Hi Alan,

I'm not suggesting you can't hand hold one, but that there are circumstances where its harder to do so well. Tracking aircraft across the sky with a heavy lens for a prolonged period can be quite heavy going (arms, head, neck). Propellers need a shutter speed of 1/250th or less to show movement.

Obviously it varies person to person, but you should consider how relevant it is to your needs before buying the lens.

John.

Remember that as the lenses get longer, they become more difficult to handle (bigger, heavier, slower and more prone to shake). This means your technique becomes much more important, possibly more important than minor differences between various lenses. Usually it means shooting at slower shutter speeds/higher ISOs with a lens more likely to shake and less forgiving of shake - at the same time giving your AF a harder job to do.

SR helps a lot, but sometimes even framing can be a problem if you're trying to fill the frame with a moving subject.

Whilst a 150-500 might be great for birding on a tripod/beanbag, trying to use one at something like an airshow might be too bulky/heavy to be effective (as you get tired your muscles start to tremble...). For sports a monopod might be a very useful investment.

Whilst IQ is very important, shake kills an image completely, as do mis-framing and focus errors - these are my biggest concerns.

It also depends on what you're shooting and how you'll be displaying the shots (using a shorter lens and cropping might be better if you don't need full-res images).

EDIT - Oh and whichever lens you buy, you'll probably wish you'd bought a longer one

Regards,

John.

Thanks David, something like this (strongest contrast, -0.3EV)?:



John.

Thanks John. I have a general problem with brightness as I'm using a laptop and it depends how far I fold the screen back. Now that you mention it, a couple do look a bit light, but others #1 & #4 in particular look OK on my screen.

I'll have a look and see what I can do (once I've worked Silkypics out...).

John.

A few photos posted in the 'Your Photos' section (Silkypics is quite different to PDCU4 which has thrown me a bit).

I didn't realise how useful being able to tilt the screen would be, helps avoid the worst of the glare. I've got some shots I otherwise wouldn't have been bothered to bend down for. Being able to tilt it 45 degrees down gives you more options when shooting something below you.

As far as the battery life is going, 68 shots down and a lot of messing about and only one 'corner' of the battery icon has disappeared.

The only niggles so far:
- Having to take the lens cap off before switching it on and having to switch it off before you put the cap back on.
- Can't seem to work out how to turn off the AF confirmation beep.
- Forgetting it doesn't have a viewfinder.
- Forgetting to reset the exposure comp. after a shot (it tells you - I just missed the icon).

Otherwise very happy considering it's a compact.

John.

OK, here we go, the first pictures from my new MX-1. Lots of caveats on these for several reasons but mostly because the new version of Silkypics is very different to PDCU4 and my HDDs are bursting at the seems! Once I've worked out how to work Silkypics I hope to post some more.

The shots below were all at ISO 100 and were captured in DNG+ (3MP JPEG), they've been re-sized from either the DNG or JPEG (I couldn't store all the DNGs on my laptop).

1) Re-sized from the 3MP JPEG:



2) Close-up, re-sized from the DNG:



3) 1cm Macro mode - re-sized from the DNG:



4) Intelligent zoom used with a 3MP JPEG then re-sized:



5) Depth of field test at 24mm, f/2.5. The focus point is the pair of round clips just in front of the post. Re-sized from the 3MP JPEG:



6) Re-sized from the 3MP JPEG, quite pleased with the sky in this one:



It's far more portable than my K-5 & DA 17-70 and I'm going to be far happier carrying it around more often.

John.

EDIT - I didn't mean HyperProgram, but you can shift the shutter speed/aperture combination with the rear dial.

Hi All,

After saying I wouldn't buy one of these because of the lack of a viewfinder, the recent cashback deal prompted me to have a look at one of these. The local shop only had a black one, it was my preference but it would have been nice to compare them in the flesh.

There are two reasons, I like the syle/build and it handles so much like my K-5, it makes it a real pleasure for me to use. As for the lack of a viewfinder, I'm still finding I'm lifting it up to my eye occasionally, but the screen is very good (haven't tried it in proper direct sunlight yet).

I'm still finding my way around the camera (and by the time I'd got home and charged the battery, the light was very murky), but a few comments follow:

1) HyperProgram is available in 'P' by using the rear E-dial.
2) In Manual exposure the green button works the same, setting the program line.
3) Manual focusing is available with a magnified image and the up/down buttons of the four-way controller with a scrolling distance scale.
4) Exposure compensation is easy to use and the effect of it is shown on the LCD.
5) It has three zoom modes, Optical, Intelligent (which I think is in-camera JPEG cropping depending on the JPEG MP setting) and Digital (which can be turned off).

The attention to detail doesn't stop with the camera. The strap is a smaller version of a modern wide strap (similar length but narrower), complete with leather-ish tabs at the end and mini webbing/buckle arrangement. Normally I leave the straps off compacts, but I think this one will stay on. I've also found myself instinctively running my thumb across the top right-hand corner of the rear body - feeling for a non-existent film wind-on lever.

When I get the chance, I'll post some shots.

John.

I had a problem with the built-in card reader in my laptop not being SDHC compatible, a USB card reader solved that problem - doesn't explain the problem with the camera though.

I've had to put my lens buying on hold having gone on a bit of a buying spree recently. I had decided to sell on some of my other lenses to offset the cost, but individually they're not really worth selling...

I was looking for an SMC-Tak 85/1.8 but might have to settle for the Samyang 85/1.4 when there's a bit more cash in my piggy bank.