Category: Photography

If you visit for internet forums you will find that camera x is rubbish and camera y is the ultimate.

Best DSLR Camera, Nikon, Canon etc, you will see people shouting that one the best and the others are unusable, incapable of producing a decent image.

Others claim that the SLR is dead, mirror less is where its at.  MicroFourThirds rules, No! Sony Full Frame A7R rules, no you need Fuji and its X system.

Others its all in the glass, you have to use Leica Glass, or no it has to be Canon L glass.

Well if the image is only going to be printed as big as A4 or is being shown on the internet, you can get excellent results from just about any camera.

The above shots are taken with a mix of cameras, from Nikon D200, Leica M8 to a little Nikon V1.  Below an old Nikon S3 compact.  Looked at from a 2014 perspective these cameras are old and one would say are past it.  The S3 was a 2005 camera as was the Nikon D200.  The Leica M8 was released in 2006 and the Nikon V1 is my most modern digital camera used in these photos released in 2011.

I think you will agree these four photographs are very nice quality images, they will all print well to A4 and I feel tell a story to the viewer.  The cameras: well apart from us photographers, who else is really interested in what camera was used, it does not matter.

Yes the V1 being the most modern has the least noise, the Leica with its CCD sensor and Summicron lens a little bit more film like.  The SLR was the easiest to use, but what is important, a quality image or image quality?

Visiting a Camera Show really gets your GAS going.  We all tell ourselves that its not the camera that takes the picture, that often a trip or training would be money better spent than more gear but new cameras are very difficult to resist.

Currently on my GAS list I have the following:

• Hasselblad V Series Portrait Lens (150mm)
• Hasselblad V Series Landscape Lens (40 or 50mm)
• New Compact (currently top of the list Fuji X100s but the Ricoh GR is up there)
• New SLR to replace my ageing D200’s (Second Hand D3 or D800)
• New Wide Carriage Pigment Printer
• Scanner for Medium and Large Format Film
• Large Format 300mm Telephoto Lens
• Jobo Temperature Controlled Development Tank

I was sure at the show there would be some offers and top of my list was the printer followed by the scanner, both purchases would end up saving me money.

I was fairly certain I would not find some of the more specialised items but I was also hopeful that there might be a cheap camera.

I stuck to my guns and got my top priority but I left feeling a little disappointed, I really wanted a shiny new camera and there was a fantastic offer on the Fuji X100s; its amazing how we justify our purchases.

Do you keep your GAS under control?

This weekend was the photography show.

Most of the usual camera manufactures were there including Hasselblad but not Leica as well as the big lighting companies such as ProPhoto and Elinchrom.

I finally got the chance the tryout a Nikon Df, it is actually very good, the image quality with the DF sensor is fantastic its just a shame about the price.  How about putting a D4 sensor in a D800 body and focusing system, that I would buy in a heart beat if it came under £1999.

A lot people in the show were carrying their SLR’s but it was interesting to note that if it was not an SLR then it was likely to be a Fuji mirror less camera.

Many stands had some great show offers on and I did indulge myself and bought a new Epson A2+ printer, I was also tempted by the offers on the Fuji X100s but I managed to restrain myself.

The highlight of the show for me was a talk given by Joe McNally on the main stage.  I have been a great admirer of Joe’s work; he is great at using light and creating lighting effect from either small strobe or full studio flash gear.  It was great to finally meet him and he is a tremendous speaker. If you get the chance I urge to go and see him.

I was reading an article the other day; someone went out with their Fuji X100s and got a great set of street photographs of people all using their phones.

I grabbed my Nikon V1 with the 10mm lens yesterday and went out to try this as a challenge to myself.

Shooting street either means zone focusing or very fast autofocus.  The Nikon V1 is useless for zone focusing but has possibly the best autofocus of any mirror less camera (possibly the latest OMD and Fuji may match or just exceed it).

I found myself missing a few shots due to the mode wheel slipping something that many cameras suffer from but I ended up taking a series of photographs of people smoking.  It was only a quick half hour walk in Lincoln but it was a fun little challenge.

If I was to carry only one camera and one lens what lens would I want?

Its a question I have asked myself quite often recently.  I often go out with the Leica M4 or M8 over my shoulder with nothing else except for a spare battery in my pocket.  I usually find myself with the 35mm, which on the full frame M4 is the classic 35mm field of view, on the M8 its closer to the classic 50mm being a 47mm field of view.

If I am travelling light with the Nikon V1 I have the small pancake 10mm which equates to a 28mm field of view.

There is a lot to be said for going out with just a single camera and single focal length, its an excellent training exercise and makes you work harder for the composition rather then just standing still and zooming.

Currently my favourite is the 35mm, its not too wide to distort and works well as a good all round standard lens.  Looking at compacts I keep wanting a 35mm field of view but most of the good ones tend to be 28mm unless you get one with a zoom and then the zoom is often too slow.

What lens would you have if you could have only one?

Compromise and use a zoom? Or what focal length if a prime?

I had the good fortune to be able to have a go with the new Fuji X-T1 yesterday thanks to Chris Bennett.

There is a lot of hype about this camera, but it was the viewfinder I was particularly interested in.  Some EVF’s are acceptable others less so.  The one in this camera is the best I have ever used, simple as that.  Its big and bright and unlike most did not drop frames when the light levels dropped.

I still prefer optical viewfinders but this is a technical tour de force of electronic viewfinders.  I was particularly impressed with its size, clarity and the split screen option to assist manual focusing.  Also simple things like the information rotating with the camera, simple but why has no other camera manufacture thought of this.

So what about the rest of the camera well its what the Nikon DF should have been, great manual controls which are very well thought out.  If I had any criticism it would be the D pad on the back, its slightly too small and the buttons are less then positive.

I look forward to seeing this kind of EVF in an up coming upgraded X100s this could be an ultimate compact camera or in an X Pro1, it would make a great spare body for us Leica users.