Tag: photography

20/05/2016 / / Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo

In the past I was very skeptical of smartphone cameras. I still own and use a Samsung Galaxy Trend, released in 2012. In my opinion it is a rather lackluster photo taking device with a 5 megapixel pinhead sized sensor, very limited control over shooting parameters and some other annoyances, like slow and laggy user interface. It shares the insides with the Galaxy S Duos – you can find a list of its specs on gsmarena.

To be fair it was a budget phone at the time of purchase and is even less than that now. But even high-end smartphones – aside from only a few exceptions, like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 – don’t offer enough space for a larger sensor, better optics and thus significantly better image quality. Still, since my smartphone usage is limited to making calls, sending massages and browsing the web in those moments when I don’t have my laptop handy, I never saw the need to upgrade.

However, a few months ago my parents decided to make the leap into the smartphone era with two Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo smartphones. They got a bit embarrassed after seeing that even some of their technophobic friends now own and use them. This gave me the opportunity to test the photographic capabilities of a solid mid-range smartphone.

Shot with: Olympus OM-D E-M10 & Olympus 45mm f/1.8

21/02/2014 / / Nikon 1

According to users and reviewers Nikon 1 Nikkor 6.7-13mm is the sharpest zoom in the Nikon 1 lens lineup hands down and one of the three sharpest lenses overall. The other two are the 18.5mm f/1.8 (which I have reviewed here) and the 32mm f/1.2. Being right up there with standard and portrait primes in regards to image quality is no small feat for an ultra wide angle zoom. Read on to find out what makes the 6.7-13mm so special. Nikon-1-Nikkor-VR-6.7-13

10/02/2014 / / C-Mount 25mm f/1.4

After a long break due to holidays, bad weather and poor health (sinusitis) I’ve finally managed to take some photos with my cheapo C-Mount 25mm f/1.4 lens. It will take a while until I’ve taken enough images and until I’m confident enough to write a review, but many things I have written about its “big brother”, the C-Mount 50mm f/1.4 (link to my Review), also apply to the 25mm f/1.4. Click on the photos to view them in Full HD resolution on Flickr. The image quality is not very good, so don’t be shocked if there are CAs and if the resolution/sharpness is vastly inferior to the 1 Nikkors. 🙂

Nikon V1 & C-Mount 25mm f/1.4

17/01/2014 / / Nikon 1

This is not necessarily a design intended for Nikon 1 cameras and it may very well never materialize, nevertheless it is interesting to know that Tamron is active in regards to developing optics for the 1” format. According to the Egami Blog Tamron has filed the patent for a 10-100mm f/3.5-5.6 lens on June 22, 2012, which is much later than the filing date of the Nikon 1 Nikkor 10-100 f/4.5-5.6 PD (link to the patent). This is what the lens design looks like:

Tamron-10-100-mm-f3.5-5.6-lens-patent

25/12/2013 / / Nikon 1
23/12/2013 / / C-Mount 50mm f/1.4

More than a month ago I have posted some of my images taken with the 50mm f/1.4 C-Mount and my initial thoughts regarding the no-name lens. In the meantime I have taken some additional photos with the “Plastilux” (which is what I like to call it) and my Nikon V1, but not nearly as many as I would have liked to. Nevertheless I feel confident that I have learned all there is to know about the 50/1.4 C-Mount since I’ve bought it in August 2013.

(UPDATE 02.06.2016: I’ve been using the 50/1.4 CCTV C-mount lens on my Olympus OM-D E-M10 and have written a micro 4/3 centric review. If you are a M4/3 shooter and would like to see how this lens performs on the larger sensor, you can read the review here.)

Nikon V1 & C-Mount 50mm f/1.4

So why call it “Plastilux”? Well, at $47/£32/€38 this lens is cheap but capable of some great results, if you put in the time. Read on to find out what I think about the build quality, image quality, depth of field control, usability and price vs. performance of this lens.

28/11/2013 / / Nikon 1

According to Nikon-Rumors.com Nikon is expected to announce the Nikon 1 V3 during the CES show in early January 2014. The V3 will supposedly have a similar design to the Nikon P7800 compact camera, including a standard flash hot-shoe. V3’s pop-up flash will supposedly be able to act as wireless commander. I may be mistaken, but I believe that the V2 already has this capability. Last but not least, a Firmware Update for the FT-1, making the adapter compatible with V3’s new features (which?), is said to be in the works.

nikon-7800-s02-4

22/11/2013 / / Nikon 1

The hottest news at the moment is about a patent for a 70-300mm f/4-5.6 native N1 super-telephoto lens. It has a radically different (more advanced) design than the 70-300mm full frame Nikkor: 20 vs. 17 elements, 13 vs. 12 groups, 6 ED and 3 fluorite elements vs. “only” 2 ED elements. The following photo of a mock-up at the Nikon 1 announcement back in September 2011 could be the N1 70-300mm.

Nikon-1-native-super-telephoto-70-300

15/11/2013 / / C-Mount 50mm f/1.4