Noble Wolf Studio NotebookDigital Photography and Website Design

Olympus

Way back when taking a camera out in lousy weather was not a big deal. Cameras were made mostly of metal and glass and had gears. We took a reasonable amount of precautions, a few calculated risks and away we went. For the most part these were mechanical wonders and the worst that would happen is a bit of nasty corrosion – eventually. If the camera was somewhere near pro level we might send it out once in a while for a tuneup, clean and lube. If it was a snappy – well those cameras were built like bricks and could take all sorts of abuse and not fail.

Over time a bit of electronics were added until cameras became all electronic with bits of glass attached. They also became fragile, complicated and a bit demanding. We now worry about dampness zapping the electronics and ruining the cameras. There are a few cameras that are weather proof but not all modern cameras are.

I finally got down to two cameras, a rare thing for me. Then the weather changed. I thought we might have a mild winter. I was wrong. I sold my Olympus 850SW a while ago. Now I wish I hadn’t. I don’t feel at all comfortable about taking the Olympus E-P1 or E-510 out in the cold and wet. It’s very obvious these cameras are electronic more than manual. I’m also one of those people that don’t feel quite complete without a camera with me. Old habits, and all that. So I bought yet another pocket camera. Sigh. I know I’ll sell this one off in a few months. I always do. This time I played it smart. I looked for a discontinued model and a good deal.

I have a problem with small, snappy cameras lately, namely too many megapixels and smudgy, blurry JPEG’s. The ones I’ve had were good 4″X6″ cameras but the minute I start looking at the images at 1:1 it’s been a let down. Then I start wondering why I’m spending good money on cameras that create smudy, blurry images. I don’t need dozens of scene modes, HD movie recording, a billion megapixels, long zoom lens and high f/stops if the sensor is too small and too overworked to make a decent 8X10. I think less is more applies here. Give me less features and more quality.

But the real issue is I would not have thought twice about taking an old mechanical camera out in lousy weather. I did it many times. The cameras survived without any problems. Of course, I protected them as best I could – in a common sense kind of way. They didn’t get soaked in the rain or frozen solid. I wasn’t deliberately trying to destroy them but they were tools with a job to do. I feel completely different about these new electronic cameras. They seem so fragile – unless they’re “rugged” cameras.

I’ve pretty much settled down my camera “collection”. The Olympus E-510 handles the SLR work, the Olympus E-P1 handles everything else. They’re brilliant. I sold the Panasonic FZ8 and Canon SD1100IS, both nice cameras. The Panasonic created excellent RAW images and the lens was excellent. The Canon SD1100IS was a very good camera but I’m still looking for that ultimate pocket camera. I picked up a little Olympus snappy to carry when the weather gets a bit too rough to carry something expensive. I suspect I will be going back to another rugged camera before too long.