Not quite camera birthday

[ewx]

I've had my camera nearly a year. It's had two significant events in its life a week or so early, though.

Firstly, it's rolled over the picture number: I've now take more than 10,000 pictures. I've only kept a fraction of those, though.

Secondly I'd noticed on some recent pictures a black blob in a consistent place. A quick experiment showed that it was independent of lens (though one of the lenses I tested with did need a clean anyway). So, it was time for the dreaded sensor cleaning. This was less painful than I expected and, crucially, appears to have actually worked.

Comments

[new-brunette.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Can you track an improvement to your images? Is there a step change whenever you get new kit?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I think something's clicked in the last month or two. I'm much more impressed with my close-ups (there are some fantastic ones from way back, but now I expect a much higher hit rate). The twin flash really helps so yes, in that case, kit has made an improvement.

My vvery recent portraits seem (to me) a cut above earlier efforts, and although they happen to be associated with the 85mm lens, I think I'd attribute the improvement to more thoughtful use of metering as much if not more than to the new lens. These indoor candids inherently have a low hit rate, it's an even more opportunistic endeavour than the bughunting, but I think I have a better understanding of what makes for good results now.

In general I expect equipment to open possibilities, but for the quality to come from endless practice.