Re: Off subject (somewhat)

[Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net>]

At 03:06 PM 22-01-97 -0800, Donal Philby wrote:
[snip]
>
>It really depends on the use you need the tool for.  I share a studio 
>with two photographers that primarily do sports.  Both we Nikon users 
>who switched to Canon.  Both had many bodies and all the big glass.  
>Both have in the last two months returned to Nikon for the focus speed 
>and the fps and the durability over the Canon.  Plus the better glass.  
>These guys often operate at 8 fps to catch peak moment or to get a 
>sequence.  Like using the M to focus off center, with the F5 you plan 
>where you focus before the action starts.  But both are amazed at how 
>the camera tracks across the frame automatically.  For them, range 
>finder focusing would be a useless marketing gimmick.  And if you've 
>never used a Nikon meter, especially with flash fill, you don't know how 
>easy formerly difficult jobs can be.  
>
>The last couple of days on a magazine assignment is was shooting 
>location portraiture of about 30 high level computer industry leaders.  
>I would literally have 3-5 minutes to drag them outside during 
>conference breaks, find a spot with vaguely useable light (while trying 
>to make each one different), pull the flash off camera for a little 
>controlled fill and open fire on program automatic.  Even AF helps when 
>you're holding flash in one hand, camera in the other.  We're talking 
>blind faith in exposure. Supposedly the F5 is even better than my almost 
>flawless N90s.  I only hope the R8 is somewhere close in capability.
>
>Some features are for professionals that have to produce no matter what.  

Two points:  If Nikon projected that they would only sell F5s to those
photographers who really needed its "advanced" features, the camera would
never have been produced (the demand would be negligible).

Secondly, From the way you described your location portraiture, I can think
of many cameras that would do the trick.  When I first bought my Minolta 9xi
(over 4 years ago), the first thing I did was to load it up with slide film,
mount my macro lens, and shoot flowers at the Botanical Gardens.  I used
only Program Automation, no second guessing.  ALL of the slides came out
perfect.  I tried backlit, silhouette, whatever.  The (non RGB colour)
matrix metering system was bang on.  So when I hear of Nikon announcing (4
years later) that they have revolutionized the metering industry with their
colour sensitive 1005 cell meter system, I have to wonder.   Who really
needs this?  And besides, if their colour sensitive meter is designed to
properly weight the meter to all parts of the spectrum, Zone VI has been
doing this to Pentax meters for years for a couple hundred bucks or so.  Big
deal.

One last point, I'm not aware of a 250 exposure back for the F5.  How much
shooting at 8 frames per second can someone do, before he/she runs out of
film?  Wouldn't that be embarrassing, keeping your shooting finger on the
shutter a fraction of a second too long and then, when the action reaches
critical, oh oh!

Dan C.