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Tips for Using a Point & Shoot Camera
I have now discarded it, and replaced it by a Ricoh GR-1s. What a difference! This
camera is very usable, extremely small and lightweight, rugged, allows a considerable
range of manual control (which I missed so much with the Minolta), and so far I have not
lost a single frame to camera malfunction. It works very well indeed! I'm very happy
with it.
This camera is an improvement over the already good GR-1, and I do highly recommend
it (I have no connection to Ricoh other than being a satisfied customer!). Its main
drawback is the lack of a zoom lens, but then, its 28mm f/2.8 is really good, and
WOULD you expect a zoom in a camera this size?
Recently I was able to photograph some lightning bolts with the Ricoh, something I had
been never successful at when using the SLR equipment! Tomorrow I'm off for one
month into the mountains, doing some flying and some climbing, and the Ricoh comes
with me!
Manfred Mornhinweg.
-- Manfred Mornhinweg, January 31, 2000
Although technically not point-n-shoot cameras, there are many compact 35mm
rangefinders from the '70s that are almost as small and nearly as easy to use. Check out
www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm for a rundown of the better ones.
Personally, I'm quite happy with the Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII I picked up for $60 last year.
While it can't focus itself, it does have a fairly accurate auto-exposure system (complete
with exposure lock) and a fast (f1.7) lens, which means you can shoot ISO 100 film
instead of ISO 400 much of the time. Better still, it has a leaf shutter (which means it
flash-syncs at all speeds) and a manual film-speed dial so you control the amount of fillflash
more accurately as well as adjust exposure to your particular taste. Another nice
touch is the filter ring, which I use fairly often, as well as the fact that the meter cell is
located _inside_ the filter ring, just above the lens. This means that it meters through the
filter and thus automatically compensates for the filter-factor of whatever filter you use.
On the downside, at 17 ounces, it's about twice as heavy as the typical p-n-s camera but
it's still small enough to fit into a jacket pocket, if not a jeans pocket. Another plus is that
the body is metal, not plastic, which means it will _dent_ instead of crack when it's
accidentally dropped.
Overall, if -- like me -- you prefer your photographic automation in small doses and
http://www.photo.net/learn/point-and-shoot-tips (19 of 35) [5/15/2002 7:15:46 PM]