At 07:41 PM 04/02/2002 -0600, Josh Lohuis wrote:
[snip]
Hopefully I will soon get a job, and I "fell" into some money
(thanks Mom and Dad!!), I plan to now buy one or maybe two lenses,
to further
enhance my photographing ability. What to you guys think of:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1327372456
and:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1327377186
and:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1326917758
...or some combination of them. Note: I need a new 50mm because the
aperture on mine sticks, not as bad to stop me from taking pictures, but it
is a nuisance a big nuisance. Maybe somebody has a better idea for my next
purchase (hopefully a lens).
Josh:
I have a couple of "spare" Zuiko 50/1.8's lying around, and they're
in good condition. I'd be happy to send you one for free if you'd
send me your address.
As for taking pictures in extreme cold: since I live in Edmonton,
and we get our share of minus 30 Celsius (but nothing more extreme
these last few years), I thought I'd speak up.
One problem that anyone who's shooting in extreme cold is going to
encounter is brittle film. Another's static electricity. Hearing
your film shred inside your camera as you wind for the next shot
really sucks, and it's almost impossible to salvage, even with a
full darkroom at your disposal. I know, I've tried. Static
discharge as you wind on can create interesting "lightning bolts"
across your negative, also ruining your shots (although serendipity
has provided me with several examples of pictures that were more
interesting because of this effect). Anyways, the best general
trick I've found for keeping a camera relatively warm is to wear
multiple layers of clothing, and to try to keep the camera near the
external layer, and as little exposed to body humidity as possible.
This tends to keep the camera below freezing, but still usable, and
the film can usually handle temperatures down to about -10 Celsius
or so. Be *careful* about the humidity -- your camera can freeze up
mighty fast. Others use handwarmers etc., but I was never able to
get the hang of it. As for gloves, I tend to use a super-thin pair
of nylon slips, plus an overpair made out of fleece. Works so far
-- just pull the overpair off when you need to shoot, and the slips
keep wind etc. off your hands, while allowing for lots of tactile
feedback and good manipulation.
One other idea I've seen for warming the camera, but it seemed bulky
to me, was to carry the camera inside a Coleman-type insulated
cooler (one of the small ones), along with a hand-warmer. Never
tried it myself, but who knows?... it would certainly conquer the
problem of too much humidity from your own body, and you could carry
other gear in there.
Garth
Those of us in warm parts of the world have long used chests to keep
film from being spoiled by the heat. I have used an electric cooler
from Igloo for a number of years. Keeps things refrigerator cool,
not icy. Nicely, all you do is reverse the plug to get heating
instead of cooling. Certainly saves things from a watery grave.
Mine is rather large and bulky, but I saw one recently that looked
just the right size for a camera and film.
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
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