North Island Holiday - Part Two

In my last post I introduced some images from a holiday my wife and I took recently to the North Island. Our destination for the first three days of our trip was Matarawa, just north of Greytown, in the Wairarapa. We had been invited to stay by my wife's Uncle Bill in the family homestead, where Uncle Bill (88yrs young) lives on land that has been in the family for generations. It's an idyllic, peaceful spot and a great place to unwind and relax.

Matarawa Sunrise. Panasonic Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. F/8 @ 1/100th, ISO 800

The first morning of what felt like the 'real' start to our holiday started bright and early with a magnificent sunrise. My wife woke me around 6.00am and suggested we might like to get outside with our cameras - right now! It was a beautiful sunrise, and an amazing way to start the photography aspect of the holiday. 

What I love about using the Panasonic S5 is its incredible ibis (in-body-image-stabilisation) and its fantastic low-light capabilities. With the full frame 24MP sensor I will happily crank the ISO up to 6400 if I have to without incurring any noise issues. Hand-holding shots at sunrise gives perfectly sharp results. I'm also amazed at the IQ I get from the 20-60mm 'kit' lens. Some say that it isn't the sharpest lens around, and while this may be true, my copy is plenty sharp for me!

Matarawa Morning. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/400th, ISO 800

This is my favorite shot of that first morning. The light is just gorgeous! It was a beautiful location, with beautiful light, so we were spoilt for choice. Great images presented themselves wherever we looked. It really was a perfect way to start the holiday, and I was a bit worried that we had peaked before we'd even begun! (Spoiler alert, we hadn't).

Before going away my wife and I created an itinerary, so we could make the most of our time away and get to the places that interested us the most. With only two weeks away, and at a different place almost every day, we needed to be a bit targeted so we weren't spending time sitting around making decisions.

With this in mind, for our first day with Uncle Bill he had suggested taking us to Castle Point to see the lighthouse there. I'm a sucker for a good lighthouse, so was very keen. And even better, Uncle Bill insisted that he chauffer us so we could just sit back and relax. Sounded good to me.

Castle Point Lighthouse. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/1250th, ISO 400

To say that we had a perfect day at Castle Point would be an understatement. The weather was simply amazing - the clouds were incredible - and the lighthouse was stunning. It's a short (but somewhat steep) walk up to the lighthouse, and there are several caution signs along the way that warn of dangerous high winds. As exposed as the lighthouse is, I can imagine it could get pretty fierce up there. We, however, had nothing but the very gentlest of breezes. Amazing.

I loved pretty much all the photos I took at Castle Point, but the above photo captures the place perfectly. Standing at 52 meters above sea level, it is the North Island's tallest lighthouse, and one of only two in New Zealand that is still lit by the original rotating fresnel lens. It's a truly impressive sight, and is super easy to get to, and to photograph.

The Shop - Castlepoint Store. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/1600th, ISO 400

After spending an amazing couple of hours exploring and photographing the lighthouse, we drove back into Castlepoint village to have lunch. I noticed this sign on the side of the Castlepoint dairy and couldn't resist taking a photo. It's such a typical image of 'kiwiana' it could have been taken 50 years ago in the 1970s.

I love taking 'retro' images of old stuff (cars, buildings etc), and this would become a reoccurring theme throughout our holiday. We had our itinerary sorted out, but had given ourselves plenty of time for random stops along the way for photographic opportunities. Something I was very keen to make the most of.

Old barn, Tinui. Panasonic Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/200th, ISO 200.

On the way back to Matarawa, we passed through the little town of Tinui. The name comes from the Maori words 'ti' (cabbage tree) and 'nui' (many). It also claims (apparently falsely) to be the first locality to have had an ANZAC ceremony.

What it did have, was this very old barn that I simply had to take a photo of. As I said, this is my kind of photo. I love the rustic feel of these photos - the colours, the history, the sense of time, and also something of the sadness of these buildings that speak of a bygone era. I also just think they look cool...

Over the last couple of years (maybe even longer) I've been struggling with my photography - or more precisely my photography motivation. I haven't really been that bothered to get out and make images, and I felt that maybe a large part of this was familiarity breeding contempt?

After only one day on holiday in the Wairarapa, I had been pulled out of this 'funk' and felt completely re-energised photographically. In the space of about 10 hours I'd taken maybe some of the best photos I think I've ever taken. Matarawa Morning in particular is right up there with my favorite photos of all time! And some of the Castlepoint Lighthouse aren't too far behind!

Yes, I was 'lucky' with the light and the weather conditions, but it was also about being out with the camera, exploring new locations, and getting inspired by these fresh subjects. And this was just day one in the North Island...

Kodak Tri-X recipe for the Fuji X100

All good things come to those who wait (or so they reckon?). Having changed my mind last post and programmed an Ultramax 400 recipe instead of Tri-X, I thought tonight I would rectify the situation. So I did.

Cobden Lagoon. X100. f5.6 @ 1/1000th, ISO 400. Tri-X recipe with grain added in Color Efex Pro 4

For my Kodak Tri-X recipe I was going for contrasty and gritty. Well I certainly achieved that, and then some.... I actually think that the blacks have blocked in too much, so I may actually drop them back just a tad. Otherwise yeah - mission accomplished.

Cabbage Trees. X100 Tri-X recipe

Kodak Tri-X recipe

Film Base: Mono + R

ISO: 400

Dynamic Range: 200

White Balance: Auto

Highlight: Med Hard

Shadows: Hard (Med Hard?)

Sharpness: Med Hard

Noise Reduction: Low

The final results were what I was after from the recipe (but I'll change to Med Hard Shadows if I shoot with it again). I don't hate the results, but I also don't 'love' them, and will continue to use my Acros simulation for my black and white jpegs going forward.

What I am liking is adding the grain in Color Efex Pro 4. I have a couple of custom profiles set up so it's super simple to import a jpeg, add medium or hard grain to an image, and export it out.

Previously I also mentioned that I haven't forgotten my Lumix S5, and that I will also be taking this with me when I go on holiday. I watched a video on Youtube recently that compared all the recent major camera manufacturers standard mono outputs, one of which was Lumix (of course). Out of all the camera manufacturers, Lumix have the most mono profiles (4 in all), and the standard 'mono' setting produces beautiful black and white images without any 'tweaking'. It was very comparable to Leica's mono setting - not surprisingly - since Panasonic and Leica work together on camera technology. In fact, the other 4 mono settings on the Lumix all reference Leica profiles.

Flax. Fujifilm X100. f5.6 @ 1/640th, ISO 200. Tri-X recipe + grain

The recipe certainly creates moody black and white images, if that's what you are going for. It reminds me quite a bit of the 'grainy b&w' art filter on the Olympus cameras. Although the Olympus look was even more contrasty and grainy. It was my favorite art filter on the Olympus Pen EP-3 when I used that camera - but I did not use to the art filters very often.

With a lot of light on your subject, the Tri-X recipe gives a reasonably nice tonality - as can be seen above in the Flax image. I recall liking the Tri-X recipe I had on my Fujifilm X-E2 a little more than this one, so as discussed a little more 'fiddling' might be needed if I was going to persevere with this on my X100.

Gated Community. X100. f5.6 @ 1/640th, ISO 200. Tri-X recipe + grain added

In the end though, I don't think I'll bother. As mentioned in a previous post, the X100 only has 3 custom slots for film recipe's, and my C2 is already taken up with Acros. So for the C3 slot, I think that I will play around with some more colour recipes. And I still do really like the look of my Agfa Optima recipe here. Two very different colour recipe's, and one mono, should give me enough options when out shooting. 

And finally, the image above - Gated Community - was my last, and favorite, of the evenings shoot. I've been watching a lot of James Popsys on Youtube recently and I think his shooting style is beginning to rub off on me. I wasn't a big fan of his images initially, but the more I've watched him, the more I've started to relate to his vision. I'd like to think that James would approve of the photo, although he would want it in colour. I may do a colour version as well. We'll see.

First landscapes with the Sony a57

Having gone out the previous night with my 'new' (new for me, but second-hand) Sony a57 to photograph some birds (see last post), I thought it only fair that I go out again the next night, to put it through its landscape paces. It is, after all, mainly what I use my camera gear for.

I thought I would go back to Rapahoe Beach, to the spot where I had last tested out the a99 (see the images here). I love the images I get out of the Sony a99 - just gorgeous. So I thought "what the heck", why not put the a57 up against some serious competition and see how it fares!?

Rapahoe Pier structure. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 1/3 sec, ISO 100

What do you reckon? Didn't do too badly now, did it? In fact, lets get right down to it - it did fantastically! 

Now I'm not going to lie to you (honest). Obviously the images from the full-frame 24MP a99, shot at ISO 50 with the Minolta 17-35mm G lens are cleaner, clearer and sharper. They just are. In fact they are some of the most impressive files out of a camera that I think I've ever seen.

But honestly, who wouldn't be happy with the above image, taken with a 16MP APS-C camera and lens combination that all-up cost me $395.00 NZ! These are great results at ISO 100. The camera can achieve an 11-stop dynamic range (the a99 has almost 13 stops - 12.8 to be exact), which is plenty to be able to retain detail in both the shadows and the highlights of a well-exposed image - even in tricky landscape lighting scenarios.

Beachwood, Rapahoe. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 1/13th, ISO 100

Case-in-point is the image above. There is obviously very strong side lighting on the right from the setting sun, but I wanted to retain detail in the highlights, so I exposed for the sky and let the shadows darken. As you can see, they were recoverable in post, and the camera sensor has handled the extreme dynamic range in the scene very well. Again, perhaps it's not as 'clean' as a file from the a99 might have been - but 'again', it's a fifth of the price of the a99 (and that's not counting the Minolta lens).

Meandering. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 1 sec, ISO 100 

I'm doing something with the a57 that I've never really done with any other camera before. Shooting in full manual. Perhaps that's a shocking thing for someone who has been a photographer for over 35 years to say, but it's also true. For practically all of my photography career, since owning my very first film camera (the Canon T70), I've shot - whenever possible - in Aperture priority mode. It's ingrained in me. It's just the way I think photographically. I've trained myself to think in apertures, and that's how I approach every scene. My first consideration - what aperture do I want. Dial that in, and let the camera do the rest.

I've tried to adapt to full manual a few times - when I used digital cameras with optical viewfinders. But I always found it a complete faff, and eventually ended up where I wanted to be if I had been shooting in aperture priority anyway (for the most part).

But with mirrorless, and an evf (electronic viewfinder), I've found that shooting manual is actually now a fast and viable option. Shooting in full manual on the a57 is a breeze. And still centers around dialing in the aperture first.

Ripples in motion. Sony a57 with SAL 18250. f/11 @ 1/6th sec, ISO 100

Setting the aperture manually on the a57 is a two-step process unfortunately, since it has no rear control dial. So you press the AEL button and spin the front control wheel to choose your aperture. Once set, you then also use the front control wheel to choose your shutter speed, and next to that is the ISO button. So the exposure triangle is 'somewhat' at your fingertips.

So why does this make it any better for full manual control? Actually it doesn't. What makes it 'better' is seeing the exposure changes in the evf! With the aperture locked in, and the ISO chosen, all that remains is to toggle the front wheel that controls the shutter speed, and the scene lightens or darkens accordingly! When it was a purely optical viewfinder, you would have to change your exposure value a bit, take another shot, and 'chimp' to see how close you got. If not, then rinse and repeat until you did. By then, the light had probably changed, and you would have to repeat the process all over again! Aarrgghhh.

But with the evf, all of that 'guess' work goes away. You actually get to see what's happening. And for me, this has been somewhat revelational! Yeah, I know, I'm a bit slow on the uptake...

Rapahoe Beach at Sunset. Sony a57 with SAL18250. f/11 @ 5 secs, ISO 100

Long story short, I actually enjoyed shooting in full manual. For the first time ever! Probably helped by the fact that I was working on a tripod (as I am mostly with landscapes) and the apeture never left f/11 nor did the ISO leave 100. So all I had to worry about was the shutter speeds. Which also wasn't a concern, since I was on a tripod. So yeah, we'll see how long full manual control lasts....

Were there things I didn't like with the a57? Of course...

For a start, I find the focus area to be too small. I want more focus points further out towards the edges. But to be fair, this is also a complaint I have with the Sony a99 too - so it's not just an issue with the a57.

Also, the flip down screen is just plain annoying. I'd much prefer if it just slid down like the one on my Olympus OM-D E-M1 did. Or better still, give me the full articulation of the Sony a99. That thing is the bomb! The screen on the a57, hinged as it is at the bottom, gets stopped by my tripod mount, so doesn't really flip out on an angle to aid when viewing on the tripod. I've figured a work-around, where I now mount the camera on the tripod 'back to front' so the locking mechanism is now operated from the front of the camera. But I'm not crazy about this.

Another rear control wheel would be great, so changing the aperture wasn't a two-step process. Not a deal-breaker, but a nice-to-have.

And lastly... yeah, ok - I wish it had the 24MP sensor of the a99 and went down to ISO 50 (or even 64), for a cleaner image. That would be nice. But not, like, essential...

So really, what I'm saying, is that I wish it was an a99?! Maybe, I guess. I've been a bit spoiled by having one at the same time as I got the a57. And let's face it, any APS-C camera would pale in comparison to the full-frame, full-metal, full-control awesomeness that is the a99.

And yet it can still take some fantastic images. As seen above. I did have a fantastic time out with my new a57. And I thoroughly expect to have many more.

Jpeg-only week one with Velvia Film simulation

It's my first week of shooting in Jpeg-only with custom film simulations on my Fujifilm X-E2, and I've already completely rearranged my recipes!

Cobden Lagoon, early evening. X-E2 with 16-50mm XC. f/8 @ 1/20th, ISO 3200. Velvia recipe

In my last post I explained how I've set up the seven custom slots to allow for white balance adjustments for each film recipe. This relies on heavy use of similar film stocks that use the same WB channel adjustments. Mostly, this meant using Kodak film recipes. But when I took a series of test images (again, see last post), I came away feeling that there wasn't enough variance in the final results. All the images looked a bit too similar. 

So, I decided to start from scratch, and have now programmed in a whole new set of recipes that are hopefully going to give me a bit more variance between 'looks'. I've kept the first two film simulations from my previous set (Kodak Ektachrome 100SW and Fuji Acros), and have added Agfa Optima 200, Agfa Scala, Fuji Velvia, Ilford HP5 and Kodak Gold 200. I feel a lot better about this set of recipes - it feels a bit more 'democratic'. Two Kodak, two Fuji, two Agfa and one Ilford. Sounds pretty good to me.

Cabbage tree and tussock. f/8 @ 1/30th, ISO 3200

I've been itching to get out and start shooting (always a good sign), and got my wish this week after work. We've been having some lovely sunsets here recently (it's mid winter), and driving home from work I could see that the sky was starting to colour up nicely.

However, the sun also sets pretty quickly this time of year, so you need to be at the right place at the right time or you'll miss the light. 

There is a lagoon walk not far from where we live, so my wife and I headed off from home towards the lagoon, hoping that the light would last - and colour up enough to get some decent images. 

I took my Fujifilm X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm XC lens, the 50-230mm XC and a spare battery. I don't carry a tripod when we go out walking in the evening. My wife is happy for me to wander around with the camera, but if I started setting the tripod up every 5 minutes I think that her good nature would be sorely tested. So I grab anything I can hand-held, and don't mind cranking the ISO up if I have to.

In fact, all of my film recipes use 'Auto' ISO - with the colour stocks topping out at 3200, while the B&W simulations get cranked up to 6400 if necessary. If it's a toss-up between camera shake at low ISO's, or getting the shot with some 'noise' (grain) at high ISO's, I'll get the shot with noise every time.

Most of the photos I took while on the walk were captured at ISO 3200. And while there certainly is some 'noise' if you zoom into the image, I certainly don't find it objectionable. I understand that noise is a subjective thing. Some want as clean an image as possible at ISO 250,000 - whereas others (like me) don't mind a bit of noise in an image.

Cobden Lagoon blush. X-E2 with 16-50mm XC. f/8 @ 1/20th, ISO 3200. Velvia recipe

If I was blowing the images up super-large for printing then it might be a different case. In that scenario I would use a tripod and lower my ISO as much as possible. But these are just 'test' images to start to get a feel for the particular film recipes, so they were only going to be for the web or social media anyway.

With the sky starting to 'pink-up', I knew I wanted to shoot with a recipe that gave me the richest possible colour. So I set my custom slot to C5 - Fuji Velvia. Colours don't get more punchy than on Fuji's Velvia slide film, and as can be seen from the images accompanying this post, it was certainly the right choice!

Purple Haze. f/8 @ 1/60th, ISO 1600. Fuji Velvia film simulation

 

Initially I thought that I had lost the light and had left it too late. But when I held the camera up to my eye, the evf exploded with colour! The above image certainly didn't look like this to my naked eye. But with the Velvia recipe, the light was intense, and incredible. I snapped some images, showed my wife the back of the screen, and she couldn't believe the colour I was getting.

Full disclosure - all of the recipes I'm using are taken off of the internet - and more specifically, from Richie Roech's excellent Fuji X Weekly blog. I have, however, had to modify them slightly, since most of his custom film recipes are designed for the X-Trans III sensor (and the X-E2 uses the earlier X-Trans II sensor).

Cobden Lagoon Sunset colours. f/8 @ 1/60th, ISO 1600

Now, the keen observers among you (of which I'm sure there are many) will no doubt be saying - "Hang on a minute. Don't Fujifilm cameras come with a pre-exisitng Velvia film stock already programmed in"? What do you need a 'Velvia' custom recipe for"? Excellent question, and point well taken.

All Fujifilm digital cameras do indeed come with the Velvia film stock included (as well as Astia, Provia, Monochrome etc). And while the Velvia film recipe I'm using starts with the Velvia stock as a base (obviously), it 'tweaks' it to produce even more Velvia film-like goodness!

My Fuji Velvia recipe for the X-Trans II sensor looks like this:

Fuji Velvia

Film base: Velvia

DR:200

Colour: +2

Sharpness: +1

Highlight Tone: -1

Shadow Tone: 0

Noise Reduction: -2

White Balance: 'Auto' (+1R, -1B)

ISO: Auto up to 3200

Cobden Lagoon Sunset. Fuji X-E2 with 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/60th, ISO 1600. Velvia recipe

Am I pleased with the results? You betcha! The vibrancy it produced from the small amount of colour that could be seen by the naked eye is incredible. And yet, the first few images I took on the walk (seen above) are 'fairly' realistic to what I saw at the time. So yes, it's punchy and colourful - but not so over-the-top so as to look fake and unuseable. Not great for portraits, but amazing for landscapes - exactly like the actual Velvia film stock. 

Of course I will need to try it out at other locations, under other lighting conditions. But if this night at the lagoon was anything to go by, I think I may have found my go-to landscape film recipe!?

Punakaiki Blowholes with the Canon 40D

My run of good weather on the weekends is continuing, despite a very wet week and a very stormy Friday. I had resigned myself to a wet weekend spent indoors (catching up on some film scanning), however a quick look at the forecast on the interwebs late on Friday night suggested otherwise. Saturday looked promising, with some clouds around - always an exciting prospect for a landscape photographer after a passing storm front.

I decided to try my luck and head out Saturday morning - but where? A quick check of the sunrise and high tide times (sunrise was at 7.20am and high tide was 8.20am) and my decision was made for me - the blowholes at Punakaiki.

I've photographed on the West Coast for a very long time (about 20 years), but I have never managed to be at Punakaiki at the right time of day (high tide) to capture the blowholes in action. With a bit of planning, and a lot of luck, I was determined that this was about to change...

Punakaiki Blowholes at Sunrise. Canon 40D with Canon 10-22mm f3.5/4.5. 1/160th @f5.6, ISO 800. 0.9 Cokin Grad

I arrived at Punakaiki at 7.00am - 20 minutes before sunrise. The 10 minute walk to the blowholes meant that I was setting up my tripod 10 minutes before sunrise and a full hour before high tide. After such a stormy week with torrential rain, I was hoping for an aggressive incoming tide to create lots of action at the blowholes. I wasn't dissapointed.

Smoke on the Water. Canon 40D with Canon 10-22mm f3.5/4.5. 1/125th @f8, ISO 800. 0.9 Soft Grad

Having used the Olympus OM-D E-M1 for my last few outings, I decided this time to give the Canon 40D DLSR some love. I also thought that the 10-22mm ultra-wide lens would give me a better view of the blowholes than the Olympus 12-50mm. The Canon at 10mm gives a traditional field of view of around 16mm, which is very wide. Whereas the Olympus at 12mm achieves a traditional 24mm angle of view. So the Canon will get me wider - right?

Unfortunately, no. I also decided to shoot with the Cokin 0.9 Soft Graduated ND filter on the lens, to even out the exposure and tone down the sky - which it did brilliantly. But it also meant that I couldn't zoom the lens all the way out to 10mm because I was getting some of the filter holder visible at the edges of the frame. Doh! Best I could do was to start the lens at around 15mm which, when you add the x1.6 crop factor of the 40D, becomes a... 24mm field of view. Exactly what I would have achieved with the Olympus at 12mm (which doesn't show the filter holder on the edges of the frame). Oh well, never mind...

Punakaiki Blowholes. Canon 40D with Canon 10-22mm f3.5/4.5. 1/400th @f8, ISO 800. 10mm focal length

I did, however, get a chance to shoot at the lenses full 10mm ultra-wide range a little later in the morning. To begin with I shot on a tripod, at the same location, for about an hour and a half to capture full tide. Once I knew I had the shot(s) I wanted, I then removed the camera from the tripod, took the filter off the lens, and moved around to a viewing platform so I could shoot down and into the blowholes. At 10mm this has exaggerated the perspective, creating a dramatic image. Since it was later in the morning, with a bit more light, hand-holding the wide angle wasn't an issue. Shooting at ISO 800 gave me a fast enough shutter speed, and the extra weight and bulk of the 40D provided a stable base to shoot from.

Chimney Pot, Punakaiki. Canon 40D with Canon 10-22mm. 1/800th @f5.6, ISO 800. 14mm focal length

I had a fantastic morning at Punakaiki and am thrilled that I have finally - after 20 years - managed to capture the blowholes in all their glory. I also enjoyed using the 40D and Canon 10-22mm, even though I couldn't use the ultra-wide end of its range most of the time. Then again, I'm not really an ultra-wide kinda guy. I've always thought that 24mm is plenty wide enough for most circumstances, with an ultra-wide lens presenting more problems than it solves. It can be dramatic (as in the shot of the blowholes mentioned above), but it also means a bit more work in Lightroom to eliminate the distortion and vignetting inherent in these types of ultra-wides.

Eventually I would like to get a wider lens for the OM-D E-M1 - probably the Zuiko 9-18mm f4/5.6ED, which equates to an 18-36mm focal length in traditional film terms. I know that many 'serious' landscape photographers opt for the Zuiko 7-14mm f2.8 PRO, but at twice the price, and with an extra 2mm at the wide end that I probably wouldn't use, I think I would be better served with the Zuiko 9-18mm. It also happens to share the same 52mm filter thread as my other lenses, which simplifies things in terms of filter holders etc. In the meantime, if I want ultra-wide, then I guess I'll be reaching for the Canon 10-22mm and 40D. 

First landscape shoot with the OM-D E-M1

I have had the Olympus OM-D E-M1 for about a month and hadn’t really used it out in the field yet. I planned to rectify that this past weekend, and fortunately it seemed that we were going to get some clear weather here on the West Coast – even though the rest of the country was experiencing some of the worst (wettest) weather on record!

Despite this predication, the day dawned cloudy and grey. I hadn’t planned on getting up before sunrise anyway, but when I looked out on grey skies I almost flagged the whole idea. Fortunately I decided to go out anyway, although I also decided to not travel very far (only 5 minutes down the road) since it didn’t look very promising.

My local beach (Cobden) has a track that leads up to a lookout over the coast (an area known as Point Elizabeth). You can stop at the lookout and take in a great view of the coastline, or you can continue through to Rapahoe beach on the other side of the Point. It had been a long time since I had visited the lookout on the Cobden beach side, so that’s where I decided to shoot. I figured that even if the images weren’t any good, the walk would be worth it.

Lowepro Sling 100AW

My ‘landscape’ kit has evolved since getting the E-M1. It now consists of the E-M1 body with grip attached (I could get away with not using the grip, but prefer the ergonomics it brings to the camera, as well as the extra battery life), Olympus Zuiko 12-50mm f3.5/6.3 EZ, and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f4/5.6. This is a super light-weight kit, and fits easily into a Lowepro Sling 100AW camera bag (with room to spare). I also carried a Manfrotto tripod with the Vanguard SBH100 ball head. The Vanguard SBH100 is a new edition that I purchased recently (second-hand), simply because I wanted to pass on my previous ball-head (Benro BH-1) to my son Joshua. The Vanguard isn’t necessarily a better ball head, although its recommended capacity (20kgs) is slightly more than the Benro (16kgs). Both, however, are more than I will need for my mirrorless or DLSR set up.

The Zuiko 12-50mm f3.5/5.6 EZ is my main landscape lens (at the moment), given that it starts at a very respectably wide 24mm (my favourite wide angle focal length). Landscapes require a larger depth of field, with smaller apertures (of around f8 to f16), so the relatively ‘slow’ variable aperture of the 12-50mm isn’t a big deal for landscapes. Actually, it’s a bonus, since a micro-four-thirds sensor exhibits a greater depth of field natively. The depth of field achievable at f5.6 with the E-M1 is the same as f11 on a full frame sensor using the same focal length (i.e 24mm). So you can get greater depth of field without having to stop down as much as you would on a full frame system.

Panasonic Limix 45-200mm f4/5.6

Even though when I think of landscape images I automatically think ‘wide’, there is still a place for a telephoto lens in any landscape photographer’s bag. Not long after getting the OM-D E-M1, I also purchased a Panasonic Lumix 45-200mm f4/5.6. This is another ‘slow’ variable aperture lens, which again, doesn’t bother me for landscape photography. It also doesn’t bother me for sports and action, as long as there is a decent amount of light. I don’t imagine it will be a great indoor sports lens, but outside during the day it should cope just fine. Especially if my previous experience using the Olympus 40-150mm f4/5.6 kit lens is anything to go by. That lens is super sharp and worked perfectly when I used it to shoot motor-cycle street racing (see the post here). The Panasonic 45-200mm f4/5.6 isn’t said to be quite as sharp as the Olympus, but it does give the extra reach, which may come in handy for sports.

Given what I’ve already said about only thinking ‘wide’ when I shoot landscapes, means I often don’t even take a telephoto with me on a landscape shoot. But since micro four thirds gear is so small and light, it’s no big deal to carry one with you, even if you don’t end up using it (the same can’t really be said for DSLR gear). I’m so glad that on this occasion I did, because I ended up using it more than the 12-50mm – much to my surprise.

Cobden from Point Elizabeth track. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G 45-200mm. 1/50th @f5.6, ISO 100 - 200mm

The initial track starts with a very steep gradient up the side of the cliff before you get into the bushwalk itself. The top of this incline offers stunning views looking back to the suburb of Cobden and the distant mountains (one of which in New Zealand’s famous Mt. Cook, Aoraki). I had almost decided not to go and photograph because of the weather, but when I reached the top of the incline and looked back towards Cobden I was greeted with a fantastic view with some decent light. I shot a few wide images with the Zuiko 12-50mm, but it was only when I decided to attach the Panasonic 45-200mm and zoom out all the way to 200mm that I got the image that I wanted. The telephoto lens has compressed the perspective within the scene, making it seem like the mountains, township and coastline are a lot closer to each other than they actually are. They now appear almost ’stacked’ on top of each other, whereas in reality they are obviously separated by a great distance.

Relieved to have captured at least one image I was happy with already, I continued on to the lookout. The sky continued to remain overcast, even though it was trying to clear in the east. The track itself didn’t offer up any photo opportunities, although a dedicated macro photographer would have probably had a wonderful time exploring the numerous flora. My destination, however, was the wide open vista of the Point itself.

Coast from Pt. Elizabeth lookout. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G Vario 45-200mm. 1/320sec @f6.3, ISO 100 - 45mm

At the lookout I switched back to the Zuiko 12-50mm to capture the wide shot that I had come to take. Yet once again, it wasn’t really working for me. The light wasn’t right for capturing the whole vista. I zoomed the lens to 50mm and in doing so simplified the scene for a more pleasing composition, but I still felt that I could simplify even further. So once again, out came the Panasonic 45-200mm for landscape duty.

Rapahoe from P. Elizabeth. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G Vario 45-200mm. 1/2000th @ f6.3, ISO 200 - 55mm

Once I isolated the subject and concentrated on the interesting light that was developing in the east, I had a much stronger image. All I had to worry about then was the strong contrast and tricky dynamic range of the early morning light. Presently I don’t have any ND filters for the E-M1, so I decided to bracket my exposures instead. The E-M1 has its own HDR mode, but I decided to do this myself later on in Lightroom. So I took advantage of the bracketing feature built into the camera and shot a series of 5 bracketed images in 1 stop increments (-2, -1, normal, +1, +2). This gave me detail in the shadows and the highlights, and a decent starting point for processing the final HDR image back in Lightroom.

Rapahoe from Pt. Elizabeth B&W. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G Vario 45-200mm.  Shot 1:1 format

At the beginning of the day, it didn’t look like it was going to amount to much. In fact, I almost didn’t bother going out to take photos. But I was desperate to start using the E-M1, so I went anyway. And I’m very glad that I did. I got some OK images that I am reasonably happy with. I also got some much needed exercise. But finally, and perhaps most importantly, I began to discover the importance of using a telephoto lens for landscape photography. That’s valuable experience that I can take with me to improve my photography in the future. Worth getting out for I reckon!?

Sunset on an OM-D EM-5 MkII

In my last post I pondered the oft quoted 'best camera is the one you have with you' line of reasoning in relation to using my Samsung Galaxy S3 to take sunset photos. My argument (and I'm sticking to it), is that unfortunately the 'best' camera is often the one you don't have with you, and you have to settle for second (or third) best.

Blaketown Tiphead Sunset. Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII with Zuiko 12-50mm EZ. F6.3 @ 1/320th. ISO 400

Why do we spend large amounts of money on camera bodies and lenses? Why do we (some of us at least) agonize over different systems, kit configurations and accessories? Even if we aren't hung up on image quality to the extent of 'pixel peeping', why is it that many of our photography decisions have to do with technical considerations like noise, sensor size or chromatic aberration?

From Cobden to Blaketown. OM-D E-M5 MkII with 12-50mm EZ. F6.3 @1/200th. ISO 400

Maybe it's because in this digital age, these are the things that are more easily quantifiable? Let's not talk about composition, or subject matter, or story telling - these are far too subjective and ephemeral topics. Much easier to compare low-light images, sensor formats or lens characteristics. With all the agonizing over IQ or individual sensor pixel density (is that a real thing?), it's a wonder we have any time for actual picture making at all!?

Cobden Breakwater Sunset. OM-D E-M5 MkII with 12-50mm EZ. F6.3 @1/400th. ISO 400.

Or maybe, just maybe, these things really are important? And by that I mean individually important. Subjectively important. Important to me. Let me explain what I mean...

Photography is a visual medium. We are visual artists. We like to be visually creative. And so, just like a painter who chooses their paints carefully, we  - as artists - like to choose our tools carefully too. I've heard people say that some photographers spend too much time worrying about the gear and that painters never get together and talk about the brushes they use. Really? I guess these people have never spent much time with painters? All the artists I know have their favorite brands of paint/brushes/paper/canvas that they swear by (and that they have sometimes taken years of trial and error to perfect). So much so that they will almost refuse to use anything else. Does it mean that they can't paint with something else? No, of course not. But does it also mean that they should just paint with anything because surely anything will do?

Grey River Sunset. Olympus OM-D EM-5 MkII with Zuiko 12-50mm. F6.3 @ 1/20th sec. ISO 400

As a photographer, I have my own set of criteria for how I want my 'tools' to perform. I know the level of noise that I am comfortable with at certain ISO's. I have a sensor size and megapixel number that I am happy with, and certain tolerances within which I want my lenses to perform. I've come to these quality decisions from years of trial and error with different systems and configurations, to the point where I now have a set of expectations of how I want my images to turn out with the tools I've chosen. When I use tools that I know will produce an image inferior to my set of (subjective) criteria, then I feel a slight disappointment at the final result. Even if only from a qualitative standpoint.

Freedom Campers, Cobden. OM-D E-M5 MkII with 12-50 EZ. F6.3 @ 1 sec.(hand held) ISO 800

Let me be very clear  - my criteria for acceptable IQ is NOT your criteria. You must find you own. The trouble comes with photographers who try to force their own set of criteria onto others, as if it was some kind of law. "You must have a full frame sensor or you're not a real photographer. You must have at least 40 megapixels or you're not a real photographer. Your images must all be noise free at ISO 640,000  or your camera's no good" - blah, blah, blah....

Kingsgate Hotel at Sunset. OM-D EM-5 MkII. F6.3 @ 1/6th sec. ISO 800

I'd like to end by saying that my image criteria isn't set in stone. It's a fluid, evolving and changing thing - and technology plays a large part in this. A few years ago I couldn't have conceived of hand-holding a sharp image at 1 second. But thanks to the OM-D EM-5 MkII , I can. I was also a full-frame snob for a very long time (yes, one of those). But not anymore. I am also finding that the older I get, the less things like noise and megapixels seem to matter.

And yet they do matter. And I know that they matter when I use my smartphone as a camera and am somewhat unhappy with the results. In a way that I am not unhappy with the results I get from my OM-D EM-5 MkII.

What I did in my Summer Holidays

Back at work now after 3 weeks of summer vacation over Christmas :-(

At the start of the break three weeks sounded like a long time. It wasn't. Fortunately though, we had great weather and I took the opportunity to get around our home and do some weeding.

The back yard before weeding.

I'm not a naturally enthusiastic gardener - there's lots more I'd rather be doing (like taking photos for instance). But once I get underway and start seeing some results, then I tend to get a bit more inspired.

This year, we even decided to grow some of our own veggies, and plant flowers to fill in some spaces that normally run wild with weeds. Hopefully this will help to cut down on time spent weeding in the future, as well as give us some fresh produce!

Just so happens that eating is something I can get enthusiastic about :-)

And the back yard after 6 hours of weeding and planting!

In the spirit of my New Year's resolution of taking more photos, I decided to document a 'before and after'. First shot was taken about 7.00am, hence the long shadows (that I've lightened considerably in Lightroom). The second image was taken about 6.00pm, after all the work was completed. Doesn't look like a full days work, but it took hours just to clear away some of the grass that was growing over top of the concrete behind the shed.

There's still a month or so of summer left, so now the attention turns to the front section of the house. We need to clear out a large area of stones and shrubs (and weeds) at the front, get rid of all the weed mat (what is weed mat all about?), and then let the soil lay fallow over the winter, ready to plant a 'cottage flower garden' there next summer. That's the grand plan anyway.

Cobden Beach Sunset. Olympus OM-D EM-5 MkII with Zuiko 12-50mm f3.5/6.3 EZ

While on holiday, I also tried to make the most of the warm evenings and beautiful light to get out and take some 'serious' photos. Cobden Beach is literally five minutes away from my house - on foot. There had been a few amazing sunsets in a row that I had missed getting out to, so I was determined to get out the next night and capture a sunset.

Murphy's Law dictates that it wasn't going to be as spectacular an evening as the ones I had missed (and it wasn't), but it did also give me the opportunity to get a shot that I had been visualizing for quite a while...

Miners Memorial - Greymouth Floodwall. Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII with 12-50mm @ 12mm, 125th sec, ISO 1250

Last year a memorial statue was erected in town for all the miners who have lost their lives over the years on the west coast. It sits prominently on the Greymouth floodwall, and I have always wanted to capture a silhouette of the statue against the evening sky.

Miners Memorial, Greymouth. 2016

It was about 9.30pm when I took these images - and there was still plenty of light to be able to hand-hold the E-M5 MkII and get sharp shots (at ISO 1250).

I knew I wanted a fairly 'wide' angle of the monument with Greymouth township in the background, so chose the 12-50mm kit lens so I could use the 12mm (24mm equivalent) end to go wide. Apart form the 9mm fisheye bodycap, the 12-50mm is currently the widest lens I have in my bag, so I find myself using it a lot for landscapes.

I did also take a few images with the 9mm fisheye bodycap lens, and while I liked them, the 12-50mm at its widest end was the closest to what I had pre-visualized for the shot.

I'm glad I took these images, and I'm sure I'll go back again and take some more. I've driven past the statue so many times and thought "I must photograph that at night" - and now I have. Wasn't quite so lucky with another shot I've been meaning to take for years now though. There's an abandoned house just outside of Westport that I mean to stop and photograph every time we go there, but never have. We went to Westport after Christmas and guess what - it's gone. Been demolished. Darn.

New Years resolution - stop and take more photos.

Olympus Zuiko 12-50mm kit lens for landscapes

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII comes with a 'kit' lens that has a useful 12-50mm (24-100mm in traditional film terms) focal length range, with a less than useful f3.5-6.3 variable aperture. I must confess to never having owned a lens as 'slow' as f6.3. In fact, the very thought would cause me to break out in a cold sweat! But this came with the camera, it is a useful focal range, and so it will probably be on my camera 80% of the time (until I can afford the 12-40mm f2.8). So it better be good - right!?

West Coast Batches. Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII with Zuiko 12-50mm EZ lens. 1/100th @ f5.6 ISO 200

It's an interesting lens to use on the E-M5 MkII. Some have called the design of the lens ugly, but I actually quite like it visually. It has a clutch mechanism design whereby you push the central collar of the lens towards the camera body to engage manual zooming, push it out to engage the electronic zoom, and then hold the macro button and push it out once again to engage the macro function. Fortunately a small window on the lens gives you a visual reference as to what mode you are in.

I'm a manual zoom kind of guy and prefer to use it in this mode, although while turning the lens barrel to zoom it does make a slight 'gritty' noise. I presume this is 'normal', and if you shoot video a lot, then switching to the electronic zoom makes this gritty noise go away. But then, of course, the zooming is now done electronically (and therefore silently).

Zuiko 12-50mm at 20mm. 1/100th @ f5.6 ISO 200

In everyday use, the grittyness of the manual zooming doesn't bother me, and I don't even notice it anymore. The lens balances nicely on the E-M5 MkII, and I can see why Olympus has included it as its kit lens. It's quite a bit larger than the 14-42mm pancake zoom that comes with the E-M10, and it focuses internally so there is no change to the size of the lens, whether you are shooting wide or telephoto. I like this feature, so don't mind that the lens itself is a little larger because of it.

Of course the front lens element doesn't rotate either, so using a polarising filter is straight forward. The lens has a decent heft without being heavy - and uses a metal lens mount for extra strength and rigidity. The rest of the construction is plastic, although it looks (and even feels) a lot like metal. It's dust and splash proof (another reason to match it with the E-M5 MkII), and uses 2 aspherical lenses, 1 ED lens, 1 HR lens and 1 DSA lens in its construction.

Starfish. Zuiko 12-50mm. 1/80th @ f5.6 ISO 640

That's all a bit of a mouthful. But what it means in reality is that despite its modest variable aperture, the Olympus Zuiko 12-50mm is a solid performer. All that good glass on the inside is working to produce some very contrasty, clear, sharp and distortion-free images. It's not perfectly sharp wide open, but stop it down just a little and it sharpens up very nicely. Shoot at around f5.6 to f 8 and you'll get some truly gorgeous images.

Tidal Pool. Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII and Zuiko 12-50mm EZ lens shot at 15mm. 1/125th @ f5.6 ISO 200

I went out the other evening with the E-M5 MkII and 12-50mm EZ lens to capture some landscapes. At 12mm, this lens starts at a landscape friendly 24mm in traditional terms, something that I'm not all that used to, coming from the 1.6x crop factor of the Canon DSLR world. I like the 24mm focal length, and have always found it to be my 'sweet spot' for a landscape lens.  I'm not a huge 'ultra-wide' fan, so for me, 24mm is plenty wide enough. The above image was shot at 15mm - around 30mm in traditional film terms.

12-50mm shot at 13mm. 1/100th @ f5.6 ISO 200

I was hoping for a beautiful sunset, but it never happened. Of course there was one the day before and the day after I went out with my camera. Sigh. Murphy's Law strikes again.

When I got home and looked at the images on the computer, the muted colours lent themselves perfectly to a black and white conversion - which I tend to do in Photoshop rather than Lightroom. I do like Lightroom (having previously been an Aperture user), but have used Photoshop since version 2, and am just more 'at home' using it for most tasks.

I also tend to prefer a dark and moody black and white treatment for my landscapes, although this will depend on the image. But from my darkroom film days, I had it beaten in to me (not literally) by several teachers that a black and white image must have a full range from white whites to black blacks. Too many black and white image conversions I see on the interweb are very flat and lack any contrast. The DNG RAW files that I'm getting out of the E-M5 MkII have bucket loads of data and detail in them, and are manipulating in Photoshop beautifully. I'm very pleased with the RAW output from the E-M5 MkII, and for me, 16MP is more than enough data.

Low tide. Olympus E-M5 MkII and Zuiko 12-50mm EZ shot at 12mm. 1/125th @ f5.6 ISO 200

Anyway, I digress (a little). Back to the lens itself. Focus is very snappy and silent - as quick as any DLSR I've ever used on single shot autofocus. It did start to hunt just a little towards the end of my session, but by then the light was very low, and again it was similar to what I would expect a DLSR to handle.

Another feature I really like about the 12-50mm EZ is its extra function button placed on the lens. This can be programmed to do almost anything you want (of course it can), and I've got it set up to initiate the autofocus selection screen. I've also got the function button next to the shutter release programmed to re-set the autofocus point to the centre, so with the click of two very conveniently placed buttons I have complete finger-tip control over autofocus selection. Brilliant. And it's little touches like this that ender you to the Olympus system and make you realise that it was designed by photographers, for photographers.

Rockface. 1/13th @ f6.3 ISO 1600

One of the last images I took was actually of this terra-cotta mask set into the concrete wall of a batch (cottage). Not exactly a landscape, but it caught my eye as I was walking back to the car and it was the perfect opportunity to test out the 5 axis image stabilisation of the E-M5 MkII. Does it work? You bet you're bottom dollar it works! It's crazy, insane juju magic and really opens up new possibilities for low-light hand-held shooting.

This image (and a series of others), is perfectly sharp, but was shot at just 1/13th of a second, while I was balancing precariously on a rock, zoomed right out at 50mm, at f6.3. Generally not a recipe for successful image making. But the 5-axis stabilisation nailed it!

So am I happy with the Olympus Zuiko 12-50mm EZ f3.5/6.3 lens as my walk-around and serious landscape lens? Absolutely.

The f6.3 aperture at 50mm may have put me off initially, but when I'm shooting landscapes around the 12-15mm range, then an aperture of f5.6 (which is opened up two stops) is where I want to be anyway, and is giving me good sharpness and great files. Micro four thirds sensors have more depth-of-field due to their smaller size, so f5.6 is about f11 in DSLR terms. That's perfect landscape territory, so I'm very happy with the 12-50mm for my landscape work. Maybe if I was printing 40" prints I'd find that I was reaching the limit of the lens/sensor combination? Maybe. But I'm not. So for the blog, the web, and for 8x12" prints, I'm a happy camper and the 12-50mm will remain on my camera for 80% of what I shoot.

Of course, if you can afford the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 Pro lens, then by all means, get that instead. It will be a 'better' (eg. sharper and faster) lens in all respects. BUT, it will also be a heavier (much heavier) lens to carry around, and then you really will have to consider the body that you pair it up with.

For the well healed/pro photographer the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro is a must. For everyone else (us mere mortals), the Olympus Zuiko 12-50mm EZ f3.5/6.3 is a perfect image making tool. Can't ask for anything more - especially in a 'kit' lens.

First outing with the Olympus OMD EM5 Mk2

My brand spanking new OMD EM5 Mk2 (EM5 2 from now on) arrived late last week and I had a few days of digging into the (extensive) menu to set the camera up before taking it on its first outing.

You certainly do need a few days to familiarise yourself with the incredible amount of personalisation that this camera offers. It has five customisable buttons, and you can set them up to do just about anything you like. Add to this the fact that the two control wheels also do double-duty at the flick of a switch, and you have an impressive (or should that be intimidating?) number of buttons tool at your disposal. Many think that Olympus have gone overboard with the customisation available on the OMD cameras, and complain about the complex menu system. Yes it’s comprehensive. But it’s only there if you need it. Mostly, you can set it once and forget it forever. And it is great to know that if you don’t like the way a button works, chances are you can change it. Kudos to Olympus I say.

Olympus OMD EM5 Mk2 with 12-50mm. First Image

For myself, I’ve largely left the pre-configured function buttons alone – save for two crucial changes. I shoot in aperture priority mode for 99% of my photography, and by default, the EM5 2 has the front wheel change the exposure compensation and the back wheel change the aperture. To my way of working this is the wrong way around. I prefer to change the aperture with the front dial, and then use the rear to increase/decrease exposure compensation if needed. So guess what – I can change it! Yay.

The only other change I’ve made to the programmable function buttons it to change Fn2 (which is right next to the shutter button) from the default highlight/shadow control, to the ‘home’ setting for the autofocus. So now, if I’m moving the autofocus point around the screen to where I want to focus, I simply tap the function button next to the shutter to centre the focus point for my next composition. Excellent.

Other settings? I have auto ISO set within the 200 to 1600 range, single shot focusing (with face detection and nearest eye focusing also enabled for portraiture), RAW file format (more on that later), neutral colour mode, evaluative metering and auto white balance. That should now have the camera is set up for 90% of my shooting style. I have also turned the fully articulating rear lcd screen in towards the camera. This not only protects the lcd screen, but improves battery life (I presume) since the rear lcd is now turned off. This is the first time I’ve been able to shoot with a digital camera this way (all my other digital cameras have had fixed rear lcd screens) and I have to say I’m sold! This alone makes the EM5 2 an absolute joy to use.

So I would have to say that the one feature that I’m the most excited about on the EM5 2 is the electronic viewfinder. Which is crazy to me, since I’ve put off moving to an electronic viewfinder - in preference for an optical one - for such a long time. I was, in fact, probably an ‘optical’ snob! But now, having used the EM5 2’s EVF for just one afternoon, I can’t for the life of me figure out what my problem was?!

Ironically, using the EM5 2 with its retro design, is one of the most film-like shooting experiences I’ve ever had with a digital camera. And it’s all due to the EVF. With the rear lcd screen flipped inwards, the camera has a definite film look to it. When I put the viewfinder up to my eye I compose, set exposure and focus, check the live histogram in real-time, with visible shadow and highlight warnings on-screen, and take the shot. One shot. Nailed it. Move on. There’s no chimping. No checking of the rear lcd screen. No compose, shoot, check, change, recompose, shoot, check, change…. digital dance of a DLSR. That’s all gone now with the EM5 2. Now it’s just compose, check, change in real-time, and shoot. Done. How cool is that?

Art Filter - Grainy B&W Mode II

I loved my first outing with the EM5 2. Absolutely loved it. I didn’t get amazingly incredible images. But that wasn’t really what it was all about. This was a first date. And as such, it was just the OMD EM5 Mk2 and me, getting to know each other. Fortunately, it was a great first date (no, I’m not going to push this analogy much more), and I’m looking forward to many more.

Is everything perfect? Of course not. Is it ever? For a start, the camera is a ‘touch’ on the small side – even for someone like me with medium to small sized hands. But hey, that’s what the optional grip is for – right? In fact, the OMD EM5’s ability to accept an optional grip is one of its huge selling points for me. So physical handling gets a 7 out of 10 at the moment, although I fully expect that to go up to 9.5 when I get the grip in a few weeks.

And then there’s the RAW issue. I’m a RAW shooter. Always have been. So that’s what I’ve got the EM5 2 set up to shoot on. But – my version of Lightroom (Lr4) doesn’t support the EM5 2’s RAW files! I have to upgrade to Lr6! Aaarrgghhhh!!!!!! Not going to happen I’m afraid – not for quite a while anyway. So that leaves me with two options. First, use the supplied RAW conversion software that comes with the camera from Olympus. It’s basic, it’s slow, and it’s clunky. But it does get the job done. It ain’t no Lightroom though. And then there’s the second option (and here’s where many photographers start to sweat and tremble). I shoot jpegs and forget RAW for the time being.

With the EM5 2, this doesn’t fill me with the kind of dread it would if I was considering doing the same on a DLSR. The jpeg processing engine built into the Olympus cameras is said to be one of the best in the business (in the same league as Fuji and Pentax), so jpegs out of the camera look amazing. And the other confidence booster for shooting jpegs has to do with that EVF again. What you see is what you’re gonna get. So blown highlights or black shadows are visible in the viewfinder before you click the shutter. Fix it in the viewfinder before you take the shot and hey-presto, great jpegs straight out of the camera. Almost no post processing required. And my version of Lightroom will work perfectly with jpegs J  Plus, I now get twice as many images on a card. So, as my 15 year old daughter would say, “It’s all G”.