4 posts tagged “public service broadcast”

Well, I’m glad to report that my venture and transition into Medium Format photography (Mamiya 7II 6x7) has met with success.  I sent my first roll in – with fingers and toes crossed – for development a few days ago and the results were surprisingly impressive indeed.   Of course this doesn’t make me an ‘expert’ as there is still quite a bit to learn about the various technical aspects of photography, but with the first prints turning out so well – composition, colours, exposure, sharpness, etc – it is indeed quite a motivational resource especially since i was playing with long exposures in the course of night-time shooting...no wasted/bad shots...all nighttime shots turned out well:) (i'll put some of the photos up once i get it scanned.)

I know I was being ambitious as I had spent only a couple of weeks on digital photography with my Ricoh GX100, before moving on to a 35mm Nikon F4 for another couple of weeks, and finally taking the plunge into medium format for the past couple of weeks.  The most important lesson here, which I reiterated to Vanessa and Sim, is that, ‘if wo/man can make it, we can learn it’.  As lecturers were inclined to saying in my uni (university of central Lancashire, uk), ‘Genius is 10% talent, and 90% hard work’, and I’m inclined to think that it is the latter that produces the former.  But this doesn’t render my 35mm film camera redundant as the lens range for medium format 6x7 is not wide enough – literally and figuratively speaking.  Hence, my Nikon F4 (picked up for $480sgd/160stirling) comes in handy when I want to shoot ‘fisheye’, when I want to do immediate shots of the guy who’s just about to stop picking his nose in a second, fast moving action, or when I don’t want to print as big as the MF allows. (shooting MF is about 3 times more expensive as one can only take about 10 shots per roll that costs the same as a 35mm roll of film.   

Hence, the moral of this episode of the story is that YOU can do it too, even though you’re a novice at it all like myself.  And the quality is much better as well.  Some have stated that an MF would be equivalent to a 100megapixel camera.  However, they did not say if the larger frame size of the MF camera compared to 35mm digital makes this figure much higher.  The detail, dynamic range, sharpness, etc, is visibly much greater as well.  Of course, I must add, that the purpose of going into MF is not because ‘it is there’, because you want to show up the chans-next-door, or because you are a gadget-kid with too much money, but because it enables one to print really large without compromising the quality as is the case, comparatively speaking, with 35mm digital/film cameras, and it is a very much cheaper than the former of the two as well.  I would recommend it to those who want to make photography their paid or artistic profession and who need or want to print large.

ed

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In my decision to get a wide angle lens, it seems that a ‘corrected’ or ‘straightened’ image from Nikon’s 16mm full frame fisheye gives a horizontal 140 degrees field of view – source.(scroll down two-thirds of the page to see Ken Rockwell's 'corrected' fisheye images.)  Interesting isn’t it.  In other words, with a fisheye, I get both a fisheye view of the world along with an ultra-ultra wide angle of 140 degrees that just about beats the dedicated 14mm Nikkor wide-angle lens.  The only question is how this compromises the image quality and to what degree.  This is an important factor in my consideration of wide-angle lenses for my Nikon F4 to complement my Mamiya 7II whose widest is 21mm when converted to 35mm standard.  If the quality difference isn’t significant – visible to the naked eye deprived of a microscope or peeping at close quarters, then going 16mm is going to save me a bundle and a half – the 16mm is about $1000sgd and the 14mm is $2700sgd. 

Hmmm….

ed

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In considering a fisheye lens, I realised the significance of making comparisons between lenses in terms of ‘field of view’, amongst others.  In other words, ‘how much of what I see do I get on the film’, I wondered.

Here’s what I found that might be of aid to novices, like myself, who might be wondering about this prior to investing in a Nikkor lens.  The ‘degrees’ are in ‘horizontal terms – i.e. left to right.  .  If any reader knows better, please add the information in the comments section.  Additionally, dSLR users ought to take note that the following is not true for your cameras due to the ‘cropping factor’ - a good reason to film for some like myself.  Please click on the lens links for information relevant to yourselves.  Lenses cited are ordered from the highest 'fov' to lowest for the following lenses.

ed

Nikkor 16mm full-frame fisheye

(Nikon states that this lens has a 180 degrees FOV, but it is in ‘diagonal terms.  From perusing various sources, the following might be true in ‘horizontal’ terms.)

Fov (horizontal - left to right): approx. 140 degrees

Nikkor 14mm

Fov: 114 degrees

Nikkor 14-24mm

Fov: 114 degrees – 84 degrees    

Nikkor 17-35mm (Contains 2 ED elements and 3 aspherical lenses)

Fov: 104 degrees – 62 degrees

Nikkor 18-35mm (1/3 of the price of the 17-35.  Contains 1 ED element and 1 aspherical lenses)

Fov: 100 degrees – 62 degrees

Nikkor 20mm

Fov: 94 degrees

singapore malaysia hong kong thailand india taiwan japan asia uk australia photography nikon cameras

In case you’re looking for a good alternative to the overpriced Gitzo, etc, you might want to consider China’s ‘Benro’.  I got a KS-1 monoball ballhead yesterday from Daniel of Camera Workshop for $250sgd and mounted it on my Gitzo MarkII tripod.  After some hours of fiddling around with it, I really grew to like it.  The controls are unobtrusive, simple to manipulate and locked well when I tried it with my Nikon F4.  Wish I had known about Benro prior to buying Gitzo.  Ken Rockwell also seems to be inclined to agree,

“Giggle all you want at their English (their ball head flyer says "Does your head have damp? Could it can adjust the damp?") but their products feel embarrassingly good. I haven't compared price, but if they are half of a real Gitzo and if they get US distribution I can see them becoming very popular. They are certainly better than what I've seen from Velbon, Slik and Vivitar.

I hear from China that almost all native Chinese pro photographers use these. If I was Chinese I sure would! They seem to have copied the entire Gitzo catalog, and rather well at that.

I've played with the Benro at a trade show. If I was focused only on price I'd probably use one. They seem almost as nice as the real Gitzos I own. I can vouch that my Gitzo 1228 carbon fibre has lasted me for over ten years of continuous use and still works like new. I have no idea if the Benro copies last.” - source

As far as giving us a real reason why the Benro products he used is better, Ken simply states that they are.  Well, given his extensive experience, I wouldn't discount it and will take his opinion under advisement whilst doing further research on it.  I have since gone through forums and quite a few have stated likewise.  Well, I came across an advertisement in ‘clubsnap singapore’ placed by a bloke named ‘Jack006’ who sells Benro items at a far cheaper rate than Camera Workshop or any other retailer I’ve been to.  I suspected that the significant difference in price was due to it being an imitation of the imitation that is Benro, or that he was selling them off from under his bed at home.  The latter proved to be true when I called him - viewing at Ang Mo Kio.  Thus, if I had known about Jack & his stock of Benros prior to my purchase yesterday, I would have saved $70 which would have bought me 100 cups of tea at the local coffeeshop in Toa Payoh!  No, I’m not into overpriced ‘lattes’, ‘mochas’ and what not.  I feel quite foolish on the rare occasions that I do have them.

You may contact Jack via the following,

benroproduct@gmail.com

phone: 65 93880029

source

For more info on Benro products

No, I’m not getting a commission or a discount for anything.  This is a Public Service Announcement.

As for China, it is not surprising that they are quite good at imitation as opposed to innovation or invention.  A country that toils under top-down control, monoculturalism, fetish for tradition, and subservience in the face of authority, cannot logically be expected to become inventors and innovators which requires a fair bit of development in the critical faculty, i.e. India, w.Europe.  What else can they do in the event of competition but to import ‘foreign talent’ or imitate.  And how else can they advance via imitation if not by competition in price as opposed to ideas?  China is quite advantaged in this sense as they have a billion ‘cheap labour’ in queue as well.  Thus, in part, it explains the ‘Benro phenomenon’ along with why Lenovo couldn’t do much on its own till they bought up IBM.  Quite a contrast to the Japanese eh. 

Additionally, if manufacturers are moving to China because of the relatively cheap cost of production, why aren't the prices of products coming down significantly?  It seems that 'made in china' isn't going to be synonymous with the cost of production equalling the cost of the product till they are not only 'made in china', but made by the chinese.  In this case, i have to thank western manufacturers for existing, since if it wasn't for them, the chinese won't be able to compete the only way they know how - for far less the price than those offered by those who equate cheap cost of production with thus grossly increased profits.  Good one China!  Duo xie, Duo xie! Zhong guo chia you! :)

ed

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