File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Bit old, but this was my first time using the Kodak DX3500, a cheap digital snapshot. Further experimentation revealed that the slight blurriness is never going to go away and it's an effect of the camera's cheap lens. Normally I really prefer shooting film, but things can happen quickly at demonstrations so I keep the dx3500 ready in my pocket for when there might not be enough time to set up my Zenit 122V for the shot. At this event I took nearly idetnical photographs with the Zenit and the Kodak for comparison and to help me get used to it - but I still don't like it. With everything done automatically, it feels like I'm fighting with the camera to get it to do what I want.

Crit/thoughts?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)


Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeEASTMAN KODAK COMPANYCamera ModelKODAK DX3500 DIGITAL CAMERAMaximum Lens Aperturef/4.4Sensing MethodOne-Chip Color AreaImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution230 dpiVertical Resolution230 dpiExposure Time1/180 secF-Numberf/4.5Exposure ProgramNormal ProgramLens Aperturef/4.4Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeAverageLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length6.10 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width1800Image Height1200Exposure Index100
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)


Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeEASTMAN KODAK COMPANYCamera ModelKODAK DX3500 DIGITAL CAMERAMaximum Lens Aperturef/4.4Sensing MethodOne-Chip Color AreaImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution230 dpiVertical Resolution230 dpiExposure Time1/180 secF-Numberf/4.5Exposure ProgramNormal ProgramLens Aperturef/4.4Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeAverageLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length6.10 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width1800Image Height1200Exposure Index100
>> breathe !iYF2x0NATA
     File :-(, x)
>>48707
DUDE, I WAS THERE!
My friend lynda is in this pictur3esanbmfb,hsAFhsajkf oh shit!
>> breathe !iYF2x0NATA
     File :-(, x)
Im in there too. oh shi-
>> ac
Photojournaliscious!

The slight blurriness is probably also a feature of your camera's shitty, low-quality sensor. But yeah, sometimes pocketability has to trump image quality in these sorts of situations. Most of Robert Capa's war photos were a bit blurry and out of focus, too.

(Of course, he was shooting war shots with a 4x5, so he'd probably call you a pussy for not being able to whip out a little 35mm SLR for these kinds of shots. ;) )

The key to dealing with a full-auto camera like this is just to stop fighting it. You need to learn what the camera can do and what it can't do and don't try to get it to do things in the latter category. I actually, as an exercise, occasionally go out with a shitty point & shoot with no manual control--"focus free" even, so I can't even control DoF at all. It's surprisingly freeing to just concentrate 100% on composition because the Camera won't let you do anything else. So, stop fighting with your camera. Both of you will be happier.
>> bw !ef8V18P/FY
>>48755
Actually, Robert Capa mostly shot with 6x6 and 35mm for portability reasons. He used some of the early Leicas during the Spanish civil war, and was using 6x6 Rolleiflexes and 35mm Contax rangefinders before and during WW2. When he died in a minefield in 1954, he was shooting with 35mm Contax and Nikon rangefinders.

Judging from his books and various biographies, he was never much of a gearhead.
>> Anonymous
Get a better point and shoot. Lumix cameras are all good, I hear. I myself use a FZ-8 as my typical shooting camera. It fits in a jacket pocket, but it takes a little bit of time to get out, so it might not work for you.

Or it might. You say the problem is "setting up:" aperture priority and shutter priority will help there. Honestly, I don't find it hard to quickly adjust manual exposure, so long as I meter right when lighting conditions change or when I get to a place and adjust accordingly.

But if the main concern is getting it out of your pocket, i.e. if you don't want to be walking around with it in your hand or around your neck, it won't work. But another smaller Lumix camera probably will.

Also look into the Ricoh GR Digital: a fixed focal length (28mm equivalent) compact digital camera built for professionals. There's a teleconvertor and (I think) a wide angle convertor available for it, too, so three focal lengths.
>> heavyweather !4AIf7oXcbA
>>48862
I hear really, REALLY good things about that Ricoh GR. I think the Austin City Limits Festival may be my perfect excuse for getting one, too.
>> Anonymous
>>48869
I have, too. If I had six hundred dollars to blow I just might blow it on that.

But, yeah, everyone working with a DSLR should have at least one good (emphasis on good) point-and-shoot, for people photography, if for nothing else. I (>>48862) reguarly get told by friends I'm photographing that they never realize I'm even taking photographs until I show them. The cameras are small, the lens doesn't look like a weapon, and there's no huge clank every time the shutter is pressed.
>> SR !bpvX/Dj8ec
>>48869

I bought the GR Digital on the recommendations of a photographer friend of mine - I love it, the lack of zoom makes it bad for 'holiday snap' type photos, perhaps, but it's a fantastic little camera.

Feels great in the hand, sturdy (mag alloy case), great lens, decent sensor.. little noisy at high ISO perhaps.
>> Anonymous
OP here, much as I'd love to get my hands on such equipment it's simply out of my range. My financial means are extremely limited - this is one of the reasons I'm working with Zenit and Kiev gear. As much as I can, I make use of my late father's equipment. I'm having his Nikon F2 repaired among other things.

I suppose it would be helpful if I explained my situation - I'm a neohippie. I live day to day, and demonstrations and the like are extremely important events for me. I play violin and guitar, and am able to make a bit of extra cash by busking at festivals with one or the other. I'm not really hardcore enough to live on the road so I have a tiny apartment in the international district, and work a blue-collar job.

Good DSLR's are way out of my price range, and in any case it just doesn't feel right with everything electronic. That's why I love the Zenit - it's a full manual.
>> ac
>>48860
I stand corrected.

Could've sworn that I read somewhere that he was going into battle with a Speed Graphic 4x5 press camera..
>> Anonymous
>>48933
Much admiration. Try getting something used; what's the top end of your price range?

>>48956
He may have shot with that at some point, but I also know for a fact he used Leicas at different points and shot his D-Day photographs with a Contax rangefinder.
>> bw !ef8V18P/FY
>>48956
Some WW2 photographers did, but usually only the old-fashioned ones who didn't trust the new-fangled "miniature formats" of 120 and 35mm, or the ones working for similarly old-fashioned desk editors with who forbade their photographers to use anything less than 4x5. The ones willing to sacrifice negative size for portability and fast film reloading came back with more and better photos, and most of the luddites soon changed their tunes.

Ironically, the camera of choice for many of the 35mm shooters from Allied countries was the German-made Contax II. Very fast lenses, quick to reload film, easy to focus, and reliable and rugged. It was just about the best there was at the time. (Leica couldn't make anything approaching the overall abilities of a Contax II kit under 1954 with the M.)

I'm a bit of a 35mm history nut if anyone hadn't noticed. :P