Category: Photography

I over did it yesterday at the gym, so today I am nursing a poorly shoulder and sore neck, this meant a trip to work via car and not bike.

Because of that I left work a little earlier then normal and took a walk along the river before going home.

It was a good chance to try out the Nikon 1 in more challenging circumstances.

It has noise, and is not perfect, but for a handheld snapshot, wide open at f2.8 at iso1600, I think its quite a pleasing photo.

People have to remember what this camera is for, its never going to produce high quality noise free photographs, but then again, neither is any small light camera. If you going after high quality and insist on pixel peeping then try a Nikon D3, or get the Tripod out and use a Nikon D3x, Leica M9 etc. Or go large and use a Lecia S2 on a tripod, Hasselblad etc if your after ultimate image quality.

Small cameras are about compromise.

Always use the right tool for the job. Wildlife photography is a good example of this. Heavy professional SLR’s and big Heavy Tripods will get you that killer image.

Obviously you also have to have enough practice and skill to get the shot! Something I do not have when it comes to wildlife, but I keep practicing.

©Chris Bennett

The shot above is me on Sunday, all the equipment and no idea! Actually you would be surprised how often wildlife photographers come back with nothing. Sometimes it takes years to get that image in your head captured in camera.

The weather gods blessed us this morning.  I checked Twitter (sad I know), and I saw that Chris was heading out to Hartsholme Park.  Checking the weather report it was not brilliant but looking outside there was a hint of blue in the distance.

I arranged to meet Chris there and packed my bag.  A couple of Nikon D200 SLR’s with 12-24mm f/4 and 70-200, f/2.8 lens.  I had a Nikkor teleconverter (X1.7), for using with the telephoto giving me extra reach.

With the promise of good weather this would also be the best change so far to try out my new compact, the Nikon V1, so I also packed that with a 10mm f/2.8 and 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6.

As you can see, I definitely need practice, a number of nearly shots but not great shots. The reference shot of the Tufted Duck is not to bad, and the single bird in flight is so nearly there. I just clipped a wing so it will not be making my portfolio.

As you can see here, Chris certainly did better.

As well as photographing birds I also took a number of landscape shots.

Here is the same shot twice, I have edited this quite heavily in Photoshop to give it a more painterly and artistic feel, the second image is the original.

It was a fun morning but very cold, before we left, I took a photography from the bridge. I took this shot with my SLR, but also bracketed it so I could try a HDR version. As well as using my SLR I also took the same shot with my new Nikon V1 with the Nikkor 10mm f/2.8.

Of the four shots below, the top two are from my SLR. The bottom two are from the little Nikon1.

I don’t think the HDR Version works in this case, but I have to admit the two bottom shots from the Nikon 1 are not to shabby at all. The one in the bottom left is an out of camera jpg, the one in the bottom right is the raw file that I processed in Nikon ViewNX2

The difference in the colours between the SLR at the top and the Nikon1 below is probably down to the fact I used a two stop gray graduated filter and a polariser.

Well today was the Lincoln Photo Show up at The Lawn, in Lincoln.

Myself and Chris Bennett (Update: who now has a review on his site), popped up to the show in time for the opening.

 

 

Still in the search for the perfect compact and high-end interchangeable lens portable camera (i.e. not an SLR), I was looking forward to trying out a number of cameras.

Top of the list for both myself and Chris, was the Sony NEX7.  On paper this looks close to being the perfect high end portable camera.  At 24 megapixels, its a little higher in the resolution then I would like, something more like a D3 with 12 lovely noise free megapixels would have suited me better, but the megapixel count keeps going up.

In general it was what I expect.  Downsides were just the white balance and the auto-bracketing.  The main room had terrible light and I doubt any camera could pull off correct white balance (one could the V1), so possibly not a fair test.  The bracketing was quite limited, only three shots with 0.7 stops between them.  Hopefully that will be fixed in firmware.  As a keen HDR user I would have liked it more customisable.  The camera is capable of in-camera HDR, but I would rather do it myself.  The handling was excellent and the Tri-Nav control interface enables fast customisable access to just about any feature.

This is a really a power house of a small camera, and it challenges SLR’s, as an all round camera.  Many users would be better off with this then an SLR, it really moves the camera world on.

Its still on the list and could well be the camera I go for.

I also tried out the new Olympus Pen3 with the optional EVF.  The EVA was very impressive, and the build quality of the camera was excellent.  Panasonic really need to release an updated external EVF for there GF range, they are starting to fall behind.

At the Panasonic stand I had a good look at the compact LX5.  A lovely little compact but I thought the handling of the new Fuji X10 and the Olympus ZX-1 was better.

Finally I headed to the Nikon stand and had a play with the Nikon V1 again.  The EVF is great, and what made things more impressive was that the white balance was correct, the only camera to achieve this.  Also the Autofocus was noticeably quicker then any other camera I had tried (except for the SLR’s).

There are issues with the interface, and  I feel the camera does not quite know where it should fit.  Interchangeable lens but a smaller sensor then Micro Four Thirds.  Amazing high speed focus, built in EVF, even spot metering, but then no easy access to switch ISO, change from Aperture Priority to Manual.

I was still very impressed and as an always carry round camera, it makes a killer compact, with better then compact camera image quality.  There was a number of show offers on and so I decided to treat myself, and I left the show as a new proud owner of a Nikon V1, and a selection of lens.

I now have my killer compact and will bore you all silly over the next month with my findings and pictures.  The one at the top of this post, was taken with my V1 tonight and the 10mm f/2.8, its a out of camera jpeg converted in lightroom to Black & White.  A simple shot of my laptop keyboard.

Last week I had chance to play with the Nikon J1 and shoot a few frames.  I was after the V1 with its built in EVF, but surprise, they had all sold out.

Like many photographers, I had kind of ignored the Nikon 1 system because of its small sensor.  I am after a large sensor portable system, and still am, but recently I have been looking for a new compact.

I have always been generally disappointed by the ergonomics and performance of most compacts.  My good friend and fellow photographer Chris Bennett, had the chance the other week to try out a Nikon V1 and had been very impressed.  It performed quite well compared to his Panasonic GF-1.

http://ottokite.wordpress.com/?p=1264

This gave me the thought of possibly using a Nikon 1 as my compact, while I wait for the perfect small portable large sensor camera to appear.

Performance with regard to autofocus was excellent, a real speed machine, far better then any compact I have ever used.

The ergonomics were also better then I expected, the Menus were typical Nikon, and anyone who has used a Nikon SLR in the last five years would have no problem in navigating their way round.

I set the ISO to 100, and the camera to aperture priority and started shooting away.  The simple rocker switch enabled me to easily change the aperture and it was a pleasure to use.

The late autumn sunshine caused the outdoor scenes to be high contrast, and as you can see I blew out the highlights.  More experimenting with the camera should solve that.  It is a fact that smaller sensors lack the dynamic range of there large brethren, and I feel that that Micro Four Thirds cameras I have used may have that advantage, but until my favourite RAW converter supports the Nikon 1 system and I get the change to learn the metering, I’ll not know for sure.

I’ll leave you with a quick blog entry I found, giving a bit more detail on the Nikon 1.

http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com

Update:

Finally had time to play with the V1, today.  I really enjoyed it.  Some people have complained about the time its takes for the EFV to turn on with eye-start (i.e. the EVF turns on when you bring it to your eye), but is was reasonable and only a fraction of a second.

The second big issue people have been complaining about is the shot to shot time.  I was a little surprised as in single shot mode, it was certainly a lot slower then I expected, but is no issue when shooting in continuous mode.

The third issue, people are complaining about the size of the lens.  The large power zoom is certainly a large lens but the pancake 10mm and the two zooms 10-30mm and 30-110mm are very small collapsable lens.  The Powerzoom is more for video use then still photography.

To me the issues with it are small.  I would like better direct controls for shutter speed and aperture but the interface is not as bad as some would have you believe.

No for me the issues are simple, no blown highlights warning (i.e. blinkies), and no auto bracketing (for HDR).

Until Adobe release a RAW converter, the question of image quality of the smaller sensor is still open (why can not camera manufacturers all adopt a RAW standard), but so far things look good.

 

 

 

 

With the rise of mirror less interchangeable lens cameras, we now have a number of options available to us for mounting Lecia M Lens.

At around £1200-£1500 for a secondhand Leica M8 and £4000+ for the admittedly sublime full frame M9, possibly the highest resolving 35mm digital camera currently available, many people are after a cheaper body, or backup body for their Leica M glass.

The Micro Four Thirds cameras are currently the most popular choices but with there x2 crop factor they can be a little limiting for wide angle users.

The new Sony NEX 7 with its DX (x1.5 crop) sized sensor is possibly on paper the best solution coming up. I am certainly interested in trying it out. So far the Sony NEX line has just not interested me but this camera seems a enthusiasts dream.

If you after a real world review, check out Steve Huff’s recent blog posting.

Well the major Winners have now been announced and I am pleased to be able to say I have won the Lincoln round of the World Photowalk.

First let me disappoint you; the images above, while from the walk, are my runner up photos that I did not submit.  I’ll save the winner to the month end Photo of the Month.

But I am sure you will agree the images above are quite good, and I am certainly very pleased with them.

I blogged a little while ago about Metering and Exposure.  In the Studio with Studio Flash Strobes a Light Meter is critical.

https://brown-family.org.uk/?p=2633

When shooting outdoors I do tend to use the expose to the right rule, but this is dependent on the contrast and dynamic range of the scene.

http://ottokite.wordpress.com/?p=1261

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/

Whether you use the expose to the right technique, follow your histogram, or clipping warning, what matters is what works for you.  An exposure that is technically correct may not give you the image you want, there is a degree of subjectiveness.

In the studio I follow the light meter, outdoors, well, auto bracketing is my great friend.  The histogram and clipping warning advise, but if you tweak the jpeg settings you can find your histogram and clipping warning change.

Develop a technique that works for yourself.

I am sure all you keen photographers heard about the Canon announcement today of the new EOS 1D X.

As a Nikon SLR user I am as pleased as Canon users to see this camera come out, and I hope it drives 35mm digital photography to new heights, especial with full frame cameras.

Nikon and Canon are in a great race, aways leap frogging each other, depending where you buy in the cycle sometimes Nikon are on top and other times its Canon on top.  Personally, when people ask me for advice, I ways say go for the camera that feels best in your hand.  For some people thats Canon for others thats Nikon.  If you after a killer full frame camera, I doubt you will get much better then this.

As a Nikon user I look forward to the D700’s replacement for my full frame needs.

Panasonic and Olympus are in a simular fight and to a degree are also influenced by Sony with their NEX series.  Currently on paper I have to admit, I feel that Sony have the lead, and as someone who currently has no investment in any small camera system anyone of these three could get my business.  Just produce a camera with great image quality, built in EVA and great fast prime lens.