Bahamas HDR Luminance Fisheye

Had some issues with the manual lens on the Samsung not providing exposure information on Photoshop so I tried Luminance HDR, which is more or less donation ware and available for the Mac and found it to be a pretty decent program. Maybe didn't provide anti-ghosting to the level of PS but all in all a great option for HDR. I also ran it through Topaz. This shot is leaving Nassau harbor and proceeding to Grand Bahama and Freeport on the Carnival Fantasy. Great trip.

Carnival Fantasy Cruise to Bahamas / Samsung NX 10 / Samyang Fisheye

Privileged to celebrate an anniversary and be able to cruise from Charleston to the Bahamas. Took a few hundred shots with three cameras and over the next few days I will be posting some of the results. The first shot was with an NX10 with a Samyang Fisheye with an eye for high definition. Took three shots. Normal exposure, +1/3 and -1/3 exposure. Merged in PS and sharpened in Topaz. The ship was the Carnival Fantasy. These 3 shots, merged, were taken in Nassau cruise ship harbor next to the Norwegian Gem.

Your dufus blogger, afraid of skin cancer.

 

Panasonic DMC-LX3 Fayetteville Town Square Farmer's Market

I've owned this camera multiple times, buying and re-selling it to purchase other, "better" cameras. Last month I waited for one to show up and be a real bargain and found this camera which is in pretty decent overall shape. I waited about four weeks for it show up. I will not sell this (LX3) camera again. It is at home for the long haul. I've been using it as a grab and go camera and this morning we took a ride in the Jeep and wound up at the Farmer's Market on the square in Fayetteville. It was overcast at about 10AM and I just opened it up as wide as it would go (24mm and f2.0) and shot some candids. The sun was a bit bright in one shot and the sky got blown out but all in all they came out fine. The color tones of the jpgs are a bit warm but I like them as shot. Nothing was post processed.

This is the over-exposed, poorest shot of the roll.

Leica "mini M" released, called X Vario

Check out the new "Mini-M." You like the rangefinder? Wait, where is it? You like the viewfinder? Wait, where is it? You like the fast LEICA glass? Wait, f3.5-6.4? Wow. Well, just buy yourself a fast prime, right? What? It's a fixed lens camera that gives the buyer no other options? Really? Well a camera that limited must be a bargain, right? Wait, it's $2,850 at B&H? Wow. Soooo, it ain't a small M, it's a larger X2 with a relatively slow zoom lens. It's called the X Vario. Sean Reid says he suggested a new version of the older Leica Digilux 2 camera to Leica, which was a pretty interesting camera, for it's day. This camera seems to be closer to that than an M, except it lacks a viewfinder/rangefinder and it lacks that camera's 28-90mm, f2.0-2.4 jewel like lens. It has a great APS-C sensor, which the Digilux lacked. But, it has less range and is much slower. Put the Digiliux lens on the X Vario and I'd buy it, in a year, when it was used for around $1,500. It would be a Sony RX1 killer. But the problem would likely be it'd be a Leica M killer too and what's worse for Leica, it would be a Leica LENS killer too. Leica lenses are their cash cow. So the mini M is crippled. Not for rich point and shooters but for enthusiasts who aren't rich. It's a nice enough camera, but waaay overpriced. You can pay an extra $500 on top of a nearly $3,000 camera to have an electronic viewfinder? Wow. My verdict? Get a Fuji X model (your pick). It's what the Leica should have been. If Fuji hadn't been producing these rangefinder copy cameras, I'd still say get a Canon M with the fast prime and the zoom lens and have a better set up than the Leica. I love Leica cameras. I've owned a few, including an M, which I still have. This camera should never have been previewed before release as a "mini M." That was a mistake and unfortunately, so is this camera.

Fuji X-E1 f1.4 50mm (equiv.)