Ricoh CX2
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1
Pentax K-x
Canon PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon EOS 7D
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Gary’s Parries 03/09/06
This week’s Gary’s Parries topics are:
1. WANTED: Splashproof 28mm 7x Zoom Ultra-Compact
2. Histogram 101
3. Waiting For Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 Review
4. Telecaster Or Stratocaster
Introducing this week’s Gary’s Parries column. Everything you always wanted to know about digital cameras, but were afraid to ask. No question too difficult, or too easy. As a Senior Principal Software Engineer, and a former Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems, as well as a recording studio owner/operator, inventor, and now, a digital camera enthusiast, GARY has more digital camera knowledge in his entire brain than most people have in their little finger. In the unlikely event that GARY would not know the answer to your question, he will answer it anyway, true to the spirit of the word “Parries”, a fencing term which, in this context, implies “cleverly evasive answers”. So let your imagination run wild. Email all your nagging digital camera questions to: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) , and then, En Garde!
You may also attach to your email an ORIGINAL PHOTO of your choosing. A preview of the photo will be displayed with your question, and a full-sized version will be just a click away. No personal information will be published with your question unless you specifically include it in the text or attached photo of your email, which may be further edited for grammar, content, or other reasons.
***
*** QUESTION 1—- WANTED: SPLASHPROOF 28MM 7X ZOOM ULTRA-COMPACT
***
I have followed PhotographyBLOG editor Mark Goldstein’s digital camera reviews for about 2 years now in hopes of finding a robust, splashproof, compact digital to replace my 11 year old Pentax WR90 roll-film camera, something in a similar price range (
<£250), but with a slimmer body and a far improved zoom lens. Currently, 95% of my photography is on yachts, usually racing, and often in bad weather with much spray/water. What I liked about the WR90 was its tough, splashproof, polycarbonate case – right out of the box, no need for fiddly and expensive ‘over-cases’.
The WR90’s main drawback was its limited 2.3x, 39–90mm zoom range. In small boats, you need a 28mm wide lens to get a full crew shot, and much of my land photos are of building interiors, also helped by a wide-angle lens. On a yacht, the only other shots are of other yachts, often a long way off, hence the need for a higher telephoto end, as well.
After following the succession of reviews for the Ricoh Caplio R1 thru R4, the R4’s 28–200mm zoom, with its 1” thick body that I could quickly stuff inside my oilskins when other tasks demanded it, was exactly what I wanted; however, apart from the vital issue of splashproofing, the R4 appears to be of far less robust construction than my WR90. My main criticisms of the R4, in order of importance, are: poor image quality with purple fringing, noisy CCD, poor buttons, and noisy zoom (disturbing in a quiet environment). Not sure if any of these have been fixed with the R5.
I seek something like, and in the price range of, the Fujifilm FinePix F30, but with a 28–200mm zoom, and a WR90 style, robust, splashproof casing; however, it seems most makes of camera have a boring, 3x, 39–117mm zoom lens, and although often shown being used in ‘sports’ marketing shots, appear too delicate for that.
I have also considered the possibility of an underwater housing for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1, with its 35–350mm zoom (surely 28–280mm would have been more useful). Similarly, with an underwater housing for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1, its 8 megapixel CCD would allow me to ‘extend’ its 4x, 28–112mm optical zoom range to around 180mm without going into software interpolation, but with reduced resolution.
What do you think of my going with an underwater housing option for the Ricoh R4/R5, the Pana TZ1, the Pana LX1 (which I now see is being replaced by the 10 megapixel LX2 with 'improvements'), or any other high-zoom cameras you might suggest? A problem with the TZ1, I am told, is that the Pana underwater housing costs a whopping £170 on top of the camera price. Although its ‘underwater’ spec is nice, all I really need is a tough body and the same ‘splashproof’ spec that Pentax stated for their WR90 – the whole camera costing me £230, 11 years ago when prices were higher.
I have wanted to move from roll-film to digital for many years, but have held back because I have seen nothing in the same price range that looks like a significant advance overall on my 11 year old WR90. However, I am hoping soon to go traveling around Brazil, and so must make a choice. I am doing a race to VAT free Guernsey this weekend, and I am tempted to do a mail-order purchase later today for collection on arrival. If you are able to respond shortly, I would be most grateful.
Kind regards,
Leon Gee
***
*** ANSWER 1
***
Leon, it’s difficult enough to find a quality, wide-angle, compact digicam with high zoom, let alone one that is splashproof. As for underwater cases, they are a rather personal matter, but in general, not very suitable for any type of shooting other than underwater, so I would hesitate to recommend going that route. However, if you don’t mind putting a bit of a round peg into a square hole, I’ve got the perfect camera for you, namely, the Ricoh Caplio 500G Wide.
The Ricoh 500G has a water, dust, AND shock resistant body that would be perfect for your yachting environment. It has a 28mm wide lens that will allow you to take those wide-angle shots you want, and it also has a 22mm conversion lens that will give you an awesome wide-angle perspective. It has an 8 megapixel, 1/1.8” CCD, a 2.5” high-resolution LCD in combination with an OPTICAL VIEWFINDER (something you don’t see on digicams very much these days, and something which you will appreciate when trying to frame a shot in bright sunlight), a 400 shot (CIPA), high-capacity, lithium rechargeable battery (as well as the capability to use standard AA batteries in a pinch), and last but not least, a USB 2.0 ‘High Speed’ transfer mode. This is one amazing camera.
Now, regarding the putting of a round peg into a square hole, the things you won’t like about the camera are its £380 cost (but just think of all the money you’ll save by not having to buy countless rolls of film), its 74mm thick size (so you’ll stuff the camera into a belt pack rather than your oilskins), and its 3x zoom (although with an 8 megapixel CCD, you still have plenty of room to add to that by cropping the image). This is the camera that comes closest to the splashproofing and durability of your WR90.
If, however, you can get by with only a 36mm wide end (so you won’t be able to fit the entire crew in one shot), then I’ve got another perfect camera for you, namely, the Olympus µ 750 (a.k.a. Olympus Stylus 750). It has an ultra-compact (24.3mm thin) body that is highly weatherproof (but not shockproof), a 5x, 36–180mm, zoom lens, a 7.1 megapixel, 1/2.3” IMAGE-STABILIZED CCD (great for those rough seas), and a 2.5” high-resolution LCD (but no optical viewfinder), all for under £300.
As always, I would suggest waiting for at least one review of these cameras, from a trusted site such as PhotographyBLOG (hint to Mark 
), before making any purchasing decisions.
***
*** QUESTION 2—- HISTOGRAM 101
***
While shooting yesterday, it occurred to me that histograms, which are being applied to new cameras more and more, are a wonderful tool, not only for pre-picture taking, but also in post-processing. They allow me to ensure that I will have ‘white’ whites and ‘black’ blacks, just by making sure that the histogram extends to both sides. I’m certain that a lot of folks use this important tool.
Can you add some thoughts to BETTER utilize it, maybe?
Thanks,
Semper Fi
***
*** ANSWER 2
***
Excellent question, Mr. Fidelis; however, rather than reinvent the wheel, allow me to provide links to two excellent articles on histograms by Michael Reichmann at Luminous Landscape.
The first is a histogram refresher course:
The second shows how histograms can be used to maximize an images S/N ratio (something that will be of particular interest to our friends on the LX2 thread):
If anyone has any other articles or suggestions for using histograms, we would love to hear about them.
***
*** QUESTION 3—- WAITING FOR PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ50 REVIEW
***
Hi,
I am trying to find the differences between the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 and the new FZ50, in order to determine if I should wait for the FZ50 and pay its higher price, or just go with the FZ30. Will the differences be vast, or not?
Thanks,
Leonard Posniak
***
*** ANSWER 3
***
Leonard, I would not call the improvements of the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 over its FZ30 predecessor ‘vast’ (nothing like the improvements of the FZ30 over its FZ20 predecessor); nonetheless, they may prove to be ‘significant’. Whether it will be worth paying a higher price for the FZ50, remains to be seen. That will depend largely on the price reductions of the FZ30, and even more importantly, on how well the FZ50 performs in its image noise tests when reviewed at PhotographyBLOG (Mark has just received an FZ50 review unit, and is currently performing those tests as we speak).
There are a couple of definite improvements of the FZ50 over the FZ30 that might make paying its higher price easier to digest: (1) its highly touted Venus Engine III image processor, and (2) its higher maximum ISO (at full resolution) of 1600 versus 400 for the FZ30. Even so, the price savings for the FZ30 would have to be less than $150 to make the FZ50 a clear choice.
However, if the FZ50’s Venus Engine III can provide any significant reduction in image sensor noise, then it’s a no-brainer. I would go with the FZ50 regardless of the FZ30’s reduction in price.
But that’s a big ‘IF’ Leonard. Based on Panasonic’s previous track record, my guess is that any noise reduction advantage provided by the Venus Engine III will be offset by the smaller (and noisier) pixels of FZ50’s 10 megapixel CCD (as compared to the FZ30’s 8 megapixel CCD of the same size). So, if you should see an FZ30 deal, before our FZ50 review comes out, that seems too good to pass up, maybe you shouldn’t.
***
*** QUESTION 4—- TELECASTER OR STRATOCASTER
***
I’m sure you get quite a few questions that you would like to answer, but for one reason or another they don’t qualify for a Question/Answer spot in “Parries”. So, how about this one?
I have a collection of different types of guitars that I use for props, and of course a couple of them are Strats. I have been wondering for many years EXACTLY why a guitar player chooses a Telecaster versus a Stratocaster. I have never been able to get a believable answer, and I want to believe it is more than just random choice. Do you know the real reason? Is it something to do with tonal range, build quality, durability or what? It appears that the Telecaster is more popular.
Thanks for your consideration!
Semper Fi,
Nick
***
*** ANSWER 4
***
Nick, I’m answering this question because, BION, there are many similarities between choosing the right guitar and choosing the right camera.
For example, one reason you might buy a camera is because you like the way it looks. Same with a guitar. Some regard the sleeker bodied Telecaster as a better looking guitar than the very traditional looking Stratocaster, much like a comparison of the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2.
Another reason you might buy a camera is because you like the way it feels. Same with a guitar. Some regard the Telecaster’s smoother, more rounded neck as a better feel than the boxy Strat, much like the smoother, more rounded Canon SD700 IS compared to the boxy Panasonic LX2.
Another reason you might buy a camera is because you like the way it responds. Same with a guitar. Some regard the Telecaster’s thinner neck as more responsive and easier to handle than that of the chunkier Strat, much like the thinner SD700 IS compared to the chunkier LX2.
Yet another reason you might buy a camera is because you like the quality of its output. Same with a guitar. Some regard the characteristic ‘clean’ twang of the Tele as a more pleasant, bluesy sound than that of the Stratocaster, much like the cleaner images of an SD700 IS compared to those of the noisier LX2.
But to be fair, another reason you might buy a camera is because you like its features. Same with a guitar. Some regard the Stratocaster as a more full-featured guitar than the Telecaster, much like the full-featured LX2, with its manual controls, TIFF/RAW shooting modes, and 28mm wide lens, compared to the strictly point-n-shoot SD700 IS.
Similarly, yet another reason you might buy a camera is because you want to stand out from the crowd. Same with a guitar. Some regard the Stratocaster’s diversity of tones as preferable to that of the one-trick-pony sound of the Telecaster, much like the diversity of compositions offered by the Panasonic LX2, with its wide angle lens and native 16:9 aspect ratio, compared to the standard lens and aspect ratio of the Canon SD700 IS.
There is, however, one reason you might prefer a Stratocaster to a Telecaster for which there is no analogy in the camera world, namely, the fact that superstar ‘Eric Clapton’ plays a Strat. The closest we can come to something like that at PhotographyBLOG is the fact that our good friend ‘Nick in Japan’ is currently out shooting with his new LX2 as we speak, and we will (hopefully) soon have a photo to fill the 16:9 spot that I have reserved just for him.
***
[Column photo “The Photographer” by Brenda LaFleur of Brenda LaFleur Photography.]
Ricoh CX2 Review
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 Review
Pentax K-x Review
Canon PowerShot G11 Review
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Review
Canon EOS 7D
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1
Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR
#1 nick in japan
OK, here it comes, untouched by human hands!
4:38 am - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#2 Gary's Parries
Thank you, Nick. I will post it as soon as I get it. I just hope that Mark
checks his email on Sundays.
5:10 am - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#3 nick in japan
Thank you Gary for the guitar lesson, now if I can just find something with "Tony Z's" signature on it, I'll have my all my dreams filled! We Lithuanians are a bit sentimental.
Thank you for the kind words!
9:17 am - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#4 nick in japan
OOPS! The histogram links are great, used to use the grid overlay alot, can't live without those yellow mountains now!
Thanks!
9:21 am - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#5 Mark Goldstein
Check my mail on Sundays? Of course
Nick's very first LX2 picture is now the image for uestion 4.
11:06 am - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#6 Gary's Parries
Thanks, Mark. I was kind of hoping (for your sake) that you'd at least
have Sundays off but I guess when you have a website as popular as
this one, it's a 24/7 endeavor.
Nick, you are off to a good start with that picture. Hope you get many,
many more.
12:45 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#7 Stewart Bywater
BION, you should be aware that neither of those guitars are a match for the Gibson Les Paul, the greatest guitar known to humanity! :p
12:57 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#8 Stewart Bywater
Er... I mean Nick, not BION!
12:57 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#9 Gary's Parries
Stewart, I agree. The Les Paul would make an excellent addition to
Nick's prop collection.
4:24 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#10 Bruce McL
I liked your Strat vs. Tele answer. It was fun and well thought out. One example of "star power" in the photographic world is Leica M series cameras and Henri Cartier-Bresson. For some photographers who admire HCB's work, no other camera will do.
6:22 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#11 nick in japan
#6, Thanks Gary, it's alot of fun trying!
#10, Gary's wit is unmatched! "Liked" isn't exactly what applies here, "Loved" sounds more accurate!
HBC success, as with other geniuses may be atributed to his tools for sure, using another brand MAY have accomplished the same status, I Like to think that 90% comes from the eye, and heart.
Question.. My Daughter followed the "America's Next Top Model", and would call me when someone was using a camera, I noticed in one of the last episodes, that the photographer was using a HUGE ring flash on his, maybe Hassy/ Fuji. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life!, does anyone know if that was a Hassy dedicated unit , or an aftermarket one?
No, I dont want it for the LX-2, thank you, but I certainly would like one for the DSLRs!
9:37 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#12 Gary's Parries
I know what you mean, Bruce, but if I had mentioned Leica M-series
cameras, then I'd have also had to mention Martin D-series acoustic
guitars. Speaking of which, are you aware that Martin launched TWO
lines of solid-body electric guitars in the late seventies, both of which
failed miserably? I only mention this in connection with the upcoming
Photokina 2006 launch of the Leica M8 Digital.
Nick, if we keep this up, people will find out about our 'secret' MAS.
10:06 pm - Sunday, September 3, 2006
#13 Zoltan
While I have not yet read any English-language reviews of the FZ50, I have read one in Hungarian at pixinfo.com It was quite detailed (altogether 9 HTML pages).
Main points of interest are:
Noise reduction is strong, and although it can be set to Low, Standard or High, it cannot be completely turned off. Noise - and, might I add, the effects of noise reduction - can be detected even at the lowest sensitivity setting. Washed-out colours start to kick in at ISO400, whereas at anything higher, the pictures are watercolour-like and not photograph-like.
But while this aggressive noise reduction might not be just what people have been expecting of the Venus III engine, it must be written to the new processor's credit that purple fringing is better suppressed than ever before (the review says it must be the processing engine, since the lens is the same). Not that this was a major issue with the FZ30, but still.
At lower ISO settings and in good lighting conditions, overall image quality isn't bad, the lens' resolving power is enough to cope with the increased pixel count, which is a good thing, although the lens is, unsurprisingly, diffraction-limited at apertures smaller than f/8. The photos are oversharpened by default, and sharpening halos are often visible.
Other things: to the reviewer, the FZ50 felt very responsive for a bridge camera, but no more responsive than the FZ30, except for flash recovery, which has become noticeably faster. On a negative note, the burst rate has slowed to less than 2fps and the buffer now stores only 5 frames (these values are down from up to 7 frames at 3fps in the FZ30, so this is a step back from the predecessor). The TIFF format is gone, although I'm sure there aren't many people who would miss it. Blown highlights are still not flashing in image postview. New "extras" versus the FZ30 include the availability of a cropped 16:9 aspect ratio for stills (not sure why anyone buying a camera in this class would want this, but there you go) and, perhaps more sensibly, the same for video sequences. Also new is the compliance with Olympus-dedicated external TTL flashguns, undoubtedly a "fringe benefit" of the two companies' cooperation in the field of DSLR development.
All in all, while the reviewer says the FZ50 is the highest-resolution ultra-zoom camera with the richest feature set in the market today, I would say that you are probably better off buying an FZ30 while stocks last.
A number of test images can be downloaded from pixinfo.com - click a thumbnail first, then click the reduced-size image that appears below the line of thumbnails, in order to view the full-sized 10-megapixel images.
1:08 pm - Monday, September 4, 2006
#14 Gary's Parries
Wow !!! What a great summary. I feel like I have read the review and
also had the advantages of your commentary. Based on the results of
that review, I would wholeheartedly agree with your recommendation.
What a shame, but not unexpected.
2:14 pm - Monday, September 4, 2006
#15 Bruce McL
I see what your point Gary. Leica opens the door to Gibson, then National, Rickenbacker, Voigtlander, and Rollei aren't far behind. You've got to draw the line somewhere!
I Didn't know about the Gibson solid body. I do know the anticipation on the Leica Users's Forum for the new camera is very, very high. And I know about high anticipation - I've worked in the Apple Macintosh world for the last 10 years.
Nick I agree with you about heart and eye, along with technique of course. Wondering, "What would HCB or Ansel use here?" is not the best way to go in the long run.
7:48 pm - Tuesday, September 5, 2006
#16 Gary's Parries
It will be interesting to see what Apple comes up with for Photokina.
).
Funny you should mention Apple. Since the introduction of the Mac II,
I've owned nothing but Macintosh, and it recently occurred to me that
I've gone all this time without ever owning an Intel machine, and now
I own two (or is it technically four?
8:26 pm - Tuesday, September 5, 2006
#17 nick in japan
Bruce McL, Ansel Adams used more than Leica, we idolize folks and learn from them, but there are many ways to skin a cat.
( learning too much about the shamisen )
Like a surgeon that choses obsidian over a high-grade German scapel, there are cameras/lenses that suit individuals shooting styles in different ways.
Are Leica cameras well made, yes, some are benchmarks, and some are not!
Do Leica lenses surpass the optical quality of Nikon, Ricoh, Cosina, Panasonic and all the others', some may, but others do NOT!
Do we pay more for a brand name, thoughts are that we do.
Japanese photographers are partial to Nikon, but that is fading, and Canon is becoming the breakfast of champions. Used Nikons are becoming available due to the switch to Canon, case in point, my mint D70.
I believe alot of the Leica attraction is the name, the red dot IS "Bling", proven recently in their re-packaged LX-1, why on earth would they risk their reputation on a known noise-maker? Answer= the folks that need "Bling" around their neck.( there are lots of them) I love the LX-1, noise and all, but my decision to market a "Copy" would have been delayed until the existing issues of noise were addressed, maybe in the LX-2, maybe in the next generation, LX-3, which can't be too far away!
There are Great photographers out there that love their Lomos!
Would I sell or trade my Leicas from my collection? NO-WAY!
10:15 pm - Tuesday, September 5, 2006
#18 nick in japan
Please excuse my ramblings, rainy days do that to me!
10:20 pm - Tuesday, September 5, 2006
#19 Gary's Parries
Nick, I am surprised that you do not have a rain-proof camera in your
collection for just such occasions.
1:45 am - Wednesday, September 6, 2006
#20 nick in japan
I have a mint Nikonos III, and a couple Minolta yellow bodied things that take 127 film, a Ricoh that's weather proof, and an old Nikon compact that is also weather proof, that's it!
Umbrells work great in the rain, wedding kimono coats, and make-up doesnt.
Catching up on a few projects, took the FD 85, 1.2 over to my friend that has a watch repair shop, he does all the cleaning and lubing on non-autofocus cameras and lenses; aperture blades were sticking, time for a clean-up and lube job. It will see action on the D70 next week if the adapter gets in soon.
3:04 am - Wednesday, September 6, 2006
#21 Gary's Parries
I would have figured you more for the Ricoh 500G, with its 28mm wide
.
lens. When you're on an outdoor shoot and it starts to rain, sometimes
you've just got to "go with the flow"
2:22 pm - Wednesday, September 6, 2006
#22 nick in japan
Awesome camera, I think we may have discussed this before.
Construction folks, out there in the elements, use the heavy-duty products that have been sealed as dust and moisture proof.
The Ricoh line is probably the premier maker with these cameras, I have a few, older film versions, but never considered them and underwater camera, therefore, a bit risky to get saturated. I would opt for a camera that is specifically designed for submersion vs "Splashproof". That word is, to me, a disclaimer, unless it talks about submersion to a specific depth.
The film Ricohs I have, may, or may not be submergible, this 500G appears to have it all! Even the bigger of the mini sensors!
9:35 pm - Wednesday, September 6, 2006
#23 Gary's Parries
Right. We DID talk about the 500G previously, and I thought that you
had said you were considering one for your collection. Have you ever
given any thought to a weatherproof DSLR such as the Olympus E1?
11:22 pm - Wednesday, September 6, 2006
#24 nick in japan
I consider most neat cameras, trouble is I get off on different projects, and, well, forget alot of stuff.
Just returned from the violent waterfalls, yep, had about an hour before she had to get back. Our recent downpour really swelled the river up there, lottsa mist and water, reindeer skin and bottom of both wedding kimonos got real wet, drying on the porch now. I tried a movie but it was a bit under exposed, forgot Li's advice on using the warm filter too, so it will get dumped.
Lottsa things to think about at a shoot, short time to get it all done, I'll have a couple pictures done for you this afternoon, used the LX-2, 10D with Tokina 12-24, and the D70 with PL filter on the 18-70.
4:33 am - Thursday, September 7, 2006
#25 Gary's Parries
Zoltan, yesterday's FZ50 review at DPReview certainly supports your
recommendation to buy an FZ30 while they are still available.
9:29 pm - Saturday, September 9, 2006