digital SLR?
A few years ago, I gave up photography. I was getting very annoyed with the dreaded rectangle, the harsh right-angled frame of every photograph. I’d started to subvert it, but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested. I decided to concentrate on poems. This was absolutely the right decision; I’ve since taken my poetry from near imitation to distinct originality.
Now, though, when I find myself writing poems about taking photographs, I know it’s time to reconsider. I find I want to use details from the incredible Flemish architecture around me to continue that subversion process.
But I got rid of all my camera kit: Pentax Me Supers, many lenses, studio kit, and more (the story's complex). I need new equipment.
I'm more than happy to move to digital; even then, I was transferring 35mm film to photo-CD for post-processing. Admittedly, most of the post-processing consisted of undoing the damage done by the transfer (though not all of it).
So I'm looking at digital SLRs. I want a good quality and rugged camera that takes decent pictures automatically, but allows me to override its settings when the picture so demands.
The camera I'd really love to buy is a Nikon D2Xs. But it's a professional camera at a professional price. It’s out of my range.
When I entered my list of preferred features into DP Review, it suggested the Sony DSLR-A100, the Pentax K10D, and the Samsung GX-10. Although the Sony is significantly cheaper, the rumour mill has made it clear they’ve had some quality problems, and I really don’t want to be caught up in that kind of thing. The Samsung is the same camera as the Pentax; I'm not sure what the differences are apart from labels. So it looks like a Pentax for me ... again.
The one problem with the Pentax, though, which came out in some reviews, is sharpness. It's not the camera itself, but the software that converts a raw image into a JPG. Fortunately, the Pentax can save the original raw photo, so I can retain the sharpness, if necessary, by using alternative software on my computer to do the compression.
I haven’t bought the camera. When I do, it’s going to take me a while to get my composition skills back. So don’t expect any posts just yet.
january 2007
chewed