Let Your Summer Memories Follow You Into Fall…

It’s back to school time and many of us are mourning the end of summer’s carefree ways.  While we want to look ahead to fall’s own unique beauties, we can still take summer with us.  Here are just a few ways to keep summer alive as the seasons change:

Create a Summer Scrapbook—the Easy Way:  Take a few minutes to search through your summer shots and tag your favorites (many popular image editing programs have a function that allows you to do this).  Copy the images to CD or onto a flash drive and bring them into our store.  We can show you how to create a great scrapbook in no time flat.  Consider making an extra copy or two to share with your kids or loved ones; there’s something special about holding a book of your favorite images in your hand.  We love seeing them on the screen but nothing compares to the printed version.

Get Framed:  Have you often thought about enlarging and framing some of your favorite images but just never seemed to get around to it? Let us do the heavy lifting for you!  Just bring your images into the store and we’ll show you all the amazing ways that we can bring your summer shots to life.  Imagine that incredible memory hanging on your wall in a place where you can enjoy it each day.  And think of all the great conversations that image can encourage…

Make Note of It:  Email is wonderful for casual communications but the art of handwriting a card to someone remains highly valued—especially by the person who receives it!  Bring in one of your favorite summer photos and let us turn it into a personalized note card set.  Now, the next time you feel like dropping a line, you can share a summer memory, too!

Lunch Kit Surprises:  Order a 4×6 set of your favorite summer photographs and tuck them into your kids’ lunchboxes now and then.  Kids love surprises and photographs are an easy way to give your kids comfort and support as they transition back into a busy school year.

Did you know that you could create one or all of these fantastic keepsakes just by bringing your images into the store? Come on in and get started!

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Can the iPad be Your Camera’s New Friend?

While the iPad has received enormous media coverage regarding its role in the future of computing, the debate also includes its impact on digital photography and how we interact with our photographs. It’s still too early to say what the long term effects will be, but we have discovered a few ways your iPad can help keep you organized and streamlined.
Travel Lighter: If an upcoming business or personal trip only requires light computing, the iPad can help you lighten your technology load. Its design can also get you through airport security more quickly as it doesn’t need to be taken out of your bag and scanned separately.
Photo Back-Up in a Pinch: By adding an iPad Camera Connection Kit (purchased separately), you’ll now be able to copy the digital pictures from your SD camera card to the iPad. The import happens quite cleanly in iPad’s Photos application but don’t expect to create extensive albums or do much organization at this point. That said, having your digital photographs on a second device can provide peace of mind. Don’t delete the images off your card until you can get them to your primary computer, though; it’s best to keep them on the card until you can properly transfer and organize them on your central storage computer.
Share This: The iPad’s screen design is an excellent platform for sharing and viewing digital photographs—far superior to viewing images on your cell phone. Many of us enjoy keeping favorite memories on our laptops to enjoy at our leisure, and the iPad makes this even more engaging. You can also keep your Facebook page current by uploading images from your iPad or emailing favorite shots to family and friends.
For professionals looking to share their work, the iPad can serve as a digital sample book or portfolio. It will be a great conversation starter as well as a new way of displaying your best work.
While the iPad isn’t in a position to replace your laptop and image editing software, it can provide some support with some of the most common digital camera issues. And for those who travel regularly for work or pleasure, your back will be pleased with the lightened travel gear.
iPad Photo Apps to Consider:
• Photo Transfer App
• CameraBag for iPad
• Photogene for iPad
• Filterstorm
• Masque

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Shooting in Our National Parks

In this installation of Tamron’s Summer Travel Photography Series, Sandra Nykerk offers tips and techniques for capturing the beauty and emotion in our country’s most awe-inspiring natural treasures.

By Jennifer Gidman
Images by Sandra Nykerk

Volcanic landforms, granite domes, gushing geysers, and majestic waterfalls are just some of the natural wonders you’ll encounter during a trip to a United States national park. Photographer Sandra Nykerk is intimately familiar with these geological gems: The self-described “visual anthropologist” merges her background in environmental history, photography, and cultural anthropology during her forays into the parks’ diverse scenery, resulting in astounding images that showcase Mother Nature at her finest.

“It’s hard to choose, but my favorite park has to be Yellowstone—it’s never the same place twice,” she says. “I love the surreal nature of Death Valley. The Smokies are incredible for scenics and landscapes, especially in the spring and fall. And the Everglades is one of my very favorite places for birds.”

Read on for Sandra’s tips for taking memorable photographs that avoid clichéd shots and allow you to capture your own unique experience in the parks.

Prep before you head out into the deserts and canyons.
The more research you do before your trip, the better—whether it’s talking to people who have been to the park you’re heading to before, reading every book and magazine you can get your hands on, and using the Internet. The best online sources are the individual park Web sites—they’re a wealth of information. Yellowstone, for instance, puts out a spiral-bound resource book for the naturalists that work in its visitors’ center. Now the same book is also on the park’s Web site for anyone to access: It offers information like where to see the best wildlife, where the best thermals are, etc. Other major national parks are doing similar things.

Flickr is another great online resource. You can type in whatever place you’re going to, and thousands of images will turn up. These will help you get a sense of what the landscape is like, what you’ll see, and what places should be high on your priority list to shoot. Research the kinds of images that appeal to you and that you gravitate toward, and then look to see what equipment was used to make those images and where they were taken. From there, if the information is available, try to figure out if the photographer was facing east or west, if it was a morning or afternoon shot—then plan accordingly for your own shots.

Pack smart.
My philosophy is if I’m driving and I own it, it’s in the car—at least I’ll have access to it. If I’m flying, that’s a whole different story. But I wouldn’t go anywhere without a wide-angle lens, a medium telephoto, and a macro lens. I use the Tamron 10-24mm wide angle, the 18-270mm VC lens (that’s been my just put-it-on-and-shoot lens), and the 60mm macro lens (which is great to travel with since it’s so short and light). I also base what lenses I bring on the particular park I’m going to visit: For example, if I know I’m going to Yellowstone and want to shoot some grizzly bears, I’ll pack the longest lens I own (maybe a 500mm).

If at all possible, take an extra camera body: Don’t go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with one camera body. Time and again, I’ve seen those single camera bodies that have never had any trouble at all suddenly die during these once-in-a-lifetime trips. Sure, it’s easier than ever to get your hands on backup equipment these days, but you don’t want to have to wait for a new camera to arrive when you’re only spending a few days at one park.

Definitely bring a cleaning kit. Yellowstone, for example, is dirty—if it’s windy, you’ll have silica dust blowing all over the place. You want to be able to clean your camera on a regular basis. There are also these plastic camera covers you can get for like $7 that are designed to protect cameras from the rain, but I use them to fend off the dust and dirt.

Don’t leave home without your camera manual. Today’s cameras can be so complex, even with features you understand. When you actually get out in the park, there’s going to be something you’ll need to look up, especially if it’s not a feature you use day in and day out.

I’ve always been the tripod queen—no one in my workshops is ever allowed to go out without one! For the highest possible quality and to be able to make the image as large as possible, I’ll bring a tripod with a cable release, especially for quality macro work. That said, there are some instances when you just can’t use a tripod—I’ve been in fields of cacti where there would be no possible place to put a tripod down. However, with the Tamron VC lenses and the quality of the ISOs on these newer cameras, I can handhold for images I never would have been able to do just a few years ago.

Respect the landscape and other visitors.
In Yellowstone, you’re not allowed to stop just anywhere on the side of the road, and you can’t just get off the boardwalk in the thermal areas. As a nature photographer, you have to understand the landscape and the habitat. It’s your responsibility to respect that landscape and make a commitment that nothing you do is going to damage that habitat. So, if you’re in a sensitive thermal area, for example, you might not be able to just wander off.

Obey the posted rules and regulations and respect your fellow visitors. One big pet peeve is people who see something they want to photograph and abandon their car in the middle of the road with all four doors open—you’ll see like 80 of these a day during crowded times. It gets especially challenging when you have a lot of tourists who don’t speak or read English well, because they’re not able to read the posted rules, and they’re excited and distracted to begin with being in such a marvelous setting.

Avoid the crowds.
Don’t go to the parks in July or August. Go in the shoulder seasons if you can: May or early June, and September through October. Going in the winter is also a great idea, especially because even the shoulder seasons are starting to fill up. You’ll find fewer people and very different weather conditions during the colder months. Yellowstone and Yosemite are both awesome in the winter, as are Arches and Bryce Canyon. And you’ll practically have Death Valley all to yourself!

If you do go in a more heavily trafficked season, go out early in the morning and stay out late. By the time the majority of the tourists get up and get the kids fed, it’s 10:30 or 11 in the morning. Likewise, most of them will head back to the hotel and have dinner and put the kids to bed in the late afternoon/early evening. So if you’re out at sunset, the clouds will start to dissipate and you’ll get some amazing shots. Midday is not good for photography usually—both in terms of the crowds and the lighting.

Understand and break free of the clichés.
In our national parks, the views are often prescribed for us: There are specific pullouts that constrain where you can stop, how you can stop, and what you can see. These are the places that have become our iconic imagery. The Snake River Overlook in the Grand Tetons used to be just a minor pullout before Ansel Adams took his picture there. Now if you go there, there’s an interpretive sign with Ansel’s image on it: You’re no longer testing the image against the reality; you’re testing reality against the icon. You’re going to be disappointed you didn’t see the “real thing” you recognize from Ansel’s image, and if you try to duplicate his image, you don’t take away your own experience.

Take in these socially prescribed views, then go out and find your own. This comes from understanding the landscape and its intimacy, internalizing that intimacy, then externalizing it in the form of an image. If you don’t feel, you can’t communicate emotion. Without emotion, a photograph is simply a record.

Get off the beaten path.
One way to find your own view is to get off of the roads where you’re allowed to. In the Smoky Mountains, an astounding percentage of people never get out of the car. In Yellowstone, another significant percentage of people never get more than 200 yards from the road. Just by getting on a trail and walking, even if it’s just a half mile, will give you images most other people aren’t going to get.

Experiment with your lenses.
The 10-24mm, for example, is going to give you a wider view than most other people shooting at the park are going to be able to get, because they’re not using that kind of a wide lens. Shoot very low with a wide-angle lens to place a lot of foreground in the image; shoot at a high aperture like f/22 to get a lot of depth of field in that foreground. The alternative to that is to use your longest lens to shoot landscape details you can’t get to physically—that will work great at picking up details in the landscape. Most people won’t use their long lenses for that—they think they’re just going to photograph animals with those types of lenses.

Change your perspective.
The world was not created at your eye height: Get down off of the tripod if you’re using one, bend down, find something to climb up on, so that you’re shooting from a different angle than 90 percent of the population.

Go for the details as well as the panoramic shots.
The truth is always in the details. While those wide, sweeping vistas are overwhelming and take your breath away, they often don’t communicate the true emotion of the place. An abstract of a thermal pool or a piece of grass in the autumn—those are the things that communicate the intimacy and passion of a park.

Add people into your shots.
People can be part of the landscape and part of the story you’re telling, whether it’s your own family or other people who are visiting the park. Even if it’s just a shot showing how crowded the park is, that’s still a visual reminder of your experience there. Incorporating people into your shots can also add context and a sense of scale.

Learn to read the light.
You can take an extraordinary subject in very ordinary or glaring light, and you’ll get an unimpressive image. Or, you can take a very ordinary subject and extraordinary light and get that once-in-a-lifetime image. Understanding that you’re not shooting things, you’re shooting the light on things, will leapfrog you into a whole other platform of photography.

Head out early and stay out late to take advantage of those magic hours surrounding sunrise and sunset. Don’t discount stormy weather, either: While most people will stay inside and have a cup of coffee when it’s overcast, you can go out and take some great pictures.

Understand what your histogram is telling you and use it incessantly—if you don’t know where your histogram is, get out your manual and figure it out. The histogram is your best friend. If you’re shooting JPEGs, it’s even more critical that you pay attention to your histogram and white balance to get the right exposure.

I do sometimes use flash for macro, but only as fill to add a little sparkle, or on a person for a catchlight. However, if you can tell I’ve used a flash (or a filter, for that matter), I’ve failed.

Shooting in the desert is deceptively hard: It’s difficult to translate that vastness into a three-dimensional image. Five minutes after the sun comes up, the light is flat and dead. By the time the cactus flowers are in bloom (they don’t open till they’ve had sun on them for a couple of hours), it’s the glariest time of day and the winds are blowing at 30mph. Be prepared for this if you’re shooting in parks like Death Valley or the Mojave National Preserve.

Shoot at the lowest possible ISO.
All things being equal, always shoot at the lowest possible ISO (in other words, the native ISO for the camera). The higher the ISO, the more noise in the image, and the more difficult time you’re going to have in post-processing. For my camera, the native ISO is 200. I go to 400 only when I need to, and to 800 only when I’m desperate.

Of course, if it’s a matter of being able to get the shot, go higher. Think of your end use: If you’re just going to be putting the images on the Web or e-mailing them to friends, don’t worry about going higher on the ISO. However, if you’re planning on creating a 16×20 to hang on a gallery wall, you’ll want to minimize the noise.

Use filters wisely.
I use polarizing filters much less than I used to, because the sensors seem to be sensitive to blue light at the altitudes I work in—they sometimes make the sky too dark. Plus, in Photoshop, I can come close to mimicking the effects of the polarizing filter without that disadvantage.

However, there are instances when you need to use a polarizer: In the thermal areas of Yellowstone, for example, you need one to cut the glare off of the water and saturate the colors underneath. And, contrary to what we were taught years ago, a polarizer can have a huge effect and beautifully saturate colors on a cloudy day: Just because the sun isn’t out doesn’t mean that you don’t need the polarizing filter. I’ll often put the filter on and decide whether or not it’s a good idea; I also use my polarized sunglasses to judge how much of an effect a polarizer would make on the final image.

I’ll make a judgment in the field as to whether or not I should use a graduated neutral-density filter or whether the end effect I want can be accomplished in post-processing. This comes from experience and knowing your post-processing/Photoshop skills and limitations. I’ll use regular neutral-density filters to slow down the shutter speed so that I can get special effects (e.g., especially blurry water for a dreamy effect).

Maximize your time by going for quality, not quantity.
I lived at Yellowstone for a while, so I could go in every day for two weeks to capture the height of the blooms or colors; most people, however, are probably only coming for a few days and, understandably, want to shoot everything possible in the park in those few days. That’s an enormous challenge.

Prioritize and allocate your time. You have to take a deep breath and know that a few great pictures of a few wonderful places or objects is better than 1,000 mediocre pictures of every location you hit in the park. Quality is much better than quantity. If you have limited time, spend it in limited places. This is where that pretrip research I mentioned early comes in—it’s so important for this prioritization.

Tamron 18-270mm VC Voted Best Travel Lens 2009-2010

The world’s only 15X zoom lens! Tamron’s perfect all-in-one lens features VC, Tamron’s image stabilizer for blur-free shooting without camera shake at up to four stops slower than usual. The lens offers a convenient, comfortable and versatile all-in-one solution that is ultra light (19.4 oz.) and just 3.8” long. It’s the ideal zoom lens to pack for your next vacation. Tamron 6-Year USA warranty and $80 mail-in rebate when purchased from Precision Camera & Video.

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Shooting International Destinations

In this installation of Tamron’s Summer Travel Photography Series, Richard Martin offers tips and techniques for capturing some of the world’s most exotic people and places.

By Jennifer Gidman
Images by Richard Martin

Getting the chance to travel around the globe is a photographer’s dream, an unobstructed window into diverse cultures and lifestyles. Photographer Richard Martin uses his international travels (his favorite destinations include Cuba, Italy, and a recent journey to India) to tap into photography as a mode of communication. “Photography is more than just recording the world,” he explains. “It’s a medium of expression. I’m not so interested in the camera itself as in what it can actually do.”

It can be easy, however, while you’re on the road thousands of miles from home to become overwhelmed by the cultural differences, travel logistics, and encounters with some of the world’s most iconic landmarks. Read on for Richard’s tips on the best ways to capture the flavor of wherever your international adventures may take you.

Travel light:   Keep it simple—there’s a big misunderstanding that you have to have two cameras hanging around your neck at all times to get professional-looking pictures. I’ve slimmed down my equipment after years of traveling—like with clothing, it’s very easy to overpack.

I carry two lenses: Right now it’s the Tamron 18-270 VC lens, an extremely versatile lens that gave me a lot of flexibility on the crowded streets on my recent trip to India, for example. I also carry the 10-24mm wide-angle lens.

I pack a Lowepro Slim bag, my Nikon D300 with those two lenses, memory cards and chargers, and my laptop. One other thing: I bring a Canon G11 point-and-shoot camera, a high-megapixel camera that’s useful for grabbing situations without being too noticeable.

Read up on your foreign destination:  You should know where you’re going and where you want to go when you get there. Research your destination and take a guidebook with you (or make notes to bring with you so you can refresh yourself with the information you’ve already read).

Always have your camera with you:  This may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how many people don’t have their cameras with them when a great photo op suddenly presents itself. Maybe they got sick of carrying around too much gear or they’re just too tired from their lengthy travels, but don’t let yourself be caught without your camera.

Don’t fall prey to overstimulation:  When traveling to new surroundings, it’s important to be conscious of the negative aspects of being overstimulated: There’s a natural tendency to be less observant in general while engaged in exciting new situations. Ultimately, the challenge is to consciously observe beyond the surface of one’s own selective reality.

Go where the locals go, wander around, and take in the whole experience:
I love exploring and talking to the locals. Get away from the tourist traps and find out where the residents dine, where they go to hang out. Not only will you get better, less expensive food, but you’ll see things you wouldn’t normally see, which makes for more authentic photographs.

Always allow for the experimental part of wandering around—there are no wrong turns. Of course, you have to be safety conscious as well: I can wander the back streets of many places in Cuba, for example, but doing so in Jamaica isn’t as safe.

I try to blend in with the local people and try not to look like a tourist. For example, in Italy, not a lot of people wear shorts. I can always tell when the tour groups have arrived at a certain location— they really stand out. I try not to look so obvious. Otherwise, it changes the way people perceive you and how they react to you.

Slow down and enjoy the experience:  One woman I knew would sit on the corner of a random street and do watercolor paintings for hours; occasionally she would take her camera out and photograph. Once you stay in one spot for a long period of time, you become forgotten, and then the pictures really start to happen. People come into your space, instead of you encroaching upon their space.

Set well-known landmarks in your own context:  Relate the photos that you make with your own experiences and impressions, instead of merely repeating what you see on postcards and travel brochures. One guy at one of my workshops only wanted to photograph postcard-type shots. He was so fixated on capturing scenes someone else had already captured that he wasn’t open to the world around him.

Challenge yourself to find different angles for those iconic images:  You can make that first shot you take a general kind of shot, but then shoot that same scene or landmark from different angles, using different lenses and focal lengths, at different times of day and night. Many people just take a couple of pictures and then move on—if you just slow down and keep taking pictures, you’ll get beyond the surface of the situation and show that landmark in a new light.

Use creative compositions and framing to tell a story:  Sometimes the details of an image can say as much about the scene as the overall picture. Don’t be afraid to crop an image, for example, to get the essence of what you want to show in the photograph. I came across a vendor selling watermelons in a market in India: What caught my eye was the watermelon itself, but I wanted to show context and relationship, so I included the man selling the watermelon. I decided to crop out his head, though: If I had decided to include his head, it would have been a different picture that was all about him, not the watermelon.

The same went for a man standing against a wall, with the shadow of another man on a bicycle in the frame. I was attracted to the strong shadows and the warm quality of the late-afternoon light. I cropped out the second man with the bicycle, but I included his shadow to add a sense of mystery to the image.

Finally, I was taking a picture of the shadows and colors of a village home when a curious child peeked through the doorway. I carefully zoomed back to include him in the composition, providing both context and balance to the design. What it comes down to is a good foundation in visual design.

Turn your back on the obvious:  I was watching some kids play soccer in Sicily. Everyone was photographing them running around, but I looked for a spot where no one else was. The beautiful, graphic of the sweep of the soccer net and the goalie’s hand peeking through the net said as much about my experience of watching these kids play soccer as a shot of them actually playing soccer. I told other photographers to come behind the net, but no one came. If everyone’s gathered around something, get away from it and find something even more interesting to shoot.

Don’t always stick to your itinerary:  Allow for a flexible itinerary in your travel plans to accommodate the unexpected opportunities and serendipitous twists that often transpire. Some of my best experiences and favorite images have occurred between selected points of interest.

One of my favorite shots from my trip to India was an image of a bird whispering in the ear of a yak. We had finished photographing a school in this country town and were walking back to our vehicle when I glanced down a side street and saw these two yaks. I knew we were on schedule, but I had to head over to those yaks. The bird flew over (they pick the bugs off of the yaks), and there was my picture. It was a good example of being relaxed and open-minded. I didn’t go to India to get a picture of a bird in the ear of a yak, but because I wasn’t so fixated on my itinerary, I got this great shot.

I was out walking one day before a workshop I was teaching in Venice when a woman shuffled by a church through a bunch of pigeons really slowly. Because it was raining, I had to stand under an umbrella to get the shot. I anticipated where she was coming to and took a bunch of pictures as she walked by. There was nothing special about this location—there was no iconic architecture, it was just the back streets of Venice. Yet it turned out looking like a scene out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. The more I travel, the more I find that the most interesting photos I take are in uncelebrated areas in between going from Point A to Point B.

Establish rapport when shooting portraits abroad:  I hadn’t really included many people in my images until I went on a trip to Cuba. There, I started adding them in as silhouettes and to add scale to the photos, to show relationship to their environment.

In India, I started doing portraits. You have to talk with the people you’re photographing, establish a rapport. It’s disrespectful otherwise. It’s also important to get permission to take their photographs. Sometimes there are street scenes that you just have to grab, but generally, if I have someone in my viewfinder, I don’t just run up and start shooting. I make eye contact, and usually then there’s an interaction. I always think about how I’d want to be treated by someone with a camera.

You can’t shoot portraits in a vacuum, either: I always look for secondary supporting elements to tell a story. I photographed a guy with a blue shirt standing in a doorway. There was a ripped poster on his right side that was interesting, so I made sure it made it into the photograph. I didn’t just want to do his portrait—I wanted to show him in context to his environment.

Don’t be afraid to head out in bad weather:  We’re conditioned by society to think that inclement weather is horrible for shooting. It can be amazing for taking pictures, however, with the reflections and the saturated colors. If you have an umbrella, hold the umbrella under your arm and just start taking pictures. I took a picture of a guy holding a pink umbrella as sort of a motion study: I used a really slow shutter speed (1/15th of a second) and moved my camera as he walked, keeping him in the same part of the frame, which gave me a nice blur.

Recognize the quality of the light:  You need to learn how to deal with contrast ranges. For example, in India I didn’t take pictures on the sunniest part of the street—I would do it where the light was softer, maybe coming from one direction, like from an open storefront. I never use direct sunlight on my subjects unless it’s a morning sunrise or warm evening sunlight, where you have sidelighting and texture. I avoid harsh light, but if you can’t avoid it, use backlighting to create silhouettes. For an image I took of a guy walking through a bunch of pigeons, the light was fairly harsh, but I blocked out the direct part of the light and just used the shadows, creating contrast for a graphic shot.

I used to use a spot meter in my camera; with today’s camera metering systems, I use aperture-priority matrix metering, and that works most of the time. I keep an eye on the histogram on my camera back, so I can tell if I’m going to be overexposed.

Go outside your comfort zone:  Photographers often get into a rut taking the same kinds of pictures wherever they go. Strive to go beyond the stereotypes. Have confidence in yourself and your vision. When you’re are open to new possibilities as a photographer, the world offers us many surprises.

For more of Richard’s work, go to www.richardmartinphoto.com.

Tamron 18-270mm VC Voted Best Travel Lens 2009-2010

The world’s only 15X zoom lens! Tamron’s perfect all-in-one lens features VC, Tamron’s image stabilizer for blur-free shooting without camera shake at up to four stops slower than usual. The lens offers a convenient, comfortable and versatile all-in-one solution that is ultra light (19.4 oz.) and just 3.8” long. It’s the ideal zoom lens to pack for your next vacation. Tamron 6-Year USA warranty and $80 mail-in rebate when purchased from Precision Camera & Video.

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Need 10 Minutes? You got it!

Ever been into an Apple store? They have a genius bar where you can make an appointment and ask question about your Mac.

We are going to do something similar. We have just started the 10 Minute Tech service. Call us at 512-467-7676 to make an appointment. The hours for the 10 minute service is 9-11am and 3-6pm Monday through Saturday. We tend to get busy in the middle of the day, so we have carved out those times to better help you.

One of our trained staff will sit with you and help answer any of your camera related issues for FREE. Even if you bought your camera somewhere else, you can use this free service. We are limiting the one on one service to just the 10 minutes, so make sure you have your questions handy when you come in.

Hope to see you soon.

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New Precision Camera Pro Membership Card

Precision Camera & Video is pleased to announce the newest addition to the many services we offer for our local, professional photographers; the Pro Card.

With our Pro Card, you will have access to expedited repair services, membership discounts, and the personal attention of our Professional Sales liaison Park Street.

If you think you can qualify for Pro Status, come on in and see Park or give him a call at 512-467-7676 ext. 360

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Shooting in the Big City

In this installation of Tamron’s Summer Travel Photography Series, Judith Pishnery offers tips and techniques for capturing the urban landscape both here and abroad.

By Jennifer Gidman
Images by Judy Pishnery

Whether you’re traveling to a city that’s a hop, skip, and jump from your hometown, an urban center across the country, or a metropolitan mecca on the other side of the globe, you won’t run out of material for your viewfinder: Each city is defined by its own unique architectural details, landmarks, street scenes, and people.

Professional photographer Judith Pishnery teaches photography at several art colleges, including the Savannah College of Art & Design, and offers workshops in the Southeast, Italy, and France (she also counts New York City, Atlanta, and China as her other favorite photographic destinations). “I love Paris!” she says. “It’s so diverse, with parks, landmarks, museums, and galleries I can use for inspiration, and fabulous cafes and restaurants that serve as resting spots where I can do some great people-watching.”

Heading out to capture the personality of a local, regional, or international city? Read on for Pishnery’s tips for creating a compelling photographic narrative of your own urban adventures.

Pack appropriate gear for your city sojourn.
Most photographers are gadget geeks (in a good way) and tend to take everything they own with them. If you’re driving and can leave some of your gear in the car, that’s OK, but if you’re walking and taking public transportation around a busy city, having all of your gear with you all of the time can be tedious—it gets heavy real fast.

Take along a small backpack (something that’s lightweight, doesn’t shout out “photographer,” and has a slot for a bottle of water), a lightweight or compact tripod, plenty of media cards/storage, a shutter release (remote release or cable release), and a polarizing filter. I rarely take a flash—since my camera doesn’t have one built in, I would need a Speedlight, which is just too bulky).

You’ll want to bring your favorite two or three lenses, including a wide angle and a reasonable telephoto. I like the Tamron 28-300mm VC lens—it’s perfect for travel and offers a little wide angle to a decent telephoto range. I also like the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens: It’s a supersharp lens that’s amazing in low light because of that f/2.8 aperture.

When I actually hit the streets, I usually choose one lens and make it work for me all day, even if I packed more than one. This way, I’m taking more photos, really getting used to that specific lens, and not constantly changing lenses. Each day I try to choose a different lens to get different perspectives and change up what my photos look like.

Do your research and get recommendations before heading out.
I pick up guidebooks on the city I’m heading to to check out the city maps and to look for historic sites. I’ll do an Internet search for places of interest and ask friends and acquaintances for recommendations. When I get to my destination, I’ll sometimes take a guided tour, which really helps orient me to a new place. Ask employees of the hotel you’re staying at or the tour guide for their favorite places—not just the touristy places, but sites where the locals go.

Be open to all forms of transportation.
I really like walking around a city. It makes you slow down and really check out your surroundings. I’m also very comfortable renting a car and just driving around the countryside in the U.S. and in most European countries: You can easily stop anywhere you want to photograph. I’ve never done a double-decker bus tour in a city, but I think it would be amazing just for the elevated viewpoint.

Shoot a variety of images.
The architecture of a city sets the style, from the smallest details to skyscrapers to a full city block or cityscape. If you only shoot one type of image (e.g., only full building shots), you’re missing the bigger picture of that city. I sometimes get stuck on one style or type of photo and have to force myself to look at a variety of subjects and viewpoints.

Concentrate on varying angles and creative framing for different perspectives.
I don’t always shoot from eye level, which can become a boring, redundant viewpoint. Sit on the ground, stand on a bench, photograph from your hotel window—I have lots of these shots (you can often get amazing views from your hotel). Check out parking decks, if your hotel has any: Go to the top and check out the view from there. Find other buildings open to the public that might have panoramic views of the city.

Think carefully about your compositions—don’t center everything in your frame. If the sky is great that day, maybe include lots of the sky in your image. If the sky is overcast and gray, however, focus on your subject’s details and minimize how much sky is in the frame.

Shooting skyscrapers in big cities can be challenging, but make it creative: Use a wide-angle lens and work with the distortion to create something fun. Try framing the building with other elements in the foreground (e.g., doorways, trees, people, flagpoles, cars) to add depth and scale.

Put famous landmarks in a new context.
Pick up some postcards from a local postcard stand to get an idea of how that city’s famous landmarks and places are already shown—then aim to shoot those same landmarks and places from a different perspective, as explained previously: Do a close-up shot with a wide-angle lens, shoot the landmark from further away than it’s usually shot, incorporate some of the city’s background into the shot, lay on the ground, shoot only the details—make it your own unique photo that you won’t find in any other portfolio of that landmark.

Time some of your shots to include the hustle and bustle…
Taking advantage of midday events and busy places adds a great vibe to your photos. Try to find interesting ways to capture that hustle and bustle—that’s part of the city’s personality. The people on those city streets add emotion to your photos. Shoot the people you meet—but be polite. If they don’t want their photograph taken, respect that and shoot something else.

…and other shots to simply capture the empty city streets.
Going to popular locations in the off-season will minimize the number of people in your shots (if that’s what you’re looking for). Head out early while the rest of the city is still sleeping, and stick around at popular sites after the tour buses have left. If it’s a rainy day and everyone is holed up inside, put on your poncho, cover your camera with a shower cap or Ziploc bag, and take a walk in the rain. This can lead to some beautiful, people-free city scenes.

Look for the light—and supplement with flash if needed.
If many of your shots are going to be people shots, pack a flash. (Learning how to use it before you travel is key to coming back with good shots.) For other types of shots, however, I rarely travel with a flash—I have enough equipment to keep up with! With the ability to achieve high ISOs yet low noise on most new cameras, I just look for good light; keep a sturdy, lightweight tripod handy (a good option if your shutter speeds are at 60 or below and you want to avoid the blur from camera shake); and bracket my exposures when needed. I’ve started to use some HDR effects in my landscapes and building shots to make up for not having a flash in those situations (HDR isn’t a good solution for people photos, though).

Make sure you get a city skyline shot—especially at night.
Look for vantage points that offer vista views of a city for that requisite skyline shot. I like early morning, before sunrise and just after sunrise, and late afternoon. My favorite time, however, is just after sunset, when I can capture the rich blue sky and the building lights are just beginning to make the city sparkle.

To shoot the before-sunrise, after-sunset and night shots, you’ll need a sturdy tripod, a shutter release (or your self-timer setting), and a little patience. Set the ISO to 100 or 200 and your f-stop to around 11 or higher. (This is why you’ll need that tripod—your shutter speed for these shots when you’re using an ISO of 100 or 200 is going to be approximately 1 second or longer.) Next, set the exposure: I normally shoot at the normal exposure and then bracket +1, +2, –1, and –2. This can be done in any of the exposure settings on your camera (manual, A/aperture priority, S or TV/shutter priority and Program—but not full auto).

Experiment, be spontaneous, and keep shooting.
Relax, enjoy, and shoot a lot. Always have your camera ready: If your camera is in the bag or turned off, you’ll miss some great, spontaneous moments. Experiment and photograph the “what if” moments: What if I shoot this? Just try it—it could be amazing! I once had a participant in one of my workshops who only wanted to shoot the shots that “sell”; he missed so many unique opportunities to do something different from the postcards pics that are already available. Some of my more “experimental” images are the ones that I like and other people really do want to buy, so don’t be afraid to try something different.

For more on Judith’s work, go to www.pisconeri.com.

Tamron 18-270mm VC Voted Best Travel Lens 2009-2010

The world’s only 15X zoom lens! Tamron’s perfect all-in-one lens features VC, Tamron’s image stabilizer for blur-free shooting without camera shake at up to four stops slower than usual. The lens offers a convenient, comfortable and versatile all-in-one solution that is ultra light (19.4 oz.) and just 3.8” long. It’s the ideal zoom lens to pack for your next vacation. Tamron 6-Year USA warranty and $80 mail-in rebate when purchased from {your retail name here}.

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Basics of Aquatic Photography, Part II

For many photographers, exploring what’s beneath the sea is a natural progression in a desire to expand their skills and experiment with new subjects. It’s important to understand what kind of aquatic photography is appealing so the proper training is completed to help you reach your goals. For example, there will be different challenges in shooting at 60 feet versus shooting just a few feet below the surface. The following advice refers to underwater photography while scuba-diving (as opposed to snorkeling).

Here are a few basic considerations and concepts to help you get started in aquatic photography:

Neutral Buoyancy is Best:   There’s never been a better time to be neutrally buoyant than when you’re trying to capture that ideal underwater moment. It’s best to hover without using your fins because, if you’re negatively buoyant, you’ll end up kicking up sand and related debris. Neutral buoyancy will also help you get closer to those shy fish and other nervous sea life.

Use Strobes to Compensate for Color Loss:   As you dive deeper into the water, the sunlight wavelengths of red and yellow are the first to disappear, rendering images with a cool and flat appearance. In order to compensate for color loss, photographers find a flash or strobe critical to bringing back rich hues and textures in their images.

Get Close Whenever Possible:  When it comes to shooting underwater subjects, fill the frame whenever possible. Shooting close and wide will allow you to capture your subject in a more intimate manner and having less water between the subject (many professional photographers recommend no more than three feet of water between the subject and the lens) and the lens will help your colors remain more vivid and textures more defined.

Patience over the Chase:  Patience is a necessity when it comes to doing anything underwater, and it’s even more critical when you’re on the hunt for close-up shots of clownfish. Many novice photographers make the mistake of chasing after fish in an effort to grab a shot before returning to the surface. This method is highly ineffective as the fish are always faster. Patiently waiting for sea life to return may be a challenge but it is the best way to get the image you’ve imagined. There’s a difference between swimming towards a shot and hunting down your subject.

You’ll also need to make sure your dive buddy understands and is willing to be patient as well; the last thing you need is a frustrated dive partner swimming about and kicking up sand when you’re in the mode to wait it out for the shot. Make sure you’re on the same page when working on your initial dive plan so there are no misunderstandings.

Know Your Controls:  Divers with experience realize that many of their actions must be instinctive as visibility is limited and they must be able to complete several tasks intuitively. This concept also extends to your camera controls. Make sure that you know where key controls are without having to hunt and double-check as you may end up missing a shot when fiddling with your camera. When shooting underwater, you’ll only need to adjust focus, exposure and your strobe settings. Don’t worry about anything else as you’ll also be managing maintaining neutral buoyancy and composing your shot. Everything else is just a distraction at this point.

If there’s one thing that is similar with both land and aquatic photography, it’s the importance of mastering the basics. You’ll find that your aquatic photography skills improve quickly if you’ve paid ample attention to your foundation.

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Photographing Fireworks

There’s something a bit magical in a Fourth of July fireworks display. Designed to be a spectacular event celebrating the independence of our great Nation, it’s a true slice of Americana that is meant to be photographed and celebrated. Here are a few tips to help you capture some spectacular shots.
The Early Bird Gets the Shot: Try to get to the location a bit early if possible. It will give you time to survey the area and evaluate the best locations for your photography. Professional photographers will often counsel that a little bit of advance planning can make all the difference between a mediocre shot and a magnificent one.
Slow Your Shutter Speed:   A long exposure often works best with fireworks since they are moving events and contain bright light. Experiment with keeping the shutter open long but don’t overdo it because you can overexpose the image. Alternate between using a burst mode to capture the action as well as holding the shutter open (by pressing the button half-way at the beginning of the action and continue holding it down until the fireworks burst is complete) in a single shot. Each location and event has unique circumstances so keep experimenting as you go along until you find the effect that works for you.
Consider Continuous Shooting:   Shooting in burst mode, also called ‘continuous mode,’ is an excellent way to capture fast moving action or for those events where timing is everything. Shooting in burst mode will increase the odds of getting great images during the fireworks finale.
Forget the Flash:   Keep your flash turned off when photographing fireworks. . The flash only helps when your object is a few feet away, and in this case, it may prove to be more of a hindrance than helpful because the flash signals your camera that you need a shorter exposure time, when in fact, you need a little longer.
Try a Tripod:   With the combination of low light and fast action (the fireworks), a steady surface can greatly aid in helping you record that perfect image. We offer a number of high quality styles including compact, professional and monopod styles: http://www.precision-camera.com/main/tripods-and-monopods.html

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Leica X1 – Back to the Future?

by Chad Wadsworth for Precision Camera

[Note: The Leica X1 has been difficult to obtain since it was first introduced earlier this year, but Precision Camera now has limited inventory of the X1 and accessories. Please contact our sales department for more information.]

Anytime a new product bearing that iconic little red dot is launched, there is sure to be tremendous interest within the photographic community. The latest M series camera, the M9, has been heralded as a return to form for Leica and the first digital M that favorably compares, and even improves upon, the legendary film models. If this wasn’t good enough news for the Leica faithful, the company also turned its attention to a niche that many had worried was all but extinct – the luxury compact.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, brands like Contax, Leica, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, and Ricoh all produced diminutive 35mm jewels that offered SLR image quality in a package that could easily slip into a pocket or purse. With the advent of digital photography, the “state-of-the-art” in compact cameras was setback, and photographers were relegated to using bulky digital SLR gear if they expected the highest levels of image quality. Comparing the output of your average compact digital camera with a tiny Olympus XA from the 1980s results in a one-sided whopping in favor of the latter. Miniscule sensors crammed with pixels simply cannot provide an attractive shallow depth of field, wide dynamic range and satisfactory low-light capabilities. But with manufacturers now moving beyond the small-sensor, megapixel war (witness the recent micro 4/3rds innovations from Olympus and Panasonic, the early effort from Sigma with the DP1 and new compact APS-C sensor cameras from Leica, Ricoh and Samsung) it is clear the industry is finally traveling “back to the future” of high image quality in a compact package.

Small camera, big results - The Panasonic GF-1, Contax T3, Leica X1

Six years after Leica produced its last compact film camera, the CM, we now have a proper digital reincarnation: the X1. As a self-professed compact camera junkie, I’ve had the pleasure of owning the original CM, its predecessor the Minilux, the Contax and Yashica T lines and the Olympus XA.

Leica CM

I’ve been anxiously awaiting a digital compact that could knock these film cameras out of active rotation and into the collector’s cabinet. My minimum requirements for such a replacement are: a fast prime lens, an APS-C or full frame sensor, excellent handling performance, and, of course, “pocketablility.” Optional but preferred features would be a built-in hybrid optical/EVF viewfinder combining electronic display of camera data with a natural optical view, HD video capability, great hardware design and top-notch build quality.

In this review, I’ll take a look at the X1 and weigh in on whether Leica has succeeded in its quest to elevate the digital compact camera to a level previously obtained by film systems. We’ll start with a quick look at the hardware and take a few test shots to get a feel for how the X1 operates. Later  on I’ll field-test the camera in various everyday environments.

As you read on, please take note that all X1 images are shot in RAW format and processed in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop CS4.

Now then, on to the first look!

The nicely designed back of the X1. Note the placement of buttons for ISO, WB, etc. right where your thumb lies.

As would be expected from Leica, the X1 is a beautifully designed camera. Most recognizably, the X1 evokes the early Leica screw-mount models often referred to as the “Barnack Cameras” but it is also an evolution of the CM, whose rounded corners followed the more brick like design of the Minilux. Like the Barnacks, the elongated curves of the X1 lend the camera a svelte yet sturdy appearance.

Leica IIIf "Barnack"

The long body, matched with a lens offset to camera left, provides plenty of space for finger placement on the shutter side, something that isn’t always the case with other compacts. And the perfectly round, pop-up flash is a nice touch that mirrors other circular cues such as the manual controls for shutter speed and aperture, the shutter button itself and of course that little red dot. The back of the camera is a tasteful mix of rectangular and circular elements arranged in a cohesive, ergonomic layout. There is no doubt that the X1 is going to attract attention and the more time spent with it, the more one appreciates the understated, modern take on a classic design. Kudos to Leica for successfully paying homage to their earlier lines, while managing to create a distinct and attractive personality for X1.

So the X1 easily surpasses a requirement for great design but what about “pocketability?” On this subject, the X1 comes close but ultimately fails to reach the compactness achieved by several of its film predecessors. The lens protrusion is an unfortunate design element that is necessitated by an arcane law of physics related to sensor and lens size. Most, if not all, film-based luxury compacts had telescoping lenses that were encompassed entirely by the main camera body when powered off, making them easy to store in a small rectangular case or pocket. In comparison to one of the smallest luxury film compacts, the Contax T3, the X1 is the same height but almost an inch deeper (with lens cap) and a full inch longer. Granted, the extra length creates welcome space for the large LCD and controls; but for this generation it appears there is still an engineering constraint that restricts Leica and others from designing a fully enclosed lens flush with the camera body.

Back to the positive. The X1 weighs in at 286 grams, which is a nice heft for its size. The X1 just feels right. Comparatively, the Leica CM weighs 300 grams and the Panasonic GF-1 tips the scales at 285 grams. Keep in mind: you’ll still need to attach a lens to the GF-1, which can considerably increase the weight and size.

The camera’s build quality is class-leading and a real improvement over the CM. One of my criticisms of that camera was that it felt a bit like a Frankenstein creation with controls glued to the rear of the film door. The X1 is clearly a fully integrated design with a metal body encasing the heart of the camera and high quality plastics surrounding the Elmarit 1:2.8 24mm (35mm equivalent) lens. There is no doubt that when the X1 is in your hands, you are indeed holding a Leica. If I were to find any fault with the materials it would be with the plastic battery door. I’ve read similar complaints about other cameras and wonder why manufacturers can’t stick a metal door on the battery compartment. I recently dropped a GF-1 from about 2 feet onto concrete and luckily the camera hit a metal enclosed edge. Had it impacted on the opposite side, there is no doubt that the plastic battery door would have cracked or exploded. I’m hoping not to run this same “test” with the X1!

So far, so good. The X1 really impresses based on its stunning design and top-notch build quality. For now, I’m willing to forgive the lens protrusion and soldier on with some actual picture taking to see how this little Leica performs. Like many of you, whenever I receive a new camera, the first thing I do is run some test shots. I’ve gotten into the habit of photographing the same “usual suspects” so that I have a visual history to compare the latest camera to. These subjects mainly consist of scenes around my home and vehicle (original eh?) but I promise we’ll get into less mundane photographic material later.

I received the camera from Precision Camera late in the afternoon and didn’t have much time to shoot before dark, so I very quickly had an opportunity to test the X1’s low light capability. Since the majority of my personal photography takes place in severe low light conditions, I was curious how the X1 would stand up to the test. I won’t keep you in suspense; in terms of image quality, the X1 is the best low-light performer I have used in a compact digital camera. In fact, after viewing similar images taken at 1600 ISO with the X1, the Panasonic GF-1 and the full-frame DSLR Canon 5D, my personal preference lies with the X1 images. That’s an amazing statement and I’m happy to make it! Not only is noise at 1600 perfectly manageable, the noise has a very nice film like quality. It is a genuine landmark to finally be at a point in small digital camera development where high ISO noise is less abundant and more attractive than that produced by many low ISO 35mm films.

With the low-light elephant out of the room, what about the general image quality of the X1? Does the 35mm Elmarit provide the “Leica look” that enthusiasts of the brand swear by? How does the X1 perform in the field? Is the AF effective? These questions will all be addressed in the next segment of the review.

Roadtrip

After almost two full days of travel bingo, books on tape ipod and numerous potty stops, our car, loaded with mom, dad and two young children, arrived safely at our destination in Seagrove Beach, Florida. There we met up with “Nonna and Papa” for a Spring Break week of fun.

While I had hoped to take many photos throughout the week, our active schedule worked against me. Still, it was nice to have a compact camera to take along for the brief moments when photo opportunities presented themselves. Taking a bulky SLR biking, boating and to the beach while corralling youngsters and grandparents would have been a real hassle, but the X1 was mostly a pleasure to carry along.

As we saw earlier in the review, the X1 is capable of capturing extremely high quality images. Throughout our week at the coast and while shooting predominately outdoors in varying light conditions, the X1 continued to exhibit the same high level of resolution, flexible depth of field and impressive dynamic range that I was looking for. Make no mistake, the X1 creates gorgeous keepers and on the merit of image quality alone, has reached the bar set by the luxury film compacts that preceded it. But as witnessed by the much-maligned Sigma DP1 and DP2 cameras, image quality can take a back seat to a poor user interface.

The first measure of functionality is often a camera’s implementation of focus so let’s begin with auto focus. After choosing which type of focus point you would like to use (single, multipoint, spot or facial recognition) a handy “AF/MF” selector to the right of the LCD provides quick access to the selection menu for AF/AF-Macro or MF. Select AF or AF-Macro and you are ready to go. This brings up my first complaint about the AF system: the AF-Macro selection. Having to enter the menu system to focus on anything between approximately 10 to 20 inches from the front lens element is a real frustration. Often, when closing in on my subject I would be unable to acquire focus, realize I was too close for the standard “AF” setting and be forced to select “AF-Macro.” I found this occurring more often than I would like. Most high-end film compacts do not require a separate selection for close focus and neither does the X1’s close competitors, the Panasonic GF-1 and Olympus EP line. Quibbles aside, in service, I found the X1 AF to be perfectly capable of capturing most of the scenes I shot during the week. Once I recognized the distance limitations of the AF setting, I was more cognizant of what the camera was going to be capable of in a given situation. When shooting subjects at a distance of 2 to 3 feet I often left the X1 in AF-Macro, just to be safe.

Accustomed to the fast auto focus of the Canon 5D and the relatively fast AF of the GF-1, I was prepared to accept a slower pace with the X1. In good light the AF speed of the X1 is closer to that of the Olympus E-P2 – certainly acceptable and as fast, if not faster, than most people can effectively manual focus. However, things slow down by at least a factor of two once the darkness settles in. The focus assist lamp does help though, something the E-P2 is sorely lacking.

And what about manual focus? I can’t help but think Leica came really close with its manual focus solution on the X1 and I am holding out hope that a firmware fix can perfect the concept. There are several issues that restrict the efficacy of MF on the X1. First we must consider the focus wheel – well placed, where your shutter thumb has easy access to it without losing contact on the shutter. Once you have the X1 set to “MF” and the menu option for “MF Assist” set to “On,” a flick of the wheel will bring up a distance scale and a magnified window. Conveniently, the magnified focus assist window can be moved via the directional buttons to cover your subject. Overall, the focus assist was sufficient to get the job done but I’m sure that a couple extra factors of magnification would make things even easier. The distance scale, from 1 ft. to 6ft and infinity, is covered in approximately 15 or so flicks of the wheel, which can take a while – maybe one second per flick. Worse, the X1 doesn’t maintain your previous MF setting when powering off and on, or when switching to AF and back to MF. So if you are close focusing, count on several seconds of flicking the focus wheel to zero in on your subject. Fortunately, I believe most of these MF concerns can be easily addressed with a firmware update. Even so, it seems that there is a missed opportunity to present an interface that would really appeal to the Leica faithful. For example, why does the focus wheel serve no function at all unless the X1 is set to MF? Couldn’t the wheel be used to quickly enter MF in situations where the AF is having difficulty or to fine tune focus? And what about a dynamic hyper focal scale that could graphically indicate when you were in the hyper focal zone for a given f/stop? Street shooters would rejoice!

Moving past the focusing performance of the X1, the next critical control is exposure. Using the X1’s manual dials on top of the body was a real pleasure and harkens back to the days of film when photographers actually set aperture and shutter speed via analog dials. The wheels both move a little freely though, so you’ll need to check the settings before you shoot. Beyond shutter and aperture selection, the X1 offers easy access to exposure compensation through a single button selection and a spin of the jog wheel that surrounds the now ubiquitous “cross” layout of control buttons on the rear of the camera. This control scheme is fast and effective, enabling the user to quickly over- or under-compensate exposure while reviewing the effect on the LCD. While there is little fault with the exposure settings and compensation controls, the lack of an exposure lock feature is baffling. I consider this to be the most standard of features in a modern camera system and was surprised to find its omission on the X1. If exposure compensation controls were implemented poorly, the lack of an exposure lock would have been a deal breaker. But as such, most photographers will likely do fine without it.

Controls for White Balance, Flash, ISO, Timers and Display Info are all a single button push away and nicely laid out for quick access. In general, the Leica control scheme is one of the most simple on the market and for many will be appreciated for its efficiency, while others may be frustrated by its lack of more esoteric features and customization. Regardless, the X1 interface is quick to learn and easy to master. Even with an AF system that sometimes felt a bit on the slow side, the interface was never an impediment to capturing the image. I even managed some handheld shots while moving on a mountain bike, one of which is my favorite image of the week.

Final thoughts

For the past several years, our family has been invited to an Easter party that can only be described as a photo rich environment. The party hosts pull out the stops and rent a mobile petting farm to delight the neighborhood kids with baby bunnies, goats, chicks and even a calf. Each year I’ve snapped shots with a film compact and have always been pleased with the results, but this time around it was the X1 that got called upon to capture the event.

In what had become evident over the length of my time with the X1, the image quality continued to impress. The character of the Elmarit lens is truly special and the 35mm focal length is a personal favorite of many photographers, including this one. If the user can accept this single focal length and embrace its strengths, the little Leica will consistently deliver the goods.

Shooting moving children and small animals is a good test of camera performance. AF speed and shutter lag were acceptable for the task and I don’t feel many moments were missed due to the handling of the X1. Would I have preferred a faster AF, of course, but for those Leica M shooters that are used to the manual focus experience, the X1 will be plenty fast in the focus department. At the end of the day I had captured just as many keepers as in years past, so the Leica proved itself a capable performer in an environment with close-range subjects moving at moderate speed.

When the time came to pack up the Leica for its return trip back to Precision Camera I felt a tinge of regret that I would no longer have access to such impressive image quality from a small digital camera body. While I still hold out hope for an even more compact, large sensor model from either Leica or another manufacturer, there is no doubt the X1 is the reigning champ in the rather slim category of luxury compacts. Kudos to Leica for designing a camera that will appeal to the photographer who still remembers or uses analog equipment. If you are looking for the Swiss Army knife of cameras with every feature, menu item, zoom range and video capability known to man, you may want to pass on the X1. But if your wallet can support it, and you won’t be shooting fast moving subjects, I highly recommend the X1 on the merits of its superb image and build quality, high design, simple but efficient user interface and, of course, its diminutive size.

About Chad:

For the past five years, Austin photographer Chad Wadsworth has been busy chronicling our town’s famous live music scene at its many festivals and local clubs. Capturing artists as diverse as B.B. King, The Arcade Fire and Beck, his work has been featured in national publications such as SPIN magazine and on the website of Grammy winning band, Wilco. He lives in both film and digital worlds and not to be pigeonholed, also shoots environmental portraiture and fashion for local magazines, Austin Monthly and Tribeza. His love for all cameras compact, made him an ideal assessor of the lovely new Leica X1. You can view a sample of Chad’s work at www.showperformance.com.

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