if you're lazy to read but like pictures, please check out my New York Select Gallery here
Zenfolio | Simon Tam | Best Selection
would love to get any feedback
especially negative feedback
Introduction
A while back in the summer I wrote the thread Travelling with Limiteds. This is part 2, more pictures and hopefully better. it encompasses a bunch of topics, film, digital slr, p&s.
this was my first and maybe last trip where i could photograph to my heart's content. i was on my own for 4 days. went down to B&H grabbed a crapload of film: 20 Press 800, 5 x Provia 100, 400UC, 400H, Tri-X. really wanted to try out what film was all about.
A Film Body?
first of all impressions of shooting with a ZX-5n. fantastic. it's a great camera, with classic style ergonomics and big viewfinder with modern technology of AF and Matrix Metering. the AF is better than my K100D, hunts less and is faster, no MF for me. the Matrix Metering seems alright (hard to tell with processed film), although for dark scenes, it will tend to significant underexposure. the shutter is so much quieter and smoother than the K100D, i believe that and the lighter weight of the body allowed me to handhold at 1/20 or even slower with the FA31 and sometimes even the FA43.
i very much enjoyed the film experience. everytime i would take a picture, i'd stare at the camera back and realized there was nothing there. it is very relieving not to have to chimp any more. with digital, i'd take a bazillion photos and scrutinize them on the tiny screen at maximum magnification. with my film photos, i've lost the urge to pixel peep. although one negative is that i have no idea what the EXIF is like and i'm too lazy to take notes.
400UC FA31 - the bokeh is fantastic
Fuji 400H (low saturation) Kodak 400UC (ultra colour) and Press 800 (i.e. better kept Superia 800)
between 400H and 400UC, the 400UC is supposed to be more saturated and i used that at the MET, however the difference wasn't as significant as i thought it would be. however, i prefer the slightly more muted colours of the 400H, but it was still able to present punchy colours when needed. Press 800 (i.e. refrigerated same batch Superia X-tra) is incredibly versatile. i got it developed at Downtown Camera in Toronto, $5.50 develop, $5 6MP jpeg scan, film came out uncut. no problems at all. these three films after scanning look remarkably good, the grain is very good (except for photos where the processing compensated for my underexposure). i in fact much prefer the film grain to electronic noise. for some reason too i have way more keepers with film than digital, maybe because i try to be more steady handholding and make sure that i get in a quality shot.
400H followed by 400UC FA31
Press 800
The Film Look
as well, if you like the look of film, then there's not as much PP to do. take the example of this famous wedding photographer
Riccis Valladares | Fine Art Wedding Photography | Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Miami.
Quote: My workflow is actually a breeze and, this was one of the reasons I went back to film, because of the simplified workflow. See, I was spending way too much time trying to make my digital work look like film and decided to use film to begin with.
Who still shoot films professionally - Seite 2 - Leica User Forum
400UC FA31
can digital do this? 400UC FA31
Back to the Lenses
So i brought all my lenses, 3 x FA L and DA 55-300. I carried the DA for few days and was didn't use it once. i will never bring it on vacation again. with the K100D, i didn't really appreciate wide angle lenses, however with the FA31 on film, it makes much more sense. however the star of the show is the FA43 + Film Body combination, the combination is light and responsive and i handheld the camera without a strap, superb for street photography. as well on film, usual issues like CA, PF and vignetting are not as big of a problem.
400H FA43 2x
Press 800 FA43
but as the star, it had to take a back seat, and i didn't use it as much as i would have liked. it was not wide enough in many cases and when there isn't enough light (especially using ISO 400 film indoors no flash) then having a shorter focal length allows for handholding a slower speed. the speed of the lenses is extremely useful for film, without f2, i would have been screwed numerous times. and the lenses never really let me down. however, in the end there are no favourites, use the lens that's most appropriate for the situation. all three lenses are good enough that there's very little compromise in choosing one over the other.
this choice of lens usage was weird in comparsion to my last vacation where i'd use the FA43 and FA77 on crop factor a lot more than the DA21 i had along. but it is great to use these lenses for their intended purpose, it's as close to using M lenses on a RF as i'll get.
400UC FA31
400H FA31
Heavy Bags
my tenba messenger bag is big and has lots of room for other stuff but its too heavy. i had 3 FA Limiteds, K100D, ZX-5n with an IXUS 75 in my jacket pocket and by the end of the day i was hurting. maybe i'm a wuss, but i'd prefer my next vacation not to be like this. i'm eagerly waiting the Oly m4/3 camera. Recently the TOP Blog has had quite a few articles about heavy bags.
The Online Photographer: Beast of Burden Beware. If your camera bag starts to detract from the fun, then something isn't right. i noticed that i had to correct all my photos because they were not level.
Tried an RF
i also had the chance to try a Bessa R3A and couldn't really get used to the RF patch system. no more RF craving for me.
Always bring a P&S
bringing a P&S is handy for those tight squeeze kinda photos or random socials
IXUS 75
DSLR is still good
i think DSLR does have a huge advantage at night time stuff, and here chimping ensures that i get exactly what i want
K100D FA31
and of course digital is great for events too where machine gunning is the way to go
K100D FA31
Last edited by k100d; 12-02-2008 at 08:28 PM.