Re: Advanced Point and shoot?


"jeremy" <jeremy@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"SimonLW" <nospam@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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One of my "wish list" cameras is a APS sized sensored camera with a high
quality zoom covering 28-70mm, f/3.5-5.0 to keep it compact. The
interface would be simplified with no pic modes or video, just P, Av, Tv,
M, B and full auto. Of course, it would do RAW files. Power would come
from AA batteries.

The idea is a an SLR like image quality in a more compact design. I find
myself less and less willing to lug the big equipment around as much. Air
travel with an SLR kit is too much of a pain anymore.
-S




The old Contax G2 (film camera) was advertised as having "SLR-like"
performance. I have experienced the same reluctance to carry around lots
of equipment as you had.

I have accumulated a ton of lenses and bodies over the past 30 years, all
screwmount. I had 17 prime lenses, at last count. Trouble is, I'd think
about which items to include in my kit, and it became so oppressive just
thinking about what to select that I just didn't bother taking anything at
all. I went 5 years without shooting a single frame.

I'd have done better to have limited myself to my original Spotmatic IIa
and the normal lens. Instead, I continued to add one or two pieces per
year until I now have more crap than I'll ever use. The only good thing
is that it was all acquired at low cost.

I've found that I use my digicam all the time, and that I have taken more
photos with it in a year than I took with my film SLRs in 5 years. I
swore off buying new digicams 5 years ago, when I got my Ricoh RDC-5300,
and I still use it today and am quite pleased with it. I don't require
ever-increasing MP, because I have enough film gear to capture anything,
if I need something special.

It is very nice to carry my entire kit in one hand. 38-114 equivalent
zoom covers most of what I need. No hassles. Just fun. I have so many
SLRs (film) that I do not expect I'll ever buy a DSLR. In this entire
process I have learned something about myself: I am a minimalist. I am
gratified more by keeping things simple. Back in the old days I spent a
lot of time fiddling with my equipment. Now I spend time composing and
taking photographs. It is easy to get caught in that
"need-more-equipment" trap. Carrying 50 pounds of stuff around, just to
take a few photos, becomes really oppressive.

See this essay for a similar viewpoint:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

I'm with you. I don't enjoy the idea of going on vacations, fighting through
airport security with a bunch of lenses. Nor do I enjoy the idea of walking
around all day with a bag of lenses. That bag starts to weight you down
after a long day. What I do desire is a camera with great image quality that
the images can be printed large for possible framing. A lens with the
equivelent 35mm angle of view as a 28-70mm would do just fine.
-S


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