Tag: photography

Photography-related posts. I talk about inspiration, settings, gear, other photographers, etc.

Fujifilm XF1

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Fujifilm XF1
Fujifilm XF1

A new camera for me!! The circumstances of me needing a new camera were unfortunate though – I lost my beloved Panasonic DMC TS-2 camera. One day I took it to the park where we went bike-riding and to the splash pad… but that’s the last time I remember seeing it. I have no idea how I lost it. I did have the Eye-Fi card in it that day, so at least the photos were copied over to my phone automatically, but the camera itself is gone. I still have a tiny bit of hope that it will be found (probably somewhere silly), but since I did give it a couple months to show up and it never appeared, I decided to go ahead and get a new camera to replace it.

My first thought was to just get the same type of camera, which would be the latest Panasonic version in that series. Waterproof cameras are great in that they are worry-free – I can get one of the rugged cameras wet, drop it, and just not have to baby it at all. But…. I have had my eye on the Fujifilm cameras for a while so I went ahead and got one of their compact cameras – the Fujifilm XF1.

The XF1 is an older model (debuting in September 2012), but has a number of features that I wanted:

  • Able to shoot RAW
  • Compact size
  • Full manual controls
  • Fast F/1.8 lens (at wide setting)
  • Silent operation
  • Available at a fraction of its original price

The XF1 also has a unique way of powering up. You twist the lens from it’s retracted position and the camera will turn on. It’s really nice since it also opens the lens cap. This lens ring also manually adjusts the zoom position so you have great control over focal length. The downside to this is that it is truly a two-handed operation, whereas the traditional power button and power zoom can be done with one hand. But, it kind of suits the camera’s retro design.

The other camera I was looking at is the new Fujifilm XQ1. A couple things I like about the XQ1 is that it has wi-fi, uses the newer X-Trans sensor, and comes in all-black. However, it doesn’t have the cool power-up and lens ring. Also, being a new camera, it’s pretty expensive.

After using the XF1 for a month now, I can say that I am really happy with it! It is a solid performer, and with the lens in its fully retracted position, can easily fit in a pants pocket. I like to carry it with me wherever I go! The only option that I wish was available is the ability to turn the LCD display off while still in shooting mode. But it’s not too big of a deal since I’m not really a street or “stealth” shooter.

One final thing: it’s a Fujifilm, so it’s kind of like my namesake! W00t!

Nice Model – Fuchiko

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Towel Fuchiko
フチ子 (Fuchiko)

My mother-in-law bought me a bunch of these small “Fuchiko” toys, which are meant to adorn the rims of glasses. They are so much fun to take photos of! During our vacation we took a lot of photos of them and enjoyed the silliness of posing them on sodas, beer, dinner plates, inside sushi, on fingertips, etc.

You can find them for sale in the little toy vending machines, but the special “Towel Fuchiko” are found in gift shops and come with a little plastic cup. These are about 500 yen, but the regular ones from the vending machine are 200 each. But, you don’t know which one you will get! Luckily I didn’t get any duplicates. The one above is my favorite, but I like them all.

There’s also a variation called “Fuchio” which is her wearing a scary mask. They are pretty funny as well. If you have a chance, pick one of these up and use as a fun photo subject!

Fuchiko Loves Ikura
Fuchiko Loves Ikura
Ice Coffee Fuchiko
Ice Coffee
Fuchiko Island Style
Island Style
Sushi Fuchikos
Sushi
Soccer Fuchiko
Soccer
Bento Fuchiko
Bento
Makapu'u Fuchiko
Makapu’u

 

First Day at the Pool

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Today was the first day at the pool for us this year. It was just Koa and I who decided to go — Mariko was out at the Farmer’s Market and Bay stayed home to read — so Koa didn’t have anyone to play with in the pool. I swam for a bit, and played with him, but I’m sure it’s a lot more interesting to play with his friends! Still, it was fun and we got some good exercise. We got there at 2pm, and there was a nice crowd of people there. Not too much that we didn’t find chairs, but at around 2:30 it seemed like the rest of the neighborhood decided to drop by. When we left at 3pm, there were cars parked on the street and no empty chairs to be found. I need to remember to arrive before 2:30!

Also, I continue to be enamored with my Panasonic DMC TS2 camera. It’s a waterproof/shockproof camera that captures some good pictures and video, and with the magic of post-processing, you can get some fun images out of it. Plus I love the peace-of-mind knowing that I don’t have to take care of the camera as much as a dSLR. I think it is definitely worth it to have one of these rugged point-and-shoot cameras in the bag at all times!

Sony A77II

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Top of the Sony A77II
Top of the Sony A77II

Sony recently announced the successor to their A77 SLT DSLR: the A77II. It looks like an incremental upgrade, definitely not enough for me to consider upgrading my A77, but there is one “feature” I really like. That would be the main control dial! I thought the dial on my Konica-Minolta 7D was fantastic and was a little disappointed when they changed it for the A77. But Sony has brought back the style of the older dial, which is cool because not only does it work well, but it goes way back to the design of the Minolta Alpha/Maxxum/Dynax 7 film SLR. I love it! In the photo below, you can see the dial on the KM-7D. It is actually a dual-dial design, while the new A77II only has the single dial.

Konica-Minolta 7D Dials
Photo info: SONY SLT-A77V, 35mm, f/2.5, 1/8 sec, ISO500
 Konica-Minolta 7D Dials

Other enhancements to the new A77II are WiFi and remote tethering, a better sensor, and better auto-focus; none of these are enough to make me want to upgrade. In fact, the new A77II loses a feature that I absolutely love on my A77: GPS. It’s very convenient to see the location of a photo, but it is also nice to have the date/time automatically corrected.

I like to think that the A77 was such a great camera when originally released that it is difficult to improve upon it. And that’s good because I really have too much camera gear already, and don’t need to spend any more money! The A77 will be my main shooter for the foreseeable future, probably until it no longer functions. Happy shooting!

Instant Printing using a Dell Wasabi ZINK Printer

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DSC06524

Photo info: SONY SLT-A77V, 35mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec, ISO400

I was thinking about getting a Fujifilm Instax camera and was doing some research on it. I’ve always liked instant photos (having owned a couple Polaroids before) for the fun factor. I was chatting with a friend about his Fujifilm Instax camera when my friend asked, ” Do you ever use your Dell Wasabi printer?” I told him that I forgot I even had it! I bought it through some special promotion for only about $30 (normally $100+) but I put it on the shelf and it was sort of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind type of thing.

For those who don’t know about the Dell Wasabi ZINK printer (which would be just about everyone), let me quickly describe it. It’s portable, about 1 inch tall, 4 inches wide, and 6 inches in length. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery, or the power adapter. The 2×3 inch sheets of “ZINK” (zero-ink) paper goes under the cover, and it can hold maybe a dozen sheets at a time. There is no ink in the traditional sense; the paper actually has ink crystals embedded inside, and it is heat-activated. When the photo is made, it is already “dry”. The Wasabi is no longer sold, but you can buy a Polaroid Pogo printer, which is pretty much the same thing.

Now that my memory had been jogged, I plugged in the printer (amazingly I had labeled the power cord so it was easy to find) and then set out to learn how to print from it. The printer has two ways to connect to a device: 1) By plugging a PICT bridge camera in via USB cable , or 2) via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth option was what I went with, and it was so easy! I just paired it with my Galaxy S3 and was ready to print! I even paired the printer with my Windows tablet and then its as simple as right-clicking a photo and choosing “send to Bluetooth device”, then choosing the printer from the list. Like magic, the printer starts blinking and in about half a minute, a 2×3 inch photo is created. Its pretty great.

The photos themselves aren’t the best quality, but I think they look about the same as a typical Polaroid or Instax photos. Unlike the instant film, there are not white borders on them, so you the only blank space to write anything on it is on the back. But, a cool thing about the Zink paper is that you can peel the back off and the photo is now a sticker. Its really neat! Realizing this, I immediately set upon covering my tablet case with stickers. Since there isn’t a while lot of room to put tons of stickers on, I decided to divide up the photo into six one-inch photos. I think it turned out pretty good! The printer actually crops a little off each edge, so I created a simple Photoshop template with guides so I know pretty much exactly where it will cut off the photo. In the second photo, you can see I sized the photos differently to get different proportions. My tablet cover is well on it’s way to being covered with stickers!

Zink Prints

Photo info: SONY SLT-A77V, 35mm, f/1.8, 1/125 sec, ISO400

I think I am going to give up on then Instax and just print from the Wasabi printer. I ordered more paper for it, and the idea of creating custom stickers is a lot more interesting than just getting an instant photo from the camera. Plus, one Zink photo costs about 28 cents compared to an Instax photo which is around 75 cents. The only downside is that the rechargeable battery is dead so I have to use the power adapter. I could get another battery for about $12 but do I really need it? I suppose for printing on-the-go it would be good (sort of like the mobility of the Instax). But I’m not so sure I would use it like that.

The Instax still holds some allure for me. Being able to write on the photos and having a completely self-contained unit is attractive. Plus the camera looks so cool. We’ll just wait and see if I still want one in a few months’ time.

You can buy the paper at amazon.com. If you want to hear more impressions about the ZINK printing, the reviews for the paper are pretty good.