I think I'm bored with audio now.

[Paul R]

There was no advance planning involved beyond brining the camera. That said, I obviously spent a few minutes finding the right spot and waiting for the right wave.

 

 

 

That's not bad at all. However, compared to my photo, everything is rather static and there's not as much contrast. It took a bit of curve tweaking to get both bright and dark areas to display well as an 8-bit JPEG.

 

Here's another one that couldn't have been shot on a phone:

That's a hand-held (with stabiliser) 1/6 s exposure tracking the moving boat.

 

That is a pretty amazing photo. I really think that Photography is the 20 and 21st century art form of choice. I collect the photos that really grab me.

 

Yeah, like I said, not really a lot of comparison, yours are way better. But most of the shots I take are like - oh, that is cool - snap. No more than 10 or 15 seconds from thinking about it until the picture is in the cam. I don't even claim to be a an amateur photog.

[mansr]

That is a pretty amazing photo. I really think that Photography is the 20 and 21st century art form of choice. I collect the photos that really grab me.

 

Yeah, like I said, not really a lot of comparison, yours are way better. But most of the shots I take are like - oh, that is cool - snap. No more than 10 or 15 seconds from thinking about it until the picture is in the cam. I don't even claim to be a an amateur photog.

 

Don't get me wrong, I do those too. I just like having the option of bringing some gear that won't be the limiting factor. The results are often worth the effort.

[jvlata]

Interesting read.. about a few people here doing, loving photography.. I was a pro photographer for many years, travelled all over (around 82 countries by now) started with Canon then switched to Nikon. For me the Nikon ergonomics feel better in my hands.. quality of the cameras and lenses are both super systems (Talking about the pro cameras and lenses).. soon all my Nikon D4s, D5 and 13 lenses they will retire. Looking for to get my 2 Fuji X-T2 and 3 lenses.. the weight of 1 Nikon camera body!

[Musicophile]

+1 Having a few Deardorff etc 8x10 sitting in my basement does nothing for capturing pictures. I used to enjoy listening to the radio while in the darkroom but those days are long gone. I've had Canon FTb, F1 and now EOS-1, 5D mk2 but they are really heavy. My favorite cameras of all time were the Leica M3/M6 with those little lenses that I could carry around all the time. Probably need a Sony A7ish because the 5D is just too heavy to carry around ... in the meantime the iPhone!

 

If you like Leica, check out the Fuji X100T (or the successor X100F planned for next year). Much closer to the Leica spirit than the Sony A7 series, in spite of APS-C vs FF.

 

Don't get me wrong, Sony is excellent from a technical level, but the Fujis have much more soul.

 

The review attached is a nice summary (and the same thinking can easily be applied to Hifi):

 

http://petapixel.com/2015/05/29/the-myth-of-more-not-just-another-fuji-x100t-review/

[TubeLover]

There was no advance planning involved beyond brining the camera. That said, I obviously spent a few minutes finding the right spot and waiting for the right wave.

 

That's not bad at all. However, compared to my photo, everything is rather static and there's not as much contrast. It took a bit of curve tweaking to get both bright and dark areas to display well as an 8-bit JPEG.

 

Here's another one that couldn't have been shot on a phone:

That's a hand-held (with stabiliser) 1/6 s exposure tracking the moving boat.

 

 

Both this, and your previous shots are very well done. The 7D is an excellent camera. I've been a huge Canon fan for over 30 years. Unfortunately, the two things I focused on in my photography were concert photography and landscapes (yes, I know that's a strange combination). However, over time, I lost my contacts, and you could no longer get any real camera equipment into concerts. And then, after traveling extensively in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana with my brother and seeing those incredible landscapes, I realized that nothing in the Midwest, where I live, would satisfy my desire to take photos of landscapes any longer.

 

JC

[gmgraves]

Carrying the 7D and a couple of lenses for a whole day can indeed get a bit tiring, but it's either that or be limited to a compact or even phone camera. Here's a photo that would be very hard or impossible to capture on a phone:

 

 

Not with a nice, light Nikon Coolpix p900. One lens (equivalent to 24 to 2000 mm) and up to 1/4000 second "shutter speed". if you are, like me, tired of carrying around a bag full of lenses. The Coolpix P 530, P 610, P 900 series of "compact", eye level viewing cameras are light, versatile and make excellent images.

[accwai]

Not with a nice, light Nikon Coolpix p900. One lens (equivalent to 24 to 2000 mm) and up to 1/4000 second "shutter speed". if you are, like me, tired of carrying around a bag full of lenses. The Coolpix P 530, P 610, P 900 series of "compact", eye level viewing cameras are light, versatile and make excellent images.

 

2000mm and 1/4000 sec? Should be piece of cake zooming in on one of those seagulls then...

 

[realhifi]

Not bored.

 

 

[mansr]

Not with a nice, light Nikon Coolpix p900. One lens (equivalent to 24 to 2000 mm) and up to 1/4000 second "shutter speed". if you are, like me, tired of carrying around a bag full of lenses. The Coolpix P 530, P 610, P 900 series of "compact", eye level viewing cameras are light, versatile and make excellent images.

 

Focal length and shutter speed are only two parameters out of many that matter. For a photo like the one above, you need a sensor with more dynamic range than you'll find in (most) compacts, or you'll lose detail in either the bright or the dark areas. The optical quality of the lenses also makes a big difference. For the mechanics of actually taking the picture, you need fast focus and low shutter lag, neither of which compacts are particularly good at although they've improved in recent years.

 

To avoid carrying heavy weights, I'll often pick a single lens and use it exclusively for a day. Of course that limits the possible shots, but it's also a fun challenge.

[Gary.D.Olson]

Canon L is about as good as it gets. As a former professional photographer, at one point, I owned four different Nikon cameras, and 15 different Nikkor lenses. But, I knew another pro from Japan who only spoke enough English to communicate to me that in Japan, Canon is considered the best, and Nikon a distant second.

 

I shoot Canon too but disagree about Nikon. They make stellar cameras, and Sony is killing it too (plus it's really 99% about the photographer). I chose Canon because they have the biggest and best selection of lenses to spend the children's inheritance on. However, the 24-105mm F4L alone is enough to choose Canon. Sure, it's only a $1000 expenditure, and doesn't offer extreme depth of field, but it's razor sharp wide open from 24mm to 105mm, features deadly accurate auto focus and image stabilization, and is an absolute joy to use on a full frame camera. The best walk-around lens in the universe imho.

[mansr]

I shoot Canon too but disagree about Nikon. They make stellar cameras, and Sony is killing it too (plus it's really 99% about the photographer). I chose Canon because they have the biggest and best selection of lenses to spend the children's inheritance on. However, the 24-105mm F4L alone is enough to choose Canon. Sure, it's only a $1000 expenditure, and doesn't offer extreme depth of field, but it's razor sharp wide open from 24mm to 105mm, features deadly accurate auto focus and image stabilization, and is an absolute joy to use on a full frame camera. The best walk-around lens in the universe imho.

That's the lens I used (at 105 mm) for the boat photo above. The stabiliser works really well.

[Gary.D.Olson]

That's the lens I used (at 105 mm) for the boat photo above. The stabiliser works really well.

 

Yes, it does a fine job. The image below was a hand held snapshot at my nephew's birthday party a few weeks ago (image size reduced in Photoshop CC to 1080x1920 pixels:

 

 

 

Thank you Canon IS. (Canon 5D mkii, Canon 24-105mm F4L)

[Gary.D.Olson]

I see our trusty forum just further reduced it to 428 x 760 pixels. What are you gonna do?

[wwaldmanfan]

2000mm and 1/4000 sec? Should be piece of cake zooming in on one of those seagulls then...

 

 

Incredible shot. I love it.

Digital photography has been an almost incomprehensible game-changer vs. the old technology. And, while nice gear opens up unlimited possibilities, I think it is a fun challenge to try to shoot really good photos with a smartphone. On a recent trip to Colorado, my wife was taking amazing panoramic pix with her iPhone.

[Iain]

Here's a higher resolution version of that photo. I was posting from my phone and couldn't convince the Google apps to give me a link to the full-size image (as uploaded to the web album).

 

For some reason this doesn't zoom, but right-click and "view image" gives the full size.

 

Stunning photograph.

 

Imagine how much better this would be if taken with a professional medium format camera, such as a Pentax 6x7 or a 645:

Pentax 6x7, 67, 67 II - Photoethnography.com's Classic Camera DB

 

I had this camera and several lenses for it a few years ago. Most everything I used it for, was truly exceptional.

 

On another topic, over the past couple of years when I watch TV it's been Netflix exclusively, One night a few weeks ago, I discovered a recent TV Series "Limitless". What a amazing concept that is.

 

After viewing the TV series three times in a row, I then purchased the 2000 book and the 2011 film it's based on:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Limitless-Alan-Glynn/dp/0571273343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474809783&sr=1-1&keywords=limitless

 

Disclaimer: I don't condone drug use, at all, but this is a completely different concept. I've never paid much attention to this subject matter until now.

 

I've seen the film twice and now over halfway through the 350 page book in just a few days.

 

Just goes to show what else is out there, if you look in the right place.

[mansr]

Stunning photograph.

 

Imagine how much better this would be if taken with a professional medium format camera, such as a Pentax 6x7 or a 645:

Pentax 6x7, 67, 67 II - Photoethnography.com's Classic Camera DB

 

I had this camera and several lenses for it a few years ago. Most everything I used it for, was truly exceptional.

 

There's always something better. On the balance between quality, price, and portability, I've settled on something that fits both my budget and habits while still providing quality far ahead of any compact/phone camera which is what most people use. It's no different from audio, really. There's always a better speaker or amp if you're willing to pay for it and have a listening space that lets it shine.

 

I shot that photo on a short visit to Santa Cruz during a business trip a while back. Under the circumstances, I probably wouldn't have bothered bringing a medium format camera even if I had one. Here's another from the same outing:

 

 

For a photo I hadn't planned at all, I don't think it's too bad.

[wgscott]

I shot that photo on a short visit to Santa Cruz during a business trip a while back.

 

Funny. I thought I recognized that.

 

Next time you are in town, say hi.

 

My daughter dropped a camera near there (sony action-cam). Now it is at the bottom of the Bay.

[witchdoctor]

I got just the thing, see if my main man DJFrankie55 can get the pep back in your step and pump up your music mojo- OMG- the best!!

 

[r_w]

Some really nice snaps in this thread.

 

;-)

[Tone Deaf]

Always had difficulty justifying the larger camera / lens systems - just wasn't a smart choice on week long wilderness trips. Gravitated to Olympus due to the smaller size, and decent optics, but there were compromises.

 

With the micro 4/3 systems these days, there aren't a lot of remaining compromises.

 

 

(Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mk2, 12-40 mm F2.8 Pro)

[semente]

I have been playing with mirrorless cameras this past couple of years, after almost a decade of APS DSLRs and I'm not going back.

Tried the Olympus E-M5 first, then moved to the Fujifilm X-T1 for it's larger and better EVF, traditional dials and switches and amazing colours.

But I'm currently considering going back to Olympus which I felt had better AF and an altogether more pleasant and effective experience, since now the E-M5 mk2 has a larger finder.

 

R

[accwai]

If you like Leica, check out the Fuji X100T (or the successor X100F planned for next year). Much closer to the Leica spirit than the Sony A7 series, in spite of APS-C vs FF. [...]

 

On the other hand, the Sony can literally use Leica M lenses. And Leica R too. Plus interesting Canon EF lenses, like TS-E and MP-E. If I were to buy a body in the near future, it would likely be some kind of Sony A7.

 

Incredible shot. I love it.

 

Thanks

 

Digital photography has been an almost incomprehensible game-changer vs. the old technology.

 

Yes, the general quality of photography has jump hugely since the introduction of digital. I think the real game changing part of digital is the new cost structure it brings. In the film days, cameras are relatively inexpensive but the film cost adds up very quickly if you shoot a lot. For digital, you pay a rather hefty upfront cost, but the incremental cost for the consumables is rather negligible. That encourages experimentation. Those who are inclined to learn can come up through the rank very quickly and cheaply. That's my theory at least.

 

And, while nice gear opens up unlimited possibilities, I think it is a fun challenge to try to shoot really good photos with a smartphone. On a recent trip to Colorado, my wife was taking amazing panoramic pix with her iPhone.

 

For me, not really an either or question. Recently when traveling, I shoot quite a bit of panorama on my daughter's Samsung tablet. But nothing beats the responsiveness of a proper camera.

[Tone Deaf]

The E-M1 mk2 was just announced this past week at Photokina. It is supposed to have a new sensor and a much improved AF, though probably at some weight penalty. I am looking forward to seeing some reviews on it. The E-M5 mk2 is just plain fun to use. Choices....

 

Image stabilization is another area that has seen significant improvements. I've had successful results with hand held exposures up to 1 second.

[semente]

I found the A7's shutter too noisy but the camera felt really good in my hand.

But I'm happy with the performance of the APS-sized sensor and prefer the smaller, lighter bodies that are built around it.

 

R

[semente]

But nothing beats the responsiveness of a proper camera.

 

I agree entirely.

My favourite subject is street photography and responsiveness is crucial...