Originally posted by KungPOW Shingoshi,
You are a special breed. Don't ever change.
And I accept it as such! But really, I'm 52 years old and have examined photography since childhood. And I do mean examine. Yes, I practice the art of photography. But I can never get away from my technical and inventive nature. That's why I come up with things that so often confuse people. Dealt with that all my life. I'm looking to change the sensor in the 760/720X to FF. The shutter of the F5 is exactly as it should be, FF. I simply need to check on the size of the mirror that's in the camera I want. If anything, I may have to buy another F5 to have the proper mirror size if the 700 series is different. Then it's just a matter of switching the Kodak DCS imaging module back over to the F5. And did I mention that those cameras have not one but two Type-II slots, while also giving you the option of Type-III as well. There are a lot of things that will fit in those slots. I'm actually looking for a PCCARD computer that conforms to the Type-III format. Because of the sheer size of the camera, there's plenty that can be done with it internally now that was never possible before.
So yes, different age, different economy.
I think different!
Xavian-Anderson Macpherson
ShingoshiDao
EDIT: This is very important to read and understand. I was just reading something here last night about how the designers of cameras have forgotten the importance of beauty. The comment is very true. Go back and read what I said earlier about passion. Not just for the art, but for the tools that produce it also. Beauty inspires greater beauty. I don't think I've owned one camera that I've purchased for which beauty of the camera itself wasn't absolutely essential. It may sound odd. But when you hold a camera in your hands that you not only love to use, but love to look at and hold as well, that love is immediately directed into your perception of your art.
To have and to hold! It's like a marriage. The image becomes the extension of your love for the camera. And I dare say that the more passionate you are about your camera, the more likely you are to be passionate about your image. There's a true intimacy that's developed between the two of you. And nothing should come between the two of you.
For the person who wrote what I read, the LX was their most beautiful camera. For me, it's the Leica R9. The gentle sloping lines reminds me of a woman's body. Something I would simply want to hold and caress, even when not in use. The camera becomes the focal point for the intensity of attention and affection you give to your image. The camera should constantly be whispering to you. It has to be about love, or you're simply doing a job. And that's not the kind of working relationship I want. That's why I said
my camera MUST be my MISTRESS. I brought my Canon T90 for that very reason. I simply loved to hold it in my hands, for the softness of her curves. And my 85mm/f1.2 was like a woman with large breasts. Yes, it has to be about love. Because the other less obvious thing to see, is that with your camera being an extension of yourself, it also becomes a reflection of the love you give yourself through your image. When I saw the Kodak 760, I fell in love with it immediately. All I could do was gasp in awe of it. And that's the awe I give my art.
So, find what you love and keep it. Very close to your heart. EDIT: This would have to be the Hasselblad equivalent of the Nikon Action Finder!
EDIT: Oh, this almost hurts! For years I had let my photography go to the back of my attention. I let things drain the passion I had for it. I just put everything in the bag and forgot about it. But recently with my use of the Sony H50, I've found that love again. And I'm shooting more than I did before. Because it doesn't cost me anything to do so. But I've been a bit forlorn about having to navigate through so many menus to do something as simple as manual focus. And then you have to switch back to deal with your exposure settings. Very time consuming. So I decided I needed to get a close-up lens for the H50.
Problem with Sony is, everything they do is proprietary. Including the selection of something as arcane as a filter adapter thread. The H50 uses a 74mm thread on the lens hood holder. Only Sony would be so stupid. Not for putting the filter thread on the hood holder, but for their choice of thread. 74mm, you have to be kidding! So off I am on the web trying to confirm the size which I had already guessed from using a tape measure. But because I've never seen a 74mm filter thread, I just had to make sure. So I searched the web, and sure enough I verified it. So then I thought I would use the 82mm filters from my big Canon lens. So I got out my 85-300mm f/4.5 to check the fit. That's when I got my surprise. I posted this on another forum about the filter issue:
Quote: I guess I'll have to do as suggested. Because after pulling my Canon 85-300mm/f:4.5, I found out the filter on it won't fit inside the lens hood of the H50. And since most of my filters are 72mm, it doesn't make sense either to buy 77mm as I was also thinking of doing. The REAL upside to all of this, is that after years of having my long zoom sitting inside my case thinking I had damaged it from a drop, it seems to be working just fine now without the shift in focus I thought I was seeing before. Using that lens will really make sense now that I have such a good tripod.
Xavian-Anderson Macpherson
ShingoshiDao
When I made the decision to start shooting back in 1989, one of the three lenses I considered most important to me was the Canon FD 85-300mm f4.5. I was really in love with that lens. But then one day while shooting a conference, I wasn't paying attention to close my camera bag. I walked from the first floor to a lower level, only to attempt to put my bag down when the worst thing of all could have happened. Yes, I dropped my precious lens which I had laid on top of my other equipment in the open bag. I could have screamed. It was a hard floor, likely concrete. But something miraculous may have just happened.
I was checking the size of the 82mm filter I have on that lens to see if it would fit inside the lens hood of my Sony H50. Well it doesn't, but that's not the big point here. What I did find out when I put the lens on my tripod, I found out that it is functioning just fine. Before, I thought the focusing had been thrown off. And I don't remember having it fixed either. Before, I would focus, only to find that zooming would throw it off. And mind you, I never used a tripod with that lens before. I used it handheld with my Metz 60CT4 flash. So I never had to be concerned about movement. Otherwise, I was always outside in bright sunlight.
I wish now that I had a tripod small enough to use with it before. Because the Majestic Twin-Leg tripod with all it's mass simply made no sense to carry around. It was meant for my Sinar, and not to be portable. Why am I writing all of this here? Well because I felt like I had to share this with people who might understand how bad I felt before, and how much better I feel now. I'm rediscovering my soul again. Realizing my 35mm equipment is still viable, and that I can use all of it as I wanted to before, lessens my sense of need to move on to other things. So I'm going to take my time and save money to get the stuff I really want. And not be so inclined to settle for less.