Do you still read Kirk Tuck and Ming Thein?

[Guy Parsons]

To find out about new cameras etc I usually just soak up multiple reviews as they flood in plus the early adopters' comments.

That way I seem to get a better picture than just following a few named characters.

Such as... the Pen-F.... many if not most of the early impressions seemed to say the flip-out screen was a mistake, so maybe Olympus should listen and eventually offer a different way of making it multi-angle, or provide A & B models with tilts and with flip-outs. It's points like that I notice as a screen only user, the flip-out sideways design makes it impossible to hold the camera in my usual fashion, so pass on that one.

Anyway that's hardware, as for technique then I just go Googling if I need to learn about macro lighting, or portrait lighting or whatever. That way a wide range of advice is offered and I soon can sort the good stuff from the puff stuff.

So following "names" is not for me.

Above I was sort of defending Robin Wong as I see him as an OK enthusiastic camera user, more that than just a person trying to drive traffic to his pages. But I rarely just seek to read his pages, maybe only go there if someone links an article I may be interested in.

Regards..... Guy

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Marty,

I notice a few clickables on the Tuck site which probably helps his finances but I have no argument with these as there is a considerable effort in running a blog site that has few other rewards except status and advertising his services and perhaps receiving a few easy brickbats that are hurled in return from time to time.

It is hard to be a photographer for a living in a world full of camera owners. Luckily I made my modest retirement from another profession. One of my tip-truck owner clients said to me - "it was hard to be in the tip truck game because anyone who can raise the HP deposit on a tip-truck can be in the business". Second only to photography I guess and the only way to make it in the professional photography game is to be mad enough to be seen to buy the expensive gear that makes the average putzer blanche. Didn't work for me ... (grin) - being a bit of a performing bear with self-promotion helps as well ....

Now that I have been directed there I will possibly visit from time to time in the odd bored moment and promise that I will not name drop "Kirk Tuck" as if I have some inner-sanctum access to this site.

I myself am a lazy-blogger who finds it easier to blog-away on a site where others do the hard work of maintaining it.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

To find out about new cameras etc I usually just soak up multiple reviews as they flood in plus the early adopters' comments.

Guy

It is interesting to read how we get informed - enough to make a thread all of its own.

I think for many making a camera purchase they are either bordering on financial capacity or scared spitless about making a mistake. They seek a huge amount of re-assurance before fronting up their readies to buy anything. In other words they rely on other suckers to be the pathfinders before they take their own risks.

Myself I tend to work out what I need and look at the price. If the price is outside my price parameters I forget about it - no point in dreaming of a Leica when I have a Ricoh (or M4/3) budget. Then I read specifications, rely on my personal opinion of needs, brand capability, and reliability. If I am still on board I simply buy it. Rarely do I first read the reviews - I only do this if I feel that it is a long term prospect and that I have life in my current gear for a while yet.

For example the GX80 is a camera that I could really enjoy, but the trouble is that I enjoy my GX7 so much that I could not see myself needing to step up until I have at least worn a nice patina on the grip.

So I will read the dpreview of the GX80 when it arrives but I note that I might not have bought the wonderful GRD so many years ago if I had read the review first. Ten or more years down the track I can still pull the Ricoh GRD out and enjoy what it does best whilst its erstwhile rivals are long since junked and forgotten.

The big point is that the GRD review was very fair and the criticisms quite correct. But we buy all cameras despite their failings and enjoy them for what they do well.

A case in point is that my E-M1 has had QC failures unimaginable on other brands that I have owned: Ricoh, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Canon ... but I still truly like it as a camera despite its build tenderness. I intend to have and use the E-M1 for quite a while, but of course if it fails again then I reserve my final judgement on the matter.

That way I seem to get a better picture than just following a few named characters.

Such as... the Pen-F.... many if not most of the early impressions seemed to say the flip-out screen was a mistake, so maybe Olympus should listen and eventually offer a different way of making it multi-angle, or provide A & B models with tilts and with flip-outs. It's points like that I notice as a screen only user, the flip-out sideways design makes it impossible to hold the camera in my usual fashion, so pass on that one.

Nothing like fully articulated screens to bring out the angst. Myself, I have gone from really liking the 1.5" flip lcd on the Canon Pro90 IS to actively hating the huge screens on the recent crop of cameras.

I cannot see that the convenience for video and odd-angle photography is worth the inconvenience of forever flipping and twisting the screen for "ordinary" use. For example if the screen is faced in "for protection" then it has to be flipped out for any use whatsoever. For a casual ramble with a few photographs at intervals this rapidly becomes a huge pain in the posterior. Leave it fixed screen outwards and it is no more than a fixed position lcd and if you decide to use it angled then it still has to be flipped and twisted.

Carry it about with lcd articulated out? How passe .... and watch out when passing.

I am quite happy with a fixed lcd but I see the tilt screen as an extra bonus. Just leave it as "fixed" until the tilt comes in handy. No sweat.

But I hardly wish to start articulation wars. However when it comes to our happy articulators trying to soft talk manufacturers into putting articulated screens into every camera they make ..... red light! I am most happy that some cameras have articulated screens as long as there are others that I like with fixed or tilt screens that I can still buy.

I am also not interested in one of those complex mechanisms that do tilt + articulation - leave them for those who see more point in leatherman multitools than simply buying a tool that is best for the job in hand. If you truly need articulation then get the best one for your purpose, no real need for tilt as well. I get by very well with an occasional tilt - portrait mode? - just shoot square format (smile).

A camera with an articulated lcd screen is not ever on my buy list.

Even more silly are dslr bodies with their wonderful mirror box ovf and an articulated lcd for video. Neither fish nor fowl - I am glad that I now live on another planet not called "Video".

Anyway that's hardware, as for technique then I just go Googling if I need to learn about macro lighting, or portrait lighting or whatever. That way a wide range of advice is offered and I soon can sort the good stuff from the puff stuff.

So following "names" is not for me.

Above I was sort of defending Robin Wong as I see him as an OK enthusiastic camera user, more that than just a person trying to drive traffic to his pages. But I rarely just seek to read his pages, maybe only go there if someone links an article I may be interested in.

Regards..... Guy

--
Tom Caldwell

 

[Marty4650]

To find out about new cameras etc I usually just soak up multiple reviews as they flood in plus the early adopters' comments.

Guy

It is interesting to read how we get informed - enough to make a thread all of its own.

I think for many making a camera purchase they are either bordering on financial capacity or scared spitless about making a mistake. They seek a huge amount of re-assurance before fronting up their readies to buy anything. In other words they rely on other suckers to be the pathfinders before they take their own risks.

Tom,

I have always been amazed by how much some people will agonize over the "which camera to buy" decision.

They know that a camera buying decision won't be the most important decision they ever make. The penalty you pay for guessing wrong is relatively minor. Especially when compared with some other decisions we make with far less effort. Things like which job to take, where to live, who to marry, which house or car to buy, whether to have children or not. Those decisions are often decisions made easily, despite the high risks involved.

But, when it comes to buying an $800 camera, they agonize over the choices, as if their lives depended on it. I have seen some folks start multiple threads about "what should I buy" and get so many replies that it confuses them into buying nothing at all.

And, objectively speaking..... how much sense does it make to ask total strangers..."what should I buy?" Logic tells you, they will probably tell you what they would buy, since it is impossible for them to know what you would be happy with.

You never hear people asking "what brand of beer should I drink" or "what music should I listen to?" but the camera buying decision seems to be fraught with angst. They are really troubled by which is better.... Mirror or No Mirror..... OVF or EVF..... silver or black... as if these things really made any difference in whether they could take a good photo.

Wait... I just realized I am rambling again. I seem to do this a lot!

Sorry! :-(

 

[Guy Parsons]

Tom Caldwell wrote: .....

no point in dreaming of a Leica when I have a Ricoh (or M4/3) budget.

I can afford a Leica or three but then I would have to grow a beard and wear corduroy trousers, and concentrate on contrasty B&W images of steps, garbage tins and rocks. Not for me.

A camera with an articulated lcd screen is not ever on my buy list.

When they make one with a top centre swivel hinge then I might look at one. My old Oly C-5060 has that arrangement and it works a treat (I never used the viewfinder at all on that one). Sideways screen just does not work for me as a solely screen user.

So far Pen-F and E-M5ii are totally to be avoided by me, I guess even E-M1ii will catch the same disease. LCD = Left Clunky/Collision Disorder.

Regards..... Guy

 

[Guy Parsons]

Wait... I just realized I am rambling again. I seem to do this a lot!
Sorry! :-(

No need to be sorry, Marty. As your registered therapist I am glad that you are open and communicative about this issue. It helps keep you sane..... maybe.

And hey, I totally agree with your post, cameras are bought on a whim by me but with some mild research, and then stop when I find what works for me. The E-P5 is my stop.

For cars I will do some more homework. The 16 year old Subaru can't last another 10 years so one day I may need to replace it. (Probably with another Subaru).

Regards....... Guy Parsons RIT (Registered Internet Therapist)

 

[Hen3ry]

Tom Caldwell wrote: .....

no point in dreaming of a Leica when I have a Ricoh (or M4/3) budget.

I can afford a Leica or three but then I would have to grow a beard and wear corduroy trousers, and concentrate on contrasty B&W images of steps, garbage tins and rocks. Not for me.

I think this was the entrance to a surf life saving club in the vicinity of Currumbin on the Gold Coast.



BYO B&W and contrast!

The sign was at about eye level as you approached the stairs.

What I want to know is that if you were an average Queensland surfer person who was so shickered that s/he couldn't discern that (well lit) stairs were within the immediate environment, how in heaven's name could s/he read the sign?

--
Geoffrey Heard
Down and out in Rabaul in the South Pacific

http://rabaulpng.com/we-are-all-traveling-throug/i-waited-51-years-for-tavur.html

 

[TN Args]

Nothing like fully articulated screens to bring out the angst. ....

I cannot see that the convenience for video and odd-angle photography is worth the inconvenience of forever flipping and twisting the screen for "ordinary" use. For example if the screen is faced in "for protection" then it has to be flipped out for any use whatsoever. For a casual ramble with a few photographs at intervals this rapidly becomes a huge pain in the posterior. Leave it fixed screen outwards and it is no more than a fixed position lcd and if you decide to use it angled then it still has to be flipped and twisted.

No, I have had too much pain trying to make portrait aspect shots with a tilt-only screen, above my head or below my waist. They are a bad idea, only better than a fixie. Learned my lesson.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

To find out about new cameras etc I usually just soak up multiple reviews as they flood in plus the early adopters' comments.

Guy

It is interesting to read how we get informed - enough to make a thread all of its own.

I think for many making a camera purchase they are either bordering on financial capacity or scared spitless about making a mistake. They seek a huge amount of re-assurance before fronting up their readies to buy anything. In other words they rely on other suckers to be the pathfinders before they take their own risks.

Tom,

I have always been amazed by how much some people will agonize over the "which camera to buy" decision.

They know that a camera buying decision won't be the most important decision they ever make. The penalty you pay for guessing wrong is relatively minor. Especially when compared with some other decisions we make with far less effort. Things like which job to take, where to live, who to marry, which house or car to buy, whether to have children or not. Those decisions are often decisions made easily, despite the high risks involved.

But, when it comes to buying an $800 camera, they agonize over the choices, as if their lives depended on it. I have seen some folks start multiple threads about "what should I buy" and get so many replies that it confuses them into buying nothing at all.

And, objectively speaking..... how much sense does it make to ask total strangers..."what should I buy?" Logic tells you, they will probably tell you what they would buy, since it is impossible for them to know what you would be happy with.

You never hear people asking "what brand of beer should I drink" or "what music should I listen to?" but the camera buying decision seems to be fraught with angst. They are really troubled by which is better.... Mirror or No Mirror..... OVF or EVF..... silver or black... as if these things really made any difference in whether they could take a good photo.

Wait... I just realized I am rambling again. I seem to do this a lot!

Not rambling, right to the point and I agree with every word.

Maybe it is our feminine consultative side coming out? Ask whether we should buy a Fuji or a Sony on Fuji forum or vice versa and expect an unbiased word of advice ....

We don't really want an answer just something to talk about?

Sorry! :-(

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Wait... I just realized I am rambling again. I seem to do this a lot!

Sorry! :-(

No need to be sorry, Marty. As your registered therapist I am glad that you are open and communicative about this issue. It helps keep you sane..... maybe.

And hey, I totally agree with your post, cameras are bought on a whim by me but with some mild research, and then stop when I find what works for me. The E-P5 is my stop.

For cars I will do some more homework. The 16 year old Subaru can't last another 10 years so one day I may need to replace it. (Probably with another Subaru).

Strike a light Guy, my 26 year old Honda CRX (bought new) is still working fine, I am going to have to figure out what to replace my "other" car (a 10 year old VW first).

Regards....... Guy Parsons RIT (Registered Internet Therapist)

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Tom Caldwell wrote: .....

no point in dreaming of a Leica when I have a Ricoh (or M4/3) budget.

I can afford a Leica or three but then I would have to grow a beard and wear corduroy trousers, and concentrate on contrasty B&W images of steps, garbage tins and rocks. Not for me.

A camera with an articulated lcd screen is not ever on my buy list.

When they make one with a top centre swivel hinge then I might look at one. My old Oly C-5060 has that arrangement and it works a treat (I never used the viewfinder at all on that one). Sideways screen just does not work for me as a solely screen user.

So far Pen-F and E-M5ii are totally to be avoided by me, I guess even E-M1ii will catch the same disease. LCD = Left Clunky/Collision Disorder.

Regards..... Guy

An articulated lcd on the E-M1ii will be an Olympus LCD for me as well (Likely Completely Denied). Goodbye sirrah, completely finished, Olympus end of story ... but I will wear out my E-M1 first.

Right now, in the inconceivable need for yet another camera, the Panasonic GX80 would take a lot of beating and they have reasonably listened to my requirements and made it tilt lcd only.

And dammit, I have not even read a proper review test as of yet

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Nothing like fully articulated screens to bring out the angst. ....

I cannot see that the convenience for video and odd-angle photography is worth the inconvenience of forever flipping and twisting the screen for "ordinary" use. For example if the screen is faced in "for protection" then it has to be flipped out for any use whatsoever. For a casual ramble with a few photographs at intervals this rapidly becomes a huge pain in the posterior. Leave it fixed screen outwards and it is no more than a fixed position lcd and if you decide to use it angled then it still has to be flipped and twisted.

No, I have had too much pain trying to make portrait aspect shots with a tilt-only screen, above my head or below my waist. They are a bad idea, only better than a fixie. Learned my lesson.

 

[Dennis]

It's by far my favorite photography blog.

Well, more of an everything blog. Some weeks, it seems like there's only one photography related post a week. But it's still one of the two blogs I check daily Mike's a good writer and after following him for a long time, it's kind of like checking in with a friend. (And you get to know the cast of characters as well). The other blog I follow is Thom's.

But I also read Tuck.

Kirk's blog is like watching someone live through a midlife crisis over and over again ! But he's a smart guy with good rationale for choosing gear, and a practical, professional background that a lot of others can't match.

• Dennis
  --
  Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com

 

[captura]

I find Steve Huff's site entertaining at times, plus he's a good photographer.

 

[TN Args]

....The 16 year old Subaru can't last another 10 years so one day I may need to replace it. (Probably with another Subaru).

Strike a light Guy, my 26 year old Honda CRX (bought new) is still working fine,

Yeah but that's a Honda. He said Subaru. ;-)

 

[Guy Parsons]

No, I have had too much pain trying to make portrait aspect shots with a tilt-only screen, above my head or below my waist.

Granted, but for me it's rare to do or need portrait orientation. I tend to shoot like a TV camera-man and fill the blank space with something interesting or appropriate, or just crop it later to an alternate vertical aspect ratio .

They are a bad idea,

For you maybe, but not for many others. If as I said they brought back a top edge swivel hinge then all the problems of that silly out the side LCD are gone.

only better than a fixie. Learned my lesson.

Fixies are hopeless for reflections, tilties work just fine for me but they must tilt down as well as up, swivelly out the sidies are a definite no go for me as they get in the way of how I hold the camera and lens.

Regards..... Guy

 

[TN Args]

No, I have had too much pain trying to make portrait aspect shots with a tilt-only screen, above my head or below my waist.

Granted, but for me it's rare to do or need portrait orientation.

Well that really limits your photography, but does not change the fact that only swivel screens allow the photographer proper flexibility. The tilt-screen is niche, and I don't think broad-use cameras should have niche features at the expense of utility.

I tend to shoot like a TV camera-man and fill the blank space with something interesting or appropriate, or just crop it later to an alternate vertical aspect ratio .

I've had a tilting screen camera, I enjoyed it when it suited, but learned my lesson about how limiting it is.

 

[Guy Parsons]

No, I have had too much pain trying to make portrait aspect shots with a tilt-only screen, above my head or below my waist.

Granted, but for me it's rare to do or need portrait orientation.

Well that really limits your photography,

Not really as the 3456 megapickles in the short dimension still allows a crop and reorientation to allow a good 16 inch print in that direction.

Why are people so afraid to crop? At 16MP there's plenty to play with.

but does not change the fact that only swivel screens allow the photographer proper flexibility.

Yes, but I don't need it, you just happen to need it.

The tilt-screen is niche, and I don't think broad-use cameras should have niche features at the expense of utility.

Niche is good enough for me and in fact I will definitely never buy one of those side hinged LCD models, they just do not work for me, mainly because it totally interferes with my hand-holding.

I tend to shoot like a TV camera-man and fill the blank space with something interesting or appropriate, or just crop it later to an alternate vertical aspect ratio .

I've had a tilting screen camera, I enjoyed it when it suited, but learned my lesson about how limiting it is.

Luckily for the camera makers that we all have different needs. From the melange of models available there's always one that works.

Regards..... Guy

 

[Guy Parsons]

....The 16 year old Subaru can't last another 10 years so one day I may need to replace it. (Probably with another Subaru).

Strike a light Guy, my 26 year old Honda CRX (bought new) is still working fine,

That's old, very old for a Honda.

Yeah but that's a Honda. He said Subaru. ;-)

For me the Subaru Liberty/Legacy wagon has been the overall best car ever (ease of use, reliability, economy), though the most fun and useful car was the Renault R4 .

Anyway, as far as aged cars go the Sydney scene is that I see a lot of old Subarus, way more than expected due to the lower sales volume in early days. Plenty of old Toyota, but heck they sell so many. Hardly see any old Hondas or Mazdas, they truly seem to fit the Japanese design idea of 3 years and out. That said from someone who has owned 5 Hondas over the years, they are a bit delicate.

Thinking back I have owned too many cars over the years, brands include Renault 5 different models, Mercedes Benz 2 (old) models, Honda 5 models, Toyota Land Cruiser, Subaru 2 models, and as company forgettable cars some Mitsubishi thing and a (GM) Holden Camira (yuk).

Regards....... Guy

 

[TN Args]

No, I have had too much pain trying to make portrait aspect shots with a tilt-only screen, above my head or below my waist.

Granted, but for me it's rare to do or need portrait orientation.

Well that really limits your photography,

Not really as the 3456 megapickles in the short dimension still allows a crop and reorientation to allow a good 16 inch print in that direction.

Why are people so afraid to crop? At 16MP there's plenty to play with.

but does not change the fact that only swivel screens allow the photographer proper flexibility.

Yes, but I don't need it, you just happen to need it.

I'm not talking about me and you, but general application.

The tilt-screen is niche, and I don't think broad-use cameras should have niche features at the expense of utility.

Niche is good enough for me and in fact I will definitely never buy one of those side hinged LCD models, they just do not work for me, mainly because it totally interferes with my hand-holding.

I tend to shoot like a TV camera-man and fill the blank space with something interesting or appropriate, or just crop it later to an alternate vertical aspect ratio .

I've had a tilting screen camera, I enjoyed it when it suited, but learned my lesson about how limiting it is.

Luckily for the camera makers that we all have different needs. From the melange of models available there's always one that works.

Regards..... Guy

My point being, the top models need to evolve to swivel for broadest application: GH4, E-M1, ....

Then we can have less capable cameras with tilt for those with more limited uses in mind: PEN-F, GX80, ....

I hope that people in the latter camp don't try to browbeat makers into not making their best cameras as good as they can be.

Anyway, we are way OT. Back to Tuck and Co.

--
Arg