Nikon just introduced an interesting new portrait lens for the Nikon 1 system, a 32mm f/1.2 lens, offering an 86mm equivalent angle of view with depth of field control equal to that of an f/3.2 full frame lens. This is a premium lens with their silent wave autofocus, Nano Crystal Coat, manual focus override, metal barrel, and floating lens element design.

Available for pre-order at B&H in Black or Silver

One of the areas I live close to is the Oceano Sand Dunes Preserve. It's a lovely place to go for a walk and take pictures. The dunes are one of my muses -- I return frequently to test new ideas and try to get better. I find on every trip I make to this location I find new ideas to explore. In such an environment any camera will do really, although sand and wind can ruin a nice body or lens. So I always bring a windbreaker and never change lenses except when it's completely still. Thanks for looking!

Rider at the Dunes


Life in the Dry Places


Plant and Sand

Six short years ago, times were bleak for those of us who appreciated advanced, smaller cameras. So-called bridge cameras were a dying breed. The Canon Powershot G7 represented the treatment smaller cameras were getting. Gone were the fast lens and RAW capability of the G6. Those weren't needed in a smaller camera. Enthusiasts were expected to buy large, boxy DSLRs.

It was out of those dark times that Ricoh emerged bearing the torch for serious compact cameras. The Ricoh GX100 was pretty tiny, had a fast, f/2.4 (at the wide end), 24-70mm equivalent wide zoom, RAW capability, and excellent controls. Beside it stood the flagship compact GR Digital (GRD), proud descendant of the Ricoh GR1 line of film cameras.

In contrast to the GX100, the GRD was singular-minded. It was said that the GX100 was the Swiss army knife while the GRD was the razor. Anyone who has used a GRD will understand this analogy. Each GRD has featured an unusually sharp and well corrected, fast prime lens. Each GRD is immediately ready for use - no lens cap to remove, and no substantial delay waiting for the lens to extend. Lastly, each GRD has been very compact.

Ricoh evolved the GRD over time. By the third iteration, many of us were wondering how it could possibly be improved. The obvious answer was to use a larger sensor, but some wondered whether a large-sensor GRD would have to have too large a body, or whether it would be redundant given the Ricoh GXR and 28mm (equivalent) lens-sensor unit. Then Sony introduced the RX100, and we wondered if that excellent 1" sensor might find its way into a GR Digital 5.

The new Ricoh GR

Today Pentax/Ricoh has announced the Ricoh GR. Taking a cue from Apple and Leica, Ricoh has eliminated the series number, and while... [Read More]

I've been shooting with the Sony RX1 for about a month now and the Fuji X100s for a little over a week. I got up to speed with the X100s quickly since I've had plenty of experience with the X100 and X-Pro. I had both cameras with me during a busy weekend of shooting in New York City last week (along with the Nikon Coolpix A), and both have gotten plenty of work. I've written some about the RX1 here and the X100s on the Xspot forum, but I'd promised to do some sort of comparison between the two since they're somewhat similar by virtue of both being fixed lens 35mm (or equivalent) focal lengths with f2.0 lenses. While I question whether these two cameras will be directly competing for very many potential buyers, there are a lot of similarities and differences worth understanding for those who might be considering either.


NYC RX1-26-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr


NYC X100s-26 by ramboorider1, on Flickr

Lens / Sensor / Output - The RX1 has an incredibly nice Zeiss f2.0 lens mated to one of the best full frame 24mp sensors in existence (at least for this now - something better is sure to come out any day now...). The X100s has a very nice but not quite in the same league Fuji f2.0 lens mated to a 16mp APS X-trans sensor that some love and some hate. I personally love it but many who pixel peep and shoot raw with it have issues with the raw conversions and some even have issues with the jpegs and how they're sharpened and the level of detail. While that's a matter of personal taste, I don't think anyone... [Read More]

Took my Fuji to a fire spin in a disused warehouse on an Essex river front.




Fire Spinning Fuji Style by petach123 (Peter Tachauer), on Flickr


Fire Spinning Fuji Style by petach123 (Peter Tachauer), on Flickr


Fire Spinning Fuji Style by petach123 (Peter Tachauer), on Flickr

The Canon EOS-M Mirrorless Digital Camera with EF-M 22mm f/2 STM Lens is available at B&H at what I think is a reduced price:



Also, a quick notice on my part. Some of you may have noticed I've been posting some B&H links and announcements lately here and on Amin's other forums. A few of you have asked if I'm affiliated with B&H, so I thought I'd let you know what's going on - I've mentioned it once or twice but not in threads many people will see. I'm not directly affiliated with B&H, but Amin and the forums are. As part of this relationship, B&H often makes review copies of cameras available for loan - because I had been informally writing my reactions to various cameras over the past few years, Amin offered to include me in that loaner program so I could try out more gear and continue to write about it. As part of that arrangement, I also get all of B&H's announcements and emails and because I'm grateful to have the opportunity to try out new cameras, I offered to help Amin out by posting some of these if I get to them first or when he doesn't have the time. So, that's the connection. I do get review cameras from B&H because Amin offered to include me in that program and I sometimes post B&H notices. That's the extent of it...


-Ray Sachs

I spent the weekend in New York City and took the Sony RX1, Fuji X100s (with the 28mm conversion lens), and the Nikon Coolpix A. Because photography was not the priority or reason for this trip, I found myself with only the Nikon much of the time, pretty much all the time after dark. But I managed some street shooting with it mostly Friday night in and around the Times Square area. I basically used auto-ISO with a max ISO of 6400 and a minimum shutter speed of 1/250 (which there was too little light for much of the time, so the camera shot at whatever shutter speed it needed to for the available light). I also used zone focus for nearly all of these shots with a focus distance of about 2-6 feet and an aperture of between f4.5-5.6, depending on light - parts of Times Square are pretty bright. Lots of color, lots of B&W, lots of keepers, plenty of misses too (but you don't get to see those). I'm definitely buying this camera. It couldn't be more in my wheelhouse if I'd designed it myself. I'd change one or two minor things if I could tweak the firmware, but otherwise, its close to perfect for me. The full set of shots from New York (which I'll be adding lots of daytime shots and RX! and X100s shots to in the coming days) is here:

NYC April 2013 - a set on Flickr

And a sampling is here:


NYC Coolpix A-150-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr


NYC Coolpix A-186-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr

... [Read More]

Today only, while supplies last: NEX-F3 and 18-55mm kit lens for $369.99

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...1AE9CYX1XSN4Z5

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

LeicaPlace (LP) is a new site/forum for Leica users.




While there are some great Leica communities on the web already, some of the larger ones can at times get pretty grumpy. Our goal is to create a kinder, friendlier place for Leica users to hang out.

The forum index is structured to include all Leica-related gear, whether it's the latest digital Leica M, a Bessa using the Leica Screw Mount, or a Panasonic LX7 using a Leica lens.

Hope everyone using or interested in Leica gear will check out the new place!

As noted in my Nikon Coolpix A thread yesterday, I took both the Nikon and the Sony RX1 into Philadelphia for the day yesterday. It was my first time really shooting with the Nikon but I've taken the RX1 out a few times in various different contexts. Yesterday didn't really introduce any new challenges that I haven't tried before, but I did do some street shooting with it, which I was curious about. And I just found further confirmation that with this good a sensor, its awfully nice to just set the camera to auto-ISO and shoot away in aperture priority or manual mode, depending on what you're trying to do. Since the minimum shutter speed this camera will go to in Aperture priority mode is only 1/80 of a second (and its not user configurable - something Sony should address in firmware), I usually find myself just using manual mode, so I can set the minimum (and maximum) shutter speed myself as the situation dictates, and let the ISO float. I change the max ISO depending on the task - for street shooting I'll let it go to 12,800, for most other uses, 6400. The files are so good at 6400 there's not much reason to set it lower. But its easy enough to switch the maximum (or minimum) ISO, which is a submenu under "auto" ISO in the ISO menu which I can get to from the (c) button on the top of the camera. So the camera basically couldn't be easier to configure for whatever kind of shooting you're going to do with it and the sensor is so good its up for almost anything.

Here are some images from the day:

The commuter train pulls into Malvern under a full moon:


Sony RX1 - Philly by ramboorider1, on Flickr

Arriving in Philly:


... [Read More]