Cameras

[endersgame]

Any other recommendations? Just something compact, can do good quality shots for point & shoot and do 720p video.

that sounds like a canon s95.

i'm thinking about selling mine...lol.

shananana, the alpa is a very expensive and over-engineered camera platform with no modern conveniences. if you ever get one, i hope you know what you're getting into..

[lowrey]

Want to spend under $1k for the body + lens (just going to use one for the trip) and want it to be compact as possible.

since you wrote "body+lens", are specifically looking for a camera with an interchangable lens? if so, and you're looking for something smaller than an entry DSLR, then it would probably be a micro four thirds camera, either a Lumix GF2 or an Olympus PEN.

if a fixed lens is ok, the Fuji X100 seems like a great camera in the same size range as the 3/4's. or for an actually pocketable camera, I'd reccomend a Canon S95. It won't get left that far behind the larger cameras, the image quality is great for a pocket sized. I know several members (including myself) will wouch for it as well

[Chinorlz]

Arto, thank you for that detailed response complete with links!

Really appreciate it. The Lumix and the Canon look awesome.

[shah]

shananana, the alpa is a very expensive and over-engineered camera platform with no modern conveniences. if you ever get one, i hope you know what you're getting into..

of couse, very overpriced, but the fact that it can be used as MF or digital is quite nice. I like the weird design as well. I probably won't ever get one because I could buy a car instead

[endersgame]

any modern MF film camera will be able to take a digital back as long as there is an adaptor for it. but if you decide to use a digital back, they make special digitar lenses that have more resolving power to capture the same image on a smaller sensor. there are other factors too but i don't know much about digital MF lenses..

photocare is the only ALPA dealer around me, but i was always afraid to ask about it. out of curiosity i registered on the alpa site to see the prices...

the viewfinder alone is like $2k. some of the lenses and bodies are $9k, so the pricing is up there with linhof..

old fashioned LF cameras are still the way to go..

Ebony SV45U. i would like to have something simple once i start shooting again, whenever that's going to be..

more titanium than ccp elbow pads..

[Fade to Black]

my school has a Mamiya RB67 and a Toyo 4X5 large format but the shitty thing is they only let you book either for a day and you can't take them off school premises. 4X5 film is quite expensive in hong kong. That's the thing about the photography resources department here...i'd like to try shooting an 8X10 some day...

[endersgame]

if you want to try the toyo, buy yourself a box of polaroids. no darkroom film loading and instant gratification.

fuji still makes 4x5 polaroids in 10-packs.

[Fade to Black]

laughed i think you should become a street photographer artist in the vein of Frank and Schles; your passion shows through in your typing. Not to mention (even though you're sober now), people who have "drink" in their blood tend to be the best at this kinda thing. Thing I always liked about Eggleston's photos is you look at them and even if you know nothing about the guy they're clearly the work of a drunk.

Does anyone know what cameras are used by Wolfgang Tillmans and Araki (the latter for his street photography, not the bondage/staged stuff). A google search didn't seem to turn up anything conclusive and I've always been curious to this kinda stuff. A lot of Tillmans shots (esp. Concorde) seem like they could only have been made on a 35mm yet he manages to blow the prints up to proportions normally larger than afforded for the format.

[Fade to Black]

a compelling essay on a singular photographic vision:

http://www.americansuburbx.com/2011/04/michael-schmidt-not-fade-away-face-of.html

would've posted it in 'style inspirationz' as well but figured the lack of pictorial information contained in a hyperlink by itself renders it less accessible for the thread.

[eaglewood]

Albert

You might want to have a look at the Leica X1. It is a pretty serious fixed lens autofocus camera. The 24mm lens is the equivalent of about 35mm lens on a 35mm film camera so it is very versatile. It looks to be a very well designed lens and it has been fairly well received. I does sound like you want a good lens.

Although it is a little beyond your stated price range it does have the advantage of being extremely stylish especially in the recent black version. And I know how important that can be here.

J

[Chinorlz]

It does look nice J :) I love that old school meets new school design of some of these cameras.

I've seen some sites online comparing the digital Leicas with Panasonic Lumix models with the latter being significantly cheaper. In the end, are you paying a premium almost purely for the Leica name then?

[lowrey]

a part of it is name+design, but I'm sure the build quality etc is great. from what I've gathered the difference between the X1 and a Lumix GF2 is not huge in terms of performance and image quality. same goes for the Fuji X100 which also has a similar old school design, but the price I think is close to the same with the Leica, whereas the GF2 is quite a bit cheaper.

[munch]

is it worth the extra ton of cash to get the M9 over the M8(.2)? full frame in all its glory... hmm. probably the only reason for choosing the M9 over M8.2 right. I need the camera to be rather compact :(

[widmerpool]

It's the difference between works and doesn't work. Do you really want the focal length multiplier?

[eyeballkid]

is it worth the extra ton of cash to get the M9 over the M8(.2)? full frame in all its glory... hmm. probably the only reason for choosing the M9 over M8.2 right. I need the camera to be rather compact :(

It's not just that the sensor is full frame, it also got much less noise and better image quality in general. If you gonna spend this much money on a camera you might want to go all the way and get the best, dont you think?