Thank you

Sony RX1

Hi everyone.  I've been shooting with the Sony RX1 for a little more than a week and am still working on the review.  I thought I could finish it yesterday but there's quite a bit to say about this camera, and I wanted to do a detailed post as it deserves.

As a teaser, I will also be doing a 3-way shootout for fans of the ~35mm focal length: the Sony RX1, the Nikon D600 with Sigma 35 1.4, and a Panasonic 20 1.7.  I'll leave it for you all to guess which body the 20 1.7 will be paired with (even Mohammad doesn't know :) ).

In the meantime as the year comes to a close, I just wanted to say on behalf of Mohammad and myself, thank you for your readership and support.  Thank you also for the comments and suggestions, which we have taken to heart to improve this blog for you.  We wish you all a Happy New Year!

Sony RX1

Fisheye Fun

This will be a short post, remember the fisheye lens I bought a while ago?

I have been having some fun with it, and I want to share one picture with you here. We had a team outing at work a couple of weeks ago, and I was one of the event organizers (that's why -as you'll see- I was wearing a high visibility vest), I was also taking pictures for the day. I took the OM-D and three lenses, the 12-50 for group shots, the 75mm for candid portraits, and the fisheye for some fun.

The photo you see above was taken by mounting the camera on a monopod, raising it high above the net, and using my Yongnuo RF-603 trigger to release the shutter. I was shooting at f/8 and 7 fps (the camera can reach 9 fps, but then the image stabilization would be off). I wish the camera's LCD would tilt 90 degrees downwards (it only reaches ~ 45 degrees) so that I can see it from below. I composed the image as best as I can, then I watched the game and use the trigger when I thought there was good action. Some friend took a picture of me while I was shooting a different game, but it's the same concept.

Posted with Blogsy

A Quick, Simple 2/3 Lights Setup

The final result

 

I received a request from an anonymous commenter to show the lighting setup and the processing done to a picture of my daughter wearing a scarf. And since I didn't have any BTS pictures of the setup, I decided to shoot a similar picture, in the same place, with the same scarf, and show the lighting steps as I progressed. Click through to read the rest.

Sony RX1: Intimacy

In my previous post, I mentioned that I saw a great deal for the Olympus E-PL3.  I had been curious about Micro Four Thirds because of its fast autofocus (at least for still subjects) so I ordered one, and I was looking forward to trying it out.  Instead, my plans took an unexpected detour...

Yup.  I got the Sony RX1, the full frame point-and-shoot.  In this post I'll discuss how I ended up with it, and then I'll talk about my first impressions.

Olympus E-PL3 with 14-42 Lens $199; Moving from Nikon to MFT?

I saw on 43rumors.com that the Olympus E-PL3 was being sold at Newegg for just $199 with the 14-42 kit lens included.  I checked it out and it was real.

Sigma 18-35 1.8 Revisited; Where to Get It

Back in April of this year, Sigma surprised everyone by announcing the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, the first zoom lens for a large sensor that had such a wide constant f/1.8 aperture.  Some even thought it was a late April Fool's announcement.  But it was real. 

 

Then people wondered what kind of image quality compromises we would have to put up with to get such a fast lens.  When DXO tested the lens in September, everyone was astounded that not only was the Sigma 18-35 the fastest zoom lens, it was also the sharpest APS-C zoom ever.  In fact, at its least sharp focal length, 35mm, it was almost as sharp as the legendary Sigma 35 1.4.

 

But at the end of the day, I decided not to get one.  The Sigma 18-35 1.8 on APS-C has a depth of field that is like a 24-50 f/2.8 on full frame, and I already had the excellent Nikon 28-70 f/2.8, plus the Sigma 35 1.4, and I would prefer either one to a 24-50 2.8 full frame lens.  So I passed on it.

 

Meanwhile I still enjoyed the Sigma 35 1.4.  It's super sharp at any aperture, has a distinctively shallow DOF, has gorgeous bokeh, and has a very versatile and useful focal length.  It's my second-favorite full frame lens (behind the Nikon 85 1.8G), only because the autofocus was inconsistent (sometimes accurate, sometimes not).  It didn't help that the Nikon D600 has a small AF area.  At the same time, using the 35 1.4 on the D600 precluded me from using the 85 1.8 on it at the same time.  So I started looking for other alternatives that would solve both autofocus issues, such as the Sony RX1 (which has 35mm f/2.0) or perhaps the Sony A7 or A7R (if they could get Sigma's support).

 

Enter the Sigma 18-35 1.8.

 

Apparently, the Sigma 18-35 has a trick:  it can be used on full frame at 35mm.  I've had APS-C lenses that were usable on full frame at longer focal lengths, such as the Tokina 11-16 2.8 and the Tokina 10-17.  I haven't seen that with any of my previous Sigma lenses, such as the Sigma 10-20, or 50-150 non-OS.  But someone posted a sample of the 18-35 @ 35mm on full frame (a Canon 5D2): http://www.flickr.com/photos/srontgorrth/9254611601/  

 

It looks pretty good!  If the Sigma 18-35 is usable on full frame, then I could use it by itself on the D600 if I want to use just 35mm, and its aperture would almost be as wide as the 35 1.4, and if I want a 2-lens setup, I could use the 85 1.8G on the D600 and the 18-35 on the D7000. :)  No I wouldn't get the same amount of background blur at 24mm f/1.8 on the D7000 as the 35 1.4 on full frame, but at least if I really wanted to have a blurred background I could use the 18-35 at 35mm f/1.8 on the D7000 (with a change in perspective).

 

My concern is how the corners look at 35mm on full frame.  On the Tokina 11-16, the corners were very soft on full frame.  On the Tokina 10-17 fisheye, the corners were marginal.  With the 18-35, the corners look at least usable at laptop viewing sizes (see the tire on the bottom right corner of the sample).  So this solution might actually work for me.

EDIT: saw this comparison of vignetting (the 28mm and 35mm no-hood look like they might be mixed up) http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Comparisons/Sigma-18-35mm-f-1.8-DC-HSM-Lens.aspx#FULLFRAME  Also, I couldn't evaluate the corner sharpness from these samples.

 

WHERE YOU CAN GET IT

 

The Canon mount of the Sigma 18-35 is readily available but the Nikon mount is hard to find right now.  It's available online but only gray market (therefore no support), or at significant premiums.  Meanwhile if you're interested in this lens you might check your local camera store.  In Los Angeles, Samys has it for the MSRP of $799 (plus tax).  Other local stores might have it as well.  I sold my Nikon 28-70 2.8 and actually placed a deposit on the 18-35, but I think I'm going to have to wait due to many big expenses (including property taxes).  When I can sell more of my stuff perhaps I will try it out.

Speedlight Modifiers - 50% discount at Fotodiox

Fotodiox has a deal on speedlight modifiers, just for today.  The kit includes:

 

1x 18" Beauty Dish

1x 14" Hexagon Softbox

1x 6"x8" Diffuser Softbox

1x 6"x8" 50 Degree Light Grid

1x 10 Degree Snoot

1x 20 Degree Snoot

1x Popup Flash Diffuser

 

For today (12/5/13), the kit is $67.48, half off its regular price of $134.95.

 

I haven't tested any of them myself, but they seem similar to the Speedlight Pro Kit, which has been out for a few years now and does have samples, and was even tested by David Hobby.  There's also a more detailed review here.  Again, this Fotodiox kit is not Speedlight Pro Kit but looks pretty similar, so I think they probably function similarly.

 

Note: We're not affiliated with Fotodiox and receive no compensation for the links here.

Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 Mini Review

 

My iPad is back, hurrah, now I can use the brilliant Blogsy app and post more frequently. It's a silver iPad Air with the handsome looking iOS 7 (although some apps still look old fashioned, and uses the old keyboard, hmm, like Blogsy for example).

 

Today I will show you a few of my favorite pictures taken with the Olympus 45 1.8, one of the best lenses you could ever get for your MFT camera. Hit the jump for the full post.

Evening Portraits with Flash

I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend.  My parents came to visit and we had dinner at a resort called Terranea in a suburb of Los Angeles.  I took a few shots, and this time I used flash.  I'll discuss the approaches I used for three scenarios: sunset, an outdoor dinner, and a fireplace.