Not quite. I didn't ~need~ auto bracketing, nor did I need bracketed shots. I decided to try it because the project at hand was boring and repetitive and I didn't want to waste time on something I really didn't want to do. I'd have done just as well with a manual camera, just not as fast. Nor did I have to go find such a camera. It was offered to me without my having to ask. While these may seem like small differences, to me they are significant.
That said, having used the 5n today I found it to be a reasonably nice camera, but very annoying in many ways. Maybe more experience will assuage some of the annoyances, but I also no some will remain as long as I use the camera. Nothing will change the cheesy shutter release operation, for example. The slow autofocus, and the limited ability for autofocus to work on certain subjects or in certain light, means that I'd rarely, if ever, use that function. The AF confirmation light does not always accurately confirm when the point on the subject that I want to focus upon is, indeed, in focus. Yes, there are workarounds to some of these things, but having to first decide if a function is appropriate for a shot, and then argue with it to some degree, is not my idea of photography. The simplicity of a manual camera - which has no functions (even a meter is a PITA at times) allows me to think only of making the photograph. There's no need to "prepare" the camera for this or that situation (just remembering to turn the camera on or off is a distraction), nothing in the viewfinder to distract me, and ultimately nothing to make taking the photograph "easier" causing me to become reliant upon such a function, and to perhaps lose or lessen my reflexes and the spontaneity with which I like to shoot. But that's just me ... others will say that all this new stuff can be learned and can be beneficial ... OK, but a rejoinder is that maybe those who have become dependent on using a plethora of features may want to try using a fully manual camera. You may find it freeing, and you can certainly learn to work around its limitations ;-)) Shel > [Original Message] > From: Doug Brewer > The strength of these cameras is simply the availability > of features. Shel decided he needed some bracketed shots. (I'm not > picking on you Shel, but it was your desire to have auto-bracketing > that gave birth to several of these related threads). So he had to go > to the trouble of finding out which camera had this feature > available, locate a camera he could borrow, borrow it, and then learn > enough about the camera to get it to give him the bracketing.
