Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site genat.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!genat!jorge From: jorge@genat.UUCP (Jorge Olenewa) Newsgroups: net.rec.photo Subject: Re: Buying a 35 mm camera Message-ID: <2595@genat.UUCP> Date: Wed, 19-Mar-86 18:45:44 EST Article-I.D.: genat.2595 Posted: Wed Mar 19 18:45:44 1986 Date-Received: Thu, 20-Mar-86 09:18:41 EST References: <2583@genat.UUCP> <12461@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> Reply-To: jorge@genat.UUCP (Jorge Olenewa) Organization: Genamation Inc. (Toronto Ontario, Canada) Lines: 77 Summary: In article <12461@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> ucbvax!jordan (Jordan Hayes) writes: >In article <2583@genat.UUCP> jorge@genat.UUCP (Jorge Olenewa) writes: > > I own an FE-2 which has been pretty good to me so far. I am > presently buying an F3 and have considered selling the FE-2 and > buying an FA but the excessive amount of electronics on it, > frankly turns me off ... I rarely use a camera on auto exposure > mode; I shoot a lot of K64 and bracket extensively; program > mode on the FA has intrigued me for use in "tricky" situations. > >If you "rarely use a camera on auto exposure" why do you have an >automatic camera ?!? Look, if you bought an FE-2 to use in manual mode >(which, somehow, I don't believe ...), you got sold some blue sky. I >have some land in Florida for you. Seriously, how can you justify using >an automagic camera mainly in manual mode? How can you justify trading >it in for an FA? Maybe, just maybe, you misread my questions, but here goes anyway. First of all the FE-2 is not an "automagic" camera. It has an auto exposure mode (aperture priority) and is in this sense, directly equivalent to an F3. It does not have a "program" mode so I do not think this makes it an automatic camera the way you seem to mean it. If you are an experienced photographer hobbyist or pro, you probably understand the advantage of having an auto exposure mode such as aperture priority AE when you are shooting in situations where your bacground is fairly constant and occupies either most of the frame or at least the center of the frame in the case of Nikon's center weighed metering (see photometers below). My reason for buying an FE-2 originally was (if you care to know) that I did not think I would get serious enough for an F3 and because of the large difference in the amount of information in the viewfinder between that and any other Nikon product available at the time. > >I'm SURE that if you shoot Kodachrome that you're going to bracket a >lot, especially if you wind up using auto mode ... that's a good way to >spend a lot of money. Better than bracketing "extensively", why don't >you save some money on film and buy yourself a good meter to find out >how to expose *correctly* ... note: this is not a dig on bracketing ... >I do so when needed, but if you're spending a lot of time (and money!) >bracketing, you're wasting a lot of both. > Now wait a minute there. How can I bracket a lot using auto mode? Wouldn't the camera adjust the shutter speed automatically everytime I changed the aperture? Surely you are not expecting me to be using the exposure compensation dial to bracket, are you? It would probably take me five minutes to shoot a single scene? 8-) Conventional meters are OK if you are shooting people. Spot meters are Grrreat if you are shooting complex and/or distant scenes. TTL meters do an excellent job if you are prepared to learn how to use them properly. And one of the first things I learned in Photography is that film is a lot cheaper than a re-shoot (don't you agree?), besides what I meant by bracketing extensively was shooting 2 or 3 frames for every frame that I cannot be sure of the result. When I have time to think and examine the image on the viewfinder, and I am shooting a stationary subject, that is often the most bracketing I will do (photography is not an exact science remember?). If you have learned to measure the quality of light and colour any better than that you better start teaching because a lot of will pay good money for that kind of knowledge. Conversely, what do you do when you have to shoot fast? Again, film is cheeeep! I am not going to get into exposure latitude here which is another reason for bracketing no matter how good a meter you have (gray scales et al) but I did not say I spent a lot of money or that I waste film. Anyway I thank you for responding and once again hope others on the net will find this informative and useful. Cheers, -- Jorge L. Olenewa Mail: Genamation Inc. Phone: (416) 475-9434 351 Steelcase Rd. W Markham, Ontario. UUCP: Canada L3R 3W1 {allegra,linus,ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!genat!jorge