• Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-E1,  Photography,  Vision

    Strange Characters

    November 20, 2013
    Strange Characters
    Strange Characters

    The X-E1 is my first camera with an EVF (electronic viewfinder). My first impression was: slow. (Notice I said was.) DPReview uses the word “laggy” in their review. I’ll call it slow. At first this bothered me as I’m use to having a DSLR camera in my hand where I can pull the camera up to my eye as I turn it on. Once it’s at my eye I can shoot immediately. This is not true of the EVF or LCD on the X-E1. I must wait a second or two for them to settle in. As I’ve gained more familiarity with the camera I’ve come to appreciate this. It has shown me a trait of looking through the viewfinder too quickly. Now, when I’m turning on the camera and raising it up to my eye I’m taking more time. This allows me to continue to look at the whole scene and not just what the viewfinder allows. So, even though the EVF is slower than an optical viewfinder it may help me be a better observer and to anticipate a scene about to appear.

    I’ve been using a G12 for a couple of years now for my travels. It has an optical viewfinder but I use the LCD 99% of the time.This was mainly due to the usefulness of the information I was able to use on the LCD that was not in the viewfinder. The electronic viewfinder on this X-E1 will display the same shooting information as it shows on the LCD. Cool! I’ve also come to check out the exposure compensation meter on the lower left corner of the viewfinder as moving the exposure compensation dial on top is quite easy to move.

    Who are those strange characters in the above image? Using your imaginations you can see some of our blogging friends, or yourself, hiding behind the goggles. 🙂

     

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  • Camera Equipment,  Holiday Seasons

    A New Backup

    December 23, 2011
    Tree Ornament

    I’ve been having trouble with the Main Command Dial on my D300. I find when I want to change shutter speeds or adjust my EV, it takes a couple of clicks to get it to change. My first indications was when it started to stiffen up. It makes sense to me as that is the most used dial I use on my camera. I’ve been looking for quite some time in having another D300 as a backup but did not want to put out the money and wondering if it would be more feasible to wait for the next generation to come out. I’ve been using my old D100 as a backup but I’m noticing some switch issues with it also. Financially a used D300(s) would be a better solution than paying a higher price for the next generation. I found a used D300 on Craigslist that’s a year newer than mine and with about 50k actuations. He told me bought it to play with Photomatix HDR and therefor the higher shutter count. The price fit my budget and he threw in the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens. We ran it through a few tests then made a deal with him. So, here is a shot of one of my tree ornaments using the camera with the lens. So, I guess I bought myself a Christmas present!

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  • Photography,  writing/reading

    Attachments

    June 18, 2011
    My Attachments

    One thing airline passengers struggle with is letting go of their portable electronic devices. The attachment to these devices can prevent them from being present to the moment at hand. On every flight we see passengers come on board the aircraft attempting to get in as much airtime before we get in the air. Or, maybe they have ear plugs stuck in their ears or multi-colored headsets that prevent them from hearing you welcome them on board. Or, maybe they are so intent with text messaging they stumble when stepping on board or run into the person in front of them. These antics are so symbolic of our unhealthy attachments to our things.

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  • animals,  Camera Equipment,  Canon Powershot G12

    The Look

    March 6, 2011
    The Look

    Some subjects do not want their photo taken of them. In the image above my sisters cat Willow, is giving me that annoyed look as I take practice shots of her. This has come about with the purchase of the Canon Powershot G12. Yes, a point and shoot. I have been looking at buying one for quite some time and finally weakened enough to lay out the cash for it. I’ve never owned a point and shoot but so many of you seem to like the options they offer. I plan on using it while I fly, making it so much easier to pack and carry than my DSLR is. I chose the G12 since they no longer have the S90 in production and the S95 and G12 were almost the same price. I also could not afford the M8. 🙂

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  • Camera Equipment,  Humor,  Transportation

    Maybe a telephoto lens …

    April 19, 2010
    Running Away

    … would have worked better in this image. I shoot almost exclusively with a small 35mm f1.8 lens because most of my photography is focused on what’s around me. However, I’ve found there are times when the telephoto lens would be a better choice such as the image above. A telephoto lens would have been a better choice when trying to shoot a photo of this semi truck as it comes towards me rather than a wide angle. I found it difficult to  keep my focus and framing while running as fast as hell, camera behind my back and shooting blindly. Yep, a telephoto lens would have been a better choice. Have a super day! 🙂

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  • Camera Equipment,  Photography

    Cameras I've owned

    January 25, 2010

    Lost in Thoughts

    Paul Lester had an interesting post about the cameras he has owned. The post started an interesting thread so I decided to follow suit and list the cameras I’ve owned. I was surprised at how many cameras there have been. I’m also surprised I can’t remember what the brands and models of some of them were. Getting older!

    1. Yashika Twin-lens reflex – Not sure what model it was (124) or how I received it. I shot black and white film and developed it in my dad’s basement with the help of a man who I worked for.
    2. A Pentax or Canaon 35mm SLR bought in 1970. Strange I can’t remember what it was. Anyway I sold it and the Yashika TLR, when my wife and I needed to purchase a washer/dryer for the our first house.
    3. Nikon EM – bought partly because of the all black body. 🙂 Still have it but it doesn’t work.
    4. Nikon FG – another nice simple camera.
    5. Nikon FE2 – wish I still had this one.
    6. Nikon N70 – never did like this one for some reason
    7. Nikon N80 – shot my first weddings with this one and actually owned two.
    8. Nikon D100 – my introduction into digital (Loved it) and still have both of them
    9. Nikon D300 – Have no desire to move on to another one, yet. I do keep up on the latest and greatest, so I’m known to fall prey to “camera body lust.”

    Not sure why the draw to Nikon. I sometimes think I would rather have worked into the Canon world as I feel they have a more appealing range of lens to change from and a nicer price. Thanks for your interesting post, Paul.

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  • Art/Design

    Morning Light and Shadows

    December 20, 2009

    Morning Light and Shadows

    I am sitting in my hotel room in Richmond, VA. The flying has been tough the last two days with all the snowy and cold weather moving across the country and pounding the eastern coast. Not much opportunity to get out and shoot so I grabbed one from a few days ago. It is lightly snowing now and expected to continue through the night.  This was taken a few days ago and is one of those images where I just wanted to fire off a few shots of whatever I was around. Love to hear the shutter.

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