Canon EOS R7 And Why I Returned Mine.

Well what can I say I gave in to GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and bought a Canon EOS R7 as soon as I could. One problem - I don’t like it.

I've been wanting an R7 ever since it was first announced because I wanted a Canon APS-C RF camera that I could adapt all my EF glass to. I used the drop-in CPL EF to RF adapter which as you can see from the gallery worked really well. However I am quite disappointed, the image quality was ok apart from some softness which I will come on to in a minute.

The whole shooting experience was not what I expected. I have used many Canon cameras in the past with no problems, however I found myself fighting the R7 to get what I wanted. This was a shock because I've never had that problem with ANY Canon camera, this is the kind of thing I have encountered with Sony cameras but never ever a Canon. I suspect the shooting experience might have been better with native RF lenses but good ones are far outside my price range. So, I had to settle with adapting EF lenses which you would think would be ok, but alas no it took longer than I expected to focus (longer than when I adapted the same lens on a Fujifilm X-T4 with a Metabones adapter), it left me with no confidence in the accuracy of the autofocus. One thing I found quite curious was when using my adapted EF lens, I found some of my images to be a little soft when shooting below 300th of a second which shouldn't happen. I think the IS (Image Stabilisation) in the lens & the IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation) in the camera were fighting each other at slower shutter speeds but at faster ones it was less apparent.

The only other thing to mention is the size of the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder), I wear glasses and found it to be far too small as I kept missing the info that was displayed on the sides.

So as the title says I am returning it, I will be moving back to a Fujifilm X-T4 which with hindsight I should never have moved away from.

New PhD Idea

Every day we are bombarded by imagery to the point where it has become part of our everyday lives.

The use of still and moving imagery in recent history such the American elections and the Brexit referendum got me thinking about some of the parallels with George Orwell’s novel “1984”. Their use to expose & exploit the fears and predigests of people for political advantage brought the novel very much to the forefront of my thoughts.

A very recent and ongoing example of what I am talking about is the use of imagery by the anti-vaccination movement(s) as a “scare” tactic to further their agenda as well as in the USA Trump followers have used the same tactics to further their political agenda that the election was “stolen”. The reality of the world is being assaulted, twisted, distorted by the manipulation and mass dissemination of imagery on a daily basis.

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Some Street Photography

A few hours of street photography in Brighton using a cheap compact point-and-shoot camera and my mobile phone.

Shoot 5

Fifth Shoot: - 21st November 2020

Following on from the conclusions of the previous shoot I walked north along the river Adur outside the villages of Upper Beeding & Bramber. I had my repaired tripod and a cable release as well as my Nikon D7100.

As I had mentioned in the conclusions part of the previous shoot I chose to shoot at a fixed aperture & shutter speed letting the camera decide the ISO, it was a cloudy day so I did have a little concern that any shots I took would be very grainy and full of noise.

Unlike the previous shoot I will try to get back to using leading lines to take the “viewer” to the person(s) in the landscape.

Conclusions

At the start of this shoot I was concerned that my images would be full of noise and basically not look “good”.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the results, most of the shots were taken at ISO 1100 which the camera dealt with quite well. I didn’t have to do much in the way of adjustments – a little noise reduction was needed as there was a bit of noise but no where near as much as I thought there would be.

There was more colour in the scenery that I had expected (green grass) and because of the recent wet weather all the tracks were quite muddy giving a nice contrast to the grass. The only downside was the heavy cloud, it would have been nice to have some sunshine but I’ll take what I can considering the time of year it is.

So having tried a fixed aperture (F11) & shutter speed (500th of a second) I think I will stick to this method so that I freeze as much movement in the scene as possible with as much detail as possible.

The only other area to experiment with now is the time of day I shoot - early morning or early evening.

Shoot 4

Forth Shoot: - 13th November 2020

After getting some feedback on one particular photo I re-edited it. I cropped the top and bottom of the photo and changed it from black & white to colour. I posted it up on my 500PX site and it got a lot more views, likes and comments which I wasn’t expecting.

Later on in the week (as above title suggests) I went to my next location which was the South Downs above Woodingdean just outside Brighton.

My tripod was “in the shop” so to speak so I had to resort to using a monopod instead combined with a different lens (stabilised), my hope was that this combination would be good enough to get the same kind of sharpness as in my previous shoot (which was on a tripod). In some of the shots I experimented with dropping the aperture down from f.11 to f.8 to see if I could get a faster shutter speed and thus sharper images.

I also decided I would do both black & white and colour versions of the same images to see which works best. The intention being so I can then nail down weather I will stick to black & white or colour for the project to keep a consistent aesthetic.

Conclusions: -

I found it hard to find the right kind of compositions that had come so easily in the previous shoots. There were less people and the terrain posed a challenge. I found myself taking telephoto shots of the coastline with tiny specs of people in the landscape so no leading lines as in the other shoots.

I found that the monopod even with a stabilised lens wasn’t as good as a tripod and the different lens posed it’s own problems. The main problem was that the lens wasn’t anywhere near as sharp as the lens I had used on the two previous shoots.

I still have to decided on how many “finished” images I want in total and from each location, I’m thinking somewhere in the range of 10 to 25 final images. The final number will depend on how many locations I can shoot at and the whole COVID situation, if possible I’d like to present them in a book. There are still a few locations I’d like to try but the COVID situation may prevent me from going too far from home base.

I have three more experiments to try before I make my decision on the final setup & aesthetic for this project: -

  1. Set a single shutter speed that is fast enough to freeze movement in the image as well as a high aperture value for sharpness and let the camera decided the ISO – this would mean there would be variations on the ISO value but shutter & aperture would be the same so images would be consistent

  2. Try some manual lenses I have to see if they are sharper and a feasible option. They are almost all prime lenses so I could in theory end up producing all the work using one single focal length thus adding another consistent element to the images produced

  3. I have another digital camera with a higher pixel count and colour bit depth. Though it is a cropped sensor camera unlike what I have used for shoots 2 to 4 (first shoot was shot on a similarly cropped camera though not THE camera I am referring to in this instance)

Shoot 3

Third Shoot: - 8th November 2020

 The third shoot was at Cissbury Ring on the South Downs outside Findon. This location is one I have been to before and has been on my list of locations for this project. The first problem I encountered with this location is its popularity. In fact there were so many people there on the day I first went (the 7th of November) that it was impossible to find a safe place to park so I abandoned that attempt opting to return the next day at an earlier time (the 8th of November). This was a pity as the weather was very nice, sunny, and bright.

 I returned the next day (the 8th of November) with very different conditions. There was a layer of cloud producing soft but diminished lighting conditions as well as some light drizzle though the drizzle did dissipate not long after I arrived.

 There were plenty of hikers, runners, and dog walkers so as before I had no trouble finding subjects to photograph, to be fair there was actually at times to many people around. This was also the first shoot where I shot everything on a tripod using a shutter release at the lowest ISO value my camera would go down to (100), I still stuck to the aperture setting of f11.

Conclusions: -

Having the tripod did make a difference, it slowed me down which made me think much more about what I was shooting. A lot more thought went into framing and composition, rather than shooting off shot after shot. It was heavy though which I noticed more the next day when moving my arms around.

I think I may have to make a compromise and use a stabilised lens with a slightly longer focal length of 28mm using a monopod or the same lens at a higher ISO setting (400) again on a monopod. This would reduce the weight I would be carrying around and allow me to cover more ground. This is something I will try on my next shoot.

Film Photography

I was brought up on film photography (was given my first camera when I was 11). I was very lucky that when I did my photography degree (2009-2012) I had access to fully working film cameras (35mm, medium format & large format) as well as darkroom & developing facilities at the university – this was when a lot of universities were getting rid of their darkroom & developing facilities. It wasn’t until then that I had even thought of using digital cameras – I’ve been shooting digital since 2009 but have recently come full circle back to film.

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2020 Update

So 2020 has so far not quite gone to plan, I have gotten into Brighton University to study for my Masters degree but apart from that things have been rather stale.

I switched to the Panasonic G9 only to switch back to the Fujifilm X-T3 a few months later, I am now waiting for the X-T4 to be shipped before I upgrade to that though I will wait a few months so I can get one cheaper on the second hand market.

The two week trip I had been planning to Wales in the last two weeks of May has had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 health emergency, I was planning to make several hikes up Snowdonia as well as the Brecon Beacons. I will hopefully be able to make some kind of trip there either at the end of September this year or sometime in 2021. The whole of spring as well as most likely the summer has been wiped out, I can only hope that I will be able to get out there sometime in the autumn before winter comes.

With regards to my Masters degree I am hopeful that the start won’t be delayed, I am due to begin the course at the end of September this year. After graduating I plan to go onto a PhD hopefully at the same university but you never know there might be somewhere better I’ll just have to wait and see.

Walk from Titch Hill to Cissbury Ring.

As part of my preparations for my trip to Snowdonia next year I decided to visit Cissbury Ring. This is somewhere I haven’t been to before even though it’s almost on my doorstep so to speak. I could have driven all the way there as there is a car park on site but instead, I chose to hike from Titch Hill right outside Sompting. Although the distance was only 2 miles each way it still took me 40 minutes each way to hike there from where I parked On Titch Hill and back. Contrary to what some might think the South Downs isn’t flat on top and it’s not just chalk based there’s plenty of clay there too.

This was my second outing with my new Canon EOS R and this time I chose to field test the 24-105mm RF F/4 IS lens. I did get some shots that I am happy with though the IS didn’t perform as well as I expected so I had quite a few blurred shots which was disappointing, I think next time I will use a monopod to help with the stabilisation.

I think I may have to consider Tamron’s EF 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD as a possible alternative to the RF 24-105.

News And Future Plans For 2020

Ok so 2019 hasn’t really gone to plan, by now I was hoping I’d be a full-time professional portrait photographer but that hasn’t happened. I could probably come up with all sorts of reasons for why it hasn’t happened but I won’t, instead I’m going to look forward at what I plan to do now & in 2020.

 

So back in February I had my over 40’s MOT (over 40’s health check-up), although I wasn’t heavy enough to be classed as obese, I was overweight and my diet wasn’t as good as it could be. I was told to lose weight, eat more fruit, exercise more & eat less crap. Fast forward to now – I eat better, I exercise more & I’m now 10kg lighter. So, what does this have to do with my 2020 plans I hear you ask, I’ll come back to that in a little while.

 

As part of my planning for 2020 I looked over my equipment asking myself if it fitted my needs going forward. Unfortunately, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t meet my needs so I have reluctantly moved from the Fujifilm X system to Canon’s full-frame mirrorless RF system, the EOS R. Don’t get me wrong Fuji’s X system is great but it has shortcomings that I just can’t overlook. These are the two factors that made me switch.

 

1.      Lenses – Lens choices are very limited on the Fuji X system, there are virtually no third-party lens options, the two biggest third-party lens manufactures (Tamron & Sigma) don’t make lenses for the X system. Of the lenses you can buy you have a choice of weather sealed or stabilized, there are very few that have both. Cost – To get the best results you need the best lenses & they cost almost as much as their full-frame equivalents. Even buying lenses on the used market is expensive compared to other camera mounts.

2.      Software – I like to use Adobe Lightroom to edit my images as well as plugins. Unfortunately for whatever reasons Lightroom didn’t seem to register my Fuji lenses & didn’t have their respective lens profiles which was irritating. What was worse was that Lightroom would apply sharpening automatically (40%) even when it was turned off in camera, I set up a pre-set to cancel this when importing but Lightroom ignored it. And then there’s the weird worming effects as well.

 

So why did I choose Canon’s EOS R? Well even though it may not be the best camera out there with the EF to RF lens adapter you can mount pretty much ANY EF lens on the RF mount. There are a huge number of used EF lenses out there on the market which makes buying a good quality used lens for far less money a really attractive option, also third-party EF lenses are abundant & cost less. The EOS R is just a far more flexible platform, the 30 mega pixel sensor is about the right size for my needs, not too small & not too big. Even though the native RF lenses are expensive they are top of the line quality which shows Canon’s commitment to their full-frame mirrorless line-up. I fully expect Canon to release at least another two RF camera bodies in 2020 which will be better than the EOS R & EOS RP. I have the 24-104mm RF kit lens which even though it’s a kit lens it’s still a really good lens. I’m looking at adding two or three Tamron EF lenses to my bag so I cover all the focal lengths I need, I will of course need to get the Tamron lens station so I can update their firmware.

 

So, what are my plans for 2020? Well I have applied to do a Masters degree in Photography at the University of Brighton, if successful I would start the course in late 2020 (September). This is part of me refocusing my photography back to what I enjoy doing rather than what I think I should be doing. I really enjoyed my degree so the Masters feels like a natural progression for me.

 

Another part of my refocusing is landscape, nature & abstract photography, a lot of this will come from day trips around Sussex (where I live) as well as planned holidays, this is an area I’ve neglected in recent years which is a pity as I do like a good walk. At the moment I’m planning a trip to Snowdonia in the first half of 2020, mostly likely in late April early May before all the tourists invade. I plan on doing a lot of hiking so dropping that weight & getting fitter really fits into this. I am also looking into other parts of the UK, some I’ve never visited & others I’ve not been to since childhood.

 

The final part of my refocusing is my social media, blog & YouTube channel. I intend to make a video for each trip I make next year including the day trips, I’m hoping to go on day trips at least twice a month though ideally every week would be great. The reason for this is to push my online awareness forward with the ultimate aim of transferring it into a full-time living by the end of 2021.

 

So that’s me done for now, if you got this far then thanks, have a good Christmas.

A Little Bit Of Personal History And Look Ahead

A bit of personal history

So what kind of photographer am I? Documentary? Portrait? Landscape? Lifestyle? Fashion? Architectural? Motorsport? All and none.

Born in the mid 1970’s it wasn’t until I was given the family camera for a school trip 1986 that I discovered photography. For me school life before that trip had been a struggle as unknown to me at that time, I was Dyslexic in a time when it was only beginning to be recognised. Ever since then photography has been a part of my life, though sometimes it had been floating in the background.

By my mid 30’s photography had become more than a mere personal interest. In 2009 I began studying for a fine arts degree in Photography, graduating with a degree in 2012.

Since graduating I have been continuing to develop my photographic skills with personal projects & portfolio shoots. I have had work in exhibitions and in 2017 I travelled to both Iceland & Australia to produce my own brand of travel & landscape photography.

For me photography is not just about producing something beautiful but something more than that. An emotional response, introspective, thought provoking, meaningful, these are just some of results I like to see from my work. I do of course like to produce work that people will enjoy looking at as well.

I have been quite lucky in where I have lived. I boarded at a school in the Sussex countryside up against the South Downs & when at home I was also surrounded by the South Downs. Being so close to Brighton and with London just over an hour away means there is a great deal of talent within a reasonable distance.

My main photographical interests are: - The natural world (the South Downs & Sussex coastline has so much to offer), Portrait Photography, Macro Photography & High Detail Photography.

I love taking portraits especially headshots, using different lenses & lighting setups to produce very diverse portraits is something I continue to explore. Fluorescent makeup & beauty photography (using a macro lens) are the current areas of portrait photography I am exploring.

For me photography is more than just a job or lifestyle, it is something to enjoy doing & to be enjoyed. If I didn’t enjoy doing it then I wouldn’t be doing it, it’s as simple as that.

Australia 2019

Ok so I’ve been having a little think since I did my end of year review/vlog yesterday.

I have always wanted to go back to Australia again, it’s such a big country you just can’t do it all in one go or even two or three go’s.

The first time I went was for four weeks (December 2006- January 2007) for the Ashes so I didn’t really do much else apart from when I was in Melbourne & Sydney.

The second time was in May 2017 for three weeks, in this case I had decided to do a 500 mile photographic road trip most of which was the Great Ocean Road (from Torquay to Port Fairy Victoria). I kept a photographic blog of my trip which can be seen here.

So now to my prospective 2019 trip. I’m thinking of three weeks in June/early July, I don’t want to cut into the English summer holidays otherwise I might not get the time off I want for this trip. I would be hoping to land in Adelaide, spend no more than five days there some of which would be to reset my body clock which takes two to three days. Then move on to Alice Springs for four or five days before finishing in Perth & the surrounding area Western Australia and then fly back from Perth.

I don’t want to spend too long in Adelaide as I’ve been there before, from what I remember I spent about a week there last time. I’m really interested in Alice Springs as I’ve never been there before & it’s quite different from the metropolitan Australian experience. I have been to Perth before but saw nothing of it as I spent to whole time resetting my body clock & then flew out to Adelaide, there is quite a lot to explore in Western Australia which would be my main area this time round.

Well I’ll put up more post’s when I have more news.

Sunrise & The Seashore

Ok so last Saturday (the 13th) I got up before dawn and went up to the South Downs above Woodingdean (on the road Brighton & Hove Albion’s stadium is on) as a friend had told me that it’s a great place to take photos from.

As I was driving along the A27 I could see the wonderful golden colours of the dawn coming as the light bounced off the clouds over Brighton so I was really excited about what I would see when I got to the spot I had picked out.

As you can see from the video below it didn’t quite work out as I had planned, all the wonderful colours were on the wrong side of the hill which mean I had to shoot into the coming sunrise.

To mitigate this, I used a Cokin P Series Gradual ND 8 square filter. Now this was the first time I had ever used a square filter before so I was learning on the fly but I did get a few good results. I found a mobile phone tower right where I was shooting which was great as it gave a sense of scale as well as a subject to photograph with the sunrise light.

After I had finished shooting the sunrise (around 8am) I decided to go to Shoreham-By-Sea Harbour & see what I could get there as I knew the tide had turned & was coming back in but would still be quite low.

There were some interesting shapes in the sea defences as well as the seaweed which was cool.

Anyway, enjoy the video below, you can check out my Youtube channel for more videos.

Up date time

Hello folks.

So it's been a while since I've updated my blog.

I got that Australian flu that knocked me off my feet for most of January & have been quite busy with my day job which has left me with not that much free time to myself.

I have two trips planned so far this year, the World Endurance Motor racing at Silverstone in August & the GB WRC (World Rally Championship) in October in Wales.

I decided (before I got the flu) that this year I would start posting videos on YouTube. The idea behind this is that it will make me more proactive in getting out there & taking more photos & experimenting more. For too long I have relied on just a few trips a year as the majority of my output which I want to change. This is all part of my strategy to become a full-time photographer, with this in mind below are the first two videos I have posted.

The plan is that everytime I post a video in Youtube I will also put it up here.