How old is too old?

I have GAS. Not gas like flatulence, or gas like gasoline, gas like Gear Acquisition Syndrome. It's a real thing, ask my good friend Wye Keen.. As a photographer I think it's almost impossible to not suffer from GAS, who doesn't want a $9000 Nikon D5 or the soon to be released Sony A9 that shoots a stupid 20 frames a second? I sure as hell do.. Unfortunately some people, like myself, don't have disposable income lying around, so we have to make do with what we've got.

In todays technology market, cameras are being churned every 12-18months, that's not even enough time to use the damn thing properly, but people demand new shiny toys and companies give the people what they want. Most of the time it's not good enough, but there's no such thing as a perfect camera is there? In 2009 Nikon announced the D300s, a minor upgrade to the already very good D300, 1 fps faster, 720p video shooting.. this and that.. not much of an upgrade but an upgrade nevertheless. 

So back to the title of this post, how old is too old? Lets find out. I inherited an unwanted and unloved D300s from my aunty last year when I went to HK to visit some family. I love cameras but more importantly, I love free things - I'm Asian after all. So I've had this camera for a few months now and I've pumped a few thousand frames through her already. The verdict? Not bad. 7/10.

The camera has the same autofocusing system as my D750 and the AF points reach to the edge of the viewfinder, but for whatever reason, it isn't as fast or pick up subjects as fast as my D750 does. Granted there's like 6 or 7 years of new technology in the D750, but the AF module is the same and I thought i'd get similar results? Anyway, when the camera focusses it's pretty sweet, the 1.5x crop factor is great for when you want to carry a lighter lens and not lug around a behemoth like the 600mm.

For games like cricket, AFL and soccer where the fields are often quite large, having the extra reach of the 1.5x crop makes a huge difference, you'd be surprised how much of a difference carrying the 400mm is compared to the 600! With most people who shoot sport, having the 1.5x crop is something they miss when shooting sports with full frame cameras, I personally like crop sensor, but my style of shooting is normally quite wide and by having a crop sensor, you often suffer on the wide end. Sure I can buy wide angle crop lenses, but there isn't a point considering I already own a wide angle lens for my full frame bodies. 

The D300s took some time to get used to, most of it was button placement and also the camera had a few quirks like not tracking targets as well as other cameras I've used and the camera seems to just feel laggy or sluggish compared to my current cameras. My D750 isn't a sports camera but can still churn out 6.5fps and the RAW buffer is really good with the 95mb/s cards I use. The D300's on the other hand, 15 JPEG files and half that of RAW files and the buffer gets full. Yikes.

Using the D300s for sport was a given, so I wanted to try my hand and using it for another subject I have a passion for - Macro.

Now i'm certainly not going to win any awards for my macro and i'm not particularly good at it either, but it's a nice way to slow down the way you shoot and focus on little creatures that often go unnoticed.

The one thing that can't be denied is that the dynamic range on this thing isn't great. Maybe because i've been spoiled with the D750, but when you try and lift shadows - nope - it's ok, but not great, highlights, also mreh and ISO performance is very mreh. 

Although the D300s has its quirks like ok only AF, mreh ISO, shadow and highlight recovery and relatively low megapixel count, there is light at the end of the tunnel. For those who want a camera with professional build quality, relatively fast frames per second, good ergonomics and on the cheap, I couldn't recommend the D300s anymore. Sure you have to be careful when shooting it, like don't under expose by 3 stops hoping you're gonna recover the shadows - because that wont happen - but slow down and shoot it like slide film. Back when I was at uni we used to shoot tranny* film (transparency) and boy was it hard to get right. That stuff had no leeway in terms of highlights and shadows and we were often taught to sacrifice either the highlights or shadows for the shots. 

BUT and there's a big but, when it worked, the developed film that came out was fan-flipping-tastic. Shooting the D300s reminds me a little of that, when you get the files right in camera, there really isn't much you need to do to make them pop, slow down, expose properly and you'll get great looking photos. Come to think of it.. why don't I do that more often...?

Well that's food for thought for the day, lets see where we are in another 8 years. I might have to re-read my D750 review in 2021 and see if the it was the GAS that made the camera good or whether it really was that good.. hmm

Chris.

*Tranny isn't politically correct but that's what it is/was called - Don't shoot the messenger.

Meikon underwater housing review

A few of weeks ago I pulled the trigger and bought an underwater housing for my NEX, I had a long weekend coming up and paid for express shipping hoping that I would arrive in the 3-5 days like it said. It didn't, it took 2 weeks and last week I finally received my underwater housing for my NEX after a delay due to the eBay store having issues with their supplier.

When it finally arrived I was immediately struck with how well the housing was built. To be honest, I haven't played with many underwater housings but this certainly didn't look or feel cheap considering it was only $120AUD.

The Meikon housing is rated to withstand depths of up to 40m. I tried to find some information on the Meikon housings for NEX but it was pretty hard to come by. From the few pages that I did find, people said that the camera started playing up around 20m due to the pressure it had on the housing. Luckily as a snorkeller I have not encountered any problems and find it to be a perfect housing for free diving <10m nbsp="" or="" p="" so.="">

There are 2 models for the NEX, the 16mm and the 18-55mm. I opted to go for the 18-55 because I didn't want to be restricted to only using one lens. The 18-55 gives me a few more options when it comes to shooting underwater as I can zoom the lens a little bit if I don't want something too wide and I can also put my 35mm lens into the housing which I have found to be a great lens underwater.

Like I mentioned before, the housing is built extremely well considering the cost. It has all the buttons to allow full control of the camera, which can be handy if you want to do any full manual controls underwater. I'm pretty lazy and leave it on aperture priority and let the camera do the rest. The buttons are useable, but underwater they can be a bit of a hassle to use.

The case adds a fair bit of size to the NEX and as a result, the ergonomics are a bit difficult to get used to when compared to using the NEX natively with no case. The shutter button is in a little bit of an awkward position due to the added size of the case and some of the buttons require a bit of force to push in in order to get them to respond. It's not overly difficult but can be a little annoying when you're wanting to do things relatively quickly.

My biggest surprise when using the housing was how buoyant the actual case is. It does not sink. at all.

The waterproofness of the case is pretty good, there's a tight seal around the edges of the housing with an O ring and also comes with some water resistant lubricant which should be used every time you go in the water. The case has 2 locks or hinges to unlock before the case can be opened, there is a top hinge which doesn't really do much in terms of keeping water out and actually doesn't do much at all. The main lock is located on the right and makes up the grip of the housing, it requires a pinch action to unlock two hinges which opens the housing. I'm always a little paranoid that I will accidentally bump the latches and the case will open underwater - fortunately it hasn't happened yet, touch wood.

Overall i'm extremely happy with the Meikon underwater housing. The only gripe that I do have with it, is the inability to pop the flash up or down when it is inside the case. This is only a small gripe, but sometimes I don't want the flash to fire and the only way I can turn the flash off is to open up the case and pop the flash back down. This is only a small issue, but for $120 I really shouldn't be complaining.

Until next time.

How to: Wireless flash on the NEX system.

So my mate Wk  suggested I explain how to do off camera flash on the NEX system - so here it goes. As much as I love the NEX system, there's one thing that annoys me so very much, it annoys me so much that i've even thought about changing over to the Fuji X-System. Why you ask? The Fuji X series have something that only the new Sony NEX 6 and older 7 have and that's a hotshoe mount.

Now quick rant, Sony.. why MUST you try and be different and have designs and products that ONLY you use and no one else uses or is even interested in? No idea but it infuriates a lot of photographers who need to buy Sony only products in order to achieve what they want to do - Sounds a lot like Apple, but that's another story.

So hotshoe mount, what's so good about it? What is so good about it, is that it allows you to attach a flash via TTL cable or via wireless flash triggering systems so that you can fire flashes OFF the camera. For those who don't know, off camera flash is the sh*t. It makes photos look nicer and more dramatic. Off camera flash is what I use everyday at work to make portraits just look.. better.

So why should I care if my camera has a hotshoe or not and whether I can do off camera flash? Well, being so used to using DSLR's all of my photographic life, i've always had the opportunity to do off camera flash, from even the most basic cheapo DSLR to the top of the line DSLR, there's always a hotshoe to attach a flash and take it off the camera to do off camera flash either wirelessly or via TTL cable. TTL cable is probably one of my favourites ways for doing off camera flash as it's simple - a cable that connects your flash to your camera - and very very quick to set up. The only draw back is that you can only extend the flash as far as your arm can reach, or as long as the cable is willing to stretch.

So when I was shopping for a new little camera I foolishly forgot to check for hotshoes and ability to do off camera flash. So I ended up buying the 5n and look, 90% of the time I love it, but that off camera flash thing really irks me sometimes. This is how my NEX setup looks like most of the time - With the EVF on. Coming from a DSLR background, looking through viewfinder has always been something i've gotten used to as well as enjoyed. With many mirrorless cameras they don't have built in EVF's, except for the more expensive models. So, as you can imagine I like to have the EVF on 100% of the time if possible. This is where that stupid Sony "smart" port comes in. If you haven't noticed, the 5n does NOT have a built in flash, the flash comes separately and connects where the EVF is connected.

So, the flash goes in the "smart" port and you can't use the EVF anymore, whats that got to do with off camera flash you ask? Well one solution i've found to overcome the off camera flash problem is to use a Nikon speedlight - SB910 to be exact - and have it fire wirelessly as a slave unit every time it picks up external flashes. (Menu > SU-4 mode)

5N with the EVF taken off and flash attached.

So like I said, the Nikon SB910 picks up flash from the camera and that somehow triggers it to fire in sync with the camera every time the camera flash fires. How it works, too technical, but trust me, it works. 

The NEX flash is sh*t. I mean really sh*t. On the very rare occasions that I do use it, I like to use it with a little DIY light bouncer (card wrapped in aluminium foil) The light bouncer bounces the light from the flash to the aluminium foil card and forces the light to bounce of surfaces such as roofs and walls to create softer diffused light. The light from bouncing it off walls and ceilings is ok, but can only be used if there is a ceiling or wall nearby to bounce off, as you can imagine it doesn't do much outdoors.. 

When I do off camera flash with the NEX I use it with the diffuser to ensure that light from the flash is not affecting the exposure or lighting in my picture. (essentially blocking the light)

Again, I have no models to take photos of so have to use myself - sorry in advance. So as you can see, the flash is being fired off from camera right, creating a nicer light on the subject (me). This type of lighting- rembrandt- is pretty stock standard for most portraits and being able to do it on the NEX system really gives me the ability and opportunity to do some more serious portrait work with the NEX. I'm not keen on using the 5n without the EVF as it's something i'm so used to, maybe one day down the track i'll buy a second hand NEX 7 or 6 when the prices drop as they have built in EVF's - wishful thinking.

Anyway, enough of looking at my face, some more real world examples of using off camera flash on the NEX system. PS I know i said i wouldn't do anymore macro photos, but it's not my fault it's been raining!

This photo is similar to the one I shot the other day, the only difference is that this photo was shot at night, not in the afternoon. The flash is on a tripod, behind me to the left and I aimed the flash to illuminate the background, with a bit of spill light from the flash to light up my subject.

With this other photo, I used the flash as my main light source which gives you a black background, good for isolating subjects and keeping the photo quite clean.

Anyway that's about it from me this time, unfortunately I don't have many photos to show because I didn't have much time to take photos after work this evening, so yeah.. hopefully I can show you some more real world examples in the near future!

PS those photos of the NEX were lit with.. you guess it, off camera flash! Except with the D3s and with 2 flashes. One bouncing off the wall on the left and another flash set up behind the camera (nex) to create some rim lighting. Off camera flash FTW!

NEX 5n - Nerdy geeky camera review.

Like the title says.. this is a review.. sorry, there wont be many pretty pictures like I normally like to post.. why?... because I went and bought myself a new toy.. however i've justified my purchase is it will be my new 'travel' companion instead of my beasty D3s. So I guess I should explain why I bought the NEX 5n... well.. there were a few reasons why, but the main reasons were:

1. The large APS-C sensor, whereas most mirrorless cameras were either Micro 4/3's or the Nikon CX format, which i was really quite disappointed with. 
2. The camera is well priced for what it is and what it can do
3. The size! amazing!.. I've always wanted a DSLR in a small compact body, and this definitely ticks all the boxes in that department

Right, so they're the main reasons why I bought it, so lets see it..

There we go.. That's it.. This small little camera packs the same sensor as the amazing Nikon D7000 but only a fraction of the size. I bought the 16mm 2.8 pancake lens (pictured) as my walk around travel lens, perfect just just about most things. I only received it today in the mail so I haven't had much time to take it out for a real spin. However I might do it tonight when the sun sets.. we'll see how we go! 

And here is the Fujian 35mm 1.7 CCTV lens that I bought for a pricey $40.. can't complain ; ) Probably my favourite lens at the moment, really produces some amazing photos. 

So like I mentioned, this thing is SMALL! i've never held such a small interchangable lensed camera before and I like it! I am still amazed that this little toy like camera has the same sensor as traditional DSLR's but in such a smaller package. The down side to these cameras is that they are mirrorless, meaning that you don't have an optical view finder to look through like you would in traditional DSLR's. With these cameras it means that you look at the back of the LCD screen to line up and shoot your images. Unfortunately for me and my wallet, I find it hard to adapt shooting that way and bought myself the Electronic Viewfinder. EVF. The EVF is nice, it's bright and displays all the relevant information, however it cannot compete with an OVF - Optical view finder. The advantage with the EVF is that you can see how the image will turn out, live on screen unlike an OVF where you really need to be wary of the camera meter and some what "guess" the exposure in tricky lighting situations. 

Compared to the iPhone, the NEX 5n is a little shorter, but obviously is a bit thicker. But still! SO SMALL! 

That is a standard Nikon lens cap that I use, which I consider to be small, The NEX in height is smaller than even the lens cap! amazing.. 

So how does this thing compare to my tried and trusted D3s? Lets start with the size difference first off. 

And there you go.. Can really see why this NEX would be a perfect travel companion, especially if one was to travel through rough terrain and every extra bit of weight would make a huge difference. I've always been reluctant to buy a 2nd, smaller DSLR such as the Nikon D5100, D7000 etc, as I always knew that even if the body was small, the lenses would stay the same, and in most cases, it's the lenses which REALLY weigh me down and add onto the weight. The beauty about the NEX system is that it has the ability to attach any lens imaginable to the system, which is probably one of the other reasons I really liked this camera. With my current Nikon gear, I would be able to have bought adaptors to use the older manual focus lenses I had back home, however the body would still be big and not solve the issue of size and weight. 

For camera nerds out there, the NEX shoots RAW and full 1080i/p movies at 50 and 25. I've only briefly used the video function but I can say it looks great. Back to the RAW shooting. This is vital to me as RAW files always out resolve JPEG images and allow the photographer to tweak minor adjustments such as WB and exposure after the image has been taken. The 5n packs a 16.3 mp APS-C sensor, which like I mentioned earlier, is the same sensor as the bigger Nikon D7000 for 1/3rd the price. Sure, there are pros and cons with these systems, but having lug the D3s up mountains, through forests and in extreme heat conditions, this is certainly a welcome change, as I can be confident that the 5n is not a sacrifice in quality. 

Okay, so the 5n sounds great and amazing, suits all my needs and wants, does this mean the DSLR and D3s system is now dead? Definitely not. I have always been a believer in using the right tools for the right job and the D3s will always have a spot in my camera bag. Why? simply because the D3s and DSLR's in general, are built like tanks. Take the D3s for example. Full metal magnesium alloy construction, weather sealed, better battery life, better ergonomics, better screen, faster focus, faster frame rate, I could go on for ages. The D3s will never be replaced for high paying and important jobs, as I know that camera back to front like the back of my hand, and shooting with it has become natural instinct. The 5n is another species, where it offers my DSLR quality but in a tiny package. That is all.

As a photographer I am always wanting maximum quality, and this NEX system satisfies my needs.

SO speaking of IQ, how does it compare to the D3s, Nikon's flagship camera as of February 2012, until the Nikon D4 was announced.

It took me a while to remember which one was which and I had to look at the EXIF data to find out. Ok the exposures and WB are slightly off, but these are straight out of camera jpegs, just to sorta show how the nex competes with big BIG brother Nikon. The top image is the Nex and the bottom is the Nikon. The bokeh or blurriness in the background is quite similar, but you can really see the advantage of that big beautiful full frame sensor when you look closely at the foreground in the bottom image, and how it is out of focus, having only the blue jar in focus, whereas the Nex is still relatively sharp infront of the jar. 

These images were shot at 16mm on the nex which equated to roughly 24-28mm on FX. I tried to shoot the images exactly the same, with the same aperture, both wide open at 2.8 and same ISO of 200. I tried to shoot same shutter speed, but because the NEX has no mirror, the flange distance (distance from lens to sensor) is a lot shorter than the D3s, the NEX will always expose brighter than the D3s when shot at the same shutter speed. These tests were really a way for me to test the bokeh and see how it looked compared to each other. The top image again is the NEX and the bottom the D3s. When looking at the bokeh, you can really see the advantage of the full frame sensor, and that smooth soft bokeh. The blurriness is a lot 'creamier' in a way is more pleasant to look at. The Nex with the smaller sensor has less bokeh and thus results in images not having that same 'look' as a full frame sensor. Remember, this is due to the size of the sensor and not the camera. 

The NEX system has the biggest sensor available, besides full frame, and is the same sized sensor as professional APS-C cameras such as the Canon 7d and Nikon D300/s cameras. 

Shooting at wide angles usually makes seeing bokeh more difficult, so I tried to test the bokeh with a different lens - The fujian 35mm which is about... 52mm on a FX camera. 

At longer focal lengths, the bokeh is exaggerated more and this test meant that the images were very very similar in look. Both images shot at 2.8 and at roughly the same focal length. The NEX is the top image and at this focal length, to see the difference you would really have to look very closely. Unfortunately I was too lazy to do proper tests and ensure the images were exposed properly, that I might do next time, but this was more for the 'look' of the images more than anything. 

Right, so that about sums up my review.. A bit drier than more normal blog posts but I just needed to do a quick review of my new toy haha. 

Ok, until next time.

Ciao.