Yes Mike, thanks, of course it is an SX-70; I must have had so many other things on my mind that I couldn't recollect the name! As far as "fancy" gear is concerned, obviously some people will buy gear because of what it looks like or because of what it is claimed to do in the advertising, but I think most people interested in photography are fairly level headed; gear is expensive, most of us are not millionaires and we want to make sure that the equipment we part with our hard earned cash for is going to do the job we want it for. I will admit that aesthetics (always subjective) does come into it with me, quite a lot, so the camera has got to do what I want it for AND the looks and styling have to appeal to me, whether it is vintage equipment or brand new gear. I am lucky that the stuff that I like the look of also does what I want it to do and I am very pleased with what I have. I like traditional film and digital equally and agree that each has its strong points; all I have to do now is save up enough for the camera I would REALLY, REALLY like, a Hasselblad..................! Ben
As far as gear is concerned, I use a 1973 Nikormat with a 35mm, 50mm, 135mm and 200mm lens. I have gotten sharp pictures from those lenses and the camera works without a battery. Until I can't repair it get it repaired, I will stick with it. It doesn't matter what kind of camera you have as long as the glass you shoot through is good. My uncle has a Pentax K1000 that has been a work horse also and constantly gives good results. Practice helps too.
My old digital Casio QV-10A gave up the ghost, so I recently purchased a new Minolta DiMage 7i digital camera, and * I love it *!!!! Here's a sample of how it captures an image: I'm still learning how to use it, but I think this is going to take the place of my old 35mm too.
I have a Nikon 35mm with zoom lenz. It took very good photos. Then last summer it broke down and after wasting 3 rolls of film, I put in on the shelf, went to Wal Mart and bought a kodak camara for under $7.00. It took very good photos so am now on my 3rd one. I just take the whole camara in for developing and pick up a new one.. I can't see spending all that moola on something fancy when the cheapy suits me just fine. Maybe later (much later) I may get a digital. Really haven't looked into it as yet.
Paul, The Minolta DiMage 7i is 5.24 megapixs' The feature the I most like is the electronic view finder that activates automatically when you put your eye to it, and it displays the same information as does the LQD. I researched for a considerable time to determine what I could get for the money, then researched the best price over the net. The place where I purchased mine has raised the price by $225 since then. They told me that they cannot keep them in stock and the demand for them is greater than the supply. So shop around and beware of the "cheepies" that offer it for less than $600. They are gray market units and do not come with anything that you will need: software to lens cap!
Call me crazy, but I am thinking about abandoning my Canon G1 (3.3 mp) for a Canon D30 (which accepts the EOS SLR lenses I have....) There are a lot of good choices in the Canon line... Harold
Here's a great article on Digital photography. www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/002/917pakjb.asp
Hey, I just discovered this section of Trainboard....interesting! Here is what I'm using and what I want to sell on ebay. My 35mm is an SP 1000 SLR spotmatic with all the lenses, including an 80-250 Tamron all to be sold on ebay. The Advantix system I tried is a Nikon Nuvis 160i, and even though it is an auto focus, it takes as good a picture as the pentax if you stay over 3 ft away. It is a good system but you still have to wait to get your photos developed. I want to see it now! So I got a camcorder with still capability (460 x380 pixels) in still mode, a JVC GR-DVL-505u figuring if the camera would do both stills and video it was the best system. WRONG. It does take pretty good pics in still mode if you are not a fussy nitpicker like me for sharpness. I finally bought a digital still camera and went with the Toshiba PDR-M70 3.1 mega pixel and bought all the additional screw on lenses, wide angle, telephoto and closeup, while they were still available. I believe this camera is discontinued now...why I don't know because it takes awesome pictures shooting at 2048 X 1536 pixels.....if you have enough light that is, but it only goes to f8. However it has a mode that lets you use it like an SLR, letting you select shutter speed, Fstop and use manual focus, all at the same time. The replacement for the PDR-M70, the PDR M-80, does not have a glass lens like the M-70. The M-70 is an awesome camera and I doubt if I will ever shoot 35mm again. You can see an example photo on the Kato Photo Gallery super detailed CNR Mikados, CNR engine no 3724, if I remember correctly. What I love about the digital camera, is that after shooting, you just go to your PC and you are looking at the photos 30 sec. later. If they are not satisfactory you can go right back to your setup immediately, adjust it and shoot them again. No fuss, no muss and no waiting. There are some relatively inexpensive digital cameras that take excellent pictures, so I don't think cost necessarily determines what is a better camera. One of our fellow Trainboarders uses a Sony FD95 to take photos of what he is selling on ebay and they are awesome photos and the Sony FD95 does not cost as much as the PDR-M-70 did. I wish I could take as consistantly good pictures as he does, so I think herin coupled with the camera you buy comes lots of experience in photography. From what I learned about digital cameras, I believe that the minimum pixel range of the camera you buy should be 1024 X 768 pixels if you want to get good sharp photos. But look at what KIRSH did with 35mm in black and white!
No matter how you do it or what you use, photographing trains among other things is alot of fun. I look forward to being able to share more photos with everyone some day.
