Wallace Koopmans Artlog

The Canon z180u is an interesting camera for the particular reason that it came out at the end of 2004 a time when it was already apparent that digital cameras were not just the future but the now. This is the same year that I bought my Sony DSC-V3 advanced digital compact, in this case ironically over the Canon G6. So as the top model of the range and nearly the last new film camera it contains many technologically advanced features. Some of these include three point auto focus, an CMOS exposure sensor, two aspherical lens elements and a focus assist lamp. What I like though is something that doesn’t even show up in the specifications, it is extremely quiet. The shutter is quiet the focus is quiet and even the film advance is quiet. In addition when you turn the camera off and on it remembers the last settings, this is important to me as I like to have the flash disabled most of the time.

The lens is a serious compromise though. To be as compact as it is and still provide a 38-180 zoom it is slow as in f5.6 at 38mm and f12.9 at 180mm that’s too bad because it’s an other wise great point and shoot. But just as there has been a mega-pixel race there was a zoom race too and this is the trade off.

This morning Pentax has released a new camera the K-01 which is the first “mirrorless” camera that takes full size DSLR lenses without an adapter.  One thing about this camera that is sure to draw controversy is the fact that it has no viewfinder.  It relys solely on its 3″ rear LCD for image composition, this is a foreign concept for many people. Essentially the camera will be held with two hands out in front of your face, very much like a point and shoot.  Having used both types of cameras for at least the last 8 years I can say that the usage is so different that many current DSLR users will not be willing to use this camera because of it’s lack of a viewfinder.  That said when you are comfortable with that method of shooting it seems quite natural.

On the what’s different side Pentax has added the ability to shoot in multiple aspect ratios at the time of capture rather than needing to compose with a future crop in mind.  The available ratios are (4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1) .  I like this idea very much as I do like to compose mainly on the spot.

Here is the link to Pentax Canada’s information for the K-01 http://pentaxcanada.ca/en/digital_slr/K-01/

Did I mention it comes in yellow! 

and now for the rest of the original post……

While the Pentax MV is an SLR with a mirror and the ability to change lenses it really performs like a manual focus point and shoot.  What I mean by this is that there is little user control.  Yes you set the aperture and it selects the shutter speed but beyond that you must rely on the camera to get the exposure correct.  For most of this roll of film I mounted the Pentax SMC A 40mm pancake lens which together with the body makes a very compact camera all things considered.

I used outdated film and got what I deserved but converting it to B&W gave me some results that I’m happy with.