December 2016

I have been advised of the passing of a friend - Ronald Frank. It is a sad thing to learn, as it marks the end of an era for the Camera Electronic firm, for the Western Australian photographic industry, and for me personally. I cannot speak for the company or the industry but I can record my own thoughts.I met Ron Frank in the Angove Street shop back in the 1970's. He seemed to be a fountain of both salesmanship and innovative thought. I was interested in photography and the fact that one could have a straight-out discussion with someone who was extremely knowledgable drew me back there again and again. I met his sons and his wife on these shop visits but did not know that I would see them many times in future years.Well, he advanced, the firm advanced, and he set up the shop again in Fitzgerald Street. And I became an even bigger customer. I wanted to expand my photographic ventures into medium and large format   and Ron knew exactly what would be needed to...

We have all been asked this question by a new photographer - my most recent conversation was at a wedding - and as usual I gave the answer " A standard focal length prime lens with a wide aperture ".My own first photographic experiences were based upon this as it was the only option available then - zooms were horrid and dodgey at the time - and I learned my craft/trade/art/hobby/horrible mistakes using that one lens. As it happened, that lens was one of the sharpest ones ever made for the camera it fronted, and I never realized how good I had it until I moved on...

On a recent visit to the new CE Murray Street shop I came past this cabinet.It is not overstated, nor over-full. Well, not as yet. It's still early days at the new shop and there will be more materièl added as time goes on. Our regular customers at the Stirling Street shop may crack a wry smile at this. Camera Electronic does have a habit of adding extra stuff from time to time...

Red is such a cheerful colour  - no wonder it is the chosen hue of The Grenadier Guards, Leica, and the people who make the stop signs.It is also a feature of an extremely well-made camera bag from ONA that is designed to catch the eye and wallet of the Leica enthusiast. Of course it could be used for many other camera systems, but the distinctive red dot that is featured on one of the bags buckle straps does rather label it as Leica oriented.If that were not enough the interior has been lined with a plush red cloth that will not scratch your best lenses and bodies. You can protect the investment whilst showing off to other people...

I was a little curious to see whether or not anyone reads the Camera Electronic email notices that go out separately from this weblog column. I know there are many pathways up the mountain and into your computer - and I have been told that many of you just switch off and ignore them. So I was skeptical of whether people would come in to see Burke Flynn demonstrate the new Olympus OM-D E -M1 MkII for a couple of hours today.Well, the last time I saw a crowd that thick around a product was at the Rottnest bakery when the fresh bread came out of the oven. The phrase " fight your way in " came  to mind. I'll give our customers credit - they are a patient lot and they stood politely to hear Burke's exposition and to let other people have a go with the new camera and lenses*.But there were a few twitching eyebrows. Olympus fans are a keen lot under the surface.I managed to persuade one of them to be a hand model for the...