> Ag's knowledge of camera functions never ceases to amaze me.
Well... Some people have concluded that I just have a vivid imagination.
Many years ago I was taught a little trick. In high-school I was suffering
through the Algebra II class. For some reason, I just couldn't get the
formulas and equations. They didn't make sense at all. 3/4 of the way
through the year and I'm a D- student. The teacher recognized the issue (as
he also suffered the same trait) and taught me how to literally invent my
own formulas.
Suddenly the light popped on. He had me approach it from an inventor
perspective and I'd literally create, from scratch, the formula in question.
The end result looked dramatically different than the one in the text book,
but was the same equation! Immediately, my grades improved. He had me take
the class over again the next year and I aced almost every test.
So, when it comes to things like Matrix Metering I do my own inventing. If I
was the one inventing the system, what would it look like and what tricks
would I put in it? Then I set down with the camera and see if it is doing
the same thing. If not, why not? I try to get into the minds of the people
who designed it. Each theory requires a test. Through a process of trial and
error, I can almost always do a good job of reverse engineering just about
anything. I had come up with a few conclusions and then had them confirmed
through other means.
At one point I decided to reverse-engineer the OM-2's exposure system. The
beauty of that camera is how absolutely simple and elegant it is. When you
stop to really think about it, the solution is so obvious that you wonder
how the other manufacturers failed to see it.
With all three of my digital cameras, it has taken no less than 800 test
pictures before I feel confident that I understand how the metering system
works.
AG
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