T3D Re: Stereo Philosophy (was: twins)

["David W. Kesner" <drdave@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. T. writes:

> Will better equipment make you happier?  I will not talk about
> myself... but look at Dave Kesner.  I have been watching him develop
> since he appeared in the scene a few years ago.  At first it was a
> Japanese OWLA semi-junk.  Then came a Realist 3.5.  Then a 2.8.  Then
> an RBT X3 with a macro attachment.  Is he happy now?  You bet!!!  Has
> his photography improved?  Oh yeah!!!  (I just cannot believe the
> great images he is pulling with his new tools).

First: thanks for the complements Dr. T.

Second: my two cents worth. Yes, great images can be made by 
great people with poor equipment just as poor images can be 
made by poor people with great equipment. However, great 
equipment can improve any image!

Pretty bold statement, but think about it: if everything else is equal 
(photographer, scene, lighting, film, etc.) better equipment will 
produce a better image. There is just no way that Ansel Adams 
could produce an equal image with a disposable 35mm and an 
8x10 field camera.

By the same token if I gave a six year old that same disposable 
35mm and told him to take a picture of the cat you can almost 
guarantee that it would turn out bad. However, give him a Nikon F4 
(provided he can hold it) and the same assignment and although it 
may not win any awards, it will definitely be a better image 
(technically if not artistically).

Another issue to consider is that better equipment forces you to 
take better images. The better the equipment the more able you 
are to see technical flaws. You don't realize how bad an AM car 
radio sounds until you hear FM stereo. Then you don't realize how 
bad that sounds until you hear a great home stereo, etc.

Some will argue that you get to a point of diminishing returns where 
technical advances far exceed our ability to detect them. This may 
be true, but it is up to each individual to find out just where that line 
is drawn for them and the only way is to actually see and use the 
equipment.

For me each new camera increased my ability to produce better 
images. Do I have images taken with the Owla that are better than 
images taken with the RBT - YES. But when it comes time to 
submit an image to an Exhibition or when I want to impress a friend 
or relative I always go for the images produced with the RBT. Do 
images taken with a Realist by another person beat my RBT 
images in competition - YES. But if that person had taken the same 
image with an RBT it would be a superior image.

An lastly (you thought I would never shut up) regarding the 
ruggedness of newer "electronic" cameras - I take my RBT X3 
(based on the Ricoh XR-XP3) with Pentax 28-70mm zoom lenses 
into some of the nastiest, dirtiest caves on earth. I have taken it 
back packing in 105 degree heat in the desert and snow shoeing in 
10 degree cold, snowing mountain back country. It has never failed 
me yet, but then I always take extra batteries *{;-)

Thanks for listening, that's all for now,

David W. Kesner
Boise, Idaho, USA
drdave@xxxxxxxxxx


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