gotakepictures.net →

Today, I want to let you know about a new site which I started over the weekend, gotakepictures.net.

The basic idea for the new site is to talk about the proces of actually making photographs. As you already know if you are a regular visitor to this site, I talk about all kinds of stuff including gear. I won't be doing much of that at all over there as my goal is for you, the reader to be inspired to take more and better pictures and to not worry about the gear.

I likely won't be posting many photos there, at least for now. It's still in the very beginnings though and things might change. For now, it will be thoughts about photography.

Please stop by and let me know what you think. Feel free to give me suggestions if there are any topics that you'd like to see there.

Thanks for spending a few minutes of your day here and for coming back!

Sony NEX SEL3518 35mm f/1.8 Review →

I posted a preview of the Sony SEL3518 35mm f/1.8 E mount lens a couple months ago and it’s time to give you a little more from my day to day use. It has rarely left the body of my NEX 5Nand now the NEX -7 and has proved to be a great all-around lens.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my reviews are the type that I hope to read- What is it actually like to use this lens? Others have done a thorough job in showing zoomed in crops from the edges and comparisons from 6 different F stops with a critique of Chromatic Aberration and Bokeh artifacts. I’ll include technical details where I think they make a difference.

Focal Length

35mm on the NEX system has a field of view that is equivalent to a 52mm lens on an old 35mm Film camera or a Full Frame DSLR. For years, SLRs came with a single 50mm lens as a kit. To give some perspective, many folks believe that human vision is about the equivalent of 47-53mm. Sure you can see more to the sides, but that part is out of focus and is what we generally refer to as peripheral vision. Forget the explanation. Here are some photos taken with different focal lengths so you can see.

18mm

50mm

35mm

75mm

205mm

What I like about this length is the ease of composition. What you see on the screen or in the viewfinder when composing is pretty much what you see with your eyes. With wider or narrower focal lengths, there is often a distortion that happens in features, but that doesn’t happen as much with this lens.

Size

Since I bought this camera system, I’ve been hoping for a compact, middle length “regular” lens. At about that same time, the 24mm Zeiss became available, but it’s quite a bit larger and more expensive. I really love the compact nature of the NEX system as it fits easily in a small case that I can take with me daily. Whether I’m stowing it in my bike pannier or slinging it over my shoulder in a compact case, I can always have it with me without a lot of bulk. All of the native lenses for the NEX system are pretty small compared to the larger lenses you typically use with a full size DSLR, but this lens is just the right balance between weight and size. Here is a shot L-R of the Kit zoom 18-55 f/3.5-5.6, the 35mm f/1.8 and the 50mm f/1.8

NEX Lenses

Focusing

Focusing is relatively quick and accurate when stopped down to f/4 up to around f/18. This is pretty normal with fast lenses. Below f.4, the narrow field of focus means that the chances of the exact part of the frame being in focus are smaller. When I’m shooting with these larger aperture settings, I always use the micro adjustment feature to fine tune before clicking the shutter. This is the same technique I use with other large aperture lenses including the Sony 50mm. When you are using a smaller aperture setting, the lower available light can slow down the focus speed.

In my experience, This lens focuses quicker than the 50mm and the 18-55 zoom, but just a little slower than the 16mm prime. I usually leave the focus assist light turned off, but turned it back on for a few days to see how much difference it makes. In low light situations, it makes a big difference, but I don’t think the pluses outweigh the con of a bright orange light shining on your subject and potentially ruining the moment you are trying to capture.

Build quality.

This lens is really light. What that means is that there are metal parts combined with high density plastic pieces. After almost three months of daily use, I’ve seen no scratching or other issues and it seems to be holding up really well. I’m not worried about it at all. The focus ring is of the Focus-by-wire type which means that there aren’t hard stops on the extremes. For those who are used to manual focus rings, this can be a little weird, but the ring does have a nice damping and resistance that feels very linear and tactile.

This lens uses the same bayonet mounting system for the hood and 49mm threads that are used on most all of the E mount lenses. This interchangability is nice if you use either. I recently picked up a Neutral Density Filter and it is nice to know that I can use it on all of my lenses. The two exceptions that I know of, the 18-200 and the 10-18 zooms have a larger 62mm thread size.

Metal Lens Hood

I posted a story a couple weeks ago about a metal lens hood that I picked up to go with this lens. Here are a couple before and after photos.

Sony Plastic Lens Hood

Metal Lens Hood

Image Quality

I'm not gonna talk about it. I'd prefer to just show you some images. This Link will show you every post of mine that I categorized as 35mm. All of these photos are made with this lens. Here are a few images if you don't want to click through.

Conclusion

Basically, this is a great lens. Image quality is fantastic both stopped down and wide open. It's compact, well built and looks great. If you are a NEX owner, you should seriously consider adding this one to your camera bag. In fact, it just might become the center of your kit.

As always, when you make purchases through links on my site, Amazon gives me a small cut for sending you their direction and it doesn't cost you any more. Thanks for the support!

Metal Lens Hood for Sony NEX

Metal Lens Hood

Sony Plastic Lens Hood

This week I ordered and received a metal thread mount lens hood from EZPhoto. I kept seeing photos of the Sony RX-1 and Fujifilm cameras with these classy, and short metal lens hoods and thought it seemed like a better idea than the fairly long, plastic hood included with the lens.

A lot of folks seem to snatching these up to use with their cameras as the official version from each manufacturer is pretty overpriced. There are some 3rd party optionsthat use the built in bayonet system, but even they are overpriced.

There are two advantages I've seen so far. First, this new hood is shorter, which makes it less obtrusive from a visual sense. Secondly, it's narrower which means that it does a better job of keeping objects and stray light away from the glass.

The one disadvantage I've seen thus far is that it mounts via filter threads which makes it a tiny bit more of a hassle to remove and prevents you from using a lens cap. I don't use a lens cap on the lens currently mounted to my camera, so no big deal.

Edit- Small warning- This hood causes a bit of Vignette on anything wider than 24mm. Stick with the Sony Stock hood on your kit lens.

As always, when you make purchases through links on my site, Amazon gives me a small cut for sending you their direction and it doesn't cost you any more. Thanks for the support!

Publish Your Own Stuff

Love this post by CJ Chilvers over on his site- A Lesser Photographer

If you have an obsession, don't seek permission from others to publish your views. Own your content, stop sharecropping on someone else's platform and get your stories out there.

You might be thinking, "But Dan, you post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr and Twitter." That is certainly true and I value the communities and interaction on each, but make no mistake - this is the canonical home for my work.

13" Retina Macbook Pro

New Machine

This past week I visited the Apple Store near my office and walked out with a 13" Retina MacBook Pro. No, it wasn’t an impulse buy, but something I’ve been considering for a long time. Things just finally came together. It really is an amazing machine in a lot of ways.

I have been using Macs and Apple products exclusively since 2006 when I bought a Black Macbook which I will likely be decommisioning. The trackpad has had problems for a couple of years and it can’t run anything newer than OSX Snow Leopard. We’ve had it set up as a desktop with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, but we haven’t really used it much. We replaced it with a 15” Macbook Pro in early 2011. So, I'm not really replacing anything with this new one as we are keeping that one. It really is a great machine too and will be used even more by my wife when she works from home.

She works in Excel quite a bit and one day last week I asked if she could save and close the individual pages when she is done as I'm always unsure if they need to be saved. Her reply without even looking up from her iPhone-

"You need your own computer."

As you can probably guess, I did a silent fist pump in my head and started planning. It's a good thing I asked about that doument too because the top page had already been updated and saved on her machine at work.

Why This Model?

When I was putting together my mental list, I had a few non-negotiables.

Size

First of all, I've owned both the 13" and the 15" form. I knew that this time around I wanted a smaller machine. The larger screen is nice, but I don't feel that it's worth the extra size and weight. I actually considered the 11” Air, but I’d need an external display and be stuck at a desk for photo editing.

Memory

Secondly, one of my most used applications is Lightroom. It uses a lot of RAM and I've found that 8gbs works well but 4 isn't enough.

Hard Drive

Third, I don't think that it makes sense to buy a computer with a spinning drive at this point. SSDs are faster, with less moving parts and Apple is clearly moving this way with every line they make.

After all of these items were considered, the only two machines left for consideration were the 13" MacBook Air and the 13" Retina.

The only real question left after these items are out there was this:

Retina Display?

I weighed out the pros and cons of each and decided that in 2013 it doesn't make sense to buy a computer I hope to use for the next few years without a Retina display. It is clearly the way of the future and I believe that all of Apple's computers will ship with them within the next year. I could have had a technically faster machine for the same price had I chosen the Air, but it didn’t feel right.

Isn’t this one less capable than the 15” model?

The 13" MacBook Pro (non Retina) is Apple's best selling Mac to date. It has also been knocked by folks in the tech community for being a less capable machine. The Retina model shares some of these and I’ll just tell you here that for what I do, these “limitations” don’t matter.

The criticisms I’ve seen are: Screen size, integrated graphics card and limited RAM options.

There are plenty of reviews out there on this machine, but it feels to me like most of them are written from the perspective of a hypothetical power user. I’m not that guy. I use mine for editing and handling photos in Lightroom, writing in Byword, and Website management in Chrome or Safari. Of course, I use many other great apps, but they all pretty much serve these three purposes.

I think the average consumer assumes that the only difference between different size Macbooks is the size. That isn't true however as the larger machines almost always come with superior features, parts and specs. The 15” model is more powerful and that premium you pay isn’t just for the larger size.

Here are a few examples: The 13" Retina comes standard with 8gb of RAM with no option to upgrade to more. The 15" can be ordered with 16gb. The 13” uses a dual core processer while the 15 gets a quad core. That is going to make a difference with tasks that are CPU intensive. Another difference is that the 13" has no discreet video card and all processing for the display is handled by the primary chipset. The 15" has a discreet, stand-alone graphics card which frees up the CPU for other tasks. More drive space is included with the larger machines too. Pretty much across the board, when you choose a physically larger machine, the base model will come with more storage capacity.

Here’s the official Apple comparison spec page if you want all the details.

Conclusion

If you are doing video editing, code compiling, heavy Photo shop or gaming, perhaps you should consider the 15. The quad-core processor and discreet video card will make a noticeable difference. In addition, if the 2560 x 1600 isn’t enough and you truly do need 2880 x 1800 maybe go for the bigger model. If you love the idea of a fast, light weight and agile machine with a smaller footprint, you should seriously consider this one.

Here’s what it really comes down to- This computer is only about a half pound heavier than the 13” Macbook Air which has gained a reputation for being so lightweight and well designed that it spawned the Ultrabook name and race. Truly, this machine has more in common with the Macbook Air than with the 15” Retina model. As I’m typing this out on this svelte aluminum body with backlit keys, the display is perhaps the one thing that feels like it’s unmistakeably from the future.

Sony NEX 35mm F/1.8 Preview

Quick Note: If you are looking for more information about custom controls, Lenses and tips for the Sony NEX series, take a look here for my guides, reviews and links.

In addition, I've posted my full review after using this lens for 4 months.

This week I picked up a lens for my Sony NEX 5N. It's the 35mm F/1.8. This is a Prime, Fixed focal length lens with in-lens Optical Stabilization. I've been thinking about this lens for a few months now and am hoping that it fills a large spot in my day-to-day photography. These are just some initial thoughts and I plan to post a more detailed review after I spent more dedicated time putting it through its paces.

As I outlined in a previous post, this lens has a 35mm focal length, but my camera has a smaller APS-C format sensor so the field of view it offers is very similar to the classic 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera.

I've been using it out and about this week and so far I'm very impressed. It is a bit smaller in actual size than the kit 18-55mm Zoom Lens or the 50mm Prime (they are roughly the same length). I'm able to fit it in my compact bag with the lens hood on, which I can't do with any other lens that I own. I like this as I prefer to keep the hood on. Partially for stray light blockage, and partly to protect the lens. I used a filter for awhile, but I've found that I like the images without it a bit more.

The field of view is close enough to the 50 that portraits are easily within reach, but it's also wide enough that I can just leave it on my camera and not feel too constrained. Anyway, most of the photos from this week were made with this lens. I can't wait to see its capabilities.

Sony NEX deal at Amazon

If you are considering a Sony NEX there's a great deal out there right now on the F3 in a kit.

Amazon is offering the camera with the zoom kit lens, a bag and a 32gb memory card for a great price.

What Makes Someone a Photographer?

Fog on Fire

I've been taking pictures for just about as long as I can remember. I have old photo albums full of snapshots of toys, cousins, dogs and shows playing on the TV. Over time I've gone from being someone who takes shapshots to what I consider a photographer.

Here's a little of my history with taking pictures.

As a kid my first camera was a little blue Fisher Price/Kodak Plastic model with 110 film and the throwaway flash bulbs that stuck into the top. Sometime in there, my sister got a Polaroid..I'm pretty sure it was pink. Our photo albums are peppered with these too.

Sometime in high school I picked up my first camera that used 35mm film. It was a point and shoot with a really basic zoom.

Around 2000, right after I got married my wife and I moved on to a slightly nicer Olympus point and shoot which we just didn't use that much.

Emily mentioned that she might be interested in taking up photography so a couple years later, I bought her a Canon Rebel 2000 for Christmas. After using it to capture snapshots for 3 years or so, I picked up a Canon SD 900, digital point and shoot. These cameras really fit my need for capturing snapshots and moments in time.

Does all of this sound familiar to you? I've heard so many people talk about their camera history like this. A series of devices, not used to their potential and treated like an accessory primarily used for documenting events. In my photo albums, there are certainly day-to-day photos and events, but there are few images that were intentionally composed or intended to be thought of as art. It still surprises me how many people I run into that own nice DSLR cameras, but how few of them know how to do anything with them aside from point and shoot in automatic mode.

In 2007, I started using the iPhone and it replaced all of these cameras. Over time, the quality of images that the iPhone produces has grown and grown, but it isn't the device that changed my approach to photography.

Creating images everyday is what made me a photographer.

That may seem a little silly to you, but it really has made all the difference. I didn't start one day with a noble proclamation that I was going to use my camera everyday. In fact, when this started, I hardly ever used a "real" camera and most every image from that era is from my iPhone. No, I just started making an effort to make images, to capture true representations of things and places I had experienced.

Whether this resounds with you or not, what I find interesting is that all of this happened before I even owned a serious camera.

There has certainly been a lot of thought and debate about where cell phone cameras fit into the wider world of photography and I am pleased that they aren't viewed as simply a lowest common denominator camera for the masses. Many photographers who are known for their work with larger dedicated cameras are also prolific Instagrammers and many have whole sections of their website devoted to photos taken with an iPhone. Jorge is a great example. and so is Jeremy Cowart

I still post iPhone photos occasionally- some to Instagram and some on my site, but the camera choice is usually dictated by convenience, or the lack of need for more options. Sometimes I pull out my iPhone because the shot will be gone in the 20 seconds it will take to get the camera out and ready. Sometimes, I just know that the iPhone can get the job done- the lighting is good, the focal length is right, and the detail won't be as important. That said, I'd like to be more intentional with it, I just don't feel I have the creative energy left right now, while I'm learning so much about shooting with a camera.

So, I consider myself a photographer because I'm going out of my way to create images, not just snap photos. I don't know if that definition works for you, but I think this loose guideline helps me appreciate my own work, the work of others and the process.

Favorites list for 2012

It's only the second year I've written up a favorites list, but I have done it before, so I'll call it my 2nd annual danhawk.com favorites list.

1. Sony NEX 5N

If you visit my site even somewhat regularly, you already know that I use and love the Sony NEX 5N. I've owned a couple of film cameras and a couple of nice point-and-shoot camera over the years, but this is the first one that I've really loved to use. I really like the way that Sony approaches the feel and the overall direction for the NEX system. I've posted my own review and a bit about the lenses in the system. As I'm learning, a lot of the actual quality in fine photography is in the lenses, so number two has to be...

2. Sony E Mount 50mm F/1.8 OSS

I really love this lens. The Sony 50mm 1.8 more consistenly produces amazing images than any other lens I've tried. I've made it no secret that I'm strongly considering the new 35mm f/1.8, but the more I use this 50, the less I feel like giving it up.

3. iPhone 5

Looking through last year's list, I see that the 4S was on the list. It now feels like a pretty minor upgrade when compared to the jump forward in the iPhone 5. As always changes to the iPhone are incremental, but they did a couple things that were pretty big this year. Bigger Screen and thinner body. These changes make a lot of difference to me and make the iPhone 5 even nicer to use.

4. Retina iPad

There has been a lot of action this year with Retina screens, but the one that has been important to me is the New iPad (3). I've had a iPhone 4 since the day it was released and it was certainly nice, but the retina display on the New iPad is a game changer. My primary uses for it are reading and writing and the Retina display does this better than any other screen that I've seen.

5. iOS apps Darksky and Byword

As you can see from my last two favorites, I really like iOS devices. Part of what makes them so useful are the great apps that are available.

Byword

Byword is a writing app which is available on iPad, iPhone and on the Mac (which I'm using to write this post btw). One of the best features is the syncing between devices using either iCloud or Dropbox. I use Dropbox as it allows me access the files from just about anywhere. The other big thing is that it is really distraction free. It is just a screen with text. Simple. Markdown is supported which is great for drafting things that are intended for the internet.

Darksky

Living in Portland means that being aware of when it will rain is pretty important. Darksky is the perfect app if you live in the Northwest. It answers one basic question: Is it going to rain soon? I use this every day, often 4-5 times.

6. Squarespace

In August of this year I moved my site to Squarespace. It was on Wordpress.com before, but it just wasn't a great fit. Though the service was free, I had to pay to use my own domain and they started placing ads on my higher traffic posts. I decided it was time for a switch and that I was willing to pay a little to get what I wanted.

Squarespace is easy to use, looks great and they are incredibly responsive to support requests. They have a graphic system for building your site, a bunch of great templates, and their committment to keeping your site up even through acts of God is impressive.

7. Lightroom 4

I hit a spot this year with photography where iPhoto just wasn't cutting it anymore. Lightroom is the real deal. You can read more about why I use it here

8. Levi's Jeans

Last year, right at Christmas time I made a decision. Levi's are the only Jeans that I will wear going forward. They are the Gold Standard. I've had so many pairs of other jeans that have worn out in weird places, shrunk too much, lost color too quickly, or had the belt loops rip off. It's hard to go wrong with 501s, but my wife found the 569 style and they fit me perfectly. 2 pairs, and they both pretty much look brand new.

9. Reading long books with my sons

This year we read 4 Harry Potter books, The Hobbit and a couple books from the Chronicles of Narnia. Awesome! Lord of the Rings next? A lot of these have been driven by their desire to see the movies. I simply made it a rule that we had to read the book first.

10. Music and Movie

Music

John Mayer, Born & Raised- iTunes or the Actual Disc. I've been a long-time John Mayer fan. I own every album of his available and this is a really great addition. The quality songwriting, hooks and guitar work are all familiar, but there is a soul to this one that is new. It sounds like he has been studying The Eagles, and Neil Young as it has a 70's California Country vibe. My favorite track is probably A Face to Call Home. Go listen to this one end to end. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Movie

I think I'm gonna have to go with Looper. Here is a trailer. I was just blown away by the completeness and originality of the story. There are certainly familiar storytelling elements and thematic elements that are common to time-travel based movies, but everything feels more raw. It is less sci-fi and more gangster. Less technical and more nuanced. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are fantastic.

Of course the best things from this year are not things at all, but experiences, opportunities to grow, and of course, family. I'm a pretty lucky guy in that respect. My Kids are healthy, intelligent and happy. My wife and I are more in love than ever and it continues to surprise me how our love continues to grow and mature year after year.

I'm also thankful that so many of you follow what I'm doing here. I really love both photography and writing and when I look back over the year, I'm surprised at the growth, contemplative about what I could have done better, and proud of what I made.

Thanks for paying attention!

Photo Processing Workflow

Quick Note: If you are looking for more information about custom controls, Lenses and tips for the Sony NEX series, take a look here for my guides, reviews and links.

Photo workflow is one of the things that has been hardest for me to figure out since getting more serious about photography. I'm a little nerdy about this sort of thing. Perhaps a little too much trial and error.

Anyway, here is what I'm using these days:

Hardware

I run an 8GB card in the camera and carry 3 spares. I find this is just the right size as I don't capture a lot of video and even when shooting RAW, I rarely fill up even one card.

(Please note that as of March 2013, I am using a 13" Retina Macbook Pro with 8gb of RAM and a 256 GB internal SSD)

My main machine for all of this stuff is an early 2011 15" Macbook Pro. I have the 2.0 GB Sandy Bridge processor and the stock 500 GB Hard Drive. I am lucky to have an SD card reader built in. I just pop the card out of my camera whenever I need to transfer files and slide it into the side of my laptop. Slick.

I am running 16GB of Memory which I added pretty recently. I was running the stock 4GB or RAM, and was routinely dealing with pretty serious processing lag and the spinning beach ball. This made a ton of difference.

I keep all of my working files for this year on the internal Hard Drive, but I use a LaCie Porsche Design 2TB external drive for keeping all of my older images, and movie files. I'm currently using an iOmega 500GB external drive for Time Machine backups and am in the process of rethinking my backup process to include an offsite drive that will be powered by Crashplan. I know that the Time Machine drive should be a lot bigger if I want historical backups but I'm not really using it as a way to go "back in time". The software I'm using is non-destructive so as long as the image is still on my machine, I can always get back to an unedited version. In other words, I am only really interested in minor historical backup, but primarily, I'm prepared for a catastrophic hardware failure.

I'll get into all of this more a little further down, but basically, everything important is backed up. I'm also hoping to switch to an SSD for my boot disk, but that's primarily about speed and long term reliability. Oh hardware...

Software

I use Lightroom 4 for my photo editing and management.

I used to use iPhoto for everything and it was pretty good, but I found it to be a little underpowered in a couple ways. It tends to bog down a little with larger files-the type that you get with a 16 megapixel camera. With an iPhone, the files are approximately 3.6 MB. With the Sony, the JPGs are a little over 5MB. If I am shooting RAW, the files are more like 16.5 MB.

So, not only was the application not quite up to the task, but I found I was pushing the machine a little too hard.

One other really important feature which I mentioned above is the way that Lightroom does non-destructive editing. In simple terms, the original file is left untouched and the edits are saved as metadata and your are essentially looking at a preview when you are working in the application. It applies the edits when you export the images.

I'm not gonna sugar coat it- Lightroom has a pretty steep learning curve if you aren't familiar with Adobe Photo software. I'm about 6 months into it and just now figuring out some stuff that seems like it should be right in the file menus. It is powerful however, and I recommend it highly. It is worth the effort.

Importing

I import all of the new photos right into Lightroom 4 and then immediately cull through the images and remove any that are out of focus, poorly composed, or beyond development help. The more I do this, the easier it is to spot these right off the bat. I have Lightroom set up to leave the photos on the card. Awhile back a friend let me know that the card behaves better with less chance of corruption if you don't delete them on the computer. Instead, once the card is back in the camera after import, I simply go into the camera menu and format the card. Clean start.

Editing

After I have gone through my first pass, I go through in the Library module and name the photos I'm pretty sure I'm going to edit and publish. When I was first getting started, I would wait until after the editing to give a title to photos, but I have found that choosing and naming them early on has some psychological benefit for me when working on them.

I usually start with minor adjustments to exposure, contrast and highlights to capture the basic mood that I remember from the scene. I don't make a lot of changes to color early in the process as I find it is much easier to overcompensate and kind of get lost that way. I'll make an exception if the white balance is really off, but most of the time, this can be fixed with just a very slight adjustment to the Temperature slider.

Once I've got the basic feel, I will then make minor corrections for noise and sensor spots. I then consider whether the image needs to be cropped and if it will benefit from any other less conservative color processing. This is also when I'll do more technical things like correct for color casts or distortion at the edges of the frame when the image is a wider angle.

Lightroom has a good side-by-side before and after view feature and you can cycle between a bunch of different options. I find this very useful for going over what I've done and making sure I didn't get off track at some point along the way.

Posting

Once I've got the edit taken care of, I then crop the image for a Retina class desktop if appropriate. I export all of my finished images that I intend to post to my site on Dropbox. I really value the peace of mind this offers. I can access a full resolution copy of my image from any location and then there is a copy that isn't in my house or with my Mac.

I have a folder titled "Lightroom posting" and a sub folder called "Desktop images". I try to keep the naming scheme pretty straight forward so no numerals or symbols. If I'm posting for viewing on the site, I generally stick to a long edge size of 1500 Pixels as that is the maximum image size I can use with Squarespace as a visible photo in a post. If I am posting a desktop wallpaper, the files are certainly bigger, but they are straight linked downloads and open in a new window. 2880 x 1800 for the Retina desktop and 2048 x2048 for the iPad. iPhone is 1136 x 640.

Deleting images

I know people have differing opinions on this, but I feel you need to edit pretty ruthlessly. If the image is out of focus, blurry, or the exposure is unfixable, there is very little chance you'll want to post it later. In addition, when you save these images, just remember that 63 raw images is approximately 1GB of hard drive space. If you can remember this detail, it makes your decision process a little easier.

Portfolio viewing

I'm planning to add a new piece to my workflow after the first of the year. I've found that I'm a visual person when it comes to image organization, and I really appreciate the way iPhoto organizes images. Trying to find an image without knowing the title or the approximate date it was taken is really difficult in Lightroom unless you have been really diligent with adding tags. I don't want to add this step (which feels unnatural and forced) to my workflow when I can do it visually.

Starting January 1st, I'll be placing all of my edited images in an iPhoto library. I'm not using it for editing, but when I'm looking for an image to post or email, it really has an intuitiveness that Lightroom is missing. It also makes it easier for my wife to find and post the photos she is looking for without having to open and deal with Lightroom. It really doesn't require a lot of extra work and all you have to do is drag the image to the iPhoto icon on the dock.

A Work in Progress

I hope this helps you to think through your process, or lack of one. I've spent quite a bit of time thinking it through, and as you can probably see, I'm still in the refining process. What's great is that there are so many different options and your optimal prcess will be slightly different from mine. I'd love to hear any suggestions or tricks that you use.

Diagonals

Diagonals | 365 Project | Dec 12th, 2012

Sony NEX Custom Settings and Upgrading Camera Gear

Quick Note: If you are looking for more information about custom controls, Lenses and tips for the Sony NEX series, take a look here for my guides, reviews and links.

Last night and this morning I went into the camera settings menu and reprogrammed all of my custom key settings. Within about an hour of unboxing back in March when I bought the camera, I had assigned all of the available custom keys. I haven't really touched them since then.

I was out shooting earlier this week and found myself annoyed that a setting I wanted to change...which I change quite often was a couple layers deep in a menu. That started my tinkering. The 5N has two dedicated user assignable buttons and one Custom menu that can be assigned to the center button. The custom 1 touch buttons should logically get me to places that I either use often or need to be able to change quickly.

I've found that my most used functions are Quality, HDR, MF/AF and ISO. I had all of these except for HDR in the custom menu, and then the custom soft key on the screen was set to quickly access different modes.

I switched them around a bit as the ISO, and ability to switch to manual focus are the most important to me. Truthfully, I would love to have access to at least one more variable in the A,S and M modes.

What if there were more buttons available?

I had a chance to visit a local camera shop near my office this week and check out both the NEX 6 and The NEX 7. Both have very similar menus and the same custom button options are found in the same areas.

I've considered both as upgrade paths, but have held steady for a few reasons.

The actual image quality in tests has appeared to be remarkably similar on the 5's and the 6. In fact, SonyAlpha Rumors linked to a great article by DxOmark who did some tests and the results seems to show that the sensor quality on the NEX 6 is identical to that of the 5N. There are some differences in the sensor that primarily assist with auto focus as well, but I haven't had many issues with that so it wouldn't really make much difference to me. I already posted some thoughts on the sensor in the 7. The short summary is that it probably has too many pixels for its own good.
Now that I'm a few months in, I really wish that my camera had an electronic viewfinder which both the 6 and 7 have. There is an EVF unit that snaps right onto the top of my camera, but at nearly $300, if I were to consider it, I might as well look into a new body.
The NEX 7 has a beautifully designed user interface with 3 active control knobs that are active most of the time and are user-assignable. In other words, When you are in Aperture Priority, one knob obviously controls the aperture, and the others can control Exposure compensation and ISO. When in Manual, There can be a dedicated control for ISO, one for Shutter, and one for Aperture. Sweet.
The 6 has a dedicated function knob which is great, but the control wheels are not very flexible and most of the time, the one dial on the back of the camera is rendered inactive. In other words, though the size and the form factor is almost identical to the 7, they didn't really take advantage of the extra space or dedicated knobs. They just gave you a new knob, and force you to use it instead of the other

Conclusion

Any upgrade would be one of form and not function at this point. I love the idea of better and more controls, but I don't think that the image quality would improve significantly. I'm glad that the data backs this up because I'm the type to look for reasons to upgrade. What I'm seeing even more clearly is that a solid body doesn't need to be replaced all that often, and that it makes more sense to invest your time and money into a couple of great lenses that you can trust.

I love what John Carey has to say about it here, and here

Seems as though any time I casually start looking at, reading about, or considering a new camera I always come to the same conclusion...Why?

His images are primarily created with a 6 year old Canon 5D and are stunning. He does use one hell of a lens though. I'm new at this, but taking notes from John.

Successful People are Do'ers

I just read a fantasitc article this morning by Lee Morris on FStoppers. The article is called The Photographers You Idolize are No Better Than You

Though the article is set in the context of Photography, I think much of it is applicable on a much broader level.

Here is my favorite part-

Successful people are “Do’ers.” By that I mean successful people accomplish things. In many cases it doesn’t even matter what they do, they just have to do something, anything, over and over again. “Talented” people take initiative to do, create, or start something. The average person doesn’t actually do anything themselves; they go to work, they do what they are told, and then they come home and watch tv and get ready for the next day of work. Successful people see a problem and then fix it. They have an idea and they create something. Think about the people that you look up to in your life. You probably admire them because they have done something unique or different or they do something specific very well.

The average person is a talker. They claim to be smart, they claim to be talented and they claim to have great ideas. But they also always have an excuse about why they aren’t doing anything...These same people are the ones that will sit back and look at other people who are doing things and talk bad about them or their projects...The truth is, successful people don’t have enough time to hate on other people because they are too busy doing things- like making money.

Long quoted section there, but I was especially struck by it. I so badly want to be the person in the first paragraph, and not the person in the second. Too often in my life, the roles are reversed.

I want it in all areas. Work, Photography and more important ones like Husband, Father and Friend.

How I Saw or How I Remember-Cameras vs Eyes

Long before I started making photos with a "real" camera, I had ideas about what it is that makes a great photo. With technical knowledge, skills and practice, just what it is has become clearer.

I read a fantastic article in Petapixel a couple weeks ago about how alike and how different cameras are from human sight.

In reality (and this is very obvious) human vision is video, not photography. Even when staring at a photograph, the brain is taking multiple ‘snapshots’ as it moves the center of focus over the picture, stacking and assembling them into the final image we perceive. Look at a photograph for a few minutes and you’ll realize that subconsciously your eye has drifted over the picture, getting an overview of the image, focusing in on details here and there and, after a few seconds, realizing some things about it that weren’t obvious at first glance.

When I was using an iPhone as my primary (only) camera, I was pretty liberal with the effects processing. At the time, I couldn't say pecisely why I sometimes preferred a little extra saturation, or a roll back on the highlights, a bit of extra contrast. I was just trying to have the photo represent my memory of the scene.

Over this past year, I've been using my Sony camera to memorialize more of these moments. I have found this camera more capable of capturing the raw image, but I was thinking that because of the higher quality, these images would rarely need processing.

I was wrong.

While I'm so much happier with the quality, the sharpness, and the detail in these images, they need attention too. It is pretty rare that I post or save anything in my "finished" file without at least a couple small curve or exposure adjustments. In fact, I'm far more religious about my workflow now than I ever was before.

Why is that?

I didn't value how my images make people feel until recently. How weird is that? I've always valued the ways images make me feel, but couldn't see the connection. Now that I'm aware, it has really changed the way that I compose and edit.

In a previous life I was a performing songwriter, recorded an album and played-out regularly. The idea that I was writing for the perceptions of others was always present, or at least never far from mind. There are times when I wrote things that were primarily cathartic, but I've always viewed music and now photos as a form of communication.

Because of this, I'm far less willing to let an image out into the wild without making sure that it's exactly what I'm trying to say or share.

I've written this year about intentionality and I feel that this fits right into that groove. I encourage you to think about your art and work and make sure that whatever you put out there is exactly what you are trying to say.

Still in Love

Photographers Carving out Relevance for Themselves

From a Wired interview with Stephen Mayes, director of VII Photo Agency talking about the debate about cell phone images-

Wired.com: Why do we worry then about image, about filter?

SM: It has happened many times in the industry before – we are trying to carve out relevance for our profession. We’ve dedicated our lives to learning skills and things we believe. Suddenly, we’re wondering if they relevant any more and trying to justify and rationalize.

Should people pay journalists and photojournalists to do what they do? As long as someone wants credible information the role of the professional remains important, but the role changes in that professionals are no longer the eyewitness. Think of all those "photography compilation" books in the 20th century which were called “eye witness” or “the eyes of the world” or something similar. That’s no longer relevant when there are 4 billion cell phone eyes out there.

Lenses for the Sony NEX system

Quick Note: If you are looking for more information about custom controls, Lenses and tips for the Sony NEX series, take a look here for my guides, reviews and links.

It has been awhile since I last said anything about the lenses that I'm using on my Sony NEX camera. In fact, since I picked up the 50mm f/1.8 back in June, a few new lenses have been announced and a couple new bodies as well.

I thought I'd share some things I've learned in my 8 months with this camera system.

The Current Official Lineup

Sony has been slow to roll out a comprehensive selection of lenses, but they have been coming.

Here is what's currently available or very close to available. (Please note that the Sony NEX cameras use an APSC sensor which is smaller than 35mm film and its digital equivalent, Full Frame. As a result, a 24mm lens on my camera, feels like a 36mm lens on a full Frame camera. Just multiply the e-mount Focal length by 1.5 to get the full frame equivalent. )

10-18mm F/4 Wide angle Zoom,
16mm F/2.8 wide Angle Pancake
18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 Zoom
16-50mm F/3.5-5.6 Pancake Power Zoom
Zeiss 24mm F/1.8 Prime
30mm F/3.5 Macro
35mm F/1.8 Prime
50mm F/1.8 Prime
18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Zoom
55-210 F/4.5-6.3 Zoom

There are also 2 Sigma E-mount lenses that are very inexpensive, but have received very good reviews.

Sigma 19mm F/2.8
Sigma 30mm F/2.8

Finally, there were a handful of new high-end Zeiss lenses anounced at Photokina, and industry trade show this fall. Each is priced at $1000+

12mm f/2.8
32mm f/1.8
50mm f/2.8.

If you were to forget about price, there really isn't much gap in that lineup. Unfortunately, lots of folks can't really afford to drop $2-3000 for a full complement of Prime lenses.

My Experience

When I bought my camera, I purchased the kit with the 18-55 zoom, which has been a very versatile lens. It does the snapshot thing well and is resonably sharp when you use higher aperture settings. It also still has pretty good depth of field when you zoom in and get close to your subject.

Until I purchased this camera, I had never spent considerable time with a camera that could produce narrow depth of field and the bokeh effects that you see in some of these images. This is the primary reason that I purchased the 50mm lens and one other non-Sony, non-Emount lens.

Before I chose the Sony 50, I actually found an old Olympus OM-Mount 50mm F/1.8. The OM camera that this lens was made for, was a great compact SLR 35mm film camera that was produced in the 70's and 80's. Obviously, this lens can't "talk" to the camera, so Aperture and focus are manual. You Also need to use an adaptor as they use different mounts.

From the moment that I started using it, I was hooked on "fast lenses" which is a term used to describe lenses with a large aperture. The lower the number, the larger the aperture. Though this lens is great for still subjects and patient composition, it can be difficult to use when your subject doesn't want to, or can't hold still. As you probably already noticed, the Sony 50mm has the same aperture size. Best of both worlds right? Well, the individual character of the lenses is a little different, as you can see in the images below. Particularly the out-of-focus areas and the color warmth. Especially in the second set of images.

Sony 50mm F/2.8

Olympus 50mm F/2.8

Sony 50mm F/1.8

Olympus 50mm F/1.8

I like both, but I use the Sony more because it makes more sense to carry in my bag alongside the 18-55 Zoom because of the autofocus.

Change

Just this fall, Sony announced the 35mm Prime which I'm pretty excited about. It has all the features of the 50mm, but it is just a little wider focal length which I've kind-of been wishing for. I love the low-light performance, the sharpness, and the narrow depth of field that I can get with the 50, but I find myself having to back up a little too often, or needing to switch to the zoom to get the shot. You can't really just back up on a lot of landscape shots.

I'm a little reluctant to trade in my 50, but I'm pretty doubtful that I'd continue using both. Though backing up isn't a good solution for the 50, stepping forward is easy to allow a 35mm to take care of stuff the 50 would do (close range portrait and still life). I also think that the focal length of the 35, would be better as a walking-around-lens. In other words, I'd leave it on most of the time as it is a good medium focal length, and will have better picture quality than the Zoom.

Why not keep both?

I've learned over the past few months that photographers can easily get hooked on Glass...that is, the pursuit of the perfect lens(es). Because I have heard this from so many different people, I've been cautious about it. I'm aiming for a very small kit, with only 3-4 Lenses. Two will be more specialty lenses- A wide angle prime for Landscapes, and a telephoto zoom for sports. The other two will be the lenses I carry every day. That will likely be a mid-range zoom and a regular mid length prime lens.

Right now, I have the two zooms, and the two 50mm lenses are middle prime. I'm gonna take my time before committing to any changes, but I certainly don't need 2 -50mm lenses, and maybe not even one if the 35mm is what I hope it will be.

I just posted an article about minimalism this past week so it can seem a little goofy talking about new gear, but the goal is to simplify my setup. To have a very clean tool box. I have redundancy in my current setup and it would be nice to clean it up. Move out the parts that aren't optimal and replace them with things that are.

A side note- I've heard from many photographer friends that one of the best ways to learn what works well for you is to limit yourself to one great medium prime lens and learn to shoot and frame without the option to zoom. Most of them cite the 50mm as a classic focal length. The 35mm Sony is the equivalent of 52.5mm on an old SLR Film camera. That's the primary reason I'd consider switching to the new 35mm.

That could simplify it even further and negate the usefullness of the mid-range zoom. Hmmm...