Arm in Arm in Armoire

We interrupt all of this testing and opining to bring you this, a photo of cats.

Help us choose the cover for our next ebook - "Ten Tips: Cat Photos"

So whenever I buy a new camera or lens or accessory, one of my first test subjects are our cats Nate and Alex. Over the years I've compiled a large collection of photos and with my wife have turned them into an ebook - "Ten Tips: Cat Photos". We're in the final proofing stages and are asking the Internet to help us choose the cover. Please join us on Facebook and vote for your favorite cover.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ten-Tips-Cat-Photos/442924095732196

Thanks!

Alex napping in his unusual position.

Via Flickr:
Pentax K-01 with FA 31mm F1.8 Limited @ 1/125s, f/1.8, ISO1600

Alex gets pushed two stops but he really doesn't mind.

Alex gets pushed two stops but he really doesn't mind., a photo by john m flores on Flickr. Alex is a little more exlusive than Nate is when it comes having his picture taken. It's not like he doesn't like it; after all he's a cat and doesn't even know what a photo is. But he's not as high maintenance as Nate and thus not always at our ankles meowing for food or attention. He can often be found like this, just chillin' on the ground.

This was taken with the Nikon 1 V1 with the 10mm f/2.8 prime @ 1/15, f/2.8, ISO800. By the specs you can tell it was kind of dark, yet the V1 nailed the focus without breaking a sweat. It did underexpose though - the light through the bathroom skylight threw the metering off. No worries, a 2 stop correction in Lightroom (with some burning of the bright bathroom) and this is what we have. I've added just a touch of NR, but the V1 RAW file handled the push really nicely.

Who's Your Kitty?

Playing with the Pentax Q and 03 Fish Eye. This is a manual focus lens and a challenging one to focus with at that. But in this situation, with a cat on my lap demanding attention and the Q in my other hand, I found it easier to move the camera back and forth until things looked reasonable sharp and then tripping the shutter. The 03 Fish Eye doesn't have a leaf shutter so the Q uses the totally silent electronic shutter with this lens. Nate was none the wiser.

ISO800 on the Pentax Q is pretty clean.

Via Flickr:
At least Alex thinks so. That's pretty cool. My last point-and-shoots would run out of steam at ISO400. This much maligned little fella is pumping out pretty clean ISO800 and very usable ISO1600. I'll admit that like everyone else I balked at the sensor size and the launch price, but at current prices I feel like I've gotten a deal.

Cat butt

Cat butt, originally uploaded by john m flores.

I've taken thousands of photos of Nate, but none of his butt. Until now. This one reminds me of those photos of people lying face down on the ground, one of which was a controversial winner of a well-known photo competition. Nate could give that photo a run for its money I'm sure.

Pentax K-01 with the DA21mm F3.2 which is more or less welded onto the camera. 1/20s, F3.2, ISO3200. In this age of F2.8 zooms, F3.2 doesn't sound like much, but ISO3200 and image stabilization help a lot. With cat butts, among other things.

Clean ISO3200 + Image Stabilization + Manual Focus with Peaking + QuietShutter = Undisturbed Kitty

Clean ISO3200 + Image Stabilization + Manual Focus with Peaking + Quiet Shutter = Undisturbed Kitty, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
Pentax K-01 with DA40mm F2.8 Limited @ ISO3200, F2.8, 1/20s. Nate had no idea I was stalking him. Nor does he know how many photos of him are on the Interwebs.
While this works for sleeping cats and flowers, the K-01 needs two things in order to be a stealthy street camera:

• SDM lenses. As much as I love the DA Limiteds - they are jewels - they are screw-driven and thus make noise. Most of the time it's not objectionable, but everyone once in a while the camera fails to snap to focus and runs the lens through it's whole range of focus before locking in. Depending upon the situation, people may or may not hear that, but I sure do, and it makes me worry that others do. SDM lenses, with internal motors are virtually silent, and neatly solve this problem. Currently, SDM motors are used in many of Pentax zooms and some of the longer primes. The shortest prime with SDM is the 55/1.4, which is unfortunately a focal length I don't really get along with. I'll be the first in line if Pentax releases a set of SDM primes in the focal lengths I like - like the DA Limited 15, 21, 35, 40, 70.
• Greater than 1 FPS in RAW. This is a real buzz kill. I often shoot photojournalist projects of public figures. When with them, there are events that I like to capture - a handshake, a discussion, a tense moment, etc. This shot, for example, was taken in 2009 with the K-20d:


Could I have taken this shot with the K-01?

IQ-wise? Yes. Most decidedly so.

Decisive-moment-wise? Maybe. My chances would improve with JPG, and in a situation like this I'd likely be forced to. The excellent AWB helps, but I really would prefer RAW.

Ultimately, the K-01 is "that" close to being a great camera for that kind of photography...

Ever curious. Even at ISO3200.

Ever curious. Even at ISO3200., originally uploaded by john m flores.

Traditions are traditions, and Nate must visually inspect all new cameras. He approves of this one, particularly the quiet shutter. He doesn't like the noisy screwdrive AF motor so much, so we'll have to do a lot of manual focusing when close to this kitty. That's, ok, he's surprisingly patient. And usually sleeping.

This clean shot at ISO3200 is precisely what attracted me to the K-01 in the first place - the same Sony sensor that's in the K-5 at a fraction of the price. As good as the Panasonic GH2 is, this shot would be a hit or miss affair. Sometimes the GH2 takes clean ISO3200. Other times the noise creeps in and the color turns to mud.

So while others have slagged the design and derided the lack of an EVF, I've just kept reminding myself, "it's the sensor, stupid."

Two sleeping cats prove the effectiveness of image stabilization (354mmEQ, 1/20s)

Two sleeping cats prove the effectiveness of image stabilization (354mm EQ, 1/20s), originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
Confession - I haven't taken a lot of photos lately. Besides being really busy with work, I just haven't found the inspiration and motivation to get out there and take photos. Maybe it's the winter doldrums setting in.

But everyone once in a while I'll step away from my home office and snap some shots around the house, usually of sleeping cats. As we all know, the Internets is saturated with photos of cats ("caturated"?). But I wanted to share this otherwise mundane photo for one simple reason - it's a 1/20s exposure at a 35mm equivalent focal length of 354mm. Taken with the Panasonic GH1 @ISO1600 with the 100-300 F4.0-5.6 with MegaOIS (Optical Image Stabilization). Yes,, it's a slow lens, but if you've got inanimate subjecsts (or sleeping ones), you can pull off pretty crazy shots that just a few short years ago were unheard of. I even pulled of a 420mm EQ shot with good sharpness.

Good holding and stabilization technique helps, but no bones about it, the real star here is the awkwardly-named MegaOIS. And Alex and Nate, as usual.

Introducing Alex, and the Olympus 45/F1.8.

Introducing Alex, and the Olympus 45/F1.8., originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
I've kind of fallen into this tradition - a new lens shows up at the door, I rip it open with the enthusiasm of an 9-year old on Christmas morning, mount it, and then stalk the cats. This time Alex gets the honor, striking a contemplative pose for the Olympus 45/F1.8 for Micro Four-Thirds.

Up until now I've relied upon my adapted Pentax M50/1.7 for video, but it's starting to rattle like an empty paint can with a couple of marbles thrown in. One time I took off the rear cap and the rear element nearly fell into my hand - somehow it had unscrewed itself. So I screwed it back in and kept on shooting with it. But I certainly don't want that happening on a paid shoot, so I needed to demote the Pentax to Plan B while I found a new Plan A. So here it is. And here's Alex, keeping this odd tradition alive.

No Nate, we haven't forgotten you

No Nate, we haven't forgotten you, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
...but we've almost forgotten how special the Pentax DA Limiteds were. They've been spending far too much time in the drawer as the Panasonic pancakes and zooms get their workouts. Thank goodness for the M43 to P-K adapter though, as I can still excercise the 35 F2.8 Macro and the others from time to time until the K-5 magically appears at my door....

Giving the GH1 a chance

Giving the GH1 a chance, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
So I bought the GH1 as a backup to the GH2. Cheap. Real cheap. I've been really happy with the GH2, so I thought that the GH1 would be very similar. It is, but it's also very different, and I've struggled with it. Image quality is nice, but the front dial is harder to use than the rear dial on the GH2, selecting a focus point is process of press, click, press, press, press, press, click, and the EVF is a little bit of a crapshoot, amping up in low light to the point that it's no longer an accurate representation of reality.

But I paid for it and I want to give it a chance as a stills camera. So while the GH2 pulls primary duty for work, I'm mounting the Pentax K to M43 adapter to the GH1 and re-acquainting myself with my wonderful Pentax primes. They've been sitting in a drawer until I get a K-5, so they'll get a little workout while the GH1 gets a second chance.

Flash Cat

Flash Cat, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Via Flickr:
So, Nate, if you don't mind, I'm going to take some flash photos of you while you snooze, and share my impressions of the Metz 50 AF-1.

I have a Metz 58 AF-1 for Pentax and have been very happy with it. It is my first proper flash, so maybe glowing praise is to be expected.

Stepping down to a physically smaller camera (the GH2), I thought that it was only appropriate to step down to a physically smaller flash as well. The 50 AF-1 is not only smaller than its kin, it's cheaper too. It the savings worth it? In a word, no. At least in my opinion.

The step down is size is also a step down in usability, as the 50 has a less sophisticated display and fewer buttons to controll settings with. Now in many cases, a reduction in buttons may actually aid usability, but in this case, it just means more button presses (and combo presses) to get the same thing done. Now that may not seem like a big deal, until, of course, it is. Like in the heat of shooting and you've got to fiddle faddle to get it set.

As far as actually quality and performance, the 50 seems just as good as the 58. Mind you, this is not after extensive shooting, but it is a first impression.

The other thing that annoys may not actually be the flash's fault. On the GH2, I can't get the focus-assist lamp to fire. The GH2 has it's own focus assist lamp, but it's tucked in the corner and gets blocked by longer lenses. I can turn it off, but that in turn doesn't send the right signals to get the Metz to turn its focus assist on. Panasonic, are you listening?

I've also played a little bit with off-camera flash, and I'm not sure if I've got it to work. Again, this appears to be a shortcoming of the GH2, not the Metz, as the 50 does have a slave mode where you can select group and channel. Some more investigation is necessary.

Now you can resume your full-fledged cat nap...

Brothers stick together

Brothers stick together, originally uploaded by john m flores.

What, did I someone say we don't have enough cats in this blog? ;-)

Nate

Nate, originally uploaded by john m flores.

It's a lazy Sunday morning, so I'm posting pictures of cats. This was taken with the Panasonic GH2 with the 14-140/F4.0-5.8 kit lens @ ISO800, 103mm, 1/50, F5.8. Others have commented that this lens is stronger for video than it is for stills. I'm still on the fence. It is capable of nice images, but the slowness of it makes it a challenge to achieve DOF sometimes. Plus, the 20 F1.7 is so small and tasty and fast that it is usually on the camera on walkabouts and such. It looks like the Optical Image Stabilization in the lens did it's job here, permitting 1/50 for an 206mm (35mm Eq.) shot.

Ready for his closeup

Ready for his closeup, originally uploaded by john m flores.

Enough video for now. Nate's back, and he's ready for his closeup...

Alex, Again.

Alex, Again., originally uploaded by john m flores.

I felt so bad about that last photo with the poor photos of this cat. I had to try again! Panasonic GH2 with 20mm F1.7 pancake lens. Photos shot at ISO1600, F1.7, 1/30.

This is more like it. As you can tell by the settings, there wasn't a lot of light in the room, just a lamp on the bedside table with a compact fluorescent, probably 16 watts or so. I even pushed this in Lightroom 3 by 1.25 stops, as well as juiced up the clarity, vibrance and saturation. The result is very finely detalied with very little noise in the original file - I did not add any in post.

It's photos like these that may me comfortable with my choice in the GH2...