I think todays photography has started to place too much emphasis on the technical aspect of how the photo was made, as opposed to the aesthetic why was the photograph made. Just because someone uses four grands worth of kit to produce a photo doesn’t make it amazing. It comes down to the often forgotten idea that its the photographer that takes the photo, not the camera, and it doesn’t matter what light recording device is used, as long as something is being used.  I do think sometimes the technical aspect can help others, but should only be used as rough guide, as otherwise the whole idea of using photography to be creative and come up with something new and visually stimulating falls down. Once somethings been done, its old news. A few examples that pop into the brain are The “Dave Hill Look” and “Dragan Effect”.  Both are two processes that first start out with an idea, then were planned, then lit and shot, then processed to achieve that particular look. Not as many people really want to believe, an action that can be applied to a shitty photo to make it suddenly amazing. Andrzej Dragan only takes only a few photos, spends months on the processing based on the subject and context, and produces amazing portraits. This is what many people fail to realise, the subject and context of the photo is much more important than what is done in Photoshop. Photoshop is a tool to help realise the photographers idea, but past a few minor tweeks and changes, the magic wand can’t magically make the photo amazing.

So where am I going with this? Basiclly, people should stop worrying about what camera they have, just go and and take photos. Ignore photoshop, think about what they are photographing, and do something new. Be influenced by other people, but don’t copy them.

As for me, I’m going to start using film more for personal work, slow down, think about everything a lot more and concentrate on the subject and context. Use Photoshop less and let the photograph stand on its own merit. With my digital shooting, simplify; one lens, one light, (I think I may have said this before actually…) and see what happens…

http://www.andrzejdragan.com/ -  For photos that are better than yours. :-)

Went to the beach and got a few shots with my new compact…

Nothing special, Just nice. :-)

Well less than 24hrs after ordering, my camera arrived. Following on from my last  post, I went for the Panasonic Lumix FX550. As to why, I’ll explain a little more. There are masses of compact cameras out there, I could spend a rather large part of my life just looking at cameras, So I narrowed it down  Panasonic.  Why the Panasonic? Its as simple as this, In the camera shop I tried Olympus, Sony, Fuji, Canon, and Panasonic, and preferred the Panasonic. Some one else may prefer the Fuji. I won’t ever recommend a particular camera for a particular person, you HAVE to go and try them for yourself. People are different.

Anyway, back to the camera. There are loads of review sites that go into much more depth, so I’ll keep this brief.

My Panasonic Lumix FX550. Sexy.

First impressions were good. I had already fiddled with one in the shop, so I knew what to expect. The camera feels solid, even for a small camera its has some weight behind it, and no creaking or flexing in the ‘twist test’. The body is metal, and the battery/card door is plastic, but has a positive feel to the catch, and the battery has another catch holding it in.

As for operation, the on/off is a nice clicky switch, not a button. Startup time, like the zoom is fast enough for most people who have better things to worry about. First things was to turn off all the annoying beeps that cameras (even DSLRS) come with.  The FX550 has a touch screen, so things like adjusting the shutter, aparture, exposure, focus, selecting things, etc etc can all be done on the screen rather than through a menu, and I found it perfect for thumb operation with the right hand.  A stylus is provided to stop grasy paw prints on the screen, but I don’t think that will be used. The Usual Program, Apature, Shutter and Manual modes are all there, so no real difference to most cameras in this price range.

There are tons of other things like face recognition, loads of scene modes that I won’t ever use, (the pin hole one is pretty cool though) and it also shoots 720p HD, aswell as a few more conventional resolutions at 30fps with sound.

As for image quality, its more than adequate for what it is. Suffice to say that if you actually use it to shot real everyday situations, as opposed to pushing it to find weeknesses, then its more that capable. Yes, other cameras are available, and like I have said in my last post, I already have a ‘proper’ camera, I just want something to have fun with, and I think this camera delivers.

In the last few months I have been wanting to get a new camera. Not a D700 or D3, although that would be nice, but rather a half decent compact camera that I can stick in my pocket, and take with me when I’m not feeling like carting around a massive camera bag, or indeed when a huge camera would get in the way. I used to work in the camera dept at Boots, and got to know my compacts pretty well, but researching over the last few weeks has made me realise how much technology has moved on in 4 years. Now there is a huge range of cameras, some boasting 14mp+, huge zoom ranges, face recognition, more bells and whistles than a bell and whistle shop. So what was it going to be?

Being a photographer I thought that I would want a slightly ‘better’ compact, in a snooty ‘one-up-manship’ kind of way. The requirements were;  Fully manual mode, Wide angle lens (28mm or better), RAW files, hotshoe, pocketable, 4-5x zoom, about 10ish mp, and all for about £300. (preferably less)

Naturally I was drawn to Cannons flagship compact, the 14.7mp G10. I have used a G9 briefly, and had a play with the G10, but I didn’t quite get on with the interface, and damn it was heavy. Not exactly ‘Pocketable’, and on the painful side of £350 it was also over budget.

Next up I found the Panasonic LX3. Now this was looking promising. Small and neat and it looks amazing. It was ticking all the boxes, although a smidgen over budget, it was justifiably so. It even has a f/2 lens. This was looking like it was a done deal, but the zoom range is only 2.5x. (24-60mm) This was a bit of a shame, I like everything about this camera. It looked like a sexy digital version of an old instamatic, but I really wanted a bit more zoom, although down, it wasn’t out. Yet.

Next up was the Nikon P6000, I have to admit that I didn’t really look into this as I was pretty set on the LX3, but for some reason it has GPS built in, so you know where you took the photos… Its bulkier than the LX3, but smaller than the G10… er… thats about it. :-p

So I had looked at 3(ish) cameras and decided that they ticked most boxes, but not all. I then had a re-think. Why was I getting a compact camera? It was almost like was trying to replace my DSLR. I could see myself spending a lot of money on what was essentially a compact DSLR that I don’t really need. What I wanted was a pocket-sized camera that I can use to take to parties, out on my bike, in the car, out with friends. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t want to spend an hour processing raws from my compact from a drunken night out, I just need it to take a half decent jpg, no thought required from me. If I want to use flashes, shoot in RAW and have the best image quality I can get, then I’ll use my DSLR. I don’t need a ‘bells and whistles’ compact, and its just a waste of money to get one and then not use its full potential.

With a new brief in mind, I was faced with even more choice of camera. So I went for a Panasonic FX550. 12Mp, 5x zoom (25-125mm equiv.) Why? No idea. It takes photos, looks good and I can carry it in my pocket. At the end of the day, thats all I need. I’ll do a mini review once it arrives and I’ve taken a few pics…