Showing posts with label Walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walk. Show all posts
Friday, 17 January 2014
night walk about
Got to spend the evening out with my wife whilst my daughter was off doing other things. Coffee commenced, as did a short walk about with the camera. This is what came of it.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
oh really weather, you think so?
It is October. This should not be happening. I mean, really...
Snow? Enough to stick to the front of the car and create actual visibility problems? In October for crying out loud?
This was the side of the car after hanging out at my parent's house for a bit eating home made muffins and drinking coffee. This shouldn't be happening in October where I live.
Mind you, the presence of snow and fall colour at the same time can make for some really gorgeous partial colour photographs which don't require photoshop. This is something to be thankful for. One thing I do look forward to is the diffuse, even light which envelopes everything once the snow starts.
Also, horses be frisky in this kind of weather. This guy was just motoring. Not when I took the picture, but just after. Honest.
This morning, though, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and any snow present came while we were all asleep and was therefore less offensive. It was also melting like crazy which was encouraging.
Coffee though was warm and good.
And seeing as this is Canada, the beer store is open seven days a week...
Snow? Enough to stick to the front of the car and create actual visibility problems? In October for crying out loud?
This was the side of the car after hanging out at my parent's house for a bit eating home made muffins and drinking coffee. This shouldn't be happening in October where I live.
Mind you, the presence of snow and fall colour at the same time can make for some really gorgeous partial colour photographs which don't require photoshop. This is something to be thankful for. One thing I do look forward to is the diffuse, even light which envelopes everything once the snow starts.
Also, horses be frisky in this kind of weather. This guy was just motoring. Not when I took the picture, but just after. Honest.
This morning, though, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and any snow present came while we were all asleep and was therefore less offensive. It was also melting like crazy which was encouraging.
Coffee though was warm and good.
And seeing as this is Canada, the beer store is open seven days a week...
Saturday, 19 October 2013
fujifilm, the fuji guys, an X-M1, and me
Fujifilm Canada did a very cool thing today for some of us lucky enough to "win the lottery" so to speak and come out to hang with the Fuji Guys on a bus and tour about taking pictures with the new X-M1. Lunch, coffee (yay), and snacks provided.
We boarded the bus at the Mississauga Fujifilm offices and headed out for a bit of a tour, ending up, after much winding about the countryside taking pictures, at Mono Mills Provincial Park.
Along the way, we stopped and looked at wondrous things.
It was fun.
Fujifilm contacted me about a week and a half ago, give or take, and invited me and a guest to come out for a day of photography with like minded souls, the Fuji Guys, and some Fuji cameras. It did not take more than a couple of minutes for me to decide that yes, this was a good way to spend a Saturday.
They made available for use two cameras to use - we could pick. The X-M1 and the newly released X-A1 were what was offered. They are very similar cameras, differing mainly in the sensor.
The X-A1 has a bayer layer sensor, while the X-M1 has an x-trans one. Both are aps-c, and both are of that class of interchangeable lens cameras referred to as mirrorless. I chose the X-M1. Information about the X-A1 and X-M1 can be found on the Fujifilm webpage. I won't bore you will the details. Those interested are invited to move on over to the company page and read up on the tech specs.
What I will tell you is what I thought of the camera. I will be totally honest, and list what I liked about it, and what I was not so keen on.
Let's start with the stuff that drove me nuts. Let's get it out of the way because really, the list is not that long.
Firstly, I do NOT like cameras with no viewfinder. I do not care how good it is, if there is no viewfinder, I am not interested. This is why, when Olympus first brought out a decent m4/3 camera (the E-P3 for those who care) I had no interest in buying it even though I am an Olympus shooter. There was no viewfinder but for a tack on job which slotted into the hotshoe. The Fujifilm X-M1 does not have a viewfinder, and there is no provision for one.
Many (many) photographers today would not care about this at all. In the days of cellphoneography, people are used to using a camera at arms length to create pictures. Using a proper camera - like the X-M1 - in a similar manner would be for them a no brainer. To be fair to Fuji, this would be their target market for this camera. Shooting styles are a matter of personal choice and it is good that offerings exist that cater to different approaches to photography.
Why am I so opposed to this style of shooting? I think an explanation might be in order. The answer is my eyes. I wear bifocals, and find that my long distance lens portion in my glasses is not good for viewing the screen on the back of the camera. It is too blurry. The short distance bit is no good - it is set up for reading books, and the transition zone gives me eyestrain. So, I need to look under my glasses to see the screen properly when I hold the camera in a position where it is stable. This gives me a headache, and is not optimal for me to use when actually taking pictures.
So please and thanks, a proper viewfinder or at least a way to add one on. Oddly, optical and electronic viewfinders give me no grief at all when I use them.
The screen itself though is nice and easy to use and is quite clear for reviewing pictures. Not an issue. That said, I have gotten spoilt by the screen on my Olympus E-M5. That screen allows you to seriously pixel peep which is nice since both sharpness and critical focus can be easily assessed. The X-M1 does not allow you to zoom in much past (or even past) 100% which is kind of annoying. Please fix Fuji.
The build quality of the camera is good (the kit lens less so) but is very plasticy. Fit and finish are good, but the quality of the plastics is not up to what I consider to be good enough. The on/off switch (a surround around the shutter button) felt particularly cheap. That said, the camera did not creak, and seemed well put together.
Build quality on their higher end offerings is not an issue though. I have an X-10 at home, and it is wonderfully well made - lots of metal, and the plastics are top notch. The X-Pro1 that I have handled in the past is very well made with high quality materials and is much lighter than it looks. Today, we got lucky and were able to handle a preproduction X-E2 which was very very tight and well made. I instantly liked it, and would have loved to have been able to use it for the day. It is the one I would purchase should I be in the market for such a camera right now.
The menus on the X-M1 are easy to navigate and make a lot of sense once you learn to "speak Fuji". Having an X-10 at home, navigating the menus and setting the camera up as I like it was a task which took minutes to accomplish. Bravo to Fuji for remaining consistent and not messing with what was not broken. People new to the menus might find them a bit off, but remember, ANY menu system will cause confusion when it is first being learned. Take the time. Play with it. It is worth it.
I found that the camera carried over some idiosyncrasies from the X-10. It under exposes about a full stop. Here is a sample of a picture, straight out of the camera, shot with no exposure compensation:
This is right out of the camera with no adjustments made at all except to crop to 5x7.
To fix this, I upped the exposure a full stop giving this:
This processed quite nicely to this in Lightroom 5:
Speaking of Lightroom 5, it was very good to discover that the raws from the x-trans sensor processed up quite nicely Lightroom. I was happy to make this discovery. Previously, the x-trans sensor and any software but silkypix did not speak well together. This is a pity because silkypix is a seriously annoying piece of software to use. Thankfully, Fujifilm and Adobe got together and exchanged enough information to make the thing work in ARC and Lightroom. Yay. My workflow calls for moving files off of the memory card, converting them to DNG, and then processing. This worked very well with the RAF files from the X-M1.
Back to the pictures though, since it is there that this camera really shines (most of the "good stuff" about this camera are not going to be stated here in words but can be summed up by the pictures - I liked the output). Lightroom had no problem with adjusting levels from the slightly overexposed files and produced a much more natural picture. I suggest over exposing with this camera.
After we got to the Provincial Park, we ate lunch, took a couple of pictures, posed for a group shot, and went for a walk.
One of the Fuji people with us (sorry, I forget your name!!) had a bag of lenses and I was able to swap out the slightly mushy kit lens (a stabilized 16-50mm f3.5-5.6) for a 23mm f1.4 lens. This lens was much much nicer and about on par with the 45mm that I have from Olympus. I do not recommend the kit lens. Get the body only if this camera interests you and purchase a better quality lens. Their primes are really good.
Our walk took us up to the top of the Niagara Escarpment with lots of opportunities for pictures along the way.
As you can see, the 23mm f1.4 is a delightful lens. Obviously, the 45 and 23 do not offer the same field of view (90mm vs 35mm approx equiv in full frame speak as far as field of view is concerned).
One thing that really pleased me was how well the Fujifilm camera handled colour. I know from previous Fujifilm cameras that colour is something they do well, and this trend continues with the new cameras. Colour is nice and punchy, and not over saturated.
So, would I buy this camera? No. Would I recommend it? Yes.
This is not a contradiction but merely a statement of truth. Given the good glass - spend the money, you won't regret it - this camera is great and will help a person create wonderful images. It is just not for me. I would prefer either of the two top tier cameras from Fujifilm over this one for reasons which have little to do with image quality. The better build quality, and electronic viewfinder are must haves in my book.
So there you have it. Some thoughts about the camera I was fortunate enough to play with and some pictures from the day. A big thanks to Fujifilm Canada for putting on the trip and showing us a good time.
 |
| Olympus OMD E-M5 - 75mm f1.8 |
We boarded the bus at the Mississauga Fujifilm offices and headed out for a bit of a tour, ending up, after much winding about the countryside taking pictures, at Mono Mills Provincial Park.
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
 |
| Olympus OMD E-M5 - 75mm f1.8 Her boyfriend was taking her picture - I snuck this in - and got totally busted!! What a good sport :) |
Along the way, we stopped and looked at wondrous things.
It was fun.
Fujifilm contacted me about a week and a half ago, give or take, and invited me and a guest to come out for a day of photography with like minded souls, the Fuji Guys, and some Fuji cameras. It did not take more than a couple of minutes for me to decide that yes, this was a good way to spend a Saturday.
They made available for use two cameras to use - we could pick. The X-M1 and the newly released X-A1 were what was offered. They are very similar cameras, differing mainly in the sensor.
The X-A1 has a bayer layer sensor, while the X-M1 has an x-trans one. Both are aps-c, and both are of that class of interchangeable lens cameras referred to as mirrorless. I chose the X-M1. Information about the X-A1 and X-M1 can be found on the Fujifilm webpage. I won't bore you will the details. Those interested are invited to move on over to the company page and read up on the tech specs.
What I will tell you is what I thought of the camera. I will be totally honest, and list what I liked about it, and what I was not so keen on.
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
Let's start with the stuff that drove me nuts. Let's get it out of the way because really, the list is not that long.
Firstly, I do NOT like cameras with no viewfinder. I do not care how good it is, if there is no viewfinder, I am not interested. This is why, when Olympus first brought out a decent m4/3 camera (the E-P3 for those who care) I had no interest in buying it even though I am an Olympus shooter. There was no viewfinder but for a tack on job which slotted into the hotshoe. The Fujifilm X-M1 does not have a viewfinder, and there is no provision for one.
Many (many) photographers today would not care about this at all. In the days of cellphoneography, people are used to using a camera at arms length to create pictures. Using a proper camera - like the X-M1 - in a similar manner would be for them a no brainer. To be fair to Fuji, this would be their target market for this camera. Shooting styles are a matter of personal choice and it is good that offerings exist that cater to different approaches to photography.
Why am I so opposed to this style of shooting? I think an explanation might be in order. The answer is my eyes. I wear bifocals, and find that my long distance lens portion in my glasses is not good for viewing the screen on the back of the camera. It is too blurry. The short distance bit is no good - it is set up for reading books, and the transition zone gives me eyestrain. So, I need to look under my glasses to see the screen properly when I hold the camera in a position where it is stable. This gives me a headache, and is not optimal for me to use when actually taking pictures.
So please and thanks, a proper viewfinder or at least a way to add one on. Oddly, optical and electronic viewfinders give me no grief at all when I use them.
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
The screen itself though is nice and easy to use and is quite clear for reviewing pictures. Not an issue. That said, I have gotten spoilt by the screen on my Olympus E-M5. That screen allows you to seriously pixel peep which is nice since both sharpness and critical focus can be easily assessed. The X-M1 does not allow you to zoom in much past (or even past) 100% which is kind of annoying. Please fix Fuji.
The build quality of the camera is good (the kit lens less so) but is very plasticy. Fit and finish are good, but the quality of the plastics is not up to what I consider to be good enough. The on/off switch (a surround around the shutter button) felt particularly cheap. That said, the camera did not creak, and seemed well put together.
Build quality on their higher end offerings is not an issue though. I have an X-10 at home, and it is wonderfully well made - lots of metal, and the plastics are top notch. The X-Pro1 that I have handled in the past is very well made with high quality materials and is much lighter than it looks. Today, we got lucky and were able to handle a preproduction X-E2 which was very very tight and well made. I instantly liked it, and would have loved to have been able to use it for the day. It is the one I would purchase should I be in the market for such a camera right now.
The menus on the X-M1 are easy to navigate and make a lot of sense once you learn to "speak Fuji". Having an X-10 at home, navigating the menus and setting the camera up as I like it was a task which took minutes to accomplish. Bravo to Fuji for remaining consistent and not messing with what was not broken. People new to the menus might find them a bit off, but remember, ANY menu system will cause confusion when it is first being learned. Take the time. Play with it. It is worth it.
I found that the camera carried over some idiosyncrasies from the X-10. It under exposes about a full stop. Here is a sample of a picture, straight out of the camera, shot with no exposure compensation:
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
This is right out of the camera with no adjustments made at all except to crop to 5x7.
To fix this, I upped the exposure a full stop giving this:
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
This processed quite nicely to this in Lightroom 5:
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
Speaking of Lightroom 5, it was very good to discover that the raws from the x-trans sensor processed up quite nicely Lightroom. I was happy to make this discovery. Previously, the x-trans sensor and any software but silkypix did not speak well together. This is a pity because silkypix is a seriously annoying piece of software to use. Thankfully, Fujifilm and Adobe got together and exchanged enough information to make the thing work in ARC and Lightroom. Yay. My workflow calls for moving files off of the memory card, converting them to DNG, and then processing. This worked very well with the RAF files from the X-M1.
Back to the pictures though, since it is there that this camera really shines (most of the "good stuff" about this camera are not going to be stated here in words but can be summed up by the pictures - I liked the output). Lightroom had no problem with adjusting levels from the slightly overexposed files and produced a much more natural picture. I suggest over exposing with this camera.
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
After we got to the Provincial Park, we ate lunch, took a couple of pictures, posed for a group shot, and went for a walk.
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
 |
| Olympus OMD E-M5 - 75mm f1.8 |
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 |
One of the Fuji people with us (sorry, I forget your name!!) had a bag of lenses and I was able to swap out the slightly mushy kit lens (a stabilized 16-50mm f3.5-5.6) for a 23mm f1.4 lens. This lens was much much nicer and about on par with the 45mm that I have from Olympus. I do not recommend the kit lens. Get the body only if this camera interests you and purchase a better quality lens. Their primes are really good.
Our walk took us up to the top of the Niagara Escarpment with lots of opportunities for pictures along the way.
 |
| Olympus OMD E-M5 - 45mm f1.8 |
 | |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 23mm f1.4 |
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 23mm f1.4 |
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 23mm f1.4 |
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 23mm f1.4 |
 |
| Fujifilm X-M1 - 23mm f1.4 |
This is not a contradiction but merely a statement of truth. Given the good glass - spend the money, you won't regret it - this camera is great and will help a person create wonderful images. It is just not for me. I would prefer either of the two top tier cameras from Fujifilm over this one for reasons which have little to do with image quality. The better build quality, and electronic viewfinder are must haves in my book.
So there you have it. Some thoughts about the camera I was fortunate enough to play with and some pictures from the day. A big thanks to Fujifilm Canada for putting on the trip and showing us a good time.
Saturday, 6 April 2013
out for coffee
A good friend of mine and I spent a bit of time out for coffee today. We talked about cycling, photography, and life in general.
Talking about photography reminded both of us that it has been too long since we have done anything with the cameras. A short walk ensued.
'twas a good time.
Talking about photography reminded both of us that it has been too long since we have done anything with the cameras. A short walk ensued.
 |
| single speed outside the coffee shop |
 |
| alley windows |
 |
| name a beer |
 |
| working hard |
 |
| from a later walk |
 |
| schmuck truck |
Monday, 18 February 2013
pre-season preview
Well, not exactly, but due to a wonderful day, my wife and I took a walk at the turn around spot for one of my favourite routes. The wind was bitter, snow was everywhere, but the sun is starting to have some staying power and is melting snow anyplace it touches.
This ride I mentioned above sees me leave from North Waterloo heading towards South Kitchener via my good friend's house. We make our way down past Conestoga College, across Highway 401 on a footbridge, and through the hamlet of Blair into South Galt (Cambridge). From there, we take a ride down a rail trail to Paris, Ontario. Locals to me will know the trail - it is one of the more beautiful ones around the area.
Total kilometers, my door to Paris, are around 54km. We ride it as an out and back giving us (well me unless my friend comes by my place and then home again) an easy 108km. There is not a lot of climbing on this ride but for a few sharp spiky hills where we drop in and out of the Grand River valley. Mostly, it is a low to no car spin fest, with the option to add some seriously steep nasty climbs in and out of Paris if that is desired. Roads down that way are truly marvelous if road riding is something you are interested in. There are some very nice roads, both paved and gravel, with steep gradients which I intend to ride more this year while down that way.
Here are some pictures of the town taken today. It is a lovely place.
This ride I mentioned above sees me leave from North Waterloo heading towards South Kitchener via my good friend's house. We make our way down past Conestoga College, across Highway 401 on a footbridge, and through the hamlet of Blair into South Galt (Cambridge). From there, we take a ride down a rail trail to Paris, Ontario. Locals to me will know the trail - it is one of the more beautiful ones around the area.
Total kilometers, my door to Paris, are around 54km. We ride it as an out and back giving us (well me unless my friend comes by my place and then home again) an easy 108km. There is not a lot of climbing on this ride but for a few sharp spiky hills where we drop in and out of the Grand River valley. Mostly, it is a low to no car spin fest, with the option to add some seriously steep nasty climbs in and out of Paris if that is desired. Roads down that way are truly marvelous if road riding is something you are interested in. There are some very nice roads, both paved and gravel, with steep gradients which I intend to ride more this year while down that way.
Here are some pictures of the town taken today. It is a lovely place.
 |
| Mid picture here is the cafe we usually stop at and grab a snack or shake. It is called the Brown Dog Cafe and Frittery (they make excellent apple fritters). The shake I usually get has two scoops of vanilla ice-cream, a double shot of espresso, a banana, some chocolate sauce, and is topped off with whipped cream. Holy banana pants does that get you going. It usually fills the energy deficit caused by riding there and gets me home without an issue. I should eat something real though but the shake is sooooo good. It is called the "Brown Dog Shake" if memory serves. |
 |
| The climb out. We drop down this, and climb out again after visiting the downtown. It does not look like much, and really it isn't, but it spikes a bit part way up the hill and steepens up on the right fork you can see mid picture. This is not the steep climb that I mentioned above. That one is on the other side of the town and is very hard to capture as a picture. Let's just say that I can sprint up this one flat out and not get winded, while the other one sees me grinding at a walking pace risking muscle cramps. It is much more evil. This is the margarine of evil. |
 |
| The Grand River. We pass by the Grand several times - follow it actually - on this ride. Come spring time, this will be a very nice spot to sit and watch the river flow by. Today though? Cold and windy it was. If you drive a Toyota Corolla and live in North America, there is a good chance it was taken over that rail bridge. Exit along the track picture right and you will end up at the Cambridge Toyota plant (TMMC). |
 |
| There you go, a bad photograph of the sign for the Brown Dog Cafe. Go there. It is worth it. |
 |
| Exit picture right and you will be on the start of the evil climb. Basically, it scales that cliff you see mid picture right. The road in front of you bends to the left, and then spikes up a bit while bending to the right. If you want the easy way up, keep following to the right and it loops around back a bit and follows a gentle arch up to the top of the cliff. That is the way the trucks take when they grind up the hill. Want to cause some pain? Head left instead of taking the bypass. You will reach "Main Street." Turn right. Enjoy. It climbs fairly sharply for about 2/3 of the way up and then gets very very steep for the last third. That is the spot that can induce leg cramps in people who do not live in areas with a lot of climbing. For me, it is nasty. For someone used to constant non stop up and down, it would not be that bad. But, this is all relative isn't it? |
 |
| Final shot today. This is the rail trail as it enters Paris. 21 km down it is Cambridge. Before we use it again, that snow has to be gone, and the trail has to harden up again. That usually does not take long since this is an old rail bed and has been seriously compacted. Even spring melt off does not soften it up much. I anticipate riding it by mid-April if all goes well. If not, soon after. |
Sunday, 2 December 2012
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