Category: Photography

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.

If you are old fashioned like me then you will hate modern compacts.  Composing on the back screen is no way to use a camera, with the camera braced to your face and either an optical or EVF you can focus and compose better and use a slower shutter speed if necessary.

I have yet to use the Fuji X T1 but that promises to be the best EVF yet.  I still feel that an optical finder is the best and we are still two to three years away from an EVF that can match an optical finder.

So, if you want a decent camera with an optical finder what are your options.  Well surprisingly  you do not have many.  In the small sensor department there is the Canon G16 and G1X and of course the little Fuji X20.  These are good compacts but still small sensor compacts, what if you want better image quality.  Well there is the Leica M, the Leica Monochrom and the Leica ME, these cameras are £4k plus but are true range finders and full 35mm frame.  Focusing a range finder is not for everyone and takes skill and lots of regular practice.

Well the only other option is the Fuji X range with there DX X Trans sensors and there are only two models with optical viewfinders the fixed lens X100s and the Fuji X Pro1.

I loved the X100 idea when the prototype was announced but it had a few issues, these were fixed with the X100s but they also introduced a new issue; the X Trans Sensor.

Like the Leica’s and also cameras like the Nikon D800E, the Fuji’s have no antialias filter meaning stunning sharpness.  The problem has been the new sensor does not have a standard 4 x 4 Bayor array but a new Fuji designed 6 x 6 array.  This has taken RAW software developers a lot of time to sort out but it looks like it may finally be sorted.

If your interested about reading the issues with the new array check out the Chromasoft Blog.

Capture one and the soon to be released Adobe Lightroom v5.4 may have fixed these issues.

As I have talked about in my blog, I am still looking out for the perfect travel compact.  Something that can be carried without noticing and kept in my motorcycle tank bag.

The options I have looked at is keeping my current choice the Nikon V1, switching to the smaller Panasonic LF1 or Fuji X20, or a the Nikon Coolpix A or Ricoh GR.  Now the first two are small but have viewfinders, the second two have better image quality but no viewfinder.

Until now I have dismissed the larger Fuji’s due to the colour bleed issues with the X Trans Sensor but if its true and Adobe have fixed this then its another option for me.

While a Fuji X100s or the Fuji X Pro1 is about as big as my Leica M8, I would feel better about it getting chucked around in a motorcycle tank bag due to the lower cost.  The X Pro1 also has the option of acting as a second body for my Leica using Leica glass.  Something I have been researching with the Sony A7 and A7R, but the Fuji may be a better option due to the DX sensor and being less likely to suffer from colour drift in the corners.

So Fuji how about a fast 35mm f/2 or f/1.4 equivalent pancake lens with a real manual aperture ring for the X Pro1?