2b. Photography Methods

Here are my photo methods and equipment.

---

2. The X-370 filmcam was used with the tripod, normally with the 28-70 zoom lens.
The Stylus 300 digicam was used handheld.
The DL-270 filmcam was used handheld.

3. The Stylus 300 digicam with a 256 MB xD picture card can hold 111 pictures at the SHQ 2048x1636 highest quality picture setting (2 MB file size). Movie HQ setting (320x240) 16 seconds - 4 MB file size.

The 256 MB xD picture card can hold more pictures if a lower quality setting is used:

On a vacation when I'm taking lots of pictures I can easily fill up this XD picture card in 1 to 2 days with SHQ pictures. Thus, to use the digicam on a long vacation I would need to get more of these pricey little XD picture cards, or to shoot photos at a lower quality setting, or to have a portable computer available to download the pictures from the camera.

4. The availability of the digicam has started to alter the way I take pictures.

     a) The digicam is so small and light to carry that I can have it with me at all times to catch those unexpected photo opportunities. I now leave the filmcam, extra lenses and heavy tripod in the car at places where I'm not expecting to get really stunning photos.

     b) For photography of moving subjects like animals at the zoo I can use the digicam to take massive numbers of pictures to increase the chances of catching the subject in just the right position. The autofocus feature on the digicam is also very helpful for moving subjects. The movie clip feature is a nice bonus.

     c) I really like the freedom from film and developing costs when using the digicam. This encourages me to take more pictures and to explore more extreme conditions for photography. With the filmcam I tend not to shoot unless I think I might get an "enlargement quality" photo that might end up framed on my living room wall. With the digicam I can take multiple shots of anything and everything. For example, taking digicam pictures of signs is a great way to keep track of where my pictures were taken and to save a lot of notetaking.

5. The 35MM SLR filmcam takes better pictures over a wider range of conditions than the Stylus 300 digicam.

     a) The filmcam's resolution is approximately equivalent to 7 megapixels, so the 3 megapixels of the digicam are significantly less. This difference is most important for printing of photo enlargements (8x10 inches and larger).

     b) The zoom on my digicam is similar to the 28-70MM zoom lens on my filmcam, so the 70-210 zoom gives the filmcam 3x more zoom than that available in the digicam.

     c) I really like the polarizing filters on my filmcam lenses and really miss polarization when using the digicam.

     d) I suspect that film can capture a wider dynamic range of lighting conditions than the digicam can capture. I suspect that overexposures in bright sunlight and underexposures in the shade are much more of a problem with the digicam.

     e) I don't do much flash photography, but the convenient little flash on the digicam is really wimpy and inflexible compared to the big, clunky, powerful, adjustable flash that I have for the filmcam.

     f) BUT when the filmcam is in the car, the digicam in my hand takes an infinitely better picture !!