Mju-Mju
Sunday, September 19, 2004
35mm or 50mm?
Just back from a week's holiday in Brittany. (Yes, thanks, I'd a great time).
Took two cameras: my recently-purchased Nikon FE and the Mju. A few interesting things occurred to me - well, they interested me, anyway.
One was that the Mju fits very nicely in the fold down arm-rest between the front seats. I'd never known this. I lost it for a few hours until I remembered where I put it. Just goes to prove how small it is.
The other? Nikon Lessons. This is Mju-relevant...
I brought 3 lenses for the Nik: the 35mm/f2.8 (came with the camera), a 50mm/f1.8 and a 135mm/f3.5. I bought the latter two secondhand before I went on holiday.
I hardly used the 135mm. It's handy but heavy. I already knew this, but it's good to be sure. Most of the time I used the 50mm, because I like 50mm's. I'd dearly love a 50mm Mju-II. Occasionally, I'd use the 35mm lens - it was handy in narow Breton streets where you can't back away far enough to get the details you want. But when I wanted a 35mm shot, it was often a toss-up between the Mju and the FE. After a couple of days, I more or less stopped using the 35mm on the Nikon. It's the same speed as the Mju and the Mju sits in a little holster on my belt. So I carried the Mju on my belt and the Nikon with the 50mm over my shoulder and used whichever I wanted. I like the one camera, one lens philosophy. OK - so I can't choose between cameras! I know, I know...
I was thinking about all this and then I happened across Dave Beckerman's site, which has some great tips. The tips are mostly to do with black and white photography, but he makes two points which stood out.
1. One is to start with a simple camera with one lens (35mm or 50mm).
2. Make sure it's one you have some control over.
Now while the Mju isn't a clever SLR, you can do a lot with it. You can turn the flash on and off. You can use the spotmeter. You can set the timer (handy for tripod work). You can put it on a tripod for night shots. You can use a very wide variety of film in it. And you can take pretty good photos on it. Despite having a nice Nikon and a great 50mm lenses, I would have been pretty unhappy without my little Mju. There were times when I didn't want to drag an SLR (when it was raining, late at night on deserted streets, when I was carrying other stuff). The Mju just sat on my belt and didn't get in the way. Neat. It gave me a handy alternative to the nikon without making me feel I didn't have a good camera to hand.
¶ 11:24 PM 0 comments
Took two cameras: my recently-purchased Nikon FE and the Mju. A few interesting things occurred to me - well, they interested me, anyway.
One was that the Mju fits very nicely in the fold down arm-rest between the front seats. I'd never known this. I lost it for a few hours until I remembered where I put it. Just goes to prove how small it is.
The other? Nikon Lessons. This is Mju-relevant...
I brought 3 lenses for the Nik: the 35mm/f2.8 (came with the camera), a 50mm/f1.8 and a 135mm/f3.5. I bought the latter two secondhand before I went on holiday.
I hardly used the 135mm. It's handy but heavy. I already knew this, but it's good to be sure. Most of the time I used the 50mm, because I like 50mm's. I'd dearly love a 50mm Mju-II. Occasionally, I'd use the 35mm lens - it was handy in narow Breton streets where you can't back away far enough to get the details you want. But when I wanted a 35mm shot, it was often a toss-up between the Mju and the FE. After a couple of days, I more or less stopped using the 35mm on the Nikon. It's the same speed as the Mju and the Mju sits in a little holster on my belt. So I carried the Mju on my belt and the Nikon with the 50mm over my shoulder and used whichever I wanted. I like the one camera, one lens philosophy. OK - so I can't choose between cameras! I know, I know...
I was thinking about all this and then I happened across Dave Beckerman's site, which has some great tips. The tips are mostly to do with black and white photography, but he makes two points which stood out.
1. One is to start with a simple camera with one lens (35mm or 50mm).
2. Make sure it's one you have some control over.
Now while the Mju isn't a clever SLR, you can do a lot with it. You can turn the flash on and off. You can use the spotmeter. You can set the timer (handy for tripod work). You can put it on a tripod for night shots. You can use a very wide variety of film in it. And you can take pretty good photos on it. Despite having a nice Nikon and a great 50mm lenses, I would have been pretty unhappy without my little Mju. There were times when I didn't want to drag an SLR (when it was raining, late at night on deserted streets, when I was carrying other stuff). The Mju just sat on my belt and didn't get in the way. Neat. It gave me a handy alternative to the nikon without making me feel I didn't have a good camera to hand.
¶ 11:24 PM 0 comments
Friday, September 10, 2004
Look behind you
Not the first time I've noticed this... I tend to take photos as I walk. Which means I take photos of what's ahead of me. It rarely occurs to me to look back at the scene I'm passing through, to see if I've missed something. DId that on my amble this morning and got a few extra shots from that. One to think about in future and despite only bringing the FE, this tip would work with any camera.
¶ 8:52 AM 0 comments
Heavy system
Took my new Nikon FE out for a walk in the harbour this morning and brought all three lenses (35, 50, 135). While I found myself swapping the 35 and the 50 occasionally, I hardly used the 135. An 85mm would have been handy though. And while some of you (are there any of you?) are saying "Buy a zoom!", the point is that because of low light I was occasionally shooting at F4, where the prime lenses are pretty sharp but the zooms aren't. But I must admit that the thought did cross my mind. If I'd had 400 film instead of 200, a small zoom would have been good.
Most of the time, I used the 50mm. As the FE's a recent acquisition, I'm just playing round. I must say that swapping lenses seemed easier on my Praktica. Perhaps because the Nikons screw on in the opposite direction. This doesn't sound like much of a problem, but try it sometime. However, focussing the Nikon's just a little faster.
I can see the 135mm becoming an occasional portrait lens. And I can see one of those old 43-86mm zooms appearing on the doorstep sometime.
Anyway, a good morning. Well, it was until it started raining, which finished my shoot. ¶ 8:44 AM 0 comments
Most of the time, I used the 50mm. As the FE's a recent acquisition, I'm just playing round. I must say that swapping lenses seemed easier on my Praktica. Perhaps because the Nikons screw on in the opposite direction. This doesn't sound like much of a problem, but try it sometime. However, focussing the Nikon's just a little faster.
I can see the 135mm becoming an occasional portrait lens. And I can see one of those old 43-86mm zooms appearing on the doorstep sometime.
Anyway, a good morning. Well, it was until it started raining, which finished my shoot. ¶ 8:44 AM 0 comments
