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THE IMAGING RESOURCE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWSLETTER
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Volume 16, Number 13 - 27 June 2014
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Copyright 2014, The Imaging Resource. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to the 390th edition of The Imaging Resource Newsletter!
Welcome to your regularly scheduled Imaging Resource Newsletter for June 27th! As always, we've got another jam-packed issue for you all this week. To start things off, we've got a triple play of Sony reviews, with our full review of the budget-friendly A3000, third shooter's report installment for the speedy A6000, then our first shooter's report of the powerful and pocketable RX100 III. If you're a Sony fan, then you're in luck with this week's newsletter!
On the features side of things, we have the second part of Dave's big discussion with Panasonic execs from his trip in Japan. This time around discussion is focused on the GH4 and the realm of 4K video, as well as some reader questions.
In the Quick Hits section, there's more good news for Sony fans, with our first look at the high ISO performance of the Sony A7S full-frame mirrorless camera using our First Shots series of lab sample images. We also have another Shooter's Report to share with you; this time on the newly-refreshed entry-level EOS Rebel camera, the Canon T5.
There's also a new camera model to welcome into the world: the Nikon D810. Combining the venerable D800 and D800E into one model, Nikon's new high-resolution FX camera aims not only to triumph in still image quality but also in the world of HDSLR video.
And finally we share some of the most popular news stories from this past week, including a trio of lens reviews: two Samsung NX lenses and a very cool Fujifilm X100/S lens accessory: the WCL-X100 wide-angle converter. There are also new developments in the drone ban in the US National Parks, and it's happy 20th birthday to Apple's original QuickTake 100 camera, while it's goodbye to Apple's high-end image editing software, Aperture.
Happy reading!
TOPICS
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- Get Social with IR
- Sponsors
- Reviews:
- Sony A3000 Review
- Sony A6000 Shooter's Report Part III
- Sony RX100 III Shooter's Report Part I
- Feature:
- Panasonic executive interview, Part II: GH4 details, 4K isn't just for video, and lots of reader questions
- Quick Hits:
- Sony A7S First Shots
- Canon Rebel T5 Shooter's Report
- New Product Announcements
- Popular News
- Fujifilm WCL-X100 Review
- Samsung 60mm Macro & 45mm f/1.8 2D/3D Lens Reviews
- Next Issue
- Signoff
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This issue is sponsored in part by the following companies. Please show your appreciation by visiting the links below. (Visiting our sponsor's links really helps support this newsletter, thank you for your attention!) And now a word from our sponsors:
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Bobbi Lane is a renowned and award-winning pro photographer, who specializes in on-location people-photography and portraits. Click through to read why she likes the FUJIFILM X-T1 so much, and to see some examples of her stunning portrait work, shot with it. She also shares details about the lighting for each shot, something we as amateurs always find educational. You'll also find links to some gorgeous shots, with a range of different looks - check it out |
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Camera Review: Sony A3000 Review (Excerpt)
Sony A3000 Shooter's Report: Thinking beyond the mirror box
by�Jason Schneider
Have the tech mavens and marketing gurus at Sony finally managed to deliver a high-performance APS-C-format DSLR -- complete with stabilized 18-55mm zoom kit lens -- for the truly astounding price of US$300? (Street price as of this writing in June 2014.) Well, that all depends on how you define a DSLR, and whether you're willing to put up with the inevitable compromises that have gone into designing this ingenious entry-level camera.
The A3000 is aimed primarily at folks stepping up from point-and-shoots and (dare I say it?) cell phone cameras, who are likely to be attracted to its DSLR form, functionality and interchangeable lenses. It's really more of a mirrorless compact like a Sony NEX, though, dressed up to resemble a Translucent Mirror "SLR" like the (now discontinued) Sony Alpha A37.
Still, with a high-resolution 20.1-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS image sensor coupled to a BIONZ image processor, Full HD (1080p) video capture at 60i or 24p, plus features such as HDR, Dynamic Range Optimizer and Sweep Panorama, it might tempt an enthusiast -- especially one who already owns an E-mount mirrorless camera. And it even accepts Sony Alpha-mount lenses via an optional Sony LA-EA2 Adapter ($400 list) which adds phase-detection autofocus to the camera's 25-point contrast-detection AF system.
When you pick up the Sony A3000 the first thing you notice is how light it is. It weighs under 22 ounces complete with lens, battery, and memory card, and it balances quite comfortably in your hands thanks in part to its deep, ergonomically contoured handgrip, which is surmounted with a well-placed angled shutter release surrounded by a large, clearly marked On/Off switch. The textured finish on the body and the grippy leather-like inserts on the grip and rear thumb-rest give it a "serious" appearance that is belied by its somewhat plasticky feel, but on the whole it makes a good first impression. As you'd expect the controls are simple, and, for the most part, straightforward, especially for those familiar with the Sony NEX line.
The SLR-style mode dial atop the camera has the usual Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority and Manual modes. There's also a Scene mode that lets you access a range of settings including Night Scene, Anti Motion Blur, and Hand-held Twilight. These are selected by pressing what Sony refers to as Soft Key C: the button in the center of the control wheel, which also works as a 4-way toggle switch for selecting display, drive mode, ISO, and exposure compensation. After pressing it, you spin the dial to make your selection, then press the soft key again to activate your setting. Why is it referred to as a soft key? Because its function changes from mode to mode, and is indicated at the right-hand side of the LCD monitor.
In addition, there's a choice of two Intelligent Auto settings for shooting on auto-pilot. The second of these, iAuto+, creates a composite of several images -- great for capturing good exposures of high brightness range scenic and portrait images, but not for action. And finally, there's a Panorama icon for selecting Sweep Panorama mode, a cool feature common to most current Sony cameras.
To the left of the mode dial and the to the left of the pentaprism-like flash are little buttons that both, in a way, reflect cost concessions. The first is marked FINDER/LCD, and pressing it transfers the display between the 3.0-inch LCD monitor, and the eyepiece of the electronic viewfinder. The second button pops up the flash manually. Having to remember to press the button to get the display where you want it is a little annoying, and many other EVF cameras do it automatically by means of a proximity sensor that detects when you're holding the camera to your eye. It's also likely to be a turnoff for novices comparing the A3000 to its competitors at the store counter.
Unfortunately, no matter where you frame your scene, display performance of the A3000 is underwhelming. I'd go so far as to say that it's the camera's most serious shortcoming.
The EVF shows a 100% view of the scene you're framing, but at quite low resolution. Sony describes it as having a dot count of "201,600 dots equivalent", suggesting that it's actually a field-sequential LCOS chip with full color at every pixel location, but only one color -- red, green, or blue -- at any given moment in time. That means an actual pixel count of just 67,200 pixels, or something in the region of 280 x 240 pixels. Perceived resolution is a bit higher thanks to the full-color LCOS design, but blinking and some subjects can provoke a rainbow effect that's a little distracting.
Magnification of this smallish 0.2-inch EVF is only about 0.7X, and while the view is reasonably bright and detailed is does give you that constricted "tunnel" effect that is fairly common on entry-level DSLR viewfinders. The tiny eyepiece window, which measures only about 5/16 x 1/4-inch, doesn't help and while the dioptric adjustment range of -4 to +3.5 diopters is commendable, the flat striated eyesight adjustment wheel on the left-hand side of the eyepiece housing makes adjusting the eyepiece precisely a real challenge.
And it's worth noting that what looks like a rubber bezel around the eyepiece is actually hard plastic -- neither the most comfortable option, nor the friendliest for eyeglass-wearers.
The 3.0-inch LCD, meanwhile, is reasonably large and bright, but it too has a low resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, and its coarseness is emphasized by the relatively large size of the screen. It's not atrocious, but it does limit your ability to assess fine details when viewing a magnified captured image. Sony clearly feels it to be the better option for image review, though, because it simply won't allow you to view already-captured images on the EVF. The LCD is your only option for playback.
Incidentally, in order to zoom images, you have to press the Menu soft button, open the Playback menu, then select and activate Enlarge Image. You then control the degree of enlargement by turning the back rotary control. It works fine once you get the hang of it, but it's a nice example of the camera's unconventional control concept. You wouldn't expect to find Panoramic Direction in "Image Size" either, nor Metering Mode, Auto HDR, and ISO in the "Brightness/Color" menu, but there they are. At least you can set the sensitivity more directly by using the four-way function of the rotary dial to toggle the ISO menu.
Whatever the A3000's drawbacks may be, none of them affect the camera's overall picture-taking performance, which is truly impressive -- especially when you consider its price. Based on shooting a wide variety of subjects at light levels ranging from dim, dark interiors to outdoor scenes in brilliant sunshine, I found the camera's imaging performance to be consistently excellent at ISO settings ranging from 100 to 800.
Even in the ISO 1600 to 6400 range, I found very good detail, definition, color saturation. and very low noise. Of course at high magnification with these elevated sensitivities some artifacts were visible, but the pattern was tight and even and detail and color saturation were well maintained. Images shot at the top sensitivity of ISO 16,000 were definitely noisy and marred by noise-reduction smoothing, but still usable at lower print sizes.
While the A3000 doesn't provide phase-detection autofocus without an accessory, the 25-zone contrast-detection AF system proved to be reasonably fast and very accurate in all but the dimmest light, and it acquitted itself quite well with low-contrast subjects.
The Sony A3000's metering performance is likewise commendable, yielding accurate exposures with all but the most severely backlit or high-contrast subjects in Program and Aperture-priority modes, and using multi-pattern metering. It performed even better in terms of exposure accuracy in the iAuto modes, especially iAuto+ or Auto HDR, both of which can really save the day whether you're a novice or a seasoned enthusiast.
A truly prodigious array of features are on offer in the Sony A3000, including Auto Object Framing (a second alternative image is captured based the camera's built-in "composition" algorithms), Face Detection and Recognition, Clear Image Zoom (an enhanced virtually lossless 2X digital zoom capability that increases the maximum effective focal length to over 160mm), and a wide range of Creative Style modes (including Vivid, Sunset, and B&W). And despite its low price, the A3000 has quality touches that include a stainless steel lens mount and a hefty metal tripod socket.
Perhaps most important of all, the standard kit includes a reasonably sharp kit zoom lens. It's an 11-element, nine-group design with a seven-bladed diaphragm, and incorporates four aspheric elements to deliver pretty good image quality, considering the pricetag -- especially if you stop down a little. And it will focus down to 6.8 inches (25cm) for a maximum 0.3X magnification -- not really a macro lens, but probably enough for many purposes.
While it may have its foibles and compromises, the Sony A3000 still represents an excellent value. In terms of sheer imaging performance per dollar, it's a pretty amazing offering. Anyone seeking a lightweight, competent camera that provides the DSLR shooting experience at minimal cost would do very well indeed to put the Sony A3000 on their short list!
Head on over to Imaging Resource to see our Sony A3000 Review and read our final verdict on this lightweight, budget-friendly mirrorless camera.
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Camera Review: Sony A6000 Shooter's Report Part III
Completing the picture
by Eamon Hickey
Performance (other than AF). I spent a lot of time talking about autofocus performance in�Part 2�of this report, but I wanted to add a few thoughts on the overall performance of the Sony A6000. The slow-ish wake-from-sleep time that I already mentioned has continued to annoy me a little, but it's something you can mostly learn to work around. In all my normal shooting with the camera, performance has otherwise been crisp -- controls respond immediately; there's practically no shot-to-shot delay; scrolling through menus or reviewing images is fast.
There is, however, one modest fly in the ointment: when the A6000's buffer fills up, it can take a long while to clear. And until it does, burst rate is greatly reduced and many of the camera's features are inaccessible. I ran into this a lot when shooting my long AF test bursts, especially when shooting in raw format. When I hit the buffer limit, I could still change certain settings like shutter speed and aperture, but I had to wait as long as a minute before I could access the menus. I was using a Class 10 SDHC card rated at only 15MB/s for writes, though. A faster one should reduce this time considerably, so buy the fastest card you can afford. (In the lab, maximum clearing time after a burst of 47 JPEGs was 22 seconds with a UHS-I SDHC�card rated at 90MB/s for writes. That's actually quite good, and a buffer depth of 47 JPEGs is excellent by any standard. Eamon's sluggish experience in the field underscores the value of having a fast memory card.)
EVF/LCD. Although I'm perfectly comfortable composing pictures with an LCD, I also really like having an eye-level viewfinder available to me (a big reason why I bought the NEX-7). I found both to work very well on the Sony A6000, and I used them both frequently. The LCD, of course, works great for any shot where it's useful to hold the camera low or at an odd angle, as I did for the picture below of a race car in the lobby of Cooper Union (an engineering college). I also use the LCD anytime I'm shooting macro subjects. The A6000's LCD is sharp and about average for viewing in direct sunlight.
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| E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS, 30mm eq., f/5.6, 1/15s, ISO 400 |
Framing options.�Optical Steady Shot and the tilting LCD helped with a handheld, low angle shot in Cooper Union, NYC. |
In bright sunlight, and for all my sports shots, I used the eye-level EVF. In practice, the A6000's EVF worked as well for me overall as the higher-resolution EVF that I'm used to in my NEX-7, and it's noticeably less grainy in very low light. As I said in my�NEX-6 review�last year, it's hard to overstate the benefits of having two high quality viewing options and kudos to Sony for shoehorning them both into such a small package. It's a big part of this camera's compelling value equation.
Lenses. The�Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS�kit lens covers a nearly perfect focal length range for me, and its compact size made it a breeze to carry around on the dozen or so excursions I've made with it. As I noted last year, I'm not in love with its power zoom, which can be a little difficult to control precisely, and the lens is not outstanding optically. But there's no doubt that it's a very competent, versatile and portable kit lens.
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Not as awkward as it looks.�While the full-frame Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 lens dwarfs the camera, it's still quite comfortable to use on the A6000. |
Because I did so much�action photography, I also shot almost 3,000 pictures with the�FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS. For a telephoto zoom with a moderately fast maximum aperture, it's actually reasonably light. In many hours of sports shooting, I found it easy to support on the fingertips of my left hand. As befits its US$1,500 price tag, the lens feels well built, with smooth zoom and focus actions. It autofocuses silently and very quickly, and, despite the widespread idea that big lenses are "unbalanced" on small cameras, I found it completely usable and comfortable on the A6000.
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| FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS, 205mm eq., f/4, 1/1600s, ISO 400 |
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More with the 70-200mm f/4.�This shot seems perfectly focused and shows the quality of my sample FE 70-200 lens at 137mm and f/4 .�[The lower image is a 1:1 crop to show full detail and sharpness] |
I don't yet have the benefit of a full lens test of the FE 70-200, so I don't want to make any firm statements about its optics. But looking over my real-world results with it, I'd say it meets any reasonable professional standard. In my shots of sprinters and runners that are correctly focused there are many good examples of its quality, with skin texture, tiny beads of sweat, and clothing details all clearly visible. The one caveat I would note is that I suspect a full lens test may show that the sharpness of the FE 70-200 drops somewhat out near its 200mm end, which is not uncommon for telephoto zooms.
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| E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS, 31mm eq., f/5.6, 1/80s, ISO 400 |
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| E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS, 24mm eq., f/7.1, 1/320s, ISO 100 |
Kit lens.�A propeller from the ocean liner S.S. United States on the grounds of SUNY Maritime College shows low ISO image quality with the 16-50mm. We also see nice dynamic range performance with this shot. |
Apps & video. To get a feel for the Sony Alpha 6000's video capabilities, I took it on a walk to Tompkins Square Park where I found a pickup basketball game. The camera lets you control a lot of options for movie recording, including exposure mode, focus mode, and focus area. You can even manually select shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I set the camera for aperture-priority and auto ISO, and recorded a series of short clips. The footage looks excellent given the overcast conditions, and I couldn't hear any noise from the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens, although there is a lot of ambient playground noise, which might have masked it. Later, I recorded a dozen or so clips of moving cars to see how the camera's continuous AF works in video mode. It's not that easy to judge the point of focus in video clips shot at wide-angle settings or relatively narrow apertures, but my impression is that the camera does an unusually good job of follow focusing in video mod
e. (Note that the sample video below is 60i so it's not the highest quality available. We'll be posting 60p samples when we finalize the review.)
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Later that same day, I spent some time in my office trying out the Sony Alpha 6000's Wi-Fi/smartphone connectivity features. As was true when I reviewed the NEX-6, Sony's printed and on-screen instructions for using these features remain frustratingly obtuse -- a real throwback to the bad old days of crudely translated manuals. It's below the standard anyone should expect from a brand of Sony's admirable pedigree and accomplishment.
That said, I did figure out how to connect the A6000 to my iPhone 5. I took some test pictures using the remote control feature, which turns your smartphone into the camera's viewfinder and lets you trigger it remotely but offers almost no other functionality. I also transferred images from the camera to my smartphone; the function works but, at least with an iPhone, requires a multi-step connection routine every time you use it. If my guesses about what the manual is trying to say are correct, it's easier to connect with an Android phone. The camera can also do NFC (Near Field Communication) connections with compatible Android phones, and the manual seems to indicate that this is a much quicker and simpler way to facilitate the transfer of images from camera to phone.
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| E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS, 39mm eq., f/4.5, 1/60s, ISO 100 |
Panorama.�Using the camera's automatic sweep panorama feature in Tompkins Square Park, NYC. (The tilt is photographer error.) |
Like other Sony cameras, the Alpha a6000 uses PlayMemories apps. I downloaded and installed the free Sync to Smartphone app, which automatically transfers any new images you've taken to your phone whenever you turn the camera off. Here again, the connection to an iPhone requires multiple steps (and Android may not), but it worked fine within that limitation. I can see this being a good app for someone who does tons of social networking with their photos.
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| Sigma 30mm F2.8 EX DN, 45mm eq., f/4, 1/40s, ISO 400 |
Getting creative.�Using a Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN lens in the garden to show mid ISO image quality. Processed from raw using Sony Image Data Converter and "autumn leaves" creative style.�Click here�for original camera JPEG. |
Summary. All in all, I think Sony has a real hit with the Alpha 6000. It offers a good, advanced user interface (with previous flaws now fixed), excellent versatility, very good overall performance, highly competitive autofocus for both stationary and moving subjects, excellent video capabilities and great images. What's more, it's all wrapped up in a very compact package at a terrific price, and that's a pretty compelling recipe.
Read more about the Sony A6000 over at Imaging Resource, including the full set of lab images and more sample gallery images.
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Camera Review: Sony RX100 III Shooter's Report Part I
Up, up and away!
by Mike Tomkins
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| For the second review in a row,�I'm going airborne. This time, I'm taking the Sony RX100 III on a rare photo opp in a vintage Ford Tri-Motor! |
Back in 2012, Sony turned the compact camera market on its head, launching the�Sony RX100. Prior to its arrival on the scene, you had two choices if you wanted a reasonably large sensor and a zoom lens: go with an interchangeable-lens camera, or go with the Canon PowerShot G1 X, a relatively chunky, coat pocket camera. And then along came Sony with a camera sporting twice the sensor area of typical enthusiast compacts, yet in a body that easily slipped in a pants pocket.
I was among the many photographers who immediately saw the Sony RX100's possibilities, and no sooner had we completed our review than I bought one of my very own. Two years is a long time in the camera market, though. At this point in the RX100's life cycle, Sony is likely hoping that its follow-up RX100 III earns some upgrades from photographers like me, not just purchases from brand-new customers.
But is it time for me to upgrade, or am I better staying with my RX100? That's something I'm hoping to answer during my time with the camera. I'm lucky to have all three cameras -- the RX100, RX100 II, and RX100 III -- on my desk as we speak, so I can make a completely valid side-by-side comparison.
Upon taking the Sony RX100 III out of the box, my first reaction was that it wasn't quite as comfortable in-hand as my original RX100. The body is about the same thickness as that of the RX100 II, which is to say that it's a fair bit thicker than my first-generation camera. It's also a little heavier than the 'II, and quite a bit heavier than the RX100.
(Weight increased 17% between first and second generations, and has gone up another 3% for the third generation. That makes the RX100 III about 21% heavier than my camera.)
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Constructed in Dearborn, Michigan in 1929,�the Tri-Motor is a beauty despite her many years. You might recognize her from an appearance in the 2009 Hollywood movie Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. I was amazed to find that her control cables run external to the fuselage! |
Part of the problem is that, save for a tiny leatherette pad on the thumb grip, the RX100 III is very smooth, just like its predecessors. The lens barrel is also a little longer and wider, and sits just slightly higher and further left on the camera body than in either earlier model, and that's moved the center of gravity further left. The larger, relocated lens is also likely why Sony has issued a new leather jacket case for the RX100 III.
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The RX100 III's tilting LCD monitor�makes it easy to get shots from unusual angles, like this low-to-the-ground shot of the Tri-Motor's tail. It also flips up for selfies, but you don't want to see my ugly mug! |
Of course, I'm nitpicking here in comparison to the incredibly-compact RX100. Compared to other large-sensor, fixed-zoom cameras, the RX100 III is still extremely small. It also feels extremely solid, and evokes a sense of quality. It's just a shame that it no longer feels like a pants pocket camera -- at least, not unless your pants pockets are much looser than mine.
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| The control cables�I mentioned earlier, shown up close. For nearby subjects like this, the RX100 III can isolate your subject from the background without any fake depth-of-field blur trickery, unlike most pocket-friendly cameras. |
(Admittedly, although my RX100 fits in my pocket, I seldom put it there anyway, because I like to baby expensive gadgets like these. But then, that's more true than ever of RX100 III, which is a little pricier than the original model.)
And there's a simple solution to correct its handling compared to the earlier models, too. Until now, I never really felt the need for third-party grip on my RX100. If I owned the RX100 III, though, I'd definitely look to Richard Franiec and�pick up one of his excellent grips. We have one on our RX100 II, and it's an extremely nice accessory. It feels completely stock, and noticeably improves the handling. Where I consider it optional on the earlier models, I'd say it's almost a required purchase on the RX100 III, at least if you have large hands, as I do.
The Sony RX100 III's user interface is similar to that of the earlier cameras, but it has been refined a little. Where previously there were seven main tabs, each of which had a list of pages shown alongside its icon when selected, now there are two levels of tabs. At top are six main tabs -- Camera, Settings, Wi-Fi, PlayMemories Apps, Playback, and Setup -- with the various page numbers arrayed beneath.
The Movie, Card and Date/Time menus from the earlier cameras have been subsumed into other menus, and the result feels more logical. (It also wastes less screen real-estate, given that the Date/Time menu of the earlier cameras had only two items.) The slight price to pay for this change is that there are now only six items per menu page, instead of seven, leading to a slight increase in the number of pages spanned by each menu. I do think that exposure bracketing -- hidden under the Drive Mode option -- feels a bit hidden, just as it did in earlier models, but otherwise I'm happy with this updated user interface.
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The hills in the distance�were an unexpected capture in this cockpit shot, and emphasize how low we were flying. The cockpit is raised quite a bit higher than the passenger cabin, and with seatbelts fastened throughout the flight, I couldn't see out its windows myself. I shot this with my arms outstretched and the RX100 III's LCD tilted down towards me, which helped get the framing I wanted. |
I had quite the event planned for my first shooting experience with the Sony RX100. The�Experimental Aircraft Association's beautiful�1929 Ford Tri-Motor, one of the earliest all-metal passenger aircraft with an enclosed cabin, was in town for the weekend -- and the EAA was offering flight experiences. As if that wasn't enough, a local car club provided some more period feel with some vintage autos. Several exhibits also accompanied the event, including one showing reconstructions of Henry Ford's first engines. All very cool!
It wasn't cheap, but I told myself that this was pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, got my reservation in, and with my wife, headed over to Knoxville's Downtown Island Airport, just minutes from the heart of the city. As it happened, it became a twice-in-a-lifetime experience for me, as I enjoyed it so much I went back the following day with my five year old son, and did it all over again.
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The weather�sadly didn't cooperate on the first day's shooting, with storms and a low overcast right as my flight time arrived. Still, I got some cool shots nonetheless, and with visibility so low, our pilot kept us incredibly low throughout the flight. It made for quite an experience! Note the prop spindle peeking in at frame right -- my seat directly behind the cockpit rather limited my framing opportunities, between the propeller, engine, wing, undercarriage and control cables directly outside! |
Each flight experience has just 15 minutes of airtime, so for the most part, I kept my shooting confined to the ground so I could soak in the experience while I was in the air. The EAA staff and volunteers pretty much gave us free reign to roam around the aircraft between flights, shooting photos inside and out, and just generally lusting over a piece of aviation history.
Ford isn't really a name you associate with flying, having left the industry after the depression and the arrival of Douglas' faster, longer-ranging and yet more economical DC-3. Still, they sure knew how to build them, because this old lady looked as stunning approaching her 85th birthday as the day she rolled out of the factory in Dearborn, Michigan.
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The RX100 has a wider lens�than its predecessors, but even a 24mm-equivalent wide angle wasn't enough for the Tri-Motor's unbelievably cramped cockpit. It's hard to believe two people can fit in here. I ended up shooting two HDR image series, then merging and stitching them on my PC. I'm not normally a big fan of crunchy, oversaturated and overprocessed HDR, but I think it adds to the mood here. |
Although we had a little rainstorm on that first day's shooting, I was mostly shooting in good (or at least, bright) light throughout the event, so didn't yet see the benefit of the RX100 III's wider aperture at telephoto. Nor have I yet done much high ISO shooting, for the same reason. Almost all of my shots so far have been at ISO 800 or below.
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| Another detail shot�of the Tri-Motor. The tail wheel is a freewheeling caster, and the bungee cords on either side help it return to the center position after a turn! Low tech, but clever. |
I definitely noticed the shortened zoom range though, and found myself wishing for more telephoto quite often. There's definitely a sense of compromise in the achievement of that brighter aperture. But with that said, thanks to the RX100 III's 20.1-megapixel sensor, there's a lot of resolution. That makes cropping post-capture a realistic possibility when the zoom isn't sufficient, so long as you don't need a huge print.
Sadly, that doesn't work when you need a greater wide-angle, as I did in the Ford Tri-Motor's amazingly cramped cockpit. Although I'm not a pilot myself, I'm a bit of a plane nut who feels right at home in a busy cockpit full of dials, switches and gauges, but even I was a little taken aback by how little space there was for pilot and co-pilot on a flight that could be up to four hours in length. It's something I wanted to capture in an HDR shot shortly after the rainstorm ended, but I simply couldn't fit more than half the cockpit in the frame even at extreme wide-angle.
And that's despite the especially-wide lens of the RX100 III -- it would have been even more challenging with my RX100 or the RX100 II. In the end, I took two handheld HDR series, which I then merged in Unified Color's HDR Expose, and stitched using Hugin. The result, given that it was largely automatic, wasn't too shabby. There were a few little stitching errors at top and bottom of the stitch that I cropped out, and a couple more can be seen in my final shot if you look closely enough, but it gets the sense of claustrophobia across, I think. And the crunchy, HDR look fits quite nicely with the subject, windows covered in raindrops. (A little rain even makes it through the cracks, dripping onto the pilots' seats and into the passenger cabin.)
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Thru the looking glass:�Even up close like this, the RX100 III's 1.0-inch type image sensor means it won't rival an APS-C or Micro Four Thirds sensor for depth-of-field blur. Still, it definitely does better than most compacts in this regard. |
So far, image quality seems pretty good. There's lots of detail in the RX100 III's images, enough that in my shots of the cockpit in flight, you can just pick out a little very subtle moir� in the pilot's shirt. (I do mean subtle, though -- you have to look fairly closely to notice it, and I'm not seeing moir� as an issue at this point.)
The few high ISO shots I've taken have had reasonably noise / detail levels, but I'm aware that this is an area in which the RX100 II (which shares the same sensor) lagged its predecessor a little, so I'll be taking a closer look at it in low light in a later Shooter's Report. In most respects, so far, image quality seems to be quite similar to that I've gotten used to with my RX100 -- and that's a good thing, because for a pocketable camera, it does a pretty great job, all things considered.
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As if the Tri-Motor wasn't enough,�a local car club showed up to add some more vintage color. |
Startup time is just slightly faster than that of my RX100 or the RX100 II. It's not a night and day difference, but it's nevertheless noticeable and worthwhile. The lens actually extends in an identical time, but once extended the live view image appears (and the first shot can be fired) perhaps a quarter-second earlier. That might be the difference between getting or missing an unexpected shot, so it was a pleasant surprise.
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| With the engine�outside my window, I tried shots with the prop blurred out, and with a fast shutter speed to freeze it. With a bit more time to experiment and get the right shutter speed, a half-turn or so would probably have looked best. |
In other respects, performance seemed near-identical, although I've yet to try burst-shooting. (And I understand the burst depth has been improved.) All three cameras seem to focus and shoot single images in near-identical time, as far as I can tell.
Since these were introduced on the RX100 II, a camera I didn't personally review, the built-in Wi-Fi and tilting screen are also new to me. The tilting mechanism has actually been improved since the RX100 II, as well, and now allows the screen to be flipped up 180 degrees, perfect for selfies.
In other respects, though, the screen seems similar to that of the earlier cameras. It's a Sony WhiteMagic type with red, green, blue and white subpixels, and is brighter than most for better outdoor visibility.
Almost immediately, I had the Wi-Fi up and running, and I found this quite handy for getting my images onto Facebook. This was something I did with my RX100 as well, but there I had to rely on a third-party, Wi-Fi equipped Eye-Fi Mobi SD card. It's much nicer to have an integrated solution, and feels more seamless.
(My Eye-Fi card sometimes wouldn't transfer images, or would take a long time to start the transfer, and since the process was entirely automatic, that could get a bit frustrating as there was no way to intervene except to power-cycle the camera and tablet, then try taking more photos. No such trouble here.)
And that about wraps things up for my first Shooter's Report with the Sony RX100 III. If you have any questions about the camera or features you want to see tested, I'll be shooting with it for a while more yet (and can make side-by-side comparisons with the earlier models where applicable), so don't be shy about making requests in the comments at the end of the review.
For my next Shooter's Report, the tentative plan is to try some low-light / high ISO shooting, make some side-by-side, real-world image quality comparisons with the RX100 and RX100 II, take a look at video performance, and given Sony's PlayMemories camera apps a spin. Watch this space!
Read more about the Sony RX100 III over at Imaging Resource, including the full set of lab images and more sample gallery images.
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FEATURE: Panasonic executive interview, Part II: GH4 details, 4K isn't just for video, and lots of reader questions (Excerpt)
by Dave Etchells
While I was in Japan for the annual CP+ show last February (yes, I'm that behind on my postings), I had an opportunity to sit down for an extensive discussion with two Panasonic representatives, Mr. Yoshiyuki Inoue and Mr. Michiharu Uematsu. Inoue-san is a very senior product planner for Panasonic, and Uematsu-san plays a very active role in communicating about Panasonic's new products with the press and Panasonic operating companies worldwide, as well as carrying product feedback to the planners and engineers in Japan.
The conversation went on for over an hour and a half, and the transcript ended up being over 9,000 words by the time I was finished with it. Given that extreme length, I decided to split the article into two parts.�Part I�went up over a week ago, and now here's Part II, to complete the story.
We'll pick up again with some discussion about the Panasonic GH4, their new flagship ILC, capable of 4K video recording entirely in-camera.�
How did you manage to double readout speed for the GH4 sensor?
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The Lumix GH4 is Panasonic's latest flagship, sporting 4K video and much faster sensor readout. |
DE:�I have other reader questions, but since we've started talking about the GH4, maybe I can ask some more technical questions about it. One of the changes with it is that the readout time for the sensor has been cut in half, relative to the GH3. How was that accomplished, what did they do on the chip to make that speed increase? Did they just have twice as many readout channels, or did they just clock the data out faster?
Uematsu:�Actually, the interface between the sensor and the camera is digital, and the number of channels isn't open in the sensor spec.
DE:�Oh, you can't say how many readout channels there are, then. You did say that the interface between the sensor and the processor is digital, though, so you're not sending analog data.
Uematsu:�Yes, if we had analog data, then we'd have 8 or 16 channels, but that's done in the chip itself.
DE:�Ah, so you're saying if you had analog readout, then the number of channels becomes important, but since it's digital, the number of channels isn't a factor?
Both:�Yes, yes.
Uematsu:�Actually more than 5 years ago, the Canon 20D I think had 8 channels, because that was in the analog era. But now it's digital, and such internal specs aren't disclosed, unfortunately.
DE:�OK, understood. And of course, digital readout has a lot of other advantages as well, such as decreased noise and that sort of thing. So that increased readout speed, I would think that would make a significant difference for rolling shutter artifacts. Basically, with twice as fast readout, you should have half as much rolling shutter, is that true?
Inoue:�Frankly, according to the customer feedback, they don't mention rolling shutter so much.
Uematsu:�Especially in silent mode, we don't use a mechanical shutter. [I'm a little unclear on this; I was thinking in terms of video, but the mechanical shutter is only used in still-image recording anyway, so perhaps we were talking slightly at cross-purposes.]
Inoue:�The customers have welcomed silent shutter.
DE:�Ah, so customers are aware of the silent shutter mode as a benefit, but don't seem to be as aware of rolling shutter as a downside? Maybe it's because, at the consumer level, smart phones have�terrible�rolling shutter; the whole image wobbles and sways.
Both:�Yes, yes.
DE:�So if consumers can accept that, then the level of rolling shutter on almost any ILC is going to be better anyway. I see. I would think that rolling shutter would still be a concern for professionals sometimes, that they would want to keep it low.
Inoue:�They would have to use the mechanical shutter, that's the only way to solve rolling shutter.
DE:�But in video, you're not using a mechanical shutter at all, right?
Inoue:�Yes, of course.
DE:�When I think of rolling shutter, I think of it in terms of video, where the whole image wobbles and gets distorted. [moving on, we'll just have to see how the GH4 behaves in terms of recording video, when we shoot with it]
DE:�So besides DFD, is there other technology that might make its way into low end cameras, can you think of other benefits to the Lumix consumer line?
Inoue:�Yes, ordinary improvements in the EVF and the rear LCD, the pixel times [refresh rate] will be better.
Uematsu:�Especially the EVF, that's much, much better than in the GH3.
DE:�Ah, so that's an area of improvement over the GH3, and that's now a component you have available to use in other cameras.
Inoue:�Some are just cosmetic improvements, like the lock button for the mode dial and the dimple for the grip. Also a softer eyecup for the viewfinder. But these are just appearance or [missed the word]
DE:�So just ergonomic differences. I really like the way the mode dial lock works, push-on/push-off. The way it toggles like that is very nice, rather than having to hold it down while you turn. Those designs have always been very annoying to me.
Reader question: Why body-based image stabilization in the GX7, but not the GH4?
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The Panasonic GX7 is one of Panasonic's most advanced models to date, and has body-based image stabilization, why not the GH4? |
DE:�This is something I didn't actually recall myself; our readers said that the GX7 has in-body image stabilization, but the GH4 does not have that. Is body-based image stabilization something that will only be in the GX series, or at least not in the GH? I suspect one reason why it may not be is because of noise, during video recording, is that the case?
Inoue:�The main reason the GX7 was made with in-body image stabilization, was so people could enjoy the other lenses.
DE:�Ah, so you were deliberately making that a platform that other companies' lenses could be used on?
Inoue:�Yes, yes, this is the main reason on the GX7. But on this one [the GH4], there's an advantage to the heat sink for it to be stable. It's not impossible, but it's for a safety margin, to have a good heat sink. But many users have called for the GH series to have in-body stabilization, but for this one, we think it's better to not do that.
DE:�So you have heard requests for in-body IS, but didn't feel it was a good idea.
Inoue:�Yes, but I think it's not so big an advantage on this one...
DE:�Yeah, on the GH4, you need to use Panasonic lenses with it, to take advantage of the DFD autofocus technology, which is a big feature- so its users will be more drawn to Panasonic lenses, many of which are image-stabilized anyway.
Inoue:�Yes.
(This interview is very long and detailed, with lots of further reader questions and other insights -- way too much fit all in here. Please continue reading over on the site.)
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QUICK HITS
Forget 4K video, 400K ISO's the big news! Find out if the Sony A7S is the camera for you in our First Shots
by�Mike Tomkins
Early this April, Sony set pulses racing with the launch of the Sony A7S�mirrorless camera, a full-frame model whose name hinted at its forte: sensitivity. Thanks to much lower resolution than is typical these days -- especially for a full-frame camera -- Sony has been able to crank up the ISO sensitivity to almost unheard-of levels, gifting its latest compact system camera with some seriously impressive low-light chops. Only the�Nikon D4S, a camera that costs 2.6 times as much, can match the Sony A7S at the high end of the sensitivity scale.
Since the A7S' launch, we've been hearing plenty of requests to get this exciting camera in our lab -- and fear not, low-light fans, we've been listening! Our review sample of the Sony A7S has just arrived, and no sooner did it come through the door than we rushed it down to the IR Lab to get the shooting underway. And here's where we go from the good news to the great. (Drum roll, please!) Your waiting is over: Senior lab tech Luke Smith has done his thing in record time, and turned out our initial batch of First Shots, ready for your viewing pleasure!
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A comparison of similarly-priced full-frame cameras at ISO 12,800: Sony A7S (left, US$2,500) vs. Nikon Df (right, US$3,000). Note that the 16.2-megapixel Nikon Df image has been downsampled to approximately match that from the lower-res, 12.2-megapixel Sony A7S. |
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A comparison of cameras at the same maximum sensitivity of ISO 409,600: the Sony A7S (left) vs. the Nikon D4S (right). Note that the 16.2-megapixel Nikon D4S image has been downsampled to approximately match that from the lower-res, 12.2-megapixel Sony A7S. |
As always, these First Shots are available in our�Comparometer�, for direct comparison to any other camera we've reviewed. Above are a couple of comparisons we found particularly interesting, however: The Sony A7S versus a similarly-priced full-frame camera (the Nikon Df, which lists for $500 more than the Sony), and against the only other camera offering a maximum sensitivity of ISO 409,600-equivalent (the Nikon D4S).
Hop on over to the�Sony A7S sample photos�to see more lab shots at a range of sensitivities, or compare to other cameras�using the Comparometer�. And if you're not familiar with the camera and how it differs from its siblings, the A7 and A7R, be sure to read our in-depth�Sony A7S preview!
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Canon T5 Shooter's Report: This refreshed entry-level DSLR is a lot of camera for the money
by�William Brawley
The 2011 Canon T3 was decidedly getting long in the tooth compared to today's camera standards. With the refreshed Canon Rebel T5, the Big C's entry-level DSLR gained some much-welcomed improvements, including an 18-megapixel sensor -- up from 12.2 -- though it's still paired to the older DIGIC 4 image processor. Nevertheless, Canon says the camera gets a boost in high-ISO performance. HD video recording is also now upped to 1080p resolution, at 30p and 24p (and 25p for PAL regions). There's also been a few physical changes, like increased rubberized material around the handgrip and an improved, higher-res LCD screen.
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18-55mm kit lens: 55mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 100 |
We sent the Canon T5 into the field with Jason Schneider, and he's filed his�Canon T5 Shooter's Report�and returned with quite the positive opinion of the camera. Although simplified and a bit bare-boned compared to the bells and whistles seen on higher-end and admittedly pricier cameras, the Canon T5 provides a lot of camera for little money. In Jason's own words, "Overall the Canon EOS Rebel T5 is a terrific, fun camera and certainly an amazing value for the money."
Head over to read the Jason's�Canon T5 Shooter's Report�to see about the handling, image quality and performance of this new entry-level Canon DSLR. And rest-assured, our final�Canon T5 review�with our final conclusion is in the works and will be published soon! Stay tuned.
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18-55mm kit lens: 55mm, f/7.1, 1/160s, ISO 100 |
[quick links:�Canon T5���Shooter's Report���Samples���Gallery]
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NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
Nikon D810 unites D800, D800E in one model, takes the HDSLR to the next level
by�Mike Tomkins
Two years ago, Nikon started a trend with the launch of the D800E, a full-frame digital SLR which did without a resolution-robbing optical low-pass filter in the quest for maximum resolution. Today, the company follows up with the�Nikon D810, a camera which shares much with its predecessor -- but with some very important differences. Perhaps the most important is a change in strategy: Unlike it's predecessor, there's no OLPF-equipped variant of the Nikon D810.
At the heart of the Nikon D810 is a refinement of the 36.3-megapixel image sensor from the D800 and D800E, sporting improved microlenses for better light-gathering capabilities, along with a next-generation EXPEED 4 image processor said to offer 30% greater performance. Between both upgrades, the Nikon D810 bests its predecessors for sensitivity across the board, with an expanded sensitivity range of ISO 32 to 51,200 equivalents.
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The exterior design of the D810 is not significantly different from the D800/E models. |
Nikon also promises even greater resolution from the newly-designed sensor than it managed with that in the D800E, and a one frame-per-second improvement in burst performance across the board, to a maximum of five frames per second at full resolution, or 7 fps with a DX-format crop and the optional MB-D12 Multi Power Battery Pack attached.
And that's not all -- not by a long shot. Video improvements abound, including the ability to use the Power Aperture function while recording to flash cards, and to simultaneously output uncompressed HDMI to an external recorder while also recording compressed video internally. And the Nikon D810 also sports a power-saving, brighter rear-panel LCD with RGBW pixel structure, along with an improved TTL pentaprism optical viewfinder.
The company has also developed a brand-new mirror sequencer / balancer unit that's designed to better-control vibration, and subtly redesigned the Nikon D810's weather-sealed, magnesium alloy body with a deeper, more comfortable grip and some minor tweaks to controls. Other changes include a new electronic first-curtain shutter function, a highlight-weighted exposure metering option, a space-saving, reduced-resolution raw format, and a new Picture Control called "Flat", aimed at those who want to color-grade and match output from multiple different cameras.
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The D810 brings along the "i" button from the D7100 and D610 for quick on-screen access to various settings and adjustments like crop modes and picture styles. |
The�Nikon D810�is priced at around US$3,300 body-only, and expected to ship in late July 2014. Pricing for the specialized video-specific Nikon D810 kits wasn't available at press time. (UPDATE:�The D810 Filmmakers Kit, with body, 3 primes, Atomos Ninja recorder and other accessories is available for $4,996.95) For a whole lot more information on what's new in the D810, be sure to read our hands-on�Nikon D810 preview.
Pre-order the Nikon D810 from one of Imaging Resource's trusted affiliates:
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READER MAIL
Question: Mounting Contax lenses on modern DSLRs
Greetings Dave,
Really appreciate the excellent reviews of various new cameras & lens!
My question is "Can 35mm film camera Zeiss T* 28mm F2.8; 50mm F1.7& 135mm F2.8 lens for CONTEX SLRs be used for SONY or any brand of DSLR at all?"
Look forward to your reply. Many thanks!
Regards, Henry
Answer:
Hi Henry -
Apologies for the slow reply; writing this just as I'm about to send out this week's newsletter. (I'm technically supposed to be on vacation, but am a day late with this issue, so no rest for the weary! :-)
What governs whether you can mount one lens type on a different body or not is how long the back-focus or flange focal distance is. As usual, Wikipedia has a useful explanation and table: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance
Flange Focal Distance (hereafter, FFD, for brevity) is the distance from the front of a camera's lens-mounting flange to the film or sensor surface. If a lens is designed with a large FFD and the body you're hoping to adapt it to has a short one, then you're in good shape, as there'll be room for a mount adapter between the back of the lens and the front of the camera. If the FFD of the lens is close to or less than that of the host body, you're generally out of luck.
I say "generally", because there are adapters available that incorporate a lens of their own, to change lenses' focusing, to let them work with bodies having greater FFD lengths, but that obviously introduces another set of optics in the light path, and so will almost certainly degrade image quality.
Since you asked about Sony DSLRs (as opposed to mirrorless models) you're talking about the Sony A-mount, which has an FFD of 44.5mm. Among the major DSLR mounts, this is slightly longer than the Canon EF (44.0mm), but shorter than the Pentax K (45.46mm) and Nikon F (46.5mm).
The question is which particular Contax (I assume that's the brand you mean, and the "e" in the name is just a typo) lenses you have. There are two lines that I'm aware of, the Contax/Yashica (so-called C/Y) mount one and the Contax N mount ones, from the short-lived full-frame Contax N series of DSLRs. You mentioned film-camera lenses, so I assume you mean the C/Y type.
The C/Y mount had an FFD of 45.5mm, only 1 mm more than the Sony A-mount. That's probably not enough thickness to allow for a mount adapter without optics, so you'll likely be faced with using an adapter that incorporates a lens. The lenses would probably work in manual mode, but there might be some image degradation from the adapter's optics, as mentioned above. I don't know how big a factor this would be, but the lenses would probably at least be usable.
On the other hand, if you're talking about Contax N-mount lenses, they have an FFD of 48mm, so almost certainly plenty of thickness there for a no-optics adapter. The catch is, there were so few N-mount lenses produced that it's unlikely anyone will bother making adapters for them.
Adapters to fit most any lens to any camera flange are available from multiple sellers on eBay. It's key to make sure that the eBay ads guarantee infinity-focus capability: If there are no optics included, and the adapter is too thick, the lens will be able to focus close, but not at infinity. Here's one that promises that (information only, absolutely no endorsement implied):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CY-Mount-Contax-Yashica-Lens-To-Sony-Alpha-Adapter-For-A77-A65-A57-A37-A550-A230-/370620326423?pt=US_Lens_Adapters_Mounts_Tubes&hash=item564ab16217
Besides focusing, the other question is whether your camera can meter properly in "stopped down" mode, that is, without knowing or being able to control the lens aperture. I don't recall offhand how universal this capability is/was with Sony DSLR models; if you told me the model you have, I could research it for you.
While once on the topic of using "legacy" lenses with modern cameras, I should also mention mirrorless models. The whole idea behind the mirrorless concept was to make cameras more compact, by eliminating the bulky mirror mechanisms of DSLRs. As such, they all have much shorter FFDs, so you can adapt just about any older lens to modern mirrorless bodies. While it's possible to adapt almost any older mount to any of the new mirrorless ones, Sony has been particularly open about sharing their mount specs with third-party adapter makers. You'll thus find a particularly rich assortment of adapters to Sony's E-mount flange standard.
Hope this helps!
- Dave E.
POPULAR ON THE SITE
At http://www.imaging-resource.com/news you can keep track of the photo news on our main site. Among the most popular stories over the last couple of weeks:
- Fujifilm WCL-X100 review: We test the 0.8x wide angle conversion lens for the X100 / X100S
- Samsung 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review: high quality and affordable, a no-brainer for NX-mount macro fans
- Samsung 45mm f/1.8 2D/3D Lens Review: a compact, high-quality, fast prime with a nice 3D bonus
- The Aperture closes: Apple ends development of its Lightroom competitor
- Happy 20th birthday Apple QuickTake 100, the first consumer digital camera
- Forget the cloud! WD My Book Duo backs up your photos for less than six cents per gigabyte
- No drones allowed: NPS preps countrywide ban on unmanned aerial vehicle flight in national parks
- Canon reinvents Digital Photo Professional, promises free download by month's end
- Long-zoom bonanza: Tamron launches powerful new zooms for mirrorless and full-frame DSLR
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NEXT ISSUE
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We'll see you next on July 11, with a regularly scheduled edition (and lots more news and analysis to share)!
SIGNOFF
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That's it for now, but between issues visit our site for the latest news, reviews, or to have your questions answered in our free discussion forum. Here are the links to our most popular pages:
Newsletter Archive: http://www.imaging-resource.com/cgi-bin/dada-nltr/mail.cgi/archive/irnews
Daily News: http://www.imaging-resource.com/news
SLR Gear: http://www.slrgear.com
New on Site: http://www.imaging-resource.com/new-on-ir
Review Index: http://www.imaging-resource.com/camera-reviews
IR Photo Contest: http://www.dailydigitalphoto.com
Google + http://plus.google.com/+imagingresource
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/imagingresource
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/IR_Lab
Happy snapping!
Dave Etchells & the IR Editorial Team
nleditor@imaging-resource.com
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