Back up camera evaluation

Due to some poorly judged Ebay bidding I now have two cameras with potential to be back ups for my Pentax SLR kit. I wanted something that I could literally take everywhere particularily for some low profile Urbex / street photography.

So now I am the proud owner of a Panasonic Lumix LX3 (which I paid top £ for - about £310) and a Ricoh GR II (which I was amazed and surprised to get for £180).

I now have the difficult task of deciding who stays and who goes! I haven't had much chance to use either yet but the initial findings are thus:

Ricoh GRII - this is the one that I am most immediately drawn to. It seems smaller than the Lumix and is more of a raw photographers tool. Initial image quality has been so so. Noise is off the scale compared to an DSLR so I have it pegged to a maximum of ISO200. The colours seemed a bit lack lustre but I have now set the white balance to cloudy which may help. The 1:1 square format is quite cool. There is something about this camera I really like!

Lumix LX3 - this camera is better built and has all the bells and whistles but somehow it is too showy for me. The first thing that got to me was that the Panasonic RAW format is not supported by my Adobe sofware so I will have to load up Silkythingie. Because of this I haven't really evaluated the images. I suspect this is the better camera by far but perhaps too showy.

It is a bit like Saab versus BMW. I drive a Saab - need I say more? Anyway lets see if the Panasonic's Leica lens and all round ability can outweigh it's "look at me aren't I clever" character (but after all it was nearly twice as much as my bargain Ricoh)!

Flickr Link

If you were so bored that you could think of nothing else in the world to do here is my Flickr link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theaspiringphotographer/

New Toy's Arrived! At least I think it's new..........

Hurray! My new Pentax K20d has arrived!

Boooo! It looks just the same as my current K10d!

Well sort of. It has a bigger LCD monitor and It has a matt black shutter button rather than a shiny silver one but that's it. I am hoping 50% more MP's will be noticeable and I reckon the 16 - 45mm Pentax lens that comes with it will be way better than the 18-55mm I have been using for landscapes, portraits etc. (here's hoping)!

I don't follow these things very closely but has any one heard whispers of Pentax releasing a true pro-level DSLR? I love my Pentax's but I think they really can only be considered as "enthusiast" or "semi-pro" (does that mean working only part time on photography or only being partly as good as a real pro?).

Please discuss! I am starting to think I am alone in cyberspace!

Making Me A Better Photographer?

Being never that happy with my work I am always interested in courses that may help me improve my "skills." Last year I enrolled on Bryan Peterson's (more about Bryan on an earlier post) "Art of Seeing" online course. The course is designed to open your eyes to the creative photo-opportunities that we all have around us.

It was great! I loved it! It probably didn't help me with my stock work much but it was fun, fun, fun!

Being totally on-line it is a slick and efficient process. You can view the work, profiles and comments of the other "class members" - just like school except no one notices if you fall asleep at the back of the class. My class was mainly made up of a lovely group of American citizens many of whom had taken other PPSOP (Perfect Picture School of Photography - Bryan's School) classes which is a good sign. I really chose this one because Bryan himself is the main tutor (I am worried I am starting to sound like a stalker!).

Assignements were delivered on line. You then have a week to post 3 or 4 shots which fit the assignment. It is mostly about getting you thinking about angles (low down, high up, macro), movement, theme etc. Bryan would then deliver his critique on your shots each week and you could look at what others were doing.

At the time the £/$ exchange rate was in our favour over here in the UK so for me it was superb value at around £100 (it would be around £10M with the rates now!). Bryan was very generous with his time and advice and it is probably the best £100 I have spent on photography related stuff. Do check it out! Here are some of the posts I made:

Animals rule!

It must be a spring thing but it has all been about animals on the stock sales front this weekend (apart from the Germans continuing to snap up the rubber dingy picture - see earlier post).

Fotolia delivered an extended license sale for this owl:

And IStockphoto sold this fella (ahh......cute)!

Long may it continue! (Just to pour cold water on my spring theory I have just sold a powerstation shot on Fotolia as well).

Ansel Adams - Another Thought

If I spent all my days wandering around Yosemite National Park I reckon I could get a few decent shots away as well! ;-)

Help! I've Got Photographer's Block!

I am pretty sure I have got photographer's block. Have you seen Top Gun? You know after the crash Maverick just can't seem to get involved in dog fights anymore? He is scared of the bad consequences that may follow. It is the same currently with this aspiring photographer. Based on recent performance I am worried about the horrible consequences that may follow me pressing my shutter release!

I am finding excuses not to get the camera out (the light is wrong, the battery probably needs charging, it is too cold and wet). I am "seeing" less and less when I am out and about. I am becoming more and more critical of my work.

Help me! What do I need to do to get "back in the saddle." Hopefully I won't have to follow Maverick's example and engage some MiGs in mortal combat over the Indian Ocean!

PS. This was my "enhanced" on Shutterstock (see earlier post). Like they say simple sells!