10 18 April 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround
500 wordstotheaddressonpage 21 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.
F
actscansometimesshockmore
thanfiction.SomeoneI’ve
knowncloselyfordecades
suddenlyenjoyedan
unexpectedandmassivefinancialwindfall.
Aftermovinghouseandbuyingnewcars
forthefamilyhisattentionturnedto buying
a greatnewcamera.Andthatwasthe
brainteaser.Anopenbudgetwithnoreal
upperlimitis notanopportunitymanyof
uswillface,butwhata prospect!
Hisphotographyprofile is modestin
termsof previousbuys.Hewentfroma
qualitycompacttoanSLRin filmdays
andthenseemedtofalterwiththeadvent
of thedigitalera.Morerecentlyhehas
reliedona smartphone,citingsimplicity
andportabilityaskeymerits.
FlatteredthoughI wastobeaskedfor
myopiniononhisnextcamerachoice,
therewasa suddenwake-upaboutwhere
tostart.Shouldhegoforthelatestin
mirrorlessorsticktosomething that was
moreakintohispast?
Apathforward
Severalquizzingsessions,oversome
qualityredwineasa bonus,covereda lot
of ground.Whatdidhewant,andmore
importantlywhatdidhenotwant?
Graduallya likelypathforwardemerged;
gonewerethoughtsof anelaborateDSLR
outfit; gonetoowasanythingin thebig
andbulkycategory.Therewerenobrand
favourites,neitherwerethereany
specific must-havesin technicalterms.
Whileit wasnotexactlya clean-sheet-of-
paperstarttherewereenoughclues
emergingtohelpshapehisthinking.How
importantwerebasicthingslikeeaseof
operating,thesimplicityof settingsand
everydaycomfortin thehand?Wouldhe
alsowanttoprinthisownpicturesunlike
before,andat whatsize,witha printer
addedtohiskit?
A thinningprocessresultedin a
prospectivetargetof a top-notch
compactcameraemergingasfavourite,
probablywithinterchangeablelenses,to
satisfyhisowndeclarationsof interest.
Besides a standard zoom, a wideangle
andtelephotolenswouldenterinto
thereckoning.
A luxuryfour-dayLondonbreakgave
himtwodaysof dedicatedtopdealer
visits.Muchastheseface-to-face
encountersclarifiedthings,someclouded
theissuewithattemptsof upscalingto
unwantedspecifications.Demonstrations
onthewholeweregood,andevenbrief
handlingtimesshapedhisthinking
towardsa finalpick.
Shortlyaftertheseeye-opening
encountershisexpectedphonecallwas
nosurprise,thoughhisdecisionwas.Yes,
helikedwhathischeckedselectionscould
do,butno,hehadnotfoundanything
satisfyingenoughtomakehimspend.The
upshotwasquitesimple.Hehadoptedfor
a three-lenssmartphone,andis very
pleasedwithit.
It seemsthathavingthemoneyis a
hugeplusbutnotfindingwhat you want
canbethebigminus.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED
Ifmoneywerenoobject,whatwould
youbuyasaphotographictreatandhow
would you make your choice?
View point
Terence Foster
TJohnFosterhasbeena dedicatedAPreadersince1957.
His interests cover travel, event and street photography.
© HENRIK SPRANZ (SPRANZ.ORG)
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FujifilmX100V
MichaelTophamteststhelatestversion
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Ontherecord
GeredMankowitzandotherluminaries
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Sharedgoals
PeterDenchonthepositiveimpactof
football at grassroots level in 20 countries
Natureonyourdoorstep–
experts’tipsfortakinggreat
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In next week’s issue
On sale Tuesday 21 April
Isa three-lenssmartphoneenoughtosatisfy
a deep-pocketedcameracustomer?
‘Aluxuryfour-day
Londonbreakgavehim
twodaysofdedicated
top dealer visits’
