I've bought cameras that I had high hopes for and they ended up languishing on a table after the first few attempts at making photographs. As time went by they seemed like more of a burden than a partner and off they went to owners with less romantic ideas about how cameras should feel. Then there are cameras that seem dorky and lumpish that seem to come alive as you use them, tossing a lasso around you and tightening their grip until you hardly think of shooting with anything else. I can never tell when I buy one just how I'll feel but after the first few dates you start to get a sense of which way the relationship will go. I stopped dating a woman once who was incredibly gorgeous and all my friends thought I was nuts. Until I told them that she liked to eat chicken noodle soup with her hands....
I got rid of a well respected Nikon camera because the sound of the shutter was so boring and offensively obvious.
I don't pretend that there's some sort of logical engineering references that inform my decisions. Some cameras work and some don't. I guess it's all very personal. I do know that eating soup with your fingers is not the way to go....
I got rid of a well respected Nikon camera because the sound of the shutter was so boring and offensively obvious.
I don't pretend that there's some sort of logical engineering references that inform my decisions. Some cameras work and some don't. I guess it's all very personal. I do know that eating soup with your fingers is not the way to go....
I take it these are more shots from your beloved Pentax K-01. A coworker of mine loves that camera. Continue to indulge its wishes.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar camera - it's called the Nikon V1. It begs me to use it in ways Internet forum trolls everywhere say it shouldn't be used: such as in low low light, at ISO 3200; or for taking landscape shots containing lots of detail.
I must go. I think I hear V1 calling me. Later.
Funny thing. My current kit consists of both the Pentax K-01 and the Nikon 1 J1, so I am the proud user of two cameras almost universally panned by the photographic cognoscenti. The J1 is a great travel camera; yes, even for landscapes. It is light, fast focusing, takes sharp stills with great color, can record nice video as well, and with only two small lenses I can cover the 35 mm equivalent focal range of 28-300 mm. I may not be able to make enormous prints from the files, but that is not my thing. 8x10 and smaller generally will do just fine, and the J1 has not disappointed me in that range. In fact, my favorite shot of Half Dome from a summer visit to Yosemite was recorded with the J1 and converted into a beautiful (to me) 8x10 glossy black and white image. Ansel Adams needed a station wagon to carry his gear. My J1 gear fits in a bag far smaller than my wife's purse.
ReplyDeleteAs for the K-01, I bought it to serve a my "digital view camera," and used it all summer on a tripod for landscape shots throughout the west. It requires a slower approach, and I experimented with some new techniques while using it, so my results were mixed. But I chalk that up more to the photographer than the tool. I remain excited to keep using the K-01. There is just something about how it looks that makes me want to pick it up and go shoot, particularly with the Pentax F 50 mm f/1.7 lens that I specifically had in mind as the partner for the K-01 when I bought the camera. Who can explain these things, and why should we have to?
Craig C.
I guess I'm an oddball. I really love these crazy murals. The rider of the mutant Sesame Street-mobile is even part of the piping of the wall. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy doing walkabouts with my 5D3 and 40mm pancake. It's just right for me and wrong, too. I leave this combo at home a lot because the 5D3 is an investment for me and my go to camera for portraits and events. Instead, I defer to the 5D and the 40mm pancake for walkabouts mostly. Thinking of buying the Fugi X100s as my main walkaround. Rented this rig for 10 days on a trip and really enjoyed it. More discreet, great jpegs, nice at ISO1600 and quiet, too.
She ate soup with her hands ?!? Geez, I hope you weren't in a restaurant at the time.
ReplyDelete...soup? or just the noodles......
ReplyDeleteEvery single time I pick up my gripped Olympus OMD E-M5 I smile - it begs to be used. For me it is a perfect fit and a real treat to use. So yes, I understand what you mean about some tools speaking to you more loudly than others. For what it is worth, I get the same "ahh this is just right" satisfaction from my current cyclocross bike. The thing is ergonomically perfect for me, and that makes every ride a real treat, even when I am not sure I have the energy for one.
ReplyDeleteWOW. I dunno what those are shot with (I'd venture the K-01) but it does *not* look like NX to me. Would love to be wrong though...
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling you not going to like the new Sony A7 or A7R, due to the shutter noise. Seems loud and clunky.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Ricoh GR certainly does that for me.
ReplyDeleteShould I? Surely it is so obvious that everyone notices it. But, because it's there, and no one is commenting on it, and ---, well, because it is there, it must be very uncool to notice it. (Sigh!) I've never been cool. There is what looks to be a dust bunny on the second to last photo. If it is not, then you are certainly a much braver man than I to leave it there. Jesus, I'm so pedantic.
ReplyDelete