Photokina 2014 starts on the 16th September and the rumour mill is starting to get going. Of course I am particularly interested in the Nikon, Leica and Hasselblad rumours. We already know that Hasselblad has released a new 50 MP back for the V series and this will be on show.
I am particularly interested in anything mirror less from Nikon or from the MicroFourThirds camp. It would also be good to see if Fuji have an update for the X100 or their Pro model.
The Leica rumours have been coming thick and fast, from new lens for the T series, a new compact, as well as a new Monochrom and a replacement for Leica ME. I doubt we will see an updated Monochrom yet I believe people are getting confused with the new chrome coloured model, but a new Leica ME would be interesting.
I have seen a rumour of a Nikon D750 but I am not too sure how that would fit in with the current range. If it had the D4 focusing and sensor then it would be at the top of my list.
One of the things we wanted with a new house was to have a vegetable plot. It was handwork but we now have one. It was a little late being setup but we managed to get a few crops sowed before the start of summer.
We have had a few fresh peas but this weekend we started to harvest some of the root crops, fresh carrots (a little misshapen) and some beetroot.
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.
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.
If your after an all in one DAM/RAW processor that enables none destructive editing there are only two products that you should consider these have been, Apples Aperture and Adobe’s Lightroom, both were released at the same time and both have advantages and disadvantages, I even know some photographers who use both.
This summer Apple announced that they would be ending there Aperture product. Now they do have a replacement coming soon likely to be released together with there new OS this autumn but if its anything like there other software releases recently, its likely to be a step backwards with less functionality at the start.
With this in mind many users are now considering jumping to Adobe’s Lightroom. Lightroom has always been my preferred product, but if your an Aperture user I would be tempted to wait and see what Apple’s replacement is like before jumping ship.
Adobe have announced that they will be releasing migration tools to help and so far they have released the following white paper:
Well its Friday and the weekend is nearly here. I have been lazy today, I had no blog prepared but on checking out Chris’s Blog this morning I read that Adobe Lightroom V5.6 had been released, its not long since V5.5 was released.
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.
Photokina 2014 starts on the 16th September and the rumour mill is starting to get going. Of course I am particularly interested in the Nikon, Leica and Hasselblad rumours. We already know that Hasselblad has released a new 50 MP back for the V series and this will be on show.
