chuckography

..and now for something new.

Many people have switched from using film to digital SLRs and Point-and-Shoot (P/S) cameras.

Eastman Kodak is keenly aware of this major change from nearly a century of making - and selling - film.

The highly portable cameras of today are a far cry from the early days when photos were taken either on glass slides or tin types coated with light sensitive materials.

Today's cameras have shutters that click at 1/1600 of a second (or faster). Back then, exposure started when the photographer removed the lens cap and people had to stay rigid for anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes.

Standing behind the large bulky camera sitting atop a wooden tripod and draped with a black cloth, the photographer of the 1880s would not say "Smile" instead, he or she would say "Freeze. Stand still. Don't move a muscle."

Now we say "cheese" and capture the moment in an instant.

There are digital cams than can detect if one of the subjects blinked.

Or you set a timer, step into the frame and it takes 3 quick shots. Yikes.

Years ago I decided to use a very compact P/S made by Canon and I have been able to have a camera with me almost all the time.

Others use larger camera with different lenses and attachments and they carry all this equipment in a heavy bag slung from their shoulder. They had more features on their cameras but I seldom left mine at home.

The needed middle ground may have arrived with my new Canon S90.

Low light photography. Higher ISO without noise. Setting the camera by shutter speed or aperture. A larger light sensor than ever before. The ability to shoot RAW. Bracketing.

Yep, I can do all that now with a camera that weighs just 6 ounces.

The 8GB digital memory card says I can capture 2,000 images.

Eat your heart out Mathew B. Brady.


(As usual, click the color photos to see more detail. The B&W shot is from the internet.)

Labels: 1880s photography, Canon S90, Civil War photographer, Mathew B. Brady, P/S cameras, shooting RAW

posted by chucker @ 10:44 AM