I’ve not taken lighting strikes before and this seemed too good an opportunity to miss, so we stood out in the rain at 1am and continuously pressed the shutter hoping to catch some electrical action.
Shutter speed was set to 30 seconds, ISO to 1000, aperture to f8, and manual focus just below infinity; then lots of post processing in Lightroom!
Urban decay, sad for the locals, a boon for photographers!
Brighton’s West Pier; out of fashion; left to rack and ruin; burned down; finished off by storms. If there’d been a swamp it would have fallen into it!
Sadly there’s no chance of repair; its “replacement”, the i360, will point upwards not outwards. How long before our photographer descendants are filling their viewfinders with its ruin?
A few days ago I snapped away at the owl using the Sony RX1 and the Sigma DP3. The result, for me, is a great example of the strengths of both cameras.
Having to get up close with the RX1 combined with f2.0 equals really shallow DoF, and I love the the creamy background.
The Sigma on the other hand, taken a few steps back and at f2.8 … well could you ask for more resolution? … but the out of focus areas are for me too harsh.
With a trip to the Lofoten penciled in for this winter, I’ve been reluctantly (but increasingly) tempted by the “see in the dark” Sony A7s. The problem is that a new purchase would mean the sale of my beloved Sony RX1.
Before I could bring myself to draft the eBay listing I needed to test the RX1’s low light capability one more time, and where better than 330 feet down a hole in Yorkshire.
Once a year the Bradford Potholing Club (http://www.bpc-cave.org.uk/gaping_gill.htm) set up camp for the week and winch slightly mad people down Gaping Gill, a very large hole on the flank of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales. With the RX1 stuffed safely in the pocket of my down coat (try doing this with an SLR!) I climbed into the cage, was bolted in, and headed in the general direction of down.
The decent is mainly lit by natural light from the top of the shaft. The cavern itself is lit by two yellow sodium lamps (UK street lights); not much lighting for a hole the size of York Minster!
As we waited our turn to decend into darkness we climbed Little Ingleborough. The shots below showing the camp (right foreground) and (left, distance) Pen-y-gent, were taken using panoramic and manual mode respectively.
With the 2015 Photography Show just around the corner it’s time for a quick retrospective.
This time last year I’d Ebayed my D800 and collection of heavy Nikon glass I’d built up over the years. Photography had ceased to be fun; the lenses were too heavy to drag around; the high resolution sensor was, in my hands, over sensitive to camera shake; and the results, to my eye, lacked a certain magic compared with the superb D700. Like so many I’d fallen into the pixel peeper trap of chasing resolution and the lure of a traditional brand.
Now I wanted a small, light solution, that promised the same quality. With some trepidation I entered into the world of mirrorless; discovered the FF Sony RX1; luckily spotted one on Ebay; and immediately did the deal.
The RX1 covers just about every base. I love the constraint of a single focal length; the operation is a superb ergonomic mix of modern and traditional; the bokeh is smooth and creamy; the resolution seems the equal of the D800; wide open the images are awesome; and I can stick it all this in an (admittedly large) jacket pocket! Camera bliss.
But, as I headed to the inaugural 2014 Photography show, I still had some cash left over from the D800 fire sale.
Without lenses to buy my interest had turned to sensors and the different looks they might produce, just like different film types in the old days. The Foveon sensor had intrigued me for a while but it was Fuji’s xtrans technology packaged up in the newly released, retro styled, X-T1 that caught my eye. External controls, weather sealed, compact, great EVF, the lack of an optical low-pass filter; it looked perfect. The X-T1 was my target …
… And it was the X-T1 that I bought … but still having a little cash left over I headed toward the Sigma stand and discovered, right next door, a DP3 Merrill selling for £300.
Over a cup of tea I contemplated my purchases. I was pretty pleased with the XT-1 but was thrilled with the DP3. I couldn’t believe my luck. I’d bought a DP1 Merrill for £650 a few months before only for it to be stolen on its first serious outing to Slovenia. But the few test shots I’d managed to take in the week before looked stunning. Now, four months later, I’d picked up a DP3 Merrill for less than half the price. I’d almost forgotten I’d got the X-T1. I recall trying to persuade random people to get on over to the Sigma stand and pick up the bargain of a lifetime. Most thought I was mad.
The rest, as they say, is history. The XT-1, good though it was, couldn’t come close to the Sony in quality or versatility (I shouldn’t have expected it to), and the Sigma’s IQ and unique Foveon look simply blew me away. Both very different cameras, both unique propositions, both excelled at what they were designed to do. The XT-1 offered no original look, and no specialist purpose; there was no room on the shelf and within two weeks it had been consigned to Ebay. I think I lost £100 on the deal.
As I plan my trip to the 2015 show it feels like I’m going full circle. I still own the Sony and DP3 Merrill, and have now replaced the stolen DP1 Merrill, but now my attention is fixed on the DP Merrill’s big brother, the SD1, and pairing it with a couple of decent lenses.
Yes I know that over the past 12 months a hundred superb new cameras have been launched; each leap frogging the last with technological innovations; each offering ever higher resolution and ISO; each in ever smaller bodies; but each, sadly, much of a muchness in terms of IQ and look (I’ll exclude the Sony A7S from this statement as it is one camera that truly bucks the trend).
In this company an SD1 at £800 (body only); a Merrill sensor wrapped in a weather sealed magnesium alloy body; seems like a bit of a bargain!
I know a Quattro armed version can’t be far away, and a FF version must be on the cards and what a camera that would be, but the little bit of Merrill magic is just two hard to resist!
Any thoughts on lenses to pair the SD1 with would be much appreciated!!
Different camera’s, different looks. The images below of the waterfall at Boot in Eskdale are captured by the Merrill DP3, DP1 and Sony RX1 respectively. The difference of look of the Foveon sensor, compared to the Bayer sensor of the Sony, is pretty clear. In a world of Bayer sensors the Foveon offers something unique; IMHO capturing a little bit of magic each time the shutter is pressed. For landscapes it’s now first out of the camera bag!
To reach Stanley Force you have to cross the River Esk, Head upstream 200 yards to cross the bridge or across the stepping stones. There’s really no choice.
Victoria & Hunslet Mills have laid unused since the late sixties / early seventies, a poignant reminder of the inevitability of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, but luckily an interesting subject at which to point the Sigma DP1 Quattro
Victoria & Hunslet Mills | Sigma DP1 Quattro | www/richardjwalls.com
This shot was taken by pushing the lens through the metal fence that surrounds the site. Very little chance for good composition! Aperture is F8 as opposed to the Sony’s F16 below; the Sigma F16 shot had to be binned. Compared to the Sony the detail captured in the shot is pretty amazing.
Victoria & Hunslet Mills | Sony RX1 | www/richardjwalls.com
Sony shot at F16
Victoria & Hunslet Mills Detail | Sigma – Sony | www/richardjwalls.com
The Sigma shot is a perfectly formed miniature version of the Sony
Victoria & Hunslet Mills Detail | Sigma – Sony | www/richardjwalls.com
I had to play around with noise reduction and sharpening with the Sigma in an attempt to match the Sony on the black sheets covering the windows.
… And just for fun some a couple of shots with the Sigma DP3 Merrill
The IQ of the DP3 Merrill is as always superb. It’s unfair to compare the DP1 Quattro with the DP3 Merrill, the focal length is so different, but I can’t wait to find out if the DP3 Quattro can match it!
It was a grey day in Leeds on Sunday and so no judging the Quattro DP1 until the shooting conditions are better, and remember the benchmark here is the Sony RX1, a camera retailing on Amazon UK for almost 3 times the price of the Sigma.
Shooting & Post Processing Notes
All shots taken at ISO100 with a tripod and post processed using SPP 6.1 and Lightroom. Due to past experience of over aggressive noise reduction luminance noise reduction was knocked down to the minimum in SPP (however this seems to make the Quattro DP1 images more noisy when viewed at 100% as compared to the Merrill DP3 (or Sony) and I’ll check this out in another post).
Back to the bridge to take the same old test shot as previous comparisons. The day was dull and coming to an end but with a tripod there was just enough light.
When originally looking at the DP2 Quattro I found the colour rendition of greens and reds to be dull compared to the DP3 Merrill and the Sony. Unfortunately I see a similar story with the Quattro DP1, the foliage and the backdrop all look too green compared to the Sony. I re-looked in SPP but found no way of adjusting this. I also checked the settings in the camera. Nothing was set that would influence either way.
Back to the positives, the detail on Bridgewater Place is remarkable!
It was a grey day in Leeds on Sunday and so no judging the Quattro DP1 until the shooting conditions are better, and remember the benchmark here is the Sony RX1, a camera retailing on Amazon UK for almost 3 times the price of the Sigma.
Shooting & Post Processing Notes
All shots taken at ISO100 with a tripod and post processed using SPP 6.1 and Lightroom. Due to past experience of over aggressive noise reduction luminance noise reduction was knocked down to the minimum in SPP (however this seems to make the Quattro DP1 images more noisy when viewed at 100% as compared to the Merrill DP3 (or Sony) and I’ll check this out in another post).
Sticking to the industrial theme, and in search of untypical subject matter to test the Quattro’s versatility, I pushed its lens through the railings of the concrete works on the Cross Green industrial estate. There wasn’t much room to compose a shot!
It was a grey day in Leeds on Sunday and so no judging the Quattro DP1 until the shooting conditions are better.
Shooting & Post Processing Notes
All shots taken at ISO100 with a tripod and post processed using SPP 6.1 and Lightroom. Due to past experience of over aggressive noise reduction luminance noise reduction was knocked down to the minimum in SPP (however this seems to make the Quattro DP1 images more noisy when viewed at 100% as compared to the Merrill DP3 (or Sony) and I’ll check this out in another post).
The new recycling and energy recovery facility (RERF) under construction at Cross Green, Leeds, has the largest timber frame (@42 metres) of its type in the UK. It seemed like a good place to try out some first shots with the recently arrived Sigma DP1 Quattro so I headed over.
With a similar focal length (and not currently possessing a Merrill DP1) my Sony RX1 became the benchmark. At nearly three times the cost at time of writing (£2,249 against £775 on Amazon UK) it’s hardly a fair comparison, but to be honest, after my experience with the Merrills, my expectations of Sigma are high!
It was a grey day in Leeds on Sunday and so I’ll reserve judgement on the Quattro DP1 until the shooting conditions are better.
Shooting & Post Processing Notes
All shots taken at ISO100 with a tripod and post processed using SPP 6.1 and Lightroom. Due to past experience of over aggressive noise reduction luminance noise reduction was knocked down to the minimum in SPP (however this seems to make the Quattro DP1 images more noisy when viewed at 100% as compared to the Merrill DP3 (or Sony) and I’ll check this out in another post).
To celebrate Polly’s dad’s 89th birthday we headed to the Yorkshire Dales to visit one of the familiar regular haunts, How Stean Gorge (http://www.howstean.co.uk). After a discussion over dinner about family likenesses the clam members spookily lined up almost symmetrically for the family portrait!
… and as the sun began to set, and dusk settled in, the reflections and hills created a balanced symmetrical composition.
Did the symmetrical Shillitoe group portrait subliminally influence the later shots, or is it that we’re all bound into the universe’s profound symmetrical plan … and any sense of freewill is simply an illusion?
I’ll let the philosophers take a stab at that!
Family portrait shot with the Sony RX1. All other shots taken with the Sigma Merrill DP3, using a tripod at ISO 100, the final shot is a stitched composition of 4 images.
The Grindelwald–Männlichen Gondola Cableway is longest cable car in Europe. Plenty of time then to admire the view, and if the cloud is down to waste time taking snaps of passing Gondola’s …