The Photography Thread

[JohnMcL7]

I bought the E-330 for its liveview - I still use the optical viewfinder around 80% of the time but the liveview is superb whenever I need to take a picture with the camera in an awkard place. Normally I'd just have point the camera and guess or try get myself into an awkward position to reach the viewfinder but with liveview I can get the shot I want first time. On the E-330 the LCD is only hinged vertically, I'd like the display to flip out sideways as well.

Just waiting for Olympus to make their announcement, hoping for a similar Liveview implementation in a weather sealed body with IS.

John

[Richard.John]

You have to love die hard camera fanboys though. On the Olympus, LV was seen as a gimmick but now that Canon have it, well, it's the greatest thing ever! I heard it was the same when Canon introduced lens based IS, and all the Nikonians said it was a useless, marketing gimmick. They got their hands on VR, and everything changed of course...... LOL

On a side note, I had a chance to play with a 70-200 f/2.8 the other day, as you guys know that I am looking to buy a new lens.

Of course, compared to the f/4 IS version, it certainly is one heavy beast when handheld. The tripod bracket is included for a reason. I struggled to hold it steady at 200mm and can see why IS is so useful at longer focal lengths. The f/4 IS and the f/2.8 are almost the same price here, so part of me says that I should get the most glass for my money, but my sensible side points out that it's heavy and lacks IS so would be a pain to use in the long run without a monopod. Of course the 2.8 IS is the ultimate solution but at an ultimate price.......... Ah the joys of lens buying.

[JohnMcL7]

The joys of lens buying indeed...I'm currently fancying an 11-22mm and possibly an 8mm fisheye - not sure about the latter but I reckon I could sell it on at a reasonable price if I'm not using it. Been waiting to try and get hold of a used 11-22mm but not seen a good deal on one in months so it's perhaps time to try importing some equipment from the US, even if I get stung heavily for customs it should still be cheaper.

John

[Richard.John]

I went to the Canon showrrom in Ginza today and guess what they had on display? Yes, the new 1D Mk III!!

After handling it, I am surprised at how light it was compared to the 1Ds. Maybe battery tech has moved on recently. It certainly doesn't feel as tank like as the 1Ds, more like a 5D with battery grip, though I don't know the exact weight. It also has the dust reduction feature as seen on the 400D. It is obvious that this feature will appear on all future Canon DSLRs.

Switch it to high speed mode, look through that big, bright viewfinder and fire away. It's a photographic Uzi. No doubt it will rule at sports events. The live view is pretty simple as you can enable it via the menu and then all you have to do is press the select button on the scroll wheel and the mirror flips up and the screen comes to life. I think you have to manually focus the lens when using this mode, but, still, it could certainly be useful for some.

It is a nice piece of kit and suggests that the updated 1Ds will be a killer of a camera when it appears.

[Ginger Tosser]

Lucky you! Apparantly there are between 5-7 in the UK currently. All pre-production models so Canon aren't releasing any of them for testing.

Manual focus only with live view, Think the focus mechanism uses the mirror, hence the manual focus. I hear its about 19% lighter than the previous version, the battery is 40% lighter (the old battery was a beast).

[Alastair]

Alastair, i'll be keeping the 200mm! I'd still need it!

Ah, OK, no worries, just had it in my head you mentioned a while back you'd be selling to go to the 300, never mind.

1DmkIII sounds very nice Richard, start saving those pennies!!

[Richard.John]

Actually, if, and that's a big if, I was going to buy the 5D, I might consider paying a bit more for the 1D. That won't happen for a few years yet anyway ,but who knows.

Regarding the live view, I don't know if you can focus on camera as I tried using the usual buttons but nothing happened so just used FTM on the lens and the pic came into focus.

[Gareth C]

All this talk of big lenses is making me feel insecure!

Ironically I just ordered a new viewfinder for my 12mm voigtlander rangefinder lens. Its an incredibly fun lens, needs hardly any focusing and doesn't fisheye...

[Richard.John]

I have a question for you. How often do　you receive comments like 'Oh, that big camera must be difficult to use ' or 'I don't understand it so could never use it' ???

I ask as one of my students brought in Panasonic P&S and I was astonished at how fiddly it was and, in fact, far from user friendly as so many functions were buried in menus. I remarked to him that my Canon is more user friendly as all you have to do is look through the viewfinder and press away. It just struck me that while compact cameras are small they are are a pain in terms of ergonomics and set up.

[Gareth C]

Thats pretty true. I searched for a long time for a nice point and shoot that was both 'point and shootable' and actually gave decent results. I now have it with me almost any time I got out.

People always talk about 'not understanding" but at the end of the day any modern SLR can be fully auto (as you stated) and give incredible results. On the flip side manual mode gives me the 'fun' apsect of photography.

MY problem with SLR's is their size and the fact that I want stuff like aperture 'on lens'. Thats why, for me, I went the rangefinder route. I have f1.4 lenses that are so small and with a rangefinder I can easily handhold at 1/2 second.

Having said all that I did use a 5D again the other day and was impressed yet again. I love the fact that it offers full-frame and yet isn't as big as I imagined (or remembered) it being.

[Richard.John]

It just the little things like the LCD top panel that do it for me in regards of ease of use.

My friend is the same as I told her to buy a Nikon D40 or Canon 450D, as she wants the small form factor, but she claims that she would need 'lessons' before taking the plunge. I told her that the cameras are so simple to use, and not to worry. We can but try.

[Ginger Tosser]

I've always found the smaller the camera the more fiddly it is to be creative with it. For simple point and shoot they work (so does an SLR in auto).

[andrewfee]

I think it really depends on the camera, and how well thought-out it is, rather than the size. Many P&S cameras have horrible menus with options buried deep in them, but now we're seeing more with ways to set ISO, white-balance etc with only one or two button presses. (I really liked Casio's EX button on my Z750 which let me set white-balance with one button press)

I'm very disappointed with the choices most manufacturers are making now though. It seems everyone, including Fujifilm, is getting caught up in the "Megapixel race" which means worse images for all of us. 6MP is the sweet-spot for a compact camera in my opinion; high enough resolution for a lot of detail, but large enough photosites to avoid a ton of noise.

More and more cameras are coming with "mid-range" zooms now, starting at around 36mm, rather than having something wide. I'd much rather see something like 24-72mm.

I love the look of the new Nikon P5000 camera, but I'd want it with a wider lens, and a 6MP sensor. (preferably SuperCCD, even though I know that would never happen)

While I love my Finepix F30, there's still plenty of room for improvement there, but with the way manufacturers are going, I probably won't upgrade for years. I have a perfectly usable ISO800 with it, which is insane for a compact camera. With these new 10MP compacts, you're lucky to get a good image at ISO200.

Even the new F40 will probably only be able to go up to ISO400 before things start getting bad, due to the increase in resolution. And why is it that Fuji don't have any kind of IS? Sure, high ISO helps things, but high ISO and IS would be so much better. (I can only hand-hold maybe 1/20 with my F30 before things start getting softer)

I'm also surprised that there are still so few cameras that offer a live RGB histogram as well, which Casio cameras have had for years. It's the one thing that I really miss on my F30.

[JohnMcL7]

I fully agree with you - I'm looking at getting a compact as I'm sick of trying to use an SLR in a social environment but getting nowhere with it as people just don't like such a bit camera. The Panasonic LX2 seems a superb little camera, full manual shooting, widescreen CCD, 28mm equivalent stabilised lens etc. but sadly rubbish ISO performance and an over the top noise reduction system. Rather than try and fix the noise problems with the LX1, they instead made it a whole lot worse and whacked in two more megapixels then forced a smeary noise reduction system on.

I'm tempted by the F30, it's pretty cheap right now and its ISO performance is outstanding - IS and a 28mm lens would be even better but as you've said, Fuji have managed to get themselves caught in the megapixel race as well. I wonder how well the F30 is doing sales wise? It seems popular amongst people who know enough about cameras that it's an excellent compact but I would think the vast majority of people will overlook it due to its 'pathetic' 6MP compared to the current crop of 10MP cameras.

Compact cameras seem very much designed to be switched on and hit the shutter button...if you want to change settings then it's tedious trawling through the menus I always find myself wishing I was using a bigger camera but as mentioned above I'm really needing something discrete so I can get some decent shots where people are happy with the camera.

John

[andrewfee]

I'm tempted by the F30, it's pretty cheap right now and its ISO performance is outstanding - IS and a 28mm lens would be even better but as you've said, Fuji have managed to get themselves caught in the megapixel race as well. I wonder how well the F30 is doing sales wise? It seems popular amongst people who know enough about cameras that it's an excellent compact but I would think the vast majority of people will overlook it due to its 'pathetic' 6MP compared to the current crop of 10MP cameras.

I guess it can't have been selling well enough, seeing as they're upping the resolution.

They've also halved the number of shots it can take, to go with a slimmer battery to thin down the camera a bit with the f40. (I love how the battery on my F30 never seems to run out, even if it's weeks / months between charges)

I am tempted to upgrade to the F31 as it apparently has slightly improved metering and processing, and it seems like the last of the good compacts we'll see for a while.

Compact cameras seem very much designed to be switched on and hit the shutter button...if you want to change settings then it's tedious trawling through the menus I always find myself wishing I was using a bigger camera but as mentioned above I'm really needing something discrete so I can get some decent shots where people are happy with the camera.

Again, this was what I loved about my Exilim; hitting left/right on the directional ring adjusted the exposure compensation without having to go into a menu, and the EX button brought up a quick menu with Size, ISO, White Balance and AF Area (and if you left it on custom WB, all you had to do was press EX then shutter to set a new one) it was by far the quickest compact I've used in terms of responsiveness, and menu design:


(borrowed from dpreview)

I had saved up for a D200 with some nice glass a while back, but in the end I decided against it. While I love the speed, ease of use and options you get with an SLR, I hate the size. Even my F30 is pushing it in terms of what I'd like in a compact after having the Z750 (and it's even bigger compared to the Z60 I got my dad for his birthday) though I don't mind it being a little bit larger if it's got a decent grip like the Nikon P5000. (I'm not 100% happy with how the F30 holds, which is why I can only get around 1/20 looking completely sharp when hand-holding)

I'm just amazed neither Canon, Nikon or Fuji have realised that there's a market for people that want a "pro" (I use the term very loosely) spec. compact camera. I'd happily pay a premium for something with a good 6MP sensor, (at least usable up to ISO400, preferably 800 like the F30) image stabilization, and a fast, wide lens - preferably with a decent grip too, rather than focusing on getting as small as possible. I wouldn't complain if it supported RAW either, but I don't think it's essential on a compact. (though I think something like the P5000 or Canon G7 should have it)