Digital Camera Recommendation

You should go with the one that you feel most comfortable mounting on a decent tripod and not touching, because that's how you'll get sharp photos.

A rangefinder has its own problems -- parallax. It is viewing out a different hole than the photo is being taken through, and the closer you get to the subject the more error this introduces. (For extreme examples, say you are taking a photo of the head of a 10-32 screw (for whatever reason). The center of the viewfinder window is typically about an inch and a three quarters (based on measuring an old Zeiss Contax) from the center of the taking lens, so you can't see the screw head in question when it is close enough to get a good sized image on the film.

Using the lens, sensor, and display as a viewfinder eliminates this problem -- but it introduces other problems -- not typically a real problem with this kind of work. Things like much slower response to the pressing of the shutter button, because it has to first close the shutter (it has to be open to use as a viewfinder), wipe the last old image off the sensor, open and close the shutter to take the picture, and then open the shutter again to return to viewfinder duty. And this is ignoring the time required for the autofocus to do its job.

A SLR (film) or DSLR (digital), however uses the lens as a viewfinder, to an eye-level eyepiece, and it does not have to play the games with the shutter. It does have to move a mirror out of the way prior to opening the shutter, but they have been doing this for decades (at least since the time of the Nikon F film cameras), so they have it well under control. :-)

Depending on the tools, of course.

Enjoy, DoN.

Ill check. I remember the whiz wheel and the probes, but cant remember if I actually recorded the addy.

Ever get around to using the probes yet?

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

For digital cameras that use AA cells...dont bother with anything other than Nmih (Nickle metal hydride). Enerloops or the equivelant.

They recharge forever, will give you full power up to the last shot..and they have far more capacity than do even alkalines.

All you need is a cheap charger that will do Nimh and a spare set of batteries and they will last for years.

The reason Ive settled on Olympus cameras is that they do have a small LCD screen on the back, a regular view finder, zoom and wide angle, close up settings (to 1") and are equiped for external power with a cheap wall wart for studio type work. Never have to worry about the batteries going dead. And they are cheap as can be these days..

I have multiples of all 3. Work very well, nearly all are metal bodies and are GREAT utility cameras.

I think the most Ive ever paid for one was $35 including shipping and the last 2 were NOS in the box.

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Just about the time they arrived I had the fire in the machine shop. I just spent the past two weeks with a crew hired by the insurance company going through the shop, cleaning, testing and oiling the machines (most have survived, though a lot of milling cutters are in pretty bad shape). I've verified that the oven and the controller survived, but certainly not yet had a chance to reconfigure it for the PRTs.

The next step (now that the machines which could not be moved out are covered with shrink-wrap) will be to rip out the drywall, clean out any smoke which got back there, check the condition of the wiring near where the fire was (there is a melted 240 V 20A outlet in the wall near there), and then another crew puts in new drywall -- adding some extra outlets while they are about it. Only then can I start using mahcines again. The only machine which does not work is the drill press (a Taiwanese 16-speed one which I modified to run with a three-phase motor and a VFD). It keeps tripping the GFI as soon as the spindle starts turning. I *think* that it is soot and water inside the VFD. The motor is a sealed one, so it should be all right. Right now, I can't work on it, because it is all gift-wrapped. Once the drywall work is done, I can try opening up the VFD and cleaning/drying it.

If you can't find my snail-mail address, I've still got your e-mail address (at least one of them) which I can send it to. Let me know.

Thanks, DoN.

go ahead and email it. Ill try to remember to dig a couple out for careful packing

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

E-mail sent.

Thanks, DoN.