If your after a cheap (well thats relative), full frame 35mm DSLR then now may be the time to buy. When the Nikon D600 was announced it was close to the price of the D800 here in the UK, well now the price has fallen by about £500 in just a few months.
Looking at how the little V1 plummeted in price I for one am wary of buying a camera now until its been out for about twelve months. Not only does the price fall but any issues are found and resolved, such as the early focus issues on the left hand sensors for the Nikon D800 when it was announced.
Hybrid and electric cars have gained in popularity over the last few years. Whether the environmental manufacturing costs outweigh usage benefits is not an argument I feel I know enough about but petrol cars will one day be a thing of the past.
The big problem with electrical vehicles is weight and current battery technology.
Well now bikers now have the option of an electric motorcycle with the new range of Zero Motorcycles.
The big problem I have with Electric Vehicles is how quiet they are. Current petrol motorcycles if fitted with legal exhausts are very quiet and more then once a pedestrian has stepped out in front of me, having not looked and not heard me. With electric vehicles getting more common its going to be a growing problem.
This is going to one of many post dated blog entries generally about film photography. One of the delights and difficulties about shooting film is the time between taking the image to actually viewing the image. This can be a benefit and also a negative.
Today I set out to visit Hartsholme Park in Lincoln. It is a location I visit often in the spring, as it is a great location to get some really good bird shots.
Today though, it was not wildlife I was after but two landscape shots.
When I arrived the sky was a little too blue and lacking in some cloud but I had hopes that at least one of my two ideas would work.
I parked up and as I walked over to the lake I was surprised to lots of old Austin 7 cars arriving. I would definitely have to check them out later but for now I needed to get setup to make the most of the low sun.
Today I was shooting film on large format and small format, with digital being handled by my trusty Nikon V1.
I arrived by the lake and started to search out the position I had spotted on a previous visit. I soon found the spot I wanted but was disappointed to find that there was someone in the water marking out a model motorboat course. With the foreground I wanted those nice bright yellow markers floating in the lake would be right in the middle of my picture. Time for a re-think. A slight move to the right would mean I would lose the foreground I wanted but would give a clear view of the main focal point.
Well it would still be a nice shot so I decided to go for it. I setup the tripod and got out my meter and started to measure the scene.
The shadow on the far bank looked to be about the darkest part of the scene so I took a spot meter reading. It measured at 9.6EV which I loaded into the meters memory, I then measured the highlight on the water which was 13.8EV, and the sky was 15.6, that was a six stop range, bit much for film, but I thought I could afford to let the shadows block up a little so I would risk a shot using the Large Format Ebony 5×4.
Setting up I shifted the camera back to move the focal point lower in the frame, as there was no foreground interest in this new position. I some close trees framing the shot on the bank but being so close there were out of focus. Time for the scheimpflug effect. The great thing about large format is the camera movements, its like having photoshop built into your camera.
Not thinking I used some front tilt to drop the lens board forward to allow me to shift the focal plane and give me more depth of field. I rechecked the focus and something was not quite right. I used a little more front tilt and checked again. Things seemed worse, thats weird I thought. I stopped and thought for a moment, what was going on. Then it hit me. Dropping the front with front tilt is used to bring the foreground into focus, but this shot was unusual, my foreground was the tree cover; I was tilting the wrong way!
I soon reset and started again, tilting the ‘wrong’ way this time to bring the overhead branches into more focus, time to grab the film.
I took a dark slide loaded with Fuji Provia 100 and put it in the back of the camera. Time to re-meter.
Sky 15.7EV
Shadow of far bank 10.7EV
That gave me an average 13.2EV, a bit more manageable. I closed the lens and set a aperture of f/36 (thats f32 and a third) and a shutter speed of 1/8 second and took a shot.
Time to pack up and move to the next location. This was a scenic view of the lake, I walked over but the light was not right and there was no cloud interest, it would have been a pretty shot but nothing spectacular.
Time for a walk.
I had a bit of an explore and found a number of areas that could produce promising pictures. The shot above was a quick snapshot with the Nikon V1, certainly an area that needs more investigation.
I then headed back to the cars, and took a quick snapshot of the cars.
Austin 7
A good days photography, I did not get the shots I wanted but I certainly got some new ideas for more shots in the future.
I also tried a snap shot of the cars using the Ebony, a shot bound to end if failure you would think, well I like it even with the blur of the people.
I was pleased to see that the much anticipated Adobe updates to support the Mac Retina displays were released today.
I cannot provide a lot of feed back yet, as I will need to prise the MacBook Pro Retina out of my wife’s hands in order to test. Maybe I can get her to make a blog post about what she thinks to the updates?
I was asked today about sensor cleaning, after a friend of mine spotted some spots on his landscape shots.
Its generally landscapes that spots become visible. I’ll have to blog about sensor cleaning in more detail when I have the time but here are a quick few tips.
How to test for sensor dust? Well set your camera to aperture priority, and set a aperture of about f/8 or greater, the more the better, f/22 or f/32 if your lens can stop down that much. Then at your base ISO or at least not too high, take a photography of a plain even toned subject. A bright blue sky is ideal. Then examine the result in some detail on your computer. The spots should be fairly obvious.
To do the easiest clean then I recommend a good blower such as a Giotto Rocket. With the camera switched off and the lens removed, turn the camera upside down and give the sensor a good blow with the blower. Don’t use canned air, and most certainly do not try blowing with your mouth.
There seems to be a growing interest in Black & White recently, and as part of this tread Ilford have now released some Black & White Disposal Cameras, so if you want to give Black & White a try you can, even if you do not have a film camera.
You have the choice of sending the camera to Ilford or getting it processed yourself or even have a go at processing the Black & White yourself.
Its interesting how the negatives or in some cases positives can become amplified and grow on the internet.
The Nikon Series One was dismissed by most before anyone could review it. Too small a sensor, not worth considering. I also dismissed it but on trying it was actually very impressed. Image Quality is not up to DSLR standard but its better then most compacts and I decided to make one my compact camera.
The Fuji Range of X series cameras have garnered a fan base of people who like there traditional use of a optical viewfinder, traditional shutter speed dial and aperture dial. The X100 was a great little camera but its focus was hit and miss. Other X series cameras came such as the Fuji X Pro1 and many dismissed them because of there focus capability.
I really liked the concept of the X series, with its hybrid optical viewfinder and I remember reading an essay from Michael Riechmann about how he felt the Leica M should develop. Many feel that the Fuji X series is what the Leica M should become.
The Fuji is considered my many to be a poor mans Leica, but Fuji Glass is up there with the very best. The current Hasselblad Medium Format Glass is rebadged Fuji and they still make some of the best Large Format Glass available.
One should never judge a camera until one has tried it ones self. I really wanted like the X100 but found with my big hands, the aperture dial was a little difficult to use.
Well today in the office I managed to get my hands on and try the Fuji X Pro 1. The focus for a mirrorless camera is fine, but this was running the latest firmware.
Its one thing to admire Fuji for. Since the release of the X100 they have continued to support it and release new firmware improving it and overcoming its shortcomings. So while a camera may have limitations they have continued to listen and improve on it.
Most will say the Sony NEX-7 is a better camera and while this is true, the Fuji currently has better glass. Its the great strength of Leica that their glass is hard to beat, many will put up with lack of weather sealing, slow performance and manual focus on a Leica M, for the ability to use the hard to beat Leica glass.
Of the current mirror-less options, ignoring the Leica M range, the Fuji has the best optics money can buy; and being autofocus its considered a better option for most people.
After briefly testing the Fuji today I have to admit there is nothing to worry about with the focus. My only concern is the ability of none Fuji software to process the RAW files. See the CromasSoft website for more details.
For those worried about manual focus, it should be noted that up to today I have only produced one out of focus Leica picture.
Today we were off for a walk, not a long one, just a five mile loop from the edge of Whitby, across the fields heading North.
Its actually a few miles to walk before you get to the start on the outskirts of Whitby, but then its through a farmers yard and across the fields. After a while you cut through another farmers yard (watch out for the sheep dog, he will want to lick you to death), and then down to the coast where you come to the old Whitby Lighthouse and Whitby Fog Horn.
From here you are on the Cleveland Way.
On the camera front I was travelling light. After yesterday’s excesses carrying the Large Format Ebony, lens and a Nikon V1 as well, my back needed a rest. So I just packed the Leica M8 and a Summicron 35mm f/2 lens.
Very different to the last time we undertook this walk it was 2009 and I carried a Nikon D200 DSLR and a wide angle zoom plus a telephoto zoom.
Having a 12-24mm and 70-200mm zooms give you a lot of flexibility, but its tiring to carry just as the Ebony Large Format Camera is.
Carrying the small Leica or the Nikon V1 is a breath of fresh air and the reason why mirror-less cameras are getting so popular.
With any camera system it is about shooting to it’s and your strengths, there is something strangely liberating about going out with just a single camera and lens. While it did mean I missed shots, the wildlife on the cliffs for one (Nikon D3s and 400mm f/2.8 anyone?) I feel I got some good images from the walk.
The plan for today was a trip to the harbour and the Abbey, I had three shots in my head for the Harbour, but knew that I would likely be only able to get the one. After that we would be heading up to the Abbey, I had three shots in mind here but it was likely I would only be able to get two of the shots.
We were stopping at Hillcrest Bed & Breakfast, and over a breakfast of Whitby Smoked Kippers I checked the iPad to confirm the tide times and also using ‘The Photographer’s Ephemeris’, checked the sun position. Unfortunately it looked like unless i could be in two places at once I would have to give up on one of the shots. To get the Sun and tide in the right spot for one of the harbour shots I would not be able to get across the harbour and up to the Abbey to get another shot I wanted.
Still we would try and get at least a couple of shots.
As a bit of an experiment I had borrowed Caroline’s Crumpler Bag and packed the Ebony Camera, two lens and some dark slides. It’s a lot smaller bag then the ruck sack i usually keep it in. I also had the Nikon V1 with me. While the kit all fitted in the bag, the weight could be telling.
First off we walked into town and across to the other side of the harbour using the swing bridge. Once down onto the beach to the area where I thought the first shot was, I was unsupprised to see that the sun was unable at this time of year to rise to the point where it would illumiate the main focus of my photograph. So it was 0/1 for the first attempts.
In fact it you could say it was 0 for 2 as there was another shot I wanted but it meant being on the other side of the harbour and it just would not have been possible to get across and capture both shots before the sun had moved.
Next I climbed onto the Harbour wall to shoot the stone seabed. There are some interesting features visible at low tide that I wanted to capture.
As you can see in the quick snap I took with the Nikon V1, the sun was not high enough to illuminate what I wanted to photograph. I will just have to go back in the Spring.
It was now time to head up and take a shot of the harbour from part way up the cliff face. The ramp up was somewhat icy and it made the climb up a little tricky, but we managed.
I’ll blog about the next shot which I took with the Ebony 45S later once I have the film developed in Day 2 part B.
Finally it was time to shoot the Abbey. There was two shots I had in mind, but it was unlikely I would get the first one as by the time we got up there the sun would have moved round too far, but we should get the second, which I did. Again I’ll blog about that shot later.
Once the Abbey shot was in the can, we headed back down for a Spicy Mocha Latte and a toasted chibatta.
Then a last walk round the shops and back to the Bed & Breakfast for a rest. My back was by this time killing me. The Crumpler bag while fine for a short while was not good for a full day of carrying the large format kit. Still now I know.
With a couple of days free in both our calendars, we decided a quick trip up North to one of our favourite holiday spots, Whitby.
We decided to go by car as there was a risk of Snow over the North Yorkshire Moors, so that gave me free rein over what camera equipment to take.
The day before we set off I fired up two useful iOS apps, one to predict tide times, as two of the shots I had in mind needed low tide; the other app shows where the sun and moon will be as we’ll as there height. Things looked promising so I decided to pack the following.
Large Format Ebony 5 x 4
Small Format Leica M4 & M8
Micro Format Nikon Series One V1
We had a gentle start, not rushing, just taking our time heading North. As the toll had been reduced and because of flooding around York we took the Humber Bridge over the river Humber and then headed over the Yorkshire Wolds to Scarborough.
The purpose of stopping at Scarborough was to visit a fabric shop so that Caroline could buy some silk for a project she has been working on for the last year. Hopefully in the next few months i’ll be able to post some pictures. It’s been quite an impressive project with lots of research and even the odd course to learn new skills.
Caroline managed to get the fabric she wanted and we then had a leisurely lunch in Scarborough. It was then time to head further north over the North York Moors.
It was here the weather took a wintery turn with snow and a cold wind. It was a little worrying as the snow started to settle on the roads but as we reached Whitby it started to clear.
We soon found the Bed & Breakfast and settled in. A walk into town followed and a fish supper all washed down with a couple of pint of fine Yorkshire Ale.
Its interesting how the negatives or in some cases positives can become amplified and grow on the internet.
Its actually a few miles to walk before you get to the start on the outskirts of Whitby, but then its through a farmers yard and across the fields. After a while you cut through another farmers yard (watch out for the sheep dog, he will want to lick you to death), and then down to the coast where you come to the old Whitby Lighthouse and Whitby Fog Horn.
