Also, do you have any thoughts about the ruggedness of the H1
system? Would it
be possible to expose a H1 to more hostile environments, like
shorelines,
deserts or wet conditions?
Cheers,
Jostein
Quoting Kevin Waterson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
I took the H1 for a test drive today and I must say I was thoroughly
impressed.
>From the moment I first held it, the feeling of the camera let the
operator
know
this was not a toy. Looking through the view finder I found it to be
a vast
improvement from that offered by pentax. The view was light and
bright, even
under low light it was easy to find an edge to work with.
A change from the tradition backs of the blads, no darkslide is
needed when
changing backs, very convenient when working in the dark. The
digital back
offers a 22 megapixel 48.9mm x 36.7mm sensor and various backs have
various
sizes available.
The Kodak back is 22 megapixel 36mm x 36mm. This is a welcome change
from the
APS size as it allows
much better cropping.
The first big hit comes with CF cards, each image is 96Meg but it
does allow
saving in PS's DMG format. Also the ability to hook up firewire
directly to a
computer/laptop is something I believe all "pro" models should have.
If you have anything less than a 2 gig card, you need to start
spending. This is a
real plus for the APS size images as it affords much cheaper and
smaller CF
cards.
Another plus in the Pentax camp was the use of AA batteries, the H1
uses
3 CR-123 lithium batteries or an extension which carries 8 AAA
batteries.
There is not a large range of lenses available and I spent my time
with the
80mm f2.8 as this is something I am familiar with in low light.
There is
nowhere
near the range of AF lenses available for Pentax.
What impressed me instantly was the Auto Focus speed. This was a vast
improvement
on Pentax, although it did struggle with object coming directly at the
camera.
The AF in low light was impressive also. In situations where the
*istD spent
its
time hunting, the H1 nailed it and had the image on disk.
A great gain was the ISO rating which is available up to 6400. I
have use the
*istD
at 3200 and the image is horribly noisy. The Blad was not totally
clean at
6400 but
gave a good result, and at 3200 was comparable with the 800 of the
Pentax.
On using a strobe with the H1 flash was available at all speeds
A pointless addition to the H1 is a pop-up flash with a guide number
of 12.
Although I could see where this may be useful in triggering other
flashes...
maybe.
Flash was available at all speeds.
The button to stop down the lense is almost in-accessble for my
fingers, I
hope this changes at some time. When comparing the controls to the
Pentax I find the
Pentax more
intuitive, perhaps that comes from years of use, but navigating the
Blad menu
system was not too difficult and with little effort I could access
the settings I
needed.
I guess the losses are in wieght, at about 2kg this is not something
you
would wear
around your neck while hiking, although the design seems to invite
that. I
found myself constantly comparing with the 6x7 (something I will
never part with).
Other loses are in FPS at just under 2fps this is not a fast
capture. The
loss
of AA batteries and the added cost of new AAA packs, and the added
cost of
new
and larger CF cards, I would consider 4gig a reasonable size, make
for some
additional costs to this not cheap camera. The kit I am looking at
comes in
at $AUD40,000.00 although much of this cost is in the digital back.
(film
backs are available).
The lenses are designed by Hasselblad and made by Fuji, Bokeh is
BAD. Pentax
glass has it
all over these lenses if the 80mm 2.8 is anything to go by. I dont
know why
they chose Fuji
as Contax usses Zeiss and they have a much better offering in lenses.
On the plus side, the extra sensor size/mp is a welcome change and the
ultra-fast AF
is what I really was testing for. I passed this test easily, and
could even
focus on
a fly on a black backdrop without hunting.
In all I was impressed with the AF system in low light, which is
what I was
looking for
but at $40k I will take look at the Contax before committing, unless of
course Pentax comes up with a 645D with a new or improved AF system.
Kind regards
Kevin
--
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for
lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
