drop crop updated

Ok, to be fair I added a cropped down version of the photo in original format. Below you can see the filtered image, and then the original in the size I originally posted it.



Update - I have been wary of noise plug ins but tried this one called Neat Image which has a limited function plug in (notice the filter only reduced noise in the upper left corner of the image - leaving a slim border of un-filtered photo on the right and bottom of this image.) I still notice some band like noise cutting across the image horizontally in the middle that seems to not happen at lower ISOs and perhaps in better lighting. Let me know what you think. The cost of the full plug in by the way is $35.

Minolta A1 (yes it is back)
1/60
f 4.0
ISO 400 (Notice considerably more noise.)

Well Sony has replaced the CCD on our Minolta A1, and it appears to be working OK so far. Unfortunately, it feels like we have entered the rainly season already, and that opportunities for good light are fading fast. I've been reading more about photography (more than usual during the time the camera was gone) in part trying to convince myself that I needed to get a new 10 MP digital SLR. This essay by Ken Rockwell Your Camera Does Not Matter was very helpful in convincing me that I didn't need to spend $1300 for a new Nikon D80. This was backed up by the fact that I was VERY pleased with some of the shots I took with the old Nikon Coolpix 950. I think that the reason I took fewer photos, and Ken Rockwell comments on this, is that using a simpler camera makes the process of photography more work than a more complex camera that tends to offer more shortcuts. As an example trying to manually focus the NIkon Coolpix 950 can be excruciatingly tedious, but with the Minolta A1 very easy. I think that the trade off is that when you are struggling to focus, (or make some other adjustment on a simpler camera) it takes more time, and one often has the opportunity to THINK during that time and change one's approach to the photo. Sometimes the very nature of the limitation of the simpler camera makes one think differently about how to take a photo.

I have noticed on multiple forums discussing various lenses that people refer to the idea that a lens is sharpest two stops down from maxium apeture. That is in part why I took this shot at ISO 400 - (I normally don't go higher than 200 with the A1 because of noise,) - and stopped down the apeture a bit. I still don't understand the science behind this optical observation and would be interested to hear an explaination.