clarity? quality? decisions, decisions

[lauren]

hi, i'm new here and having a tough time with something, i was hoping you might be able to help.

so here's the deal: i've set my heart on a fully manual camera. after reading all the reviews and playing around with my mom's old olympus om-1, i was convinced. in fact, i was all gung-ho for the canon ae-1 until i came upon this website with sample photos:

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGall2.asp?camID=295

i then went to the om-1 page, for comparison:

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGall2.asp?camID=1060

as you can probably see, hardly any of the canon's photos are nearly as sharp or as clear as those made with the olympus, so now i'm all stressed again. my desired effect is for a crisp focused subject and blurred everything else, which i don't see anywhere on that site for the ae-1.

i'm aware that photograph clarity has much to do with the photographer's skill, but i find it difficult to believe that everyone who posted for the canon is an amateur and everyone who posted for the olympus is an expert, you know? perhaps the canon is just a difficult camera to focus? (though i've heard no such thing)

any suggestions or comments are well-appreciated. thanks!

 

[ksmattfish]

It's completely unreliable to judge image quality from anything posted on the web, particularly when comparing film cameras. The files will be much lower resolution than is actually possible with the film itself, and you have no idea what software the poster is using, and how they have manipulated the file.

Sharp subject and blurred background (short depth of field) is achieved by using a wide aperture (low f/stop number), and is possible on any 35mm SLR.

Both of the cameras you mentioned should have no problem producing high quality images. Compare features and go with the one that suits your needs the best.

 

[lauren]

haha thanks so much...looking back, i sort of posted that rashly in a kind of panic without thinking it through enough, i'm sorry.

anyway, happy shooting!