with image stabilization that can be used hand-held with f2.8 brightness across the focal range of the zoom is a luxury and useful! Best camera for this is a hacked Panasonic FZ1. (Hacking the firmware gives it aperture and shutter priority modes. It kina sucks w/o it...) While it only has 2.1 megapixels it's 3x as much as you need for the web, and enough to give you 250 (approx) dpi on 6x4s. 5x7 even look okay, and I've even printed acceptable 8x10s with this camera.
Smartest use of digital award goes to, ME!
So, we have our "interchangeable lens" base covered, needed mostly for portraiture, verrrrrrrrrry smartly. We recognize the advantages of digital - takes the place of the big zoom, covered smartly with a tiny ultra light super zoom.
3. It's okay to have a "novelty" camera to fool around with for fun. That's the Zorki 4K with the Summar... I have the "funnest" novelty camera/lens to fool around with.
Next, we move to other formats. No small format (35 mm) can match medium format. I don't care what lens, or what camera you have. The problem with MF cameras, however, is they tend to be BIG, and lugging them around is a PAIN. Did someone say TLR? Bahhh... Who wants to see reverse images. It's unnatural and annoying.
That brings us to folders. Most folders, however, are too crude. I especially dislike scale focus, which cheats the lens. You might get "acceptable" focus if you're good at guessing depth, but you'll never achieve the kind of critical focus as you can with a rangefinder or an SLR.
So, if you want optimal quality in your photographs, you need to "step up" in format. You need a folder for their portability but one with RF focus to get the most out of the lens. I chose the Iskra. Portable, great lens, RF focusing, and a film counter (mine works)! Beautiful results, better than any 35mm. Period. And because it's easy to carry, I actually use it - often.
Best SLR system - me
Best non-purchase of a dslr - me
Best "novelty" camera w/ Leica lens - me
Best use of digital (for their hand-held zoom capability) - me
Best MF camera - me.
...to be continued.
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