B9180 video

[rag]

I hate bundles as well, but I was happy to find that after the installation you can go to Add/Remove programs and un-install iTunes without un-installing QuickTime.

[rag]

As a very novice photographer reading some of the postings about lugging equipment around etc. it makes me think/hope that we are not headed the same direction as, well as the logging industry for example. If you remember, there was a time when loggers used hand tools to cut down giant trees and it was no doubt and artful process and they had to lug all of their tools into the forests, but that all gave way to "Clear Cutting", right?

I hope this art does not become like fishing with dynamite and that I have the chance to experience some of the joys many of you have had with photography over the years.

[Kevgermany]

I hope this art does not become like fishing with dynamite and that I have the chance to experience some of the joys many of you have had with photography over the years.

I think that in a lot of ways it is moving that way. However there's an answer to your wish - pick up one of the many manual slrs available for a song as guys are seduced by the machine gun approach of digital. Get a couple of manufacturer's lenses at the same time and load with HP5 or Velvia 100F.

Get a decent second hand scanner and you have exactly what you need to enjoy your wish end to end...

[lnbolch]

I hope this art does not become like fishing with dynamite and that I have the chance to experience some of the joys many of you have had with photography over the years.

I think it depends entirely upon the workflow of the individual shooter. When shooting film, I KNEW I had to produce. One just does not tell the editor that you had an off-day. Much of what I shot was for insurance, and on a big shoot, I would actually break the shoot into smaller packages of film, in case there was a processing problem.

Now that I am shooting both digital and film, I find I shoot MUCH less with digital, because I can constantly do test shots, confirm my white balance and check my exposure by the histogram. But most of all, I can see by the monitor when I have actually nailed the content. It is the difference between shooting a single shot or two of a subject and blowing away a roll or two.

It has never been an economic consideration - the cost of film has always been trivial compared to the overall cost of doing the shoot. The insurance one gets from shooting on multiple rolls, is extremely modest, compared to the problems of showing up at an editor or client's desk with nothing usable.

An acquaintance assisted a Sports Illustrated photographer covering championship fight - using film. He had three camera bodies and two assistants did nothing but load the cameras. They could barely keep up. Every blow was photographed, but also every gesture and expression. Often the story is not told by the action shot, but the tension and emotion between the moments of action.

This may seem like fishing with dynamite, but even when shooting this prolifically, one still chooses ones shots and seeks the "decisive moment" each time.

[rag]

Well,

I do currently own a Rollie B35 that my father purchased new for me when I was in my teens; a Pentax 110 Auto with all the lenses and filters, that my father purchase new as a birthday gift for me when I was in my early twenties; a Canon AE1 that I purchased for my wife when she was still my girlfriend; and a Canon 20D that I purchase for myself two years ago.

Basically I guess that I just need to get out there take pictures and experiment. I took a "Digital Photography" class at the local college where I was introduced to several concepts such as the effects focal lengths have on depth of field. I just have not been successful at using the manual settings to achieve pictures as sharp and colorful as those I get using the automatic settings.

[Kevgermany]

I just have not been successful at using the manual settings to achieve pictures as sharp and colorful as those I get using the automatic settings.

There's little need for manual exposure settigns in most cases - it's more a matter of knowing the camera well enough to know when the lighting conditions will fool the meter. When this happens take plenty of shots (known as bracketing) at different exposure settings. One good starting point is a burst of 5, half an F stop apart. Your 20D will do this.

Sharpness problems come from camera shake (too slow a shutter speed) or focussing in the wrong place. I guess that you have the first problem. In 35mm days the rule of thumb was that the shutter speed should be at or higher than the lens length - in other words with a 100mm lens, you needed 1/100th sec or higher - which isn't selectable, so 1/125th was the minimum. For digital, multiply by 1.5 - so a 100mm lens needs 1/150th sec - this translates into 1/250th minimum. Holding the camera properly and breathing properly have a big effect on camera stability.

[lnbolch]

Basically I guess that I just need to get out there take pictures and experiment. I took a "Digital Photography" class at the local college where I was introduced to several concepts such as the effects focal lengths have on depth of field. I just have not been successful at using the manual settings to achieve pictures as sharp and colorful as those I get using the automatic settings.

Going manual means you make all the decisions yourself, which can be intrusive in an intense shoot. It also means that you really have to have completely grasped the basics. When a manual shot fails, it is clearly a poor decision on the part of the photographer.

The great problem with a camera with automatic features, is that the shooter tends to trust it. Fully automatic only works in a certain range of circumstances, and the camera does not have the intelligence to warn the photographer when it is outside this range. It is up to the photographer to supply the intelligence.

I have read so many "My camera let me down. Is it a piece of junk?" messages over the years, that I posted a page of tips on understanding and using an automatic camera with confidence a short while back. Hopefully it will grant the understanding enough to cut the losses significantly.
http://www.larry-bolch.com/automatic-cameras/

[rag]

Thanks Larry,

I read your posting and found it very informative!

[lnbolch]

Thank you. Both require skill and knowledge, but the the set is somewhat different for each. Of course, the fundamentals of photography are rooted deeply in both physics and art, and really have not changed since the first days that photography became possible. Problems arise when aspiring photographers really don't understand what they are actually doing.

[tka]

Vincent,

Could you give us an indication when the review will be published? Why not publish it now and then amend it later for the changes that have been made to the shipping product?

Keep up the good work!

[rag]

Has the release really been postponed until September?

[rag]

Well,

I got the answer to my question about the release by doing an on-line chat with HP today. It is now scheduled for September 7, 2006.

[Vincent]

Vincent,

Could you give us an indication when the review will be published? Why not publish it now and then amend it later for the changes that have been made to the shipping product?

Keep up the good work!

I have just got back from my annual holiday and will be catching up on reviews, and other items. I have held back on the HP 9180 review until I know a firm release date, you wouldn't believe the amount of emails I get when a new review is on-line asking when the item will be available etc.

[Marcello]

Meaning the B9180 review will be online soon, since we now know it's the 7th of September?

More importantly... I hope you had a great holiday