Category archive: Equipment Review
What on earth is the Green Cube?
The most asked question I get about my photography gear!
You would think that people would ask me about lenses, bags, tripods and the camera itself… nope… the green cube gets all the attention. I guess its something you don’t see very often and slowly I am doing my bit to build world awareness about the green cube!
So what is it for?… here is a quick video
Fuji X-E1 v’s Sony NEX-6
A head to head battle…
I was hoping to do a comparison between the NEX 7 and the X-E1 as I know many people are wondering how they compare. Now Sony has released the NEX 6, the specs of this camera are very close to the specs of the Fuji X-E1 but can it come close to the image quality that Fuji has created?
The Camera Store TV has put these two cameras head to head in the Fuji XE-1 vs Sony NEX-6 Shootout…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmwEQB0KM8U&w=560&h=315]Today’s iCandy – Up…or Down?
I worked on this one for a while, and I did a lot more than I would normally do… sometimes I get inspired and carried away when I am processing a photo and use a bit of creative license. I usually have my iTunes playing in the background and just get into a rhythm and in most cases, something good pops out the other end. I don’t normally share any before pics with you, but today I am going to so you can play spot the difference, Here you will see that sometimes, Photomatix doesn’t do a great job… I ended up not using the photomatix image in my final version and just used Photoshop and Topaz Adjust to create the final image. I have also included my “the aliens are coming” version of the pic below (I have no idea what possessed me to make an aliens version… maybe it was the aliens!) – So… that only leaves the question… is this lift going up, or down?
The Before Photo
This is after I had used Photomatix to create my HDR image
And After…
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And of course… the one the Aliens made me do…
The Aliens are coming….
Fuji X-E1 and the 18mm f2 lens
And a little Pano Mode trick…
Fuji 18mm f2 Lens
Since getting my 18mm f2 lens, it has hardly come off the Fuji. It is so small and light and the IQ of this lens is amazing… It is the equivalent of 27mm in Full Frame and seems just about perfect as an all rounder lens. I can get great landscape shots, but it also doubles as a really nice portrait lens too… especially for groups shots. If you want just head and shoulder shots the 35mm f1.4 is better, as you don’t need the get right in the face of your subject, but the 18mm will do if that’s all you have. I also really enjoy using the 18mm in pano mode.. I have worked out a little trick that is cool… instead of setting the Pano direction left to right or vice versa (horizontal sweep) I set it from top to bottom (Vertical Sweep) then flip the camera into portrait and shoot left to right. It gives a much better result!
Today’s iCandy – Bridge View
even on a grey day in Sydney there is iCandy everywhere….
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Fuji X-E1 Review
Updated with extra pics and some HDR samples
I have been using the Fuji X-E1 for 6 weeks now and have taken a lot of photo’s in all sorts of conditions and find it to perform really well. It won’t be replacing my D800, the Nikon will still remain as my trusty workhorse, but I do find the X-E1 a very capable camera, especially for things like street photography or family do’s where the big DSLR is just cumbersome to take along.
I have also got myself the 18mm f2 lens and find it to be great for everyday shooting. It is a pancake lens, about half the length of the 35m and lighter so it is great and I have it on the Fuji most of the time.
I have a page dedicated to the Fuji X-E1 (CLICK HERE) that you should check out if you interested in getting a mirrorless camera.
Today’s iCandy – Smile
I posted this on my Facebook page and one of the comments said his name was Danny Lim. Apparently he is seen all over Sydney wearing his messages of Joy. It is always nice when I gesture to someone if I can take a pic and they’re not only happy for me to do so, but they also turn on a smile and a bit of a pose. Thanks Danny!
I took this with the Fuji X-E1…
Smile, hard not to when you see this!
Hydra Pro 3.1 Review
Is this the HDR software for you?
Let me start by saying that if you own a Windows PC then it isn’t for you… for no other reason than this is a Mac only app, and according to worldwide sales only 10.8% of you are mac users… so for one in ten of you, read on…
As a writer for HDR one, I was asked by the editor to do a review on Hydra Pro 3.1, his reason for giving it to me to do… he is one of the 89.2% that don’t own a Mac! I haven’t done many software reviews so this was going to be fun. I loaded the app onto my iMac and straight away I had some challenges… There were some things that Hydra Pro does REALLY well, and some other things it struggled with… time for me to redirect you to the FULL review with screen captures and a quick summary at the bottom for all of you that can’t be bothered reading the full review… Here is the full review on the HDR One Magazine Site.
Today’s iCandy – Fan Fair
When I was in China I visited many of the parks, and in the mornings, a lot of these parks let the locals in for free to do there daily excersize and the likes. They played all sorts of games and would dance to Chinese music. It was nice to see that they did this every day!
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