Having Fuji FinePix Fun

content kitty
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

One thing I really enjoy about this camera (finepix S7000) is the ability to use off-camera flash. In this case, a $20 slave/master AC strobe unit with a home-made softbox. Attached to the camera with a pc cord and an adapter on the hotshoe. Set to 1/5000 at f 6.5.
Of course, this is one of our cats -- Stanley-- and he likes to pose when he's in the mood. In this case a wee bit of catnip settled him down...

A new camera

peelingwall
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

I finally got off the fence. I had been going back and forth, trying to decide if I was going to buy a better digital camera. I didn't want a Nikon D70, since it doesn't do all that I ask of an SLR, and it lacks features that I require, but I can;'t afford tghe higher end digi SLRs. So, it came down to features for the buck, megapixels, and ergonomics. I finally decided on a Fuji FinePix S7000. A nice camera, and it has a generic hot-shoe and mechanical theaded remote shutter release. Very essential.
I am still feeling my way around with this camera, but I like the manual mode, and the ability to shoot b&w as well as color. The zoom is great, and the manual focus is a tad tricky, but works.
I took this shot on Saturday, the day after I bought the camera. A peeling cment block wall with a splash of color from a shrub in downtown Ann Arbor.

kettle

kettle
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

Just a still-life scene from a place on campus where we keep many things...I was testing out a cheap k-mount Chinon SLR for student use...

Grasses and Fence

arb2
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

The entrance to Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor. Taken with my Contax G1 with T*45mm lens. I have growing dissatisfaction with this camera. It's not a bad camera, and the optics are superb. But -- the AF leaves something to be desired, and I would actually rather have MF. A rangefinder camera tends to be easily focused manually, and in many instances all one needs to do is set at f16 and prefocus to 10 feet, and you are all set for quick shooting. Sadly, the G1 does not do this easily. In low light levels, the camera really takes too long to focus. You can focus manually, but it really is focus by wire, as there is no turning the lens barrel to focus, but you fiddle with the wheel on top of the camera and look at the readout in the viewfinder. Nowhere as easy as aligning split images in the viewfinder. As a posh P&S, it's a great camera. I would trade it in a second for a Voigtlander Bessa R!

Please End the NHL Lockout!

DSCF0008
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

I am missing NHL hockey so badly, that I am now going to watch kids play locally. On Monday my daughter treated me to a game at the Four Nations Cup, being played at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, home of the US Youth hockey program. We watched Sweden and Finland play to a 2-2 score. Last night, she and friends watched a US squad beat the Swedes 7-1. They also saw, and said hi to Detroit Red Wings' defenseman, Nick Lidstrom...I am sure he's having an even harder time without a season.

If there is a bright spot in all this, it is the coverage that amateur and minor-league hockey is getting. However, watching a bunch of 18 yr-olds play is not the same as watching the Detroit red Wings! Stop the insanity and let's have NHL hockey back...

One last thing...if you are going to take photos of a hockey game (or any fast moving sport) a low-end digi won't cut it. Shutter lag will screw your shots up every time. Better use film or a high-end digital camera without the lag.

Blue Light Special

blue
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

I was sitting in my bathroom in our basement ... I look up and the light coming through the glass block window illuminating the bottles sitting there says..."photograph me." Using my FujiFinepix 2800 I made a bunch of shots..this one I liked the best.

Fall Jewels

jewels
Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.

I love early morning dew and misty weather. When we have such weather in the fall and leaves are no longer green, it affords a much different palette and the contrast is much greater. This is a leaf on a smokebush on my front yard. Taken with a Nikon F2, 200mm macro lens, and of course, I used a tripod.