Casio EX-G1 an Outdoorsman’s Camera
A rugged digital camera
I have been through many good cameras. A few times, the cause of their demise was their bulk in whatever juggling act I was trying to do at the time of incident. The Casio is extremely thin and lightweight on top of being waterproof and shock resistant. It most likely could stand up to the mishaps that I would put one through. The small size also helps motorcyclists, backpackers, or any other type of activity where space is limited.
I’m not a big equipment fan. I have found that equipment is very far down the list of requirements for good photography. The only cameras that really grab my interest are the ones that change the way you take pictures. Telephoto lenses change how you can position yourself, digital placed a darkroom on everyone’s desktop, SLR cameras allowed everyone the capability (but not the ability) to shoot like a pro, and rugged cameras allow the camera to be wherever you need one. Since having a camera with you is the most important requirement, rugged durability cameras could be the most important advance in photography.
Though not due out until December 2009, I think this camera is going to be a huge success. I can’t wait to try one.
I Hate the Fuji S9100 Because I’m Lazy
The Fuji S9100 isn’t going to go down in the records as one of the world’s best cameras. The camera just sucks – if you’re lazy. Since most of us are camera lazy, that defines the camera. It took setting down and reading the S9100 manual a couple of times to figure out why this camera doesn’t suck. I’m just starting to get pictures that prove the worth of this camera.
I bought this to replace an old 3.1 megapixel Minolta Z-1. I had the Minolta perfected and I was turning out some really nice work. I was only disappointed with the Minolta’s inability to print an 8×10 photo without pixelating. One trip out with the Fuji S9100, and I was very disappointed. A friend sold me this camera for a good price and I was ready for instant great photos. I just set the camera to auto and rushed into the computer to see the miracles one would expect from a camera like this. No such luck.
The most prominent problem was noise. Not just normal noise, but horrible noise. Any dark spot at all had chromed artifacts all over the place. The next problem was that many of the functions on the camera seemed not to work. I didn’t want to think that a good friend would sell me a bad camera, and I figured I just needed to spend more time with the camera. As I’m finding out, it was me.
The noise problem turned out to be an ISO setting problem. Fuji was really trying to push their camera as a superior piece. They went so far as to pushing the ISO settings out of their real limits. The real limits are an ISO setting of 200. Anything above that and you’re not going to get a good digital view. The prints will turn out good, but the digital view is really bad. The cure for this is to never allow an automatic setting on the ISO. It doesn’t take much for the auto to start pushing above 200, so many pictures are going to have noise. The plus side is that ISO 80 capabilites of this camera produce virtually noise free photos.
The menu system is a little crazy on this camera. The access to some functions are turned off depending on your settings. You don’t know why you can’t change a setting or why a button does nothing, it just doesn’t work due to another configuration. For example, there is a button that zooms the view screen in to get a close inspection of your focus. It only works while you’re in manual focus mode and when the light metering is set to meter light in the center of the frame. Since I never had it in manual focus on center light metering while trying to use the button(remember, I assumed it didn’t work. I thought the button was not working. Very frustrating.
I’ve read so many books and websites that repeat in many different ways, that it’s usually not a faulty camera, it’s a faulty photographer. Assuming that your camera is the source of your bad photos would be like assuming a crooked wall was due to a carpenter having a bad hammer. Assuming you need a new camera just brings on the problem of learning a new camera.
I am starting to see that learning your camera’s limitations is the key to operating them at their optimum performance levels. The only difference between low quality and high quality cameras are their limitations. If a cheap camera is within it’s limitations, it can equal a higher quality camera, and sometimes even exceed the higher quality camera. In the case of the S9100, it is a very high quality camera, with a very low quality menu and setting system. As soon as I perfect the settings, I will probably exceed the quality I would get from a more expensive camera. Due to the forced level of awareness that the poor settings system requires, my creativity may improve as well.
No matter what equipment you have, set down with the manual and practice. Do not leave the camera on auto and hope for the best. You’re going to miss out on the features that you paid good money for!
For those of you thinking that I’ve given up photography, I’m making a comeback. 
My Dogs Hunter and Gomez
In an effort to try and learn more about my Fuji S9100, I took some pictures of the dog in the back yard. Black dogs and harsh sunlight are pretty tough, but I’m still not where I want to be with this camera. Fun pictures anyhow.
