Hi Denys :)
Thanks for an excellent write up... Did some hands on research last
night at Circuit City (the "Better Half" was getting something I am not
allowed to see for about 10 days :) )
I am not a professional photographer by any means... But like many
on this list ... In High School got more than a few pics into the HS
Newspaper (was on the staff for a couple of years but that is a 'nother
set of ramblings)
I love to shoot candids... (much to my Mom-In-Law's display as she
is a "Poser" and hates candids!) ... So I have to be able to pull,
turn-on camera, Focus and SHOOT... And do it fast... Sorta like weapons
... And it is a second nature to do so with my Minolta X-700 (got the
model last night after digging it out of storage)
Canon - Good camera... On/Off Switch located in lower middle of the
body... Not to bad... But would take some getting used to ...
Nikon - top Right side of Body... Right where the On/Off Switch is
on my X-700... Good and easy to use...
Sony - Aleph in particular... Um... You got to be kidding!!! Switch
was little and located on upper Left part of body... Being a Left hander
that was "corrected upon adoption" this was just plain weird! I ended
up using both hands to turn the camera on and then go to my usual right
hand holding body and left hand on lens
Both Canon and Nikon really could snap and snap and snap... I tested
by doing a "quick fire exercise" of firing 30 rounds as fast as possible
in a general direction... Fast and clean...
So Far... Canon and Nikon are leading the pack... In NASCAR terms...
They are still on the lead lap and the rest are a minimum of one lap
down... Sony may get the "Lucky Dog" by the fact that they do support my
Vivitar lens... But as someone pointed out... That lens is 21+ years old
and was only median quality rating wise back then...
So the quest continues with more info than ever... And lots of
drooling over the Telephoto lens... Hehehe... We have lots of wildlife
in our back yard and want to get better photos of the Eagle when he is
around (we assume it is a 'he;=' :) I ain't getting close enough to
those talons to find out! ) and the Beavers (we have a Beaver Dam and 3
Beavers as our backyard)
Art "hmmm.... How much was the budget Hon? " Bahrs
Art Bahrs, CISSP
Security Engineer
Providence Health & Services
[log in to unmask]
Phone: 503-216-2722
-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Denys Beauchemin
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 6:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Anybody There?
Over the summer, I bought a Nikon D60. It's a phenomenal camera and one
of the most important qualities it has is that it is FAST and for me,
that made a big difference. Let me explain.
In the 60s and 70s I was a camera buff, I ran around with a
top-of-the-line Minolta (could not afford a Nikon (sigh),) taking
pictures all the time.
Many of my pictures made it to the student paper at college. Also there
was a properly equipped darkroom at the university and I learned how to
develop and print my own material. I upgraded the camera a few times
over the years, but as we know cameras were not changing much in those
days.
In 2000, I got a Nikon Coolpix 995 as my first real digital camera.
This one had a 3 megapixel sensor and add-on lenses. I bought an Epson
printer to go with it and I went to town with pictures. After a while,
I came to hate the camera, the shutter lag was horrible and startup time
was measured with a calendar. I had a wide assortment of pictures of
back of heads and children running around and away from the camera. The
caption on these pictures had a common thread: "Just a few seconds
before the picture..." I got so frustrated with the camera, it would
only come out in very special events, taking one or two posed pictures
and then back in the closet. I even used my old SLR to take some
pictures, and while I loved the responsiveness and the ability to
compose the picture in the viewfinder (including depth of field, etc,) I
was really unhappy about using film again; it really reduced my options
as I could do so much more with digital.
Plus film limited the number of pictures I could take.
I decided that my next camera would be a D-SLR with interchangeable
lenses and it would have to be fast and with a high pixel count; I was
also hoping to have a 24X36 mm (FX) sensor. So, I waited and read some
reviews every six months or so.
Finally, Nikon released the D60 and I read a lot about it. It was a
D-SLR with interchangeable lenses. Its sensor is 10MP, but it is the DX
format, meaning that it's smaller than the FX that I wanted so the
lenses have a
1.5:1 magnification effect. But what was most critical to me was the
speed and responsiveness of the camera. That was the big feature touted
by Nikon and reviewed by many.
So, I took the plunge and the camera showed up at my doorstep a few days
later. I'm one of those quys who actually read the entire owner's
manual and this one has a big manual, because it has a lot of features.
The very first thing I tested was the responsiveness of the camera; how
quick does it start up and how's the lag between pressing the shutter
and getting the picture?
In a word, this puppy is fast. I can push the button to turn it on and
by the time the camera reaches my eye, it's ready. When I press the
shutter, there is no lag that I can detect; the picture gets taken there
and then.
And the pictures are great, at 10MP, the resolution of the digital
camera exceeds the equivalent film camera's approximate 8MP resolution.
I realize that resolution is going to keep on climbing, but 10MP is
extremely usable for my purposes. I am now considering a new printer to
do this size justice. An Epson printer, of course. Film has passed
into oblivion, there is simply no reason to use film-based cameras in
this day and age, unless one has more money than sense and there is no
way I would recreate a darkroom in my house; my darkroom is my computer
and printer.
The camera is a usable format, not as big as an equivalent 35mm camera
and not as heavy but it has a very solid feel to it. There is a wide
panoply of features in this camera and for an old camera buff like me
that ran around with a manual SLR adjusting aperture and shutter speed
as needed, this camera caters to those whims as well as doing everything
for me if I so desire.
I bought a Lexar professional SDHC 4gb card for it, and it has room for
510+ pictures at the fine setting, the Lexar has the fastest throughput
around.
I charged the battery when I first got it some months ago and I have
take about 400 pictures so far, many with flash and I have yet to
recharge the battery. My old 995 chewed up AA batteries with vigor and
drained the rechargeable ones with enthusiasm. I always had to carry a
spare set or two if I was going to some kind of event that would require
more than 20-30 pictures.
The D60's sensor is made by Sony, but the camera and lenses are pure
Nikon.
I have since bought a higher magnification zoom lens for it (should be
here
tomorrow,) also with the vibration reduction feature and I am having fun
with a camera again. I have taken action pictures in series, and while
that would have required the motor drive on my film SLR, the D60 keeps
on shooting and with the Lexar, it doesn't ever have to stop.
To top everything off, the price of this camera and the lenses is quite
affordable. While the FX sensors still have prices in the multiple
thousands, this DX sensor camera is in the higher multiple hundreds and
the lenses designed for it are in the lower hundreds. What's not to
like?
Warning, pontification ahead.
With the advent of digital cameras, one needs to decide whether (s)he
wants a camera made by an electronics company or a camera (optics)
company. My choice has always been for a camera made by a camera
company. Nikon gets its sensors from Sony, an electronics company, and
packages them in cameras with lenses that it knows how to build. Nikon
knows cameras and it shows; Nikon also offers a wide range of
accessories for their cameras, precisely because they are a camera
company and they understand the needs of a photographer. The only other
brand I would consider is Canon; I consider the rest to be a pile of
third rate junk.
So Art, good luck on your Quest but as for me the Quest ended when I
purchased the D60, now the adventure resumes; photography is fun again.
Denys...
-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Art
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [HP3000-L] Anybody There?
Hi All :-)
Haven't seen any emails since Friday???
So a quick update on the digital camera quest.. Patrick S. gave me a
simply awesome site www.DPReview.com for learning and reviewing Cameras!
Several (meaning lots!) of people gave some great input. John K. gave
some really good insights on being wary of the bias towards Nikon which
is a great camera company. but maybe a great digital image company is
what I need?
Looking at the Canon 50D & 40D. but for those who mentioned it.
talked with the Sony Store Camera guy (he owns a 400 Aleph I believe)
did say that since they had acquired Konica which had (I guess) acquired
Minolta that the Sony digital cameras would use the Minolta lenses -
PROVIDED the Minolta lens was made after 1984!
So, the Quest continues!
Art "Withdrawal symptoms are setting in" Bahrs
=========================================
Art Bahrs, CISSP
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