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Author Topic: A Matter of Character  (Read 73000 times)

Pete_G

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #140 on: April 30, 2013, 06:03:00 pm »

My first SLR had character - a Practica. Solid East German engineering to raise hard currency through sales to the capitalists. It went well with my Duffle coat and compensated for my failure to convincingly grow my hair long. My first digital camera had character - a Nikon Coolpix 950, with the rotating lens and sensor unit, an excellent design  which I was sorry to see Nikon abandon. I dropped it into an estuary while climbing out of a kayak. My current Sigma DP2 Merrill has character. The idiot savant of contemporary cameras, challenged in daily life but very good at  its speciality.



Yeah, a Practica was my first REAL camera, after a Halina 35X. I bought it new, and can still remember the smell of it. A Meritar lens, if I remember. FWIW I too have a DP2 Merrill now, not quite as mad as the Practica, but almost.
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Ziuko

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #141 on: May 06, 2013, 09:22:38 am »

Interesting mix of cameras.  I ws predominantly interested in travel so mine were of necessity small and rugged.
I started with a Rollei 35 led fully manual camera, all through uni and travelling around america, I think it eventually died, I then picked up a second hand OM1 with a 50 mm f1.4 lens, for a big trip trip to Peru, where I shot every thing on Kodak Chrome 64 for the quality. Those two fully manual cameras were what connected me to photography,
The Rollei was manual flash as well, but I got used to using it, I guess I just got used to assessing what aperture to set for the flash even when drunk at Uni !

I traded the OM1 for an OM2sp but it was never quite the same, and then I got OM4Ti which was superbly built, but I still reckon the best pictures I got were with he OM1 and a 50mm f1.8 lens. I have an E 300 which has never inspired and is left in the cupboard these days in favour of the i-phone due to convenience.  But the new Fuji cameras have peaked my interest.

I think  the manufacturers have  over complicated photography, after all for a given lens and ISO, its shutter speed and aperture to get the exposure you want plus focus.  I think what I liked about the OM1 was the analogue exposure metre , the needle moving gave a feel for the exposure effect of the change in aperture etc. Also one 50 mm lens made you think and frame subjects more carefully.  I have been waiting for a full frame compact that did the basics well .
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Rhossydd

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #142 on: May 06, 2013, 09:47:14 am »

Welcome to Lula :-)
I think what I liked about the OM1 was the analogue exposure metre , the needle moving gave a feel for the exposure effect of the change in aperture etc.
I was thinking about this when I posted above.
There really is something very straight forward and intuitive about the OM1's metering. In addition the perfect placing of shutter speed and aperture controls, all immediately to hand, made it all completely natural and fast to use.
Quote
I have been waiting for a full frame compact that did the basics well.
I had and loved Rollei 35Bs too.
Unfortunately I don't think we'll ever see anything quite like a digital Rollei 35/Minox35/Fuji Super mini. It must be possible, but the marketeers just won't see a camera like this worth building. Maybe one day when the current madness of development pace slows down as the market saturates and there's less technological development possible, they'll spot the opportunity.
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Metsolve

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #143 on: May 14, 2013, 05:23:55 am »

In 1964 it was the Yashica D twin lens reflex.  As a young trainee, I would have preferred the Rolleiflex T f2.8 that my boss used but my budget didn't come close.  I learned the trade with that Yashica and put hundreds of rolls through it.  It never let me down.  The lens was slightly sharper than the Rollei too.  Much to my boss's surprise .  Then as now. The lens mattered more than anything else.

Many cameras followed including Linoff, Leica and Pentax. None really grabbed me until in 1973 I bought a Nikonos to try underwater photography.  Dead simple, manual everything, great viewfinder and the best wind on lever ever designed.  I found as a general, go anywhere, rugged picture taker, it was perfect and we were inseparable for years.

2013 and I just bought my fifth digital camera.  It may just be my third true love!  I wasn't expecting much of the Nikon V1 but it was so cheap, hardly more than the price of the two lenses that came with it and I wanted to try the EVIL idea without spending a fortune.  Apart from the price, the other brands still seem too big.  Not the bodies, the lenses.  I wanted a grab and go, travel alterative, to my full frame outfit that is just not portable enough. (no character either).   For the last few weeks I have been walking around with the V1 and 30-110 around my neck and the 10-30 in my pocket.  I've made prints as big as my 3880 can manage and I'm very happy.  The size and weight are just right.  Speed an accuracy is very impressive.  There are a few warts of course, most characters have them.   I took Michaels advice and put a piece of gaffer tape over the 'mode' dial.  It works well.  The settings I have settled on, after a bit of trial and error, are as follows; Centre weighted AE, auto ISO A3200 and exposure mode on manual.  This gives me full control of shutter speed and aperture and the camera takes care of exposure via ISO.  Of course I have to guess what ISO the camera is choosing but I can do that well enough after all these years.  I am not worried about high ISO noise with this camera anyway.  Its fine.  I can tell you, after selling photos in the local gallery for years, if a patron likes an image, a bit of noise doesn't matter.  Only photographers notice it anyway.  Normal people only see the art and noise has to be pointed out. Then they peer closely and say "Oh yes, I see."  Audiophiles don't listen to music, only gramophones.  Photographers need to watch out for a similar trap.
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Rob C

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #144 on: May 14, 2013, 06:40:05 am »

In 1964 it was the Yashica D twin lens reflex.  As a young trainee, I would have preferred the Rolleiflex T f2.8 that my boss used but my budget didn't come close. 


Never heard of that, I had a T and it was a 3.5/75 Tessar... not a great model of the Rollei, but better than nothing, and second-hand (at least), all I could afford at the time.

Rob C

WalterEG

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #145 on: May 14, 2013, 06:57:21 am »

Audiophiles don't listen to music, only gramophones.


Ooooh, I'll have to poach that one.  Goes hand in hand with my comment about cameras and pianos.  "I a guy buys a piano, he owns a piano.  If a guy buys a camera,he's a photographer."
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kencameron

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #146 on: May 14, 2013, 08:12:28 am »

The settings I have settled on, after a bit of trial and error, are as follows; Centre weighted AE, auto ISO A3200 and exposure mode on manual.  This gives me full control of shutter speed and aperture and the camera takes care of exposure via ISO. 
Interesting setting. I will give it a try on a similar camera. It seems to take a bit of a leap of faith to trust ISO 3200, but I guess that just shows my age.
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Ken Cameron

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #147 on: May 14, 2013, 11:51:12 am »


Ooooh, I'll have to poach that one.  Goes hand in hand with my comment about cameras and pianos.  "I a guy buys a piano, he owns a piano.  If a guy buys a camera,he's a photographer."


The way I heard it was: If a guy buys a piano, he's a penist...

;-)

Rob C

Paul Sumi

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #148 on: May 14, 2013, 05:37:04 pm »

Life-long amateur photographer.  My first "real" camera was the Minolta SRT-101, and it was the Kodak DC260 that got me into digital.

But it was the Olympus E-10 that sealed the deal, character-wise.  It was the first camera since my Minoltas that whispered, "let's go play," and I credit this camera with resurrecting a joy of photography that had previously fallen to the level of mere holiday and vacation snaps.

Since then, I have shot with a series of Canon DSLRs; very competent imaging tools when I need to "get the shot," but soulless - none of them invite me out to play.

These days, the Fuji X-Pro 1 is my "play" camera.  Part of the appeal is retro - a real shutter speed dial and aperture ring, even if the manual focusing is fly by wire.  Not sure if it reaches the same level as the E-10, but I really enjoy shooting with it.

Paul
« Last Edit: May 14, 2013, 05:48:01 pm by Paul Sumi »
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wolfnowl

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #149 on: May 14, 2013, 06:11:35 pm »

An Argus A-four (my dad's) was my first 'real' camera.  Four f/stops, 5 shutter speeds (including B), no batteries, no lightmeter, no rangefinder, fixed lens.  I just about wore out what was left of it.

Argus a-four (35mm) by HamWithCam, on Flickr

A Pentax Spotmatic-F was my first camera with interchangeable lenses; that opened a whole new world for me.

I've got a dozen or so old cameras, all purchased for different reasons.  I still like my Yashica Mat-124G for what it means to use it.

Mike.

P.S. And if I may, Kodachrome 25.  Definitely a film with character.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2013, 06:35:19 pm by wolfnowl »
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If your mind is attuned t

Metsolve

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #150 on: May 14, 2013, 07:02:14 pm »


Never heard of that, I had a T and it was a 3.5/75 Tessar... not a great model of the Rollei, but better than nothing, and second-hand (at least), all I could afford at the time.

Rob C
Sorry Rob.  It was 50 years ago.  Probably an F not T.  I'm sure f2.8 is right though.
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Rob C

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #151 on: May 15, 2013, 04:00:54 am »

Sorry Rob.  It was 50 years ago.  Probably an F not T.  I'm sure f2.8 is right though.


Now I envy you; yep, f2.8 Planar and Xenotar were the choices, I think, but since they were so far out of reach I didn't pay too much attention... They brought out a Helmut Newton-branded one for a while; it was even more ridiculously priced, which just goes to show you that MF pricing had always been subject to grandiose imaginations.

;-)

Rob C

MAN

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #152 on: June 18, 2013, 07:03:42 pm »

Thanks for the article. I even learned something that I did not find in the XPro-1 manual. Which reminds me of the quirky absence of an index in the manual.

I love the fact that I can use my Leica 90m summicron lens and use it effectively on the Fugi.

I do find it annoying that the 18-55 zoom lens protrudes very much into the optical viewfinder, especially when using the hood. The Leica lens with hood does so only moderately. Fugi needs to make the lens offset or the camera wider to separate the rangefinder optical viewfinder more from the lens.

Ultimately I would love to see them design the full frame rangefinder. If you have any pull with Fugi designers, perhaps you would consider this complaint. I do not like the 35mm format. I am amazed that this format from the video industry has had such success in the still camera. I much prefer the 5:4 format. I hope you will plug a 35:28 mm sensor - more data, better portrait format and more compatible with lenses designed for a 36:24 mm format.

Thanks again!
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Michael Newsom

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Re: A Matter of Character
« Reply #153 on: November 30, 2013, 03:52:03 am »

Might as well get this one going a bit.

In small cameras, the Leica M4, Pentax Spotmatic, Nikon F, Nikon F3, Canon F1, Contax G2.

Medium format, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad 501.

Large Format, Deardorff 5x7 and 8x10 as  well as Linhof Technika.

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