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Need a new girl(?E500?)

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butler83 said:
TK

Those are nice shots. Are you in the stands???
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Thanks! I do a slide show for the band banquet each year, I feel that my best shots come out of band camp and the stands, lots of opportunity for candids.
butler83 said:
Troy High where my son plays football has a great marching band. I
wish the football team were that good, but let me get back on
topic.
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I've heard good things about Troy's band program. I am originally from the Detroit area and they compete in the same division that we do. We are currently in third, Troy is in 5th with one week left in the regular season. I am looking forward to seeing them perform at State Finals at the Silverdome in two weeks. I actually had two of my shots from State Finals published last year.
butler83 said:
Yes, I think the time to go digital is here. Sometimes I wait two
weeks or more to see my pictures and I hate that more and more.

I signing off for the night, but thank you.
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You're welcome. Better be careful, this place is addictive, too!
--
Theresa Kelly
http://theresak.smugmug.com/
Oly E-300, FL-36, 14-45, 40-150, 50-200

 
Theresa K said:
Theresa K said:
My lovely daugther plays cello so those would be still shots, but
no flashes allowed so its a little dark. My old girl took these
shots with ease.
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It always cracks me up to see people even try flash at these event.
All they do is light up the back of the person's head in front of
them!
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It depends on how powerful your external flash is, what the lighting conditions are like, and what ISO you use. I've had good luck shooting from the back of churches or in darkened auditoriums with my UZI (Olympus C-2100UZ) and Promaster flash, and I have no doubt I could do the same with the new gear (E-1, FL-50, 50-200mm lens). Now, the builtin flash won't work at all.

However, lately I've been doing more available light work, so I don't irritate the people around me.
 
Michael Meissner said:
It depends on how powerful your external flash is, what the
lighting conditions are like, and what ISO you use. I've had good
luck shooting from the back of churches or in darkened auditoriums
with my UZI (Olympus C-2100UZ) and Promaster flash, and I have no
doubt I could do the same with the new gear (E-1, FL-50, 50-200mm
lens). Now, the builtin flash won't work at all.

However, lately I've been doing more available light work, so I
don't irritate the people around me.
Click to expand...
I used to try the FL-40 at band events, you are right about it being irritating. I also think that with the higher iso ability and the brighter lens, I should do okay. I'll post some shots after their Christmas concert. I am having LOTS of fun with that 50-200 at band competitions.
--
Theresa Kelly
http://theresak.smugmug.com/
Oly E-300, FL-36, 14-45, 40-150, 50-200

 
butler83 said:
C Cat

I just checked Ebay for an X-700 and it looks very promising if I
go that route. I looked a few years ago because I knew this day
would come for my old girl, but the picking were slim and costly.
Things have changed.

I am going to consider a combo. Do a lot of non pro folks like me
shoot film and digital??? It might make sense for me to stay with
film for my long shots to keep my long glass or do a little of both.
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Some people do, some don't (I went for ~ 10 years shooting very few pictures until I started with digital, and went hog wild). I see no reason why you have to limit yourself to one camera, though I do find I'm using my old camera (Olympus C-2100UZ) less and less these days, it still is a classic.

Do note that DSLRs don't come with memory cards, so figure on spending some amount of money on a card. If money is tight, don't feel you need to get the fastest card -- I suspect the X-700 didn't have a motor drive, so you probably are planning on keeping your finger glued to the shutter release button. I happen to use Kingston Elite Pro cards as my main card on the E-1. If you can afford it, go for a 1 or 2 gig card.
 
butler83 said:
I am going to consider a combo. Do a lot of non pro folks like me
shoot film and digital??? It might make sense for me to stay with
film for my long shots to keep my long glass or do a little of both.
Click to expand...
I think that if you really like the Minolta X camera that much, you may as well buy a replacement, they hardly cost anything. $100 is nothing.

A DSLR is a much bigger investment. If money is an issue, which you already stated that it is, I'd start with a less expensive compact digicam, you'd be amazed at the quality you can get for less than $400.

I recently bought a Sony P200 in addition to the E-500 because I wanted a small camera I could carry in my pocket, and it takes pretty good photos for such a tiny camera. Lots of DSLR owners also own a small digicam for the same reason.
 
Theresa K said:
I used to try the FL-40 at band events, you are right about it
being irritating. I also think that with the higher iso ability
and the brighter lens, I should do okay. I'll post some shots
after their Christmas concert. I am having LOTS of fun with that
50-200 at band competitions.
Click to expand...
Don't try the 50mm lens in available light, at least until your husband unclamps his hand around the wallet :-) I've done some really dark concerts with the 50mm lens and ISO 800. Of course with a prime you don't have any zoom, so I'm getting good at knowing exactly how far back to sit.....
 
butler83 said:
TK

Those are nice shots. Are you in the stands???

Troy High where my son plays football has a great marching band. I
wish the football team were that good, but let me get back on
topic.

Yes, I think the time to go digital is here. Sometimes I wait two
weeks or more to see my pictures and I hate that more and more.
Click to expand...
Yep, this to me was the biggest point about digital. Until I got the E-1 and associated gear, I figured I had crossed the threshold where I had spent less on the gear than I would have buying the film and doing the processing. I probably have a couple of months to go before I break even again (assuming I don't buy more gear).

Note, most of use who have gone digital undergo a transformation, where you worry less about getting the one shot, and are willing to blast 5 or 10 shots. This can be good or bad. It can be good in that you don't hear a cash register going cha-ching every time you take a shot, and you can afford to play around to get the perfect shot. It can be bad in that people get lazy, and just fire randomly with no thought of the eventual picture.
 
Michael Meissner said:
Note, most of use who have gone digital undergo a transformation,
where you worry less about getting the one shot, and are willing to
blast 5 or 10 shots. This can be good or bad.
Click to expand...
It frees us up to take some risks, maybe shoot with settings we wouldn't otherwise. A learning process all the way around. It's also really nice to be able to switch between different speeds of 'film' with the touch of a button.
--
Theresa Kelly
http://theresak.smugmug.com/
Oly E-300, FL-36, 14-45, 40-150, 50-200

 
Theresa K said:
Michael Meissner said:
Note, most of use who have gone digital undergo a transformation,
where you worry less about getting the one shot, and are willing to
blast 5 or 10 shots. This can be good or bad.
Click to expand...
It frees us up to take some risks, maybe shoot with settings we
wouldn't otherwise. A learning process all the way around. It's
also really nice to be able to switch between different speeds of
'film' with the touch of a button.
Click to expand...
Yep. I've lost track of how many pictures I've taken, but I know it is on the order of 30,000 with the C-2100UZ and it is approaching 10,000 on the E-1 (and less than 1,000 on the D-510Z/D-40Z). A lot of those were deleted, because I'm doing multi-shot brackets or continous mode to get the shot.
 
Ok, the E-500 does sound like a good deal.

Also, if you have any of the better Rokkor-X lenses, you might want to look into the adapter for Minolta MD/MC to FOur Thirds (www.cameraquest.com, somethimes not listed, but availible). It cost $175, and is only stop down mettering...

But is you have any of these lenses, I would suggest it:

50/1.4 (or 58/1.2)
35/2 (or 35/1.4)
135/2.8 (cheap but nice)

Or any lens that is faster than f/2.8. Or longer than 200mm.

But that is just me...

Oh, and for people who do not realise it, Leica outsourced several lenses to Minolta (and a few were outsourced the other way). They make good glass (better than many of the OMs actually).
 
Don't touch, fondle, fiddle with, test, or borrow an E-1.

I've owned some Maxxum film cameras with nothing but fondness. The D7D was overpriced for me though, so I went for the E-1. Couldn't be happier. It really is the "stud leroy" of cameras under $1000. A used kit will cost you about the price a new E-300 two lens kit. (even new ones are rediculously low in price for what the E-1 is).

E-500 with two lens kit is a fab. deal for sure. If you don't plan to be adding many lenses to your "collection" then your making a wise choise with the E-500 and Zuikos. These are simply the best kit lenses compared with any sytem at the entry price point (especially the 40-150mm which is 80-300mm in 35mm speak). They will do the distance for durability and optical quality.

The DRXT, D50, and D5D are all decent options for a little bit more dough, and would be better for your low light shots. (especially the D5D with built in AS). A used E-1 (even a new one) is in the same ball park as these pricewise.

I'd say go for the E-500 just because of the value. There are lots of other good cameras out there, but the return on your dollar is largest with this choise because of the excellent 2 lens kit. However if you plan to add lenses in the future, or have a bit more dough, the E-1 or even D7D are step ups in construction and feel. Coming from your Minolta 700, feel obviously matters. Again... if you try out an E-1 it's all over.

Cheers, Seth

--
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?

--
http://www.wallygoots.com
 
Rod, I'll keep your email. There is a local shop that does used camera stuff that I was in long ago. I prefer to put my hands on it.
 
I think I will push ahead with the E-500 soon. Its a real camera vs the point n shooters. It fits the budget and it sounds like it will work for football and cello(Thanks TK) with the kit lenses.

I am also fired up about maybe getting another X-700 body(Tks Calico Cat). It may not be my old gal, but maybe it would be like her cute twin sister: ) I'm not sure if the E500 can complete with the my X700 with the
Tamron 60-300mm, but shooting both will be fun.

There are so many camera options on the market and it changes so fast its a bit overwhelming.

Thanks Again,
George
 
That will be interesting to see how they fair. The X-700 was not a top or pro camera, but a darn good camera. To good to give up totally.

This going digital thing has me fired up about photography more than I have been in a long time. I'm wondering why it took me so long now to get in gear?
 
But I am sure you will have a lot of fun with it and that's what it's all about. The good news about 'waiting so long' is that there are now better tools than ever and unlike the rest of us, you haven't spent a small fortune along the way looking for that perfect cam.
--
Theresa Kelly
http://theresak.smugmug.com/
Oly E-300, FL-36, 14-45, 40-150, 50-200

 
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