quick question - my ma gave me some $ for a digital camera, and i need some intel. my pa thinks canon is the way to go (it's just for point and shoot/light travel purposes), and the only feature he said to insist on was optical image stabilization. do you have anything to add/subtract? lemmeknow, k?
I'll side step the whole sensor size / depth of field trade off as I've covered it the past. Lets just say that don't get alot of contol of DOF in a digtal P&S so if that photographic tool is important to you, don't buy a digital point and shoot.
Moving right along.
Camera Shiznit:
I really recommend the reviews on this site:
www.dpreview.com
Query their database by feature/cost/brand/formfactor etc... Their reviews are very comprehensive... so comprehensive in fact that I'd recommend skipping to the conclusion.
I generally agree with your Pops on Image Stabilization (IS)... be careful there are a lot of cameras that advertise IS but are really just choosing higher shutter speeds and calling it IS, read the fine print.
I don't think Stabilization is that important unless you get a camera with a big zoom range. Out @ 150mm + you need some help holding that lens still. I personally would much rather have the wide end of the zoom than the long. The difference in how an image looks @ 28mm wide vs 38mm wide is HUGE where as the difference between 120mm and 180mm is minor. Also lens quality goes down as zoom range goes up.. what good is a 38-420mm zoom if the images look like shit? 28mm on the wide end is very rare in the compact camera segment because the average consumer doesn't know what the numbers really mean. They think high numbers must be better so they choose the 38-420mm piece of shit lens over the 28-70mm sharp lens. Personally I'd love to have sharp 24-48mm F1.4 (great for low light) in a compact camera. But its never going to happen.
Canon makes the S80 with a 28-110 lens that reviewed pretty well. I'm not sure its still in production. Panasonic also builds wide angle compacts but they apparently have some image quality issues.
Most compact cameras are worthless after about ISO 200. Fuji builds their own sensors and has developed great technology for for better iso performance... so if shooting indoors/low light is important to you you might consider this camera which got a stellar review and has OPTICAL Stabilization:
It tears my heart but I'm about about to abandon film. It kills me because I've built an absolutely beautiful medium format camera rig over the last year at a cost of about $3000. Its the system I've dreamed of owning for ten years. Now that I have it I find that I'm not happy with it. Its slow, hard to focus, heavy, expensive ($1.20/frame). It really requires a herculean effort to get just few good shots out it. Thoes few good ones are usually spectacular.
Every day I see amazing shots by folks who have owned a digtal SLR less than a year. They shoot, adjust, re-shoot tweak and publish. I'm tired of waiting for film to come back only to be disappointed by what is on the film. I want to be able to fix my fuckups while i'm still shooting.
I'm waiting for Nikons next pro-body announcement and if its not full frame* I'm dumping the last remnants of my Nikon system and buying a canon 5D.
Anyone know where I can get a good price for my Soul while I'm at it?
- J F S
*Full Frame = Image sensor the same size as a frame of 35mm film (24mm x 36mm) Most digital SLR's use a "cropped" sensor making it more difficult to control depth of field.
The Iron Giant *KICKS ASS* ! No matter how many times I watch it with bot on the couch I never get tired of it. Same with Nightmare Before Christmas.
Take your average "very busy day" at work and multiply it by three... thats what my day was today. Consider that on average I move about 30 loads of freight per month or about 1.4 loads per day.
Today I moved NINE.
Thats 9 loads.
NINER, NINE-O-MATIC, NINEAMOUS, NINECHO.
As in 30-fucking-percent of a MONTHS' worth of business in one day. I took lunch break too. Can't wait till pay day.
A friend of mine who is a dance instructor is hosting a series of dance nights in ashland this month. I plan to be there it should be really good time with plenty of drinking afterward. You don't need to be a fantastic dancer to have a blast. Ladies if you can move your feet, you can learn enough swing in ten minutes to follow a half decent lead so come on out!! Here is the dirt:
What's up? This is an open Swing Dance. There won't be any real formal instruction, but Nate and I will each bring an intermediate step to share, for those who are interested. We'll be playing various tempos of Big Band/Swing music for Lindy, Balboa, Charleston and East Coast Swing.
When? Tuesdays, July 17 & 24 (also July 31, if people are still interested) 7:00-8:30.
Where? Grove Gym, 1195 E Main Street in Ashland. (It's air conditioned!)
How Much? We're asking $2/person to help pay for the room, etc.
This movie KICKS ASS!! I just flatout loved it. They didn't get all distracted by potential sub plots or love lines... they kept the story clean and robots trey kewl. My favoriteGatling gun with an air frame wrapped around it (A-10) got a bit part. Jukes joint strike fighter was a lead bad guy... I have a feeling I may be taunted about that. Bumped in to N & J which was cool/weird... I have this little itch in the back of my head... like I should know these folks better.
