Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Exactly. I know GeeBee and you sir, are no GeeBee. :-) I read somewhere recently that, if your aspiration is to be the best violinist you possibly can, wouldn't you practice several hours a day, daily ? Why would it be any different just because your passion is photography ? Like KayCee more than once said, keep clicking that shutter. You didn't have your Stradivarius with you, so what ? A Nikon Coolpix 990 would do as well. PeeKay, you had a good day. - - Phong Actually I only know GeeBee's feet. Jerry Lehrer wrote: > > Peter > > I seem to remember analogous comment about someone who > knew John Kennedy. But my medication drugged brain can't > put it together. > > Jerry > > Peter Klein wrote: > > > I'd had a rough week at work. I was practically comatose > through much of > > Saturday. Then my wife persuaded me accompany her a walk in Seattle's > > Discovery Park. This is not your typical city park. It's a former > > military base that is being allowed to largely revert to its natural > > state. And it's huge. > > > > At the last minute, I decided to take the Unlika Leica (Nikon > Coolpix 990) > > along. I ended up doing a GeeBee-style walkabout. Along with beautiful > > nature, I even found a couple of tattooed GothChix wanabees! So, with > > tongue in cheek apologies to Graham, let me present: > > > > http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/DiscoveryPark/DiscoveryParkWalk.htm > > http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/DiscoveryPark/DiscoveryParkWalk2.htm > > > > I can see that the Coolpix 990 is not going to satisfy me > long-term. Not > > enough megapixels, some shadow noise even at ISO 100, some oft-needed > > controls buried in menus you can't read in the sunlight. I'm very > > interested in how the supposedly improved, supposedly coming-in-August > > Lumix Lika Leica will work--I might be interested. Meantime, > though, it's > > a great learning tool for not much initial outlay. > > > > Anyway, here's how I set the Coolpix, based on suggestions I received on > > the LUG and LEG, particularly from Sonny and Tina. The idea was to > > minimize shutter delay, menu fiddling and blown highlights, and > still have > > usable shots. > > > > White balance: Set manually, don't use Auto. > > Contrast: Lowest setting > > Sharpening: Off > > Autofocus: Set to focus on the center spot with a > half-press of the shutter > > release. > > I used infinity setting and occasionally > guessed manual focus for scenics and > > action shots, respectively. > > Exposure: Usually shutter priority. > > Metering: Matrix, set to meter on half-press of the > shutter release. > > Exposure compensation: Set anywhere from 0 to minus 1.3 stops, > depending > > on how badly I thought the highlights might blow. > > > > The result was some slightly flat shots with I then did all my level > > adjustments and sharpening in Picture Window Pro. Usually I just pulled > > the black and white points to minimum and maximum, boosted the > midtones a > > bit, and sharpened. I think I underadjusted some pictures due to blown > > highlight paranoia. > > > > I may try doing manual exposure on the Coolpix with a separate > > meter. Incident and brightness range stuff. Trying to use the > camera for > > that is maddening. I also wish I had a rangefinder in the > > Coolpix. Fighting autofocus when I could focus more quickly myself. > > > > And yes, that is a Tilley hat. I bought it well before before > I found out > > it was LUG anti-chic. > > > > --Peter Klein > > Seattle, WA > > > > -- > > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html