Re: [pct-l] Introduction and Trail Photography

[Tom Sweetnam <savamutt@razorlogic.com>]

I carry an Olympus Stylus Epic. At 4.7 ounces, with its panorama setting
and a 12" close focus, it's a backpacker's dream camera. Not only that,
but its 35mm f2.8 lens is very sharp. I don't carry a point & shoot zoom
camera, because the largest effective aperature at higher zoom settings
is going to be f8 or higher, and in some cases f12 or higher. In any
setting except the brightest light, you're going to have to use pretty
fast film (400 ASA or faster) with these cameras and suffer the tradeoff
of high grain in your final prints or sides. A fixed focal length lens
like the 35mm f2.8 is not only much brighter than any point & shoot zoom
lens, but it is considerably sharper as well. I own both fixed and zoom
Olympus point & shoot cameras, but I rarely take the zoom backpacking. I
just get much better pictures with the Stylus Epic 35mm f2.8.
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

==============================================================================