Family, Photography and other misc news
So I posted a while ago that Ricoh had made a development announcement of a Black and White GR compact. Well today the retailers started to accept pre-orders. Here in the UK its £1600 which for a dedicated black and white camera is the cheapest yet.
If your after a dedicated black and white camera, then its this, a Leica Q3 or Leica M, unless you have the budget for a medium format black and white digital back.
This week has been cold and snowy at the beginning of the week and wet and cold towards the end.
The few times the sun came out I grabbed the camera and took a few snaps. Nothing special but you never know when a great scene may come your way.
Many people like Fuji because of their film presets, and while other cameras offer them, its been Fuji that have captured the imagination of photographers.
Nikon have custom picture controls and now with their cloud service its even easier to create and share your presets.
The shot above is a simple high contrast image with the preset Black and White Deep Tone applied. Great for dark and moody pictures like this.
Of course shooting RAW you can take an image anyway you want. The above image had the contrast lowered and just enhanced for Brook’s hair.
Of course in the studio lighting can be used to enhance or reduce contrast like in this image of Kimberly.
I am seeing rumours about how Leica will develop their next sensor in house. Reports also mention that the current sensor is ‘just’ a Sony sensor.
Those who follow Leica will understand that they have been working closely and have been developing in conjunction with a number of Germain Universities sensor technology for a while now. Sony the sensor company have a number of base designs that you can order from them and put your own tech into; and they will also fabricate custom designs of your own. The sensor manufacture division of Sony is very different to the division that makes and runs Sony cameras which they bought from Minolta, they are a customer of the sensor division just like anyone else. Buying a Sony camera with a Sony sensor will not be the same sensor tech as other camera manufactures. For the high end cameras its often a unique sensor being made just for that company.
Nikon announced the new Nikon 24-105mm f/4 to f/7.1 non S lens.
This is a nice budget kit lens and a reasonable travel lens for people who like to travel light.
This shot of Kimberly was taken with a 105 prime at f/8 so a beginner could make good use of this lens within the 50 – 105mm range and shoot in the studio at f/8 or f/11.
The weight is good and its about half the weight of the 24-120mm f/4 S and much cheaper.
The chat on the internet is as you would expect very negative towards this lens. It’s cheap, small and light, something has to give and it’s that variable aperture. An f/7.1 at 105 is pretty slow, but in the studio no issues, and with modern high ISO performance not too much to worry about. Yes the 24-70mm f/4 S is better and so is the 24-120mm f/4 S; but they’re not coming in at anything like this price. unless you consider secondhand. If you can afford the S lens then get them, if not start with this or pick up some nice second hand primes. Choice is good, don’t criticise a lens just because its not for you.
I would never buy this but if it came in a kit with a Nikon Z5II as a starter system and I was getting into the photography this is a great option for newbies.
I have been looking at large sensor compacts for many years.
Ricoh and Leica were the first with cropped 1.5 sensors, and then Sony released the RX1 with a stunning fixed sensor 35mm lens and an optional EVF. Leica followed with the Q range.
Sony are now back in the game with an updated RX, and Ricoh and Fuji with there cropped sensor compacts are proving popular.
It seems photographers love large sensor compacts.
Its seems since COVID the last few years have been a bit of a blur with family commitments, Ill health, hospital visits.
I have managed recently to go on two wildlife shoots and have also gotten to the studio to photograph new models several times over this year.
Photography wise things are improving.
Fitness I need to do something. Just before COVID I was thinking of starting swimming again so might look into that.
Music, well, I have a new Roon server and recently updated my streamer and amp over the last few years. Next on the list is a new rack and to start looking at a new record deck and speakers.
One thing I have not been doing this last year is playing music. One of the reasons is the end room we use as our music room / library has become a dump it room. We have been decorating one of the guest bedrooms and we ripped out all the built in wardrobes. All this stuff that was in there and the bedroom contents prevented me from getting to the piano. I have a banjo in the office which I have also not touched and for that I have no excuse.
So I have given myself the task of playing for five minutes a day for six days a week for the whole of January. Lets see if we can get back into this which I do love.
Last journalling. I have a cupboard of journals but I stopped a few years ago for no real reason and I miss it, so will start up writing once a week.
What are your plans?
Nikon Zf
Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S
35mm, 1/2500 Sec at f/1.8, ISO100
Post Processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic V15.1
In the film days, filters were often used, an 81a or 81b to warm up an image a little. Graduated filters to bring down the exposure of the sky. Polarisers that cut glare and reflections, enhancing the colour.
Now with digital we can warm or cool an image with a few clicks. With the better dynamic range of todays sensors we can use graduated filters in software.
There are times that filters can still be useful. In this image I used a polariser to enhance the colour and a neutral density filter to slow down the shutter speed to a few seconds. This blurred the sea and made many of the people on the pier disappear.
If you photograph moving water, try using a neutral density filter shoot from half a second to about a minute and look at the results to find the shutter speed you prefer.