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Tuesday 2 December 2008

G R Digital

I have used the GR Digital quite a bit now and overall I have been very pleased with it.
Some of the recent photo's I have taken of my kids, like the one above have been done using the GR.
I do love the quality of the grain like noise that they have not tried to mask in a smudgy mess like other compacts have tried to do and it is very like TRI X Grain which is a film I love.
Saying all this, it just isnt enough to keep me happy with it as a compact. Its ability in low light is awful. Pump the baby up to 1600iso and it is a mess. 400 is fine! 800 is ok at a push! But 1600 is a bit pooh!
The camera really isnt helping me either in the direction I am going. I still struggle with the whole film/digital thing. Not so long ago I was using my ancient 120 Agfa camera. This was something I purchased from ebay and is way before even my time (there is not even a viewfinder).
What I loved about it was the way it made the photo's look. It was by no means sharp except for maybe a sweet spot in the middle, but it got the results that I was after. No digital jiggery pokery! Straight out of the camera it looked like a the fine art print I was after.
This brings me back to the fact that some old cameras, like my old Agfa are more for me than any digital camera will ever be.
Don't get me wrong! For my wedding work I'm really looking forward to my Canon 5d mkii.
But for my other projects, I feel myself longing to use seemingly useless old film cameras! Be it even pinhole! I love them! I think I will find myself getting a few different old camera's with which to experiment over the next couple of months until I find the one that suits my next up and coming project.
There will I'm sure be a digital process to it in the end, as I dont think I have the time to return to the darkroom. So some kind of high quality scanning device will have to be purchased.
Ive also said before that the lomography scene is not for me! I am into a lot of the camera's I see that the lomo folk use. But the view of point and shoot without thinking is not what I'm all about.
Think fast and shoot from the hip when needed, but not just snapping and hoping for the best.
I slow down on weddings in November and December, so this will give me time to find the tool best for the next few months. The GR will probably then be sold and replaced with a digital compact more suited to low light. Still think its a great camera though!!!

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