Great Primer on Night Photography

Night in DC, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 200, f11, 30 seconds

 

Well, given that daylight savings time just ended here on the East Coast, it may be a good time to think about night photography. I am no expert in this type of photography, but am willing to give it a go.

 

What got me thinking of it is this excellent video primer, by adventure photographer Kamil Tamiola, on DIYPhotography.net.

 
 
Video Source: http://www.diyphotography.net/hard-core-primer-on-night-sky-photography?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Diyphotographynet+%28DIYPhotography.net+-+Photography+and+Studio+Lighting%29
 

If you have trouble with the video, please go to the link at the bottom of this post to view it on DIYPhotgraphy.net.

 

Kamil shares several important steps, a checklist of sorts, for preparing for great night photography, specifically in mountain landscapes, sometimes including people or other features lit with artificial light sources.

 

First, Kamil suggests considering the following things about your location and timing:

1. Go as high (altitude) as you can. This provides more clear atmosphere.
2. Go when it's cold out. There is less humidity in cold air to cause aberrations.
3. Monitor the pressure. High pressure means clear skies.
4. Check the moon phase. A new moon gives the best light.

Kamil also presents some tips on equipment. He uses a Nikon D3S DSLR. He also suggests a fast lens (f2.8 or faster), and a very solid tripod. He reminds us repeatedly to turn off any vibration reduction features. He also says "don't go cheap on the tripod."

 
Finally, here are his recommendations for settings:

• Manual focus, distance set to infinity
• Manual exposure, 30 seconds exposure time
• Aperture wide open
• iso 3200 as a starting point
• Noise reduction off - apply it in post-processing only
• Shoot raw files
• Mirror lock-up, if you have it
• Self-timer or remote shutter release

Now, you're ready to frame and shoot. If your image is underexposed, he suggests longer exposures. If overexposed, reduce your iso setting.
 
Finally, to balance lighting from artifical sources (flashlight on a climber for example), remember the inverse square rule. If the climber is too bright, back away some distance, which will reduce the amount of light hitting your sensor by a square of the distance.
 
Kamil takes really beautiful night photos. (Click Here) to see some on DIYPhotography.net.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 
 
 

Leica M9 Goes to the Circus

 

Big Apple Circus, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 50mm f1.4

iso 640, f2, 1/90 sec

 
My family, a friend, and I went to the Big Apple Circus. I always enjoy photographing there because the lighting is dramatic, the action and subject matter always interesting. Usually, I bring a fast(ish) telephoto, like my Nikon 300mm f4. This time, I decided to bring only my Leica M9 and a single lens, the Canon 50mm f1.4 (a Leica thread mount lens, also known as the "Japanese Summilux").
 
I found that I was able to shoot at wide apertures at iso 640 or 1250, with reasonably fast shutter speeds (1/90 or faster).
 
 

Enter the Contortionist, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 50mm f1.4

iso1250, f2.8, 1/350 sec

The pictures I brought home are very different from what I usually get. Wider angle, of course. But also, a little wider in sharing the context of the event. I even took the opportunity to walk a little during the intermission, which yielded the following shot:

 

Glowing, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 50mm f1.4

iso 1250, f1.4, 1/60 sec

This shot was taken in deep darkness. Amazing what f1.4 can do.

I was a little concerned about how the noise would creep in at iso 1250 on the M9. I must say I'm very pleased. Even in a shot like the one above, with lots of black space around the subjects, I don't find the noise objectionable. Lightroom's exposure adjustments (namely, making the blacks even blacker) and noise reduction work beautifully with the M9's files.

And here is my favorite shot from the event:

The Moment, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 50mm f1.4

iso 1250, f2, 1/125 sec

This one's worth looking at full-size, to see the details.

With my normal gear, I may have captured one or two of the horses in great detail. This image shows how the performer is conducting the full coordinated motion of the magnificent animals. That would have been missed. I also felt it when I captured the exact moment that shows their strength, concentration, and timing. This is why I love shooting rangefinders. The constraints force me to make better images than complete flexibility in focal lengths allows. I know, that sounds strange. But, I would certainly have elected to go for details in this scene if I'd had a telephoto lens with me.

DMC-365.blogspot.com




 

So What About the New Panasonic DMC-G5?

Well, I've written a little about it, but have not invested in one.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Image Source: shop.panasonic.com
 
The SoundImagePlus blog is covering the G5 in an ongoing series (four installments so far).
 
(Click Here) to see SoundImagePlus' review series on the G5. There are some nice sample images there, as well.
 
Here's what I've learned so far:

• (+) Better grip than the DMC-G3, which is my current camera. Not surprising. The G3 is weak in this area. Can someone make a nice grip attachment for the G3?
• (-) Newly-redesigned menus (sigh). This would mean working through another long set of menus, and writing a new eBook to figure out how to set it up.
• (+/- no advantage) According to SoundImagePlus, essentially identical high iso performance to the G3 and GX1.
• (+) Electronic shutter mode for silent shutter release.
• (-) Different battery from the G3, which means carrying another charger.

So, here's where I am on this camera, at the moment. If I didn't already own the G3 (two, actually), would I buy the G5 instead? Yes.
 
Will I replace a G3 with a G5? No. There's just not enough improvement there to make the switch.
 
Of course, the buzz now is all about what the DMC-GH3, supposed to be announced this month, will bring. That may be a different story for me.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

DMC-G5 Is Now Available in the USA

 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5

Image Source: shop.panasonic.com

 

I see that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is now available in the USA.

 

(Click Here) to read about the G5 at dpreview.com

 

(Click Here) to buy it at Kenmore Camera.

 

So where am I on this camera? Well, I'm not sure yet. It is the obvious upgrade to the DMC-G3, which is my standard kit. Is the upgrade worthwhile?

 

The G5 brings increased maximum iso setting (moving up from 6400 to 12800, like the GX1). However, what's not yet clear is whether the sensor is really up to it. I am looking forward to seeing how much better the new 16Mpixel G5 sensor is than the 15.8 Mpixel G3 at high iso.

 

Continuous shooting is increased to 6 frames per second (fps), above 4fps on the G3.

 

Two things that do matter to me are a better grip than the G3, and longer battery life. However, this means a different battery size. Therefore, keeping one G3 as a backup to the G5 is not a great plan; I would need to carry two different chargers when I travel.

 

Things I personally care less about include a higher resolution LCD display, more video options, and digital filters.

 

I think I'm going to wait and see if the rumored DMC-GH3 gets announced in September as expected.

 

If I have to go to a new battery anyway, I may want the really high quality video and audio features of the GH3 (including external stereo microphone jack). That could come to good use in my music project.

 

So, if you want that G5 right away - it's at Kenmore! Get it while it's in stock. I'll wait a while.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 
 
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Panasonic Announces New Top-Line Compact DMC-LX7

 
 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

Image Source: www.dpreview.com

 

Panasonic has announced the successor to the wonderful compact camera DMC-LX5, the Lumix DMC-LX7. I am a long-time LX series devotee, having owned the LX2, and now the LX5. If you haven't looked at the LX series before, you should. I've written before how well the LX5 works as a street photography camera, for me. It's tiny, flexible, has a great feature set (including the ability to lock the f-stop and zoom position when you turn the camera off), all manual controls, and raw file capability.

 

(Click Here) to see my post about the LX5 as a street photography camera.

 

As with all cameras, there are tradeoffs. The LX series cameras have small sensors. The immediate effects are: 1) decreased performance at high iso (noise), and 2) inability to produce shallow depth of field. The LX5 does pretty well up to iso 400, acceptable for small prints (and definitely for viewing on the monitor) at iso 800, after which noise becomes a real issue. The fast zoom allows you to produce a reasonable portrait at the long end of the zoom, wide open. This gives decent shallow depth of field, but nothing like your full-frame fast lenses.

 

(Click Here) to read about the new DMC-LX7 on dpreview.

 

I had heard rumors that the LX7 would have a larger sensor than the LX5, which could have improved the camera in both respects. As it turns out, the sensor on the LX7 is a little smaller. The lens is about a stop faster, so that allows you to shoot at lower iso, which will help with noise. Reportedly, the new sensor also has better inherent signal-to-noise, which should also help. The faster lens also helps with producing shallower depth of field, when it's desired.

 

So, for me this is a mixed bag. While I believe that the new sensor and faster lens will help in these areas, I would have appreciated a bigger sensor more. Also, I tend to use the LX5 for street shooting, which in my own style does not require shallow depth of field. I like to set it on f4 or f5.6, fix the zoom and focus point to give a large depth of field, and shoot what I see on the street. For that, the LX7 offers little for me personally. If the noise performance is really better, which will be challenging with a small sensor, I may change my mind.

 

Part of what I'm saying is that I'm already quite pleased with the LX5. It's really a special little camera. The LX7 is at least as good - I'm just not sure I'll be upgrading anytime soon.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Note - apparently, Panasonic will delay preorder capability until 30 days before the camera will actually ship. I admit that I HATE waiting for a new camera that I've already ordered, and waiting, and waiting. I did this with the Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4, waiting for several months. I'm doing it again now with the Olympus 75mm f1.8 lens. But, delaying preorder only serves as a band-aid. What these companies really need to do is produce faster. If they must make the announcements to keep up with the Joneses, then they need to be ready to deliver. Thanks for letting me rant a little.

 

Here's the DMC-LX5 (not LX7) on Amazon:

 

 

 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 

Mike Johnston of The Online Photographer Shares Some Lumix DMC-GF1 Shots of the Abandoned Pabst Brewery

 

Abandoned Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee, by Mike Johnston of the Online Photographer

Image Source: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2012/05/the-abandoned-pabst-brewery.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FZSjz+%28The+Online+Photographer%29

Mike Johnston of the Online Photographer has posted some great images from an abandoned Pabst beer brewery in Milwaukee, WI, USA.

(Click Here) to see Mike's post on the Online Photographer blog.

Mike's images were shot with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 at iso1600 - a real stretch in terms of image quality for that camera. Of course, at the resolution of small online images, they sure look great. Mike reports that the noise would make printing of them pretty tough.

Mike toured the building with photographer Jack MacDonough, and includes a shot of Jack working with his Leica S2 on a tripod in his post. That's Mike's favorite of the bunch; it's my favorite, too.

We have all made the mistake of going to a great location without a tripod. Mike made that mistake (admittedly), but pulled through pretty well with his GF1, if you ask me.

I've written in the past about the photographic allure of abandoned places and things.

(Click Here) to see my last post on the subject.

The subject still intrigues me.

DMC-365.blogspot.com