London Skyline at dawn
I recently picked up an iBlazr LED light for smartphones. This is a clever little device that can supply improved flash performance or video light for smartphones.
It charges via USB and connects to your phone via the audio jack. I'll post some shots taken with the iBlazr shortly.
I was on my way home from work this evening and stopped to get a snap shot of the fountains on the Southbank. A nearby security guard decided to move me on as there was a family with children in the fountain and I didn't have their permission to photograph them... The worlds going mad.
A quick post with some behind the scenes photos of a recent Balloon Burst photo that I took. I used TriggerTrap Mobile to fire the camera.
SB900 Flash, Water Filled Modelling Balloon
Trigger Trap for mobile connected to Nikon D800
Finished shot, rotated 90 degrees and converted to Black and White
Google spent a week in my offices and gave us a chance to play with some cool technology including the up-coming Google Glass.
Technology continues to grow exponentially and it won't be long before items such as these are common place in the streets of the UK. The potential is endless and the developer community has had hands on with the product for some time now.
Using the glass was an interesting experience that made me wonder whether people will be entirely looking where they are going when wearing this around London. Perhaps I should be developing an App that makes a beep impact warning if the wearer strays too close to other pedestrians! :-)
Google Glass in action in the UKooG
The Leake Street Tunnel below Waterloo Station in London, UK is an area where artists can legally graffiti the walls. There are usually some artists there and there are some interesting photography opportunities
The finished artwork
Comparing a D800 to an XE-2 should be like comparing apples to oranges. 36MP Full-Frame DSLR compared to 16MP APS-C mirror-less ...
However...
I have been using the Fuji XE-2 for a couple of months now. I bought it to replace my 'walk about' compact camera which was a Sony X100 and with the idea that I might use it as my travel camera when flying abroad.
I didn't expect the quality of the images to compete with my D800, I have the 'holy trinity' of Nikon glass (14-24, 24-70, 70-200 @ f2.8) and the detail within the 36MP RAW files can be exceptional. The Fuji and 14mm f2.8 weighs about the same as the Nikon 24-70 on it's own! It makes my D800 feel like a tank, never mind how it would have made my D3 feel!
I'll post some example images in this post, but in my opinion the Fuji stands up against the D800. So much so that I have pretty much not used my DSLR since owning the Fuji.
I use the D800 for macro shots because I have a macro lens for it and that is about it... I am on the fence about switching entirely over to Fuji!
I expect to keep both systems for now, not due to the quality of the images but there are advantages and disadvantages of both:
Fuji may announce a full-frame mirror-less camera at some point. I would be interested and wouldn't want to build up a large set of APS-C compatible lenses and then need to replace..
Fuji XE-2 Straight from Camera
Nikon D800 straight from Camera
Fuji XE-2 100% crop
Nikon D800 100% crop
I used a 1/87th Scale Preiser model and a small glass fish bowl to set up this Macro. I don't actually own a goldfish so the chap in the shot is actually a print out of a fish placed behind the bowl.
We're going to need a bigger boat!
Derwent Water Sunset image added to Landscapes Gallery.
I took this photograph on a recent trip to the Lake District. The light just after sunset was good and the water in the lake was quite still.
Later on this day the Aurora Borealis made an appearance which is unusual this far south of the Arctic Circle.
Derwent Water Sunset
I took the Fuji XE-2, 18-55 and 35mm to Brighton at the weekend. It is great to leave the SLR behind sometimes and travel light.
DOMKE f-5xb with Fuji XE-2, 35mm f1.4 and 18-55mm kit
I packed my gear into my DOMKE f-5xb including a couple of spare batteries (The Fuji is great but it can struggle to cope with a full days shooting on a single battery charge.
I don't usually take a lot of 'street' photographs but I thought I'd try a few candids as I walked along the sea front. The size of XE-2 makes it pretty inconspicuous and I found that few people seemed to notice me. This is a significant change from when I have tried similar exercises with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 f2.8 which is not a subtle combination.
I've included some snap shots in the gallery below. Taken in RAW and converted in Lightroom 5.4 mostly utilising the recently added Velvia/VIVID camera profiles.
I have a couple of Nikon SB900 flashes and have used these with my D800 and Pocket Wizard Triggers for some time now. I read that the AC3 ZoneController can be utilised with these triggers to control Nikon Speedlights from a Fuji Mirror-less camera.. in my case the Fuji XE-2.
I tried this out last night and it worked perfectly. Setting the SB900's as normal and the AC3 ZoneController to manual mode allowed my to remotely control the power output from the SB900's individually from the hot shoe mount of the XE-2.
Additional information can be found on the Pocketwizard Blog