Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

Going through my pics in readiness for a 2007 Calendar and discovered I
don't have many suitable pics... Any excuse for a week at Tangalooma!
but this one caught my eye:
http://www.weprint2canvas.com/gallery/tanga-calendar/old_whaling_pier?full=1
Can you guess which camera took the shot?
--
From Douglas...
My photographic site: http://www.douglasjames.com.au
Canvas Archival and Metallic Prints: http://www.canvasphotos.com.au

Dmac

Re: Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

It's interesting to hear comments about this picture. It was taken with
a 5D and Sigma 24 -70 F/2.8 lens. 1/30th at F/7.1 - 24mm FL. Hand held,
unsupported except for my elbow on my knee. I did not even lock the
mirror up.
When you get a new camera you quickly accept it's "usability" and begin
to dislike it's short comings. Overall, I don't like a 5D as well as I
like a 20D for it's "feel". I sure as hell like the 5D images better
than 20D ones and not because of the extra image size, either.
Sensor size apart, these two cameras are similar but the thing the 5D
has which I never concerned myself with in the 20D until I took this
picture, is extreme lack of noise, as opposed to just low noise.
If this pic had been from a 20D, I'd have reached for the noise
reduction software when I needed to bring up the attenuation in the
shadows. Not so with a 5D. Low light (as in dusk) photos with a 20D
always produced noise in the deep shadows. The 5D doesn't.
Incidentally... The pictures photographers like (such as this one) are
not well accepted by people who buy photographs! I guess the recognition
that a picture like this doesn't happen every afternoon, makes it
interesting to a photographer... Has no effect on the buying public (in
Australia at least).
--
From Douglas...
My photographic site: http://www.douglasjames.com.au
Canvas Archival and Metallic Prints: http://www.canvasphotos.com.au

Dmac

Re: Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

That's the point, as one photographer said, if you see a good
photograph, you shouldn't be able to tell what camera was used. There
are exceptions to that, but the're few and far between. You're right,
the photography partly determines what camera the photographer
will/should use, but once you're in the range, the specific brand/model
doesn't matter, and it's a matter of personal choice. My point to the
orignal post was, if you can't tell in that case, it doesn't matter.
Next time you're at a restaurant and you've enjoyed a good meal,
compliment the chef to say that they must use a great brand of cookware
because it was so good, that only the best cookware could have cooked
such a meal. See what how they react. I wish the photography community
would drop this gearhead mentality, but then I forget it's keep the
discussion of their idea of photography alive.

Wsrphoto

Re: Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

Every camera, evan an ancient Brownie Starmite, has a range where it is
competent to take good photos. That range may be very narrow for the
Brownie, a bit wider for an Instamatic, very wide for a Nikon F-6, with its
many interchangeable lenses and other accessories.
If the shot falls within that range of competence, then it doesn't matter.
We've all heard of photographers that were able to take great photos using
equipment that was generally considered to be poor.
But there are some types of shots that cannot be adequately recorded by
simple cameras, and for those one must use more complex gear.
But the fact that one has excellent gear does not mean that one's photos
will all be masterpieces. So, to answer your question regarding "Does it
matter?" the answer is "maybe yes and maybe no."

Jeremy

Re: Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

It does in a group whose focus is photographic equipment.
--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

Matt Clara

Re: Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

It looks similar to the one at:
http://www.weprint2canvas.com/gallery/Dougs/tangaTanga_110_01
and you say what took that shot. It's written on the image. And anyway,
if the image is good, the brand/model of the camera is irrelevant. It's
like asking after the mechanic fixed your car what tools they use to
determine if it was a good repair, or asking a chef after a great meal
what cookware she/he used because this or that brand is better than
another, or asking a painter what brand of brush and paint they used
because it proved it was a good painting, or a writer what computer and
publishing software they used because it really made the book. Does it
matter?

Wsrphoto

Re: Magic camera... SLR, but what type?

Great photo Douglas.
As to what camera took it given the small size of the photo I would
think that just about any digital or film camera could have taken that
shot, so it is pretty hard to say what took it.
Scott