The New Normals

Back in the 70s (when having a big bushy mustache wasn't ironic), the standard kit of most budding photographers included a SLR without the "D" mated with a fast 50. It was F2.0 if you were on a budget, F1.7 if you ate cheese sandwiches for a week, and an F1.4 if you just got that big promotion.* With some change rattling in your piggy bank, you'd save up for a moderate wide around 28mm and a short telephoto of around 105mm and Bob was your uncle.** The fast 50–the normal–got the hardest workout, as it was pretty close to your actual vision and useful in a lot of situations.

Self Portraits

Self Portrait in Red

Pentax Q with 01 Prime

Head in the Clouds (But Not Quite Magritte)

Panasonic LX7

Self Portrait on the Train

Panasonic LX7

Distractions

Been distracted by this thing called "work" lately so I haven't been able to post. But I wanted to stop in and make sure that there's actually a photo (instead of a chart) at the top of the page....



Taken with the ever-handy Pentax Q with the 01 Standard Prime. I take it with me nearly everywhere I go, even running. I'll be first in line for a pancake to make the package even smaller.

22

My friend Sandy and I go out from breakfast once in a while. Our friendship started with motorcycles but has expanded into photography and other things. It's always a good time, and time that passes by too quickly. On this cold December day we sat by the windows of the Phoenix Cafe, basking in the early morning sun.



Sandy is having a torrid affair with his Fuji X-Pro1. By torrid, I mean that things are never just "fine" but rather he's either ecstatic about the thing (oh the IQ is as good as my D3!...ah the handling is sublime...it's just the right size...etc...) or one missed shot from whacking it with a Louisville Slugger (the AF!...the AF!...the AF!...etc...). This morning he's lamenting his early adopter status and how he's missing photo ops of his grandkids. We finish our eggs and linger with coffee refills. He takes the Fuji out of the bag and all it takes is a couple minutes of caressing this object d'photo, listening to the quick AF confirm beep in this well-lit care, and the storm passes. It's all roses again. Poor Sandy, we've all been there...

Odd-looking Christmas Ornament

Cape Neddick, Maine

Wrapping up my next story for RoadRUNNER. Thought I'd play around with combining photos and text.

I am so 99% almost done with this story I can taste it. But I need to sleep, perchance to dream of the headings I need to finish the story.

Tiny tripod

Tiny tripod (Manfrotto Pocket Series) for tiny camera (Pentax Q). This should be useful for tabletop shots and whatnot. The tiny feet fold inward for easy storage. I love little cool things like this.

On the way to Sturgis

We cross an ocean of grain in the mid-summer heat of one of the hottest years on record. In other words, it’s hot and there’s no place to hide. The road is a thick rubber band stretching from horizon to horizon and we’re in the company of other pilgrims on their way to Sturgis. Wyoming and Nebraska pass beneath our floorboards without incident, fields the color of straw set against a pale blue sky.

On the Road with Pentax Q

Back in the day - in 2007 i think (my memory of those long gone days are faded) - I paid a princely sum for a little Ricoh GX100 point-and-shoot. With a tiny 10 megapixel sensor and a 24-70mm zoom, it was my backup camera on many motorcycle trips. It was unusual in that it had an intervalometer and was small enough to hang off a motorcycle for a cool moving shot.

Pentax Q takes Manhattan

The Q is almost always with me this days, ready to snap at a moment's notice. When wandering NYC, those moments often come fast and furiously, snap snap snap.

Me, 29 October 2012

Pentax Q goes to the Shoe Store

I've got a small local client for whom I do marketing for. Part of the package is product photography that they use on their website and Facebook page that I manage. They've received a lot of compliments to the photography that they use, which makes me feel good. Over the years I've used any number of cameras, from Pentax K20D, K-X, K-01, K-5), Panasonic Micro Four-Thirds (GH1, GH2), and even the Nikon V1. Lighting in the store is pretty good, and the key issue is getting the right DOF (not too much but not too little) without having to push the ISO into noisy territory for the camera being used. 

Last time out, I took the Nikon V1 and the results were just OK. It wasn't really the camera's fault but rather the lens selection; the 10mm F2.8 is a 27mm equivalent and thus a bit too wide for this application as it tends to distort the shoes. Alternately, the 10-30mm zoom has the focal lengths that I need but it's a bit too slow, which forced me to push the ISO a bit more than I would have liked. Ultimately, I got usable shots for the web, but it wasn't my favorite set.

So this time I went for a meeting and at the last minute was asked to photograph Nike's running and basketball shoes. The only thing I had with me was the Pentax Q with the 01 Prime (47mm eq, F1.9). Having used the camera extensively, I was pretty sure that the fast aperture along with the decent low light performance would handle the situation. And the camera did great, good colors and sharpness, and even good OOF - not too much, not too little. I've also been able to push and pull the files pretty hard in post, something that other small sensors have been less adept at. Overall, a good showing for the Q. If Pentax comes out with a fast 28mm eq wide and a fast 105mm eq telephoto, that will make a seriously good and tiny 3 prime kit.

Autumn

Pentax Q, on a walk around town.

Laugh

Pentax Q, late at night, after the opening of a friend's photography show. A bunch of us, mostly photogs and other visual/creative types, are having a beer and some ribs at Dinosaur BBQ. The Q sits quietly on the table until it's called upon, then it's all ISO3200, manual focusing, and just trying to grab shots of people enjoying the evening.

Lost in thought

Pentax Q @ ISO3200 in a Mexican restaurant lit primarily with holiday lights shaped like little jalapeño peppers.

The Q really hits a good spot for me - a small, camera that I can carry everywhere. I am rediscovering the idea that the maniacal pursuit of "image quality" is a rabbit hole and can actually be a barrier to creativity. It's actually fun to put IQ aside and just play.

In this venue, I turn off the AF assist light and manually focus. I've got effects modes on the Quick Dial and of course more options in Lightroom.

What I really want for the Q is a moderate wide, something like a 28mm equivalent f/2.0 or something. Its funny, because I nearly have that with the Nikon V1 (28mm EQ, f/2.8), and when I take that camera with me I long for a 50mm EQ.

It's in the Bag, Maine Lobster Edition

Recenty rode up to Maine with fellow rider/photographer Sandy Noble. This is what we brought. A Canon G11 is missing from the shot because it was used to take the photo, but there's a space for it in the lower right hand corner of the iPad. So here's what we got:

Pentax K-5 with DA* 16-50 F2.8 and DA70mm f/2.4

Nikon 1 with 10mm f/2.8 and 10-30mm/30-110mm variable aperture zooms.

Pentax Q with 01 Prime (47mm f/1.9 eq) and 03 Fish Eye

Fuji X-Pro 1 with three primes (18mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4, 60mm f/2.4) and flash

CamOne POV video camera

As you can see, the cup runneth over, or at least runneth the iPad. On prior trips I managed to squeeze it all on the iPad, but now we have two photogs plus the big Pentax zoom in the picture. That's ok, since we have two motorcycles to carry the gear, and my bike for the trip - a BMW R 1200 RT - had a humongous topcase that swallowed my LowePro Stealth Reporter 400 with ease.

What surprised me most of all (but on reflection should not have) is the fact that the Fuji X-Pro1 and Pentax K-5 are remarkably close in size. The only things that make the K-5 bigger are the grip and the pentaprism; the bodies are otherwise the same size.

In any case, we had a lot of fun with this kit and took plenty of photos. Get ready for a deluge of shots from the journey...

[NOTE: I'm testing Google's Affiliate Ads, thus the photo and link of the Pentax K-5 below.]

Pentax K-5 16.3 MP Black Digital SLR Body Only 14748 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Descending the Mount Washington Auto Road on The Tomato

2012 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring

Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime

On the Million Dollar Highway with a Victory Cory Ness Cross CountryTour

This is a photo of a motorcycle, because I've been blogging and posting about tennis and lions and birds (oh my!) that my blog is like, "WTF man? Where are the motorbikes?!"

Rider is Joe Gresh of Motorcyclist Magazine. Camera is Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime @ 1/640s, f/3.2, ISO160.

I'll probably submit this with my story. We'll see if it gets published...

Two Cameras in the Cheap Seats

Arthur Ashe Stadium, as seen by the Nikon 1 V1 with 1 Nikkor 10mm f/2.8 lens.

From the cheap seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the Pentax Q and 03 Fish Eye lens.


I barely used the Q while at the US Open. It was thrown in the bag at the last moment - because it's so small - but it was really a night to play with the Nikon 1 V1. I did shoot some fish-eye shots, like the one shown here, but it spent most of the night sleeping in the bag. That's ok, it's not a great camera for night snapshots, what with the slowish focus. High ISO is not as big of an issue as you might think, because the 01 Prime is a fast f/1.9 (@ 47mm EQ) and the body has built-in image stabilization. ISO1600 is a bit of a reach, but perfectly fine for Facebook snapshots.

On the other hand, the V1 focuses faster at night. Not as lightning fast as in good light, but still faster than the Q. The 10mm (27mm EQ) prime lens is slower though at f/2.8. And neither the body nor this particular lens has image stabilization. ISO1600 seems marginally cleaner than the Q, but it's not like night and day. I will push the V1 to ISO3200 from time to time, something I'm not always comfortable doing with the Q unless I plan on converting to B&W or am just playing around.

So, quite surprisingly, despite the sensor size differences, the Q and V1 aren't that far apart as low-light machines as you might expect. If Q had better AF or focus peaking, I'd happily shoot it at night. And if the V1 had faster, image stabilized lenses it might pull ahead. But that's all ifs and buts, isn't it?