PixelNewbie is moving!

Getting hosted by my own domain to be exact... the new URL is:

http://snapshots.rocketpunch.biz

This site will remain active as long as Blogger will have me. :)

Half a day with the Sony NEX-7

My brother bought the Sony NEX-7 and I managed to borrow it for half a day. He also bought the 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS along with the kit lens but it looks ridiculous mounted (just take a look at the link). I then put on the kit 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 lens and went for a short walk around my office to test the camera. Images below were shot Av Mode in RAW and went through my standard processing for exposure, color, saturation, and sharpening.

Sony NEX-7 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6
| 1/100 sec, f4.5, ISO 100 | 1/640 sec, f/5, ISO 100 | 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 100

Sony NEX-7 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6
| 1/1600 sec, f4, ISO 100 | 1/640 sec, f/4, ISO 100 | 1/500 sec, f/4, ISO 100 | 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 100

Sony NEX-7 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6
| 1/1600 sec, f4, ISO 100 | 1/640 sec, f/4, ISO 100 | 1/500 sec, f/4, ISO 100 | 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 100

What follows is a very very very short and sweet impression of the camera.

Things I liked:

• It feels light with the kit lens. I could carry it all day. With the kit lens, it generally feels good in the hand.
• APSC sized sensor with a 1.5x crop factor.
• FPS is crazy high at 10fps.
• The LCD is nice and clear and it swivels.
• Images are bright, colorful and have nice contrast and are very easy to post process.
• Bokeh for the kit lens is quite decent.
• Build quality is good.
• Built-in flash is nicely done. The arm can swivel and you can basically make the flash bounce at angles up to 90 degrees up.

Things I'm iffy about:

• It doesn't feel like I'm holding a camera, more like a gadget. I can understand why consumers will think that's cool though.
  
• The AWB renders things on the warmer side, especially indoors on yellow tungsten. But if you shot RAW, this isn't a big issue.
• The EVF resolution has been universally hailed as one of the best in the market. Eh... it's still quite pixelly and slow to me. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the OVF of DSLRs.

Things I didn't like:

• The changing from LCD to EVF takes about 1/2 second after I put my eye to the viewfinder. Oops! Moment gone!
• The top two dials get moved too easily and because they aren't marked, you have to rely on the LCD to tell you you've moved them. Which will be very often.
• With a slow SD card and shooting in RAW, the buffer struggles after a burst.
• Sony seriously needs to fix the options menu.
• No touch screen on the top of the line NEX?
• The NEX line as a whole needs faster lenses.
• The lenses are seriously big for a camera so small. Even the newest prime lenses are big. Kinda defeats the purpose of the body's small form factor IMO.

All in all, a very consumer oriented product (pretty obvious from the layout of the menu) even though the NEX-7 is the so-called 'professional' grade NEX that appeals to the power users. The Achilles heel of the NEX-7? 1) the top 2 dials that are too easily moved and 2) the serious lack of lens choices. And no, lens gotten from the adapters don't count.

I have to say it's a fun camera to shoot and I managed to get some decent pictures from it. Will I get one? Hmmm... good question. Not sure if it's more portable than my DSLR to be honest. It's smaller, but the lenses aren't. I think I can make a better judgement when more lenses are released.

Simple life in Kyoto

In 2009, my extended family and mine went on a family trip to Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan for a week. During that time, I was still using the Sony A550 which didn't record video, so I brought along my Canon Powershot G11, figuring I'd take some videos of my kid (er... and wife :p).

So anyway while waiting for my wife to shop for souvenirs near Kiyomizu-dera, I decided to walk around the area soaking up the atmosphere. I turned my head down an alley and saw this scene. Luckily, I had my G11 in my hand.

Canon PowerShot G11 | 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 125

Now when I took this picture I just thought it was an interesting scene, a travel candid so to speak. It's only in 2011 that I found out this can be considered street photography :D. Still, that's all semantics: this remains one of my favorite street shots even after 4 years.

My Canon 5DIII impressions Part 3 - Servo

So the Canon 5DIII is rated for 6fps with a very customizable Servo mode. It allows 6 ways of tracking your subjects with each mode customizable in 3 ways. That's a lot of ways. The shots below was done on the standard tracking mode.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 50mm F1.2L USM | 1/250 sec, f/1.2, ISO 100

The  camera now has a big depth of field preview button at the bottom right hand side of the lens mount. It's easily reached with my middle and ring finger. It's also customizable so I set it to go to servo mode when it's pressed. And that's how I shot these. It took getting used to and a few times but once nailed I think it works admirably.

I wouldn't try this with the 60D and the 50mm f1.2. The lens is slower to focus with that camera.

> Full set of pictures on Flickr

It's time to get a new bag!

More specifically, a backpack.

I'm usually a shoulder bag guy because I usually walk with the camera in sleep mode in the bag and only bring it out to shoot when I want to. It's much easier to reach for the camera with a shoulder bag. But I'm planning to go on a 2 week family holiday in June and we'll be hitting many cities. With 2 young kids in tow, I decided that I'll get a backpack to help unburden the missus of some of the kids' stuff she usually lugs around.

Awwwww... so nice right? It's for sanity sake to be honest (just kidding, hon!).

So now I'm in the market for a backpack that has a camera compartment. Here's my list of must haves:

1. Room for my full body 5DIII + 24-105mm f4 lens.
2. Room for at least 2-3 more lenses, 1 being the 70-200mm f2.8 (though I'm not planning to bring this one to the trip). Anyway, at least 2 lenses plus a body.
3. External room for my Benro tripod and/or water bottle.
4. A compartment to put the kids' stuff in. This includes: change of clothes, milk bottles, snacks and diapers.
5. Miscellaneous photography stuff like flash, memory cards, lenspen etc. Heck even my wallet probably.
6. A laptop compartment for my 13 inch Macbook Pro.
7. The bag that shouldn't look like a camera bag.
8. It needs to at least have some semblance of security.
9. Preferably not too bulky so I won't look like a Ninja Turtle.
10. Doesn't weigh a ton.
11. Easy access to the camera if possible but this isn't that important.

Yeah... about a dozen requirements. So I spent about 3 days browsing around forums and websites and narrowed down my choices to (L to R): Benro Journo 200, Kata DR-467i and the Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 85.

They all fulfill a majority of my requirements but not all of them. I'll need to take a good look at them in the stores when I get the chance. In the meantime, it's always good to have options so I'm still looking around for other backpacks. :)

Random thoughts: Think Tank Retrospective 10

The Think Tank Retrospective 10 shoulder bag basically gets universal praise for its looks and function. How can I resist? The bag went with me on a 5 day family trip to Singapore recently and here are my thoughts on the bag after some time with it.

Things I like:

• It’s pretty for a camera bag. All greenish beat-up canvas (which I like, me wife thinks it's dinky haha).
• Craftsmanship is high with the corresponding high quality to every part.
• The handle comes in very handy indeed.
• It easily takes my 5DIII + 50mm f1.2 attached, 16-35mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 IS II and 580 EXII with room for more things if I wanted.
• Since the bag is not hugely padded at all, the bag conforms to my body while carrying it.
• The side strap is perfect for my Benro tripod. I slip one leg through there and I add a velcro strap on the ballhead and tie around the tri-buckle of the bag’s strap. No fuss, no muss.

Things I’m iffy about:

• It really doesn’t look much like a messenger bag because it’s so thick. And because of its size, no one will mistake it for a laptop bag.
• The strap pad is comfortable for only about half a day of lugging around. It's probably because the strap is so thick and bulky that the whole bag is heavier than it should be.

Things I don’t like:

• For a bag its size, it’s heavy even when empty (1.4kg) so by the end of the day, I do feel it on my shoulder and back.
• The side compartments aren’t for anything thicker than an iPhone or Blackberry.
• I can’t put a divider horizontally to split a compartment into 2 halves. The way around this is to divide up the compartment diagonally, which I find a bit clumsy.
• It swallows gear so sometimes I needed two hands to take out my camera or to do anything for what matter.
• Because the bottom is quite thin and flimsy, it tends to sag down in the middle with my 5DIII + 50mm. I can actually feel the lens edge when I run my hand across the bottom. This is even after I used the rain cover as an added cushion.
• I prefer Domke’s way of implementing the velcro silencers on the F-831. With the Retro 10, if my bag isn’t full, I can’t just let go of the lid and let the velcros stick together. I have to consciously position them properly to close the lid.

As a day trip or event bag, I think the Retrospective 10 is wonderful. As a travel bag however, its limitations are quite apparent. 1.4kg empty is a waste of weight, so to speak. I think a shoulder bag for traveling needs to weigh 1kg max.

I'm actually planning a 2 week trip to Europe in June. What does this mean? More than likely I need a backpack. But that's a different post altogether.

My Canon 5DIII impressions - part 2

I'm one of those shooters who actually find some use for Liveview. In fact, I shoot my landscapes on Liveview almost exclusively. Liveview also lets me get into odd angles to shoot. The 60D is perfect for this with its articulating LCD. And that's one of my sore points with the 5DIII. No tilty swivelly LCD!

However, the 5DIII's shutter on Liveview is much softer than the 60D so I find it works very well even when held on one hand. Which is how I got this shot:

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 50mm F1.2L USM | 1/80 sec, f/1.2, ISO 100

I'll say this: it's not easy to find interesting angles for shooting cars without resorting to the cliche ones. I think this one turned out alright.

Matthew is 6 part 2!

So we decided to let Matthew have a small birthday party with his friends at school. This being his last semester in kindergarten, we thought it'll be fun and something for him to remember.

I brought my new Canon 5DIII and a borrowed EF 24-70 f2.8L USM to try out. Its focal length seemed tailor-made for the classroom. Wide shots to close up portraits.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM | 1/60 sec, f/4, ISO 1250 | 1/40 sec, f/4, ISO 640

The cake's theme is Bernard, a Mr. Bean-like CGI bear. Kid's obsessed with it. The lens renders very nice bokeh even at f4. And because it's on a full frame camera, the depth of field is still quite shallow.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM
| 1/50 sec, f/4, ISO 640 | 1/60 sec, f/4, ISO 2000 | 1/80 sec, f/4, ISO 1000

At 70mm @ f2.8, it makes for a very good portrait lens. It's fast so shooting the kids aren't that big of a challenge.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM
| 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 | 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 | 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 | 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250
| 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 | 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 | 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 | 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000
| 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 | 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 | 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 | 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800

Even though it doesn't have IS, it handled itself pretty well with ISO not going crazy high. Speed also remained pretty hand-holdable. I credit the f2.8 for this.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM
| 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 | 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 | 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125 | 1/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250

I even managed to handhold at f8 indoors! Interestingly, Matthew's teacher has always wanted him in her class since pre-school, but only in this last year of his kindergarten did she manage to get him hahaha.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM
| 1/60 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1600 | 1/13 sec, f/8, ISO 400 | 1/40 sec, f/8, ISO 2000 

Taking pictures of kids are always such fun. Just point a camera at them and they start to pose and kid around. I think it helps that they all got a big bag of candy and snacks though.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM
| 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250 | 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 | 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800

So, what did I think of the EF 24-70 f2.8L USM? It's pretty nice. It's fast, it's sharp and vignette is not too bad on the wide end. It's big, chunky and on the heavy side but it feels good in the hands. It also feels weird that at its widest focal length its at its longest extension. However, for its price, it really should have IS.

It'll be interesting to see how the upcoming EF 24-70 f2.8L II USM will perform. MTF charts for that lens is through the roof. It's also slightly lighter and looks to be less chunky. Unfortunately, that lens won't have IS either. It will also be as expensive as heck at the MSRP of USD 2,300. Yikes!

As for the 5DIII, I find that it underexposes by at least 2/3 stops in all of these shots. Perhaps it's because of the lighting in the room? That's however, not a big deal for me since I post process all my pictures. To the credit of the camera's AWB, the pictures proved easy to get 'right' color-wise. For this set of pictures, I actually processed the JPG files as Lightroom did not yet read the 5DIII's RAW files. And it's much much easier with these JPG files than with the ones from the 60D, especially indoor shots.