2 ms·

I'll mention: What's being discussed is a hobbyist device. It's a particular bad hobbyist device, since it doesn't actually give any room to tinker and explore.

by blagie 5y ago

I'll mention: What's being discussed is a hobbyist device. It's a particular bad hobbyist device, since it doesn't actually give any room to tinker and explore. It's a all pre-baked. A dSLR isn't a great bring-along device; that's a cell phone. They're surprisingly competitive at this point. An RX100-style camera will also outperform even a modern dSLR with kit lens as well, in auto. The dSLR will only inch ahead once you buy lenses (or other accessories like lighting). A dSLR is for when you want to pursue photography as a hobby. If you're going out for a walk in the park? Cell phone. If you're going out in a walk to find and shoot photos of animals? dSLR. Taking photos of the kids? Cell phone. Setting up lights for butterfly lighting and posing kids? dSLR. It's like skis -- you don't take them along unless you're going skiing, and if you compare them shoes, they'll seem awfully impractical as a transportation device. I'll mention: For focus, you can buy classic split prism focus screens and retrofit them into most dSLRs. At least a few years ago, they were like 20 bucks. That's a really nice weekend parent-child activity.

digitallyfree 5y ago
Well you just gave me a nice weekend activity to get a split prism screen installed in my DSLR! I like to use vintage manual lenses and miss the ease of focusing I had when I used my old (film) Canon A-1. I've looked at DSLR focusing screens in the past but they were expensive and custom made, didn't know they were mass produced now.
- blip54321 5y ago
  Check eBay. There are plenty. I will state the obvious, but it's a helpful obvious: 1) Any spec of dust will be super-visible. Trying to clean dust off once you're done is painful; you'll usually just make more of a mess each time. It's a lot easier to do it right the first time. Go really overboard here. Wash your hands AND use gloves of some type without lint AND use tweazers. Make sure the environment is impeccably clean. Vacuum, dust, etc. the room. Wash the table. If you've got a HEPA air filter (and with COVID + pollution, it's not a bad idea), move it into the room. Go wild. 2) Use a dSLR you don't care about. If you're who you sound like you are (an old-time photography nerd), you probably have a 15-year-old one you never use which sells for $100 on eBay. Use that one. I did this with my favorite dSLR, which was from 15 years ago. It's obsolete, but the controls fit me like a glove. When I finished, the metering was messed up -- it consistently over- or under-exposes in auto. I don't know if I broke something, or perhaps if it just failed at some point before I started (it'd been sitting in a drawer for maybe a decade now; I didn't test it much beforehand). I didn't break anything (else?), but it would have been really easy to do so. These are fine, precision, delicate parts. Don't use a $2000 modern model. I use it as a full manual camera now, and it's a heck of a lot of fun.

by blagie 5y ago

digitallyfree 5y ago

Well you just gave me a nice weekend activity to get a split prism screen installed in my DSLR! I like to use vintage manual lenses and miss the ease of focusing I had when I used my old (film) Canon A-1. I've looked at DSLR focusing screens in the past but they were expensive and custom made, didn't know they were mass produced now.

blip54321 5y ago
Check eBay. There are plenty. I will state the obvious, but it's a helpful obvious: 1) Any spec of dust will be super-visible. Trying to clean dust off once you're done is painful; you'll usually just make more of a mess each time. It's a lot easier to do it right the first time. Go really overboard here. Wash your hands AND use gloves of some type without lint AND use tweazers. Make sure the environment is impeccably clean. Vacuum, dust, etc. the room. Wash the table. If you've got a HEPA air filter (and with COVID + pollution, it's not a bad idea), move it into the room. Go wild. 2) Use a dSLR you don't care about. If you're who you sound like you are (an old-time photography nerd), you probably have a 15-year-old one you never use which sells for $100 on eBay. Use that one. I did this with my favorite dSLR, which was from 15 years ago. It's obsolete, but the controls fit me like a glove. When I finished, the metering was messed up -- it consistently over- or under-exposes in auto. I don't know if I broke something, or perhaps if it just failed at some point before I started (it'd been sitting in a drawer for maybe a decade now; I didn't test it much beforehand). I didn't break anything (else?), but it would have been really easy to do so. These are fine, precision, delicate parts. Don't use a $2000 modern model. I use it as a full manual camera now, and it's a heck of a lot of fun.