Technical Writer Wanted For The Glue Company

No special skills needed - it's a cut and paste job...

If you have a Facebook feed or other social media connection you'll have had any number of people passing on information from others by simple means - they have pressed a hashtag key or a forward button and flooded the computers of their friends with another political meme or picture of a cat riding a motor mower.

It is the civilian version of what used to be the rip-and-read radio news service that interposed itself between you and a teletype machine. It kept you up-to date, but generally the date was July 8, 1959. Still, it was better than waiting for the newspaper to be thrown into the rhododendrons at 5:00AM next morning, particularly if the news was not what the editor or the owners of the paper wanted you to read...'cause then you didn't read it and never even found out that you didn't read it until much later.

Nowadays we instantly read, hear, see, and possibly taste darn near everything over the computer and a juicy news story will be available over dozens of feeds...but if you look carefully, the dozens of feeds are all saying the same thing. Because most of the writers of the various posts are sitting down by the teletype machine with a pair of scissors and a pot of glue.

It's the same for the technical photographic writing. You may see a dozen reviews of a new camera or lens but eleven of those will say the same thing because they have been derived from a press release or product sheet. It is only No.12 that has anything new because in many cases only No.12 has actually had the camera in hand and pressed the shutter button. Don't be too cynical about the other 11 - there may not have been enough of the new cameras in the country when the call for a tech report came out and the writers have just had to wing it.

You can have confidence to a certain extent in the eleven other reports. If they have not been typo'ed too badly you will get the basic information you need. But if you want to really find out the valuable bits, look for that twelfth piece. It is only the people who have handled the equipment* that will be able to let you have a human view of it.

And then come down to the shop and pick it up and form your own assessment. Judge as carefully as you might, and remember that you are as free to have a good opinion about new equipment as to have  a bad one.

*Sometimes with sticky fingers.

Images: farming on a small scale at Cannington Showgrounds.

New Camera Week - Olympus

One of the splendid perks of being a weblog writer is that you get the chance to try out new photographic equipment in your own time. It is altogether a different experience from that of reading Internet advertising or just hefting the gear in the retail shop. As a writer, however, you have to have something to say when you start typing - and the only way you can say it with authority is if you are going to do something with the gear that you know how to do.

This last weekend I got to test-drive the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 MkII camera with a variety of lenses - and the Olympus company were kind enough to match the optics to the tasks I normally do. It gave me a chance to exercise the camera in the studio and out covering a long distance subject. Every equipment test is, inevitably, a comparison with other systems  - so it is as well to subject the test gear to the same experiences as the normal rig.

As the Olympus representative pointed out, however, and as I have certainly discovered, there can be a world of difference in the ways the manufacturers ask you what you want to do ( menu communication ) and accept your instructions ( control operation ). We have to second guess how the engineers wish to refer to a function. If we're lucky we know what we want to do, but the question of how may arise.

The OM-D E-M1 MkII is new on the scene and there are good stocks available - it is a camera - not a phantom. You can march in, pay up, and march out with one. While you are at it march out with a pro lens.

When you do, you'll note that the original premise of the mirror-less cameras - small, light, simplified - has been somewhat set aside. This thing is solid and weighty. So are the optics, particularly  the pro-glass models of the Zuiko lenses. The ergonomics are good as the hand grip is deep enough to provide good finger clearance and the placement of the finger and thumb wheel as well as the shutter release are perfect. The on/off switch is somewhat disconcerting until you remember that Olympus used to put the thing on the left top plate under the rewind crank. No crank these days, but the switch is over there.

As with many Olympus offerings, there are multiple function buttons scattered over the control panels, and there are multiple ways to actuate the controls. Bless them, they have included two of these buttons right where we most espect them - under the fingers at the right-hand side of the lens mount. You can progam one of them as a depth of field preview like we did in the old film days.

 I switched off the touch-screen apparatus as I find it disconcerting - others love this facility. In my case I accessed the most-needed controls by pressing the menu and getting what is essentially an extended " Q " display on the LCD screen. Had I not had some coaching from Burke, the Olympus representative, I don't think I would have found half of the controls.

This week's experiments were conducted entirely in the JPEG mode - my processing programs will not decode RAW files on something as new as this camera. No matter -  the programs I wanted to try all responded in this mode and with a bit of enlargement I was able to do clear comparisons on the computer. But one thing I would like to mention at the start is the facility that Olympus put in this camera ( and in their Pen F ) for in-camera processing of images. This will give the sort of results that you might produce in an editing program on your main computer. Were you out on the road without access to a computer, you could still edit quite a lot with the camera as you shoot.

Note that the camera came from Burke with a 70% charge and shot all afternoon in the studio - with a number of electricity - hungry programs and screens in use all the time - and still had 22% left at quitting time. I found out why when I brought it home and opened it up the do the charging.

The battery is huge! I've seen smaller trays of lasagna...There should be enough capacity there for any reasonable shoot. As a way of measuring the size, that's a plastic dinosaur - and the battery is bigger. It holds 1720 mAh.

So tomorrow we start in the studio...

Photo Live Expo 2016 - The Trade Tables

The good thing about trade tables at the Photo Live 2016 Expo is that we get to trade - you trade your time and money for our time and expertise. It is a mutual benefit.

The staff of Camera Electronic man and woman the tables with their own knowledge of the equipment on show, and can help you to find the special parts of the cameras, lenses, and accessories that you want to see. We know the equipment. But what is more important - you know you.

Each visitor to a trade exhibition carries with them their own needs. Admit it or not, every photographer has some sort of primary interest and a wide-ranging event like Photo Live 2016 is an ideal place to indulge that interest. There will be equipment form a vast range of manufacturers on display, and visitors can be sure of finding something in their own division to play with.

I use the term play deliberately. You can look at the internet all you want, (and you can read this weblog column every working day, bless you...) but you can't really tell whether a piece of equipment is going to work for you until you actually feel it in your hands - until you look through the screen or viewfinder and make it work. You all have eyes and brains, but you need to exercise your hands and fingers as well.

This is where the shop staff come in. We can set you right as you explore the gear. We can prevent any misconceptions from sending you off on the wrong pathway. Sometimes we can even help you untangle your thoughts if you have been screwing your brain into a tizzy on internet forums. Now, we've got our own tizzies and misconceptions to deal with, but fortunately we don't all have the same ones at the same time so amongst the Camera Electronic workers there will be someone who sees clearly.

Don't be afraid to ask-we won't be afraid to tell. We won't be afraid to say we don't know, either, because sometimes we just don't - particularly if the question involves the arrival time of something you have just seen pop up on the internet. But we'll try to find an answer.

Note: Every staff member has a photo interest speciality. Ask Carlos about food. Ask Sam about bands. Ask Ricky about Sony cameras.

Ask me about Fujifilm and tabletop photography. Prepare to be dragged into the vortex...

Uncle Dick

Photo Live Expo on Sunday 24th July
10am - 5pm
Perth Novotel Langley
www.photoliveexpo.com.au

Finally I Get To Use My Fujifilm Camera For Reporting...

I'm going along to the Camera Electronic premises this Wednesday, the 10th, to learn about the new Fujifilm.

I'm going to take the Fujifilm I already own to do the report photos...the one that I just updated last night, fitted with the lens I already own that was also updated last night. That is the beauty of Fujifilm - whenever the factory thinks it can improve a product  they issue an alert on the internet and then supply you with a free software signal to change your gear.

Essentially I got a brand new camera for nothing. Woo Hoo.

It speaks volumes about a company that monitors the wants of the customers as well as the financial situation in photography. It has always had a reputation for thinking ever so slightly outside of the square...in a very good way. Older photo professionals will remember the Fuji medium format film cameras - both the fixed 6 x 7 and 6 x 9 rangefinder cameras and also the compact folders. Also the Fujifilm studio single lens reflex that combined movements with a system SLR in a way that even other major makers could not duplicate.

I'll leave you to the tender mercies of the " Fuji Rumors " web site to chew and speculate on upcoming cameras or lenses, and you can wander off into any number of posts from people using the current batch of digital cameras. They are as good or bad as their individual writers - you can make your own judgements. I enjoy the thing for what it is, but then I have to admit I also enjoy reading DOKR...Dear Old Ken Rockwell. I enjoy a laugh and the occasional flash of outrage and his posts are always a reliable source of both.

Back to Wednesday. I suspect it would be nice to ring the shop and tell them you're coming. It starts when the day's formal business concludes though in a way business will never cease - they'll be set up to take pre-orders for the new gear. There's to be a Fujifilm expert to present it and the usual refreshments. Probably the usual suspects as well.

You can be one of them, and if you were ever thinking about ditching larger and heavier cameras in favour of the mirror-less systems this is a good place to start looking.

Yellow And Black And Money Back!

Yes!

There is nothing quite as nice as getting money back...unless it is getting money back and a brand new camera and lens for the start of summer. The Nikon Australia people are keen exponents of the cash-back system and have come up with a list of goodies that will qualify for this deal.

Have a look at the cash-back offers here and come on down to Camera Electronic to see the goods in action. All of these cash-back offers go from the 1st of November 2015 until the 31st of January 2016 so you have plenty of time to get shooting and to contact Nikon Australia on the web for the money.

We start out with:

Nikon D3300 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D5200 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D5500 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D7200 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D610 camera.................$ 300 cash back

Now for the more compact Nikon cameras:

Nikon P610 camera..................$ 50 cash back
Nikon S9900 camera................$ 50 cash back
Nikon AW130 camera..............$ 50 cash back

And if you would like to step out with a complete new kit:

Nikon D750 camera and 24-120mm f:4 ED VR lens............$ 300 cash back
Nikon D810 camera and 24-120mm f:4 ED VR lens............$ 300 cash back
Nikon D610 camera and 24-120mm f:4 ED VR lens............$ 600 cash back

Please note these last three deals are only cash back if purchased as body and lens in one transaction.

Now is the time to jump into the quality of a Nikon camera and start to enjoy the benefits of the Nikon system. Your pictures have never looked so good.

Win A Camera From Samsung! Instagram!

Samsung Australia have a quick and delightful contest and a very nice prize as a reward - and it is a photo contest so all our readers will be good to go...

You can win an incredibly lightweight and remarkably powerful NX500 mirrorless camera!

What you need to do:

1. Upload to Instagram your most creative and unique black and white photo.

2. Tag the photo with @SamsungAU.

3, Hashtag #NX500BandW in the description of the photo.

Easy, right? Entries close 9:00PM ( AEST ) 21/07/2015 so get snapping!

T&Cs apply. See here

Photo taken by Karn Samanvorawon.

Your Very Favourite Lens Is...

Gone. Gone forever. It has rolled off the roof, where you were taking pictures of the nurse's quarters, and fallen into a newly-opened bottomless pit that has appeared in your back yard.

What are you going to do?

This depends upon whether you had the foresight to purchase a Mack Diamond Warranty when you got the lens. If that was under three years ago you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Ring up the Mack people, tell them the sad news, and wait for them to send you a cheque for the replacement cost of another Very Favourite Lens. They are men of honour - if you have a Diamond Warranty you are covered for three years against impact damage, manufacturer defects, sand/grit damage, accidental or unintentional abuse, mechanical malfunction, and abnormal wear and tear.

You are still required to keep your gear secure against human thieves - they cannot really insure you against patently criminal activity. For that matter, neither can some police forces...

Well, philosophy aside, the prices are geared to the price of the equipment. here's a number of examples:

1. $ 499 and under.............................$ 99.00

2. $ 1999 and under...........................$ 399.00

3. $ 3999 and under...........................$ 479.00

Now like all insurances, it is a calculated bet. If you don't use it, they keep your money, and you have the satisfaction of having your Very Favourite Lens with you to squeeze and hold and...If you do use it they are down the price of a new Very Favourite Lens - not you.

Sort of a win either way.

Note, the Mack Warranty does not cover the sulfurous sinkhole in the back yard, or your fate if you also roll off the roof and fall down it. Consult your religious adviser about this one.

Too True To Be Good

Watching the photographic trade in action is somewhat akin to going to a Ringling Brothers circus. There are a number of rings in operation and a number of levels of presentation.

Lots of acts are going on at the same time - amongst them are jugglers, girls in spangled tights, high flyers, and dancing elephants. I myself function as a sad clown - as I get older I tend to need less and less greasepaint make-up to get the clown face right...

One of the constants of the business is the presence of  barkers. They used to stand outside the sideshow and draw the Rubes in with a megaphone and line of promises - promises that were ...nearly...fulfilled for the mere price of 25¢...a single quarter...why step right up...

Nowadays they loom out of the computer. I have been directed to look at one today by a customer's desire to have us match their price on a desirable compact camera. The advertisement that glows warmly on the monitor is for a price far below the Australian wholesale price. Promises are made and assurances are given and anyone reading the site would think that all was well. Anyone who did not read the words carefully...

The contact details are a postal box. The price offered is under real cost. The "local warranty" is undefined...but the price tells me that it will not be the manufacturer's own warranty - it will be an on-line promise. The testimonials are written with ever-so-slightly-different-than Australian English usage...

The only thing the thing doesn't do is pause, hiss slightly, and greet me with " Hello, I am from Microsoft and we have detected..."

P.T. Barnum would have been proud. Whether he would order a camera from them is another thing.

Step right up...

Note: I did some net exploration. We, our local real store competitors, our Melbourne real store competitors, and our Sydney real store competitors are all well within shot-fall of each other with the price on the item. We all get it from the Australian distributor and we all know we can rely upon that distributor to back up warranty claims. I own one of the items, I love it, and I can sell it with confidence.

Uncle Dick

Another Month, Another Cash Back Bonanza From Nikon

If you didn't buy a barrow-load of Nikon lenses before Christmas, now is the time to wheel on in. The money part is good.

Nikon is extending the idea of cash back until the end of this month on the following cameras and lenses:

1. Nikon D3300........................................Cashback of $ 50
2. Nikon D5200.......................................Cashback of $ 100
3. Nikon D610..........................................Cashback of $ 100
4. Nikon 1 AW1.......................................Cashback of $ 100
5. Nikon AF-S 14-24 lens.......................Cashback of $ 150
6. Nikon AF-S 24-70 lens......................Cashback of $ 150
7. Nikon AF-S 70-200 2.8 lens..............Cashback of $ 150
8. Nikon AF-S 80-400 lens...................Cashback of $ 200
9. Nikon AF-S 200-400 lens.................Cashback of $ 500
10. Nikon AF-S 35 1.4G lens..................Cashback of $ 100
11. Nikon AF-S 58 1.4G lens..................Cashback of $ 150
12. Nikon AF-S 85 1,4G lens..................Cashback of $ 100

That's a pretty good clean dozen products to offer, and as always these are pure Nikon Australia stock - you get all the benefits of dealing with the correct official importer.

The Nikon notice for this offer said that it goes from now until the 28th of February. You buy from us and claim through their on-line facility and it all goes swimmingly.

It Never Happened - But We Were Absolutely Prepared Anyway

As the owner of a perfectly good set of digital cameras and lenses ( Fujifilm, as it happens.)
it might seem foolish of me to complain of what might have been in other times. Let's face it, when the photography world rolled round from silvered plates to glass sheets to flexible films to little weeny electric sensors there were a lot of things that could have happened, but didn't.

The two I mourn were the film cassette-shaped digital converter that was promised and the cheap 4" x 5" digital sensor.

The first came out as a mock-up and set of promises at an America photo and electronics show and got into the American photo press at the time. Apparently it was going to allow us to make digital cameras out of our 35mm film cameras. It sank without a trace and none of the lifeboats have yet washed up on shore. Our senior technician has assured me it would never have worked but that is little comfort - I WANTED it to work.

The promise of a cheap digital sensor for the 4" x 5" studio camera was also mooted at the time. We were told that things were set to become cheaper all the time in an exponential curve and that oriental manufacturers would ride in with a $ 25 sensor back for the Linhof and we would get 5000 megabyte files for free...Yeah, that happened big time. Let me show you the unicorn  pictures I took with the free plastic prototype that came in the Wheaties packet...

It is no different in the car world. That automatic plastic road that had the jet car with the bubble top in which I was scheduled to zoom to work while playing cards seems to have been mysteriously delayed - I do manage with a Suzuki Swift on Berwick Street and I pass my time dodging cyclists and wandering pedestrians.

I think the debt of gratitude that I owe to the advertisers of future marvels is starting to accumulate interest...

Cash Back Extended

We've just gotten an email to advise us that the Nikon Cash Back promotion for the following items has been extended:

D3200......$ 50
D3300......$ 50
D5200......$ 100
D5300......$ 100
D7100......$ 100
AW1.........$ 100

It will now extend to the 31st of January, 2015.

The mynikonlife website is a good source of detailed information about collecting this benefit, as well as may of the other services that Nikon offers.

Hear-Say Evidence From Panasonic Now Becomes Hear-See...

Okay. I normally don't use this blog to promote telephones - with the exception of the Bell Model 1 featuring the bakelite earpiece and the brass dial that I use to contact my bookmaker. But now one of our favourite small camera makers has a new one out at Photokina - so here goes.

It is the Panasonic CM-1. On one side it is a smart mobile phone - like the ones that people tap all the day on the other side of our sales counter. On the reverse it is a good looking compact camera. A far better camera than the current phones sport.

It has a 20 Mp 1" CMOS sensor, 28mm equivalent f:2.8 lens, 100-25600 ISO range, 4K video, RAW recording, a 4.7" LCD screen, Micro SD card storage, and can call for pizza 24 hours a day.

Okay, you may not want to cover a society wedding using it exclusively...though eventually someone will and we will all read about it...but it looks as though real cameras can pair up with real phones. If you can stand the confusion of dealing with mobile phone connection plans this might be a good thing to carry wherever you go.

Not sure if it will improve the selfies but the impromptu landscape shot should be much better.

Olympus Press Release Time

Looks like the Olympus company has some new equipment on release. Here's a precis of the information that has just come into our shop.

  I. Cameras:

They are releasing a new flagship camera model - the OM-D E-M1. This has a number of new professionally-oriented features as well as some new cosmetic touches.

Big news for studio people is that it can be directly tethered to a computer - that means remote viewing and control as well as direct image transfer.

There will be a new digital perspective control to help straighten up the keystoning inherent in may architectural and landscape shots. You'll get a shift with every lens you own.

The bells and whistles brigade will welcome the multiple exposure capabilities of the E-m10 in this model and several new Art filter settings. You get to see what you get before you shoot it too, as the filter effects come through the screens. the screens have also been sped up for faster high-speed action capture.

If it is looks you are after, there will be a new silver-bodied option. And there will be an option for current E-M1 users to upgrade to a V.2 firmware - not a bad idea for most people.

II. Lenses

New M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150 f:2.8 PRO zoom lens. This is the natural companion to their :2.8 12-40 PRO lens and features the same weather-resistant construction and superior glass. I note that the press release mentions an extremely fast focussing speedand a 9-blade aperture - the bokeh should be smooth. There will be a separately-available 1.4X teleconverter dedicated to doing the best with the image - that wold boost what it does up to an equivalent of 400mm in the old filmspeak. Long lens.

Note that like many long pro lenses that this has a sturdy foot to attach it to a tripod.

Final note: The press release and our computer listing have no price yet for this. We'll trumpet it as we get it. Be assured that this will be a must-have for the Micro 4/3 enthusiasts.

Another Boring Old Make-Money List...

The cash cows are loose in the paddock! Round them up and start milking the system!

We've just turned the corner into August and there are new cash-backs starting up. Here's the list of what you get by contacting the distributors AFTER you purchase the gear.

Fujifilm

X-E2 Camera....................................................$ 200
X-Por 1 Camera................................................$ 200

Sony

A7 Camera........................................................$ 300
A7R Camera....................................................$ 300
A7S Camera.....................................................$ 300
A5000 Camera.................................................$ 100
A6000 Camera................................................$ 100
E Mount 24-70 mm  f:2.8 Lens....................$ 200
E Mount 35 mm f:2.8 Lens............................$ 200
E Mount 55 mm f:1.8 Lens............................$ 200
E Mount 70-200 mm f:4 Lens.....................$ 200

Nikon

D3300 Camera.................................................$ 50
D5200 Camera.................................................$ 100
D5300 Camera.................................................$ 50
D7100 Camera.................................................$ 100
D610 Camera...................................................$ 150
AF-S 50 mm f:1.8 G Lens..............................$ 25
AF-S 14-24 mm f:2.8 Lens............................$ 100
AF-S 24-70 mm f:2.8 Lens............................$200
AF-S 28-300 mm f:3.5-5.6 VR Lens.............$ 75
AF-S 70-200 mm f:2.8 VR II Lens.............$ 150
AF-S 18-200 mm f:3.5-5.6 VR DX Lens.....$ 50

These are going for two months in the case of the Fujifilm and Sony offers and one month in the case of he Nikon listing. Like we said before, you purchase from us, please, thank you, then you contact the relevant company through their respective website and notify them of the date of purchase and the serial number and they send you money through your bank account.

It's no fair asking us to give you the money back in advance or asking Sony to give you back money for the Nikon products - or vice versa - but you can try if you like, Camera wholesalers like a laugh, the same as the rest of us...

The Last Puppy In The Pound

We sometimes look at the shelves here and wonder. First we wonder where we are going to put things. Then we wonder where we DID put things. Finally we wonder if anyone will ever buy some of the cameras.

The ones that cause bemusement are not bad devices - they have been purchased by us for sale and will do the job they are advertised to do, and in most cases do it very well. But some of them have been designed by manufacturers that were thinking well outside the trapezoid. With one eye shut. And a cheap haircut.

Unless the buyer is of the same mind, they can languish longer than they need to. Sometimes it is a case of a design that does not have what the competitors have, but sometimes it is just a product that has been wrapped in a strange body shape. It is wonderful that humanity can have such a variety of aesthetic appreciation, but a pity that it sometimes leaves the ugly puppy in the pound.

But there is hope. Every puppy has a friend somewhere. Look at the images taken at the recent Big Al's Poker Run show. Someone once loved the 1957 Hudson and someone still does - enough to have purchased it in NSW just this last year and to have brought it to WA. I don't think it takes pictures, though.

The moral of all this is come on down and look at the shelves. If you see something that appeals to you, for heaven's sake buy it. You might be the only one save the designer that has ever liked it - your reward will be the sense of style and whatever images it will churn out. And the admiration of the staff - always a valuable commodity.

Hark The Herald Tribune Cries " Come In Here And Buy, Buy, Buy "

With apologies to Tom Lehrer…but it is the last Saturday before Christmas and it is traditional that you come in to the shop and buy something. We would prefer that you ask for photographic equipment but if you insist on hammers or plates of liver, we will do what we can to oblige…

It is also traditional in Western Australia to panic when it comes to the holidays. People look forward to one day of the year when the shops are shut and calculate that they will not be able to get bread or milk and rush out and empty the shelves and service station tanks…and in this spirit we would like to remind you that we will be shut from 3:00PM on the 24th until after New years. So rush in here and empty the shelves - you never can tell when you will wake up in the middle of the night and need a telephoto lens. Play it safe - buy several.


Merry Christmas from Uncle Dick

Dinner Of the Camera Party

With profound apologies to M. Renoir...

What do camera people do when they are not standing behind the counter at Camera Electronic? They dine at the Duckstein Brewery in the Swan Valley, of course. This is the holiday season and with Christmas coming up we all repaired to the Duck to recruit the tissues and revive the mind.

Aside from testing the malted waters...and I can particularly recommend the Dunkel...and the sauerkraut, we indulged in that most sporting of pastimes: shooting people. I hasten to add, for the benefit of whatever spy agency monitors this blog ( Hey! to Langley...)that we used Fuji cameras and flashes for the task.

I used the X-10 and Dom used the X-Pro 1 with the EF-X20 flash. His pictures came out better than mine but that is because he did not get served his Dunkel as quickly as I. I'm satisfied, though, as I have good souvenirs of the night, quite apart from the deadly hangover and the lump behind the ear where the barmaid hit me with the litre stein.

The trick was - Dom was using the flash and I was relying upon an extreme ISO and a steady hand. I did mention the Dunkel, didn't I? The flash and the circuitry in the Fuji were able to sort out a perfect front exposure while leaving some of the back light to imprint behind thee main subject. Make no mistake - that is the real secret of party and event photography.

Never mind light from three separate directions and diffusers and assistants and artspeak - you need a clean clear front flash or at least a clean bounced flash with a little front card light to get the best out of faces. If you can get some background light and colour, so much the better. You are looking for good grip-and-grin with couples and foursomes - after that you can plan out epic shots with your three assistants and a Klieg light.

Fuji does this - I can get good selfies if I pop up the flash at 200 ISO and set the thing on P. Dom can get great G&G with the EF-X20. If you are using one of the X100 or X100s it is even better - the whole thing is self-contained and you can instruct the camera to fire whenever it thinks it knows what you want to do better than you do.

The perfect Dunkel camera...

Gapping The Generations - Or Not Poking The Bear

I was scrapping for a topic this morning until I talked to Ernest, our chief technician. He mentioned that he had read a request from me for information - I had put it out on the internet. When I expanded on what I wanted to know and why, he had a word of caution for me.

I tend to take Ernest's words of caution seriously. I remember he once advised me NOT to stick my fingers into a live light socket and this proved to be quite correct. I wish I had listened then - at least I can listen now.

The question I posed was what the new operating system for my Macintosh computers was like - I was looking at the advertisement for the OSX Maverick. It seems to be three steps on from the one that is in the computers now. The underlying reason for this is the advent of some new cameras that attract me - if I am to use RAW files from them I need to upgrade the ACR rating...and in turn this means a later operating system.

At this point the image of a beagle chasing its tail in a circle comes to mind, but read on...

Ernest mentioned that the newer operating systems are now involving themselves with information storage elsewhere in the electronic universe - the "cloud" system. Call me paranoid, but by accepting the benefits of the new software I think I might  be sending my images who knows where and in turn they might not come back to me. They might come back to other people. Hmmmm.

Personal data? I don't mind mine going everywhere, except I don't want people to know exactly what I think in case I don't agree with me. I had a garlic curry that didn't agree with me and that was unpleasant enough...I think I have come to terms with the thought that whatever I write or look at is noted down in Langley, Virginia or somewhere in Russia. I can only hope that when I become feeble-minded with age they can send some of it back to me.

Ernest said it best - if what I have now does what I need now, I would be a fool to chase the electronic rainbow on the basis of a colourful advert from Apple or the pressure of the next camera. If I change my computer to a new one, I can go in clean with a new system and all the current ACR keys will be good - and a considerable number of ones for the future. But if what I got ain't broke...don't fix it.

You've Got 60 Days To get Outta Dodge...

Which makes it the slowest posse on record.

No, no, what we really mean is remember that you can recover the GST that you pay on your new DSLR or other fine camera here at Camera Electronic if you are going to travel out of the country.

You have 60 days from purchase to departure, you must have your tax invoice and the equipment with you, and it must be a total of $ 300 or more - you can combine invoices from different shops, though we would prefer if you would only shop with us...

Yo visit the desk at the airport or seaport that deals with the TRS. They say on their brochure that you must give them adequate time to do he computer entry so it is no good running in with your underwear dragging out of your suitcase and the Boeing warmed up at the end of the runway. Arrive at a sensible time.

It's a nice bit of change to recover on the price of that new camera you've coveted.

Elementary, My Dear Watson - With Fuji

Ah, Watson, you're here. I hope your in-laws enjoyed their visit.

What? You are astounded that I know of it? But you told me the whole story as you walked up the street. The slightly bent posture and the way you held your hand told me that you had recently handled a heavy object on one side of your body - a valise. The fact that you have a spot of Vicker's steam-oil on your right boot speaks of a visit to a railway station - specifically Paddington as the only railway company in the Great Britain that uses Vickers is the Great Western Railway. Your posture and fatigue exactly coincides with the departure of the 5:12 for Taunton - where your Bother-in-Law and Sister-in-law live. And the look of relief on your face is indescribable...It is so simple when we observe and deduce.

Now, while Mrs. Hudson busies herself with the tea things, have a look at these two cameras from the Japanese firm of Fujifilm and see what you can tell me.

Precisely. They are designed to steal the plans of the Hamilton-Fyshe lighter-than-air mortar emplacement. We must speed to Portsmouth and alert the authorities once the crumpets are done.

What first alerted you? For me it was the weight. The same as the ordinary cameras. And then it was the controls. Just the same as the ordinary cameras. And the settings...just the same as...

But look closely - the entire body in each case is a casting made of plastic. The lenses have plastic fronts and plastic plates on the back. Even the screws holding them together are engravings...Models - wonderfully detailed 1:1 models.

Obviously the nefarious agent of destruction - Professor Justin - will be placing these in the hands of minions who will decoy the sentries away from the Hamilton-Fyshe emplacement while the real Fuji X-E1 cameras are used to record the details. We can only hint at which Foreign Power will be paying for this espionage but I think that we can safely say that Professor Justin never does anything foolishly. A dangerous adversary.

So, grasp your teacup and your Adams revolver - we must away to save the Empire!