Canon IXUS 240 HS
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS
Nikon D800
Samsung DV300F
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Nikon Coolpix P510
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Nikon Coolpix S9300
Right Place, Wrong Time…
This morning it was so cold that there was a frost in London. I had to scrape a thin layer of ice off my car windscreen for the first time this winter. It was one of those beautifully clear, sunny and cold mornings that are fantastic for photography. As I sped northwards along the M1 motorway at 70mph (or thereabouts), slightly late for work as usual, I had to force myself to look forwards rather than sideways, as I drove past countless great photo opportunities. Mist rising as the frosty fields were slowly heating up, causing localised fog in small dips in the terrain. The sun barely visible on the horizon, but still giving a warm glow. A winding river just visible through the white mist hanging above it. The sort of vistas that any photographer would give their right arm for, even someone like me who isn’t all that interested in landscape photography.
But I had to got to work to do a job that has no connection with photography. Like most amateur photographers, I don’t have the luxury of being able to pick and choose when to get out there and take photos - I’m restricted to weekends, late evenings and early mornings. And like most photographers, I’m not in a position to give up the day job just yet. I only wish that I had been in that position this morning…
Canon IXUS 240 HS Review
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS Review
Nikon D800 Review
Samsung DV300F Review
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review
Nikon Coolpix P510
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Fujifilm X-Pro1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V
#1 Jon Read
Mark,
I know the feeling.
The last two morning have been like that out in Zone 5, and rushing to work I've had no time to stop despite driving past acres of fields and woodland. Not that there would have been any point, seeing as my A1 is in for repair and my girlfriend's taken the 420Z away with her for the weekend!
Cheers,
Jon
12:37 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#2 Ade Rixon
Oh man, is that ever true. The M56 heading towards Chester is a bugger for offering panoramic views of glorious sunsets when you have no place or time to stop. One has to cultivate a deeply philosophical attitude to these moments if one is an amateur photographer. And hey, at least you got to see them.
1:06 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#3 Mark Goldstein
Jon - What's wrong with your Minolta A1?
Ade - sometimes seeing them is worse than missing them! Especially if where you're going to at that moment is less exciting than where you really want to be...
1:19 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#4 Jon Read
Mark,
It seems that about a third of the first batch of A1's have a calibration problem in that the focus distance scale differs from the actual focus difference. This means that if you manually focus at infinity, everything is out of focus - you actually need to focus at 20m to get things like the moon sharp.
I've sent it back to have that fixed, and with any luck they'll be able to adjust the calibration in other areas as well such as mapping out some hot pixels I get in anything over a 1/5th sec exposure.
I'm going to stick with the camera as it's simply a joy to use.
Cheers,
Jon
2:35 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#5 Mark Goldstein
Couldn't you just send it back and ask for a new one from a more recent batch?
3:07 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#6 Jon Read
Probably. But if I have it recalibrated, I at least know that someone's actually spent some time looking at it rather that just set it up as one of many pouring off the production line.
J
3:09 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#7 Mark Goldstein
So how long will it take Minolta UK to recalibrate it? I presume they're doing it for free...
3:13 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#8 Jon Read
I'm not sure. I've returned it through my dealer, so your guess is as good as mine... I hope it's not more than a few weeks. Looks like I'll be stuck indoors doing DIY for the forseeable future anyway. :(
3:36 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003
#9 Mark Goldstein
DIY?? Nooooo....
4:26 pm - Friday, November 28, 2003