You knew it was just a matter of time before I started to think about camera equipment again… I really love large format, and I would love to take pictures using a large format camera when I go to Egypt, but they’re too big. They’re too heavy, too bulky and completely impractical. Umm, except this one. It would be like using a Leica, except with massive negs. I could also use film backs like a 6×12 cm back with roll film. The only thing that I can see that I don’t like is the price. Yikes! Still, the cheapest one would be less than half of what my photo gear sold for. Oh yeah, that’s still a lot of money. Still, I cringe at the thought of capturing images on the biggest adventure of my life (so far thank you very much) on a dinky little 35mm piece of film. Don’t talk to me about digital cameras, even if there was a reasonably priced camera that I like the image quality of, I can’t imagine using those ergonomic disasters with the squinty, tiny, dark viewfinders. Yes, the Leica has spoiled me…
I think that I will set up my teaching savings account to save up for a camera for the trip. I have almost hit my goal of savings for the trip already, and I don’t leave until the end of August so I shouldn’t have any trouble saving up for it. We’ll see, I’m bound to change my mind again by that point…
Isaac
4 replies on “Please tell me I’m crazy…”
So, you sold all your cameras to save for a trip. Now you’re going to buy a camera to take with you? 🙂
Oh, and I feel like I’m missing something here, but what’s wrong with the great big viewfinder screens on the backs of digital cameras?
I gotta have a camera for the trip! Might as well be a sweet one:-) The problem with the screens on the digital cameras is that they are only for playback on the good ones. By good ones I mean an SLR with a decent sized sensor. Even if I could preview the shot beforehand, it’s in the wrong place, holding the camera away from the body is an awkward and less stable way of shooting. The new Sony camera caught my eye, it has a fixed zoom lens, but with a big sensor. It has a live preview and allows you to put the screen on top of the camera. It could be used as a waist level finder, like my Hassleblad was. Trouble is that it’s still as fiddlly as any other digital camera, way too much crap on it and they get in the way of shooting. I do like the concept of storing shots on a memory card, but it’s still a grand for that camera. Call me silly, but I’m not going to spend that kind of money on a camera unless I really like it:-)
Isaac
What’s a sensor? (You know my dislike for most things digital, so excuse my ignorance.)
And what do you think abou the Leica Digilux 2? I saw it on Amazon and put in on my wishlist on a whim. Not that I expect anyone to buy it for me anytime this century.
The sensor is the thingy that is light sensitive. Just like in film, the bigger the better typically. It gets confusing with digital cameras because people throw all that megapixel crap around. If you have two sensors with the same number of “pixels” on it, but one is twice the size of the other (physically), the larger one will have much less noise, the digital equivalent to grain. The current crop of all in one digicams is a lot like shooting with 110 film. It is possible to get decent results with them, but at the same time, you’re awfully limited, especially in low light. In any case, I’m not going to get a small sensor camera. The Digilux two has a slightly larger sensor than the others, but not enough to really make a difference. You’d enjoy getting a used M6 at that price (although you’d still need a lens) and you’d get far better pictures… Hell, you’d do a lot better with the Pentax *istDL (they have, by far, the most stupid names ever for cameras, for anything really). You can get one for $700 and use the lenses you have right now…
Isaac