Shelton, Connecticut
Recently I've been experimenting with a borrowed Pentax K5 camera body to see if there is sufficient improvement to warrant upgrading from the K10/20 bodies I've been using for about four years. (Most of the pictures posted here since last July though were made with a Panasonic GF1.) In this shot, aside from just looking at the neat old factory complex that has been re-purposed as storage units and other businesses, I was also trying to strain the ability of the camera's sensor to record a scene with very high subject brightness range. It's done really well here, holding strong detail from top to bottom. It has also done a remarkable job of holding the weird color of the shadow areas. That color resulted from very high color temperature light from a mid-day cloudless blue sky bouncing back and forth on red paint and brick walls either side of the alleyway.
5 comments:
Since you mention the GF1, I'm reminded of some of your previous comments about the GF1 which have led me to become less interested in it as a lighter/smaller system ( doesn't hurt that Panasonic seems to have discontinued it in favor of a simpler concept). And I wonder why you didn't go for the G1/2 which reportedly has a way better viewfinder. I understand that the G1/2 may not meet your needs for reasons other than the viewfinder. Of course it always helps if you have a clear idea of what you want to do with the camera.
Dennis, I went with the GF1 (and am disappointed by the GF2 specs, not going there) largely for the form-factor and the (reputed and true) fantastic AF. The poor quality of the EVF viewing experience is true but, still a lot better than the view anyone had through the finders on screw mount Leica cameras, and those dudes managed to make some pretty good snaps.
Carl--would also be interested in your take on the K-5.
This "latitude" (loosely speaking) aspect is impressive, isn't it?
The longer proportion of the (3:2) image is quite noticeable here, to me, compared with your other recent (4:3) shots. I guess this impression is helped by the tall thin shape of the building. I leave my own compact camera on its native 16:9, which is even more characteristic and directional. That does make it harder to interplay a "tall" orientation for a "wide" subject, or vice versa. The spaces around a central shape or between framing shapes (considered in flat terms), work in a slightly more - restless - way, I find.
Another feature of the K-5 over the earlier models (I have one now, formerly K10d) is one that was discussed here some time ago - framing. There is no longer that awkward question of allowing for the viewfinder edges exceeding the image edges, since with this new model, the viewfinder now corresponds very well. WYSIWYG!
Edd, my impression is favorable but I need to do more shooting. For now I'll say that from the K10 to the K20 represented a set of minor tweaks that, together, were worthwhile. Having skipped the K7, from K20 to K5 is a whole new thing. The changes are major and the list is long.
Richard, since the GF1 is micro 4/3s, that's its native aspect ratio. You can set 2:3, 1:1, and 16:9, but these are just crops out of the M4/3s sensor. I'm really fond of the 7x17-inch format and have done a lot of work that way, so the 16:9 doesn't do much for me, neither fish nor fowl. I do find that the classic 35mm 3:2 proportion tends to be more dynamic than 4:3 or 4:5, though whether that's a good thing or not depends on the picture you want to make.
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