Viewpoint - Alan Richards

" IT'S THE LENS STUPID "

MORE PIXELS = MORE QUALITY. It's a simple enough equation, and certainly one that some camera shops would like to have us believe, but is it true? My view is that it isn't. The correct equation should read; MORE PIXELS = LARGER PRINT SIZE. It's only if you are thinking of printing enlargements, or cropping an image, that the issue of pixels becomes important. Unless you're taking photographs to enter competitions at your local camera club then I can hardly think of a good reason for requiring anything with a larger memory than 2mb. Given the right lens a 2mb camera will print excellent 10"x 8" pictures.

Before buying a camera you really need to have a really good think about what you want to use it for. How many of us actually do bother to print up sizes larger than 6"x 4", or the increasingly popular 7"x 5"? Not many I'll bet. Thinking the process through sounds easy but you would be surprised how many of us are seduced into spending large amounts of money on a totally unsuitable camera, all because we haven't put our brain into gear. Most of us only dream about taking the perfect landscape that is good enough to hang a 20"x 16" above the fireplace, not many of us actually ever do it.

Following the same Lemming like financial pattern along its suicidal course you then get to those who think that by printing their own photographs they are saving money. It's all rubbish, this is the brainpower of the true lame brain. Do people really use inkjets to print their photographs? Why? I recently had a set of 50 7"x 5" prints from my trusty Finepix 1400 printed at a local Jessops. The quality of the prints was superb, and at a cost of under £7.00, terrific value for money. I'd have been struggling to buy the photo paper for that sort of money for an inkjet, let alone the ridiculous cost of original ink cartridges. My advice is, don't fall for it, do yourself a favour, don't print your own, its all hype. Play with your images all you like in your "Photoshop", or whatever other manipulation software you may have, save them up until you have 50, transfer to a CD or memory card and then pop down to your local Jessops or other high street store. There are plenty of good deals about.

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Despite the revolution in camera technology and the virtual demise of traditional film as the predominant method for taking photographs some things have remained constant. That is, the quality of a photograph is still largely determined by three things, and thankfully two of them are totally free. They are: It is the eye of the photographer for good composition matched with good light that are two of the main attributes of a successful photograph. The former takes a little practice, the latter usually requires a little patience. The third and defining quality of the image is, like it was for medium format and 35mm film photography, the quality of the camera lens. It should be the first thing you look for.

Conclusion:

The Finepix 1400 Zoom is the same type of camera that I use for photographing the walks that I place on the pages of Dales and Vales. My own camera has had more than its fair of rough treatment and has, much to my surprise, continued to function well. It has a chunky, solid feel to it and is very easy to handle and carry in a pocket. It has a fabulous lens quality that knocks the socks of many of the mega-pixal cameras I've seen for hundreds of £'s more.

One last point. Why, if you are looking to photograph our green and pleasant land, should you buy a used 1.3mb camera for not much less than the price of some new 4.0mb cameras? Remember, It's the lens stupid.


The Offer:
This camera is in excellent condition and would have been described as being Mint but for a couple of very minor marks on the body. It comes complete with a set of 4xAA 2400mAh Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. These do not suffer from memory effects and they even have a protective case which is very useful. The batteries are new and will need to be charged before using, but If you don't have a charger then I will, at your request, charge them up ready for use. You will of course need to obtain a suitable charger after the initial charge has run out. I myself always carry at least one extra set of rechargeables so you may think of adding an extra set complete with a charger, or just the charger on its own. Cameras are thirsty beasts for power consumption, don't even think of using those rubbish Alkaline batteries, it will cost you a fortune.
The standard 4mb Smartmedia memory card is provided but I would advise you to add a used 32mb or 64mb card, A 64mb card will give you sufficient memory to store 101 pictures at its best quality or 361 at basic when in its 1280x960 pixel mode, many more when in 640x480.

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