A Camera Diary: 09/2012

Inspiration & technique: Micah Albert & Marc Ducrest

I came across a post on Swipelife on Micah Albert, and though it was an interesting case of shooting rather intimately with a wide angle lens. It's quite used by journalists who are very close to the action and suddenly need to get the situation into context: you zoom out, capture a scene from a very embedded point of view. In focus surroundings and short distance create more empathy.

For the record: I find contrast is pushed to high, a bad trend running among digital users.

That demonstrates well how a camera with a prime 35mm lens can do it all if you are willing to move. It aslo shows that portraits are not necessarily made with a so called portrait lens and tons of bokeh. I'm a fan of the later, but I only tolerate it well done, i.e. medium format or very very nice 35mm lens and perfect original composition. Shooting wide open your SLR with a 135mm lens does not mean your are a great portrait photographer.

Anyway, back to my point: there's more than one way to tell a story and most amateurs are usually limited by redoing again and again what they did well once. Photography becomes interesting again when you force yourself into a position towards the subject, a lens, a distance that you are not used to.

My better half put that sticker on the oven that says "life begin outside of you comfort zone". Well so does your personal photographic evolution :)

So dare to try wide angle lenses when you want to tell a lively story while being embedded in the situation !

Here is an other series by a amateur and traveller called Marc Ducrest. I asked him back in the days and if I remember correctly he was using a 28mm only:

Enjoy shooting :)

F*** You Hasselblad.

After Sony and the first compact full frame, Nikon announced the first affordable full frame SLR, both adding true value for the consumer (thanks !).

Fortunately, here comes the funny one because well, life is also about having fun. Hasselblad in a pure Apple-like tradition of trying to rape consumers with premium bulls*** will launch the "Lunar".

Price: around $5000.

Now for those of you who now a thing or two about camera, I'll cut the crap and send you straight to the funny stuff: http://www.hasselblad-lunar.com/index.php/main-specifications/cmos-sensor/ . How's that for surprise butsekss?! Seriously read. How shameless do you need to be to write that?

Yes, people at Asselblad- a brand known for medium format cameras with a twist of Leicaish snobbism - want us to pay $5000 for a APS-C sensor. Translate = any cheap compact camera. They also insult every single one of us' intelligence with this website aiming at abusing people's trust. So according to them, an APS-C sensor is the best thing you can get, "larger than most DSLR on the market" I quote, which is an absolute lie. DSLR use at least an APS-C sensor and are all turning full frame now.

No need to write anything more: this is an clear attempt at making money off uninformed people by surfing on the trend of "jewelry cameras" started by Fuji, a borderline criminal attitude that lays on the cult of a brand that has a way too high opinion of itself. Thank God most reviewers are trashing it too, let's hope this never sees the light of day.

If you are to buy a medium format camera, go Mamiya or Pentax (better, cheaper, more durable).

If you want premium digital, the best thing around just came out: Nikon D600. Cheap, top notch sensor, I ordered one.

Keep on going online, getting informed and educate yourself, that's the best way to prevent wankers like that to fool consumers.

YAAAHHH FINALLY !!!!!

Sony made it ! I expected it from Fuji or Nikon, but Sony made it ! A FULL FRAME COMPACT WITH CARL ZEISS LENSES !!!!

This is why I passed on my D800 pre order and any other digital gear for 6 years now: now way I'm spending 3 grands on digital that is not small, and no way it's not at least true 35mm. At last, Sony does it with a 24MP sensor and a 2800$ price tag (a D800 more or less). It also comes with a 35mm F2 Zeiss lens (essentially same quality as Leica but cheaper).

Sony claims the shutter is very discrete, it can reach ISO 24000 so I'm guessing ISO 6400 should be very clean too.

Extra optical viewfinder at 450$ is a bit pricey but what the hell. If it focuses fast (unlike Fuji overpriced compacts), it's a really hot product for the traveler.

One thing though, you can't change the lens... Will I get one? It'd always good to wait for competition, but I'll greatly consider it.

Fuji X-E1

Fuji announced the baby brother of the expensive and desirable X-Pro 1. It's called the X-E1, it will be cheaper (999$), and I'll be straight to the point, I think it's a better camera that the X-Pro 1.

An other great looking camera from Fuji !

Why is it a better camera than the X-Pro 1?

The answer comes from the purpose: you would own such a camera to travel. That's the reason why such models exist, they are an compact alternative to DSLRs, for serious enthousiasts would don't want to carry 1 cubic meter of gear. The X-Pro 1 is a good camera, but it has a weakness, it is not compact enough. Actually it has a second huge weakness: it is considerably overpriced. So if you are on the market for a portable system for travel and documentary-type photography...wait for the D600. It'll be full frame, superior in all ways to a X-Pro 1, about the same price and mostly, about the same size !!!

The X E1 however comes with the same things that make the X-Pro 1 good: large sensor, quality lenses (although still overpriced compared to prime Nikon lenses), improvements in digital management of dynamic range. It has all of that, but it is smaller, cheaper, and even has a faster AF.

UPDATE: it is not much smaller, i've seen them next to one another...how disapointing. Still prefer it to the X pro 1 for the price difference (same lenses + sensor= same images).

AAAh let's talk about the AF of the Fuji X product line. They are crap. Sorry, spent a day with a X100, lens is awesome, but AF was slow as hell. With me as a product manager, this never makes it to the market. X Pro 1? Sames story. I shoot manual on my FE, but no way I pay 2 grand not to get fast autofocus in 2012. Apparently it's faster on the E X1 by 0.1 sec (Fuji claim), but if it's 0.1 sec faster than a X100, it is still too slow !

Also, you loose the optical viewfinder but the size gain is worth it in my opinion.

Should you buy one?

- If you have a medium format film camera and you want a premium compact to travel, if you expect top notch quality, I'd wait a bit. Within a year I'd be surprise if Canon and Nikon don't come up with a compact full frame mirror-less system compatible with SLR lenses. This Fuji is good, but not that good.

- You have a DSLR and you want a portable backup for you next trip, and you don't want to wait one or two year for full frame mirror-less: if you have a Canon SLR, get the EOS M. Lenses are compatible via an adaptor, that's be retarded to get this one. If you don't have a Canon system, well this is a seriously good choice. However I am afraid you will pay the price of the X line (design & marketing...). Also consider:

Canon EOS M: faster AF, very small ! Quite cheaper. I'd still go for that.
Olympus OM-D: weather sealed (don't underestimate that if you travel hard), great and cheaper lenses. Sensor is a bit smaller but it's a great camera.

- You are looking for a main camera, and you hesitate between this and an entry level DSLR or an other compact. Well for the same reasons as above I might prefer one of the two previously mentioned systems. Don't get me wrong, if it's a gift or if you love the design so much, get it ! It's very good no matter what. I simply think that Fuji is taking us a little too much for idiots with its pricing. Making it look expensive and deserving a price tag are two different things. AF is too slow on the X line, and lenses are too expensive to justify that price. What about a DSLR? It's a matter of use. Will you travel a lot? Do you want a discrete system? You don't care about shooting sports and wildlife? Then get a compact mirror-less system like this. If you need to shoot fast moving things, and carrying stuff doesn't matter, I'd invest in an SLR system. Nikon or Canon lenses will always have a future, not sure those APS-C sensor lenses will be worth anything in 5 years...

UPDATE: the 21mm equivalent lens 14mm F2.8 costs 899$... This is clearly an attempt that "Leica-ising" the marketing strategy, that is to say make believe it is superior because it costs more. For this only I would reject it. It is unacceptable to pay the price of very premium Nikon or Zeiss lenses, for a APS-C system lens. They claim that bokeh effect are amazing, but as much as Fuji can indeed produce superb lenses, the small size of the sensor is preventing the system from really premium bokeh. This is bokeh (on 35mm film with a 600$ Nikon f1.2 lens).

Here are some sample images. I find it about equal to most non full frame DSLR, dynamic range is good, lenses are a bit soft. Bokeh is nice but can't compete with premium Nikon lenses. I sometimes find it a little underexposed too.

Dynamic range (rendering of both bright and dark zones) is pretty good.

Bokeh is nice, but not wow. A 50mm 1.2 AIS Nikon lense is much much superior and cost much less that the X lenses...However, at 1.4 iso 200, the cat's eye remain very sharp.