Friday, September 12, 2008
Spring is coming?
Weather here in Adelaide borders between semi-awesome and uber awesome. It's not freezing cold when I walk back late, and the afternoons are very sunny; easting lunch out in the park under a mellow shade is so relaxing. There's a few late night showers here and there, but I'm looking forward to out looking at some more sights of Adelaide.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Zeiss Ercona I Pictures!!!!
Finally brought the folder home to have some pics taken :) It's been a very good companion at work, something to fiddle with when baking stuff out.
It's actually not too big. Fully folded out is roughly comparable to the D40x with the kit lens, perhaps heavier. Side note: 28mm/2.8 roxxor! And this was tweaked in bibble; was called back to the office so did the rest in a rush.
The lens on my baby is a 105/3.5 Carl Zeiss lens, with a Tessar formula. Woo! (Actually I'm not sure what that is. All I care is I got a CZ on the lens haha :))
The film back opened.... it's pretty spacious since it's designed for 6x9. There is also a cutout available for 6x6, but I didn't bother to acquire it. 6x9 is where I wanna be :)
I did not manage to take a picture, but the viewfinder has a metal mask built in to switch between 6x9 and 6x6. A very very nice feature. Unfortunately, the viewfinder SUCKS ROYALLY if you wear glasses (like me.) - I can barely see the edge of the 6x9. In actual practice, yes, it does suck. But very much sufficient to take pictures.
This is it collasped.... a very amazingly small package for a MF camera! Now this little bugger does not have a rangefinder, so focusing is by guestimation of the distance. So far in my tests, I'm just setting it to the hyperfocal distance mark, and setting the shutter speed to 1/125, and altering the exposure only through the aperture.
While this is not optimum, I personally feel that the 105mm lens will need much care to avoid handshake; a faster shutter speed will help that since I am not going to be tripoding this baby - cause its tripod mount is some wierd type! Given I'm shooting a far away targets only, I hope the hyperfocal marking will be sufficient. From my random test roll (below) - it seems to work well.
Ignoring the horrible white balance... should have used a flash :P Yes, that is how LARGE a 6x9 negative is! Lovely size ain't it? Unfortunately I do not have a loupe handy, so I can't really tell how blurry the images are. But with a naked eye. They are razor sharp. Most are only stopped down to F5.6 (overcast), so I'm actually very impressed by this.
It's actually not too big. Fully folded out is roughly comparable to the D40x with the kit lens, perhaps heavier. Side note: 28mm/2.8 roxxor! And this was tweaked in bibble; was called back to the office so did the rest in a rush.
The lens on my baby is a 105/3.5 Carl Zeiss lens, with a Tessar formula. Woo! (Actually I'm not sure what that is. All I care is I got a CZ on the lens haha :))
The film back opened.... it's pretty spacious since it's designed for 6x9. There is also a cutout available for 6x6, but I didn't bother to acquire it. 6x9 is where I wanna be :)
I did not manage to take a picture, but the viewfinder has a metal mask built in to switch between 6x9 and 6x6. A very very nice feature. Unfortunately, the viewfinder SUCKS ROYALLY if you wear glasses (like me.) - I can barely see the edge of the 6x9. In actual practice, yes, it does suck. But very much sufficient to take pictures.
This is it collasped.... a very amazingly small package for a MF camera! Now this little bugger does not have a rangefinder, so focusing is by guestimation of the distance. So far in my tests, I'm just setting it to the hyperfocal distance mark, and setting the shutter speed to 1/125, and altering the exposure only through the aperture.
While this is not optimum, I personally feel that the 105mm lens will need much care to avoid handshake; a faster shutter speed will help that since I am not going to be tripoding this baby - cause its tripod mount is some wierd type! Given I'm shooting a far away targets only, I hope the hyperfocal marking will be sufficient. From my random test roll (below) - it seems to work well.
Ignoring the horrible white balance... should have used a flash :P Yes, that is how LARGE a 6x9 negative is! Lovely size ain't it? Unfortunately I do not have a loupe handy, so I can't really tell how blurry the images are. But with a naked eye. They are razor sharp. Most are only stopped down to F5.6 (overcast), so I'm actually very impressed by this.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
6x9 slides are HUGE
Just collected my first test roll today (woot! sunny 16 rule still works in oz! :P )
Granted, I've shot 6x6 before, but 6x9 is another thing. I'll post pics soon... I hope :)
Alvin
Granted, I've shot 6x6 before, but 6x9 is another thing. I'll post pics soon... I hope :)
Alvin
Dragonball Z - Uber Westernized or "Hey! Let's Ignore The Fans!?"
Granted, I'm not the most hardcore DBZ fan, but I've read the main manga series and watched loads of the movies, played the games since the very first DBZ rpg on the 8 bit ENS, but the live action move has to be the most uber piece of horror this year. I mean, come on! DBZ has decades of design and look. Let's not throw it out the window?!
Presenting link:
http://kotaku.com/photogallery/dbtrailer/
Observe the first frame. Is that Piccolo (woo! first time using that word... since rarely in SG do we use the english version - we go by the hongkong translated names for the most part) or the borg queen? Seriously. It looks more like something out of a Trek film, not DBZ.
2nd pic - well that has to be wukong. No offense to the casting director or actor himself but.... WHAT?! Wukong was definitely NOT american. Ignoring all the other pictures (is that Mr Welcome To Singapore playing the GuiSian?), the last shot should be that of a dragon ball. Or I do hope it's something else. Because seriously, it reminds me more of the Zodiac Stonse in Final Fantasy Tactics than a dragon ball.
PLEASE. A dragon ball is a bloody transparent sphere with a number of starts in it. That's it. There is no need to uber redesign it.
Now maybe, maybe it may end up like transformers where I would bitch that Megatron wasn't a gun or tank. But the movie did change my mind, and I think the vision of Transformers was good. But in the case of DBZ, it's going to be a wait and see thing. I can't for now accept that radical a change till I watch the film. And going by those jpegs, looks uber low budget.
Bitch bitch bitch.
Presenting link:
http://kotaku.com/photogallery/dbtrailer/
Observe the first frame. Is that Piccolo (woo! first time using that word... since rarely in SG do we use the english version - we go by the hongkong translated names for the most part) or the borg queen? Seriously. It looks more like something out of a Trek film, not DBZ.
2nd pic - well that has to be wukong. No offense to the casting director or actor himself but.... WHAT?! Wukong was definitely NOT american. Ignoring all the other pictures (is that Mr Welcome To Singapore playing the GuiSian?), the last shot should be that of a dragon ball. Or I do hope it's something else. Because seriously, it reminds me more of the Zodiac Stonse in Final Fantasy Tactics than a dragon ball.
PLEASE. A dragon ball is a bloody transparent sphere with a number of starts in it. That's it. There is no need to uber redesign it.
Now maybe, maybe it may end up like transformers where I would bitch that Megatron wasn't a gun or tank. But the movie did change my mind, and I think the vision of Transformers was good. But in the case of DBZ, it's going to be a wait and see thing. I can't for now accept that radical a change till I watch the film. And going by those jpegs, looks uber low budget.
Bitch bitch bitch.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Morialta - again!
Went to Morialta falls again to do the 3 Waterfalls Grand Hike. This time only had a few very light showers, and the weather conditions were totally different.
The trek took us about 4.5 hrs, and that was with stopping here and there for photos. In terms of difficulty, the main trail was pretty easy going, the gradient was gentle for the most part.
Loads of rocky vistas!
If you are in the area, drop by!
Alvin
The trek took us about 4.5 hrs, and that was with stopping here and there for photos. In terms of difficulty, the main trail was pretty easy going, the gradient was gentle for the most part.
Loads of rocky vistas!
If you are in the area, drop by!
Alvin
Nikon 16-85 in da house!
Just got the lens in yesterday; can't wait to bring it out in the field. This is probably considered a prosumer lens model, but it feels so damned good. It's actually quite compact at 16mm; the pictures do not do it justice. It does telescope quite a bit when zoomed into 85mm. It's also quite hefty; about half a kilo. It just reeks of quality. Zoom ring is on the stiffer side, and well damped. Lens hood is also included.
I only did some back/front focusing tests; all came out pretty well. I need to do a field test to confirm. I can see this baby being on my camera 95% of the time. I also noticed that at low shutter speeds, the pictures actually do seem sharper. Could this be the VRII in action?
In other news, my Zeiss Ercona I also arrived at work today (WOOT!) - medium format 6x9s! can't wait. Since my new Nikkor doesn't have a protective filter installed, I may not bring it out too far from the nest, and just bring along the MF folder for this weekend's hike. Can't wait!
Alvin
Monday, August 25, 2008
FF: Crisis Core
Finished running a quick straight through run of Crisis Core, somehow I can't get the same excitement compared to the original FF7. I'm probably just getting old.
Good:
Love the fight sequences. They remind me of Tales of Phantasia, hands on battle not menu pushing. It does add quite a bit of excitement and keeps you on your toes.
FMV: Advent Children Quality. I think those alone would be worth the purchase of the PSP and game.
Story: Pretty much tells the tale of what happens to Cloud and Zack, and the surprising history of the Buster Sword.
So many allusions to FF7. We get to see kid Yuffie, a hint of someone sleeping in a coffin in Shinra manor (LOL!) and meet someone who possibly built 7th Heaven.
Aerith! Woo!
Neutral:
Final Boss fights were not too long or annoying. Unlike some idiot casting supernova and making me really, really bored. Then again, the difficulty level (I was playing normal) was generally pretty good.
One character?! Well the focus is on Zack: SOLDIER 1st Class. Maybe he's that superhuman, who knows. I do miss having companions though.
Not so good:
The game progression felt very linear, it just brings you from mission to mission. Even most of the areas encountered are just straight paths. You get to do loads of side quests but you don't need to travel to do them; just access them from your menus.
Load time perhaps? Given that I've had a DS for a while, the load time does get annoying.
Now that I've done the game through once, I'm going to do it one more time following a FAQ to pick up all the items and summons. I barely had 5 summons, and those are rare. Speaking of which, there must be a Kamen Rider fan somewhere in the production. Because the Chocobo Summon is definitely a Rida Kick!
Alvin
Good:
Love the fight sequences. They remind me of Tales of Phantasia, hands on battle not menu pushing. It does add quite a bit of excitement and keeps you on your toes.
FMV: Advent Children Quality. I think those alone would be worth the purchase of the PSP and game.
Story: Pretty much tells the tale of what happens to Cloud and Zack, and the surprising history of the Buster Sword.
So many allusions to FF7. We get to see kid Yuffie, a hint of someone sleeping in a coffin in Shinra manor (LOL!) and meet someone who possibly built 7th Heaven.
Aerith! Woo!
Neutral:
Final Boss fights were not too long or annoying. Unlike some idiot casting supernova and making me really, really bored. Then again, the difficulty level (I was playing normal) was generally pretty good.
One character?! Well the focus is on Zack: SOLDIER 1st Class. Maybe he's that superhuman, who knows. I do miss having companions though.
Not so good:
The game progression felt very linear, it just brings you from mission to mission. Even most of the areas encountered are just straight paths. You get to do loads of side quests but you don't need to travel to do them; just access them from your menus.
Load time perhaps? Given that I've had a DS for a while, the load time does get annoying.
Now that I've done the game through once, I'm going to do it one more time following a FAQ to pick up all the items and summons. I barely had 5 summons, and those are rare. Speaking of which, there must be a Kamen Rider fan somewhere in the production. Because the Chocobo Summon is definitely a Rida Kick!
Alvin
Friday, August 22, 2008
I think I'm getting old ;)
Previously, I'd play my new games non-stop (nearly) till I complete it. I remember playing FF7 for 19hrs straight, not stopping except for food and bio breaks. I only have two games right now, God Of War and of course, FF: Crisis Core. Somehow, I don't feel the *must play game urge*. Don't get me wrong, both are spectacular games, just that somehow I feel more draw to playing eve-online (offline - since i have no net access...) than either of them. In anycase, I think i should be nearing the end of FF:CC (I'm in Nibelheim, omg, it looks so much better than the original PS1) - can't wait to replay the whole thing with a full guide and do all the side quests.
My 16-85 is arrived in oz, currently in Sydney, so probably I'll get it on Monday or Tuesday. Once that checks out, I'm going to be selling off my D40x outfit. Sob sob. Will miss the little bugger.
Also acquired a 28mm/2.8 - for "low light" (F2.8? Yeah right) and walkaround use. 28*1.5=42mm should be nice. Still awaiting expectantly for my MF folder camera. Gosh I've been on a buying spree lately. Gah.
Alvin
My 16-85 is arrived in oz, currently in Sydney, so probably I'll get it on Monday or Tuesday. Once that checks out, I'm going to be selling off my D40x outfit. Sob sob. Will miss the little bugger.
Also acquired a 28mm/2.8 - for "low light" (F2.8? Yeah right) and walkaround use. 28*1.5=42mm should be nice. Still awaiting expectantly for my MF folder camera. Gosh I've been on a buying spree lately. Gah.
Alvin
Saturday, August 16, 2008
OMG FF ON PSP!
Yes, I'm bloody outdated. But I heard just today that FF: Crisis Core is available on the PSP. And being a fan.... time to bite the bullet and buy yet another mini console ;)
Alvin
Alvin
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Adelaide Weekend Day Trips: Morialta Falls
Morialta Falls is a surprising change in landscape that is only a 20 minute bus ride from the city (check the schedules here: http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/guides/bestplaces/AdHills.html) - it is host to a few waterfalls and amazing tree covered rock terrain.
The first waterfall is very accessible; there are two car parks, one inner carpark that is about 15-20 minutes from the first waterfall. It is best to visit in the wintertime (when it's rainy) to see the waterfalls. In summer, it's bone dry. Once you are bored of the first waterfall (believe me, it's nice up close, but you want to explore more of the park....), take one of the trails and travel a few hundred metres up......
AWESOMENESS!!!!
At magic hour, you get some of the most amazing colors. You have to be there to experience it.
Remember that this is a trail, so bring along proper clothing, water and a small amount of food. You have to be out of the park to catch the 6pm bus, else you will have to wait till 7 for the next one (as we found out. Brr.... cold...)
The first waterfall is very accessible; there are two car parks, one inner carpark that is about 15-20 minutes from the first waterfall. It is best to visit in the wintertime (when it's rainy) to see the waterfalls. In summer, it's bone dry. Once you are bored of the first waterfall (believe me, it's nice up close, but you want to explore more of the park....), take one of the trails and travel a few hundred metres up......
AWESOMENESS!!!!
At magic hour, you get some of the most amazing colors. You have to be there to experience it.
Remember that this is a trail, so bring along proper clothing, water and a small amount of food. You have to be out of the park to catch the 6pm bus, else you will have to wait till 7 for the next one (as we found out. Brr.... cold...)
Adelaide Weekend Day Trips: Hallett Cove
This is a start of a few blog posts about what to do in Adelaide on the weekend for a day tour. As some of you know, I can't drive to save my butt (except 10th scale r/c, where I may be able to put up a fight. Anyways...)
Hallett Cove is a very quiet conservation park located about 40minutes from the Adelaide Railway Station. Buy a Day pass, and jump aboard the Norlunga train (below the Casino)o. Alight at the Hallet Cove station (there is also a Hallet Cove Beach Station, you can do that too, but there are more signs at the earlier Hallett Cove Station). Trains seem to move at half hour intervals, but later in the day they start to move at 1hr intervals, so plan ahead! The train station has alot of time schedules so pick one up.
I spent at least 4 hours there slowly walking the various paths and taking in the sights. The highlights there would probably be the Sugarloaf:
Walking down to the beach (make sure u wear proper shoes - a good part of the beach is solid rock, not sand...) to check out the very interesting rock formations:
And enjoying the view in general. I've loads more, but I haven't yet decided on their final look. These are the few I've printed out that look reasonably good.
The terrain there is very easy going, but not suitable for wheelchair access.
Hallett Cove is a very quiet conservation park located about 40minutes from the Adelaide Railway Station. Buy a Day pass, and jump aboard the Norlunga train (below the Casino)o. Alight at the Hallet Cove station (there is also a Hallet Cove Beach Station, you can do that too, but there are more signs at the earlier Hallett Cove Station). Trains seem to move at half hour intervals, but later in the day they start to move at 1hr intervals, so plan ahead! The train station has alot of time schedules so pick one up.
I spent at least 4 hours there slowly walking the various paths and taking in the sights. The highlights there would probably be the Sugarloaf:
Walking down to the beach (make sure u wear proper shoes - a good part of the beach is solid rock, not sand...) to check out the very interesting rock formations:
And enjoying the view in general. I've loads more, but I haven't yet decided on their final look. These are the few I've printed out that look reasonably good.
The terrain there is very easy going, but not suitable for wheelchair access.
Church
Due to *cough* some unbelievers, I'm going to upload a series of test pics.
This is the church directly besides the Rising Sun Pictures office... thought the composition looked cool and fired of two shots. Processed using Bibble Pro, most of the contrast adjustment was done using Ansel Pro. I then altered Ansel's luminance slider to bring down the color saturation, hopefully giving a faux film look.
This is the church directly besides the Rising Sun Pictures office... thought the composition looked cool and fired of two shots. Processed using Bibble Pro, most of the contrast adjustment was done using Ansel Pro. I then altered Ansel's luminance slider to bring down the color saturation, hopefully giving a faux film look.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Using the D200 and leaving the D40x behind
So... I've been using the D200 on at least 4 day trips around Adelaide, and I think this is THE slr for me (until the replacement for the D300 comes out, then I get the D300 el-cheap! or someone invents the digital version of the Contax G. With a leaf shutter.).
I think the D200 generates noisier real life images compared to the D40x at ISO 400 or greater.
This has been a concern for quite a bit, but honestly, I am very certain this won't be an issue in prints, and even ISO 3200 pics (with horrible noise) shrunk down to web size after a good run of Noise Ninja is generally un-detectable. So. Noise is out of the equation, though I must still say. If you want to pixel peep, get a D40x or newer gen camera.
Apart from that, both cameras supposedly use very similar sensors, and I can't tell what camera did what honestly.
Where the D200 really shines is the pro-build. The auto focus is awesome, 11 focus points helps alot when composing a shot, 5fps drive is also somewhat awesome if less used. I think the thing that I love about the 200 is feel of all the knobs and controls on the body. I can change my ISO (well I'm actually using auto iso but still), WB or Quality settings by holding down one of the holy trinity buttons and then adjusting my thumb wheel. It saves alot of time. The 200 also comes with the motor drive, so. Primes here I come :) RGB histograms also help, plus it has the luminance graph that I rarely use now.
The weather sealing of the camera body also gives me alot of confidence shooting in inclement weather. Last week, I was at Morialta Falls where it was raining on and off. I'm pretty sure if I had the D40x, I would have stuffed the camera in the bag. With the D200, I had the confidence to just shoot in the rain. Sheltered of course, under my hat, not fully exposed in the elements - my 18-55 isn't exactly weather proofed ;) Got some lovely pics, just no time to put them online.
Only downside is the battery life, but oddly my new battery, after 3 cycles, is giving me nearly 400 shots (actually 387) shots with 51% free life. That was today, when I was doing a trail along Hallett Cove Nature Reserve. I only reviewed shots that I thought were important (and problematic) - else I am beginning to understand and trust the matrix meter.
In terms of lens wise, I think the 18-55 is a very good range and should serve anyone very well as a walkaround lens. I did mention in a previous post that I am acquiring the 16-85, which will give me a 24mm equv lens, which I am very certain will see lots of use as I've found myself wanting just a bit more at times today.
I think the D200 generates noisier real life images compared to the D40x at ISO 400 or greater.
This has been a concern for quite a bit, but honestly, I am very certain this won't be an issue in prints, and even ISO 3200 pics (with horrible noise) shrunk down to web size after a good run of Noise Ninja is generally un-detectable. So. Noise is out of the equation, though I must still say. If you want to pixel peep, get a D40x or newer gen camera.
Apart from that, both cameras supposedly use very similar sensors, and I can't tell what camera did what honestly.
Where the D200 really shines is the pro-build. The auto focus is awesome, 11 focus points helps alot when composing a shot, 5fps drive is also somewhat awesome if less used. I think the thing that I love about the 200 is feel of all the knobs and controls on the body. I can change my ISO (well I'm actually using auto iso but still), WB or Quality settings by holding down one of the holy trinity buttons and then adjusting my thumb wheel. It saves alot of time. The 200 also comes with the motor drive, so. Primes here I come :) RGB histograms also help, plus it has the luminance graph that I rarely use now.
The weather sealing of the camera body also gives me alot of confidence shooting in inclement weather. Last week, I was at Morialta Falls where it was raining on and off. I'm pretty sure if I had the D40x, I would have stuffed the camera in the bag. With the D200, I had the confidence to just shoot in the rain. Sheltered of course, under my hat, not fully exposed in the elements - my 18-55 isn't exactly weather proofed ;) Got some lovely pics, just no time to put them online.
Only downside is the battery life, but oddly my new battery, after 3 cycles, is giving me nearly 400 shots (actually 387) shots with 51% free life. That was today, when I was doing a trail along Hallett Cove Nature Reserve. I only reviewed shots that I thought were important (and problematic) - else I am beginning to understand and trust the matrix meter.
In terms of lens wise, I think the 18-55 is a very good range and should serve anyone very well as a walkaround lens. I did mention in a previous post that I am acquiring the 16-85, which will give me a 24mm equv lens, which I am very certain will see lots of use as I've found myself wanting just a bit more at times today.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Sigh. Front focusing Sigma 28mm :(
I've had this idea of shooting with a fast prime in low light for a while, and finally decided to get a Sigma 28mm/1.8 - versus Nikon's own 28/2.8 - why oh why can't Nikon release a fast F1.8 prime like Canon? Sometimes, I do wish I was using a Canon body in order to use their (seemingly) nicer lens line up.
In anycase, my Sigma 28mm 1.8 arrived today in Australia, barely 4 days after I placed the order to B&H Photo on Friday. SWEET!
Unfortunately... did some testing against a chart, and quite annoyed to see it front focus by a few mm. No much yes? But imagine if I were to take a closeup of a bug or flower, and the focus of say, was on the bugs eyes, but the actual picture showed the bugs' mandibles in focus, that is NOT what I want.
In real life tests, results were exactly as determined by the focusing chart - everything was front focusing. This was particularly bad shooting at distance objects at F1.8 as the subjects would be just out of focus :(
I am really sad, as stopped down, this was the sharpest lens I've ever used on my camera. I really wish I could keep a good version of this, but I'm not going to spend time sending this to Sigma for repairs and stuff.
Tischer also reports similar issues with this lens. Given that I know I'm going to be firing this baby off at F1.8 (if not, why buy a fast lens hey?) the front focus is really a bummer. I'm just going to be exchanging it for a 16-85VR, which is a perfect 24-1xx range. Should be a good stepup from my 18-55VR, which I'll sell with my D40x. Ah well.
GW
In anycase, my Sigma 28mm 1.8 arrived today in Australia, barely 4 days after I placed the order to B&H Photo on Friday. SWEET!
Unfortunately... did some testing against a chart, and quite annoyed to see it front focus by a few mm. No much yes? But imagine if I were to take a closeup of a bug or flower, and the focus of say, was on the bugs eyes, but the actual picture showed the bugs' mandibles in focus, that is NOT what I want.
In real life tests, results were exactly as determined by the focusing chart - everything was front focusing. This was particularly bad shooting at distance objects at F1.8 as the subjects would be just out of focus :(
I am really sad, as stopped down, this was the sharpest lens I've ever used on my camera. I really wish I could keep a good version of this, but I'm not going to spend time sending this to Sigma for repairs and stuff.
Tischer also reports similar issues with this lens. Given that I know I'm going to be firing this baby off at F1.8 (if not, why buy a fast lens hey?) the front focus is really a bummer. I'm just going to be exchanging it for a 16-85VR, which is a perfect 24-1xx range. Should be a good stepup from my 18-55VR, which I'll sell with my D40x. Ah well.
GW
Sunday, July 27, 2008
A Taste Of Spice
Was told about this place, a Malaysian restaurant along Gouger street. Gouger street is known in Adelaide for its string of restaurants of all flavors.
I attended a jazz gig at the Dom Polski Centre, where the Black Note Jazz club has events on Fridays. A good acquaintance noticed that I was from Singapore, and recommended me this place. Check it out if you miss home style food!
Marmalade Cirus @ The Gov!
http://picasaweb.google.com/GallenWolf/MarmaladeCirusTheGov
This was about 2 weeks ago at The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel - Marmalade Circus LIVE! My first ever live jazz gig, it's amazing. I'm trying to get as much time to spend at such events.
"Photography" wise, the camera put out a very respectable performance, thanks to the pretty good lighting at the hotel. I only wish I had a lens with more reach, something like a 70-200/2.8 will be awesome, in order to crop closer and have a better shutter speed. Alots of my shots were in good shape, handshake wise, but the low shutter speed of the slow lens meant any movements by the musicians made them a blur.
Slowly updating stuff.... first up. Shots from the zoo with my new Nikon 55-200 VR
http://picasaweb.google.com/GallenWolf/AdelaideZoo
This is my second outing with the D200 - the last one was last week to Barossa Valley... in the rain. Got some nice memories, but am currently still struggling to understand how the exposure metering works on the D200, the controls, and how to process the pics in Bibble Pro.
Spent a good chunk of the morning shooting at random, understanding the matrix meter. It seems that when the contrast is within the capture range, the exposure is 100% spot on. But when dealing with high contrast scenes, I will need to take more time to ensure a good exposure. The following pics were taken with the matrix meter with no exposure compensation, and it's a relatively good fun shoot.
This is also my first time having the 55-200VR on my camera for an extended amount of time. Most of the pics only had cropping to fit it into a square due to the close range of the animals, but I would have wished for a 300mm or longer lens to really frame it close (see the wild dog shot) Still, I was having a really hard time dealing with camera shake, VR or not. While it works wonders for static objects, shooting moving objects at F5.6 in low light has me bumping the iso up to 800, sometimes even 1600 just to get a high enough shutter speed so that motion blur would be more acceptable.
In terms of lens quality, I am really surprised by this kit lens. It picks out details very well, and corner to corner is very sharp.
Also figured out how to use the AF-C (Continuous AF) mode - it's kinda not my kind of mode as it doesn't have a focus confirmation beep, so I do tend to be antsy using it. But even with the el-cheapo lens, the D200 and it tracked many of the animals, especially like the pacing Leopards and Lions, very, very well. I can't wait to take this guy one day to a rally course. (Of course by then I'm hoping to loan a nice 70-200 F2.8 VR :P )
D200 rocks. I can't imagine how the guys with a D300 are enjoying it!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Ehehehehe newer toy! Nikon D200
I think everyone is selling their cameras just because the D300, D3 and D700 are out/on the way here. Do I lust for one of them? Hell yes. Can I afford them? Hell no. I'd rather spend the cash (which is non-existent) on them on a tour. Do I need one? Hell no. Especially not the D3 - since I'm a wimp at carrying heavy stuff.
But the net result is - lots of people are selling their D200s away (my old dream camera - no longer a dream camera sadly. Because I got one :P ) - which, right now is a superb buyer's market for DX lenses and older bodies!
So here's my latest toy, taken with my D40x:
Woo! D200! Observe the exposure. Next:
My D40x + 10-20mm taken by the D200. Both cameras are set to EV0, Aperture Priority. The D200 meters the scene darker. Which, in my opinion feels better - if darker overall - the black blacks stay black. and the lcd is less blown out. Scientific yah? Well one of the key reasons I wanted the D200 was the supposedly better meter. This test is obviously not conclusive of anything - hopefully this weekend will be clear skies, so I can go out and shoot shoot shoot :)
Now the D40x was about a year in the market. But the D200 was out in 2005. The thing that made me hesitant about getting a D200 was high ISO noise. Let's see the 3200iso (HI-1 Boost) from the D40x:
And now the D200's boosted 3200 mode:
Very similar, but the D40x has the edge. I think. But that edge is minuscule. Next, using Bibble 4.10 and Noise Ninja set to 10:
Finally, the D200 with Noise Ninja also at 10:
The noise reduction with Noise Ninja probably went overboard - I just switched on NN, and exported the image, thinking back I shoulda tweaked abit.
In any case, in my newbie eyes, the D200, oldie but goodie, is still able to keep up with the D40x which supposedly has better noise reduction algorithms. The net result of this is that, I am not in the least bit afraid to push to ISO 3200, so long as I can get the shot. The 4 crops above are 100% crops straight out of Bibble, so you can see it's not too bad.
I've only got the camera for a few hours, only browsed through the first few pages of the manual. Man, this camera is so danged complex. Much more dials and levers and what not. Which allows one to change settings very much faster than my 40x - with it's push a button, twirl the command dial style. That said, the D40x is no way bad. It is what it is, a superb entry level DSLR.
AF speed using the 18-55VR kit lens is amazingly faster and more accurate. Note that I haven't yet fussed with the AF settings, so I'm not sure entirely what's up. Now the 5FPS shooting speed is SCARY. I was passed the camera with it set to C-HI mode, and it gave me quite a shock when pushing down the shutter snapped off a few shots. The shutter button is also an entirely different affair. It is softer to engage, and I'm sure this allows one to engage the shutter with less camera shake.
While I'm gushing all over this baby (did I mention it was my dream camera?) - no real photography has been done with it. So I may be cursing and swearing once I come back this weekend. Which reminds me, my new LCD arrived. Woot! Can't wait to process stuff in Bibble Pro.
PS: Anyone who hasn't tried Bibble has to try it. It doesn't have the halo artifacts you get with Lightroom or Capture NX when you push the fill light too far. I recently evaluated a whole chunk of raw processors (LR, NX, LightZone, Bibble, DxO) and decided to go with Bibble. Best quality I could push from all the processors, and the price is well. Awesome :)
But the net result is - lots of people are selling their D200s away (my old dream camera - no longer a dream camera sadly. Because I got one :P ) - which, right now is a superb buyer's market for DX lenses and older bodies!
So here's my latest toy, taken with my D40x:
Woo! D200! Observe the exposure. Next:
My D40x + 10-20mm taken by the D200. Both cameras are set to EV0, Aperture Priority. The D200 meters the scene darker. Which, in my opinion feels better - if darker overall - the black blacks stay black. and the lcd is less blown out. Scientific yah? Well one of the key reasons I wanted the D200 was the supposedly better meter. This test is obviously not conclusive of anything - hopefully this weekend will be clear skies, so I can go out and shoot shoot shoot :)
Now the D40x was about a year in the market. But the D200 was out in 2005. The thing that made me hesitant about getting a D200 was high ISO noise. Let's see the 3200iso (HI-1 Boost) from the D40x:
And now the D200's boosted 3200 mode:
Very similar, but the D40x has the edge. I think. But that edge is minuscule. Next, using Bibble 4.10 and Noise Ninja set to 10:
Finally, the D200 with Noise Ninja also at 10:
The noise reduction with Noise Ninja probably went overboard - I just switched on NN, and exported the image, thinking back I shoulda tweaked abit.
In any case, in my newbie eyes, the D200, oldie but goodie, is still able to keep up with the D40x which supposedly has better noise reduction algorithms. The net result of this is that, I am not in the least bit afraid to push to ISO 3200, so long as I can get the shot. The 4 crops above are 100% crops straight out of Bibble, so you can see it's not too bad.
I've only got the camera for a few hours, only browsed through the first few pages of the manual. Man, this camera is so danged complex. Much more dials and levers and what not. Which allows one to change settings very much faster than my 40x - with it's push a button, twirl the command dial style. That said, the D40x is no way bad. It is what it is, a superb entry level DSLR.
AF speed using the 18-55VR kit lens is amazingly faster and more accurate. Note that I haven't yet fussed with the AF settings, so I'm not sure entirely what's up. Now the 5FPS shooting speed is SCARY. I was passed the camera with it set to C-HI mode, and it gave me quite a shock when pushing down the shutter snapped off a few shots. The shutter button is also an entirely different affair. It is softer to engage, and I'm sure this allows one to engage the shutter with less camera shake.
While I'm gushing all over this baby (did I mention it was my dream camera?) - no real photography has been done with it. So I may be cursing and swearing once I come back this weekend. Which reminds me, my new LCD arrived. Woot! Can't wait to process stuff in Bibble Pro.
PS: Anyone who hasn't tried Bibble has to try it. It doesn't have the halo artifacts you get with Lightroom or Capture NX when you push the fill light too far. I recently evaluated a whole chunk of raw processors (LR, NX, LightZone, Bibble, DxO) and decided to go with Bibble. Best quality I could push from all the processors, and the price is well. Awesome :)
Sunday, July 06, 2008
New toy: Sigma 10-20mm X)
I've been using mostly 28-70 zooms on my film SLR, and 40-50mms on my RFs. Rarely do I even use the 70+mm range, though I'm always wanting.
Yesterday, a little gem popped up on ebay - Sigma's 10-20mm - which, on my D40x gives me like 17mm lens (!!!!) something I've never ever used before. Sure, I'd lust for a nice 12mm to be on my imaginary R8 - but that's not likely to happen in the next 15 years. I lucked out and got a really nice copy.
I was pixel peeping a bit with shots on the 10mm at F4 and F8, they seemed very sharp throughout. I can't wait to get this baby on a field test =)
GW
Yesterday, a little gem popped up on ebay - Sigma's 10-20mm - which, on my D40x gives me like 17mm lens (!!!!) something I've never ever used before. Sure, I'd lust for a nice 12mm to be on my imaginary R8 - but that's not likely to happen in the next 15 years. I lucked out and got a really nice copy.
I was pixel peeping a bit with shots on the 10mm at F4 and F8, they seemed very sharp throughout. I can't wait to get this baby on a field test =)
GW
Hancock, Kung Fu Panda
I was expecting quite a bit from Hancock - Will Smith's latest film - and for a good while, it lived up to the trailer. Till halfway through the film, it's like they suddenly changed the director and scriptwriter to a bunch of baboon hammering on macs. What were they thinking?! The story just went downhill - bad. Granted, the fx was awesome, but only when it's not willy-nilly thrown in. Gah.
Kung Fu Panda, otoh. AWESOME. It's awesomeness overexposes sooo many other films, even probably the entire shrek line. (Shrek seriously should have been done with the first flick.) Story wise, no complaints. CG and fx wise. No either. It's a great flick! Watch it!
Kung Fu Panda, otoh. AWESOME. It's awesomeness overexposes sooo many other films, even probably the entire shrek line. (Shrek seriously should have been done with the first flick.) Story wise, no complaints. CG and fx wise. No either. It's a great flick! Watch it!
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