At 07:43 12/10/01, Barry wrote:
Now, while I (and the rest of us) can appreciate some of John's comments,
perhaps it is time for us to get off our "elitist" horse. While we may all
seek "perfection" in our photographs the average consumer is simply after
an image that is recognizable. They are not into the "art" nor do they care
one whit about "grain". As long as Aunt Emma or Fido the family pet is
recognizable they are happy. How do I know -- well for the past two weeks I
have been helping out at a local one hour lab (the one I usually use) where
the owner's wife was rushed in for major surgery and will now be off for 3
months.
[snip]
My rant is not about what I want for my OM's and MF gear (nor is it
directed at one-hour labs). You're right that what I use is very
different, and for very different goals compared to a typical P&S user. My
beef is with Kodak's advertising direction versus what actually works
better in an average P&S used by a typical "snapshooter."
My recommendations for which film speeds that work best with the average P&S:
ISO 200: general purpose outdoor and indoor household spaces
ISO 400: low light levels and average light in large indoor spaces
ISO 800: night shooting and dimly lit cavernous spaces
This doesn't square with ISO 400 for "fixed lens" and ISO 800 for "zoom
lens" cameras all the time, under all conditions. IMHO Kodak's campaign to
get P&S owners plopping ISO 400, and even worse, ISO 800 film in their
cameras for general use under all conditions is misguided and will create
worse pictures from an exposure standpoint. A 25 0ncrease in "yield" of
"good pictures" (however Kodak defines all that) seems grossly exaggerated.
This is based on experience with a limited number of P&S, most with zoom
lenses (as much as 4X), so it's "anecdotal" and someone could legitimately
complain about it. I will pull some data together, based on a wider range
of actual Olympus and Can*n P&S capabilities (from their specs), and
practical application of them under about 10th to 90th percentile shooting
conditions for a typical "snapshooter" using one. Cannot do it right now,
it's lunch time, but will start on it this evening. Shouldn't take that long.
Will it have OM content? Yes.
The specific film speeds recommended for a P&S won't likely match that for
an OM SLR system. However, a closer look at what light conditions exist in
certain classes of venues, and how to match film speeds with the bodies,
lenses and flashes most likely to be used in those venues does.
-- John
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