Canon 100D - Canon's tiny DSLR

It seems like almost every photography niche in the camera market is now being filled.  The new 100D is an extremely tiny DSLR that has been very significantly miniaturised.  It really doesn't seem to be much bigger than a Olympus OMD or Panasonic G3, if at all.  Obviously, because there is still a mirror box, it is still quite a bit deeper than an OM-D or G6, but width and height certainly are close.

I could see people liking this camera, especially those who value something compact, but who have already invested in Canon gear.  The other buyer group it would appeal to would be mirrorless buyers who really prefer to stick with a DSLR with an optical rather than digital view finder.

Nikon D2X with Tamron 90mm Macro

DX lenses on Full Frame

Pardon my "against the grain" theory, but I have this feeling that a DX lens could be used very successfully on full frame, providing you don't mind a bit of cropping.  As DX lenses heavily vignette on Full Frame, the photographer must then work around this.  Therefore a square or panoramic frame could work well.  Even using a program to correct vignetting that isn't totally lost, is useful.

On full frame, DX lenses operate like full frame lenses in terms of depth of field as the sensor determines this.  Just that they heavily vignette.  My theory is that a great DX lens can shoot outstanding photos on full frame, with just a bit of cropping.

I am thinking of purchasing either a Nikon 35mm f1.8 or a Sigma 30mm f1.4 to try this out.  Full frame lenses in this focal range are expensive, but I am wondering, if you are prepared to crop, will these lenses give you great performance as well.  A theory to be tested soon.

Nikon D2X, Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro

The conceptually flawed Fotodiox RhinoCam

The Fotodiox RhinoCam is a very interesting adapter than allows a mirrorless camera (in this case a Sony NEX) to move on a vertical plane so that a small image sensor camera can take many photos stitched together to equal that of a medium format camera.  A stitched together photo would thus have the resolution of a 145MP camera when using a NEX 7.  Very Impressive!

Except that it has one major flaw.  To do this, between 8 and 12 shots are needed to create one image.  Each time you have to reposition the camera, which means enough shots for one image could take 3-4 minutes.  Therefore you'd better have a very static scene.  Almost any outdoor scene would thus be close to impossible to shoot.

Once you've done your shot, then you have to stitch it all together, which flow a work flow view point, will take a lot of time for one image.  Also, you'd have to make sure you get it right on camera as every adjustment you do to one shot, you need to do precisely the same to all others.  Tedious.

The other issue is the lenses.  Medium format lenses are designed for medium format film size and sensors, so often don't respond that well on high density sensors.  So it will be interesting to see some initial photos using the RhinoCam.  The expectation of a super detailed 145MP shot may not be there.

Nikon D2X with Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro

The Art of Out of Focus Flowers #3

More out of focus flowers, this time purple dahlias that were growing in our garden.

Nikon D600 Macro

After a bit of a crappy week, I was very pleased when this rosebud we picked from the garden decided to open up inside the house.

This gave me a great opportunity to try the D600 out with a macro lens, this time with Tamron 90mm f2.8 AF.  Macro lenses are renowned for their sharpness, and are probably one of the few types of lenses that can out resolve the 24 megapixel sensor on the D600.

What I found was that indeed I could do extremely deep crops and have the photo still retain some sharpness.  Here is a very extreme example.  As you can see, definition is still retained.