European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Little focus pocus by Carl Kramer Washington Post question if a Standard manual focus Nikon Lens is used on one of the Auto focus sirs namely the n2020 or the n4004, Are any of the camera s functions besides Auto focusing sacrificed which camera would be the Best Choice for an aspiring professional on the 2020, you d Only lose the Auto focus function. On the 4004 you d lose the Auto focus and the programmable Mode leaving Only the metered manual system. A decision on cameras depends partly on what Field of photography you Are pursuing. In press photography Leica and Nikon were for Many years the Standard and most widely accepted. Nikon soared to the top by listening to the needs of news photographers and providing the necessary equipment at affordable prices. Further their lenses were interchangeable from year to year. Leica made Superb 35mm cameras for years and Forward thinking newsmen in the 1930s used Leucas. In the late 1960s, Canon became competitive with their Universal Bayonet mount that alleviated the need to buy new lenses for each new Model. Shortly thereafter Ashai Pentax came out with Superior metering systems and cameras that held up like Iron. The choices widened As up moved to the Olympus of system in the 1970s. Today any of these will serve you Well in news work. In other Fields such As fashion or architectural photography you should think in terms of a larger format camera such As the 120 sizes made by Pentax Fuji and of course hassle lad and Bronica. I have a new single Lens reflex camera with a 50mm, f-1.8 Lens. So far it works Fine and i use the owner s manual for guidance. I am however bothered by some of the pictures they seem to be in focus at the front but the stuff in the background is out of focus. A Friend who took a course at the smithsonian said i was focusing incorrectly on the wrong subject but i did t understand. Do you yes i think i do. Your Friend was probably talking about the Rule of thirds and How it affects your depth of Field appearance of Sharpness. This is a method of focusing to help get your pictures Sharp from foreground to background. It works this Way first you must ascertain the distance from the front of your subject to the Back of it. This can be in Yards feet or paces. In some cases you la just have to guess. Once you have the front to Back distance make sure the aperture is closed Down As much As possible for maximum depth of Field. Then pick out a spot about one third of the Way into the picture if you re shooting a cafeteria line of nine people you d pick the third person from the front and focus on that spot. According to a Law of optics when you take the picture the front third will be in focus As Well As the Back two thirds. Just remember if you Are using a program Mode on your camera be sure that it s set on aperture priority slower Speed smaller aperture. Best of All shoot in the metered manual Mode so you can have even More control on your depth of Field. Here Are some thoughts on picture taking with emphasis on the indoor situation so plan your shooting accordingly. \ take pictures of guests arriving it helps to break the ice and loosen folks up. It also gets them involved and lets them know you Are going to be doing this All Day. Take pictures of the food being prepared and. Tables being set. If there Are children involved they la be most excited and wild before dinner. As people Are seated make some group shots. Perhaps you can set up a formal shot before the meal. Then be sure to shoot the food being served. If the weather is warm and people take an outdoor break go along and make some shots. If not relaxing around the to looks Good in the album. And for the wind up Don t forget the people pitching in to clean up the Kitchen. You la be using Flash for the most part so get some new batteries for your camera and give it a Good wipe with Lens tissue. What s new in film less photography new York times or the consumer in the United states who has everything a new toy will soon be  is the electronic still video camera a device that looks like a Bulky 35 millimetre camera but captures images on electronic sensors instead of film. The images Are then stored on built in magnetic disks that can be played Back with a machine connected to a to. The result is an instant version of the snapshot on the to screen. At a retail Price of about $1,000 for the camera and playback unit these gadgets Are not expected to be a big consumer draw at least not until the picture Quality improves. But the Story is different in the business and professional world. Electronic still video or digital photography As it is also called is already catching on in such Fields As publishing retailing advertising Medicine and real estate. In 1988, . Sales of electronic still photography equipment to commercial customers were Only about $27.5 million according to Dick Kelly president of Cambridge associates a Stamford conn., management consulting firm that has studied markets for the technology. Growing business applications will propel annual sales to $238 million by 1993, he predicted. The consumer Market which is Only now opening up could mushroom to the $400 million level within five years he added. A marriage of photography computers and video technology electronic still photography which was commercialized about three years ago was initially hobbled by the High Cost of the equipment and by mediocre picture Quality. Moreover people did t quite know what to make of it. The value of still video is not immediately self evident said Kelly. Page 16 the stars and stripes since then prices have come Down Quality has improved and manufacturers including the Sony corp., the Canon corp. And the Eastman Kodak co. Have had some Success with business customers. Our intention is to supplement people s imaging needs rather than displace conventional photographic systems said k. Bradley Paxton general manager and vice president of Kodak s electronic photography division. The current strategy of the manufacturers is to Market electronic still photography As a Complete image management system that can take an image store it change it and print it out again. The Range of equipment being offered extends Well beyond electronic cameras and playback units. It includes devices that convert any photo or drawing from any source into digital form for storage in computers. Once in the computer the images can be manipulated in a variety of ways. There Are also printers to make hard copies of the video images and machines that Send the images Over Telephone lines. Such capabilities have already been put to use in a great Many Fields particularly at news organizations. Every major newspaper today is involved in one level or another with electronic still video said Barry Harrand director of Market research at the photo marketing association a Trade group. Until recently electronic still photography manufacturers had been chasing after the business and professional sector because of its specialized needs and ample budgets. Now they Are turning their attention to the average consumer. Trying to sell the buying Public on the idea of an expensive instant camera that gives Only so so pictures on a to screen would seem to be a formidable task. The difficulty is compounded by the existence of such products As instant film cameras and 35 Friday february 3,1989 millimetre cameras not to mention camcorders and Vars. But manufacturers Are convinced the camera will Appeal to certain Home electronics enthusiasts if Only because of its Novelty. I think the consumer Public will embrace it because it has a certain mystique about it and an Aura of High technology said Sparky Wren vice president of video divisions at Canon .a. Inc. Canon along with such leading electronics companies As Sony Casio and Konica has recently announced simplified electronic still cameras for the average consumer. Depending on their features the cameras Are priced Between $600 and $2,000. These cameras make use of a sensor called a charge coupled device cd Flat electronic wafer that converts Light passing through the camera Lens into electronic signals that can be stored the Way information is stored in a computer. These signals which contain the pixels or picture elements of an image Are stored on 2-Square-Inch magnetic floppy disks inserted into the cameras. Up to 50 images can be stored on a disk which is erasable and reusable. To View a newly snapped picture the user simply pops the disk into a player hooked up to a to Monitor. The More expensive models have players in the camera to enhance the Appeal of the cameras to Consumers researchers at the manufacturers in Japan Are racing feverishly to cram More and More pixels onto their cads. But while Quality May Well go up dramatically in the next several years prices Are not expected to drop All that much. I could see the growth of this Industry paralleling the camcorder said Wren. About 10 percent of . Households now have camcorders which have not dropped in Price the Way Vars did