Look Ma, No Hands
I bought the G9 yesterday, and as expected, it has given me the nudge I needed to get out and about. Also, as expected, sales dropped off to near zero over the last week - and so I have time to visit my old haunts. If you want careful and well-thought out opinions on the camera — visit Paul Butzi’s site. I can’t bring myself to do any more reviews of anything other than maybe pizza, or movies. It is the first camera I’ve used with Image Stabilization - and that is a good thing.
Put simply - I like it. I am using it in RAW mode without any lag issues. On the other hand (or arm) my subjects weren’t moving quickly today at the museum. In fact, they weren’t moving at all. Just looking wistfully at each-other. The museum is always a sad place for me - with the pictures of dead people, or never-existed people, done by dead artists. Hmmm, maybe that’s why it’s graveyard quiet. Respect for the dead.
This is probably Athena — pretty much anyone in this room was either Athena or Hercules. I miss those days when Gods had faces and bodies. It would be much easier for me to converse with a spirit if I had a rough idea about what they looked like, and what kind of personality they had. That’s just me I guess. It must have been very hard for people to chuck all their godly trinkets. Especially if they were used to chatting with them every day.
The guides hover around - somewhere between the real world - and the museum graveyard. They have the only job halfway between cherubs and jerks.
Now the fact that all these people have their likeness and naked bodies on display is bad enough - but do they always have to lose their arms through the centuries? What’s so tough about keeping your arms with you?
And so many of them have completely lost their heads. What’s up with that? They almost always keep their torsos, but even if they’ve kept their heads, so many of them have lost their eyeballs.
I only ran into trouble once with one guard who thought since I was moving the camera while looking at the LCD that I was taking a movie - which I just found out - is not allowed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No movies, sir!
Why no movies? That’s got to be a YouTube prejudice. Well anyway - I don’t understand so many things about the world, that I’ll just chalk add the no-movies at the Met rule to the long list.
Untitled as of yet
Flower Shop Window (83rd Street)
Comments
Comment from dave
Time: January 15, 2008, 9:50 pm
Tri-X? What’s that? 
Seriously, based on past experiences, my jaunts into digital land usually last a few months or so. But to be honest - I really do need a new manual, or gizmo of some sort to experiment with every year or so. The 7800 printer was / is just a big machine for work. The G9 was a gift for myself after many months of constant manual labor. And it is very enjoyable.
Comment from Craig Nisnewitz
Time: January 15, 2008, 10:14 pm
Haven’t had the chance yet but I am getting the Nikon P5100. 12 MPs and 3.5 zoom. Doesn’t shoot raw, only jpeg but my view is with 12MP the quality should be good. What sells me on this camera is that thye menus/controls are like my Nikon DSLRs.
So Dave, how about that Leica M8 body? That would solve all your digital problems.
Comment from dave
Time: January 15, 2008, 11:03 pm
“So Dave, how about that Leica M8 body? That would solve all your digital problems.”
Believe it or not, I thought about it - but I have a problem with the price. I know it’s hard to believe but frankly - I can’t afford that camera. I’ll just have to wait for the price break that’s sure to come.
Comment from Craig Nisnewitz
Time: January 16, 2008, 2:19 am
I agree, $4,500 for a demo to over $5,999 for a new body is crazy. Even the Epson one made by Cosina-Voigtlander was going for close to $2,000 is a lot. Rumors keep floating around that CV is working on a budget priced digital M body. Similar rumors are around about a budget film M from leica.For around $1,500 its reasonable. In the meantime, the Nikon P5100 may do it. I just can’t get used to the Canon powershot I bought last year.
Guess I’m a camera addict too!!!!!!!
Comment from Ed Richards
Time: January 16, 2008, 2:14 pm
At last, some black and white with the G9! Thanks!
Have you figured out the max size print you would be comfortable selling from a G9 file? I mostly shoot 4×5, and as you remeber, that pretty much limits your inpromptu shooting. Even my little digital Rebel is too big to really carry around.
Comment from dave
Time: January 16, 2008, 4:31 pm
Geez - Ed, I’ve only had it one day. Don’t worry there’ll be plenty of b&w from the G9.
I don’t know yet about how large this stuff can go. I can tell you that at least I’m taking the little guy with me on my errands - so I’m getting some new stuff. Since I’m shooting RAW, I can set it to b&w in camera - or do it afterwards with either their software or about another million possible ways. I’m actually using their ZoomBrowser for the first time - and it’s not bad at all. Noise Ninja for noise… etc. etc.
Comment from Stephen Bray
Time: January 16, 2008, 7:40 pm
Your images from the G-9 look very well on my monitor. I think you may be surprised how far you can push them when printing.
I have used a FinePix E-900 for a couple of years. It’s a 9 megapixel compact digicam but it does shoot RAW. My local barber has a print 36″ wide of him cutting my, then 2 year old, daughter’s hair on his wall.
It’s not noise free, but most people don’t go that close to it. I didn’t have Noise Ninja back then. Several people have admired it though, before realizing that they were talking to the barber in the shot. They had thought it was a piece of commercial art.
A main quibble that I have with compacts is the retractable lens. I just think it’s so impolite the way the thing extends as you go to take someone’s picture. For the same reason I don’t like huge menacing cameras that look more like war toys than photographic equipment.
Stephen
Comment from Ed Richards
Time: January 17, 2008, 4:41 am
> Geez - Ed, I’ve only had it one day. Don’t worry there’ll be plenty of b&w from the G9.
I figured with that brand new big printer, the first thing you would do is a big print with the G9.:-)
Comment from eric
Time: January 15, 2008, 8:56 pm
Great photos. When will the next tri x moment come?