Mellowing of New Cameras

^My guitar has mellowed but the strings need replacement. How about my cameras?

Now that we are seeing a dozen of new cameras crunching through the Internet onto the display shelves and windows, you guys and gals are probably going to shell out money for a new cameras or two. This is question for you, "Do new camera need time to mellow in your hands?"

One common thing about new cars and new muscial instruments is that they both need a transition period to mellow to give better performance.

So, how about cameras?

^The abstract curve of guitar. Mozart commended the guitar as a combination of an orchestra. The body, which boasts the curving lines, contributes much to the commendation.

Like a computer, a digital camera is already tuned in when it leaves the factory whereas the parts of a car needs a certain period of running to narrow down the tolerance.

^I am playing the theme song of the Japanese animation movie 崖の上のポニョ (Ponyo on the Cliff), written by Joe Hisaishi. Hisaishi is a specially talented songwriter and you would not wish to miss his works.

It is likewise in the case of new musical instruments. However, it is not hte tolerance but the "fermenting" of the wood parts in the process of vibration and atmospheric interaction. After a certain period, the instruments will sound much better.

In the case of digital cameras, it is the owner where the mellowing is at play. Some teething problems will face the uncertain owner: What is the (mechanical) noise when the lens zoom? Why are the colours of the image not as brilliant? Why does the camera tend to overexpose a scene?

The solution lies in one thing: the users manual. The mellowing requires the owner to read the users manual in parallel to practising.

The moral of the question is: please, read the user manual whenever you've got a new camera. It is a sin and you are not worthy of the technology if you don't. This is important especially when today's cameras are loaded with features.

Before closing this post, ladies and gentlemen, Hisaishi's Ponyo:

Comments

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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