The SOUNDIMAGEPLUS blog

What the Duck

2013-05-20T13:04:00.000+01:00

http://www.dpreview.com/directory/whattheduck

The excellent What the Duck cartoon now available at Dpreview. Enjoy.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Nikon 1 V1 breaks the rules (again!)

2013-05-20T09:30:00.000+01:00

In many ways the Nikon 1 system breaks a lot of photographic rules. Well not rules exactly, more expectations. A small camera that shoots full resolution raw and jpgs. together at 60fps. A camera that lets you take a full-resolution still image while shooting video with no interruption of the video signal. A camera that has a sensor half the size of m4/3 that creates files that are sharp with excellent dynamic range and capable of significant upsizing. Well here's another one. The 10-100mm VR PD zoom is sharpest when it's wide open.

My first experience with the zoom was somewhat disappointing. I was primarily shooting video and had the camera + the zoom on a tripod. Old habits die hard, so I was shooting at the normal apertures I would with a tripod mounted camera, i.e. f/8-f/16. The results were somewhat soft. Yesterday I went out with it hand held, set it on program exposure and let it do its thing. This usually meant that it defaulted to the widest aperture. And what happened? Well these images were significantly sharper than my tripod images. Plus I encountered some dull light and discovered I got pin sharp images at 1/10th. sec. again at maximum apertures, showing just how good the VR (Vibration Reduction) is.

Now I'm not the only person to discover all this, but where is the mention of these virtues when people are doing a hatchet job on the Nikon 1 cameras? Some of the reviews I've read from the usual suspects make no mention of any of this. Some do I know, but usually followed by some coup-de-grace such as 'Image quality however isn't as good as m4/3'. Well, from my use of the camera, that just isn't true, Certainly at base ISO my V1 is producing images from raw that are sharper, capable of more upsizing and with less luminance noise than anything I've ever got from m4/3. And I know that large numbers of people who read this just won't believe me. But then I really don't care. As far as I'm concerned, its their loss.

Quite simply, I have no reason to lie, make anything up or exaggerate. If people think I'm a fanboy, then so be it. However, if I am, then there is a reason for that. And that is the more I use these cameras, the more they give me what I've always wanted. High quality in a small package. Plus lots of handling features that mean I can constantly shoot at base ISO, create sharp artefact free files even when I upsize them, and walk for miles without having to take painkillers when I get home. Whats not to get fanboyistic about? This camera just does it for me, in almost every way. Its the camera I've been dreaming about for years. My only regret is I didn't get one sooner.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Blackberry Q10 camera

2013-05-20T02:40:00.001+01:00

All images Blackberry Q10 Smartphone

Having just upgraded my Blackberry to the Q10, I thought that I'd better try out the camera at least once. This is a new camera, apparently 8MP, though the square pictures I was taking turned out to be 6MP in size. To be honest the pictures weren't as bad as I was expecting, which isn't saying much. The 100% blowups above are just on the right side of acceptable, apart from the tulip, which is a mess with no detail in the flower whatsoever.

Since phone cameras are supposed to be destroying the compact camera market its interesting that these images aren't even as good as those from the 2MP Olympus C-2000Z I had 13 years ago. I have some A3 prints from that camera that are surprisingly good.

These phone cameras can be useful I guess as some kind of visual notebook, but any notion that they are any kind of a photographic tool strikes me as ridiculous. However using the Q10 camera did give me an idea as to why Instagram and all those other filter options exist. To mask the awful image quality.

Everybody says that these will get better, but of course at the same time that happens then conventional cameras will be getting better as well. Phone cameras may be an option for the visually illiterate, but for anyone with even the slightest bit of interest in producing images that will stand the test of time, they strike me as completely useless. Its a shame that people will look at family snapshots in years to come and have results that are significantly poorer than those their grandparents took.

If people are satisfied with this, then fair enough, but its sad that the words photography and mobile phone occur in the same sentence. Its even sadder however that sites like Dpreview spend so much time on this 'dumbing down' of photography. A bit like taking those out of tune idiots who audition for Pop Idol or X Factor type shows seriously as singers.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Fuji X-E1 and Nikon 1 V1 comparison at ISO 100

2013-05-19T17:30:00.000+01:00

Since I'm getting pretty fed up with the unjustified rubbishing of the Nikon 1, I decided to show a comparison between the Nikon 1 V1 and its 10-30mm kit lens at its base ISO and the Fuji X-E1 and its 18-55mm kit lens at its base ISO. I took shots at the wide and telephoto ends of the zoom. There are the raw files I shot at the link below.

Download Zip file of raw files from Google Drive HERE

For the sake of this post I'm going to show two examples. And for the purpose of this comparison the Fuji has two supposed advantages. Firstly I've downsized the X-E1 files to match the Nikon and secondly the Nikon images are shot with the lens wide open. The Fuji is a faster lens so that should give it an advantage.

See how you think this 'garbage sensor' with 'limitations of quality' performs at base ISO against a camera and sensor that has people falling to their knees crying "We're not worthy"

All images processed from raw using identical Photoshop CS6 Camera Raw default settings.

I do recommend that you check out the raw files to see for yourselves.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Mirrorless sales in Japan.

2013-05-19T10:28:00.002+01:00

43Rumors - Link HERE, has just published some figures of mirrorless camera sales in Japan. With provisos that this is only one country and a lot of the popular cameras are subject to heavy discounts, its interesting none the less. Note the Nikon 1 J1 camera at the top. I guess somebody likes the Nikon 1 system!!

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

The 'limitations of DOF'

2013-05-19T06:42:00.000+01:00

There was a forum which included this comment on the Nikon 1 system - '....given the limitations of DOF and quality fundamental to the small sensor size....' OK, its the usual ill-thought out, repeat after me, cliched, closed-minded thinking and writing that characterises certain parts of the photographic internet, i.e. 'I read what everybody else has written so I just spew it back like a parrot', but its also meaningless and just plain wrong. And yes I should probably just let it pass, but stuff like this just makes me angry, because its so crass and annoying.

'limitations of DOF', what nonsense. But unfortunately we all know what it means - the sensor of the Nikon 1 system and the focal lengths that follow from that, have more depth of field than 'equivalents' from larger sensors. And within the restricted, rigid dogma of what passes for thinking in many of these chatter shops, this is a bad thing right? Wrong!

I wrote this in the post for one of my replies.

'Limitations of DOF' works both ways. For some uses too much is a limitation, for other uses too little is a limitation. The other point to make is that DOF is just as dependant on focal length and subject to camera distance as it is on lens aperture or sensor size.

The best way to proceed is surely to acknowledge that we pick what we want for what we need to achieve and to simply dismiss one system because it doesn't fit with what we do, when it would suit someone else perfectly is, I would suggest, not particularly helpful.'

Here are some examples of shallow depth of field from different cameras and different lenses, including a Nikon 1 camera. So which exhibit the 'limitations of DOF' ??

On the second part of the quote - 'limitations of .......quality fundamental to the small sensor size' there is actually very little to say. The 'quality' of an image has little to do with the sensor size used and everything to do with the 'quality' of the photographers brain and I can only guess at the size of that organ in people who let what they use dictate the 'quality' of the images they produce.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

On the streets with Nikon 1 primes / Why do I like the Nikon 1 SO much?

2013-05-18T10:12:00.002+01:00

All images - Nikon 1 V1 - 10mm f/2.8 and 18.5mm f/1.8

Since I don't shoot weddings, events, portraits or performing arts anymore, every now and then I go out to make sure that my observational, anticipation and reactive skills, such as they are, haven't completely disappeared. Yes its my take on 'street photography', usually undertaken in the tourist town of Stratford-upon-Avon, as are these pictures.

Yesterday I went out with two Nikon 1 V1 cameras, one fitted with a 10mm f/2.8 and the other with an 18.5mm f1/.8. And yes I have a picture of advertising hoarding eyes following passers-by. Result!

No matter what people say about the Nikon 1 system, few can deny that its amazingly fast. Probably the fastest reacting out there. As an example, the shot of the barefoot cyclist was taken just after he approached me. After passing me I spun round, brought the camera to my eye and got off a couple of shots. The cyclist has been captured, the focus is spot on and the V1 had the image in the can almost before I realised what I was doing. It is certainly the fastest reacting camera I've ever used and of course by using the electronic shutter, completely silent.

There is also this depth of field thing again. Reading on forums, there are lots of posts that pretty much say, 'The Nikon 1 is rubbish because it has too much depth of field. f/1.8 isn't f/1.8 its x, y or z blah, blah, blah.......' Constantly comparing it to 35mm of course, which seems to be the standard by which all other camera systems are judged. Well, anticipating the second part of this article, one of the reasons (probably the main one) I like the Nikon 1 system is that IT ISN'T 35MM!!! However before we get to that, most of these pictures were taken at wide apertures with fast shutter speeds. The second to bottom shot of the half-timbered house with the woman on the mobile was taken wide open on the 18.5mm f/1.8 lens. However, unlike systems with larger sensors, despite the fact that she is out-of-focus its still possible to make her out and what she is doing. It is also possible to make out the building at the end of the street. For me, all of this is far from a problem, in fact I see it as a huge positive.

Its well known by now that I'm not a fan of very limited depth of field. I find it unrealistic, creating images that are more about the lens and how you take pictures rather than the pictures themselves and again, as far as I'm concerned almost always the instant way to create pointless pictures. Whether or not you like them or not, all the above images have a context. There aren't any images that have something in sharp focus with everything else rendered as a syrupy mush.

So, why do I like the Nikon 1 SO much? As I indicated above, because it isn't 35mm. Now it is perhaps understandable why 35mm is taken as the base point for everything, because since the 1920's when Leica introduced the concept, it has been the best selling and most used camera system in the history of photography. However does that mean that we have to worship it? Does that mean that the dubious and innacurate accolade of 'full-frame' is applied to it? Does that mean that we assume that everything 35mm is right and all other systems and sizes are inherently inferior to it? Well, for me none of that holds true. The way our cameras look is already totally dominated by 35mm., DSLR's, compact cameras and rangerfinders (and faux rangefinders) are virtually all clones or copies of 35mm camera designs. In fact currently, the more retro it is, seemingly the better.

Despite all the this, the most used system / size in enthusiast digital photography is APS-C. The size of a much-maligned and unsuccesful film system. And for photography in general the most used sensor sizes are very small, in 'point and shoot' cameras and mobile phones. A few years ago m/43 appeared, and was of course soundly rubbished by those who used a 35mm sized sensor (not many of those however) and by those who used APS-C, which in truth isn't that much different. Over time m4/3 has gained more respect and is (almost) accepted as a workable and quality camera system. However in the tradition of the English male public school the first years who were bullied on their arrival, upon reaching their second year take out their revenge on the new intake. So the 1" sensor of the Nikon 1 has to take its turn at being slapped about, often by the m4/3 fans. By now of course the APS-C users are basking in the glory of semi-respectability. All this reminds me of the John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett 'I know my place' sketch. (If you take Cleese as 35mm, Barker as APS-C and Corbett as 1" and below, you'll see what I mean.)

I would recommend a piece by John M Flores from his excellent What blog is this. I've taken the liberty of including two quotes which I think relevant and would agree with. However do read the whole thing and the rest of his blog. Like me, he believes that photographic blogging / punditry and thoughtful, open-minded writing shouldn't be mutually exclusive.

'But the Nikon 1...ah the Nikon 1. Loved by few, but a disappointment to many. Many pre-judged the cameras on the basis of its sensor size alone (I posit now that megapickle war has been replaced by the sensor size war and that one of these days we'll all come to our senses, but I digress), and no amount of FPS or AF performance was going to sway hearts and minds.'

From the comments section:-
'I'm actually optimistic about the 1" sensor. It could very well take over the world.'

In time of course the 1" sensor may well become accepted. To a certain extent it already has with the praise heaped upon the Sony RX100. This to my mind is an inferior camera in almost every way, which makes the rubbishing of the Nikon 1 even stranger to me.

The other main reason I like the Nikon 1 SO much, is that it opens up possibilities for me and allows me to do things that I want to do. I remember when I was using my Olympus E10 all those years ago (and it was the re-editing of those pictures that led me to the 1) and thinking 'Yes I would like more pixels and better quality, but wouldn't it be great if I could keep this amazing depth of field.' And in effect its taken until now for me to get that.

The Nikon 1 V1 also gives me a camera that reacts as fast as my brain, and in reality sometimes faster!! (Not difficult these days) It also does it in a quiet unobtrusive way. If I'd taken the barefoot cyclist shot with one of my Nikon DSLR's he might well have had an accident since firing that shutter usually makes all the birds in the vicinity scatter! You certainly can't miss the fact that somebody is taking a picture. So its nice and quiet and modest. I used both of my V1's yesterday without straps and when I saw a picture brought it to my eye, took the picture and carried on walking. I contrast this with other cameras I've used which would still have been deciding about what to focus on or going through some shutter open/shut/open/shut take the picture routine. No names here, but you know who you are! So I could write that the Nikon 1 V1 is a great 'street camera' but then no-one will probably take any notice.

Finally - 'He's in one of his super-enthusing modes and will move on to something else soon', is probably the reaction of many readers but regulars may have noticed something. This 'hyper-enthusiasm' is going on longer than usual and seems to be getting more intense over time rather than lessening as is usually the case. So is this the 1? (Sorry about that) well yes I think it may well be. I've used nothing before that gives me so much of what I want and suits me so well. I'm getting almost 100% acceptance for my upsized V1 files, the smile on my face when I use the camera is getting bigger and I seem to be encountering less of those little operating irritations than usual. The lenses are gems, the whole system oozes class (I can't wait to get my hands on the 32mm f/1.2) its fast, reliable, has an incredible battery life for a small camera, is light, small and inconspicuous and (mostly) inexpensive. What's not to like? The Nikon 1 system is almost a perfect match for what I want to do, and yes this may well be the real thing, not just infatuation.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD Zoom Video and stills

2013-05-17T12:24:00.000+01:00

There is 'no such thing as a free lunch' when it comes to video. After my experiences with auto-everything hand-held, which wasn't succesful, even using a tripod and expecting the camera and lens to produce seamless footage without some work is not possible. I'm not convinced as yet by the rocker zooming switch, which seems 'jerky' (which could of course could be me!) and there is a fair amount of glitching in exposure and focus, which I hoped wouldn't be there with a 1'' sensor, but unfortunately it is.

The camera / lens combination does have complete manual control over focus and exposure though, so my next attempt will include setting everything manually. The Nikon 1 does allow manual focus with its lenses, even though they don't have a focusing ring. Selecting it brings up a magnified window and by turning the very small and fiddly control wheel you can have MF. Its not great. Unfortunately, the white dot focus confirmation system which comes into play when Nikon F lenses are fitted via the adapter doesn't cross over for the AF lenses.

Having said all that the footage is very nice to view and the zoom does a decent job.

For stills, it does seem that its marginally softer than the primes or any of the other zooms. This is pretty much the case for lenses of this type, which balance convenience with quality. I also noticed shooting these images that stopping the lens down actually worsens the image quality. f/8 onwards was distinctly soft. As I mentioned in a previous post, apparently these Nikon 1 lenses are optimised for wider apertures. I will be testing this out in due course.

A real positive yesterday was how easy it is to switch between video and stills shooting. You can take a full-resolution still while shooting video which doesn't interrupt the video footage which is very useful, but I had different settings for each, so shot each separately. This was really quick and easy to do and pretty much only involved moving a dial. This was useful since I was working in light which only gave me occasional and short-lived bursts of sunlight.

So still a learning experience with this lens and I feel that once I've got the hang of it, and it is different to what I'm used to, I will be be able to get better results. Its pretty good as it is, but there is more there, I'm sure.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD zoom and 10mm f/2.8 - First impressions

2013-05-16T15:30:00.001+01:00

The largest and smallest of the current Nikon 1 lenses. The zoom is the PD version, intended for video with the power zoom switch on the side of the lens. As with all the other lenses I've bought these are superbly made and finished. Not really a surprise, since they are made by what I consider is the best lens maker on the planet. And yes that includes Leica and Zeiss.

Again like the other lenses these are sharp to the corners and excellent wide open. I was reading a piece recently that said these Nikon 1 lenses are optimised for wide apertures, and if that is true then it certainly shows in the result.

The 10mm f/2.8 prime is a sweet little lens. It has some distortion, but this is mainly taken care of by the lens profile in Photoshop. I'm looking forward to having a miniature set of primes with this, the 18.5mm f/1.8 and the 32mm f/1.2. IQ is excellent, nice and sharp files are produced and it snaps into focus very nicely. Bokeh is reasonable, though not as smooth as the somewhat surprising results from the zoom. Its not much faster than the 10-30mm zoom, f/2.8 compared to f/3.5, but thats not really the point, which is the size and weight. A really nice lens. Plus considering I bought it together with my second V1 for £279, an absolute bargain.

The zoom is a different proposition. I won't pretend that its light or small because its not. Not for the 'put it in my pocket' brigade.

Personally I'm very comfortable with it and I chose this over the smaller lighter superzoom to add a bit of 'gravitas' to the system.

Here it is in video mode with my Rode Microphone attached via an accessory port to hotshoe adapter.

Going out with it yesterday for quite a long walk, I found it comfortable to use. Using the rocker switch to zoom is something I'm not used to, but it is very smooth. The zoom is fine for taking pictures with as I can get a good grip underneath the lens and use my thumb to zoom with. The lens extends when the camera turns on, but doesn't move after that when zooming. As I said it is heavy and large, but somewhat less so than DSLR or some other mirrorless equivalents.

Image quality is excellent, though perhaps from initial results not as good as the 30-110mm which is a really superb lens. However it is of course incredibly useful and saves changing lenses all the time. It seems to be good wide open and as I wrote about in a previous post has excellent out of focus rendition and bokeh which is unusual (unknown?) in a lens of this type.

So initial impressions of both lenses are positive, but then after using the lenses I have already I would have been surprised if they weren't.

More later.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD Zoom and 10mm f/2.8 prime

2013-05-16T05:00:00.000+01:00

No serious reviewing or testing yet. Just a long walk with my two new Nikon 1 lenses, 10-100mm VR PD Zoom and 10mm f/2.8 prime, and some pictures of the lush (and wet!) countryside where I live. Top six are the zoom, bottom five are the prime.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD zoom - hand held auto everything video and zooming test

2013-05-16T00:00:00.000+01:00

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD zoom - hand held auto everything video and zooming test.

Well this is not so great. The VR in the lens works amazingly well for stills, but not so much for video. Some systems, notably the current Olympus image stabilisation, work very well for hand-held video, but it seems the Nikon 1 V1 isn't as good. Even with the 1" sensor there is focus hunting and there is shake that the lens system and IS added in iMovie can't compensate for. Some cameras 'float' in the hand with a steadicam feel but this one doesn't.

I will do a 'proper' tripod mounted video test for the lens at a later date.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Nikon 1 - 10-100mm PD zoom - Interesting discovery

2013-05-15T18:30:00.000+01:00

I was taking more test shots with the 10-100mm PD zoom and saw these on my computer screen. Anyone seen bokeh like this at the long end of a superzoom? I certainly haven't. Who says a 1" sensor can't do shallow depth of field?

You might also be interested in the exif data on the last shot. 1/60th. sec. hand held at the longest end of the zoom and razor sharp.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

More 100% blowups from the Nikon 1 'garbage sensor'

2013-05-15T12:55:00.000+01:00

Some more 100% blowup test shots from my Nikon 1 V1 and its 'garbage sensor'. This time with the 10mm f/2.8 prime and at its native 10MP. From raw ISO 100. Again showing just what a pile of c**p this system is.

I will of course be sharing my experiences with the two new lenses I've had delivered today, 10mm f/2.8 and 10-100mm PD zoom in due course, assuming of course that I haven't seen the errror of my ways and thrown the whole lot into the dustbin.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

100% blowups from the Nikon 1's 'garbage sensor'

2013-05-15T10:38:00.000+01:00

Some 100% blowups from test shots I took with the Nikon 1 10-100mm PD zoom lens. These are upsized shots (25MP) at ISO 100, from raw with no sharpening applied. Showing just how awful the Nikon 1's 'garbage sensor' (as it was described on a forum yesterday) is.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

When does a non-professional camera system become professional?

2013-05-15T00:00:00.000+01:00

The answer to the question posed in the heading is a bit like the tautology. 'What is Art?' 'What an artist creates.' 'What is an artist?' 'Someone who creates art.' Therefore the answer to 'When does a non-professional camera system become professional?' is when its used by a professional to make money.

I've been writing at length about the Nikon 1 system, the V1 camera I've bought and the lenses. Today I've just ordered another V1 + 10mm + grip, the 10-100mm power zoom video lens and the Nikon SB-N5 speedlight with the express purpose of using this as my only system. I have found a way to do this that doesn't involve me loosing out in terms of tax terms so I've decided to go for it.

Now there is no way that the Nikon 1 system was designed for, or intended for professional use. However it just suits what I do and fits so well with what I want, that I really have no desire to use anything else. I'm an outdoors photographer. I don't shoot indoors at events, weddings or in a portrait studio anymore. And that is liable to remain the case for the forseeable future. Doing what I do involves a lot of walking and carrying everything I need with me. I shoot at ISO 100 or my cameras base ISO whenever possible. I am also looking to get the most depth of field I can and the richest most saturated colour. I prefer using zoom lenses with autofocus, though I do like using prime lenses from time to time. I like well made gear that feels good in the hand and much as I like admiring glances for my gear from other photographers, the more inconspicuous I am the better it is for what I do.

In all of these ways the Nikon 1 system works for me. Much more so than I could ever have imagined. I have been seriously testing it out over the past weeks and have been surprised at the quality I have been able to get from the V1 files. Over the past couple of days my premier picture library (i.e. the one that makes me most money) has approved large numbers of V1 files that I have upsized variously to 18MP, 24MP and 25MP and they are now sitting on their website available for sale. And the same is true of all the other libraries that market my work, who have no problem with these interpolated V1 files.

Above image was shot with my Nikon 1 V1 and 6.7-13mm lens.

There is of course every chance that the Nikon 1 system might not last. However todays announcement of the 32mm f/1.2 does show a serious investment in the system. I will of course be getting one.

Link here.

There will be some people who think I'm crazy and who suspect that I have finally flipped, but this has been, unusually for me, a considered decision. I am pretty fed up lugging DSLR's around, even though I appreciate their handling and build quality and I'm also fed up fiddling around with all kinds of software to get the results that my V1 gives me in a simple straightforward fashion. It will make what I do a lot easier and I've outlined what I see as the other virtues in lots of posts already.

Interesting that not everbody has positive feelings about Nikon 1. In a forum where the above lens was announced, one comment was on a comparison with the forthcoming Fuji 56mm f/1.2. 'Indeed, and since it’s not in front of a tiny garbage sensor it will actually be a meaningful aperture' Now I may have been critical of Nikon 1 in the past, but 'garbage sensor? ' meaningful aperture?' Just shows I think how the Nikon 1 system is regarded (incorrectly) by many. I will have to make sure, of course, that I don't use a 'meaningless aperture' in future, as I'm sure will we all. And there I was thinking it was all about how the pictures look. Silly me.

I would have never believed that the Nikon 1 system would give me the versatility, speed and lens options that I want in a package that has the size and weight of a compact camera. Suddenly its possible to carry around two zoom lenses and a prime and not notice the weight. Suddenly its possible to have an image stabilisaton system that allows me to shoot hand held at ridiculous shutter speeds. Suddenly its possible to shoot amazing looking video with something not much bigger than a packet of cigarettes. And yes I know that this has been available for quite a while, but I've only just put my prejudices to one side and allowed myself to discover it.

The final 'convincers' that have led me to do this were firstly the picture library endorsement that I mentioned earlier and secondly the raw file samples from the Zeiss Touit lenses. I looked at them after processing and thought, these aren't even close to what I can get from my V1. That shouldn't be the case, but it is. In effect who needs a £1000 lens?, and if thats the best one can produce then I know I don't. The Nikon 1 system isn't particularly sexy, there seems to be very little written about it but I think its brilliant. I don't care whether anybody agrees with me and I also don't care about what anybody thinks about what I'm planning to do. Because every time I'm out with the V1 I have a smile on my face and over time that smile has just got bigger. And thats something I'm not going to ignore.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Sick as a Touit - Part 2 - Nikon 1 better than Fuji + Zeiss?

2013-05-14T13:30:00.000+01:00

All images Nikon 1 V1 camera and Nikon 1 lenses

So who would have thought it? A heavily discounted 18 month old model Nikon 1 V1 camera + Nikon 1 zoom lenses produce sharper results than a Fuji X camera + £1000 Zeiss prime. Did I really write that? Well yes I did and on the evidence of my own images and the raw samples I linked to in my last post that does seem to be the case.

I've looked again at the Zeiss raw samples just to see if I was mistaken and I have somewhat changed my opinion. They are actually worse than I first thought they were! Is this some mistake? Have Zeiss sent DSLR Magazine some rejects? There was however another post - link here - that said this:-

'....he made a comparison between the 12mm Zeiss and the 14mm Fuji, and between the 32mm Zeiss and the 35mm Fuji. “To be honest I do not see something that strikes me, the files look similar, maybe the Zeiss 12mm is a bit smoother and not as sharp, or maybe it is more creamy than the 14mm Fuji, and maybe the 32 Zeiss is a bit sharper, or has better micro contrast? I can not tell really the differences.'

So another reject lens?, or is this going to turn into a pattern? I did write in a previous post that I believe Zeiss has a patchy record when it comes to lenses. Some are great, some are not so great, but from the raw samples from DSLR Magazine, these Touits are definitely in the latter catergory. I guess the more we see, the more we can make a judgement. But it did occur to me that naming a lens range after a parrot wasn't exactly a great start! (Thought I'd put that in in case anyone doesn't get the reference in the heading. 'Sick as a Touit (parrot?)' No? OK please yourselves.

However, speaking of judgements, I've already made one of my own. The Nikon 1 V1 files I have are capable of incredible sharpness at base ISO, with a superb eye-popping colour rendition that suits what I do perfectly. The weather has changed here (for the worse of course!) and that has given me a chance to get to grips with editing the huge number of images I took when the sun did come out. And the ones that impress me the most, again and again are my Nikon 1 images. They look great. I've already uploaded lots of them to picture libraries and they are already selling.

I did have a look and a feel of the Nikon 1 V2, and while it has a better layout, I didn't like it as much as the V1. Added to the fact that all the raw samples from the V2 that I've seen and processed look to have more luminance noise at low ISO's and considering what I can get with upsized files from the V1, I see little point in buying one, though with my record of changing my mind, don't rule that out.

Using the Nikon 1 lenses I have I just love the 6.7-13mm wide-angle zoom and 30-110mm telephoto zooms. Both are seriously good lenses and produce files that I've only ever seen bettered in terms of sharpness by the Sigma DP Merrills I had. It just makes me think about whether I'm the only person to have noticed this.

Does everybody just shoot jpgs. with the V1? (Which are not very impressive I must say) or is it really some kind of 'secret wonder camera' that is only bought by family snapshooters and completely ignored by 'serious' photographers? To be honest, I don't really care. I know it works for me and works seriously well. Apart from the fact that the system is light and small, yet beautifully made, it is a joy to use. And while I may not rate it aesthetically and may be buying a camera that was so unsuccesful that it has to be heavily discounted to get it off the shelves I actually love it. Well, not it as such, its pretty much a black box, but love what it produces. When I decide which one of the 10-100mm zooms to get I will pretty much have a complete set of lenses and even if Nikon wind the whole thing up tomorrow, I'll still think I'm onto a winner. In terms of what its all cost me so far its less than 1 and 1/2 Touits and I'm pretty sure on what I've seen so far that I got the better deal.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Sick as a Touit

2013-05-14T00:00:00.000+01:00

Via FujiRumors there is access to a zip file of images from the Zeiss Touit lenses for the Fuji X series. These are raw files and they are seriously underwhelming to me. The 12mm results are actually somewhat soft. If these are how the final production models are going to perform then I think there may be a somewhat heated debate as to exactly how Zeiss justify their price. Certainly to my eyes no better than the Fuji lenses available for the system and probably somewhat worse.

There is a different take at SonyAlphaRumors - link here.

'Zeiss 12mm f/2.8:
The graph on top shows the sharpness of the lens. And the tester says that “the performance, both in the center and in the corners is spectacular“. Also the distortion and vignetting are very well controlled and almost non visible.'

If this is indeed what the testers said then either they need glasses and / or they have a different definition to me as to what constitutes 'spectacular'. See what you think.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Camera assessment - Part 3 - The Fuji X-E1

2013-05-12T01:41:00.002+01:00

There are cameras that I like, and look good but take so-so pictures, there are cameras that take great pictures, handle well but are somewhat aesthetically challenged, there are cameras that look good and take great pictures but are a pain to use. Then there is the Fuji X-E1. Pretty close to everything I want in a camera and looks sexy too. But there are some problems for me.

THINGS THAT WORK FOR ME

Great Image Quality - now including Raw processing via Aperture and / or Photoshop.
Wonderful accurate colour.
Gorgeous retro design.
Nicely laid out controls.
Much simpler menu system than X-Pro 1.
Polarised sunglasses friendly EVF and screen.
Great lenses. (Though see later)

THINGS THAT DON'T WORK FOR ME

Limp shutter.
Poor battery life and no accurate battery meter.
So-so video.
No focus peaking. Manual focusing difficult at times.
Lens range (See below)

Whether or not a lens system is a good one depends on whether it has the lenses you want. In the main the X-E1 does for me at the short and mid-range focal lenghths, but the telephoto end is limited to one large heavy zoom which isn't even in the shops yet. I'm currently using a Voigtlander 90mm m-mount lens with an adapter, but manually focusing it with no focus peaking can be difficult. I'm sure the Fuji zoom will be good and the reviews indicate that it is, but walking with that plus the 18-55mm for the distances I do wouldn't be comfortable.

The video also needs improving, as I believe Fuji could offer a really good video option if they tried and the battery life is not good. A spare is essential for any prolonged shooting and there is no % remaining battery meter.

The X-E1 is a much better camera for me however than the X-Pro 1. Its simpler and easier to use and addresses some of the problems of the X-Pro 1, such as the lack of a dioptre adjustment for the EVF. I've written before that this could be a system that pretty much handles everything, but for me, despite the fact that I love the looks, there is still much of an air of 'enthusiast plaything' about it. The Fuji X-Trans sensor and Fuji's capacity to produce great lenses* should be taking this into new territory, as a top of the range mirrorless camera, giving us all a worthy alternative to the DSLR. In the end however my Nikon 1 V1 actually has more 'pro' like features as standard. Long-lasting battery, proper battery meter, superb video, visual confirmation for manual focusing (the famous Nikon white dot) with a great set of lenses. With the V1's capability for upsizing there isn't a lot the Fuji can offer me as an advantage. However, if you work in low light and use high ISO's then the Fuji obviously wins out there.

The X-E1 is certainly a less frustrating camera than the X-Pro 1, but frustrating is what I find it. I'm constantly having this 'battle' with Fuji cameras, in that I love the image quality they produce and aesthetically they look great, but they just don't seem to get some of the basics right. Its all very well having fancy viewfinders and lots of retro knobs and dials, but if they can't produce a battery that lasts all day and lets me know how much power is left, then something is wrong somewhere.

*It seems from initial reviews that the Zeiss lenses for the X-system might not actually be better than what Fuji produce, in terms of sharpness. Some might be surprised by this, but personally I'm not. Firstly not all Zeiss lenses are good, in fact some of them are downright bad. (Their 18mm's for example) They also seem to produce some pretty indifferent AF offerings for camera systems. Their offerings for both the Sony Alpha and NEX systems have struck me as being pretty average. I never liked the 24mm f/1.8 for the NEX system, for example. I thought it was significantly overpriced for what it delivered. I've had some Zeiss lenses (m-mount) that are superb, but I've had some that were average, at best. All of the Fuji lenses I've used, 18mm, 35mm, 60mm and 18-55mm have been superb, with excellent optical performance and build quality. Maybe its because Fuji feel they have something to prove, wheras Zeiss seemingly feel they don't. We will see with more reviews and more samples what the truth actually is.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Camera assessment - Part 2 - The Nikon 1 V1

2013-05-10T11:24:00.001+01:00

Its pretty clear by now that I really rate this camera. From ignoring it and indeed being very rude about the whole concept I have become a serious fanboy and champion it at every opportunity. I'm actually not the only one. Both Thom Hogan and Steve Huff (Awesome!) have written very complementary pieces about it and both use the system on a regular basis. The combination of build quality, stellar lenses, photographer-friendly features and, at low ISO's, stunning image quality have impressed me no end and continue to do so the more I use the system.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

Construction.
Handling (in the main).
Lens quality, both in terms of build and optical exellence.
Clear and unbloated menu system.
Lack of gimmicks (Apart from a silly slow motion feature)
Really superb video output.
Large depth of field from the small sensor.
Capacity for very long lenses using Nikon F lenses via the adapter.
Top class kit lenses. The 30-110mm is the best lens of its type I've ever used.
Lens / Sensor combination produces incredibly sharp results.
The Aptina sensor also has superb colour depth.
Electronic shutter for totally silent operation.
Long battery life with the same battery as I use in my D800E and D7100.
Surprisingly good high ISO results considering the size of the sensor.
Now after being out for while, the price has tumbled and is excellent value.
Excellent AF in good light.
Small.
Light.
Handles very well with the optional grip.
Sharp bright screen and EVF.
Battery meter shows % of power left.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK FOR ME

EVF not great with polarised sunglasses.
Too expensive when released.
Ergonomic problems with the Stills / Video selection dial prone to getting moved unknowingly, ditto for the function wheel and selection switch.
Non standard hotshoe.
Future development of system - see below.

Much as I like the V1, I am concerned as to where the system is going after the release of the V2. More pixels, which from the raw samples I've worked with seems to introduce more noise. The changing of the battery to a less powerful model which requires carrying spares. I also believe that its smaller and lighter, and I'm hoping to have a look at one today to see how it compares.

Why I like the V1 so much is the 'professional' feel that is unusual in such a small camera. I also feel that the pixel count is well matched to the sensor which results in very 'clean' images that can be upsized quite dramatically. Following on from my previous article on this, I am now upsizing my V1 images to 25MP - 72MB and they are still being accepted by my most fussy picture libraries. I am unsure as to whether the V2 can do the same, and would be interested in the views of anyone who has used both.

Coming to the system late, I'm not that aware of why Nikon made the changes that they have. As can be seen from my lists above, there was not much I would have changed. However pixel count is a great selling point and its no surprise that they have increased this. However it is going to be interesting to see where they go and whether they can get the 14MP sensor performing as well as the 10MP one.

On 10MP, the last camera with this size sensor I used extensively was a Leica M8, and in many ways the V1's output reminds me of that. Apart from the V1 is better. Cleaner and sharper. And indeed cleaner and sharper at its base ISO than any m4/3 or NEX camera I've used. In fact when I blow up my V1 images to 24MP, they look almost identical to what I was getting from my NEX-7. They are that good.

So I continue to rave about the V1 and hope that the V3, if and when it appears will continue with whats been started here. Nikon obviously were serious about the system and I hope they continue to develop it. Otherwise I may have to snap up a few V1's while they are still around.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Camera assessment - Part 1 - The Nikon D7100

2013-05-09T09:49:00.000+01:00

Now that I've had my three relatively new cameras for a while plus some decent weather to use them in, I thought I'd offer my assessment of how I'm getting on with them. The first in this series is the Nikon D7100.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

The unfussy way it just gets on with the job.
24MP
In the Nikon tradition in terms of layout and handling. As far as I'm concerned, top class.
Excellent battery life.
Robust.
Fast, accurate AF.
Access to probably the best lens range currently available.

All above are what I'm come to expect from a Nikon DSLR. Those who use them and upgrade usually have no surprises, and thats a good thing. They are cameras that are built to take pictures first and foremost and while they now shoot pretty good video, that isn't their primary function.

The D7100 is an admirable follow-up to the also excellent D7000. It subtracts the AA filter, raises the pixel count and adds many improvements to what was a pretty good camera anyway.

WHAT DOESN"T WORK FOR ME

The perennial problem of trying to find lenses that offer top class image quality but aren't heavy and bulky. This is a constant problem I have with DSLR's in general and Nikons in particular. The 18-55mm and 55-200mm are decent enough zooms, but I'm certainly having problems with the telephoto zoom on my D7100. Even stopped down its very disappointing, which is a surprise since it actually works very well with my D800E. I took the pair out yesterday for an extended workout and the 18-55mm shots were great but the 55-200mm was OK, but somewhat disppointing considering what it produces on the D800E.

At the other end, my Sigma 12-24mm works really well. The softish corners are eliminated by the 1.5x crop, but apart from that it produces very crisp results. Here this is a distinct improvement on what it does with my D800E.

I'm not inclined to go the superzoom route with this camera as the bulk and weight is not something I want to cope with. I'm considering the new 28mm and 85mm f/1.8G lenses, but that doesn't give me the longer telephoto option that I use a lot and like very much.

So even though this is something thats a problem for me, its not really anything to do with the camera, which as I've indicated is excellent. I will have decide where to go from here however.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Adobe CC

2013-05-08T08:45:00.001+01:00

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/05/08/Adobe-photoshop-cc

So Adobe are going to cloud based subcriptions for the next version of Photoshop are they? Well as far as I'm concerned they can 'Go forth and multiply' or words to that effect. CS6 is the last time they get any money out of me. I will have nothing to do with a company that tells me how I should work. I will have nothing to do with a company that forces me to do something I do not want to do. They can stuff their 'cloud' where the sun doesn't shine, I want nothing to do with it. I could have written a cogent argument about why this is so wrong and in my opinion, a calamitous mistake, but I thought this short visceral response would suffice.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

NIKON 1 files - dynamic range, upsizing and preparing for picture libraries.

2013-05-06T00:00:00.000+01:00

In a previous post I wrote about preparing images from my Nikon 1 V1 for uploading to picture libraries and how I upsize them.

The reason I do this is both to give my pictures more chance of selling by making them available at larger sizes and secondly as a 'psychological' boost i.e. 'bigger is better'. And yes I know that's not always the case, but many think it is.

What needs to be done initially, of course, is to get a workable exposure. Fortunately the Nikon 1 V1 has excellent metering and I'm rarely struggling with a 'difficult' file.

So here's what I do. Firstly I work on the dynamic range.

DYNAMIC RANGE

The very first thing I do is to produce a 'flat' 'clean' file. I do very little in the actual raw conversion software itself (I use ACR in Photoshop CS6) and have a series of presets that I can apply to all my cameras, making any other adjustments that are necessary.

To this end in ACR I turn all sharpening off, use the tool to remove CA and fringing and apply a small amount of colour noise removal, usually the default setting.

These are screen grabs from ACR.

I also get as much dynamic headroom as I can. For this I use the highlight and shadow sliders and my own custom curves preset.

Using curves I dramatically tone down the highlights and bring up the shadows. This gives me a very neutral 'flat' file that I can work on in Photoshop. which I do my major editing in, no matter what conversion software I use.

The difference in levels between an out of camera jpg. and one of my raw file conversions can be seen here.

The reason I do this is firstly for commercial reasons, i.e. picture libraries are very hot on dynamic range. Since they sell to clients for print reproduction its essential that there is no absolute black or white, neither of which work for printing. Secondly, I much prefer using Photoshop to work on my files, and the amount of sharpening, saturation, contrast etc. that I wish to apply is much better done in that software as far as I'm concerned, since there are a lot more options.

UPSIZING

I've also found that this produces much better files if I choose to upsize a file. Currently I'm sending my Nikon 1 files to libraries upsized to 5150 x 3447 pixels, which is an increase of 133%, produces a file of 50.8MB and is a 17.75MP file size. Again I choose the 50+ MB size for those 'psychological' reasons. Firstly, its slightly bigger than A3 and secondly some libraries show the MP size and 50+MB looks good.

Now in terms of upsizing, once I've got my file with as much dynamic headroom as possible, I immediately upsize it on a preset. This is because I want to see the effects on the file at the size I'm sending it out, and if I need to scale back some of this to preserve quality, then I can immediately see what needs to be done.

I then apply an Auto Contrast setting. Now this isn't the Photoshop preset, but a customised version of one of the options in the levels menu. Again this is avoiding absolute black and white.

I will then do some colour and contrast adjusting and bring some 'punch' back to the image.

I don't apply this to all of the image. In fact I use Quick Mask to eliminate sky and light areas of the image.

I then use curves again to lighten up the selected area.

After that I use a preset which brings back some colour saturation and contrast.

I then do whatever colour correcting I feel appropriate, in the case adding some magenta to the cyan sky in selective colour.

I may then use the sponge tool to selectively saturate certain areas of the picture. This tool also lightens those areas.

This then gives me a 'punchy' saturated file which is still within the dynamic range limits that I'm seeking to preserve.

Finally, I will add some sharpening. I always keep the pixel size down, which gives me a result I prefer. Again I won't sharpen the whole image. Using Quick Mask again I select the part of the image I want to sharpen. I never sharpen sky areas.

Here is a 100% blowup from what I end up with.

Sounds complicated and I suppose it is, but I can do all of this very quickly, since most of it is saved as Actions in Photoshop and I just press a button to do it. And yes I do this, or something like it for every single image I send to a picture library.

Just out of interest I timed how long it took me to get from this

To this

It was just under 2 minutes, so not so long. As well as doing this for Nikon 1 V1 files I also use it for my other cameras as well. I'm currently upsizing my Fuji X-E1 files to 24MP and my Nikon D7100 files to 36MP. And as I say, these are being accepted by the image libraries I upload to. I do remove the exif data when I do this, so that the editors make their decision on what they see, rather than the camera model. They seem happy with what I produce, so it works all round.

Now I'm not saying this is some great way files should be processed and edited and I've made it clear that this is for a specific purpose. It does however produce images I personally like. I'm fond of saturated and 'punchy' images as you would guess from what I post.

All of this was developed when I was shooting a lot on m4/3, and I had to find a way of coming up with images that looked good but didn't make them unacceptable to libraries. The process transfers very well to the Nikon 1 files and I've also taken advantage of the improvements in ACR over the years.

This does all show, I think, just what a Nikon 1 file is capable of and the amount of flexibility it has and its ability to be printed at A3. Again I've been surprised by how comfortably these files handle what I put them through and this once again proves the point that its not the amount of pixels you have in an image, but just how well they are captured in the camera. And again it shows me that the Nikon 1 system, at least the 28MB versions of it (since thats all I've used), does this very well and perhaps better than I had a right to expect.

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.

To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Stunt photography

2013-05-05T14:40:00.000+01:00

Frank Zappa once described Steve Vai as someone who played 'Stunt Guitar'. These days we have 'Stunt Photography'. We've all seen it, lots of wacky angles, no depth of field, close ups of shoelaces, that sort of thing. Its beloved in the forums, in photo magazines and by picture libraries who stick it on the front pages of their websites.

Its supposed to be 'Artistic' 'Creative' 'Modern' 'Cutting edge' etc. etc. But to me it is more like:-

'I've got a f/1 lens and I'm going to use it'

'I took this shot of the cat with a high speed strobe flash, shortly before it walked into the lawn mower'

'This shot of my nose hair taken with a fish-eye lens is a metaphor for the alienation and anomie of modern city life'

'I'm rubbish at anything else so I shot this picture of my fridge with a Lomo'

'I went to this art photography exhibition and all the pictures looked like when I press the shutter by mistake. I used to throw them away but now its obvious I'm a subliminal artist'

'I read this article that sharpness was a bourgeois concept, so I don't bother to focus anymore and my pictures now say so much more'

'I've found this really interesting filter in Photoshop.......'

'Instagrams really cool'

'I took all the pictures for this project on the dustbins in my street with a mobile phone. I've been shortlisted for an arts bursary'

'If you can't tell what my pictures are of, you just don't understand art'

'Its a multi-stitch panorama taken with a 400mm lens 3 feet from the Houses of Parliament. It comprises 360,000 shots and it took 4 years to stitch together'

'I sawed off half of one the legs of my tripod because I just couldn't stand to take those boring shots of buildings anymore where all the verticals are straight'

'That effect was created by supergluing a piece of blutack to the front of the lens'

'I took these shots having removed the lens'

'I find discarded pieces of chewing gum really interesting'

'I decided to take all of these portraits from the back to reveal peoples outer souls'

'I can't really remember how I came to take this picture. Its the inside of my camera bag I think'

'I've found another really interesting filter in Photoshop.....'

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

Fuji X-E1 - love is blind

2013-05-05T12:00:00.000+01:00

So of the four cameras I now own, which is the one I like using the most? Well its the only non-Nikon, the Fuji X-E1. Its certainly not the easiest and quickest to use and getting the best out of the files via Aperture and photoshop is certainly not the simplest, but my retro fetish still gets the better of me. I just love using the X-E1 and it takes all my willpower to stop getting rid of everything else and buying an X-Pro1 to go with it and all the lenses, and maybe a X100S as well. Certainly the upcoming Zeiss 12mm is very enticing and despite all my financial resolutions I think I have to have one! Plus the Really Right Stuff L-Plate grips fitted to the Fuji X cameras look great.

This is a bit like my love affair / infatuation with the Olympus Pens, style over content, aesthetics over usability, or whatever it is. I'm just a sucker for a Lookaleica I guess and its not 'helped' by the fact that the X-Trans sensor would allow me to pretty much shoot anything anywhere.

We like what we like I guess and a Leica M is out of the question for the time being, so this is the next best thing, or probably more than that since the Fuji X's are certainly more versatile.

I try and I try but I can't love my Nikons, neither the DSLR's or the Nikon 1. Even though when I'm out shooting with them I think they are great to use and if I'm using a Fuji I'm often swearing at it. My experience with the X-Pro1 was 'interesting' to say the least. I may get overwhelmed by this desire to work exclusively with 'faux rangefinders', but I'm holding out for the moment.

It is however a worrying sign that when I get a spare moment I keep looking at pictures of Fuji's on the internet or start trying another way of processing the X files. I was even playing with the Fuji - Silkypix software yesterday. I know if I go to Fuji exclusively I'll probably regret it, but somehow that doesn't seem to matter, and I may yet succumb.

Be strong. One day at a time!

All original material on this blog is © Soundimageplus.
To comment join the Soundimageplus Blog Readers Group at Google+

For discussion - join me over at Google+

about soundimageplus

follow on twitter

follow on facebook

follow by email soundimageplus blog readers pictures group

soundimageplus on YouTube

soundimageplus on Vimeo
shutterstock portfolio
Stock photography by ImagesEurope at Alamy

Stock photography by david martyn hughes at Alamy

Stock photography by david hughes at Alamy

The SOUNDIMAGEPLUS blog

What the Duck

Nikon 1 V1 breaks the rules (again!)

Blackberry Q10 camera

Fuji X-E1 and Nikon 1 V1 comparison at ISO 100

Mirrorless sales in Japan.

The 'limitations of DOF'

On the streets with Nikon 1 primes / Why do I like the Nikon 1 SO much?

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD Zoom Video and stills

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD zoom and 10mm f/2.8 - First impressions

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD Zoom and 10mm f/2.8 prime

Nikon 1 10-100mm VR PD zoom - hand held auto everything video and zooming test

Nikon 1 - 10-100mm PD zoom - Interesting discovery

More 100% blowups from the Nikon 1 'garbage sensor'

100% blowups from the Nikon 1's 'garbage sensor'

When does a non-professional camera system become professional?

Sick as a Touit - Part 2 - Nikon 1 better than Fuji + Zeiss?

Sick as a Touit

Camera assessment - Part 3 - The Fuji X-E1

Camera assessment - Part 2 - The Nikon 1 V1

Camera assessment - Part 1 - The Nikon D7100

Adobe CC

NIKON 1 files - dynamic range, upsizing and preparing for picture libraries.

Stunt photography

Fuji X-E1 - love is blind

More Fuji X-E1 Video - still not very good