other systems - Tangents forum

the Fuji X100s in my hands

Neil vN — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:53:11 -0400

This sexy camera arrived on my desk yesterday!
I can't wait for the weather to ease up a bit so I can go explore New York a bit with it.

The reviews by Strobist and Zach Arias were so positive, that I am super-excited to re-acquaint myself with the X100s. I had the X100 which I loved, but the inconsistent AF drive me nuts.

After my trip to Dublin two years ago, I sold the camera, and continued my quest for the perfect walk-about camera. It was so nearly the Sony RX1 .. so close. But now there is the Fuji X100s again, and from just playing with it in my study, the AF appears to lock on fast. No mis-focusing in low light!

New Camera or better glass?

penndragonn2001 — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:10:22 -0500

I know many of you use Canon and Nikon gear...I also used Nikon, but of late, for various reasons have migrated to Sony. I have posted this in other forums and gotten varying replies. I shoot mostly indoor events. I need better Low light High ISO results. I currently have a Sony NEX 7 and a Sony A550. Should I upgrade the A550 to the A99 FF which is much better in Low light High ISO situations, or simply keep my current setup and just buy a better glass...I.E. something in the range of 85mm F1.4- F1.8. A Mount Lenses I currently use are: Minolta 200mm F2.8 APO HS G, Minolta 50mm F1.7, and Minolta 28-75mm F3.5 macro. And when needed I slap on a Kenko 1.5 M/AF tele-converter...but not indoors of course.
I did own a Nikon D700 and should have kept it, but that's water under the bridge. And yes, I do miss it...I have the option of Getting the newer Sony A99 ($2700.00), buy Faster glass,($500.00-$1500.00) or just buy the Nikon D700, or for less then the Nikon D700, (used-$1400.00), or I can go to the Nikon D7000. again...I do have the Sony LAEA-2 Adapter, so in the event I switched back to Nikon, I can still use all my Minolta lenses on My NEX 7, which by the way is one awesome camera!. What are your thoughts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I do hate making decisions and regretting them later for lack of proper research or advice. Thanks in advance.

Megapixels! Bah! We want GIGAPixels

Trev — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:29:19 -0400

Now this seems to be a goer, wonder what the price of this puppy is, but, more importantly, how the hell do we Post-Process those images.

http://www.disp.duke.edu/projects/AWARE/index.ptml

Sharpness of photograph varies between labs (and between printers)

mvheyst — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:10:58 -0400

I compared the colors of pictures printed by different labs. I used the same files. I printed the same picture at several different labs and cheap outlets. To my surprise I found an enormous difference in sharpness between the prints, even at the same lab - between different printing machines. I didn't select sharpening or any image adjustments for prints.

Therefore - you may think you don't have a sharp lens, when the printer / printing process is the problem.

Lens sharpness vs Sharpness of image on printed photograph
http://neilvn.com/forum/discussion/549/lens-sharpness-vs-sharpness-of-image-on-printed-photograph#Item_1

The sharper picture may not necessarily look the best. Some appeared over sharpened.

Interesting info on HDR (High Dynamic Range) & Monitors

mvheyst — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:26:33 -0400

A high dynamic range (HDR) monitor is a computer monitor capable of rendering a higher dynamic range, also called a luminance ratio, than a conventional monitor. Dynamic range is the luminance ratio between the darkest of the dark aspects of a picture displayed on a computer screen and the brightest of the bright aspects that the monitor can reproduce. Essentially, a high dynamic range monitor is able to present a higher luminance ratio between the aspects, bringing out far more of the darker details, most of which will ordinarily be overwhelmed by brightness. The high dynamic range monitor is able to compensate for the overwhelming brightness to show a vastly more realistically lighted image.

Luminance ratio is measured on a logarithmic scale designated candela/m2. A candela is the brightness produced by one candle and m2 is a square-meter. The human eye has a dynamic range, also called a luminance or brightness ratio, of approximately 1,000,000:1. A starlit scene has a photometer-captured dynamic range of 0.001 candela/m2 (cd/m2); a sunlit scene, a dynamic range of 100,000 cd/m2, which is millions of times higher. A high dynamic range monitor will capture more of the luminance for a more precise projection of this dynamic range.

High dynamic range monitors have been developed to present nearly absolute blackness and higher levels of brightness, almost 3½ times brighter than what is ordinarily achieved on a conventional monitor, which can present only about 600:1 cd/m2. A high dynamic range monitor is capable of some 200,000:1 cd/m2. Conventional monitors cannot present absolute blackness simply by virtue of the residual brightness of the screen that is inherent in its being turned on. A high dynamic range monitor will present true blackness and a less overwhelming brightness as a result of technology that modifies a liquid crystal display (LCD) cathode ray tube using a modulated series of light emitting diodes (LED). Thus a picture on a high dynamic range monitor is closer to what the eye would register at the scene of what is pictured. A high dynamic range monitor presently costs some $49,000.

Development of the high dynamic range monitor is one result of the advent of the ubiquitous digital camera. A composite technique, whereby three pictures are shot of the same scene at varying exposure levels, was developed and captures and displays a higher dynamic range in a digitalized image. The higher dynamic range image can then be displayed on a conventional monitor.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-high-dynamic-range-monitor.htm

X100 Flash

Kev_Pack — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:50:43 -0400

Hi Neil. I've been considering buying a Fujifilm X100 and have really enjoyed reading your Tangents on the subject.

I was wondering though if you've used the camera with off (or even with on) camera flash.

Metz Mecablitz 58 af-2

Zenon — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:22:44 -0500

Well after a several days of research and almost pressing the buy button on several occasions late last night I pressed the buy button.

I have been looking for more accuracy for run and gun shooting and I have read that Metz in auto mode is supposed to be amazing.

After reading the reviews there were a few things I was not comfortable with. These were user reviews. The manual and menu system is complicated, it eats batteries and the recycle time is slow. One person said that you have to carry the manual with you. I don't see that as an issue at all.

I compared the recycle time to my 580II and the specs are the same. As for batteries that is subjective because you don't know what type people are using and how well charged they are.

I don’t have it yet but I gave the manual a good read today. So for my review I think it is pretty strait forward and easy. You press the MODE button and then choose ETTL, Auto , etc.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d74/Zenon1/Untitled-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d74/Zenon1/bm.jpg

The para (parameter) button gets you into features like FEC, etc. You just keep pressing it until the one you want comes up. Actually most of the other features like ISO and Aperture information are not necessary as there is a data transfer between the flash and camera. So that is about it for the para button. This will be the most important button however after I compensate for a gel I should never need to use it again based on what I have read when using it in Auto :) We'll see.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d74/Zenon1/d.jpg

The Set button gets you into fine tuning. You can set the power of the secondary reflector (which really defeats the purpose of the BFT), flash bracketing, slave mode, auto off, meters to feet, auto zoom parameters if the auto transfer data does not work, etc. Depends on the camera. Mine will. It is easy because you just keep pressing the set button until the parameter you want comes up. It is clear as day in the screen and there are a whole bunch more items you can control. I can shut off the secondary reflector.

The few things I really like about this flash is it is supposed to provide battery power information. I have not found that yet. The LCD will light up if you touch any button. Probably the drain on the batteries a bit. Not like my Canon 580. It is a real pain for these old eyes in a dark venue. Just like my 580 an indicator flashes when a correct exposure is achieved but the flash beeps as well. Of course I can turn that off if I like using the Set button but I will be going by the histogram most of the time. There is also a warning beep if the shooting parameters are off. If you are at 1/8000, ISO 6400, 2.8 in a well lit room as an extreme example.

The only other complaint I have read about is no HSS in Auto. You need to go to ETTL. The complaint is that it exposes better in Auto. I can live with that.

So I will keep you posted when I get it and play around with it for a bit.

Organizing Photos in iPod.

PhotoSeenThesis — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:06:02 -0500

I use my iPod 4th Gen specifically for organizing and setting up my shots during shoots so I can stay as close as possible to my original vision of the shoot.
My major challenge is keeping the photos in the order I arranged them before syncing. For example, I would organize my photos in the folder on my computer with a number range 1, 2, 3...but after syncing the folder to my ipod the photos will not appear in that order. Can anyone help?

Extreme Photography: Triggering 48 Nikon D700 cameras together

mvheyst — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:42:43 -0400

This is an interesting video on triggering 48 D700 cameras together:

Here is the final work:

The work was Directed by Ryan Enn Hughes:
http://www.ryanennhughes.com/

Attach Nikon and Canon lenses to the iPhone 4...

Stephen — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:28:05 -0400

Anybody going to try this? :-)
http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/07/iphone-4-slr-mount-lets-you-shoot-5-megapixel-photos-with-your/

EC and FEC

beesparkle — Sun, 29 May 2011 12:32:58 -0400

Can someone explain to me how these two work together? Can you use them together or only one or the other at any one time?
Many thanks to you

Pentax K5 ?

ujinoz — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:22:50 -0500

I am a Canon user and have been using XXD series camera for over 6 years now ( I switched from Nikon in 2005).

Out of curiosity, 2 months ago I bought a Pentax K7 on ebay. This is the first camera which didn't require me to use a manual to do 80% of things, and I was shooting confidently after 5 minutes of handling this camera. Everything seemed to be in the right place. Just like in the old days!

Now I am seriously thinking about getting rid of Canon system and getting a K5. The only downside is the flash synch of 1/180.

Am I the only one being tempted by the little K5?

I think for a one of the smaller companies in this industry to come up with such a camera is amazing.

My question for Neil is that- since you used to be a Pentax user in the past and you have share some of your memorable photos with us, does the K5 temp you?