The Viewfinder

More gems from the past - The Minolta 800si & 700si - a brief review

2010-03-30T17:34:00.001-07:00

Introduction

As a film enthusiast, the recent news that Fujifilm is ceasing to produce its medium format version of its Neopan 400 black and white film came to me as a bit of a shock. There are an increasing number of photographers' long loved films disappearing from the market as technology advances and digital photography exponentially improves and provides results which are surpassing film in certain areas. Yet many photographers won't let go of their traditional roots and find in fact that in many aspects and applications, film still provides the better or more suitable results. But in honesty, if I look back at my own work, the vast majority is now digital based. But I won't pass an opportunity ever to put one of my favourite films into a nicely crafted camera and go out and hunt for images.

As we all know, the upside for those who still appreciate film and its virtues (and its flaws) is that nicely crafted film cameras have tumbled down in price (with a few small exceptions). For those who still want a film based system, the price of a digital camera, despite its own price falls, still pays for a film camera, lenses and even for a film scanner and/or film developing equipment.
Personally, film keeps me in touch with proper technique, requires from me that I concentrate more while out taking photos and I still appreciate more the results I get out of film, it still possesses a certain quality that it still attracts me that bit more.

Owning a Alpha mount system myself, I am a proud owner of a pretty much in excellent condition Minolta 7D and Minolta Dynax 5 film camera, with a Sony A700 now taking the roster place of the 7D, which is a great camera in its own right. But my affinity with film took me to a search for a film camera that could match my 7D or A700 in build and performance (don't get me wrong, the Dynax 5 in some aspects matches the 7D in performance, but it's size is a bit of a problem for my mediumish largish hands). I was looking for a film Dynax 7, but these cameras were most of the times either over my budget in the secondhand market or they would be whisked away almost as soon as they appeared. So I started looking for alternatives and came across the Minolta Dynax 800si and 700si by accident one day, while out taking pictures. I spotted a well built camera with a Minolta badge on its tall prism on the hands of a photographer that did not look like any Minolta known to me, so I approached the man and asked a few questions. I held it for a while and was very impressed.He also had a 700si with him. I went to the internet, looked for information on both cameras and decided to make a few bids on Ebay.

I only wanted one....honest!

I, in all honesty, just wanted one camera (although some people will snigger at this statement) and I wanted one with a grip. I was informed by a forum user that the 700si grip is the same as the grip for the 800si. Still, I looked for an 800si with grip and it was a difficult find. I kept on finding more often the 700si with the VC-700 vertical grip. I spotted one in nice condition that seemed to be ignored by most bidders and I put a bid and won. My intention was to take the grip for the eventuality of buying an 800si and sell the 700si. Well, the 700si is still with me, albeit sans grip. Which leads us to first impressions.

The 800si with grip

The 700si with grip

First Impressions

The Body

The 800si had already made an impression on me when I handled one in that casual meet, it is a solidly built camera with a nice rubberized hand grip finish versus the 700si's smooth plastic grip.
In fact, if the 800si is standing out for you from the onset, that is not because of any bias it is simply because it is an upgrade to the 700si as such it is expected to excel in many areas over its predecessor, but it is also the way the upgrades were implemented. The cameras in many respects are the same.

Both cameras feature on the grip the grip sensor (from the days before grip sensor components fell fowl of EU regulations) and the eye start AF, both of which can be deactivated from a switch in the lower back of the camera. To the front, the 800si also sports a synch socket versus none for the 700si, which gives the 800si a more professional look and feel. This feature is added to the 700si when the grip is mounted (PC socket in VC-700 grip), for 800si users this gives you an extra PC socket. Then there's that massive prism on the 800si, which we will get to in the features section. The 800si is also apparently weather sealed, giving further professional credence.

From the top, on both cameras the LCD top panel is very informative and the whole top plate and controls are near identical. The small differences are that the 700si sports a mode button to the left hand side above the user memories button and the 800si has two separate buttons, one for mode which allows you to shift between the usual M/P/A/S modes and the other for Program Modes. Choosing a Program Mode and then choosing M can also give the user an program shift mode.

The back of both cameras is also nearly identical except for the metering/AEL button which on the 700si pressing it gives the user spot metering/slow synch and on the 800si AEL/slow synch. For the rest it is identical with an AF button just under the metering button, film window to the left hand side and to the bottom, film rewind button and next to this the Eye-Start on/off switch.

From the front, the cameras are once again near identical, except that the 800si's flash button also allows you to adjust flash output while on the 700si the user has to press this button plus the exposure compensation button simultaneously. There is an AF illuminator in both cameras next to the grip (I wonder why the 7D did not feature this!).The AF/MF toggle switch located to the lower left of the camera next to the lens mount.

The 700si features the Minolta card expansion slot in a door to the right side of the camera to add more features to the camera, but to the experienced photographer, the camera features more than enough features and controls to warrant the use of an expansion card. This is a feature that many felt was a step in the wrong direction from Minolta, but still in my view it doesn't detract from the excellent tool that this camera is. On this door in both cameras, once opened, there are also a more controls for a number of different functions such as flash modes (wireless flash including), single-continuous shot and AF,ISO adjust, card eject (700si), film data memory (800si). To the right side and bottom there is also a remote port on both cameras.

Overall, top marks for both cameras in terms of build, with the 800si ahead.

"...looking back it's so bizarre...it runs in the family..." Level42

Rugged good looks and build quality run in the family. Taken with the Sony A700, missing the Dynax 5 and the 5000i only came to me for a bit of TLC.

Features and use

Yes, the tall prism of the 800si. It is apparently, even to this day, the most powerful built in flash of any 35mm camera ever with a GN of 14-20 (m) covering 24-80mm. As you first put batteries in the camera or when switching on the camera after a period of time, you will hear it charging with a sound akin to a sensor shake and a little vibration, clearly making a statement about its power (alongside two paralel smooth bumps on top of it akin to the hood of a muscle car). It means business and makes a statement about it on power up. The 700si's flash on the other hand is what you would expect from a 35mm SLR of semi-pro grade with a GN of 12m covering 24mm.

The AF system is very prompt, if not perhaps helped by the Eye-Start feature, but even with this feature off, I felt that the 800si is very responsive and edges over the 700si in this respect. For street work, I found that the area AF can work very well including with subjects coming towards the camera, but still perhaps for those busier scenes, keep to zone focussing or hyperfocal focussing. In use, I found the mirror of both cameras to be decisively on the louder side, giving both reassurance that you got a frame and catching the attention of your subject, not helped by the fact that the DOF preview sounds as loud if not louder. The 700si has more of a “clack” quality to it, perhaps because it's body is a little less robust than the 800si and the weather sealing of the 800si perhaps providing a bit more sound insulation. A few times I wondered if I took a shot without pressing the shutter button. Both cameras can transport film at 3 frames per second and a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000. Both also synchronize the flash at 1/200. The viewfinder is bright and a pleasure to view through on both cameras with a very informative display on the bottom. The only downside in my opinion is that the AF points are not illuminated, but of an LCD type, which in the dark can be an issue. And since we are on the subject of illumination, the top panel of the 800si illuminates as light levels fall.

When used with the grip changing between both is virtually seamless, the 700si with the grip still weighs a little less, but the contoured shape of the back of both is the same and handling remains almost unchanged. The 800si once again edges because it feels more solid and the rubberized grip on the camera makes it feel a little safer in hand. But if you are weight conscious, the 700si in use is your horse. Of course, this is all subjective.

The features behind the little door on the right, are there if you need them and despite many arguing the need to have concealed features behind a door, I found that I rarely needed to use them and when I do, I only need to set them once, close the door and forget about it. It also keeps the camera body tidy and less distracting. I haven't gone through all the concealed control features on both cameras, but they seem feature rich, if you are a dedicated film shooter, you will feel as if you don't need another camera (unless of course you are like me and needs all and any of them ;) , or being the more reasonable kind and wanting two different types of film set to go).

The metering led me to slight frustration at times....not because it was bad, but because it did echo the word on the internet that it is uncannily accurate on both cameras. In part, by fault of mine, as I am sometimes lazy to just press that little button and take a spot or center weighted metering and leave the camera to it's own very accurate devices. Most of the times I do not have the time either and sometimes think of post processing (yes, digital will finally get to you!). If accurate exposures is what your work is 100% about, then both cameras will, I am tempted to say, never disappoint you (but nothing is perfect).

The grip, which has been mentioned so often along this review, is the VC-700 which features shutter and aperture controls,spot/slow synch button,AF button, shutter release button, PC Synch Socket,tripod socket and finally grip on/off. It can take 'AA' or 2CR5 batteries albeit Minolta does not recommend Lithium 'AA' types. It is a nice grip,solid, but I feel that it could be more solid and I feel the same of the material improved grip of the 7D. Sony addressed this in their current range of Alpha mount cameras and the grips are as solid and feature rich as the cameras.

In Conclusion...

The continuous price drops of digital have driven the prices of such great film cameras to ever lowering depths and now is the time to grab yourself some great and legendary photographic equipment. For the film enthusiast, it's heaven out there as the choices are immense. But in retrospect, film equipment was a tad cheaper a while ago and as people realised that their film lenses will work almost flawlessly with their digital equipment, some film equipment has also increased in price. As such, many cameras, including the ones in this review will be hard to find with decent lenses. Most are sold without or with cheaper lenses. Nevertheless, good professional film equipment can be had on a small budget. Both cameras in this review together came to £130 in near pristine condition. For an existing owner of a lens system this is a treat.

As for recommendations for what camera to go for in this review, it's a bit unfair to say the 800si, as it is after all an upgrade to the 700si. As tools, you will get the same results from either, it is simply that one is an improved tool, as such I would personally award a 'highly recommended' to both as in many respects, the choice will be subjective, but I do have to point out that the AF in the 800si seems faster even though it is apparently the same system as well as the very powerful built in flash can make all the difference when you can't travel with much more than just a camera and lens.
The only hope for now is that companies that produce film keep improving available film emulsions
and keep film 'out phasing' to a minimum.

Some Test Samples

Until next time,

Luis

Smoking..!....

2009-11-21T16:52:00.001-08:00

smoking_lady_in_red_v, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

Hello again friends and passers by,

Just a quick update, a reminder that my official website is well underway and nearly finished (and online for those who missed it it's www.luis-rubim-photography.co.uk ). I am in the process of scanning some stuff to go into the published works section as well as sorting my media published work. Nevertheless, all work and no play makes Luis a boring person, but for me 70% of my work is also play, so I took some time to go take some shots today and here's today's shot. Hope you enjoy!

Until next time,

Luis

Camera Review: Fujica GER - A Classic Pocket Gem

2009-11-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

1 - Introduction

Having recently become a fan of the rangefinder, I have embraced the challenges of working on a shorter focal length as a learning experience, particularly as a street photographer. So, as challenges are always something empirically good, I decided to step it up a notch and look for rangefinders with fixed lenses. I was looking for a Minolta Himatic 7 when I came across the Fujica Auto-M and Fujica 35EE. I became more interested in the Fujica models as they are unusual in design and operation, but also have a solid reputation for quality lenses and reliability. But these models disappear in a blink of an eye from the market place.
I also was intrigued by the half-frame camera. The thought of having 72 frames of film meant for me more images in a roll of film despite any disadvantages (particularly enlargement sizes).I then came across the Fujica GER which I bought out of impulse, only realising later that it wasn't a fully manual camera and also not half-frame, it is by and large an auto-exposure camera and full frame. But when I received the camera, I was in awe of the simplicity of the design and in particular, the size. I knew it was small but haven't really gauged well how small. I became even more intrigued with it,so a couple of days later, I bought myself some process paid slide film and started a test of the camera to see how good it was if it was working at all. As a side note, I believe that this review may be of use to those considering this camera since manuals are hard to find.

2 - Body and Design

Upon receipt of the package, I could not figure out what did I order that deserved such a small box until I opened it. The camera is minute and this is almost an understatement. I opened the palm of my hand and the camera fits entirely on the palm of my average sized hands. Yet, this little camera has a nice comfortable wind lever,a very readable frame counter on top,a flash hotshoe, reasonable size rewind knob and pc synch socket to the left side of the top plate. It is well laid out and it is a typical example of excellent Japanese design with a good compromise of size and usability. The top plate, also features a LED that lights up when you half press the shutter button. Without having a manual for this camera and never having found one either,I can only assume that it lights up to say that the shutter is powered as this is an aperture priority only camera with an electronic shutter. To each side of the top plate there are also strap lugs. The camera despite its size also feels solid and that includes the plastics in the body.

3 - Features

3a - The viewfinder

The Fujica GER has a surprisingly good size viewfinder for its tiny body, with frame lines and it also seems to be parallax corrected. The rangefider patch is a bit small compared to that of a full size rangefinder, but it is bright and very visible. In fact, comparing it to that of a Fed 4, which is a full size interchangeable lens rangefider, it is better. The viewfinder displays a sign for flash when the light levels drop by use of its colour compensation glass. To the right hand side of the eyepiece (which has no dioptre correction), there is also a small window featuring a small cylinder with red arrows painted on it, which tells the user if the film is winding.

3b - Flash usage

As mentioned before, the GER features both a hotshoe and a PC Synch socket. Exposures with flash are controlled by the aperture ring on the lens which we will get to on the following section.

3c - Lens

The lens is a Fujinon 38mm f2.8, a fast lens with a minimum focussing distance of 0.9m (90cm or 36in). It features an aperture ring which has flash guide numbers instead of aperture values, plus "A" for fully automatic. No shutter speed control on the lens as you would expect of many fixed lens rangefinders without a shutter speed control dial or knob on the top plate. This camera is aperture-priority only. It features a light meter on the front of the lens to the left side of the glass element (if facing the camera) and a film speed dial on the right that reads in ISO and DIN. ISO/DIN speeds go up to 800/30, controlled by a ring mounted around the glass element.

3d - On the bottom plate...

On the bottom plate, there is the battery compartment, which houses two PC640A batteries or compatible to the center, a rewind button to its right (if the camera is upside down and lens is facing you) and an off center tripod collar.

4 - Operation

Operation of this camera is very simplistic, focus the lens, wind the film and press the shutter release button.

5 - In actual use...

Loading film is a cinch and is virtually impossible to get it wrong, if that can be said.
The camera operates in an almost fully automatic way, the only control a user would have over the exposures is the flash guide numbers ring (the aperture ring) as such, if you plan anything more creative you need to brush up your guide numbers/subject distance mathematics to get an aperture value. The camera will set a shutter speed for you. Nevertheless, the camera still allows push and pull of film as you can set the film speed yourself. Despite all this, and even being a manual focus camera, there is a sense of ever readiness to the camera.
Focussing is smooth and quick. The only problem that I came across was that the rangefinder is out of horizontal alignment it seems, so I was looking for vertical lines or patterns all the time to help me focus, but this is perhaps something that may be corrected and does not seem to be inherent to the camera, but yet focussing was possible.
On half pressing the shutter, the user may notice that a small LED lights up inside the viewfinder as well as on the top plate (red LED). Without a manual, I can only assume that this simply is to notify the user that the batteries are OK and that the shutter is ready to be released. On fully pressing the shutter, a frame is produced in a whisper. It is very quiet in operation, which for the street photographer is a great bonus. The metering is very accurate, but I found that to have a sharp picture at all times (please note the expression " at all times") one needs to make sure that either there is good light or using a fast film. As it happens with digital cameras on Auto mode, you can get blurred photos if you come by a situation where the light drops, or dark shadows dominate the scene, but the fast and reasonably sharp wide open f2.8 lens can deal with a lot of these situations. There are of course limitations, since as mentioned above, films are limited up to ISO 800, which still gives plenty of scope even in night photography. For fast moving objects, a fast film or flash is recommended. Of course, one may come across light conditions that will allow the use of a medium speed film for this purpose, but for tack sharp images of fast moving objects even with good lighting, I would recommend sticking to ISO400 film or above.
As for flash usage, it is not a feature I have tested, but it will be done at some point.

In conclusion

The Fujica GER is a little pocket gem, with lots to like about it, in particular the fact that it's for the most part an ever ready camera. The camera does it all for you (except the focussing)and does it well. Of course, if you want a bit more creative control, you may be a bit frustrated, but for the fun factor, this camera gets 10/10.It is also one of those cameras for the enthusiasts' lazy days,where you just want something to point and shoot. It's compact body is very compact indeed, falls into a pocket and still leaves space for a couple of rolls of film,but yet the body feels well put together. The lens gives good results and seems acceptably sharp wide open, but in this first test it seems it may need a little contrast correcting in either the printing process or in Photoshop if you scan your film, comparing to other cameras' results. Obviously, if you are scanning, final results may also have to take into account your scanning equipment, but looking at transparencies through the loupe, they seem to hold very well. The only real downside considering this package, it is that the viewfinder has no dioptre correction,but one does wonder if it really needs it.
Again, here's a camera that can challenge the perceptions of the most demanding photographer, particularly that of the one who wants full control over the exposure process.
It is certainly a camera not to be dismissed for its minute size and automatic exposure control. Scracth the surface and it's a gem underneath.

Images

Some images available here . As I still go through the transparencies, few more may be added.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Until next time,

Luis

Film camera review - Zorki 4K vs Fed 4

2009-11-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

The Zorki 4K

Introduction

The rangefinder was, for good while in my early photographic days a photographic tool that I thought I would never understand. Why on earth would anyone want to use something that does not let you view the image as it is through the lens? Over time, I was convinced that there was something about it, otherwise there wouldn't be so many photographers swearing by it, including some of my favourite ones. So, many years passed until last January/February I decided to buy one. I always thought the prices were prohibitive for both cameras and lenses, making it difficult for an amateur to build a considerable or solid kit. Also, considering a Russian alternative was out of the question, if I was to use a rangefinder I would want a Voigtlander or Leica; that is until I saw some photographers, some Leica photographers including, singing praises for the Russian copies of this reknown camera maker. So my curiosity grew. I searched Ebay and found a very affordable Zorki 4K with a Jupiter-8 lens and it started my foray into the rangefinder photography world. I was hooked. The compactness and silent operation (relatively silent in the case of the Zorki) and the apparent anonymity that the camera brings to picture taking got to me. That was, without of course getting used to some quirks which seem to be inherent to all Russian made cameras, ruining a couple of films in the process. I also acquired from Ebay a turret finder in case I ended up buying more lenses. Anyway, in a bid to get to the review a bit sooner, a couple of months later I decided to retire the camera but not for any particular faults, just because it ended up being autographed by the one and only David Bailey. As such, I ended up buying a Fed 4B which presented a few quirks of its own not too dissimilar from the Zorki.It came with an Industar-61 lens and seemed a bit stiff in operation, which I later resolved with careful application of some WD-40. In fact, having successfully done this, I decided to do this to all my classic cameras, which resulted in improved operation in all of them. I have to add that this may in fact be of greater benefit to Russian made cameras given that the majority of their quirks tend to be mechanical in kind.

The review

A. The Zorki 4K

The Zorki 4K is a Leica copy, just like its counterpart the Fed 4, made by KMZ factory in Krasnogorsk, Russia. It uses the M39 mount, just like the Leica. It does not have a built-in light meter nor strap lugs, so a case is a must, but I personally don't like to have the top cover of the case hanging down when I use it (you can't separate them either unless you cut them). So if you are to buy one of these, make sure that a case and a light meter are on the list. Also, the viewfinder will not give you a totally accurate view of the scene so a finder (or finders) is a must as it will also be parallax corrected. My Zorki 4K came with a Jupiter-8 lens, which had some fungus on the back element, but it does not seem to affect much the image quality, nevertheless I will be getting a clean optic.

Loading your favourite film

I had some trouble loading film in the beggining, in fact I thought my camera was faulty initially, due to my inexperience with it. Without instructions, I was loading the film as I would normally load your usual SLR or modern compact, but the Zorki will soon tell you that you have done something wrong as it either will not cock the shutter or get stuck at some point in the film wind. It is vital when one loads the film, to rotate the knob around the release to the raised position to allow shooting (the other position is for rewinding)and to use three short strokes of the lever (not full strokes) upon loading. It will then operate as normal. You also need to make sure that the three dots on the top plate are aligned. The camera also features a manually resettable frame counter.

Features,Operation& Kit Lens

The shutter mechanism is typical of Russian cameras. The usual quirk of having to wind on the shutter before changing speeds as well as changing them clockwise except for the speeds of 30 and B. Also, one should never turn the shutter speed dial over the interval between 30 and 1 as that will damage the mechanism. The slower speeds are also harder to get to and are on a slightly raised position. After you release the shutter, the dial will land on what at first seems like a random position but usage will show that it is not random, but one wonders why it lands on such positions. Nevertheless, the Jupiter optic, gives great images and the camera is a pleasure to use. The focussing is smooth and the rangefinder patch is big and bright in comparisson to the Fed 4 (which we will be getting to in a bit). The shutter sound is a snappy, blade like sound which I personally found not to be as silent as I thought it would be, but in any case, quieter than an SLR. Overall, I found that the camera is quite inconspicuous, unless I put the turret finder on. Being a fan of street photography, it was a great bonus and in a first rangefinder experience I could see why these cameras have such an appeal among street photographers and seeing the results reinforced the positive experience. There is something quite different in rangefinder images and while it is hard to pinpoint what it is, I personally think that they seem to be more correct in terms of perspective and slightly sharper (I get good sharpness and contrast with a Jupiter lens with fungus in the back element, which says something about it apart from clean the lens or get a new one). The camera has also a PC synch socket for bulb or electronic flash, but I never used this feature, I might at some point, in homage to Bruce Gilden.

B.The Fed 4

The Fed 4 was bought as a replacement for the Zorki 4K as it acquired a certain value and I thought I should take great care with it. It is in many ways similar to the Zorki as such we will keep this section short and highlight the differences. It is an Ukrainian made camera and took it’s name from it’s creator’s initials (Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky). I ordered my Fed from Ebay once again, and it arrived with a brown leather case in very good condition. The all expected quirks were present, except that I found that the slower shutter speeds were even harder to get on to on this camera. The Fed has the advantage of having a fairly accurate built-in meter but it only allows for readings up to ISO400; over this setting you have to use a secondary meter or your own judgement, which is not too difficult since you can use the meter as guidance if you are fairly experienced. The Fed 4 is tall for a rangefinder and has a certain heft to it. It has a collar around the shutter release, which locks and unlocks it.

Loading your favourite film

The bonus that the Fed has over the Zorki in my experience is that to load the film you can take out the take up spool to load it, making it easier to properly load the film, avoiding looseness. The user can adjust the film easily simply by rolling or unrolling the film from the spool. Just make sure that before loading the camera is set to “C” on the collar ring around the shutter release.

Features,Operation& Kit Lens

The Industar-61 lens that came with it was clear but I found that the focussing ring sits too near to the body making it more difficult to focus than with the Jupiter-8. With my Fed 4, both lenses felt somewhat stiffer in focussing, which is something that I attribute to the focussing mechanism in the camera (and this even after applying WD-40). Nevertheless, the sharpness is very good as I came to expect from Russian lenses. There is information on the Internet in regards to the lanthanum component used in this lens (or some copies of it) being radioactive, but apparently its radiation is so low as to be harmless. This component is also said to give the lens its good colour, contrast and sharpness.

As I look through the viewfinder I also feel that the rangefinder patch is too small in comparison to the Zorki and so is the viewfinder, as such it is a camera that certainly benefits from an external finder for this reason.

In operation, the shutter speeds are set in similar fashion as with the Zorki, so cocking the shutter prior to changing speeds is imperative. Unlike the Zorki 4K, the Fed is much quieter and the shutter sounds more like a low muffled clunk. From a certain distance this is also barely noticeable. Nice, but the camera is not as inconspicuous as the Zorki, even more exacerbated if you put the said turret finder on top of it. The usual apparent “Wheel of Fortune” type landing positions of the dial after an exposure also apply.

To rewind the film, the camera uses a thumb wheel to the left side of the body which I find a bit inconvenient in comparison to the Zorki’s rewind knob. Even more so, if like myself, in first usage, do not load the film properly.

In conclusion

Zorki vs Fed

As with everything it comes down to subjectivity, but here is what I find as pro and cons of each:

Compactedness: Zorki wins

Features: Fed wins (built in light-meter)

Operation: Zorki wins (albeit noisier in operation)

Ruggedness: I would give this to the Fed, but the Zorki doesn’t trail by much

Kit lens: Albeit you can find Feds with Jupiter lenses, they are more common with Industars. I would say that in this case for actual final results performance they would be neck and neck but the Industar’s focussing ring sits too close to the body, making it more difficult to focus.

Viewfinder&finders I only brought this up for an issue reported by some, that I have not come across yet, but apparently the height of the Fed can lead to increased parallax error while using a turret finder. Personally I haven’t come across that, but perhaps I am not shooting close enough to subjects to see this. Nevertheless, it’s not a problem reported by that many and in fact it may be due to faulty or bad finders.

Finally...

In short, they are both fun to use cameras, which as always, if you can work around the quirks they produce great results. Even better if you have established brand M39 lenses which you can use on them. For me personally there was a bit of a learning curve when I started using a rangefinder because all I knew before this was to focus through the lens, but the challenges that rangefinder photography put before the SLR photographer are a very educational experience as well as a totally new and exciting one. It also makes one think if you really need to carry all that kit around in your camera bag; in fact, my Zorki with lens and turret finder, fit my jacket and vest pockets very easily. Not only that, in this digital age they can turn into great conversation pieces. More importantly for the budget minded enthusiast photographer, they only cost a fraction of the cost of the established brands and provide quality images. Thoroughly recommended as a system or as a learning tool for the future rangefinder photographer thinking of take the plunge to a more expensive and established brand model.

______________________________________________________________________________________

With this concludes this review which was fun to write. I may add or edit some more as 95% of this came from the top of my head and even add some images. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did using the cameras and writing it.

Until next time,

Luis

Blind Shots - From BELOW the hip!

2009-08-12T13:26:00.001-07:00

Hello again, friends and passers by,

It's been a while since my last posting, but I have finally been able to manage to have some time to do some more photography work, including updating this blog and starting to work on my website which has been under construction for a good while.

Having had the day tottally free today, I thought to myself "Why don't you go and enjoy the day doing what you love most", so I packed my newly bough Fed 4 rangefinder which has ISO50 film in it (in fact, this Fed 4 is a stand in for a retired Zorki 4K, that ended up being autographed by the one and only, David Bailey). As I looked outside, I realised the light was not really for slow, ISO50 film so wanting to do some street photography, I packed my lovely Fujifilm S3 pro instead into my bag along with a Sigma 18-125mm, Nikon 50mm and 75-240mm lenses and off I had gone to do some street shooting. I wanted to try something new and hone my skills at taking blind shots - shooting from the hip - but as I found a bit awkward using this camera from the hip, I decided to set the 18-125mm lens to its widest, up the ISO to 1600 and just have it on my hand as if I was casually passing by and aim at subjects I found interesting without disturbing them making them lose all naturality. The camera was pretty much almost at my knee. I haven't dabbled enough in this type of thing, but I got some surprisingly interesting results and I sure will do this more often.

Check out this session here

There's also some new handheld street night photography here , using my Samsung GX-20 for anyone interested to see how it handles in the dark at high sensitivities, or just to appreciate the wonders of the night through the lens. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Luis

It's been a while...

2009-04-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted in my blogs as I have been extremely busy, but I miss it and blogging can be a good way to unwind among other things. I have been shooting occasionally lately as I other commitments took over, but my Flickr page has been more or less updated with a certain frequency (if you can say that...) with some stuff from both the vault and stuff that I have the chance to shoot.
Anyway, being the beggining of April and given the current world financial crisis, it was impossible to ignore the G20 protests, which I had chance to photograph. It was the first time I have found myself in a situation of such tension as a photojournalist and frankly I wish I didn't snap away like a robot as I filled up my cards before the major clashes. I have a handful of photos of the clashes but in a way the photos I have show another side to the protests, a side that shows that for the most part it was a peaceful protest, an intense and tense one, but peaceful. I believe that a small faction decided to wait until the police started to open up the streets to wreak havoc and start a riot. Nevertheless, it was perhaps clearer than ever before the discontent of the masses with the increasing divide between classes, the global economics and climate issues, that the time for change is now.

And now, for some photos (click the set below, more to come):

G20 Meltdown, Flickr set

Until next time,

Luis

It's here!

2008-12-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's here! I just received my prize, a Samsung GX20 DSLR, from Amateur Photographer, which I had won in the On Assignment feature. I had a good play with it and I have to say I am second time awe struck. As such I have decided to post a little review of it right here, so here it is, my initial thoughts on the Samsung GX20. I may add some more bits as I go:

___________________________________________________________________

Introduction

I had used it when I was given the opportunity of participating in AP's On Assignment and had a chance to play a bit with it, but we didn't have time to go in depth into it. I got mine on Thursday and have taken a small number of shots with the kit lens (18-55) which have given me a good feel of what the image quality can really be like and this is pretty much the reason why I decided to do a little user review. I may come back to it to add other findings.

Samsung/Pentax/Samtax

The Samsung GX20 is pretty much a Pentax K20D but according to Samsung the image processing is different and better.
It takes Pentax KAF mount lenses (of which I have near to none at the moment, apart from a Centon 50mm f1.7 which is more of a paperweight and a 70-210 of the same brand and serving the same function) and Samsung has their own version using Schneider-Kreuznach glass. The 18-55 lens is not brilliantly sharp but for non specialist use does it's job. The camera is very very solid indeed and I was already very impressed with it when I first used it but having spent longer time with it and comparing it with my other DSLRs (KM 7D, Fujifilm S3, Sony A700,Sigma SD10) fares very well and I am even tempted to consider it a notch above all in this department. I wish I could compare it with a more current crop of DSLRs myself, but the word out there is that it fares very well again anyway. While I feel the need to add a battery grip to my A700 (except the other ones which have a grip), I do not feel the same about the GX20. It feels well balanced and very comfortable, with the body finish adding to this feel.

Features

This is an area where I was second time awe struck. From the usual picture styles to AF fine tuning it felt as if this was the case that this was someone's first camera, they wouldn't be asking for more. It is a feature rich camera and what particularly excited me was the fact that I could process my RAW files in camera (as I am a RAW shooter in any situation), so I could have a JPEG of only the pictures I would have to either send or share, ready to go. I wished my other cameras had this to save some space in the card.
While this was exciting, this is in my opinion the feature that at the same time hampers the camera's image quality but only slightly and I will expand on this in the Image Quality section.

Performance

Performance is on the whole good, but the AF tends to hunt or hesitate a little in lower light. I do not know if this is because of the cheaper kit lens, it is likely. In daylight I found the AF very good with this lens. Reviewing images can also be slow, but given the size of the images (and the fact that I use a S3pro too which is no speed champ either in this department) I did not find this a turn off, also because you can cancel review at any time by pressing the shutter button to go back to shooting.
If you choose to process your RAW in camera then you will have to wait for this to finish but it doesn't take long. In any case, this is a feature I would leave for when I finish my shooting.

Image Quality

This is an area where this camera unexpectedly excels with its 14.6MP even at higher sensitivities.

Initially I had my reservations when I was looking at the JPEGs from the camera. For some reason, it seems that the camera introduces some chroma noise in the JPEGs when it either shoots them or you process them in camera. While ISOs from 100-400 are very good, you start seeing chroma noise at 800 and increasingly above.

But do not despair. Putting the RAW (DNG) files through ACR really makes them shine. You see a very pleasing, more luminance, film like noise at higher ISOs and the images are also very clean, with good sharpness at these sensitivities, which for a sensor of 14.6MP is not easy (and with the kit lens that it came with). I would not hesitate to pump up the ISO if there's ever the need for it.
In this department I am very satisfied, because for me what really makes or breaks my choices for a camera is what it outputs and this camera does not disappoint even the most demanding photographer.

Conclusion

So this concludes my initial thoughts on the camera. If this is what Pentax and Samsung are playing with now, I personally see no reason for this duo to come out with even more technically impressive stuff and join the big two which are becoming the big three now (with Sony having played out very well and I even see some using Sony now in the midst of the sea of Nikons and Canons out there). Perhaps the challenge is financial (and also the fact that the AF lens collection is a bit limiting on both parts and 3rd party dependency is not bad but not very good either)but that's something for a different discussion.
I believe with a little AF improvement and perhaps adding another 3-4fps to the drive (making it 6fps), this dynamic duo can come up with a true alternative(s) in the market. The image quality is certainly there. Let's see what happens next.

___________________________________________________________________

So yes, I am thoroughly impressed :)

Some samples will be posted on my flickr.com page here .

Until next time,

Luis

Amateur Photographer Magazine's On Assignment Feature

2008-09-14T17:23:00.001-07:00

SG201636_mono2, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

Well, this made my week I have to say, seeing not only my photos published in Amateur Photographer Magazine in the "On Assignment" feature, but also win the competition for Picture of the Day. It's always great to get recognition among your peers and AP provided a great day which I thoroughly enjoyed along with the opportunity to enjoy an unusual and fun event, Jousting at Hever Castle, a recreation of medieval jousting by The Knights of Royal England (www.knightsroyal.co.uk) .

You can see some of the shots that are not in the magazine here , but the set does include the winning shot.

Many thanks to AP and especially Garry McNamara and Gemma Padley for their guidance and support.

Until next time,

Luis

Nikon launches world first video capable DSLR

2008-08-27T05:02:00.000-07:00

Nikon has just launched the world's first video capable DSLR in the form of the Nikon D90. The successor to the already successful Nikon D80 has HD video output, sports Nikon's acclaimed new 12.3MP CMOS sensor and can shoot at 4.5 frames per second. The Dxx series has always been targeted at enthusiasts but the D90 seems to be targetting a slightly wider market, encompassing news reporters as the new features show. In fact it may be the answer to some news reporters prayers (i.e. Dan Chung, award-winning photojournalist with The Guardian has expressed his wish of having video capabilities in his cameras at times), as the demand for photographers to have video skills grow. The camera was launched alongside an 18-105 optic which will be sold with it as a kit for £849.99 or £699 for the camera body only.

On a personal view, I was never a friend of the all in one device, I prefer to have dedicated devices for a given task as they tend to perform better. Having said that, the higher quality of photo lenses coupled with a video capable device may turn things around.
Nevertheless I see the video capability of the D90 as a lesser benefit, a bit of a gimmick, the excitement for me is the inclusion of Nikon's acclaimed 12.3MP CMOS and a very useful 4.5 frames per second capture (for photojournalistic work).

Kudos to Nikon for including these features in an enthusiasts model at this price point.

AP news link

Dpreview.com news link

Until next time,

Luis

UCL building Roman Numeral blunder...

2008-08-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

It's been a while since I have posted anything here, I have been a busy man, I launched my website (which I am still working on the interface but has somework on display)among other things I had the chance to take part in a user review with What Digital Camera magazine and a "On Assignment" section for Amateur Photographer Magazine.

Anyway, I was out with my camera today and I was feeling a bit uninspired so I passed by the UCL building behind Warren Street and took a shot of the wrong Roman numerals in one of the buildings as I was wondering if anyone else had noticed that (as I work in that area for a while I was always amazed nobody has said or done anything about it) and a bit shocked that an educational institution like UCL could make such a blunder.

(click to enlarge)

Roman numerals have a rule that does not allow the use of the same numeral more than three times. Frankly I don't know what date/year they were trying to inscribe but if it was 1905 the correct form would have been MCMV, if 2005 MMV. In the case that the date they wanted to inscribe is 1905, the C (100) before the M (1000) is used to denote subtraction of 100 from 1000 (making it 900).

Better change that quick as it won't do any favours to UCL to have that there for any longer.

Until next time,

Luis

Update...

2008-06-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

My work is now available via Alamy images. Point your browsers to my website and simply click on the link.

Until next time,

Luis

It's Good For You!

2008-05-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

...and for me!

And on this note, I also announce that my official website is now open, albeit at its initial stages. Consider it more of an electronic card, but here's the address:

www.luis-rubim-photography.co.uk

Stay tuned!

Until next time,

Luis

Yes you can...

2008-04-02T00:39:00.000-07:00

Purchase prints from this blog! Some of you have asked me and here's how: Just drop me a line via luis.rubim@gmail.com . You can also browse some more photos here . You can watch a slideshow here but this way you will also be able to see complete sets on one subject including some of my press work . As my sales website is still under reconstruction this will be the only way you can browse and buy some of my work at the moment.

Until next time,

Luis

Old Man Winter is back!

2008-03-24T13:41:00.001-07:00

Old Man Winter is back!, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

It seems there's no escaping it...Spring is supposed to be here as of thr 20th of March but we keep on being battered by cold,snow,hail and whatever else the sky can throw at us. I gathered my guts to brave some cold today and went out to take some photos, (as I haven't done so in a while) and found out the possible explanation for this Spring delay...Old Man Winter is out and about!

More Impressionism in The Viewfinder...

2008-02-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Until next time,

Luis

Linux and Photography - a rare combo...

2008-01-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

After years of using Windows and subsequently being many times on the verge of losing my photos due to viruses, system crashes, overburdening the system with Windows' power hungry resources, I have been contemplating moving to Linux. I have a little experience with Linux, I was impressed, but most of the applications I needed were not (or so I thought) for Linux. But I could live with incompatibilities as long as my photographic collections were safe and intact. Linux based systems have stronger security features and fewer viruses (this may be aided by the fact that there aren't many viruses written for Linux), very rarely crash and when something goes wrong it is more likely than not, that it was due to user error. It also uses way much less memory than Windows for thee same or three other tasks at the same time. The operating system and its applications are open source and free. To the unexperienced user, the notion of free full software may seem dubious and full of compromises, but this is certainly not the case.

So, I decided for a gradual move into Linux and for that, I decided to try Linux with it's own version of Photoshop...GIMP with UFRAW plugin.
I have to say I was pleasantly impressed. GIMP may not be as polished interface wise as Photoshop, but all the tools you need are there, one just needs to get used to the interface while the UFRAW plugin for camera RAW files offers all the control a photographer will ever really need. The only minus is that it seems that it does not perform denoising on the RAWs (perhaps it is a plus as it really shows as your camera performs), I still have the feeling that UFRAW outputs somewhat noisier files. Having said that, I have converted Sigma X3F files with UFRAW with very good results. Here are some examples:

.X3F, UFRAW converted with no exposure correction

.X3F, UFRAW converted with 1.69(approx) exposure correction

Despite the second example showing some noise which resulted from the exposure correction, the results are perfectly usable at full resolution.
For me this is a big thumbs up and a step closer that transition from Windows to Linux ( which will allow me to do more with much less usage of system memory and CPU).

Until next time,

Luis

C41 at home with Tetenal.

2007-12-26T07:26:00.001-08:00

I was once more impressed with the simplified Tetenal kits. This time the C41 kit (which is the process of standard negative colour film). A hassle free kit,that produces satisfactory to excellent home results. Here's one from a Fujifilm Pro 160S put through Tetenal.

Until next time,

Luis

Another great addition to the kit...

2007-12-23T07:21:00.001-08:00

The Konica Minolta Dimage A1. I have wanted one of these beauties for ages, but since the demise of Konica Minolta the only place to find them is Ebay and even there they are scarce. I was lucky enough to win the auction for what I believe is one of the best if not the best prosumer digital camera ever. I have had it for a while now, but only yesterday I had the chance to really spend some time with it. And as such, here is todays pick:

BUS_Flickr, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

Until next time,

Luis

My sales site...

2007-12-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Just a quick reminder that the sales site is under construction. It is undergoing a major makeover and is going to be easier to navigate and include a bigger selection of work.
I thank you all for your visit and custom and the site should be up and running again soon.

Random from file:

No Photoshop here!
Fujifilm S20 pro, reversed 28mm lens,Centon FG30 flash bounced

Until next time,

Luis

Woody was around...

2007-11-26T04:10:00.000-08:00

Spotted this Green Woodpecker flying around Hyde Park. I believe that London is perhaps the only city in Europe with such varied wildlife and where people can experience it so easily up close.

But this fella was difficult to shoot, he liked to keep his distance, as such the pic below is only a resized crop. Taken with my Minolta 7D and Sigma 70-300mm APO DG.

Until next time,

Luis

The Sony A700: Finally, a real upgrade to the Minolta 7D

2007-11-24T11:13:00.001-08:00

I gotta hand it to Sony. As a Konica Minolta 7D owner, the A700 is really good news.
Back is Minolta like design,build and layout, Minolta’s Anti-Shake system reincarnated again as SuperSteadyShot and what seems to be some 12 very clean megapixels (using CMOS rather than CCD as on the 7D). The Sony adds in this package for A-mount users its DRO technology, offering extended dynamic range as in camera option and environmental sealing. Performance has vastly improved, with 5fps in consecutive mode so you don’t miss those crucial moments. In short, the A700 seems like a vastly improved tool over the already excellent Konica Minolta 7D. I had the chance to handle one and see the results and the camera feels quite familiar, apart from the menus, but still no big deal, its something you can get used to very easily.

It finally feels as if Sony can be taken seriously as a camera maker, the A700 means business and it has Minolta DNA all over it.
I think I know where my money is going next.

Random photo from file...

2007-11-24T10:51:00.001-08:00

Until next time,

Luis

Thank you Tetenal!

2007-11-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

For an amazing E6 kit! I fsweatted,I stressed, I messed up chemicals, redid them, I messed up temperatures and I changed the times by instinct alone, spilled the final chemistry bit (stabiliser) and yet...I got some awesome results from this kit. Light years ahead of the Jessops muck that ruined so many films (and subsequent hours of work). This chemistry gives some sharp, clean images. A fortune in Tetenal chemistry ensues... :D

Here's one from the aftermath:

Until next time,

Luis

The SD10 makes a comeback to The Viewfinder

2007-10-21T10:18:00.001-07:00

After months of waiting, I have a Sigma SD10 to work with. I missed those tack sharp photos, so off I went with it to the streets. One of things I love about this camera as well is the ability to produce very good results even with average lenses (such as the Sigma 24-70HF used for this shot).

IMG00486, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

So, The Viewfinder's Foveon Factor section is once again open.

Until next time,

Luis

New addition to the ever expanding film camera arsenal...

2007-10-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

...The Kiev 6C. As much loved as it is hated, the undeniable truth is that some nice Neopan 400 and the sharp old Pentacon 6 fit Russian lenses produce the goods....I took it out for a test the other day and was lucky enough to bump into this nice, approachable chap who let take his portait....

(Chris Eubank, former boxer and world champion)

Until next time,

Luis

From the film file...

2007-09-29T08:32:00.001-07:00

Fishing Nets (2003)- Kodak Gold ISO100

________________________________

Sun Dried Fish (2003)- Kodak Gold ISO100
________________________________

Big Bad Wolf (2006) - Fujifilm Sensia 100
________________________________

A Blue Tit searching for a nest in late winter (2002) - Fujifilm Sensia 200
____________________________________________________

Until next time,

Luis

Going back to basics II ....

2007-09-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Once again, I have been having the film bug. Can't help it, I just like the look of it, developing it, scanning it, printing it,...regardless of what digital offers there are qualities in film that digital simply hasn't quite cut yet, even with the ever increasing megapixel counts in sensors. Dynamic range is one of them, colour depth...your eye just has so much more to appreciate in a film photo even with the grainiest of films. As such, I have been leaving my digital cameras at home and leaving the house with a film camera loaded with monochrome film, or slide film (which I mostly send for process but that will change, thank you Tetenal more on that below :) ) and occasionally with some negative film (which I send for processing, C41 chemistry is expensive and very tricky). The greatest of joys for me this week were when I came across the Tetenal site, selling all the developing kits that an over enthusiastic film user like myself could want. The chemistry for slide in particular is hard to find and the last time I found it, the kit revealed disappointing as the chemistry was very likely off (only found out after I developed the slide). Anyway, enough reading for now, lets do some looking. Here is the material for the day, all film photos of course.

Brian Haw - Kodak Portra 160VC
_________________________________

South African Carnival Dancers - Kodak Portra 160VC
_______________________________________

Bikers - Fujfilm Sensia 200

____________________________________

Until next time,

Luis

This month's rescue...

2007-08-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yup, once again, this time by my dear sister's hands another furry (and in this case, spiky) little lost critter. This little fellow was found wondering the street away from his natural habitat and visibly hungry. Concerned with what may happen to such a peaceful little critter in a back street where rats are as big as rabbits, she craddled him with her coat and brought him/her (can't tell, as we tried and we ended up with a spike ball in our hands)home. Feeding hasn't been a problem, they eat everything from dog and cat food to grapes and other fruit and he/she was no different, in fact, can't see any food in front, gone in 60 seconds. As for other care, a hot water bottle and a soft corner to sleep seems to do wonders (sleeps for hours on end). Anyway, here's Bernardino ( as we called him/her):

Until next time,

Luis

It goes without saying...

2007-08-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

...one of the most photogenic, beautiful, natural faces I have seen. I was in Covent Garden,it was a dull rainy day, nothing to shoot and I was about to go home. I was just trying to make some time, trying to pick a face in a crowd or a situation,but with the light on that day I was stuck with using ISO1600 (meaning very grainy pictures). I then just notice this girl giving out leaflets just about less than 30ft from me. I couldn't take the lens off of her for nothing else. Absolutely, one of the most photogenic and natural (I underline here natural) faces I have seen so far. I had asked her if she would let me take a couple of portraits, she said yes but that she becomes very conscious when she sees a camera. I said to her, not to worry, I will stand far as I prefer to take more candid, natural looking photos, so she can carry on doing what she was doing and that I would just take a few shots, so she wouldn't feel so conscious. She kindly agreed. Nevertheless, there was the problem with the grain in one photo (the one just below)as I had to underexpose due to the long lens (so I thought, I can convert them to Black and White to mask out excessive grain and give it a softer look). A bit of cropping here and there and here are the day's shots.

I have been a bit away but nevertheless still doing what I like, I just got hit by nostalgia, so I have been using Black and White film. I did process some slide but the chemistry was out of date, still I got a couple of shots out of the film. I will post these as soon as I find some time.

Until next time,

Luis

A trip to Richmond Park...

2007-07-27T15:51:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I was astonished to find Richmond Park literally covered in dark green ferns, chest high. They love water and I guess the reason for Richmond being thick with them was because of all the rainfall we had. Anyway, I was expecting to find Richmond dry and I actually wanted to see some deer. In 9 hours there, there wasn't one to see for miles which was quite surprising but I guess the deer didn't like to be covered up by ferns.

As I and my friend were about to leave Richmond in the car, half the way out, I see out of the corner of my eye a little fluffy tail sticking out of the denseness. I asked my friend (a bit risky) to back up a little and I see this fluffy tail sticking out, still undisturbed. Funny enough it only raised it's head when I changed lenses on my camera (yup the car didn't disturb her and I guess the sound of a lens change is a bit similar to the cocking of a hunting gun) and I had a split second to take this shot. Lucky enough, I had the camera accidentally set to the right ISO setting and shutter speed for the length of the lens and the results speak for themselves :)

Until next time,

Luis

Deer_Blog_size_c, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

S3 pro goes to a concert...

2007-07-18T09:02:00.001-07:00

Hello again,

Last Sunday the 15th the "Rise London United Against Racism" concert took place at Finsbury Park, London. There was also a mass demonstration happening at the same time in central London, as it was the day that war broke out in Cyprus in 1974, as Turkish forces invaded the northern territory.

So I had to choose between the two events. I chose the concert, because I never done a concert with my camera. I must say I was expecting the mass demonstration to have some coverage as there were some Parliament speakers there and it is an ongoing 30 year old issue in the country, not to mention the massive Cypriot community in the country. The coverage was near to none.

So, off I go with my Fujifilm S3pro DSLR and two lenses, Fujifilm S20pro compact, 2 flashes and 4 cards. I have to say, I ended up regretting carrying all this gear as it turned out it wasn't that necessary and I did not manage to get as close as I wanted (yeah, still haven't got that press pass yet). Anyway, I was happy with what I manage to get and not only that, the S3pro delivered a stunning performance at ISO1600 (yes at this point things get very grainy), delivering a set of images which were very clean for the ISO rating. A quick curves adjustment in Photoshop and voila, some usable images. I must admit, when I first looked at the images I was a bit disappointed and then I realised (as I only really started to use this camera to a greater extent now, so some things I still miss), this camera records 400% Dynamic Range in it's WIDE2 mode which I always have on, unlike any other( except its successor the S5pro), so the images were apparently lacking in contrast and looked very noisy. The ammount of colour information that this camera records is astonishing and also results in a rather large 25MB RAW file that translates into a 65-120MB TIFF. The camera does this so you have enough latitude for adjustment and you don't lose the detail in highlights. This is particularly useful if you are using high ISO values (ISO1600) with this camera. The grain for that ISO rating is very low in comparison to other cameras. Anyway lets look at some pics.

Here are some shots from the day, hope you enjoy:

The Noisettes stormed the place

Jamelia strut her stuff

Kelis dropped her bombastic tunes

Long lenses attract attention

This time I wanted attention ....

The kind of shot that only my compact could do: up close and personal

Until next time,

Luis

The Fujinon 55mm f2.2 - A gem from the past...

2007-07-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have had this lens modified for some time but never really came to use it as most of my work is centered around other areas of photography. But for fun, I pulled it out of the bag the other day and start playing with it. Here's a small backgrounder on the lens:

The lens was bought with a Fujica ST605 camera, which as then replaced for another as it developed a problem. These cameras come most of the times, if and when you find them with their standard lens, which is the Fujinon 55mm f2.2. So I ended up with two of them. I decided to try one on my Minolta DSLR with an adapter and at first I was none too happy as it really gives you a very short range and I could only really focus close , at about 4.5-7in away. I guessed it was something to do with the way the adapter was made/machined. Then one day I was playing around with it still with the idea that it doesn't quite work as I wanted it and I was cleaning it while looking through the viewfinder and it was a revelation...it had great macro ability with that same adapter. This lens was not intended for macro at all and it's manual. Not only that, I also found that the sweet spot (which is the area where the lens performs optimally and will be very sharp) is great.
But as with all lenses, it would be nice to be able to fully close down the lens to its minimum aperture so images become even sharper(with the adapter in this lens you can't as this lens has a pin which does it, but it's controlled by the camera). So, I crossed my fingers removed the T-adapter, pushed the pin all the way through, put a small screw in the hole where the pin is as to lock it, put the adapter back on and voila, aperture controlled by the ring on the lens.

Now the reason for this post really is that I only now had a real play with the lens and put it through it's paces. Even though this lens can do macro after the modification, the real shock came to me on the amount of detail it can resolve. It can do macro to some extent, but not frame filling insect macros...so that's exactly what I was headed for, insect macros by cropping the image. That would be the test.It's performance is outstanding for a lens this old! The difference with this lens and others is that this lens is 30 years old and only costed me around a fiver! It's performance, if used correctly is the same if not superior to several current lenses that surpass it's price by the hundreds of pounds.

I am posting a crop along side the full resolution image, so you can see the amount of detail that this lens can resolve. No sharpening applied to this image.

Hell, why should I spend £300-£500 if a lens costing a fiver gives me the results?!

Please note that Blogger may resize and reduce quality of the higher resolution picture to fit it's parameters. The original image stands at 3008x2000.

6MP JPEG from 6MP RAW (click image):

Crop from RAW and then converted to JPEG(click image):

Until next time,

Luis

That's right folks...

2007-07-02T12:56:00.001-07:00

DSCF0725_m_m, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

The UK has gone smoke free...in public premises. Is it a good thing? Yes, but maybe not for everybody...I don't see how smokers can enjoy their drink outside with all the "extra sauce" that the weather has brought lately. But then again, imagine the savings smokers will do in the winter...leaving more for drink!... Maybe it's not so good as it looks then....

Until next time,

Luis

Obi-wan Canadian...

2007-06-29T16:01:00.001-07:00

DSCF0711_1jpg, originally uploaded by Luis Rubim.

Yes, it is here for another year, London's Canada Day, finishing tomorrow. Despite the rain and the three bomb threats, Londoners and Canadians were undeterred o enjoy a weekend of cultural contact with Canadian tradition, art, music, sport and more. I nipped down to Trafalgar Square during my lunch break for this grab shot and a few others, with my always lovely and so portable, Fujfilm S20pro and a flashgun. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Luis

Among other things....(an update)

2007-06-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

...the blog can now go fully mobile and live! In fact this update was done on the move...thanks to the great Opera browser.
On another note, to those who were wondering about little Gizmo, he/she found a home with space to run about and sh!t about too. :D I believe he/she is doing well, but I intend to stay away, believe me there was a bond growing between me and the little fella/lass and the last thing you want is a bond with a duck (you won't even be able to go to the toilet alone).
Then, I opened a Flickr account.There's a photostream going but I can't remember the address.I will be posting some photos from there soon enough.
I also had an exhibition together with colleagues at University which I think it went very well. I also leave here my greatest thanks to Elaine Gilbert, my tutor and also Hung Hoang and Lisa Islam for their help putting my stuff together as I barely could make it to the prep.
Finally and in a positive note with a slight negative twist, I presenced the step down of a Prime Minister and took some shots.I was very satisfied with my work, in fact I had some seriously editorial stuff until I realised that precisely that material was corrupted in the camera card.Nevertheless, I still have some good stuff I think(will post some). But I can't supress the feeling that I presenced a bit of history and this is one reason I love photography: a piece of history framed forever.

Until next time,

Luis

Rain....

2007-05-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Rain...it felt good today. It was very therapeutical. I had left the house wearing shorts, a jumper and my photo vest as I thought that since I would be walking a long way, I might as well use the extra cooling. I wasn't expecting the rain but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise...it just felt great to be under the rain, I experienced a total emptyness in my mind...it was almost like a spiritually cleansing experience...maybe that's why these two were out:

Until next time,

Luis

An eventful day....

2007-05-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

...but not for me. I have been busy lately, I have covered Gumball 3000 and Mayday among other things, in fact if anything I am very, very happy that Getty Images is now selling some of my work (as of yesterday), but today the story was one that touched me in a different level, it's a story about second chances.

Anyone who really knows me knows that I am an animal lover.

The story today starts in a bizarre and sad way but ends with a happier ending (but not for me, personally). This story concerns, Gizmo.

This little one here is Gizmo:

Ignoring the technicalities of the photo (as the focus on Giz's face is a little off as he decided to step forward to stare at me), Gizmo, as I decided to call him/her as he/she came home with me in my gear bag, is probably an orphan duckling.

I was shooting some bird shots in Hyde Park to kill some time while waiting for friends. As these friends of mine were taking their time and I had appointments at 4pm today, I decided to call it a day and head back. As I was heading back through Hyde Park, I went to my favourite courner to take some shots of small birds (robins and blue tits). To my surprise, I see some ducklings running around alone and looking very scared, inside this area which is actually sealed to the public (that corner is very far from water for ducklings to be and I didn't see a mother duck anywhere around, it felt strange). I ignored them as I thought maybe they got scared because they saw me. As I prepared to take a shot of a blue tit that was about to take off from a branch, I hear a lot of comotion coming from inside the fencing.As I look down I see three ducklings running out of the area scared and to my surprise, a rat holding one in its mouth! The rat was apparently hunting the ducklings! As these ducklings come out along with the rat, they all got surprised to find me out there, so the rat winged it like a bat out of hell with a duckling in its mouth, the other two went back into the fenced area and Gizmo here was just frozen on the floor at my feet. I picked up Gizmo and he was trembling, very likely in shock. I didn't really know what to do as I did not see any park guards, I did not know where to take it and then, very likely, if I took little Giz to the park guards, they would very likely would kill it as he is now motherless (previous experiences with RSPCA). Now Gizmo is a healthy little spark of energy, (he spent all of the day jumping inside the bag, jumping and running everywhere until he realized that I was ok, so he decided to sleep on my hands and chest); so why should he get a second chance? I decided to find a bird sanctuary. I don't know how Gizmo and siblings ended up in that situation and honestly I don't care. But, he/she deserves a second chance. After all, the rats are really an infestation which is partially the fault of all the construction works going on in the sewage lines, they are driving them out. I have never seen Hyde Park so full of rats before. All I wish is that his/her siblings are ok and I wish I could have saved them all, but they would be all bunched up together in my bag, there was only really comfortable space for one, even if I could have rescued them all.

So here I am now, with this duckling which now follows me, likes to jump on my head, sleep on my chest or hands and stares at me for long periods of time.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna phone a proper bird sanctuary, before I start having to go to work, go out, etc, with a duck following me everywhere. :D

So, any Bird Sanctuary workers/reps that may come across this, please contact me and give Gizmo a chance.

Until next time,

Luis

It's been only a few days....

2007-04-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

...but my SD10 has already given me a picture of the day at Scoopt.com!
Which comes to show that it is not at all impossible to do photojournalism with this camera, as some may say.

http://www.scoopt.com/gallery/picday.asp

Until next time,

Luis

More Foveon magic...

2007-04-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hello again,

I am still putting my Sigma SD10 through its paces and quite frankly it's been a great experience, I can't put the camera down. I snap all the way and having in mind what the sensor can do makes me see things differently. At the end of this day, I downloaded the photos to the computer, let Sigma Photo Pro do it's work, inputted my settings and then I had a shock...from this supposedly 3.4MP sensor as some class it, I can output an A2 size print!! There was a slight misfocus on my part but it is still a very printable and sharp picture.

My only niggle throughout my testing is that the Sigma 70-300 Macro Super lens I have, is too soft at the long end or at least my copy is (meaning that full face candid portraits even though good, were soft). That means next on my shopping list will be the 70-300 APO DG, which I have on my Minolta and it is a top performance entry level telephoto lens. The Aspherical HF lenses in fact behave very adequately and that Foveon quality still shines through.

Here's the A2 printable photo (scalled down for web). Please point your browsers to http://foveon-factor.blogspot.com for this photo and more, or click on the link on the right hand side.

Until next time,

Luis

New to The Viewfinder....

2007-04-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

...the Sigma SD10. This unusual camera uses three layered RGB filters on its sensor, offering true colour in a single pixel location, unlike the usual Bayer sensors. I got my hands on one after scouring the market and realising there is no chance of getting one new, so I got this little quirky and misunderstood camera 2nd hand with a good array of lenses. This camera only shoots RAW and the files need to be converted by its software before you can use them. I took it for some test drives to see how it would fit me and my shooting needs...well, the results speak for themselves:

I was so very pleased with the shooting experience ( I had tried one of these before, but never for a whole day) that I decided to open a section on The Viewfinder, dedicated to the camera and the Foveon sensor (the sensor in the camera). As far as I have owned the camera now (for three days), I haven't seen a lot of the problems that some have pointed out in the camera, apart from the issues of noise at high ISO (but even that has proven to be somewhat due to the way some convert their images). The camera is responsive enough to take actions shots, even though its frame rate may not be to par, but then again, the old school of sports photographers using film back in the 50s-70s did not have frame rates (hell look back enough there weren't even motordrives in those cameras), so it is down to the photographers skill to capture what they want, regardless.

In any case, make sure you point your browsers to the new section, for the above pictures and more at http://foveon-factor.blogspot.com/ or use the link on the right hand side of the blog.

Until next time,

Luis

New Viewfinder Section...

2007-04-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Viewfinder has opened "The Foveon Factor" , a section dedicated to the Foveon camera.
Point your browsers to http://foveon-factor.blogspot.com/ or click the link above.

Until next time,

Luis

Nature's Gifts...

2007-03-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful sight even via my cheap telescope. Nevertheless, here's a small glimpse to last nights celestial events.

Until next time,

Luis

Gossip....

2007-02-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

Until next time,

Luis

My sales site is now open...

2007-02-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

My sales site is now open. The site is still being updated with prints for sale and overall aesthetics but it is active. Point your browsers to www.luis-rubim-photoart.com .

Until next time,

Luis

The Economist publishes picture by The Viewfinder 's photographer...

2007-02-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I am now too busy drinking a nice glass of champagne to write much....

This week's Economist link:

Muslims and Socialists - With friends like these

Original photo (click to enlarge):

Until next time,

Luis

PS: This post was re-edited to include the scanned page off the magazine, since the article is now premium content. Click on the thumbnail below :

Until next time,

Luis

Light effects... Club Shot

2007-02-07T04:36:00.000-08:00

A bit of blur in post editing turns this Fujifilm E500 shot into a groovy one.

Until next time,

Luis

Turning a new star into a classic star...

2007-02-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

Looking through my blog I was looking for a celeb portrait to turn into a classic 60's glam shot. Further down this blog you will find a Cheryl Tweedy portrait which I chose for this photo makeover. Enjoy.

Until next time,

Luis

Back to Basics....

2007-02-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that having to use digital these days has made me a bit slack. I was also a bit tired of seeing my images imediately and kind of missing the depth and tonality of film..it has something that digital in all it's quality can't still quite hack it...some nice black and white film....developed the old fashioned, hands on way, attention to detail in the process... I always have this feeling that I produce my best work with film...maybe because I am more patient with it?...In any case, I tend to feel more fulfilled with it...a test of my photographic capacities, getting back to shape, was what I needed....so I decided to retire my digital cameras for a while, bought some chemicals (Ilford DD-X Developer, Kodak Indicator Stop and Jessops Fixer) and a few other bits and bobs for developing. Made a date for last weekend to go shooting so I packed my recently acquired Nikon F80 with 35-80mm Quantaray and 75-240mm Nikon (loaded with Kodak Tri-X), along with my Minolta Dynax 5 its 28-100mm and 75-300mm (loaded with Ilford Delta3200) and off I went on a long walk. I just wanted to capture something especial, something that would only be there on that moment...and I am of the opinion that film is the best medium for it...Cutting the story short, here are the results, from the Tri-X, developed with Ilford DD-X and scanned with a film scanner.

"Loose Readings"

No Title

No Title

Next week, I will develop the Delta 3200 and see what I got. If you are interested,these prints will be available for sale in my website (www.luis-rubim-photoart.com) which will be launched soon.

Until next time,

Luis

A sunny spell....and my Minolta 7D

2007-01-02T11:42:00.000-08:00

A sunny spell today prompted me to get out of my bed and leave the house with no breakfast whatsoever, as I haven't been that lucky lately in finding a time with good lighting to take some shots. Even so, there was not much to shoot around or maybe my artistic eye may have stayed in bed for the day. Then the light started to fall...So here are today's:

Verticals become verticals again.

Never thought Photoshop's distortion correction tools were this effective...

An artist of a different kind - Sertac, chef, taking a break

One of those shots you gotta take for some reason...

Until next time,

Luis

Homing in on the detail...

2007-01-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

I had taken this photo way back in June. I was a some good distance away from this group of pigeons, they were enjoying the sun so I decided to take a shot. They still looked a bit distant on the photo, so I decided to home in and trim it down to what I found interesting.
All creatures big and small enjoy the simple things in life.

Until next time,

Luis

Random YOWSA! YOWSA! from file....

2007-01-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

Until next time,

Luis

Random celebrity picture from file....

2007-01-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

Sophie Okonedo
at the premiere of "Stormbreak"

Until next time,

Luis

Hmmm...low light...a red ceiling....a flashgun...and an S3 pro....

2006-12-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

I was lucky today that I was meeting friends later on the day after going for some shots, since I realised after putting my hand in my camera bag that I forgot to bring the right lens for the day, as the light was not great today. So I was pretty much stuck I brought out a telephoto lens that focus at some distance and apertures start at f4.5 only....not good for London in the winter...So as I said, I met some friends later on the day and I had plenty of scope for some nice interesting portraits with a few characters...lucky enough I had my flashgun in the bag so all I can say is thank you guys, you provided me with some material for today!

Here are the shots:

Tanya - Faster Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Hisham - Handsome "son-a-gun"

Neo - Just Slick

Hung - Just Sharp

Alex - The Ace

Hard and Soft

Until next time,
Luis

Aaaaaaaaand The Viewfinder is back!!....

2006-12-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

With new photos and photos from file and new gear.

I finally got my hands on the mean machine Fujifilm S3pro. I coupled to that the very useful Sigma 18-125mm DC lens. I found the lens to be sharp enough, for an everyday, consumer lens of such an extended range. Not a bad lens at all for the money, contrary of what a lot of the reviews will make you believe.

Here are the most recent street and random snappings.

Real or not?

A street opera singer in mid pitch shift.

Fujifilm S3pro
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Contemplation

Fujifilm S3pro
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Trafalgar Square's new guardian

Fujifilm S3pro
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Kevin Zegers on the world premiere of his new film
"It's a BoyGirl Thing"

Cheryl Tweedy in the premiere
of "It's a BoyGirl

Fujifilm S3pro
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Just couldn't help but take this shot

Minolta 7D
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Through the Glass

Minolta 7D
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Until next time,

Luis

Today's random snappings...

2006-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Elf-a-YOWSA!!

A little photoshop done but I will let you guess where....no not the ears, the ears were there.....

Elf-a-YOWSA!! 2

And then I feared for my personal safety.... ;D

The National Youth Theatre Celebrates it's 50th

2006-09-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

The National Youth Theatre has today celebrated it's 50th anniversary. The free event took place in Trafalgar Square, in the form of a play with a musical side called "God Save the Teen" about the cultural force that teenagers and their rebellious behaviour have been throughout the decades, in the form of a story about a 1956 teenage boy who falls in love with a 2006 teenage girl by travelling through time due to "The Cliff Richard Effect". Young actors from all over Britain made the cast. The play would often "flood" into the audience and also invited the audience to participate. Here are some photos of the goings on. Enjoy.

Until next time,

Luis

Night photography with an Impressionist touch...

2006-08-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

Until next time,

Luis

Todays snapshot...

2006-08-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

A slight misfocus but nothing that couldnt be remedied with Photoshop.

Until next time,

Luis

Random Photo from File

2006-08-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

More people like this are needed in this world...

Until next time,

Luis

Photokina 2006 bound to be the biggest ever...

2006-08-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yup, to all shutter eyes out there, it's back again for another year and it's deemed to be the biggest ever. Photokina 2006 will bring more innovation in the field of photography and certainly will live up to the expectations of many photographers out there who are waiting for some new exciting gear. Keep your eyes peeled and get your info here:

Photokina 2006

Until next time,

Luis

It's amazing sometimes what people leave on the riverside...

2006-08-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

It is also amazing how the course of nature and time can turn the most mundane things into something really beautiful at second glance....enjoy, I certainly did.

Until next time,

Luis

Random street snapping....

2006-08-10T17:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a slightly busy day for me so I had to skip updating "The Viewfinder", nevertheless I produced some goods. Here are yesterday's (1) and today's (2) random snappings. Had to do some work to the last two, because somehow today, my camera wasn't much for working under the rain, the autofocus would get tricked by the falling rain! That apart from some cropping. Enjoy!

Hare!Hare!

Today's very welcome weather change

Until next time,

Luis

New Nikon beast is named...

2006-08-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, the beast has hatched and has been christened Nikon D80. The upgrade to the seller D70/D70s features among other things, 10MP sensor, new image processing engine, in camera image retouching and built in wireless commander. More on the new Nikon 20 day hatch beast here:

New Nikon Beast Preview

Until next time,

Luis

New Fujifilm camera takes UV and IR photos...

2006-08-10T03:24:00.000-07:00

Another innovative breakthrough from Fujifilm in the form of the latest upgrade to the S3pro Digital SLR. The New S3pro UVIR, takes Ultra-Violet and Infra Red photos and it is mainly aimed at forensics, scientists and fine-artists. It was also found that more could be taken out from the the SuperCCD SR sensor used in the S3pro than previously thought and that it could provide primarily to criminal law experts the ultimate tool in evidence recording at a crime scene. The camera which will be available in the US already has a price tag of $1,799 body only, while in Europe it's previous version had been banned for falling foul of new laws on the use of lead in electronic components, so it's quite likely we won't see this new version in Europe. The previous S3 can be found in shops while stocks last for 699GBP nearly half of it's original price.

Needless to say I want one :)

Fujifilm S3pro UVIR DSLR

Until next time,

Luis

Just a reminder....

2006-08-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked if any of the photos are for sale. If you are interested in a photo, please point out which one(s) and what size via email ( mrrubim@yahoo.co.uk ). I am also currently working on a new website for print sales which will open soon, so you can have a look at the full range of prints and you will be able to buy online.

Thank you.

Until next time,

Luis Rubim

Today's Random and Grabshot....

2006-08-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

As I was heading home with an empty card in the camera and bored to my fingernails with camera in hand, I came across the Premiere of "Lady in the Water" by M. Night Shyamalan. It was in my opinion the poorest premiere ever and Bryce Dallas Howard just simply walked out of the car and went straight to the cinema. She ended up signing a couple of autographs because the car parked too close to the public and the first thing she met on leaving the car was an outstreched arm with an autograph book. Then she took off to the cinema. I only had time for this grabshot, not great but Iwant to keep "The Viewfinder" fresh.

And here is today's random shot:

"I haven't eaten anyone yet....:("

Until next time,

Luis

Today's Random Snapshot...

2006-08-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

It was a matter of picking the camera and setting it up in seconds. This shot also took some Photoshop work to remove an unwanted extra pair of legs and bycicle from a corner in the picture. Doesn't look too bad, but boy was it tough.

Until next time,

Luis

The dreaded time has come....

2006-08-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

I need to send my workhorse away to have some minor maintenance work done to it, so we will be seeing more Fujifilm S20pro images in this blog. Nothing wrong with that, in fact it will be a good showcase for it's filmic feel and transparency like colours, overall great image quality.

Fujifilm S20pro and 10 minutes of lying on the gritty floor
in the middle of pigeons.

Which brings us to rumours that Fujifilm may be relaunching a compact with a SuperCCD SR sensor. If that is true, it is about time, it surely needs an upgrade and it's a true Fujifilm innovation, most landscape photographers and wedding/portrait photographers familiar with Fujifilm's S3pro DSLR will certainly agree. In any case, I will miss my Konica Minolta 7D's performance and superb image quality for 3-5 weeks (sob, sob). In the meantime, maybe I'll also get back in touch with film, my favourites Provia ,Velvia and Sensia.

Nikon N5005, Quantaray 35-80mm,Fujifilm Sensia 400
scanned and saturation upped in Photoshop

In any case, let's see what the weekend will bring. Until next time,

Luis

Kodak moves production to Singapore

2006-08-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

In a bid to "streamline" business and "boost profits" Kodak is moving it's consumer camera production to Flextronics, a company from Singapore. In my books, whenever streamlining is mentioned in business news, it means lots of job axing (as the article in the link below shows). It's a more refined way of saying it. It also means, "we're moving things to a place where we pay less for a workforce".

So it's not a surprise that Flextronics was the chosen company. Flextronics, has as it's aim "low cost, high volume manufacturing solutions" which translates to Kodak right now as,"we can sit over here and throw peanuts because there is someone on the other end that will take them". In the meantime, 27000 jobs are gone which I am pretty sure they don't mean the Research and Development Dept (when was the last time we have seen real innovation from Kodak), Design Department (Kodak cameras really need some serious plastic surgery), Marketing Dept.(they are always among the first to point the finger when things don't sell). I am pretty sure the ones to go first will be the people in the assembly lines.

Don't get me wrong, I think Kodak DSLR's produce good image quality but they are past waters and they never really took off. Design wise they were heavy and not very ergonomic (I don't mind the heavy bit personally),they were slow, processing the images from them was according to their users slow and also you weren't advised to use higher ISOs due to noise.All these are things that have little to do with the guy or gal in the assembly line.

The main reason why I am having a rant, is that a lot of companies are doing this either they really need it or not, to a certain level. And the use of terms like "streamlining" to say they are laying off people in their thousands just irritates me. In fact in Kodak's case if anything that needed streamlining is the design of their cameras.

Anyway, here's the article:

Kodak farms out to Singapore

Until next time,

Luis

Kudos Sony! GPS tracker for photographers!

2006-08-02T06:43:00.001-07:00

Sony has come up with a GPS tracker for photographers. By using time and location recordings from this device and the time stamp from a Sony digital camera or camcorder, photographers can plot their images to a map and pinpoint where they have been.

More information here:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06080202sonygpscs1.asp

A good photo turned great...

2006-08-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

I can safely say, long gone are the times when I was a purist photographer. I still keep some purist traits, I still throw away photos that I think don't meet requirements and don't like to tweak too much. But in this case I just didn't have a choice.I mean the photo was good, but it had too much of a snappy feel to me. After 4 long hours, of tweaking, cloning, rebuilding feet I got a colour result which in the end I wasn't happy with. So I gave monochrome a go in Photoshop's channel mixer. A bit of adjusting in brightness/contrast, some Unsharp masking, basically all the stuff that in my purist days I considered a crime against photography. In the end I was more than happy with the results. I look back at my purist days and wonder why didn't I just embrace digital along with film earlier. For starters I could have saved a lot more photos. Here's the before and after.

Until next time,

Luis

Today's Random Photos (bored itchy trigger finger)

2006-07-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

And please!!! There are no encrypted analogies as some have suggested previous to posting these pictures!!!

Random photo from file.....

2006-07-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight only on the Viewfinder: Kiera Knightley on set of new film

2006-07-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Keira Knightley was filming to day at the set of "Atonement" to be launched next year. The film is a period drama set in WWII. The set was located at the site of the Old Scotland Yard. It was tottally unexpect as I was on the prowl for a different type of photography, looking for shots for some arty prints (which I did find some good ones) and I wasn't carrying my usual workhorse, but what I was carrying, worked adequately for some shots. Unfortunately Keira was being shielded from the lens of the occasional photographer that passed by and realised something was happening, at all times. Photographers were allowed to take pictures at a distance and at defined areas. But I did get some shots of Miss Knightley, even though with the camera I was using I had to use digital zoom to get near enough, as I hit the limit of the optical zoom, meaning loss of image quality and some gritty post-processing afterwards and on top of this to speed things up I was using JPEG at times at 3MP and 2MP to achieve higher digital zoom rates.But hey I got the shot!

Anyway, here is tonight's exclusive.

Of note is the wonderfull wardrobe, the vehicles and the way the set was done as some of the pictures I took are very hard to place as being of our days. Everything was intrinsically worked down the very last, minute, details.

Until next time,

Luis Rubim

Just handled: The Sony Alpha....

2006-07-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

After the withdrawal of Konica Minolta from the photo business, all its assets were transferred to Sony as discussed in a precious post here at The Viewfinder. Today as I was returning home from a day out shooting I came across Kamla at Tottenham Court Road in London, where they were exhibiting the Sony Alpha-100 DSLR, the result of the withdrawal of KM from the business and transfer of assets to Sony. I must say I wasn't impressed at all with the build quality. It felt very flimsy and cheap and I was in fact concerned about dropping the camera as I did not have the strap wrapped around my hand nor the camera hanging on my neck by it. The camera kind of echoed on tapping with my nails too, asserting my first impression of "flimsyness". The kit 18-70 DT lens, which is a Minolta lens rebranded Sony looked in fact cheaper than the previous Minolta lens and it had a build of similar cheapness to the camera. I am not saying that the Minolta kit lens was brilliant(kit lenses are almost always of cheaper build and they are entry-level lenses lets say), because it wasn't but it had a good level of build quality for what it was. I wasn't at all impressed with the build, but I don't let this detract from the fact that it has had rave professional reviews and it is a capable performer. It also has what seems to be the same 10MP sensor that is used on the Nikon D200. My other niggle is the depth of 6frames at 3fps in RAW (but that's me I'm RAWman :-D ), but the camera is not made for the pro even though that 10MP is attractive to every segment of the market at the price.
On the other hand JPEG shooters will be delighted that it shoots indefinately until reaching the cards capacity in JPEG at 3fps.
But as a first entry to the DSLR market, Sony as brought out a good competitor overall. In either way there will be Zeiss glass for both Sony and Minolta owners.

Until next time,

Luis

Featured Prints:

2006-07-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Featured Prints. These prints are also available for sale. For more information, please contact me at mrrubim@yahoo.co.uk
There is also a CD catalogue that includes these and more images apart from limited edition prints.

___________________________________
Mime

____________________________________
Embrace

_________________________________
Man Machine Dreams

_______________________________
Soft

_________________________________
Monkey Hoops

________________________

Cranes

_________________________________
Featured Limited Edition Print

Nikon's new beast has 10.2MP?Great but is it really news?

2006-07-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

With the recent release of the fabulous Nikon D200, somehow it didn't hit me as much of a surprise when Nikon came up with another camera with 10.2MP (the surprise would have been if they went down. Eight megapixels don't sound that impressive no more and 10 is a more marked difference from 6). This focus on the megapixel count of the new beast in the hatch just doesn't sound to me that it will generate any crushing soundwaves marketing wise (they've been there, done that and we know it's all very good), as the only other details released is "more power, more control, more excitement,more versatile...." and that's it(unless it's a 10.2MP FM10 Digital :-D ....nothing wrong with that and I'll tell you more on another posting even if it sounds strange). The only thing that causes some excitment in this heating up to the big day is that it is very likely an upgrade to the Nikon D70 (also, a way to tell Sony that "Nikon rules the roost", as Sony just released their Minolta A mount based 10.2MP mid-range DSLR, Sony Alpha100, that fared well in reviews). You can't blame them for doing that,as a matter of fact the Sony may attract a big portion of the market with existing Minolta users feeling out in the cold with the demise of Minolta and with the use of Zeiss glass on the lenses for the Alpha System. Given the reviews it is a possibility.

What I would have loved to hear from Nikon, apart from 10.2 Megapixels, perhaps ISO50-6400, 4fps....just something to set a new standard on the mid-range DSLR (if this is gonna be a D70 upgrade). We know already megapixel counts are gonna keep going up and up and up, but something to set a standard, to break the mold would be nice to hear, just like when Minolta anounced their Anti-Shake built-in to the body of a DSLR( I am not suggesting that Nikon does the same as that would mean marketing suicide since they have a range of lenses with built in stabilization. It is just an example of something that broke the mold at that time, something that set a standard now being copied by others, for the greater good of all of us). But I guess that's just me. I just like to hear about something new, something different.

In any case, we can expect a piece of Nikon excellence, it's just that their timing looks blatantly like a hit out at Sony's Alpha 100. But hey, that's the business world and after all if you don't sell more cameras than everybody else, there won't be any future updates, accessories and ultimately, cameras. Just look at Sigma with their SD10. Their users have had to wait way too long, longer than everybody else. It is coming in the end, but Sigma didn't have much of a support base, even though in my opinion the Foveon sensor employed is perhaps the best damn thing out there (after a few fixes in the next camera(s) it undoutebly will be ), but since they didn't sell enough cameras there were doubts about if there was ever gonna be a next Sigma (because this also affects how much you can afford in Research&Development et al as a company).Actually, personally, if there is something I am surely looking forward to is the next Sigma SDxx, since their sensor is a real innovation,being the only sensor that captures 100% red,100% green and 100% blue at every single pixel location, unlike all other sensors. This means you get both a sharper image and more accurate colour reproduction in your photos. But it was not all pink. The camera and the sensor overall needed some work. Still in my opinion, it is a very good camera for the Fine Artist in you(basically due to slow continuous shooting and below average high ISO performance, even though I have seen some good reasonably clean shots at high ISO with this camera, but the general consensus is that it is below average at higher ISOs), but don't let it's limitations limit what you do with it. There is good action work out there done with this camera.

Back onto the Nikon, I'm counting the days to see what beast is gonna hatch from these eggs.

Until next time,

Luis

I think the time is right for Fujifilm to launch a mid-range DSLR...

2006-07-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

As a photographer and a big afficionado, I always dream of new photography products that will suit my every need and not only that I produce them in my head. Being not bad with a pencil either(hey what's wrong with some self-creditation?), I sometimes jot down some ideas. Some time ago I had designed a Fujifilm DSLR aimed at the mid-range market as Fuji didn't and still doesn't have a DSLR to bridge the novice to the pro (in fact they don't have a novice DSLR either, but I think a mid-range should cover both). So, being in love with their SuperCCD SR I had come up with this idea:

It would incorporate the SuperCCD SR and be sized between it's top range compact and it's pro DSLR. It would feature the Nikon F-mount already featured on their current (or discontinued due to new European Legislation Laws on lead) Fujifilm S3pro, Anti-Shake, some film simulation modes (not all present on the S3pro, costs my friends, costs!!), a high shutter speed of 1/4000th, 3 frames per second to 10 frames and among other things keep the threaded cable release, which I think it's a great idea.

It's not the first time I have dreamt up something and put it on paper, I have actually sent something over to Pentax (another of my favourite brands and the one that opened my apetite for photography), to which I got an interesting reply letter. I think as a fan, it is important to keep that symbiotic relationship going, particularly when your product provider is keen about knowing your views of what they provide to you. But that is another posting. I would also like to see what Pentax is gonna concoct for their top range DSLR as it is looking quite quiet for the time being, but they do have already two DSLRs set for launch, that look interesting and include Image Stabilisation by popular demand (knock, knock Fujifilm :-D ).

Nevertheless, the time is more than right, I think the current attempts at providing an alternative to a DSLR by Fujifilm are not that bad, but the real thing is always a real thing and then there are performance questions around it (in fact there are no questions, DSLRs simply outperform compacts, if you are willing to carry along lenses and accessories). More so, with the demise of the Fujifilm S3pro in Europe, I think Fujfilm will need to fill in that gap ASAP. The camera was an excellent one in my opinion, producing excellent images from that SuperCCD SR and will be sorely missed (I haven't had the chance to get my hands on one new). I am sure that Fujifilm will deliver a very capable DSLR in the next instalment(s). It would be nice in fact to see both a mid-range and a pro DSLR launched with the SuperCCD SR.
But let's see what happens.

Until next time,

Luis

Panasonic's new FZ50 looks promising....

2006-07-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Putting the turkey stuffing of a small sensor aside (10MP in a small sensor, when will manufacturers stop?They know that hole and still go for it ), the new Panasonic FZ50 seems the biz to me. At least they offer some true innovations by introducing what Panasonic has called Intelligent ISO Control (IIC), which works alongside OIS (Image Stabilizastion). What is different about IIC is that it works not on the camera shake produced by the user but it detects subject movement and adjust ISO and exposure ACCORDING TO LIGHT. Which to me it reads like, you can get your action shot without recurring to too high an ISO, it will read the light and adjust ISO accordingly, so you won't have a grainy photo of a perfectly lit situation. Now this is a clever implementation and a true innovation (the same cannot be said of Fujifilm's Face Detection). Again, IIC seems to be so on paper. This feature seems to be meant for the section of the public that simply points and shoots but still buys a camera with which they can develop further their skills, but the camera itself seems directed to the "hobbyist to advanced amateur" section of the market. Apart from this the FZ50 features a high quality Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 35-420mm equivalent zoom lens (I would preferrably have a 28-400mm), a series of automatic modes and white balance modes, ISO100-1600 extendable to 3200, external flash hotshoe and is in general a good step up from it's predecessors. But, lets see how those 10MP cope with being crammed in that tiny sensor. I think this megapixel race is beggining to get ridiculous in what concerns compact cameras, as companies are aware that cramming so many pixels in a small space is actually phisically not allowing light going through to the tiny pixel locations, hence you bigger image (YEAAAY!!!) but more noise (OH NO!!!) than a sensor of the same size with a smaller number of pixels (if the opposite occurs then there is something seriously wrong with the camera :-D). Manufacturers have found ways around this such as employing NR (noise reduction) systems, but these most of the times result in loss of detail. Sony on the other hand took this serioulsy and came up with the Sony R1, which uses an APS-C sized sensor (the same size as in most DSLR) with 10MP and voila, noise is controlled. The downside, is that compact becomes an ambiguous term, the bigger sensor requires a bigger body.

In any case, watch this space, the Panasonic FZ50 as a package looks like a serious contender and design wise looks the part.

Panasonic FZ50 link

Until next time,

Luis

Fujifilm's new S6500 camera offers revolutionary hardware built-in Face Detection

2006-07-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Revolutionary? I think it's rather counter-evolutionary, at least on paper. I've got to tell you that Fujifilm's latest decisions have been amazing me in a slightly disappointing way. While at this point in the race its direct competition is offering some image stabilisation system in their cameras,Fujifilm still refuses to provide that in their cameras (not that I am a great proponent of the system but I admit it has its usefulness and in fact it proves at times very useful) and instead implements technologies that seem rather useless. Fujifilm will be launching a camera, the S6500, that in fact has a lot going for it, it's got a great sensor (coming from their own F30) with clean 6.3 Megapixels (a decision they should have taken with their S9500. They could do it now but it may mean marketing suicide, the megapixel question is more a race than a question these days), an ISO range of 100-3200 and a Fujinon 28-300 lens (good range but still not a Super EBC Fujinon lens, I am a demanding tog :-D ). The camera is actually aimed at the regular consumer, but that doesn't stop me from wanting one, after all they are 28-300mm I can fit in my pocket (more or less, I have big pockets,vestwise that is) with an ISO range that covers everything, but Face Detection????

Firstly how it works. Fujifilm decided to build into the hardware of the camera the FD system that not only focusses on the faces by detecting shapes that match a head and a mouth in short, and exposing correctly for the faces. The thing that irritates me the most about this is that it seems like a rather unnecessary implementation that will drive the cost up and looks like a simple marketing trick, since the problem it addresses is not a common complaint or it is nearly a non occurrence. On top of this an implementation, implemented over a much more necessary one, which is image stabilisation (which goes under a variety of other names, like AS, IS or OIS all shorts for the same thing). With those 300mm at the telephoto end of the lens shake will be inevitable if you can't compensate with a shutter speed. And what if I want to do a Tunnick and focus on a group of arses??? Or backs??? What will the FD system do??? Blush??? ;-D (Nevertheless a good point).

Throughout photographic history, people, both photographers and regular consumers have taken photos of groups of people successfully without the need of such a technology. But people do need at times something to stabilise their cameras and not all will want to carry a tripod around with them. Fujifilm is favouring an Anti-Blur or high ISO solution according to some, instead of implementing image stabilisation. The argument is that their SuperCCD produces such clean images throughout by using an agressive Auto ISO mode, that it is a real substitute. This is in part true, the SuperCCD (in fact my favourite sensor) produces clean images, but surely you can't say that its ISO800 is as clean and a substitute to ISO200 as some would advocate.
It is cleaner comparable to other sensors at the same sensitivity and I can say to an extent one whole stop down at times, making lets say an ISO800 photo look like an ISO400 (funny enough I have experienced something similar with a roll of Superia 1600 that some looked at and thought it was a 800 and some a 400), but never a true substitute for a cleaner ISO setting. Also to consider when using this technique/option, is at what size you will want to print your photo as at bigger sizes you will increase the grain/noise visibility. Why would anyone want a grainy photo when there is enough light for having a cleaner , higher quality image taken at a lower ISO setting with image stabilisation (which is something now very common in digital cameras). Then there is the noise reduction system which smoothens out detail which some people employ either in camera or in post production. Again, not a good substitute.

Don't get me wrong, I want to see the camera myself, I may even invest in one as I was pleased with Fujifilm's decision of reducing the megapixel count (this counteracts image noise),using their best sensor, good ISO range, continuous shooting in RAW mode and combining it with a lens with good range. I do expect it to have good if not excellent image quality for the reasons afore mentioned, but the implementation of a technology that seems of little use looks only like a marketing trick to drive the cost up, instead of implementing a truly useful feature. I personally believe that it would have been better for their own marketing to have implemented some image stabilisation system and I think they would sell plenty more cameras.

Let me state again that I am a big Fujifilm fan if that doesn't transpire through this posting, but being a fan is also about being able to see where your preferred product provider is failing as in fact they produce something for us as users and we invest our money on their products, so this should be a somewhat symbiotic relationship. In general, I can say Fujifilm listens to their users, being a user myself I know this, but their latest decisions in my opinion have not been the best. I hope Fujifilm takes a better route with the successor to the S9000/9500 as it is surely the model with the best prospects of delivering a future photographer's tool in a compact package. Currently as it is it leaves a lot to be desired.It has amassed a good amount of complaints since it's launch, from quality control issues to image quality issues (seems slightly out of touch with the regular Fujifilm "punch" and doesn't quite live up to those 9MP in my opinion). Normally, complaints fade away after a few months and people get to know their camera, but this one has been having non-stop complaints since its launch. Having tested one myself for a couple of weeks, I can say that a lot of them are well founded.

Personally for the moment I will stick with my current Fujifilm S20pro with it's lovely SuperCCD SR sensor (even though it has it's shortcomings it is still a well thought out camera with a refined feature set even if fewer compared to more updated or current cameras, which produces quality images even with it's much lower pixel count, not to mention build quality) and using Fujifilm's transparency films.

Until next time,

Luis

I wish I could go back in time to get a brand new Konica Minolta Dimage A1

2006-07-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

As a photographer there are times when you really don't want to lug all your gear around but still want to carry something that will allow you to take some photos but that doesn't make feel somehow restricted. When I entered the digital world of photography, I bought myself a Fujifilm S20pro, which I am happy with and I still use after 2.5 years and it gives me what I call "digital transparencies", with Fuji's superb SuperCCD SR. You can really see Fuji's expertise in the field of film transferred onto their digital technologies. Still at times, I feel somehow restricted even though this camera has a good feature set.
I started looking for another compact to use alongside it (obviously not with it otherwise I would prefer to be lugging my DSLR everywhere), or to put it better, add to my kit and a scarce number of the current crop of top compacts have pleased me (I am a big Fujifilm fan but Fujifilm has to forgive me for saying this, I think that their current top compact, the S9000/9500 is a bit of a misfire and I hope for an upgrade soon). From that scarce number of compact cameras, none seemed to impress me to the point of actually making a resolution of spending some money on them. I always felt that I could spend the money on lenses for my DSLR (Minolta) system and be more satisfied.
But I would still be left with my Fujifilm S20pro for those days I don't want to lug around gear. The problem that actually mostly bothers me with it is it's lack of a continuous shooting mode in RAW mode. I am a big fan of RAW and anyone in the know will understand the reasons. For the rest of the readers, RAW basically provides you a "digital negative" and is of much higher quality than JPEG and from these files you can output higher quality JPEGs or TIFFs than if you use the plain JPEG setting on a camera, this apart from the greater manipulation/correction options you have with RAW.
Back onto my search for a compact, none of the current modern crop of compacts have totally impressed me, until I came across the Dimage A1. I knew the camera, but never really took so much notice of its feature set in comparison to current cameras. The Dimage A1 is the predecessor of the A2 and A200 and is a bit long in the tooth. Nevertheless, I was more than impressed with it. It's features for a camera would by itself save me a great deal of money in accessories, namely the tilting viewfinder (which would save me from buying expensive viewfinder accessories, which other compact uses a tilting viewfinder today?) along with a tilting LCD. I personally don't like to use LCD's as among other reasons, consume more battery power than the EVF (Electronic ViewFinder), and if you are out in the field, ever so more these days battery life is vital. Just this feature would allow me to open up more doors to my creativity and use a camera in a number of ways that I wouldn't be able to use with a conventional camera.
Of note is also its high quality Minolta GT 28-200 zoom lens. Most digital cameras of this class lack a good wide setting in favour of a bigger telephoto end, which I personally think is surely not the way to go and some manufacturers have taken notice of this (i.e. the Fujifilm S9000/9500 provides 28-300mm, but the lens is not the best in the Fujifilm range).
Along with this is a good macro setting (not that the Fujifilm S20pro one is worse, it is actually better as in super macro mode it allows you to go as close as 1cm from the subject, and if you have an external flashgun even better exposures you can get from it),a maximum shutter speed of 1/16000 (this even makes most DSLRs hide in the shadows) and most importantly Anti-Shake. Also included are a Flash Synch socket and compatibility with Minolta DSLR system accessories such as flashguns and battery grip (again, not usual of a compact). All in all, coupled with the image quality (in RAW mode) I would have the perfect companion of my DSLR system and not feel left out of the water at any time. I almost forget to mention it's nice power saving features, like Eye Start EVF that switches on and off the LCD both for power saving and eye comfort and the sensor on the grip that wakes up the camera.
It really makes you think that Minolta designers are actually photographers themselves even if they are not and this is something that has been said a number of times by different photographers and reviewers and that surely is the impression that the camera (or better yet, Minolta cameras)leaves on you.

Unfortunately, Minolta has withdrawn from photo business as of March this year, due to not being able to cope financially, but left behind a legacy and excellent quality cameras. Sony took over Minolta's assets, but I doubt that they would come up with a compact in the class of the A1.
So I have been unable to find an A1 in a trusted market, only leaving Ebay as a solution. I do see some coming and going but they are scarce, but it is surely a camera I will still want to own.
Sometimes looking at the past can be a good thing and there are surely a thing or two that manufacturers could learn from a camera like the Konica Minolta Dimage A1.

Links to camera images:

Dimage A1 allround view (image provided by dpreview.com)

Dimage A1 tilting viewfinder (image provided by dpreview.com)

Dimage A1 tilting LCD (image provided by dpreview.com)

Dimage A1 with battery grip BP400 DSLR battery grip (image provided by dpreview.com)

Until next time,

Luis

To kickstart "The Viewfinder"...

2006-07-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Three instantly recognisable faces

To kickstart "The Viewfinder"...

2006-07-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Three recognisable faces

The Viewfinder is now open!

2006-07-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome all to The Viewfinder.

The Viewfinder will be primarily a photoblog for my personal work. It will also feature my personal opinion on digital cameras mainly and also on new technologies in the field of photography(I underline here personal opinion as by no means I will be giving professional reviews on equipment. I will be giving my opinion of what I found when I experienced the equipment and or what I think of it and of upcoming technologies. The individual reader is always the best judge of what is good for themselves, so no in depth reviews to influence or shift opinions, just personal opinion). I may also make occasional references to film equipment, but since the current trend in this field has shifted massively to digital technologies, that will be the main subject on which I will opinate.

Also, I invite readers to feel free and leave their own opinion on the photos and or whatever issues in regards to photography are in focus (nice game of words ;-) ).
I hope you enjoy my work and the blog.

Regards,

Luis Rubim