On 5/18/2010 8:00 AM, Ken Norton wrote:
>> Moose wrote:
>>> I'd be much more interested in things like an E-620 or 550D or any of
>>> several APS sensor small DSLRs. My guess is that the 550D will run rings
>>> around any of the mirrorless compacts to date when it comes to IQ
>>>
>> and
>>
>>> flexibility in use - and the size difference doesn't matter for my needs.
>>
> That may be true, but where have we actually reached the point of sufficiency?
>
Back on 2/17, I wrote about sufficiency under the topic "Photographic
contentment". Among other things, I said 'Perspective ...
The "old" 5D is up to 3 yrs, 9 mos and 8700 images. I have to say, I'm
still pretty darned happy with it.'
I'm now up to 4 yrs and almost 10,000 shots and still pretty darned
happy with it.
I also said "Then there's the small camera category. Again I find myself
happy with what I have. After years of feeling like I don't have what I
want/need, the G11, while imperfect, fills so many of the things a small
camera should have and do so well that I'm for the first time paying no
attention to new high end P&S announcements."
And that's still true, too, although I have gone through a burst of
interest in the S90 as a more pocketable compact.
> When my "for hire" work, event, wedding and portrait photography is sufficed
> by the "horrid" 5MP E-1, it's hard to get too excited about "more better". My
> customers ain't complaining, it's just me wanting something a little easier,
> more or better. But that comes with a price.
>
As you know, my situation is much different. My "client" is myself, and
he's a demanding fellow ...
In your situation, I'd almost certainly be keeping an eye out for a
cheap, "low mileage" second E-1 for the bread and butter stuff and run
them 'til they drop. For my personal satisfaction work, though, I'd be
doing something different. And you are, but with film, where I've gone
newer digital. So we've chosen different details, but the same thing,
something more than the same old 5MP DSLR.
I do go back and forth a bit. I'm out in nature quite often in the shade
of trees, on overcast days and as the light fades at the end of the day.
At those times, I sure wish for more high ISO performance and there are
certainly times when live view would be useful. So I occasionally dream
of a 5DII.
Recently, shooting in the field, I've been wishing for more DOF. I know,
I know, shallow DOF for separation is an asset of FF. But then other
times, it's not. So I've been thinking how an APS sensor camera might
have some advantages. I still have the 300D as a back-up, but it's not
as good an APS camera as the 5D cropped.
As you've pointed out more than once, APS and 4/3 are very close in
vertical dimension, so I could get something close to two stops eq. in
additional DOF at any given aperture. That assumes something about the
lenses used that I need to think out further.
In the mean time, I've taken quite a few duplicate close-up images on my
last few outings, 28-300 at the long end or 90/2.8 vs. G11 @ 28mm in
Macro mode. Haven't as yet looked closely at them, though. I did manage
to blow a few with the G11. Somehow, I got the camera looking for faces
and it refused to focus on close-up things other than faces, giving me
several blurry flowers with nicely focused distant backgrounds.
It'd be nice to be able to disable the features I never use, so I can't
screw up so easily (I still can't figure out exactly how I did that.)
Hey, wait a minute, one of the functions I've ignored is My Menu, where
I can have only menu items I usually use. Well, not all that useful, but
when I put an innocuous item in it at the top, a mistaken press of the
menu button brings up My Menu, with less chance of an unintended
settings change than the main menu.
Moose
Moose
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