Kit Posts

Kit Posts / Review

Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 – First Impressions

April 3, 2019

I have read a lot about this lens and watched a load of reviews, it seemed like a great option for people like me that are on a budget. I didn’t think I could ever really justify the new Nikon 24-70, at nearly £1800. However I thought that I could stretch at some point to about £1000-1200 for a Tamron or the old Nikon. Then! I noticed that a used (open box – so barely used) Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 was for sale in one of my favourite camera shops for £1030 (discount of about £170 over retail, March 2019). I decide to go for it! I trust this shop and almost never by anything camera wise new, I will do a post on this in the future.

The lens arrived the other day so this is very much a first impressions post. I am really impressed with the build quality of the lens, it seems very solid. The lens itself is perhaps slightly smaller than the Nikon but weighs about the same at 900g. These aren’t small lenses, they are large and heavy. Not something that I will be taking to conferences and other travel where it’s not purposely for photography. Thats what my Panasonic G80 is for.

The lens has great image stabilisation, which is why I went for it over the older Nikon, I will test it but I think you could hand hold it a few stops below the recommended ~1/focal length. There is a hood included which is well made and attaches well.

I am really looking forward to using this lens, I am hoping to get out with it perhaps at the weekend. But I am planning some photo projects so I will be getting some use out of it soon!

Kit Posts / Tips

Mamiya 645 Lens Equivalents

April 1, 2019

I have a Mamiya M645 SUPER medium format camera. I have had it for a while, probably about 8 years or so. Its in pretty good condition, and fully functional. One thing that I keep forgetting is the lens conversion factors between medium format and 35mm. I intuitively know what the 35mm lengths mean now so it is useful to be able to convert.

So a 645 medium format camera has a negative area of 56 x 41.5mm, which is 2.6 times the area of a (full-frame) 35mm at 36 x 24mm. This is a crop factor of 0.62075x. So the equivalent length are lower.

The chart of lengths is as follows:

645 Lens	35mm Equivalent	645 Lens	35mm Equivalent
35mm	21mm	140mm	87mm
45mm	28mm	150mm	90mm
55mm	35mm	200mm	125mm
75mm	45mm	300mm	180mm
80mm	50mm	400mm	250mm
120mm	75mm	600mm	375mm
135mm	85mm

The spread of lens I have now is good, from a standard equivalent 50mm, a 35mm equivalent, and a 28mm equivalent. The 35mm length is one of my favourites for photography, and it is also nice to have the wide angle. I would love a 90mm equivalent (150mm) for portrait work. I will keep an eye on eBay for one of the those.

My Mamiya M645 SUPER and the three lens, 80mm, 55mm, and a 45mm.

Kit Posts / Technology / Updates

New Travel Camera

February 19, 2019

I do a lot of travelling about for work and also bits of holiday. Normally I take my Nikon D750 and perhaps a 24-120 F4, but as it now has a battery grip that is a lot of camera to carry about. This is particularly a problem if I am going to a conference as I will then have a laptop etc as well! Makes for a heavy bag and the after long days walking about it can be a bit much. So I bought a new travel camera!

I frequently buy second had cameras as you can get a good deal and often things have been well looked after. So I went for a second had Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80, with a 12-32 Panasonic Lens. So far its looking good!

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80

Its a nice compact camera that has a touch vari-angle screen, EVF, and can do 4K video with an external mic! Perfect for what I need.

The vari-angle screen is a nice feature if I did want to record myself or do a selfie etc.

The vari-angle screen which can be used for awkward places or recording ones self.

The best thing in terms of travel photography is that its small (ish), especially when compared with my D750. It is a lot lighter (585g vs 1991g for the Nikon) and although one would assume that the D750 with the glass I have would beat it for sharpness and probably also in low light, the pictures look very good.

I will of course be keeping the Nikon gear and I would like a Nikon 24-70G F2.8 (not the very new one I can can’t afford that), and perhaps in the future I would get a D850. I don’t think I will be getting a Z series camera for a long time. This second hand combination came in at ~£500, a Z6 would have been £2500+ with a lens. I will be posting some pics up soon.

Kit Posts / Technology / Video

Old Hi8 and DV Video Equipment

January 19, 2019

I have an interest in old video and audio equipment, I just like the technology and the aesthetic of it. I have a couple of pretty interesting bits of kit. The first is a old Sony EV-S9000E video Hi8 VCR. I think these things were briefly developed as a replacement for VHS by Sony, but also they were sold as a way to easily play back your home videos taked with a Hi8 camcorder. I got if of eBay sometime ago. I don’t have a TV that I could connect to it, however I can connect to a BlackMagic Intensity Pro 4K via component connectors. So I can play and also capture the footage off tapes onto my computer.

The VCR has some pretty clever features, including things like frame advance and slow motion play. All of which can be controlled either by the remote or a control panel. Its a fairly retro piece of equipment, I am not sure how old it is but it still works perfectly.

Sony EV-S9000E video Hi8 VCR control panel.

One thing that this technology really drives home for people like me that have just really only used computers, is that editing footage etc back then would have been much more difficult. I suppose it would have required two of these or a camera that allowed for component input to really do some editing.

The other bit of technology I have is for DVCAM and miniDV. It is a Sony DSR-25, which is essentially the same thing for DVCAM and miniDV tapes. This connects to a computer via firewire, so its a little simpler to get the footage off. All that is required is something like dvgrab or Kino on Linux. Some editors can also import the footage directly.

This connects to the same computer, I can to put in a £7 firewire card as it didn’t have one. Firewire isn’t as popular as it once was, and to be honest it really didn’t make it as standard on PCs, although for a while it was on Macs. My 2011 MacBook Pro has a firewire 400 port.

I actually have an old JVC miniDV cam, so I can produce footage for this one. I don’t have a Hi8 cam, but I did get a few tapes with the VCR. I would like something to handle Digital8 tapes. I have looked for VCRs on eBay but they go for crazy amount of money, £500+. Having said that the EV-S9000 is listed at £900 sometimes. I could get a camera with DV out, but that is not as appealing. I did have one once, not sure what I did with to be honest. Probably went back on eBay.

Kit Posts

New (Old) Lens Sigma 28-70 F2.8 AIS

December 16, 2018

I wanted a better lens for the Nikon FM2 that I rescued out of a box and had repaired (it needed the film winder fixing and the meter servicing). I was looking on eBay and I came across a Sigma 28-70 F2.8 AIS manual focus lens! Perfect I thought, the price as a little high so I offered £55 and the seller accepted. I don’t know a great deal about the lens but it looked to be in good condition optically, and not bad in general. So I thought that was a reasonable price for a fast lens, so worth a shot!

It arrived yesterday, and it’s in good condition. The focus ring and the zoom feel good. Optics and clean and only a little ware on the exterior. So I am pleased with my purchase. Its a sunny day today so I might take it for a walk in the woods and see how it does. Get a film through it and check is ok.

Kit Posts

The Nikon Z’s stack up well against the Canon EOS R??

September 12, 2018

There seems to be a lot of disappointment about the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras… but why? The Nikon Z’s seem on paper at least to stack up well against the Canon EOS R. The specs of the cameras are below…

Camera Feature	Canon EOS R	Nikon Z6	Nikon Z7
Mount Inner Diameter	54.0mm	55.0mm	55.0mm
Flange Distance	20.0mm	16.0mm	16.0mm
Sensor Resolution	30.4 MP	24.5 MP	45.7 MP
Sensor Type	CMOS	BSI CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor Size	36.0 x 24.0mm	35.9 x 24.0mm	35.9 x 23.9mm
Low-Pass Filter	Yes	Yes	No
In-Body Image Stabilization	No	Yes, 5-axis	Yes, 5-axis
Sensor Pixel Size	5.36µ	5.9µ	4.35µ
Image Size	6,720 x 4,480	6000 x 4000	8256 x 5504
Image Processor	DIGIC 8	EXPEED 6	EXPEED 6
Max Buffer Capacity (14-bit RAW)	47 Images	18 Images	18 Images
Native ISO Sensitivity	ISO 100-40,000	ISO 100-51,200	ISO 64-25,600
Boosted ISO Sensitivity	ISO 50, ISO 51,200-102,400	ISO 50, ISO 102,400-204,800	ISO 32, ISO 51,200-102,400
Dust Reduction / Sensor Cleaning	Yes	Yes	Yes
Viewfinder	Electronic / EVF	Electronic / EVF	Electronic / EVF
Viewfinder Type / Resolution	OLED / 3.69 million dots	QVGA / 3.6 million dots	QVGA / 3.6 million dots
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	100%	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.76x	0.8x	0.8x
Built-in Flash	No	No	No
Flash Sync Speed	1/200	1/200	1/200
Storage Media	1x SD (UHS-II)	1x XQD	1x XQD
Continuous Shooting Speed	8 FPS (no AF), 5 FPS with AF	12 FPS (limited to 12-bit RAW and no AE), 9 FPS (14-bit RAW but no AE), 5.5 FPS with AE	9 FPS (only 12-bit RAW, no AE), 8 FPS (14-bit RAW, no AE), 5.5 FPS (14-bit RAW and AE)
Max Shutter Speed	1/8000 to 30 sec	1/8000 to 30 sec	1/8000 to 30 sec
AE Bracketing Range	±3 EV	±3 EV	±3 EV
Shutter Durability	150,000 cycles	200,000 cycles	200,000 cycles
Electronic Front-Curtain Shutter	Yes	Yes	Yes
Autofocus System	Hybrid PDAF	Hybrid PDAF	Hybrid PDAF
Number of AF Points	5655	273	493
Focus Peaking	Yes	Yes	Yes
Focus Stacking	No	Yes	Yes
Video Maximum Resolution	4K @ 24/25/30 FPS	4K @ 24/25/30 FPS	4K @ 24/25/30 FPS
1080p Video Max Frame Rate	60 FPS	120 FPS	120 FPS
Video Crop Factor	1.74x	1.0x	1.0x
HDMI Out / LOG	4:2:2 10-bit HDMI Output / Yes	4:2:2 10-bit HDMI Output / Yes	4:2:2 10-bit HDMI Output / Yes
Audio Recording	Yes	Yes	Yes
Headphone Jack	Yes	Yes	Yes
LCD Size and Type	3.2″ Tilting Touchscreen LCD	3.2″ Tilting Touchscreen LCD	3.2″ Tilting Touchscreen LCD
Articulating LCD	Yes, Tilting and Front/Back	Yes, Tilting	Yes, Tilting
LCD Resolution	2,100,000 dots	2,100,000 dots	2,100,000 dots
Wi-Fi Functionality	Built-in	Built-in	Built-in
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery	LP-E6N	EN-EL15b	EN-EL15b
Battery Life	350 shots (CIPA)	330 shots (CIPA)	310 shots (CIPA)
Weather Sealed Body	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB Version	3.1	Type-C 3.1	Type-C 3.1
Weight (Camera Body Only)	580g	585g	585g
Dimensions	135.8 x 98.3 x 67.7mm	134 x 100.5 x 67.5mm	134 x 100.5 x 67.5mm
MSRP Price	$2,299.00	$1,999.95	$3,399.95

Obviously we cannot say much more without actually getting hold of the cameras. The reviews that I have seen seem to be more positive about the Canon, perhaps this is more down to the length of time the reviewers have had with the Canon system. In some cases, much longer. Where the Nikon Z’s were only with reviewers a short time. Perhaps not enough for people to get used to what they where using.

There was also a lot of hype around the Nikon Z, so it could be that they were just never going to live up to the expectations of the reviewers. That and a couple of fairly ordinary kit lenses at release, and the strange decision on the batter grip and you have enough to tip the balance for Canon?

Kit Posts

Mamiya 645 45mm Lens

June 10, 2018

I took a punt on a Mamiya 645 45mm wide angle lens on ebay. It was listed as having fungus, but I bought it anyway because I knew that I could get it cleaned up by GR Enterprise Services as they had fixed some of my other medium format camera parts in the past. They did a good job. The lens is really well cleaned up and in good working order.

Kit Posts

eBay Finds!

February 3, 2018

I have been searching eBay for infrared film. I am very excited that I managed to pick up 6 rolls of Kodak HIE bw infrared. This is a great film, that produces some really interesting effects with a red or infrared filter. Its old, and out of date, but I think it will be ok. I have been using some very old Kodak Colour Infrared film that has worked perfectly.

I might try to get another 6 rolls, its a little expensive but actually not that expensive compared with new film prices. I have one colour film left so the plan is to try to get a couple more as a friend wants me to do some band pictures with it for her.

Kit Posts

Nikon D850 Sensor is Made by Tower Jazz

September 15, 2017

We finally have some good evidence that the sensor in the Nikon D850 is actually made by a company called Towerjazz and not Sony, as many people thought. This is a company based in Israel, and is 49% own by Panasonic. They have some history for making backside illuminated sensors for scientific purposes, and also they make sensors for Leica. The sensor is designed by Nikon, which doesn’t really mean very much, they designed the components that deliver the light to the sensor. Its not surprising that Nikon do not make the sensors themselves, the infrastructure and expertise required is huge, and if they had that capacity we would know about it.

Interestingly the last Nikon camera with a Panasonic sensor was the Nikon D700. Get a more complete story from Theoria Apophasis and his source on Youtube.

Kit Posts

F90 and a Crummy Lens!

September 9, 2017

I have the use of a F90, its in good condition seems to work well. I have been using it for taking Infrared colour pictures. The lens is not good, its the old 28-80mm AF-D. The camera doesn’t seem to get the aperture correct, not sure if that is the lens or the camera. I hope it is the lens as I in tend to get a slightly better lens, maybe an old 35-70 AIS.

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