Wednesday, June 30, 2004, 8:22:38 PM, Raimo wrote: RK> If adjusting exposure is PITA why do you use manual camera in the first RK> place? Adjustment can be done with shutter or aperture or both. And exposure RK> readings change when zooming even if you use constant apeture zooms. Try it RK> so youŽll understand.
Oh Raimo :) I have been using manual cameras all the years I photograph, from Prakticas & Rollei, Pentaxes & Leica, and I can adjust the aperture and speed instantly. I can often tell the light and adjust blindly with good enough results. Read my message again. "Adjusting exposure with a variable aperture zoom is a PITA", not adjusting exposure is a PITA. Exposure readings can change when zooming, if you do not know what you do. But the _exposure_ doesn't change. But with variable aperture zoom, it's not only the reading but the _exposure_ that changes. Unpredictably. Variable aperture zooms are sometimes PITA even on AF AE cameras. Especially now on digital, where exposure is unforgiving, I shoot in manual a lot of time, when the light is constant. I shot a wedding that way, which was much better than to trust some advanced multisegment RGB sensor to properly expose with all the candles and bright church windows in the background. I was using a 2.8 zoom, shot wide open, with manually set speed. If it was variable-aperture, I would have to rely on camera's autoexposure, which was at times quite off, or use AE lock, metering off the floor or something other than the subject, which can be slow at times. All the point about photographic equipment is that it shouldn't get in the way of photography! Variable aperture zoom does exactly that. That's not a crusade of mine against variable zooms, use them if you like them, whatever. De gustibus non est disputandum. It almost seems like some people took up the crusade quickly. Perhaps I should have interspeded my earlier text with 20x IMO and IMHO? Isn't it obvious that something I write is my opinion, but backed by my experience? So, **IMNSHO, Variable aperture zooms hoover totally** ;-) Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
