[alt-photo] Re: A new book, Canon gear...not exactly off topic...

[Dan Burkholder]

Hi Francesco and Diana,

I sure didn't mean to offend with the "Speed Graphic" comment. The intent was only to hint that a majority of today's photographers would consider the Speed Graphic an awkwardly large hunk of gear and that, shortly, the DSLR will follow on a similar path. Heck yes, a Speed Graphic can still be used as a wonderful, creative tool. Any photo gear that's used to make wonderful images is fine with me.

About Micro Four Thirds: this is a mirrorless format co-developed by Olympus and Panasonic. Now that we have a sensor that can pump an image to an LCD or a high-res electronic view finder, the need for a flopping mirror and pentaprism is disappearing. And, just as Leica's M cameras enjoyed the benefit that optical engineers could design lenses with the rear element just where they wanted it to be (without providing clearance for the swinging mirror), so goes it with 4/3 lenses. The 4/3 refers to the aspect ratio of the sensor, which has about 1/4 the real estate of a 35mm negative. This means that a 7-14mm lens has the angle of view of a 14-28 on a 35mm camera. Resolution is limited to 16MP at this point, but you know that's going to change as time goes on. And for those of us who aren't particularly interested in selling art by the square foot, 16MP can do some marvelous things.

My main interest is in reducing weight and bulk. The older (and lazier) I get, the less crap I want to lug around. And I've always liked small cameras, dating back to the jewel-like Contax T (which I still have) of the 1980's. Sony's new Nex cameras are interesting but their lens selection is still pretty limited. Same with the new APS-sized sensor model from Fuji.

Best,

Dan

info at DanBurkholder.com
www.DanBurkholder.com

On Feb 10, 2012, at 12:20 PM, Francesco Fragomeni wrote:

> Whats with the Speed
> Graphic comment!? You do realize Speed Graphics are still very much in
> heavy and very successful use today!