18 Apr
2004
18 Apr
'04
2:39 p.m.
On Sun, Apr 18, 2004 at 12:55:54PM -0700, Zane H. Healy wrote:
As for the quality of consumer grade digital cameras,
some of them
are surprisingly good. Though they all seem to insist on recording
the images as JPEGs :^(
Not mine - if I want to chew up memory, I can save as raw or as
TIFF. I think all of the 4MP+ cameras do TIFF.
For some of what I do with pictures, a digital camera
wins hands
down, as it offers more than enough resolution, and better quality
than I can get from film without spending a small fortune.
I have both kinds with me - a Pentax P3 with a stable of lenses
(50mm, 30mm-70mm, 70mm-300mm and 19mm), and an Olympus E-10 with
an equivalent 35mm-140mm plus a 1.5x magnifier.
Where the consumer grade cameras are bad is the levels
of zoom. I
really want one of the nice Nikon SLR digital cameras.
I'm happy with my E-10; it was $600, factory refurbed. The zoom is
*mechanical* (I have had issues with all these electric zooms giving
me grief in the cold), and has a good range for most uses. The other
really nice feature is that I have the "bulb" attachment. I was
photographing the Aurora Australis yesterday with a 30 sec exposure.
The other guys here with digital cameras are limited to 16 seconds,
which is not enough. Incidentally, that's why I have the 19mm lens
on my 35mm camera - big sky pix.
My boss is into 3D photography. Personally, I'd love to get one of
those old Russian slit-type panoramic cameras; that's where _my_ real
interest is - formats with proportions other than 3x5.
--
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 19-Apr-2004 02:30 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -71.2 F (-57.4 C) Windchill -82.40 F (-63.6 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 4.6 kts Grid 082 Barometer 689.5 mb (10270 ft)
Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html