----- Original Message ----- From: "Glen Tortorella" Subject: Disappointing Results
> Hi all, > > Since I have a new, more "advanced" body, the N80, I tried taking > some shots I would have avoided in the past. The results were awful-- > not one good shot on the entire role, a miserable 0-for-24 (Kodak > Gold 200). > > In the past, I would avoid two types of shots: 1) indoor shots and 2) > outdoor "high sun" shots in the fair weather months (i.e. during the > hours of about 10:00-4:00). In doing so, I have assured myself > decent, but not necessarily perfect, results. Since the N80 has a > better metering system (10-segment) and a pop-up flash that is > supposed to be pretty good, I figured: "let me see what it can do." > As I have said, the results were dreadful. Here are the main issues. > > 1) Every indoor flash shot showed at least moderate spotlight/wash- > out effect of the subject (people). > 2) On the outdoor "high sun" shots, the camera turned a seemingly > minor shadows (through the viewfinder) on the subject's face into a > black blobs that covered almost all of the subject's face. > 3) When taking indoor shots with the flash, I would meter (10- > segment) something like 1/30 or 1/45 or perhaps 1/60 at, say, f2. > With the flash powered up, I do not think it ever metered > differently. For example, 1/30 at f/2 was still 1/30 at f/2 with the > flash enabled. Is this correct, or is there something wrong with my > camera? > 4) The one decent shot in the whole role--an indoor shot using only > available light...go figure?--was spoiled by some sort of small speck > on the subject's face. I usually keep my filter free of dust, etc. > Could this speck have appeared as a result of the cheap processing I > used (Wal-Mart C-41)? > > I know that using a fill flash may have alleviated the problem > expressed in issue number 2, but, since I have had my subjects turn a > bit ghastly by using the flash, I am hesitant to use it indoors or > outdoors. I would appreciate any advice or commentary (or even pep > talk), as I am pretty down about this. What good is a more > "advanced" camera if I cannot even come remotely close to > satisfactory results on the more difficult shots (i.e. indoor, "high > sun," etc.)? You seem to have discovered one of the rules of photography that I like the best, which is that good equipment can't compensate for bad photography. Difficult lighting situations are difficult because of their nature, not because of less than savvy cameras. Was the spot on the subject's face white or black? If it's white, it's dust on the film at the time of printing, which isn't a big deal, if it's black, then it's dust on the film at the moment of exposure. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
