Comments on: My Photography Gear for Riding

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 02:29:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Steve! Exactly want I was interested in kknowing…. Tom

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 03:17:00 +0000

punkelf: I've had several Holga's and a Diana toy camera. I've always been enamoured of the look they can render to an image but have not followed through long enough to apply them with any purpose to the work I do.

There is a really good Web site with strong Holga and other toy camera work:

ToyCamera

I agree with your assessment of what is needed consistently. Thankfully I have pretty much avoided the pitfall of collecting cameras and more dangerously the treating of them as precious objects. I use them just as I use the scooter and accept that they will show signs of use and wear. I don't purposefully abuse them but also don't worry about them.

gary: The Leica digital rangefinder looks sweet but oh the price! It is designed as a purely functional working professional camera but I bet most of the people buying one put them on a pedestal.

Fixing your camera----you sound like my friend Paul. He was once an electrical engineer and now runs his own buy and sell on eBay business selling electrical components and devices from torpdeo control units to lesion lasers that he is able to fix and make useful again. He constantly amazes me.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:56:00 +0000

Wow, that's quite an arsenal you have there, Steve. I wonder, what do you think of the Leica digitals?

To me they seem kind of like modern Harley Davidsons. They try to preserve the classic look of the old, while offering most of the functionality of the new. But compromises must be made on both sides.

I use a Sony F717 for all my photography. I like the fact that it uses a Zeiss lens, and 5mp is plenty for anything I do for magazines or my blog. But the best part is that swivelling viewfinder!

I can take those low-angle shots from the mini-tripod without having to lay on the ground to look at the VF.

Conversely, I can lift the camera above the heads in a crowd, tilt the VF down, and get those shots like I do of First Thursday.

I don't even know if they offer a replacement for this camera. I've already taken it apart twice to fix a nagging "No Memory Stick" error. Luckily, I'm a technician. I can do that.

Anyway, hope you get well soon.

Ride well,
=gc=

By: punkelf

punkelf — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:26:00 +0000

Thanks Steve, I'd been thinking about asking you about this. Glad you beat me to the punch. Sorry to hear you are under the weather, though.
Have you ever played with Holgas? When I was in school, one of the photographic faculty routinely had students turn them into pin-holes. I never played much with that, but they are fun nonetheless.
For me there are only two things to be considered when thinking about photographic equipment: What will you use consistently, and give you results that you are consistently pleased with?
Right now, I've got a Sony DSC p200, and a Kiev 88 medium format. I like the Kiev, I really do, I did my research and got lucky with a used one that is every bit as nice as any of the older but more expensive medium formats I've played with. Still I use it rarely, because it requires such premeditation to haul it around.
My daily shooter is the point and click 7mp. I wish it had more manual settings, but it's not much larger than a cell phone, and that really means a lot. I carry it as much as I do the cell phone, sync it to the computer and charge it once a week or so. It's just so damned convenient. I've got a 1 gb card in it, so usually I'm emptying it out onto the computer before it's even full.
As far as riding goes, I just got one of my projects running (a 1976 Vespa Sprint Veloce) So I'm going to really try to incorporate more shooting with my commute. I'll let you know how it goes.
Well, thanks for letting me ramble.
I hope you get to feeling better.