Author: Richard

I finally booked my tickets this weekend for the big Photography show of 2015 in the UK. Yes its time for the Photography Show at the NEC.

Last year I bought my new printer there, getting a really good deal, this year I am looking at scanners.

The big thing for me is that Leica will be there.  I am looking forward to getting my hands on the Leica T, the new X3 and of course comparing the Leica ME with the Leica M 240.  I have a Leica M8 and would love a newer version.  I can afford the ME but the M 240 is a bit of a push so it will be nice to see how much an improvement over the M8 they are and if I would be happy with an ME or need to keep saving for the M 240.

Its also going to be interesting comparing the Leica T and X3 with the Fuji X100T. I feel the Leica will have the edge on image quality but with the viewfinder the X100T may just top it.  The big advantage of the T is I can use my current Leica glass.

Since moving house, I now have my own dedicated office, computer, calibrated wide gamut reference monitor, tablet and pen for editing, and a wide carriage pigment ink printer.  This is my digital darkroom, and it can do everything I want in the digital area.

But its not just digital I shoot, I also shoot analogue, in the shape of large format film, medium format film and still on the odd occasion 35mm film.

The cost for this is high, good quality scanning is expensive, and even basic quality scanning is not cheap.  Film development though is still relatively inexpensive.

Currently when I shoot film it gets posted off for a film and scan service, and I get back the negs and a CD.  If I invested in a good quality scanner I would quickly save money and would possibly find myself shooting more film.  Then if any image was particularly good I could get it re-scanned by a professional bureau which is what I still have to do now despite getting the images scanned after development.

So its with that thought I have started to investigate scanners, and as with my printer, i’ll hope to get a good deal at the Photography show at the NEC in March.

As I have mentioned in the past, now having a full frame 35mm SLR, I have started to look at a new wide angle to suit.

I have the standard full frame zoom going from 24-70mm, and there are a couple of tempting zooms plus the 24mm PC lens that Nikon make, but these are all pricey.

The 20mm f/1.8 prime gets very good reviews, has little distortion and is a far cheaper and smaller offering to most of the alternatives, I think i’ll have to see if my local camera shot has a copy to test.

Since its release, people have loved and hated the Fuji X Trans Sensor.  Its brave to come up with a different type of sensor and doing so has advantages and brings its own problems.

Since its introduction people have come down hard on Adobe, as they have had a lot of difficulty coming to terms with the sensor and getting the best from its RAW files.

Well its seems the worst is now over and even some of the biggest critics of the Fuji sensor are saying that the results are now acceptable using Adobe products.

So if your like me and have a secret fondness for a Fuji X100, now might be finally the time to give one a try.

With my eternal search for the perfect compact I read an article from Ming Thein on his recent thoughts on compacts.  This really made me think about what I want in a compact.

Its true now that the small sensor cheap compact has been replaced by the common smart phone.  So what we want from a compact is far more.  The problem is we want small, high image quality, fast lens and a range from 20mm to 300mm, oh and if it will fit into a office shirt top pocket.

Now all of this is not possible but it leads us to cameras like the Panasonic LX10o, or the Sony RX100, where possibly we should be looking at cameras like the Fuji X100 and the Sony RX1, a scalpel of a camera rather an something that tries to do it all.

Full frame or DX; Micro Four Thirds or one inch sensor compacts.  What about Large format or Medium format; or a camera phone or small sensor compact.

Every week on the forums you see camera A is better then camera B, format size W is better then X, yet in many ways its difficult to compare different formats.

If I had to pick just one then it would be an impossible job.

I much prefer to have a selection of tools available, I was jealously reading the other day about a professional photographer who had grab bags all packed and ready to go for Medium Format, DX mirrorless (Fuji), and a large sensor compact.  Depending on how he felt, where he was going and what the shoot was for, he would just gab the appropriate bag and go.  He also had grab bags for different lighting solutions!

So money no option what would I go for.

Well for landscape I would have and I do have Large Format and Medium Format.  Large Format is not common today and is difficult and challenging to use.  Many would say you can get the same results with full frame 35mm and a high quality PC lens.  If your having to walk a long distance though a full frame mirrorless solution is a great compromise.

Studio I use a mix of equipment, either full frame 35mm or Medium format.

Street shooting is my little Leica, small and not screaming photographer is the ideal, Fuji mirrorless and Microfourthirds is also idea.

So for my formats it would be:

• Large format 5 x 4 inch
• Medium format 6 x 6 cm
• 35mm Full frame SLR for Wildlife
• 35mm Full frame Mirrorless for everyday
• Microfourthirds for travelling light.

Oh course I am now going to ignore the above and mention some cameras.  What would I like to own looking at the cameras available today.

• Large format – Ebony
• Medium format – my Hasselblad and I would also add a Leica S
• Full frame 35mm – Nikon D4 & D810, Leica M 240
• DX ( ok so not on my list but I love the …) – Fuji X100T
• Microfourthirds – Olympus OM-D E-M10

Every week on some forum or the other you will see someone exclaiming that they have ditched their SLR gear and gone mirrorless.

The sales figures for 2014 though still do not show the big pickup in mirrorless sales.  While once again SLR sales are down, they are still vastly greater then CSC sales, which are still not really growing in the western market.   In the far east its a different matter and CSC sales are far better.

The other year I visited a museum that had just had a party of Japanese women visit, every single one of them had something like a Olympus Pen or Nikon J1 round their necks, not one had an SLR.

Certainly as far as sales go here in the UK, its the highend mirrorless that is selling and its selling as companion cameras to SLR users generally.  Though I have noticed more and more of the older generation ditching the SLR for the CSC due to weight concerns.

The big question is are Canon and Nikon going to advance the SLR anymore, because in a few years focus and EVF viewfinders will have reached parity with SLR’s and then where are people going to put there dollars?

I know Leica equipment is very expensive but they really understand customer service. Issues are dealt with well.

With the Nikon D750 and its recent flare issues we have now had the last four full frame cameras released with issues. Now problems do happen but Nikons response to its customers has not been good.

Come on Nikon, up your game.