Which Camera Do I Buy?

That question has undoubtedly bedeviled many of us on occasion. Myself, way too much. Now Michael Reichmann and Mark Segal are trying to make the decision a bit easier. The Luminous Landscape has published Mark's article entitled "Camera Metrics" here. The guts of the article is an Excel spreadsheet that allows you to compare two cameras in terms of price, resolution and sensor quality. A very valuable tool and best of all, unlike a camera, it's F-R-E-E.

Vanessa Winship

If Mike Johnston really likes somebody, that says something. Mike really likes Vanessa Winship. After reading his article I delved a bit further. Vanessa is an award winning British photographer who has published two books, both of which are available here at Amazon Germany. Vanessa works in black and white and shoots mainly in Bulgaria and Turkey.

After reading Mike’s article, Vanessa and I had a nice email exchange. She is not brand loyal, but confesses to using Nikons forever. For her first book, Sweet Nothings, she used an Ebony 4x5 field camera. Schwarzes Meer was shot on 35mm. Vanessa shoots film and scans her negatives to make digital prints.

She says, “Each methodology makes for a different relationship with my subjects [and] both have their own beauty for me”. To my way of thinking Vanessa is a rising star and a very nice one at that. There is a certain large manufacturer of black and white film that would be well advised to keep an eye on her.

Da Grip

If you are left-eyed, like I am, or if you have struggled with the correct way to hold a DSLR, you need to check out Joe McNally’s new video entitled “Da Grip”. You can study it here and here then try it out for yourself.

On The Horizon

The other day Ricoh announced the CX1. Like the Fujifilm F200EXR FinePix mentioned below, the CX1 is designed to extend the dynamic range of digital cameras, which is narrower than that of film. According to Ricoh, the CX1 addresses the issue in two ways. First, Ricoh developed an algorithm that re-creates lost green values from the neighboring red and blue photosites. Second, the CX1 has built-in high-dynamic range mode which “aims to portray the scene in as natural a way as possible”.

Otherwise, the CX1 is a 9 megapixel CMOS sensor zoom compact camera. It offers a 28-200mm zoom range and screen resolution of 920,000 dots. For a compact camera, the CX1 is fast, up to 120 frames per second at 640x480 pixel resolution. Read more about it here.

To my way of thinking the CX1 and F200EXR represent some very exciting new technologies and I’ll be watching for additional news.

Chuck Kimmerle

Image copyright 2008 © Chuck Kimmerle. All rights reserved

One of my very favorite photographers is Chuck Kimmerle. Chuck lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota and makes gorgeous black and white images of the northern plains. Not a popular subject I’ll admit, but really haunting. I have mentioned Chuck before and his new work is always worth a look. Take a peek here. I really wish he’d consider doing a book. Maybe someday, until then be satisfied with these.

Obsession Part 3.1

I have just discovered that Leica has permanently lowered the price of the M8 by $1,500 which is in line with the $1,500 rebate that expired on January 31st. This is a smart move I think and the price of a new M8 is lower than what I originally paid for mine in 2006. In addition, Leica is continuing the $300 rebate on most M mount lenses until April 30th. While we’re not there yet, we’re getting closer.

Pre-PMA Blues

This year's PMA will be held March 3rd – 5th, which is not that far away. So far the pre-PMA news has been pretty bleak for us gear heads. DP Review says one new DSLR and no Micro Four Thirds. On the other hand rugged compacts and lenses will lead the way. So far they have been right. Fujifilm, Samsung, Sony and Canon have announced a slew of new compacts. Canon also announced two new tilt and shift lenses for those of you with the appetite to spend over $2,000 each. Finally, in the most interesting news so far, Leica announced the Super-Elmar-M 18 mm f/ 3.8 ASPH compact wide angle lens. It’s equivalent focal length of 24mm makes it a natural for the M8 and M8.2.

On The Horizon

I was tipped to the new Fujifilm F200EXR FinePix digital compact by a post on The Online Photographer. Normally I ignore news of a new compact, but in this case I was intrigued enough to do some additional research. Turns out the F200 is a very exciting product indeed and boasts some evolutionary sensor technology. You can read this PDF about Fuji’s Super CCD EXR technology, but it uses a new pixel binning arrangement and “Dual Capture Technology”. Fuji claims that this results in “exquisite detailed expression for landscape or architectural photography, and [the ability to] render the finest details of clothes, hair or jewelry in portrait photography”. All in all the EXR sensor sounds very exciting.

In addition to its 12 megapixel EXR sensor, the F200 features a 28-140 mm zoom lens, effective ISOs up to 12,800, up to 5fps, image stabilization and a 3” display. Now, if you added a RAW mode you’d really have something. As it is, I’ll be watching the reviews on this compact.

Obsession Part 3

In Part 1, I wrote about my current obsession with owning an M mount camera. In Part 2, I summarized the current crop pf M mount cameras available. I know all of this seems to run counter to my new Hunkering Down philosphy, but actually it’s not. Assuming you are one of the lucky ones that still have some money in your gear budget, you’re going to want to be more careful than ever about how you invest it.

So, let’s review. Here are my current options.

1. Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R2A
2. Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R4A
3. Hexar RF
4. Leica M7
5. Zeiss Ikon
6. Leica M8
7. Leica M8.2
8. Panasonic G1

So what am I going to buy? Nothing, and here’s why.

Cameras 1-5 shoot film. As noted in the post below, digital is nearly free or really cheap. Film, not so much. In addition, I don’t want to give up all the advantages of digital. Insofar as quality is concerned, my 12 megapixel D700 prints a beautiful 8 x 10 image. I know that there is the permanence issue, but I think it may be a red herring. As I write this, millions of images have been made and will be made in various RAW formats. If Nikon or Canon should vanish overnight, do you think all those images would be useless? Surely some enterprising type would step into the breach so I’m not really that worried. Therefore, cameras 1-5 are not options for me.

That leaves 6-8. Frankly, Leica just doesn’t get it and if they sell out to Panasonic so much the better. In these hard times we don’t need another $6,000 camera. I can’t afford it and you probably can’t either. What I do want from Leica is some sort of reasonably priced camera, rangefinder or otherwise, that has a native M mount. Given Leica’s the glacial pace of development, I’m not holding my breath.

That leaves me with the G1. Micro Four Thirds has generated at lot of ink, but not much else. So far the only real product we have is the G1. Using various third party adapters the G1 can be very versatile. These adapters are not cheap, however, and the G1 does not have a native M mount. Therefore, certain of its features are disabled when an adapter is used. There is also the 2x crop factor. Unless you use the Panasonic kit lens, it’s hard and potentially expensive to go really wide. Mike Johnston is testing a G1 now and I would want to see what he says in any event. For now I think there are too many flaws to warrant spending the $675 plus adapter.

So, I will wait to see what PMA brings next month. That said, I’m not expecting much. I suspect there won’t be anything really exciting coming to market until photokina 2010. In the meantime, use the equipment you’ve already bought.

Hunkering Down

Given the tough economic times that we all face, maybe it’s time for us photo-people to readjust our thinking concerning our gear-love. A friend of mine and I were discussing our lust for more gear and we could think of no other pursuit quite like this one when it comes to gear addiction. With the annual gear orgy known as PMA just around the corner, I was thinking that maybe it’s time for a change.

We are facing some pretty scary times. Maybe you have lost a job or an investment didn’t pan out. Maybe your kid’s college education is looming. Maybe you’re just trying to tighten your belt in anticipation of a financial disaster. Whatever your reason, maybe now is the time to re-think that new camera or lens. Maybe now is the time to focus (pardon the pun) on your technique and actually taking pictures. Assuming that you have made the upfront investment in a digital camera, the rest is pretty much free or relatively cheap. Shooting three hundred images at my daughter’s last play cost me $0. Burning them on a DVD cost me 76 cents. Making an 8 x 10 print of one of those images cost me 44 cents. That is pretty damn cheap.

Like everyone else in the photographic press, I will be paying attention to PMA. That is my job. But personally, I won’t be buying any of that shiny new gear for quite sometime. I‘m hunkering down for awhile.

Using Nikon’s Picture Controls

Even if you only shoot RAW you’ll still want to master using Nikon’s Picture Controls to speed up your post-processing workflow. If you use JPEG, the Picture Controls are even more important. I am one of those who likes WYSIWYG color. I do not want my images to be washed out, but I do not want them to be over-sharpened and over-saturated. Therefore, I am looking for the picture control that gives me the most natural look and comes closest to exact color reproduction.

Picture Controls
Nikon’s Picture Controls are accessed from the Shooting menu with the Set Picture Control command. With the Select a Picture Control command the user can select from four presets: Standard, Neutral, Vivid or Monochrome. In addition, the user may modify any existing preset and save it as a new Picture Control. Finally, optional Picture Controls are available for download from Nikon. Presently, there are three to choose from: Landscape, Portrait and D2x.

Methodology
The camera was, of course, tripod mounted. In-camera noise reduction was turned off and center point autofocus was activated for each frame. The camera was set to Aperture priority mode at an aperture of f/8. Auto White Balance was used, but white balance was set in Lightroom subsequently using the WhiBal card. ISO 200 was used to get the best possible image quality. I used Nikon’s new AF-s 50mm f/1.4G. Each image was shot in RAW and converted in Lightroom to JPEG for upload to the Web. No other post processing was done.

The Results

Standard

Neutral

Vivid

Portrait

Landscape

Obviously, I can't speak for anyone else, but I liked the Vivid setting the best. It compared the most favorably to the color of the actual objects.

Important Notes: This will not work for the Monochrome Picture Control. No, you are not seeing barrel distortion in Nikon's new 50mm. My desktop studio has a distinct sag in the middle.

Obsession Part 2

In Part 1, I wrote about my current obsession with owning an M mount camera. I don’t want to break the bank (see the M8 Safari Edition below), but I would like to start using something smaller and acquire a few of those wonderful M mount lenses from Leica, Zeiss and others. I’m not fussy about brand so long as the camera is well constructed. I do have some strong biases that will have to be overcome. With those in mind, I recently surveyed the market to see what might be available to satisfy this craving. Here’s what I found.

The current crop of M mount cameras come in three flavors: 35mm film M mount rangefinders, digital M mount rangefinders and digital Micro Four Thirds (MTF). Prices vary wildly from a low of $539 to a high of $5,995. Some savings can be had if you are willing to buy used, however, not as much as you might expect. Apparently, news of the econo-meltdown hasn’t reached this segment of the market. That said, if all you want is an M mount camera you can have one quite reasonably. Unfortunately, I want a bit more.

A word about film vs. digital. This is my biggest bias. I know that any Leica 35mm film camera will outlast me and my children. I know they are classics. I love them in an emotional way. That said, and even given the planned obsolescence of digital, I still would prefer digital. I have a hard time seeing myself with a film camera when I know that the technology is headed the other direction. I know that there are some distinct advantages of film over digital in terms of permanence. I know that some claim that you can get a 24 megapixel file out of a 35mm negative, but look at the hassle. Therefore, I have a strong bias against film that would need to be overcome.

So, that said, here’s a brief round up of the current options and some observations about each one.

Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R2A
$539 (New)
What: The Bessa R2A is a 35mm film M mount rangefinder and is the cheapest of the bunch. It is made by the same folks that worked on the Zeiss Ikon, a very well regarded camera. Stephen Gandy claims it is the camera Leica should have made years ago, but that’s to be expected since he sells them. Although I have never handled one, it appears to be full featured and well designed. I was unable to find a good review by someone I really trust so build quality is an unknown. I guess you’d have to order one and send it back if you don’t like it. Nevertheless, it looks very appealing on paper.
What’s Right: Price, features and design.
What’s Wrong: Uses film, unknown build quality, frame lines start at 40mm.
More Information: There is an unofficial user’s group here.

Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R4A
$669 (New)
What: The Bessa R4A is also a 35mm film M mount rangefinder. It has much in common with its cheaper sibling, but it’s main advantage is that its frame lines start at 21mm and go up to 50mm. Otherwise my comments above apply.
What’s Right: Price, features and design, frame lines start at 21mm.
What’s Wrong: Uses film, unknown build quality.

Hexar RF
$989.95 (New)
$650 (Used)
What: The Hexar RF is a 35mm film M mount rangefinder made by Konica. It was discontinued in 2003, but new ones can be had here. This is another camera that I have never handled, but it too looks good on paper and was well reviewed here by Mr. Gandy. Unlike a Leica M6 (which it resembles), the Hexar has a motor drive rather than a manual advance. In my mind this cuts both ways, but in the end may be an advantage in certain situations.
What’s Right: Price, design, Leica frame lines.
What’s Wrong: Uses film, discontinued model.

Leica M7
$4,395 (New)
$1,999 + (Used)
What: The M7 is the latest in Leica’s line of decisive moment M’s. The linage is undisputable, the design impeccable, the gestalt undeniable. To use a Leica, any Leica, is a very special experience. That said, there are some things I don’t like about Leica Ms. For example, I have never gotten used to the film loading system. Even after plenty of experience, it still drives me nuts. In addition, I question whether a Leica is really worth the premium price.
What’s Right: It’s a Leica (they invented the format for crying out loud), build quality, ergonomics, reputation, that feeling of belonging.
What’s Wrong: Uses film, price when purchased new, film loading system.
More Information: Reviews of the M7 abound on the Web. Here’s a good one.

Leica M8
$5,495 (New)
What: The M8 was Leica’s first stab at a digital M. Rushed to market, it was a seriously flawed product. Firmware updates since then have solved many of the most egregious problems. When it works it works very well. Many of my sharpest images were taken with my M8. When it doesn’t work, however, it’s a major frustration. From mysterious dead batteries to bizarre auto white balance to poor high ISO noise, I had an endless string of problems on the first go-around. After a year I finally threw in the towel and got a Nikon D3. A real shame. I recently read a review here by someone who did the exactly same thing and has since returned to an M8. Maybe it’s better the second time around.
What’s Right: It’s a Leica and they are standing behind it, it’s digital, build quality, ergonomics, reputation, upgrade path.
What’s Wrong: Price, uncertain if fixes have helped.
More Information: The Luminous Landscape has many articles about the M8. Just search “M8”.

Leica M8.2
$5,995 (New)
What: This is Leica’s second attempt at a digital M and they seem to have gotten it right now. The M8.2 boasts a number of improvements over the M8, including S mode, quieter shutter, better grip, scratch-resistant display and redesigned charger. Finally, the introduction of the 8.2 indicates that Leica is committed to the model for the long term. In these days of digital obsolesence that’s some comfort.
What’s Right: This is the digital M that Leica should have introduced. A lot to like here. Upgrade path.
What’s Wrong: Price, price, price. Weird access to SD card.

Panasonic G1
$675 (New)
What: The G1 is the first Micro Four Thirds (MTF) camera to hit the market. Due to it’s radical design, a number of adapters have been and will be introduced to allow the G1 to take a wide variety of lenses, both old and new. Right now there are two MFT to M adapters available here and here. That to the aside, the G1 is a 12 megapixel digital camera that borrows much of it’s design from a DSLR. It has a lot of very nice features, including a tilt and swivel display. Many in the photographic press are excited about this camera which says a lot.
What’s Right: Price, state of the art digital, can mount many lenses, in-body IS.
What’s Wrong: Not a native M mount, requires an expensive third party adapter, untested technology, 2x crop factor limits usefulness of many lenses, build quality.
More Information: Read the DP Review test here. Highly Recommended.

Zeiss Ikon
$1,408 (New)
What: The Zeiss Ikon is a 35mm film M mount rangefinder made by Cosina for Zeiss. It is an attempt to beat Leica at their own game and is, in many ways, an improved Leica M. The ZI features ISOs up to 3200, a swing-open back - with conventional film loading, a more accurate electronically-controlled shutter, with a top shutter speed double that of the Leica's at 1/2000th and AE with exposure compensation. The arrangement of the shutter-speed dial, AE setting, ISO settings and exposure compensation settings is superb. All in all, the ZI seems like a real jewel for nearly a third of the price of an M7.
What’s Right: Price, ergonomics and design, build quality.
What’s Wrong: It uses film.
More Information: Read The Online Photographer review here.

So, given these choices what would you do? I’ll share my thoughts in Part 3.