just out of my own curiosity and maybe a helpful guide to those looking for a camera, what camera do you use? I have the Olympus C4040 Zoom- A decently priced mid level digital for those just starting to get serious about digi...4.1 megapixel, AF Zoom, 7.1-21.3mm 1:1.8-2.6 Olympus "Super Bright" Zoom lens, 4 mode, program auto,aperature priority, shutter priority, and manual mode. several metering modes. Takes a good clear image considering the lens. HQ to Tiff modes, movies capture, 3x Optical, 2.5x Digital zoom. Not a bad starting system all things considered. I think I gave $699 for it in late 2002. Probably get them really cheap on e-bay now... Jack

I use mostly: Canon EOS 1N [Great deal on eBay] Sigma 20mm/f1.8 Canon 35-70mm/f3.5 Sigma 180mm/f5.6 macro

Most common setup for me: Digital - Canon EOS 10D with BG-ED3 grip (aka Big Ed) Canon 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS with skylight 1A filter Stroboframe VH2000 flash bracket Canon EOS 550EX Flash with Canon off-camera shoe adapter Film - Canon EOS 630 Sigma 28-200mm F/3.5-5.6 with Skylight 1A filter Stroboframe VH2000 flash bracket Cullmann CX45 Flash with Metz off-camera adapter -=>Donald

My list:

• Canon EOS 10D
• 1GB Compact Flash
• Canon EF 50mm 1.4 - Hoya UV filter
• Canon EF 100mm 2.8 macro - Hoya UV filter
• Hoya circular polarizer
• TC-80N3 Shutter Release Cable

All stuffed into a rugged Pelican case

My bag's way too full: Nikon F4 body Nikon F3 body Nikon D-100 Body Nikkor 24 2.8, Non-AF Nikkor 35 2.0, Non-AF Nikkor 35-70 3.3 - 4.5 AF (cheap) Nikkor 105 Micro, AF Nikkor 70-210 4.0 (old style - stays at f4 - great lens) Nikkor 300ED 4.0 AF Sigma 400 5.6, NON-AF Tamron 19-35 3.5 - 4.5 AF Nikon SB25 Flash Pentax Digital Spot Meter Nikon PK11A, PK13 and PN11 extension tubes Nikon 5T and 6T Close-Up Diopters Vivitar 2x Macro Focusing teleconverter (strictly for close-up work) FlashTrax Digital Wallet (30 gig) Micro Apollo Flash Light Tent home-made macro flash assorted reflectors and diffusers table-top tripod (x2) to hold said reflectors Filters (warming, polerizer, UVs when needed, split ND) The Last Grey Card (with crumpled foil on the back - good small reflector) digital stopwatch (for long exposures) small flashlight Swiss Army knife (use the scissors for "selective gardening" and weed removal Small diffusion umbrella (with home-made waterproof additional covering for rain) A cheap shower cap (best thing in the world to snap over a camera on a tripod when shooting in wet situations) Several Nikon cable releases (not being a Nikon snob - but they're the best releases I've found! You can literally tie them into a knot and they still work smooth!) first aid kit small toolkit emergency tent, matches, flares, candles, etc. (have actually had to use the tent once!) All stuffed into a Lowe-Pro Super Trekker Backpack Also Bogen 3020 tripod (center column sawed off) with Bogen 3038 ball Head Benbo (I don't remember the model) tripod with a smaller Bogen ball head (and yes, I actually DO take all this crap with me on a shoot - then scale it down a bit when in a more remote field) Film preference: Fuji Velvia for the vast majority, Fuji Provia for wildlife Well - you asked! :)

I doubt I will top Wolf but... Nikon D100 Nikon N6006 (film) Sony DCS-F707 Nikkor 35-80AF 3.3-4.5 Nikkor 70-210AF 4-5.6 All 3 manuals SB20 Speedlight Flash Nikon Cable Release Tiffen 62mm Sky A-1 Filter Tiffen 62mm Circular Polarizer Filter Tiffen 52mm Sky A-1 Filter 2 Tiffen 52mm Circular Polarizer Filters Tiffen 52mm 812 Filter Tiffen 52mm Enhancing Filter Tiffen 52mm UV Filter 8 AA Duracell Batteries 3 spare batteries for the 6006 2 512meg CompactFlash Cards 2 128meg Sony MemorySticks 1 32meg Sony MemoryStick 1 16meg Sony MemoryStick 3 Rols Kodak 400 color 2 Books of Matches 4 White Kleenex (defuser for the Sony) 2 Pens 20 Model Releases 1 Womens Puffy Makeup Brush (for cleaning the mirrors) 2 View Finder Covers That is all in 1 SMALL Tamrac 644 I also carry: Bogan 3130 Tripod with a Manfrotto quick-release mount Vanguard MP-15 Monopod with quick-release mount Promaster Aliminium Tripod (Cheapy) I keep 2 500watt cheap work lights in my truck just in case And I want more! Magick Michael

I carry my stuff in a book bag I bought at a PX in North Carolina... I carry a Kodak DX4330 Macro Lens: 36.2mm to 37mm 37+ 10, 37+7 One SD card-64 MB Nikon N55- Body included... 100-to-400 Speed Film, Fuji or Kodak...doesn't matter to me. Um? I some times use the Yashica with tri-pod and telaphoto lens & 2x lens...I don't use that one often because It's all manual and I'm not good at using it, I don't have the patience. I'm not all serious about photography like wolf...half that stuff could fill my hall closet at home. LOL! I do like photography a lot, but I don't have the money to get that serious yet...maybe later in time. Jinx

Wolf and Zhounder-- how do you carry all that stuff?

Minolta Dimage7 Mini tripod (I'm lazy :P)

Wolf and Zhounder, Holy Chit you both need a wheel barrow not a camera bag! LMAO!

Wolf and Zounder - Thats no Camera Bag, it's a space station!!!LOL Just for the record:- Digital: Minolta A1 Digicam c/w Extended Battery Pack (holds 2 Batts) Spare Lithium Battery for A1 2 x 256 MB Compactflash Cards Fuji 6900z Digicam c/w Spare Battery 2 x 128MB Smartmedia Cards 2.6 Ghz laptop computer Card Reader Mains PSU's for all. Film: Canon EOS50E c/w 50mmm Canon Lens Canon EF 35-200 zoom Canon EF 35-80 short zoom Tamron SP 90mm f2.8 Sigma-110 Flash Jewellers Screwdrivers and cleaning kit. Manfrotto Tripod c/w quick rel head. Bulldog clips. Pinking Shears, Giant Paper Clips and Duct Tape That's Me!

Cosina-Voigtlander Bessa R2 rangefinder body CV Nokton 50/1.5 CV Ultron 35/1.7 Gossen LunaPro Nikon DG-2 eyepiece magnifier Locking cable release Dark red, med. green, med. yellow, 4X-ND filters Microfiber cloth and dust brush Sunpak 544 flash setup with 5ft. Coily sync cable, extra AA-pack and StoFen dome diffuser (separate bag) Med/heavy tripod with pan head Joe

That's why some people need a truck to go shooting Zhounder / Wolf :)) 300D with battery grip Tamron 28-75/F2.8 Canon 75-300 IS Sigma 105/F2.8 Macro Just the usual filters, cheap tripod and lots of lens-cleaning material as i seem to have fingerprints anywhere .. sigh .. and some silica-gel - wish we'd have some better weather over here. Tom

canon eos 300 and a minolta s414.

Inside my Tamrac backpack is stuffed..... Nikon N90S Nikon MB-10 Vertical Grip Nikon MC-20 Remote Cord Sigma EX 105 f/2.8 Macro Nikkor 50 f/1.8 Nikon Speedlight SB-27 Sekonic L-358 FlashMaster light meter Minolta Dimage 7 Minolta RC-1000 Remote Cord 2 256MB FlashCards Cheap flimsy tripod Cheap Cokin Filter Rings & Adaptors A system Cokin Circular Polarizer Cokin Yellow Cokin Orange Cokin Red Cokin Green Cokin Sepia Cokin Blue (80A) Cokin Blue (80B) Cokin Warming (81B) Cokin Orange (85A) Cokin Grey Neutral Density 4 Cokin Star 8 Cokin Center Spot Incolor 2 Cokin Diffuser 1 Cokin CloseUp +3 Cokin Graduated Blue 123 Cokin Graduated Grey G1 & G2 (in place of grad ND filters) Cokin Fog 2 Cokin Sunset Extra AA batteries Model releases Notebook & Pen Rain Poncho Plastic Garbage bag (for laying on)

Would love to get one someday.... just not in the budget right now..

What's a rangefinder camera? Jinx

The pricipal difference of a rangefinder camera is the focusing system which is used. It's quite different than that of an slr. There are no mirrors, no pentaprisms... With an slr the focusing is done through the lens which is connected on the camera, it works as one system. With a rangefinder the focusing is done through a seperate optical system within the camera. When you look through the viewfinder you will see two seperate images. In a traditional rangefinder as you focus the two images merge together. There is more than one type of rangefinder, which I won't go into, but the basic principal is the same. These cameras have the advantage of being smaller than their slr brothers, and they are nice and quiet which makes them nice cameras for street photography IMHO.

Thanks for the explanation Michelle. Didn't know that too! :)

I'll be happy to tell you something that I consider a major difference: - Viewfinder BLACKOUT. The main practical, operational issue that turned my attention to direct-view cameras - with their seperate optical systems or framing and focusing, as Michelle mentioned - is that I just could not get used to the SLR's almost unavoidable viefinder blackout (Canon makes an SLR with a special fixed mirror that puts part of the light to the viewing screen, and the rest to the film at the same time). Especially because I love photographing people I suppose, it's unnerving to me to never actually be able to see the framed scene in the viewfinder at the precise instant that the picture is actually made. Although now it's almost more of a psycological or metaphysical kind of thing to me, one practical example of this disadvantage is "How do you know if they BLINKED?! Now of course, a digital can also get you out of that jam, but there are some other factors that keep me with my Tri'X B&W film. Another thing that's somewhat related to this is that with a direct-view camera (most RF cameras are) you're looking straight through glass optics; the image is not projected onto a screen, as with an SLR or TLR or view camera. Now to be sure, those later three DO show you an image that is MORE like the negative that you're composing, if you can manually stop the lens down while you're viewing for 'depth of field preview'. Evaluating your composition on ground glass through a stopped-down lens VERY much 'translates' the scene into how the picture will look (minus exposure- and film- related factors). Regardless of DoF preview, the major thing that this does is convert the 3D scene into TWO DIMENSIONS - your eye doesn't change focus as you 'look around' in the finder, just like the final print will be. With a direct-view camera your eye is still 'focusing through the scene', so everything is 'in-focus' as far as you eye is concerned, because your eye 'focuses on what you look at' - at any rate, it looks 'natural'. This is rather the opposite from what happens in an SLR viewfinder; if you're viewing with the lens wide open - the default for most SLRs - and yet planning to shoot at a smaller aperture, you're seeing much-REDUCED DoF, and if the exposure calls for you to stop-down for is below f/4 or f/5.6 or so for preview, the view gets very dim. Not only can you often 'see more' in the sense of 'viewfinder DoF', but this natually brings us to another way that you see more when composing with an RF camera: A practical SLR or digital can only show you a MAXIMUM of 100% of the framed scene; most classic (direct-view) RF cameras show you MORE than the scene that will be framed - usually MUCH more with focal lengths greater than 35mm - and then has a 'brightline' frame floating there in your view (that's what the big, 'whited-out' window is that you always see on'em - to gather light to illuminate the 'bright lines'). You have more of a sense of 'framing within the scene', as compared to the SLR that more-like 'puts you in the world of the picture'. Again, the SLR way not a bad thing - and IS 'more accuratly translating' the scene for you. The classic style of fangefinder camera - Leica, Canon, Contax, Nikon for instance - make you compose differently; it makes you SEE differently, and even THINK about photography differently. I'm tellin' ya. There are several other appreciable differences in the rangefinder way. I'll stop now. Wishing you all the best, Joe

Thank you all for the help! Jinx

Joe thanks so much for the in-depth description! It's very appreciated.... :~)

Hey Joe! I can very much appreciate your position - right up to the type of photography i do - a lot of close-up work. Rangefinders are wonderful - no "mirror slap", etc. - but pretty useless when shooting at lifesize. There is simply no substitute for looking through the lens that's doing the shooting. (Gonna tell my age here - but I used to shoot a bunch with an old Speed Graphic (portable 4x5 camera with rangefinder) - and more often than not, I'd have the curtain over the head to compose). Again - this is entirely relative to the type of photography being done - in my case, mostly static natural subject, I had the time to put the curtain over my head, compose the shot, load the holder, and expose. Shooting people, or any animate object, for that matter, is a different story. I can see the benefits of a rangefinder when on the move, shooting from the hip - candids of people, etc. - but there's nothing like being able to preview depth-of-field, composition on a magnified scene, and seeing the filter effects right through the lens (again, for MY type of photography). Bottom line - use the equipment that works best for what you are shooting - I wouldn't use a tank for squirrel hunting, same as I wouldn't use a .22 if I were in WWII. Wolf

BTW - you explanation of the benefits of a rangefinder was exceptional!

informative explanation joe, thanks.