[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 11:24 pm

You’re not getting it are you? Let me draw you a diagram.

Here’s you after being knocked off your high horse, and there, to the left, is a photographer invading your privacy so that future generations can see what happens when trolls who don’t have a clue what they’re on about start commenting on other people’s work.

I said that those who DID COMMENT disagreed with you, and I never claimed to be a photojournalist. I really don’t have to defend statements I never made.

Now John, why don’t you have any photos of your own to show? Does your own photography suck so bad that you feel the need to bring everyone else down to the same level?

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 8:47 pm

They offered me one in exchange for my first born but I’d already promised that to Steve Jobs.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 7:43 pm

Leica M… you win! I played with one of those last month. It was the M9P. The ultimate Leica in my view (well the S series is awesome, but for a different purpose). Full frame, none of the usual bling. Wish they’d let me keep it for a few days.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 6:12 pm

I shoot a lot of street, so the focal length is fine for me. I usually shoot on a 7D (APS-C sensor) with a 18-200m lens, usually at 18mm. That’s not too far off the x100 fixed focal length when you factor in the crop effect. If you shoot street or documentary, the short focal length will encourage/force you to get close, and that’s a good thing, but it rules this camera out straight away for people who like longer focal lengths.

When I picked it up first, it didn’t feel right in my hand. That was through no fault of the camera though. I’m used to the grip of a dSLR, and it took me a long time to get used to the rangefinder-type feel. The other two guys behind our publication shoot mostly film, and both were instantly comfortable with the x100, so that shouldn’t discourage film shooters from considering it.

The dual viewfinder is interesting more than useful. It renders manual focus very difficult though. There are no distance markers on the focus ring, and you need to use one of the LCD screens to see what’s in focus. Although there is a digital distance meter, it can be slow to update after you’ve turned the ring. Having gotten over most of my issues coming from (other) digital, this one remains a problem for me. The autofocus is also a bit slow compared to other cameras I’ve used. While the camera is on, it tries to remain on focus, and it’s weird to feel it rack focus in your hand as you walk around. The odd thing is that I shoot from the hip a lot, so it should be just a matter of clicking the shutter, since it’s trying to keep focused anyway, but it takes about a second to find focus and take the photo. That’s too long in my opinion, especially for a camera with such a short focal length. It’s too long to be in someone’s face, even if you’ve asked permission.

One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned much is its dynamic range. Traditionally, digis have a lower dynamic range than most forms of film (that’s the ability to correctly expose bright, and dark objects in the same scene without blowing out the brights, or crushing the darks). The x100 packs a lot of dynamic range into it’s APS-C size sensor. I’m not sure exactly how it compares with film, and I’m still trying to determine whether it’s high dynamic range setting is just software, or if the sensor is actually more sensitive. The practical applications of this are two fold. As anyone who shoots digital and film knows, film is usually more forgiving when you under of over expose. That’s because of that whole dynamic range issue. This camera is just as forgiving in my opinion. Secondly, when you have a scene with bright, and dark objects, this camera will outperform most others in capturing both the brights and the darks. This added dynamic range also give the photos a somewhat ‘film feel’, especially in black and white shots.

For the people it’s aimed at, it’s well worth a thousand euro, but it’s not for everyone, and a thousand euro is a lot to waste if it’s not for you. Personally, I’d miss being able to zoom in occasionally, and the focus issues would bug me too much, but maybe by the time I write my article, I’ll have changed my mind about that, or found another way to work with it.

I’m gonna be trying a range of 4/3 cameras next month for an article on ‘the death of the dSLR – do mirrors matter anyway?’. I’m excited by all the new mirrorless, dSLR quality cameras on the market, and I think it’s the way to go (but can’t wait to research it thoroughly by trying as many of them as I can and putting them up against a range of dSLRs). The x100 has certainly carved out a nice little niche for itself amongst the mirrorless shooters though.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 5:29 pm

robmgra wrote:

Imagine what kind of a grown man spends his time trying to pick fights on a photography forum. John, seriously boy, * off would ya? or someone in charge ban this idiotic troll who contributes not one iota to this board other than to stir ***** with other members.

NOOO!!! Don’t ban John17. I want to see what he comes out with next.

Okay, all banter aside, John, thanks for voicing your opinion, but I think you’ll agree, your opinion is not shared by the majority of people who commented on the photos. You’re entitled to your opinion nevertheless.

Do us a favour though, grab your 450D and go for a walk. Your opinion would carry more weight if your profile wasn’t so lacking in photos. Taking photos is far more enjoyable than giving out about them, so how about we both get on with enjoying taking photos?

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 5:07 pm

Very sensual. I think you’d lose some of that if you made it black and white.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 4:56 pm

I have a demo model for a few weeks :)

I think if you’re used to shooting film, and you’re thinking of going digi, this would be the camera for you, but try before you buy ’cause a grand’s a lot to spend on a camera you might not like. Being a digi photographer, I found it hard to get used to, but I’m enjoying having it in my jacket pocket, and I think it’s improving my photography. I think anything that forces you to shoot differently does.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 4:19 pm

I meant I’m not happy with them from a technical point of view. Are you still here? I though trolls only came out at night.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 4, 2011 at 10:50 am

Mark wrote:

Folks let’s not get personal please.

Thanks

Ah you’re no fun :)

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 3, 2011 at 10:02 pm

Yeah, I’m not too happy with that rose one (or most of them) now that I’m looking at them again, but sure that’s always the way.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 3, 2011 at 9:14 pm

John, I’ve seen your comments on other people’s posts. Go pick up a camera and take a few photos yourself rather than sitting on a forum giving an uninformed critique when all you’ve posted yourself is a cliché’d photo of a man and his dog.

There’s nothing morally wrong with my photos. End of story.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 3, 2011 at 2:37 pm

Thanks John17. I just took a look at your posts. All you do here is give your subjective opinion on other people’s photos rather than giving an objective critique. Your criticisms of my photos are nothing more than your own personal opinion which could be summarised as “we should only photograph happy people”.

For the record, I wasn’t ‘walking about with a camera hanging from [my] neck”. The camera rarely left my side. Most of the shots in the series (http://andywithcamera.com/category/street/oslo/) are shot from the hip. Also, about a third of the people there had cameras, and that’s a trend that I’ve seen a lot lately. At no point was I asked not to shoot, or to put the camera away. At no point did it feel like an intrusion, more the opposite. It would have been hard being the only photographer in Oslo not taking photographs of this.

As for the ‘message’… the most powerful message to take from this are the words “I refuse to be your enemy”. These words appeared in the city shortly after the attack. They accompany an outdoor photo exhibition running simultaneously in Oslo, Palestine, and Israel. The photos in that exhibition are intended to show people on both sides of a conflict that everybody suffers in war. You’d probably find those photos an intrusion also, but that’s just you.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

September 2, 2011 at 12:34 pm

I just noticed one of the images went missing. It’s back now.

Thanks for the feedback. Just to give some background, I had booked my flight to Oslo the day before the bombing. I wasn’t there to cover it. I was surprised to see so many people, Norwegians, and tourists, with cameras at the memorial, but I’m glad that photos were taken. Photographs are an important part of our cultural memory, and to only record happy memories would be a mistake.

I didn’t make any money off of these photos, although there would be nothing wrong with it if I had. One image was used in http://viewfindermag.com alongside two photographic accounts from Norwegian photographers who covered the blast, and the aftermath.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

January 30, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Hi Sandra,

I’ve bought five 35mm SLRs in the past month. Some were advertised here, some were on adverts.ie. Two were modern canon film SLRs, two were Zenits and one was a Praktica. Some worked straight away, some needed a little bit of work, but the most expensive one was €40 so I can’t complain.

I’d say you can get something decent for under €50 but if you’re looking for something a bit more modern, take a look at http://www.adverts.ie/film-cameras/film-camera-canon-eos-50e-body/318444″ onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;. I was tempted to buy it myself, but I think I’ve spent enough on cameras for one month.

Keep an eye on equipment-for-sale.html and on http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_film+slr/sortby_best_match-desc/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; and you’ll find something soon enough.

[ANDYwithCAMERA]

January 28, 2011 at 1:09 pm

Thanks for the helpful feedback. That’s what I love about this site.