Improving Color Consistency with the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport

INTRODUCTION
Different cameras see color differently - even within the same brand.  Color accuracy is not just a matter of getting the correct white balance.  Different sensors simply render color differently.  You don't have to take my word for it.  Check out the test below.

One week in Italy (Part 1: Rome)

We just got back from a weeklong vacation Italy, my first visit to this beautiful country. In this three-part post, I will discuss the places we visited, beginning with Rome, then Florence, and finally Venice. I will also discuss the cameras and lenses I used, and how well they each performed.

Allora...

Streets of Rome
Olympus Stylus 1

Sony announces a7RII, RX10m2, RX100m4!

Press release for A7RII here

Press release for RX10 and RX100 here

 

A7RII highlights:

42mp resolution with BSI sensor

Hybrid AF (40% faster than a7R) with 399 AF points

5-axis in-body image stabilization

4k recording with digital zoom
electronic first curtain shutter (to eliminate shutter shock) and option for totally silent shutter
Sony's dedicated page for A7RII here

This makes me think that the a6000's successor will likely have IBIS as well (following the trend of the A7II and A7RII), and might also have a BSI sensor.  Sonyalpharumors.com reports that it's been delayed due to overheating issues, which sounds to me like it might also have 4k recording.

Re autofocus with 3rd party lenses, Mark Weir (Sony's Senior Technology Manager) supposedly claims that Canon lenses focus faster on the A7RII that on Canon bodies (!).  If true, that would be a game changer...  And I hope it's also true for other makers' lenses as well!

Imaging Resource's Dave Etchells had this to say:
"I got hands-on with the A7R II and a Canon 24-70mm connected via a Metabones adapter that had the CPU in it to translate the AF signals. This was in a fairly dimly-lit conference room, and it was pretty dang quick (really quite fast, especially given the relatively low light level), when hopping back and forth between objects that were within a moderate range of distances from the camera. In cases where the subject was very far OOF, though, it was much slower sorting it out, and would often hunt in the wrong direction, hit the focus stop, and then go back. AFAIK, these samples were all pretty early firmware, and as noted, it was a pretty low-light situation, so that hunting behavior may not be representative of final production. When the subject wasn't *too* far OOF, it seemed very quick indeed.

We'll obviously have to see how the production samples test under controlled conditions, but this really could be a breakthrough of sorts for Sony, have a lot of impact on the industry, and put a lot of pressure on Canon and Nikon. People with collections of Canon and Nikon glass will suddenly have a non-Canon or Nikon option for using them."

Dave's observations echo those made by DPReview here:
""This is potentially a huge deal - especially for Canon users. We've used an a7R II with a Canon 24-70mm lens and a Metabones adapter, and focus is indeed very fast indeed. We'll be looking at this in more depth as soon as we have a production sample camera, but for now, we're highly impressed. Canon should expect some cancelled EOS 5DS orders..."
 

RX10 and RX100 highlights:
4k recording
960fps, 480fps and 240 fps frame rates
up to 16 fps on the RX100 IV and up to 14 fps on the RX10 II (Sony also claims no blackout)
Anti-Distortion Shutter (maximum speed of 1/32,000 second)
4K (QFHD 3840x2160) movie recording and can capture 16.8 MP still images during 4K video recording
Sony's page for the RX10m2 here
Sony's page for the RX100m4 here
 

 

Which lens for a vacation?

One of the frequently asked questions I hear is, "What lens(es) should I bring with me on my vacation?"  In this post, I would like to suggest how you can narrow down your choices.  I am also going to discuss the cameras and lenses that I will bring for my upcoming vacation to Italy.

Move to Mirrorless? Mirrorless vs. DSLR; mirrorless systems comparison

Sony recently launched an ad campaign called Move to Mirrorless.  Should you?  Mirrorless cameras are becoming increasingly popular, so much so that DigitalRev recently parodied the enthusiasm about mirrorless.  In this post, I'll post my reasons for shooting with mirrorless, and also discuss situations when I would prefer a normal DSLR.

Sony a6000 with TWO lenses for $649 at Costco.com!

Costco.com is selling a Sony a6000 bundle with two lenses (18-55 and 55-210) plus a bag and 32GB SD card for the amazing price of $649 with free shipping!

Please note this is the older 18-55 kit lens, not the more compact 16-50 PZ.  Although it's larger than the 16-50 PZ, it is optically much better according to Photozone.de (18-55 reviewed here; 16-50 PZ reviewed here).

As with any other item from Costco or Costco.com, you have to be a member to buy it.  (Membership costs as little as $55 annually and they usually have the best price for gas.)

The Matchup You've Been Waiting For: Sony a6000 vs. Samsung NX500

​

So the champ is finally meeting a worthy contender.  The champ has a style that is not terribly exciting but it can't be denied that he's an excellent all-around fighter, with no major weaknesses.  In the other corner is the challenger, a talented fighter with an unorthodox style.  He's got a much smaller but growing group of fans who love how he throws caution to the wind.  Everyone is wondering who is going to emerge the winner in this battle.

We're talking of course about the Sony a6000 and the Samsung NX500 (reviewed here).  I have been using the Sony a6000 for about a year, and the Samsung NX500 for about a month.  A lot of people looking for a mid-level mirrorless camera have asked which one is better.  For me, there is no clear winner between them.  It depends on your priorities.  In this post, we'll examine their similarities and differences.

UPDATE: The NX500's firmware 1.10 improved its performance.  Changes are highlighted in yellow.

Note: the Sony a6000 shots here use a custom color profile.

Fast 50mm Shoot Out: MFT vs FF (or why I bought the Sony A7II and a single FE lens)

You might remember from my previous posts about the Canon 35mm f/2, the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 lenses how much I appreciate and love the 50mm focal length. To the extent that I previously mentioned that if I found a fixed lens FF camera with a fast 50mm (think Sony RX1 with a 50mm lens instead), I would sell all my gear and only use that camera and a single TTL flash. Unfortunately, that camera doesn't exist yet. So I bought something a bit different. Did it work? Hit the jump to find out.

NX500 Puts Samsung on the Map

Some cameras have the power to change the conversation about its manufacturer.  The Olympus E-M5, Fuji X100, Sony RX1 and Sony a6000 are examples of cameras that have each dramatically altered public perception of their manufacturers.  I believe that the Samsung NX500, which was released just last week, will be the camera that puts Samsung on the map.

(Image by Samsung)

Triggering a Camera and a Flash Simultaneously with the Yongnuo RF603

When Mohammad posted his review of the YN-560TX, there was a question from one of our readers about whether you can trigger a camera and a flash at the same time with the Yongnuo RF603.  The question has been asked on DPReview previously  .This capability can be useful for sports (to capture multiple angles of the same shot), or architecture / real estate, for example.  I have tried several combinations of Yongnuo triggers and flashes without success, until finally I got a combination that did work.  It was so simple that I was kicking myself for not having thought of it previously.

with one speedlight

Sony E 16 2.8 Review Part 2: fisheye and ultrawide converters

This is a continuation of our review of the Sony 16 f/2.8 for the E-mount (Part 1 here).  In this part, we will discuss the two converters for the 16 2.8: a fisheye converter (VCL-ECF1) and an ultrawide converter (VCL-ECU1). 

First, I will describe the two converters.  I will then discuss the rationale and performance of each converter, starting with the fisheye, then the ultrawide.

Before we go on to the review, I want to mention a couple of footnotes:

1. If you've tried cheap wide angle converters before, you may think that these converters are just gimmicks.  But these are entirely different and are very good quality converters.

2. When Sony announced their new lenses on March 4, 2015, they also announced "new" versions of the converters, the VCL-ECF2 fisheye and VCL-ECU2 ultrawide.  As far as I can tell, they are identical to the old converters, with the same specs and same optical formulae.  The only difference between the new converters and the old ones seems to be that the new versions are black (matching the finish of the 20 2.8) while the previous versions are silver (matching the finish of the 16 2.8).  The VCL-ECF2 and ECU2 are advertised as being compatible with the 20 2.8, but so are the ECF1 and ECU1.

Radio-based wireless TTL for Sony, Nikon and Canon

image by Nissin Group

​

 

Nissin is producing an affordable radio-based wireless TTL flash and trigger for Canon, Nikon and, starting this summer, for Sony as well.  There are already several radio-based TTL systems for Canon and Nikon.  However, for Sony, this is a welcome addition because the only such system available thus far is the Phottix Odin, and Nissin's system appears to have a lower total cost.

Sony E 16mm f/2.8 Review (Part 1)

Shadows. f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 400

 This is a user review of the Sony 16mm f/2.8 (SEL16F28), a wide angle pancake lens for Sony E-mount, as used on the Sony a6000.  I've had several ultrawide lenses for Nikon (Tokina 11-16, Sigma 10-20 3.5, Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6, Tokina 10-17 fisheye) and the Samyang 2.8 fisheye for m4/3.  Compared to those lenses, the 16 2.8 is unique because it can convert from a wide angle 24mm equivalent, to an ultrawide 18mm equivalent (with the VCL-ECU1 ultrawide converter), to a rectilinear fisheye (VCL-ECF1 fisheye converter).  With the converters, it is like having 3 lenses in 1.  Even better, the 16 2.8 and the converters are affordably priced.  But how well do they perform?  In this post, I will discuss the 16 2.8.  In Part 2 of this post, I will discuss the two converters (Part 2 here).

3/4/15 UPDATE: Sony just announced the VCL-ECU2 ultrawide converter and VCL-ECF2 fisheye converter.  Supposedly, the VCL-ECU1 and ECF1 were compatible only with the 16 2.8, whereas the ECU2 and ECF2 are compatible with both the 16 2.8 and the Sony 20 2.8.  However, it appears that the only difference is that the ECU2 and ECF2 have a black finish that match the appearance of the 20 2.8.

Family Portrait Walkthrough

We recently did a family portrait.  In this post, I'll go through the process of how I took the shot.

Sony 18-105 f4 G OSS review

This is a user review of the Sony 18-105 f/4 (E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS Power Zoom Lens).  I will first discuss the rationale for getting this lens, then I will describe its physical characteristics.  I will then discuss its usage for photography, going over its optical characteristics and performance. Finally, I will briefly discuss its usage for video.

Unless otherwise stated, the photos here are from the Sony a6000 in raw, converted in Lightroom with the Huelight a6000 color profile, with no sharpening.

Look Before You Leap: the Sony a6000 and a5100 lens guide

The Sony a6000 is an awesome camera -- it was awarded Gold by DPReview and recently came out on top of the mid-range mirrorless camera roundup.  On top of that, the a6000 is available at a $100 discount for Black Friday.  The Sony a5100 is likewise a great camera, and is one of DPReview's best cameras for beginners, with the same great sensor and quick autofocus ability as the a6000.

However, when choosing your first interchangeable lens camera, I find it helpful to consider not just the camera specifications but the system as a whole -- especially the lenses and to some extent its accessories (e.g. flash).  So if you're considering the a6000 or a5100, you may want to check out its lens selection to see if it has the lenses that you'll need.  The italicized ones are the lenses I have.

Note: to the extent DXO has tested the lenses below with the a6000, you can expect identical results for the a5100 due to the identical sensor.

UPDATE: Sony has new FE lenses that can also be used with the a6000, a5100 or other E-mount APS-C body.  I added those to this list.

Sony a6000 or Sony a5100? A Sony a6000 user's perspective

This is just a quick post to give my opinion on the recently announced Sony a5100, from the point of view of a Sony a6000 user who takes candid family photos.

EDIT: added a description of the a5100 exposure controls.

Sony a6000 + Sony 35 1.8 OSS

Sony a6000 Autofocus Speed Test: Bounce House

I know the Sony a6000 autofocus is fast.  However, I didn't know exactly how fast it was.  I had already taken test shots of cars moving at up to 40 mph, which the Sony a6000 captured with ease.  But I wasn't sure if it was fast enough to capture fast-moving kids.  I got the chance to test the a6000's autofocus at a bounce house.

Second Opinion on Micro Four Thirds; Next Camera

E-M5 + Olympus 25 1.8

My friend MShafik just doubled down on Micro Four Thirds with his recent purchase of the OM-D E-M1.  Meanwhile, I just started using Micro Four Thirds a little more than two months ago.  This post is an update on my experience with it.

One Evening (Sony RX1 photoessay)

Still working on Part 2 of the Sony RX1 review (Part 1 here), which should be done in a few days.  Meanwhile here is a brief photoessay.  But first, a little warning: if you love smooth bokeh, you should avert your eyes now.  Or else you will need to find a way to explain to your spouse the cost of this "point-and-shoot". :)

Update: Part 2 is now posted.