The Last Puppy In The Pound

We sometimes look at the shelves here and wonder. First we wonder where we are going to put things. Then we wonder where we DID put things. Finally we wonder if anyone will ever buy some of the cameras.

The ones that cause bemusement are not bad devices - they have been purchased by us for sale and will do the job they are advertised to do, and in most cases do it very well. But some of them have been designed by manufacturers that were thinking well outside the trapezoid. With one eye shut. And a cheap haircut.

Unless the buyer is of the same mind, they can languish longer than they need to. Sometimes it is a case of a design that does not have what the competitors have, but sometimes it is just a product that has been wrapped in a strange body shape. It is wonderful that humanity can have such a variety of aesthetic appreciation, but a pity that it sometimes leaves the ugly puppy in the pound.

But there is hope. Every puppy has a friend somewhere. Look at the images taken at the recent Big Al's Poker Run show. Someone once loved the 1957 Hudson and someone still does - enough to have purchased it in NSW just this last year and to have brought it to WA. I don't think it takes pictures, though.

The moral of all this is come on down and look at the shelves. If you see something that appeals to you, for heaven's sake buy it. You might be the only one save the designer that has ever liked it - your reward will be the sense of style and whatever images it will churn out. And the admiration of the staff - always a valuable commodity.

Hark The Herald Tribune Cries " Come In Here And Buy, Buy, Buy "

With apologies to Tom Lehrer…but it is the last Saturday before Christmas and it is traditional that you come in to the shop and buy something. We would prefer that you ask for photographic equipment but if you insist on hammers or plates of liver, we will do what we can to oblige…

It is also traditional in Western Australia to panic when it comes to the holidays. People look forward to one day of the year when the shops are shut and calculate that they will not be able to get bread or milk and rush out and empty the shelves and service station tanks…and in this spirit we would like to remind you that we will be shut from 3:00PM on the 24th until after New years. So rush in here and empty the shelves - you never can tell when you will wake up in the middle of the night and need a telephoto lens. Play it safe - buy several.


Merry Christmas from Uncle Dick

Dinner Of the Camera Party

With profound apologies to M. Renoir...

What do camera people do when they are not standing behind the counter at Camera Electronic? They dine at the Duckstein Brewery in the Swan Valley, of course. This is the holiday season and with Christmas coming up we all repaired to the Duck to recruit the tissues and revive the mind.

Aside from testing the malted waters...and I can particularly recommend the Dunkel...and the sauerkraut, we indulged in that most sporting of pastimes: shooting people. I hasten to add, for the benefit of whatever spy agency monitors this blog ( Hey! to Langley...)that we used Fuji cameras and flashes for the task.

I used the X-10 and Dom used the X-Pro 1 with the EF-X20 flash. His pictures came out better than mine but that is because he did not get served his Dunkel as quickly as I. I'm satisfied, though, as I have good souvenirs of the night, quite apart from the deadly hangover and the lump behind the ear where the barmaid hit me with the litre stein.

The trick was - Dom was using the flash and I was relying upon an extreme ISO and a steady hand. I did mention the Dunkel, didn't I? The flash and the circuitry in the Fuji were able to sort out a perfect front exposure while leaving some of the back light to imprint behind thee main subject. Make no mistake - that is the real secret of party and event photography.

Never mind light from three separate directions and diffusers and assistants and artspeak - you need a clean clear front flash or at least a clean bounced flash with a little front card light to get the best out of faces. If you can get some background light and colour, so much the better. You are looking for good grip-and-grin with couples and foursomes - after that you can plan out epic shots with your three assistants and a Klieg light.

Fuji does this - I can get good selfies if I pop up the flash at 200 ISO and set the thing on P. Dom can get great G&G with the EF-X20. If you are using one of the X100 or X100s it is even better - the whole thing is self-contained and you can instruct the camera to fire whenever it thinks it knows what you want to do better than you do.

The perfect Dunkel camera...

Gapping The Generations - Or Not Poking The Bear

I was scrapping for a topic this morning until I talked to Ernest, our chief technician. He mentioned that he had read a request from me for information - I had put it out on the internet. When I expanded on what I wanted to know and why, he had a word of caution for me.

I tend to take Ernest's words of caution seriously. I remember he once advised me NOT to stick my fingers into a live light socket and this proved to be quite correct. I wish I had listened then - at least I can listen now.

The question I posed was what the new operating system for my Macintosh computers was like - I was looking at the advertisement for the OSX Maverick. It seems to be three steps on from the one that is in the computers now. The underlying reason for this is the advent of some new cameras that attract me - if I am to use RAW files from them I need to upgrade the ACR rating...and in turn this means a later operating system.

At this point the image of a beagle chasing its tail in a circle comes to mind, but read on...

Ernest mentioned that the newer operating systems are now involving themselves with information storage elsewhere in the electronic universe - the "cloud" system. Call me paranoid, but by accepting the benefits of the new software I think I might  be sending my images who knows where and in turn they might not come back to me. They might come back to other people. Hmmmm.

Personal data? I don't mind mine going everywhere, except I don't want people to know exactly what I think in case I don't agree with me. I had a garlic curry that didn't agree with me and that was unpleasant enough...I think I have come to terms with the thought that whatever I write or look at is noted down in Langley, Virginia or somewhere in Russia. I can only hope that when I become feeble-minded with age they can send some of it back to me.

Ernest said it best - if what I have now does what I need now, I would be a fool to chase the electronic rainbow on the basis of a colourful advert from Apple or the pressure of the next camera. If I change my computer to a new one, I can go in clean with a new system and all the current ACR keys will be good - and a considerable number of ones for the future. But if what I got ain't broke...don't fix it.

You've Got 60 Days To get Outta Dodge...

Which makes it the slowest posse on record.

No, no, what we really mean is remember that you can recover the GST that you pay on your new DSLR or other fine camera here at Camera Electronic if you are going to travel out of the country.

You have 60 days from purchase to departure, you must have your tax invoice and the equipment with you, and it must be a total of $ 300 or more - you can combine invoices from different shops, though we would prefer if you would only shop with us...

Yo visit the desk at the airport or seaport that deals with the TRS. They say on their brochure that you must give them adequate time to do he computer entry so it is no good running in with your underwear dragging out of your suitcase and the Boeing warmed up at the end of the runway. Arrive at a sensible time.

It's a nice bit of change to recover on the price of that new camera you've coveted.

Elementary, My Dear Watson - With Fuji

Ah, Watson, you're here. I hope your in-laws enjoyed their visit.

What? You are astounded that I know of it? But you told me the whole story as you walked up the street. The slightly bent posture and the way you held your hand told me that you had recently handled a heavy object on one side of your body - a valise. The fact that you have a spot of Vicker's steam-oil on your right boot speaks of a visit to a railway station - specifically Paddington as the only railway company in the Great Britain that uses Vickers is the Great Western Railway. Your posture and fatigue exactly coincides with the departure of the 5:12 for Taunton - where your Bother-in-Law and Sister-in-law live. And the look of relief on your face is indescribable...It is so simple when we observe and deduce.

Now, while Mrs. Hudson busies herself with the tea things, have a look at these two cameras from the Japanese firm of Fujifilm and see what you can tell me.

Precisely. They are designed to steal the plans of the Hamilton-Fyshe lighter-than-air mortar emplacement. We must speed to Portsmouth and alert the authorities once the crumpets are done.

What first alerted you? For me it was the weight. The same as the ordinary cameras. And then it was the controls. Just the same as the ordinary cameras. And the settings...just the same as...

But look closely - the entire body in each case is a casting made of plastic. The lenses have plastic fronts and plastic plates on the back. Even the screws holding them together are engravings...Models - wonderfully detailed 1:1 models.

Obviously the nefarious agent of destruction - Professor Justin - will be placing these in the hands of minions who will decoy the sentries away from the Hamilton-Fyshe emplacement while the real Fuji X-E1 cameras are used to record the details. We can only hint at which Foreign Power will be paying for this espionage but I think that we can safely say that Professor Justin never does anything foolishly. A dangerous adversary.

So, grasp your teacup and your Adams revolver - we must away to save the Empire!