paul_blum

<p>I am amazed at how shallow some people are in boosting their own egos by boasting about what particular brand of equipment they use in their hobby. I see the same thing in photography: Nikon vs Canon vs Sony vs Leica vs..... And I see it in ham radio: Kenwood vs Yaesu vs Icom vs Ten Tec vs.... You get the idea.</p>

<p>The bottom line is that your equipment is merely your tools used to produce your art. Whether your tools are Snap-On or Craftsman or Stanley really doesn't matter - it's what results you can produce with the tools you are comfortable with and have at hand. I love my 7D, but sometimes get out my old Nikon FE and load it up with TMax for variety. Don't let the pretentious brand-name snobs bother you. Just get out there and create. If a shop treats you that way, shop somewhere else.<br>

Paul Blum</p>

Ladies & Gentlemen, I beg your experience & expertise:

I have the 7D camera and the 5600HS(D) flash, and I was contemplating the

purchase of a flash bracket to get the flash in the correct position for those

vertically oriented shots. I figure I would need the OC-1100 Off-Camera

cable, but how does one mount this flash on a flash bracket securely? The

flash shoe is backwards (unique) from all of the other manufacturers out

there. Do I need the Off-Camera Shoe, OS-1100? If so, does it have a 1/4-20

threaded mount on its bottom? The Minolta catalog I have isn't specific on

such details. If I go this route, I want something sturdy - especially at the

high cost of this flash unit.

 

Thanks, Paul Blum

Hey Ron, I have both the FE (two of 'em) and the FG. The FG is a cheaper, plastic body and I don't like it because it's small. The thing I really miss on the FG is it doesn't have a Depth-of-Field preview, which I really like on the FE. Another annoyance of the FG is that the shutter speed dial hangs over the edge of the camera, and I've found myself easily bumping it when shooting manually. My FEs are old, but I have had no problem ever. The FE2 gives you the added benefit of Thru-the-Lens flash metering with a dedicated flash (I use the Sunpak 433D's). The FEs are inexpensive because of their age - someone recently gave me a beautiful one free.

I also had fun trying to locate a 5600hs(D) dedicated flash.....

The only dealer I could find advertising any had the price more than $100 above previously normal prices. After some time on the web and the telephone, I finally located one thru Circuit City on the web.

 

I am anxiously awaiting some news from Sony on the status of other accessories. I have seen 5D cameras in stores yet.

 

I love my new 7D.

Chad: Occasionally my wife uses the camera, and it's nice to have one that she can put into auto-exposure mode. She doesn't understand f-stops and all that other fun technical stuff which turns us on, she just wants to focus & shoot. I have a Nikon FG which is perfect for this, and it also features thru-the-lens flash metering with a Nikon -dedicated flash (I have a Sunpak 433D). So, while I'm off to work, she was able to take pix of the baby growing up. Something to think about.

Otherwise, I highly recommend an FE, or even better, an FE2 which adds the TTL flash metering. Both cameras give you Aperture-priority Auto-exposure mode for those lazy times that you don't want to set exposure manually (You set the f-stop, the camera controls the shutter). These are very rugged cameras and can be had inexpensively.

 

If your wife is artistic / creative at all, get her interested in putting together creative photo albums as your children grow! She'll be more likely to support your photographic hobby!

FGs are nice compact SLRs. Try this site: http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/index.htm

for a complete rundown on operation.

Enjoy! Paul Blum

Ryan: I would recommend you do some reading on Bob Monaghan's MF megasite, http://medfmt.8k.com

Specifically he has writeups on doing MF on a budget. Bob has info on almost any MF camera you can think of on this site.

Personally, I bought a Rolleicord III for less than $100, and studied a few books on camera repair. It needed some cleaning and lubrication, but with the addition of a Maxwell screen, I'm very happy with the camera. It requires no battery, but forces me to think about the basics of exposure, exercising the brain.

Good Luck, I hope you find lots of fun per dollar!

Paul Blum

Dane: The Porkies is basically a backpacking park, so it's large enough to spend 5 days in if you really love hiking. Many of the trails are quite long and rugged. The Southwest end of the park has large, beautiful waterfalls on the Presque Isle river. Last year I went the first week of Oct, and wanted to photograph the Lake of the Clouds overlook, but I was too early. The rest of the UP was in peak color, but the coast of Lake Superior was still mostly green - the lake moderates the temps some. Most of the shoreline can give you nice sunsets too.

If you plan to be camping, they offer both sites with electricity (rather expensive I thought) or wilderness sites (cheap).

Try to catch Bond Falls along the way, southeast of the park near Paulding off Rte 45.

Make sure you have good tires on your car, Lake Superior can whip up a pretty good surprise snowstorm.

Craig - I've used a FG and the Sunpak 433D for more than 15 years, they're an excellent combination. The TTL works perfectly, and it actually saved my butt a few times - the flash tells the camera when it's on, and automatically sets the shutter for you. The flash has three non-TTL settings which work well on my other cameras too.

The "P" and "A" modes will only work with a Nikon dedicated flash unit. The correct setting for a non-dedicated flash is either 60 or M90. Both should work fine using the flash's recommended settings for f-stop. Good luck

Ask Mr Maxwell if he has any "factory seconds" that he would sell you at a reduced price. I was able to get a screen with a minor flaw in it for a discount for my Rolleicord III. With a lucky purchase on Ebay I have a nice camera for under $200. Good Luck.