Author: Richard

The internet abounds with articles about professional users having a go at a ‘real’ shoot with their mirror less cameras, generally Panasonic, Olympus or Fuji.

Today I was reading article about a photographer who did a article for a magazine, and instead of using his professional gear decided to use a Leica T, its current prime lens and the EVF.

As people always say its the photographer and not the camera.

So last week showed that while generally I could manage with a small high quality compact  with a 28mm or 35mm field of view, there are times when I need more range in a small body.

The Nikon V1 has many issues and Nikon really do not seem to know where they are going with it but my little original V1 with 28mm prime and zooms from 28 to 300mm give me a lot of flexibility.

So this weekend while planning my next studio shoot (which involves water so is rather complex) I also spent some time checking out compacts on the web.

The top two I thought of where the Sony RX10 and the Sony RX100 Mark III.  The RX100 certainly fits the bill on small, and the new Mark III model now has a neat little pop up viewfinder.  Whilst the zoom range does not reach as far as I would like only being 24 to 70mm it really is a fantastic pocket compact that you could always carry with you.

The RX10 has more reach now being 24 to 200mm but I need to handle it and consider the size.  It might be getting a MicroFourThird’s body is a better option and certainly more flexible.

When Monday came I popped into my local camera store the Silver Street London Camera Exchange. I was intrigued by the built in viewfinder of the RX100. Lucky for me they had a mark III in stock as well as a mark II & mark I. Sony, maybe your coming out with new models a little to fast?

For a compact it was very good and with a quick press the EVF popped up then you had to pull the viewing window out and it was read to use. A little fiddley but one of the best, well only (ok there is the Panasonc LF-1 & Leica) EVF on a compact.

Now if your used to high end Sony and Fuji EVF’s this is not as good but it’s the best yet in a compact and the camera is still very pocketable.  The other option to consider is the little Fuji X10 or X20 with its optical viewfinder but smaller sensor.

Still as I keep writing, more choice is good and the options keep growing.

Last week saw me commuting to Lincoln on the bicycle again, its only a 21 mile round trip and very enjoyable, but I also needed to do some personal photography requiring the equivalent of a 300mm field of view lens (on 35mm full frame).

Being on a bicycle with limited luggage space, the little Nikon V1 was perfect for this.

It seems every time I think of replacing the little Nikon V1 for something with either better image quality or better ergonomics a job comes up for which it is perfect for.

Come on Nikon, since the V1, the V2 and V3 have moved backwards, give us a Series 1 Pro. built in EVF and great ergonomics, with the image quality we have grown to love.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum this week flew their airworthy Lancaster Bomber to England.

On arrival in Bomber County, Lincolnshire, just before it touched down at RAF Coningsby it was due to meet up with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Red Arrows, and all of them would pass over the iconic Lincoln Cathedral.

I had arranged roof top access to one of the taller buildings in Lincoln and was all set to photograph this once in a lifetime event.  Unfortunately weather delayed their arrival and as they approached Lincolnshire a storm came up from the south forcing them to route direct for Coningsby, this storm also grounded the BBMF thus the event had to be cancelled.

These are the only two flying Lancasters in the world and they have a special connection with Lincoln and Lincolnshire.  I hope they can arrange to fly over the city again and I hope i’ll be ready.

I am always on the lookout for tips to help and improve my photography and I caught this video about Headshots by Frank Doorhof and Peter Hurley.

My head shots are generally quite different then those normal posed portraits you see, they are normally candids or more glamour focused but I am always after more tips to try out, whether on the street as above or in the studio as below.

I am forever blogging that I am looking for the perfect compact camera.  As one does not exist I keep considering areas that I am willing to sacrifice, such as ergonomic’s or image quality.

To this end I have spent a good part of this week in between gardening/house work and editing clients photographs investigating the high-end Leica options.

The options currently are:

• Leica X2 fixed 35mm field of view (24mm, f/2.8, DX sensor)
• Leica X Vario 28-70mm field of view (18-46mm, f/3.5-6.4, DX sensor)

When the Leica X1 was released it was exceptional and there was nothing like it except Sigma’s DX Foveon compact.

Since the X2 was released we now have lots of large sensor’ed compact and now CSC system cameras just as small.

The pro’s for these are image quality, lens quality, build quality is all very high,.

The cons: X2 is over priced for what you are getting and the Vario while stunning image quality from a great lens is just very slow.  Here in the UK one would constantly be cranking up the ISO.  Also neither have a viewfinder.

Its interesting that several Leica M shooters I know have gone for the either the Vario, or the Fuji X100s.  I know one review who said the Vario on image quality but the X100s on practicality, the fantastic optical viewfinder, and faster autofocus won him over.  One should note that the photographers that went for the Vario were also based in sunnier climates, though again if your out in the sun and want to use flash the X100s has some fantastic tricks like a built in ND filter and a leaf shutter for high flash sync speeds.

As Fuji have done such a good job borrowing some of the best bits from the Leica M, like the ergonomics and the viewfinder it would be nice if Leica could borrow Fuji’s implementation of the X100s’s viewfinder/evf combination and launch a Leica T Pro?

I have also recently spent some time getting my bicycle back into working order.  I seem to struggle to find time for the gym so now try to cycle into Lincoln once a week which has made me think about cameras that would suite small bicycle bags.  Certainly I would not want to be bothered with too many pieces; carrying a body and viewfinder would be too much. This is where an all in one design like the Fuji X100 score highly.