inspirations from an older camera – Ming Thein

Inspirations from older cameras: The Panasonic LX3

August 13, 2012 by Ming Thein

The Panasonic LX3 was one of what I like to think of as a matured, serious compact – it had a larger sensor with fewer pixels for better dynamic range and low light performance (notice I said ‘better’, not ‘good’). It had a fast and sharp 24-72/2-2.8 equivalent, with variable aspect ratios on a switch; one of the downsides of this piece of glass was the price and unpocketability thanks to the protruding lens barrel, but it was worth it. Great dynamic range for a compact, too, though color accuracy could be somewhat wanting at times.

Enjoy! All images can be clicked on for larger versions, or EXIF information. MT

Sunset

Distorted reality

Internal facade

Silhouettes

Under the awning

Look up

Pastel interior

Puddle

Traffic

Opposites

Untitled

Pipework

Ouch

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Inspirations from older cameras: the Nikon D3, part two

August 3, 2012 by Ming Thein

Part two of of this series. Part one was here.

Exclamation mark. D3, 300/2.8 VR

Untitled. D3, 24-70

Rest. D3, 105VR

Satay man. D3, 14-24

Suggestions of a watch. D3, 105VR

Tour de Langkawi 2009. D3, 24-70

The ‘hollywood’ shot. D3, 24-70

Virtual buildings. D3, 24-70

Blending in with nature. D3, 24-70

The proverbial rose. D3, 24-70

It can only be Fuji. D3, 24-70

Sunset. D3, 50/1.4 AFS

Children, Bangkok. D3, 14-24.

Live retouching. D3, 24-70.

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Inspirations from older cameras: the Nikon D3, part one

August 2, 2012 by Ming Thein

For me, the Nikon D3 is one of the cameras that revolutionized the way I shot – no longer was the camera the limitation in any way. It almost made things too easy; it forced me to rethink the way I shoot and stop trying to capture ‘everything’ in hyperreal detail and light (that was the previous challenge) and start moving myself to a more selective way of seeing. This was further reinforced by the Leica M8 that followed…

The D3 and D700 share the same sensor and much of their innards; the latter camera is still in service with me today, and used for things where I either don’t need the resolution or have to shoot under more demanding conditions than would be convenient with the D800E. And for anybody thinking of upgrading from an older DX camera, do it – you’re in for a treat.

Part one of the reinspiration is here. MT

Fushima-inarii, Kyoto. D3, 24-70

Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. D3, 70-300VR

Rain. Kuala Lumpur. D3, 70-300VR

Scarlet ibis. D3, 70-300VR

Joy. D3, 24-70

Detective in the city. D3, 24-70

Stamens. D3, 105VR

Imperial Palace moat, Tokyo. D3, 24-70.

Shadows, Tokyo. D3, 24-70

Omega Dynamic. D3, 105VR

Daibutsu, Nara. D3, 24-70

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Inspirations from older cameras: The Ricoh GR Digital III

July 30, 2012 by Ming Thein

The original Ricoh GR-Digital was a cult camera that was known for two things: its ability to produce interest B&W JPEGs directly out of camera that heavily resembled Tri-X, and it’s incredibly configurable user interface. A fixed 28/2.5 equivalent was just part of the package. To be honest, I never really got along with this camera; I bought it solely because I loved the way it felt, and hardly used it.

Somehow, I found myself finding the 28mm focal length more and more intuitive as I matured as a photographer, to the point where I would see 28mm frame lines around every scene suspended in midair. The ideal compact was therefore an easy choice – I acquired a Ricoh GR-Digital III in early 2010, and used it heavily – occasionally as a primary camera, too. Although it still produces excellent out of camera B&W JPEGs, its sensor has fantastic tonality in both color and monochrome, and conversions are best done in ACR to make the most of the files.

Suffice to say it’s given me a surprisingly large number of keeper and portfolio-grade images over the years. MT

Self portrait

Construction break

The Number 15 to Trafalgar Square

Inside your watch

After the rain

Untitled

There is a divergence in the force

Untitled

Chinese New Year

Bulbs

Stubbornness

Reflections on people

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Inspirations from older cameras: The Canon SD780IS/ IXUS 100 IS

July 28, 2012 by Ming Thein

Early 2009. I’d never really thought of the importance of the camera you have with you up til this point – I’d always gotten around that by always carrying the best camera I had. There were, however, situations where that wasn’t really suitable, so I went in search of a compact camera. I was taken by the overall stealthiness of the Canon IXUS SD780IS; it was matte black, rounded, and had a load of flush buttons. 33-100 wasn’t an ideal focal length range, but it did start somewhere reasonably acceptable for street photography and covert documentary work. It also produced a reasonably nice file that was easy to work with in photoshop. My mum inherited this camera and refuses any attempts on my part to give her an upgrade. MT

Steampunk

Liquid

Abandoned

Untitled

Truth is found at the bottom of a glass

Paradise found

Sunset

Untitled

Autumn in London

One of my favorite portraits ever

Untitled

All about the eyebrows

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Inspirations from older cameras: the Nikon D200, part two

July 26, 2012 by Ming Thein

Part two of the Nikon D200 inspirations. Part one was here. MT

Bluetit

Under the arch

Traffic flow

Hanging

Kinkakuji in summer

Town crier

Suggestions of life

Observing the observatory

Pea soup

Echoes

The underside of a ladybug

Fingers

Distorted reality, II

In a hurry

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Inspirations from older cameras: the Nikon D200, part one

July 24, 2012 by Ming Thein

A pair of D200s replaced my D2H as my workhorses – I shot extensively with these cameras from around mid 2006 to early 2008, until I got a D3. They managed to improve on the low light performance of the D2H, while increasing resolution by a considerable amount; popularly thought of as ‘D2x lite’. The only issue was mediocre AF, and at best average battery performance – I’d have to carry five or six to feed the pair of monsters on a heavy day of shooting. MT

The end of all things

Movement

Morning fog

Animals with personality

Fighting, passing on a message, embracing…only they know.

Lange 1815.

Mosaic

A Parisian in London

Alone

Time for a rest

Japan in a lantern

Traffic

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Inspirations from older cameras: the Nikon D2H, part 2

July 20, 2012 by Ming Thein

The second part of the inspirations series in tribute to the Nikon D2H…part one was here. MT

The ballet

Out of place and time

Snowy echoes

Column wheel chronograph

Fur

Cattle egret

Something’s going on in the square

Wondering where to put it

Temple spires

A bird portrait

Dragonflies

London through the gap

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Inspirations from older cameras: the Nikon D2H, part 1

July 18, 2012 by Ming Thein

Possibly one of the most unpopular Nikons ever, and certainly the most derided professional DSLR – the D2H had a mere 4.2MP (the 0.2 mattered, when you only had 4.2 in total) when launched in 2004; its direct competition, the Canon 1D Mark II, had double that at 8MP. Worse still, Nikon’s much feted low noise JFET LBCAST sensor was in fact extremely noisy and pretty much unusable at ISO 1600 and above; an updated version – the D2Hs – actually had very good high ISO performance, but by then, the damage was done.

What the camera did do well was be insanely responsive – from the lighting-fast AF system, to 40ms shutter lag and hair trigger buttons, to 8fps shooting, it just felt alive. It was also a great teaching tool, precisely because it was so unforgiving of exposure or WB errors that you just had to learn to get it right, or not get a useable shot at all. When you did get it right, the D2H punched way above its pixel class – it resolved about the same amount of detail as my 6MP D70, and had very clean, high-acuity pixels; the unique sensor architecture also made for a beautiful tonal response, which doesn’t seem to exist in any camera today – the closest we get is the Leica M8 and M9.

I shot nearly two hundred thousand frames with this camera – picking the best few is going to be tough, so we’ll do this in a few parts. Part one is here, and part two follows. Enjoy! MT

Blue mountains

Early watch work

Scarlet ibis

I wish it were real

Umbrellas in Bangkok

Rush hour in London

It’s suspicious because the book is upside down

Swords

Inside the Arc de Triomphe

Crowned pigeon

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Inspirations from older cameras: The Panasonic TZ3

July 15, 2012 by Ming Thein

This will be the first in a series of photoessays dedicated to showcasing older equipment: don’t bury those dinosaurs just yet! In all seriousness, I hope it will both go do its part to convince you that the equipment doesn’t matter; and at the same time, show you my evolution as a photographer (to be the subject of a future article; one of the hardest things to write are the introspective, self-assessment genres).

First up is the Panasonic TZ3, a 2007 vintage compact ‘travel zoom’ camera that combined a very good 28-300mm equivalent zoom with a multi-aspect ratio sensor; I particularly enjoyed 16:9 mode on this camera. It shot fast, too – 4-5fps depending on the shutter speed, with large bursts and fast buffer clearing, making it ideal for capturing sequences of expressions. The lens-based stabilizer was also excellent. Its main handicap? A sensor that was dodgy at ISO 400 and above. I’m not 100% sure what happened to the camera, but I think it’s probably with my brother in law somewhere.

Enjoy! All images can be clicked on for larger versions, or EXIF information. MT

Moon and ships