Tag Archives: canon

After playing with the G1X a bit..

Posted on by

I’ve had the new Canon G1X for a little over a week now, and have had some time to play with it and check out the images..

To give a little background, my main camera is a Canon 7D DSLR with a couple of L Lenses (24-70 and 70-300),… I bought the G1X from the great folks at Mike Crivellos Camera to use for traveling and as something a little easier to carry around than my big DSLR setup. I have high standards for image quality after using the 7D for a year and a half now… and the G1X has exceeded my expectations with the quality of images I get out of it. It is a full-featured camera and is definitely aimed towards someone who wants Digital SLR features, functions and quality in a camera that is a little bit smaller and easier to carry around. There are only a couple downsides to the camera as far as I can tell:

  • Focal distance doesn’t go as far as some people might like
  • Aperture is variable as focal length increases, and it is f/2.8 at the widest aperture (many people are complaining that it should have been f/2.0)
  • It is a little heavy and bulky, it’s certainly not as easily pocketed as an S100 or something like that.
  • It’s a little slow to focus, so for action shots, it won’t be ideal. .but for travel (landscapes, buildings, portraits, etc), it will be great.
  • Finally, it’s not cheap. At $799, it is an expensive compact camera… but I believe you get what you pay for.

But it’s still much smaller than a DSLR, provides nearly the same image quality as a DSLR with kit lens, and you don’t have to fumble with lenses. Overall, I am VERY happy with my purchase, and so far have been exceptionally happy with the image quality.  Part of the reason the IQ is so high, is that it has a sensor that is nearly as large as what is in my 7D.. much bigger than what’s found in most compact cameras.

Pontiac Firebird

Backlit Firebird - taken with Canon G1X

I love getting new toys! Canon G1X has arrived!

Posted on by

Back in January, Canon announced a new addition to the G-line of Powershot cameras.  Dubbed the “G1X”, it created a lot of excitement amongst photographers for a number of reasons – the HUGE sensor (nearly as big as the APS-C sensor in the 7D, and a little bigger than the four-thirds sensors so popular right now), flash hotshoe, full manual controls, ability to shoot RAW, great noise reduction at high ISO, image stabilization, and more.  I’ve been shopping for a camera to supplement my D-SLR (Canon 7D with battery grip).. something that would be a little easier to carry around, but still take great photos.  A while back, I got the Panasonic Lumix FZ-150.  It was good because it had a huge zoom range on it, but a smaller sensor didn’t provide the image quality I wanted.  It was also a little big for sticking in a jacket pocket.

Here’s how the G1X sensor stacks up against the others..

 

I had pre-ordered the camera from Adorama.com back in January, but it was nearly impossible to get updates on arrival dates from them, and I was seeing other retailers get the camera in stock – so I started searching Twitter, and found a small camera shop (http://mikecrivellos.com/) in Wisconsin who knew they had ONE camera arriving.  I reached out to Mike Wilbur at the shop and placed my order for the one camera they were getting.  Customer Service was great, and I was really impressed with their response through email and Twitter.  The camera shipped to me early this week, and arrived today.

I quickly unboxed it, and one of the main things I was curious about was the flash sync speed. I took some photos as I unboxed it, and quickly put my Yongnuo RF-602 wireless flash trigger on the camera, and hooked up a Lumopro LP160 flash to test it out. VERY happy that it worked up to 1/800 !! My Canon 7D only syncs up to 1/250 .. this is really impressive. I am anxious to get out and take some photos with this camera – it’s got a great feel and weight to it and seems like another great Canon product. Thanks again to Mike at http://mikecrivellos.com/ for the great service and getting this camera to me so quickly!

 

The Power of the Print

Posted on by

As a photographer, I find myself taking anywhere between 500-1500 photos at a given event, depending on how long I’m there, and what’s going on.  I usually have no reason to get prints of my work, because they would just sit around in an envelope or a box somewhere.  I prefer to show my digital images on line (Facebook, Flickr, Smugmug, etc)..

However, prior to a recent shoot where I tagged along with some great muscle cars, I printed up a bunch of 8×10 prints and put them in an easy-to-carry portfolio.  When I committed to the shoot, I had one client who had committed to pay me for shots of his car.  When I arrived and met the other car owners, I introduced myself as a photographer.. I didn’t get an overwhelming response.. however, when I showed them my portfolio of 8×10 prints of other cars (primarily shots from a car show I had recently attended and from Sacramento Raceway), they were VERY interested.  I ended up getting 3 additional clients that day.

This past weekend, I went back to Sacramento Raceway to shoot the ‘NorCal Invasion‘.  Prior to getting all my gear set up, I walked around the pit area with my portfolio and a bunch of business cards.  I recognized one car from a shoot I did at Infineon Raceway last year and approached the owner.  I didn’t have a print of his car, but I did have my iPhone, and quick access to one of my online galleries.  I showed him my print portfolio that I was carrying around, and while he was looking at that, I pulled up an image of his car from Infineon on my phone and showed it to him.  He nearly fell over – he must have commented 3 or 4 times about how much he loved that shot of his car, and would want to order it.  By showing him what my final print products looked like, and an iPhone-sized image of his car – he could tell that a print of his car would look great.  That night at the racetrack, I made sure I got plenty of pictures of his car to add to my gallery for him… after speaking with him tonight, he’s very excited to order a bunch of prints in various sizes.

It just goes to show – that while our lives are becoming more and more digital every day (and I LOVE it!), there is still something VERY compelling about the power of a printed image that has much more impact than a picture on a computer screen.

This is the image of the guys’ car from Infineon that he loved so much.  It was one of my favorite photos from that weekend as well.. I was really happy to be able to find the owner of the car so I could show him the image I created… and then to see his reaction – priceless.  This is what being a photographer is all about!

NorCal Invasion at Sacramento Raceway

Posted on by

This past weekend, I went to Sacramento Raceway for some drag race photography.  We were all hoping for a HUGE turnout, but the crazy heat (and I think the high entry fees) kept a lot of racers away.  There was still a decent turnout, and some great race cars to photograph.  I got my usual spot right at the starting line where all the action (burnouts!) happen.. it was a hot day, and by the time I left, I smelled like race fuel, high-octane exhaust, and burnt rubber.  It was great!

Congratulations to Cathy and James

Posted on by

Congratulations to Cathy and James, who got married on August 6 2011 .. I was honored to be there to capture their special day.  The wedding and reception were at the Heirloom Inn in Ione, CA.  A beautiful, historic house with beautiful grounds, great shade and a ton of character.  Feel free to check out the gallery of photos!

Wedding Collage

Cathy and James tie the knot