c.mortimer

My thoughts after just getting married 2 weeks ago...... Take the pictures yourself with

your friend -The whole time you are getting married the guy you hired will drive you crazy

because all you be thinking about is what he is doing and why --and you will be wishing

you where doing it yourself --If you hire someone make sure he is better than you think

you are so you can relax and forget about him . I did ask the photographer about his

equipment and if he had a Leica -he did not nor did it really matter to me what he used.I

was just getting to know him and was curious as to what he would be using ...I insisted he

use a film camera along with his DSLR--which he did . I just got my pictures back -it is

almost funny how bad they came out --all the digital shots were blown out and or out of

focus .Most of the outdoor shots he had us facing into the bright noon sun --everyone is

squinting - my eyes are actually tearing -lol-or if he did manage a good shot there would

be some distracting object in the photo or someone's eyes were closed.The inside shots

were done with the SLR and came out the best .He used a wide angle lens and there where

some nice shots .Through out the entire ceremony I was constantly aware of the clack of

the camera every-time he took a shot .I did not realize how much the photographer is

involved in the whole process --I have a new found respect for wedding photographers as

you have to be really good to do it right .MY question should of been: Would you hire your

wife's best-friend's husband ?

Not that I had a choice.

Equipment would not matter at all if in the wrong hands and in the right hands any

camera could be used to great effect -

In these second hand shops is there any camera shop etiquette to follow when looking at

a camera to purchase ? -

Yesterday I found a small camera shop near Hiroshima station . They had an M6 in the

window so i asked to see it .So the guy gets it out of the window a little annoyed I was

interrupting the baseball game he was watching --He hands me the camera to look at

while telling me it came from New York and it is brand new --so as he is talking I

carefully look at the cameras body ,look through the view finder and then I selected the

slowest shutter speed ,cocked the lever - CLICK-for a moment it was the loudest Leica

ever heard - the room went silent-I thought the guy was going to have a heart attack-he

grabbed the camera ,pointed to the plastic still on the base plate and insisted it was brand

new . Is it not a reasonable expectation to check out a camera before you buy it ? By the

way he wanted 1300.00 US for the camera and 650.00 US for a 50mm summicron in "very

good" condition.

Hi Yee -Here is a list of camera shops in Tokyo that I came across-

http://photojpn.org/dir/listings.php?cmd=viewlistB&cid=152

Hi josh ...I am a complete novice too.... I recently was in the same situation as you ...after

much research I bought a Olympus C8080 WZ . Introduced in April 2004 so you should be

able to find one at good price . A very solid camera,the lens is equivalent 28 to 140 mm

equiv.- that takes great pictures and can still hold it`s own among the new prosumer

cameras .

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusc8080wz/

some shots taken with a c8080

http://www.jessespeer.com/photo_journal/2004_06_TetonGlacier/index.html

I am by know means a professional but i will say that I spend a lot a time in the ocean

surfing .I have seen my friend and others use the canon power shot and the waterproof

housing at his job taking pictures of tourist surfing at Waikiki .In the water year round 8

hours a day taking pictures.They use this type of camera because the salt water does not

get on the camera and only the housing needs to be rinsed .They never have any problems

and often go deeper than 1 meter .Also they chose the canon power shot because the

housing was the best for their needs as the sony housing was not as reliable .In Japan if

you buy a sony waterproof housing like the one you mentioned they will tell you not to

bring it the water --I bought a sony waterproof video camera housing in japan and used it

to film in the ocean ..large surf and had no trouble they guy at the store was shocked and

told me that these cases are intended as waterproof protection not scuba diving or big

surf ....same with waterproof cameras .