Black and White  /  Tips
Cokin Filter Factors
April 14, 2019

I use Cokin P Series filters for black and white photography, I think they are also called L (large). I do wish I hard started with the XL (100mm) filters now, but at the time my funds were limited. The reason is that I have a few camera lenses that need the larger size.

Filter Factors

One thing that I need to know when using these filters is the exposure factor, the affect on the amount of light they have on reaching the film. For cameras with built in meters this isn’t a problem. My Mamiya doesn’t have a meter, so I use a hand held meter and adjust by increasing the exposure as required. To do that I need the table below!

FilterFactor (F-stop)
Yellow1.00
Orange1.50
Red2.00
Green2.00

These readings where taken by placing a filter in front of a Nikon D750, I also rounded to the nearest half a stop as my film cameras cannot even do halves. However I generally take a number of readings from neutral areas with a spot meter and factor in the filter affect to that calculation.

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Kit Posts  /  Review  /  Technology  /  Updates
Panasonic G80 Travel Kit – Update
April 7, 2019

I have been updating the travel camera kit. I started with the Panasonic G80 that I purchase with a 12-32mm (24-64mm equivalent) lens. I then decided that I would add a 25mm (50mm) as I really like the standard lens length. Finally I decided to try out a 20mm (40mm) lens, bit different but I had heard a lot of good things about that lens so I decided that I would give it a try. It is also like the 35mm length on my full frame and film cameras and is close to that.

I have had the camera for a couple of weeks now and I really like it. The quality is really good and it has a lot of great features. Couple of my favourite features are the onscreen levels and I recently managed to get the Android app working. Importantly I think the quality of the images is really good. They are sharp with good dynamic range, I wonder if the lack of low pass filter improves the image quality. I will have to give the camera a good outing soon. I will be taking to Oxford soon, and the also Greece. So that might be the first to real opportunities to give the whole kit a good test.

  • The G80 travel kit, 20mm on the camera, 12-32mm on the left, and the 25mm on the right. All purchased second had.
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Protest  /  Street  /  Updates
Free Julian Assange Protest
April 7, 2019

I popped by the Ecuadoran Embassy the other day as it was reported that Julian Assange might be expelled. I was in town already so I figured I might as well go and see what was going on. For those of you that don’t know the embassy where Jullian Assange has been stuck in for about 8 years is near Harrods in Knightsbridge London.

There was very little going on as some minutes before the claimed that he was going to be expelled were denied by the Ecuadoran Embassy, and it would appear that he would remain in there.

I had the Panasonic G80 with me, and the 20mm F/1.7 lens. I include a few pictures below. Not the mist exciting picture I have ever taken but I like the length. It seems really sharp and its not too intrusive.

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Kit Posts  /  Review  /  Technology
Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH – First Impressions
April 5, 2019

In my quest to put together a really nice travel kit that is much lighter than my D750, grip, and a massive lens I have added a 20mm Lumix G f/1.7 II ASPH. This lens is equivalent of a 40mm in 35mm, and goes well with the 25mm and 12-32mm that I already have. 40mm is a slightly odd length really, but I am a fan of 35mm lenses and also this is the natural length for this sensor size. This apparently makes for some nice pictures that some say are little like that from Leica, but I have no idea about that and probably never will :). The lens is however well known for being really sharp, and compact. True to form I got this lens second hand, pretty much never buy camera stuff new, I payed £185 and it looks never used. Only if I really cannot get something after ages of looking.

20mm Lumix G F/1.7

I thought this would make a nice lens for street photography, sharp, relatively fast, and unobtrusive. Just want you need. I am visiting London tomorrow and I will be taking this setup with me. See if I can’t try it out a bit.

Couple more pictures of the lens itself. I might get a filter for the front element as this camera will be living in bags a fair bit (I have ordered a thin case to go round it). Onc e I have some sample pictures from this kit I will do a bit more of a review of the different bits.

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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.

Tamron 24-70 F/2.8 Di VC USD G2

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!

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Review  /  Software  /  Technology  /  Tips
Linux Photo Editors
April 3, 2019

I am a user of the Linux operating systems for my desktop computers, have been for years. I use Mac laptops as they were the closest to having a really good Linux install you could get for a long time, now Linux is fully functional on laptops but I still use Mac Laptops.

This means that I wanted cross platform software for photo editing, something that would work on both Linux (I mostly use Kubuntu and Opensuse, Debian on servers) and Mac OSX. For a long time I used GIMP, well frequently still do. It’s a good piece of software, with a lot of functionality. However I wanted something that was more tailored to photo editing, with clearer menus. Something rather like Lightroom really.

I eventually discovered Aftershot Pro 3 has a Linux version, and I figured it was worth a go. Especially as I saw it fairly heavily discounted in a sale. I will do a more in depth review at some point in the future but the first impressions are good. The import system and file management is what I would call ‘old school’. As in, you have do it yourself really. However it is lightning fast. The RAW file handling and editing is accelerated using OpenCL, with means it can take advantage of modern GPUs (inc Nvidia and AMD). The means that if you don’t mind the odd quirk around menus and file management, and they are easy to get used to, it is a fast and efficient editor. With a lot of features and functionality. So I would recommend you give it a try at least.

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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 Lens35mm Equivalent645 Lens35mm Equivalent
35mm21mm140mm87mm
45mm28mm150mm90mm
55mm35mm200mm125mm
75mm45mm300mm180mm
80mm50mm400mm250mm
120mm75mm600mm375mm
135mm85mm

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.
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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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80 with a 12-32 lens (with the wrong lens cap but who cares!)

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.

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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.

EV-S9000E PAL – video Hi8 VCR

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.

Sony DSR-25 miniDV and DVCAM deck.

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.

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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. 

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