Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/08/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Peter, It seems you have also been a victim of Nikon's "cool"pixes... The day I finally decided to get a Digilux 1, went to the store and...allowed a smart salesman to convince me to spend $500 more in the then recently appeared 5700, that has exactly the same problems you mention with the 990. Because I like a lot the type of photography you show us here, I've made exactly the same thing you are about to do: Leica 100%, with anything between Agfa Scala 200 and Ilford Delta 3200, depending on the available light (or available darkness, as I think Ted Grand would like to say). Perhaps one day, when CCDs or CMOS become as sensible as film, at a reasonable price, I may get a Canon or a Leica/Panasonic. In the mean time, I just prefer the M6 or the IIIf. Achilles - --- Peter Klein <pklein@2alpha.net> wrote: > I had dinner with my folks a couple of weeks ago, > and decided to try using > the Unlika Leica (Nikon Coolpix 990) as a > Leica-style available light > people shooter. Which it ain't. The exposure times > were absurd. Autofocus > sometimes worked, sometimes didn't quite. Even at > noisy ISO 400 and the > lens locked wide open at f/2.5 - 3.5, I was getting > mostly 1/15 or > worse. I lost some lens speed because I had to use > the zoom--it is simply > not polite to climb over one's octegenarian parents > and their friends at > the retirement home during dinner. > > This is the best of the lot, overall (my mother and > a friend): > http://www2.2alpha.com/~pklein/family/6462EmAndFriendSmall.jpg > > My mother-in-law listening intently: > http://www2.2alpha.com/~pklein/family/6452AdaSmall.jpg > > My Dad, a retired theoretical physicist, lost in > thought: > http://www2.2alpha.com/~pklein/family/6441MiltSmall.jpg > > The rest are all a little motion-blurred or > not-quite-focused, though I was > able to get a few that were OK for family memories. > Next time, it's back > to the Leica, 400 film and an f/1.4 or f/2 lens. > This experience makes me > admire even more the available light pioneers in the > 1920s and 30s, with > their hypersensitized ASA 80 and 100 film and f/3.5 > and f/4 lenses. The > Summar must have seemed like science fiction when it > came out. > > --Peter Klein > Seattle, WA > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html