Author: Richard

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Can you trust what you see?

Since before digital, in the dark room, photographers have been producing composite images, from multiple negatives, a landscape image with a sky from a different negative.

In my wedding images I shoot multiple shots of groups, and occasionally have to combine them to get a single image of everyone looking good at camera.

Model images, a tweak here and there to soften skin, remove a pimple.

Leica M10

But now with modern AI, we can create what ever kind of image we want. So how can we trust what we see?

Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and the C2PA standard hopes to address this. Big players in the software world have signed up, like Microsoft and Adobe. Nikon and Leica are the first camera manufactures to sign up, but its Leica, working with their partners, the German government and Adobe that are the first to release a camera that supports this with a built in image authentication chip.

If you’re interested in Leica’s new M11-P I would suggest heading over to https://www.slack.co.uk/articles/the-leica-m11-p.html where Jonathan Slack will soon have a good overview of the camera.

https://contentauthenticity.org

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Busy two weeks for Nikon – Zf and now Plena

A new named lens from Nikon, the Z mount 135mm f/1.8 Plena. We are promised no vignette and beautiful rendition and transition to the the out of focus areas.

From what I have seen from the preproduction models, that is what we have gotten. A stunning lens, not to big, about the same as the 85mm f/1.2 and yes if your asking, f/1.8 at 135mm is more then fast enough to blow away the background and get impressive subject separation.

That now leaves me with a dilemma; the 85mm or the 135mm first?

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The Nikon Zf is here

So its arrived, the retro full frame Zf. Was it a Z5 or Z6 in a different shell as many were expecting? Certainly not.

This is an all new camera, it has a sensor from a Z6 but reworked, more auto focus points and it has the power from the Z8 and Z9 new Expeed 7 processor. So video and focus that can only be bettered by the Z8/Z9, better stabilisation at a claimed eight stops.

This is a real powerhouse.

I love the quick black and white selector, and the ability to use face and eye detect with manual focus lens is brilliant really making this a great camera with manual lens.

The question to ask is this what the Z6III will be or will that add anything else.

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Building the light

When shooting film it took a lot of experience and skill with a light meter, to understand what the reading meant and how it would look in the in the final image.

Now with digital we get instant feed back. We can get it close with a light meter and then tweak by eye.

Slowly building the image light by light and seeing the results instantly.

Here we have me building the scene starting with the separation lights, first the stage left, then right and then both together. Finally bringing it all together to create the stunning image at the top.

With all modern cameras now being so good, having instant feed back, we can hone are skills quickly and easily and produce lovely photographs so much easier then in the past.

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Colour Grading, for impact

Colour grading can be noticeable but not over the top like in this shot of Jasmine.

Again in this photograph of Helen, I have been quite heavy with the colour grading but it’s still reasonably natural looking. The eye excepts it.

Sometimes its fun to just go crazy.

One can also use tints to match clothes to give a overall colour theme.

Play and have fun; if using destructive editing techniques then work on a copy, or if working non-destructively, like a product like Adobe Lightroom

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Retro Cameras – Nikon Zf

Nikon has a strong history of iconic manual cameras like the original F and F2, the FM and FM2. I own and use a FM2.

Since the world went autofocus, camera design has evolved to what we have today. Cameras like the Nikon Z9 or Canon R3; amazing cameras that can be highly customised so that every function you personally need can be accessed quickly with the camera still at you eye, so you never need miss a shot.

There is a lot of nostalgia for old style cameras, and certainly for Nikon, the F mount Df was their first step back into their retro heritage. It was basically a Nikon D4 in a retro style body and while never hugely popular it was loved by the few that wanted it.

Fuji have really made the traditional dials and retro look popular, I think Nikon had a surprise success with the new Nikon Zfc. You can see a lot of people using them with the new chipped manual focus Voigtländer glass. It makes a great setup for people wanting to go old school. I see photographers using a Z7/8/9 and the best Nikon Z glass for their professional work and a Zfc when having fun.

Its been rumoured now for over a year that with the success of the Zfc which is a Dx crop format sensor, we will see a full frame version.

It’s likely to happen, but Nikon have some tough choices ahead. Will people pay for a real metal body. Performance wise, keep it cheep with a Z5 sensor and focus, or go higher end, Z7 sensor and the new computing power of the Expeed 7 processor.

Each nice to have drives the price higher. A tough one for Nikon, where do they price this?