Friday December 11
 
17:13
 
Nostalgia: Sony DSC-F707

The Sony F707 was the first consumer 5 megapixel camera. Not only that but it came with an F2-2.4 5x zoom lens, hologram laser focus assist, and IR NightShot. It was my main camera for years, and I loved it.

I still have it. Occasionally I pick it up and have a play, because with that fast lens, laser focus, IR NightShot, and a powerful flash with IR framing, it’s a good camera in low light. It’s even possible to get some nice bokeh:

I can’t help but seeing a matchstick figure and head in that leaf photo. What would a psychiatrist make of that?

Apart from wishing the camera was a bit less sluggish during image review and supported memorysticks greater than 128MB, the main thing that stops me using the camera more these days is the “halo effect”. At the time it was a resolution class leader, but now I find the sharpening just too aggressive. I guess I did at the time also, but then there was very little alternative.

It’s not too extreme in the leaf photo, but at times it can be overwhelming:

When I look back at photos, I do wish I could get rid of that. Sure, it doesn’t affect the photos too much at 4×6, but it can become noticeable and it prevents cropping.

Still, it was a camera that created many great memories for me. I’m sure that while it still has life in it, every year or so I’ll return to it and play with nostalgia.

Friday December 11
 
14:27
 
Up skirt Japanese

For some reason, through some quirk of words on a page, one of the most popular search terms for people finding my blog from google is “up skirt japanese”.

Seriously, the number of hits I get per day from surfers looking for photos up Japanese skirts…. Well until now I’ve not had a photo to satisfy you, but today I have:

Here we have a guy trying to take a photography up the skirt of someone Japanese at I party I went to recently.

What do you think? Is she sexy? Do you want to see her panties?

Well I have a surprise for you. The girl in the skirt is a guy, not a girl. He’s wearing the schoolgirl costume to a halloween party.

So now there really is no doubt that you’re a pervert. Not only were you searching for pornographic sexy pics up Japanese skirts, but you were just turned on by a bloke.

Stop touching yourself.

Friday December 4
 
11:10
 
Tamron F2.8 VC – Purple Fringing & Chromatic Aberration

This has to be the ultimate torture photo for any lens:

From the center:

The top right looks very funky:

These were shot on a D90 in JPEG mode. This is a difficult photo for a number of reasons:

1. Depth of field: At F2.8 there’s going to be a lot of out of focus leaves. I’ve deliberately picked areas in the crops where some of the leaves are in focus.
2. Tricky exposure: The camera has exposed for the tree, to give leaf detail. This blows out the sky which results in excess light between the leaves.

In fact, the first shot of this scene the whole image was out of focus – obviously the camera found it challenging.

How does the Tamron compare to my other lenses? My non-scientific impression is that it’s smack between my Nikon 18-200 and my Sigma F1.4.

While the Nikon 18-200 (old model, not VR II) is definitely more controlled wide open at F3.5 than the Tamron is at F2.8 in the corners, the center is similar and so I notice CA and fringing about the same amount in everyday photos.

In contrast, the Sigma 30mm F1.4 is a purple monster when used wide at F1.4 – any spec of bright light being causing purple. And it’s not just at the corners – it’s the whole frame. That really stops me using the Sigma. Yes, it gets better if I use a smaller aperture, but I didn’t buy an F1.4 to shoot at F5.6.

Thursday December 3
 
11:18
 
Weird Korean Tattoo

균형. Photo taken in Hawaii. No surprise that she’s not Korean.

Friday November 27
 
13:37
 
Nikon D3S vs Canon EOS-1D Mark IV – high ISO compared

Note: Please don’t ask me for images.

1. Nikon’s approach to high ISO has changed with the D3S.

Until now, Nikon has always stopped high ISO before banding – horizontal lines – became apparent. As this publically available image from the D3S shows, banding is clearly evident at ISO 102400 on the D3S.

Of course ISO 102400 is an outrageaously high ISO. My point is simply this: Previously, when Nikon quoted it’s highest ISO – even the extended range “HI” values – you could rely on the images to be 99% banding free. That’s no longer the case.

2. Canon is improving at high ISO, but it can’t catch Nikon

Canon has for a long time allowed higher ISO images to contain banding which meant that its higher ISO images never approached Nikon’s. What’s different with the Mark IV, though, is that banding is far less intrusive.

That said, while banding has improved, noise on the D3S is still very intrusive at high ISO. The D3S, while it might not be able to eliminate the banding, makes a damn good effort at 102400 – as you can see above. The Canon at 102400 is dirty and grainy, even when the images are downsized.

I’m not saying the Canon is a bad camera – it’s not. Anyone taking photos for publication or for a paid assignment will never go as high as ISO 102400. However, the focus of the article is ISO, and Nikon is still ahead despite the banding.

It’s a much closer fight than the last iteration of cameras though – partly because Canon has gotten better, and partly because Nikon has allowed banding to creep in.

In a month you’ll be able to see all this for yourselves of course – the cameras will be publically available then.