The yearbook kids were getting much nicer photos than my newspaper kids. There is a little competition there, but the two departments work together. It’s a small school, and it really helps to share the load and to pass on tips.
I asked one of the yearbook photographers how they got such great photos. She told me that it was almost impossible to get a bad photo with the new camera that they had purchased—the Olympus iS 50. She showed me full packs of crisp, beautiful photos just developed. WOW!
It took some juggling on the budget and some extra ad sales, but newspaper was able to buy an Olympus iS 50 for around $300. They run a little lower some places now especially if you’re willing to go with a refurb.
This camera has rotated around the staff for almost a year now. As I mentioned, it is a small school, so I end up taking a good number of the photos, simply because I’m around when something needs to be shot. Our main photographer got kicked out of school, so the other kids are really writers but often need photos to go with their stories. In other words, the skill level varies greatly. I’ve sent one student out before who took a whole roll of shots without film. One staffer is good enough to publish some shots.
The iS 50 works for all skill levels. Set in automatic, it does everything. It becomes, simply, a very high quality point and shoot.
The button to the left pushes to “on” or “flash.” If the flash cover pops up, it is in flash. If not, then it is not in flash. This is good and impossible to mess up in places like the chapel where they prefer no flashes. Do turn back to “off” when done and push down the flash hood. It would be nice if it did turn off automatically to save batteries. This is something that I need to remind students about.
On the flash, you can set for red eye reduction, fill, or go with a manual use of the flash.
To take the photo, look in the viewfinder and push the button on the right. The only problem here is that, depending on the settings, the viewfinder may be out of focus. There is a little scroll to the left of the viewfinder that can be “tuned” like binoculars. If the camera stays in auto mode, this does not become an issue. But, different photographers use the camera. The blurry viewfinder freaks out newbies. But, it is actually a very nice feature. My vision just dropped to 20/40, so I can make minor adjustments and see more clearly when taking photos.
If you are more experimental, then you do have a SLR camera here with some built in lens capabilities. The wide angle is good for things like sports shots. The toggle zoom helps when trying to take shots on the field from the stands. Photos turn out very nice in all settings from close ups like head shots to go with stories to wide angles of campus buildings. As far as field shots, this camera does have limitations. To really get good football and soccer shots, you really need a high dollar camera with super zoom lenses. Even the public relations department can’t afford such a nice camera, so they hire out the sports pictures several times per year.
Some of the settings for photos that can be selected from a little round dial on the back are landscape, night scene, portrait, and stop action. A LCD screen shows which mode is being used. Some other details can be addressed in the menu section. For example, you can add the date/time. I don’t like to do that, and we sure don’t want that stamped on photos for the newspaper, but some people do like to have that on pictures.
As far as batteries, this one takes two CR123A or DL123A. Those are easy to find at camera shops, Radio Shack, or Wal Mart. Convenience stores usually don’t have them. They are fairly costly. I’m thinking it runs about $10 for 2, but it depends on where we pick those up and whether singles or in bulk. I’ve also noticed some rechargables and may go that route at some point.
Battery life is pretty good. We have replaced once at after 8 months of use. My old Canon would run 3 or 4 years on a battery, but it did not have all these bells and whistles. Certainly, the Olympus SLR is much easier on batteries than digital cameras.
The camera does have auto film load and rewind. Both work very well. We’ve never had any problems with the film loading in the sprockets, and when the roll in done, the camera simply rewinds. Actually, I would rather get a message to rewind, because sometimes it is not so good to have the camera busily cranking in film (like in a chapel service). Now, I just watch and stop before hitting the last couple of frames if I do not want to cause any noise. Though the rewind is fast, it seems like forever if the chaplain is in the middle of a prayer or something.
The other minor things I don’t like about the camera include the following:
1. The camera is a little heavy and top heavy. This is not one that you stick in your pocket. I don’t even like to carry it around my neck.
2. The lens cap comes off and ends up lost or dirty on a regular basis. Right at this moment, I am not sure it is, but it will probably turn back up the way it always does.
3. If conditions are not great (like in the dark chapel), the camera delays while trying to adjust in auto. Sometimes, it just flat won’t take a photo. Of course, that means we do not end up with a lot of bad shots. And, I have sure seen some awful ones over 5 years of advising for the newspaper.
3. For some reason the camera freaks out from time to time. It will show an E (for error). I can’t figure out any way to correct that when it happens. I end up taking out partially used rolls of film by hitting the rewind button on the bottom. I hate to waste film like that, but I have not been able to get around the big E when it pops up.
Though there are those minor things I would change about the camera if I could, the quality of the photos outweighs any of the concerns. Even when novice photographers (and even photo phobic) students take this out, they return with good pictures. For my higher functioning photographers, this one brings in astounding results.
If you have never owned a SLR but want to make some really good photos, this is a wonderful starter camera. You can play around with manual settings, but you also have the option to go to fully automatic. I’ve used a lot of cameras over at the college, and this one makes, by far, the best photos, and that is what really counts. You will feel like a pro when you get your pictures back. They really turn out beautiful!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
Versatile, compact 35 mm film camera with powerful 4.3x zoom lens (28 to 120 mm) Multiple exposure settings, including auto, landscape, portrait, nigh...More at Amazon Marketplace
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