I am in the process of doing a very informal file comparison between images created with the H3D 39 Mp camera and the Seitz D3. There will be obvious caveats and considerations to take into account, but never the less it will be interesting to compare file quality trying to keep things as simple as possible. I am mostly interested comparing color noise, color accuracy, White Balance and sharpness of RAW files. I should have sample images by early next week.
I just added a new Portfolio called Giga Pixel Panorama. It is a small collection of the better images that I managed to capture using the Seitz Roundshot D3. Unfortunately the ‘tiny’ size of the images on the web do not give an idea of the huge size and detail of the originals. To do justice to these photographs you would need to print them using one of the large format (44″wide and over) Epsons, Canons, HP, ColorSpan etc. to really appreciate the sheer amount of detail the camera can capture. I printed a few at 44″x 110″ and a few well over that size. Ironically, the problem becomes to find walls (or surfaces) large enough to view the prints from a correct distance. Having said that, I should also remark that the quirks and the V.1.0 nature of the camera, software combination almost drove me insane. Seitz is working hard on providing something that doesn’t require the patience of a Swiss watchmaker in order to shoot a good image, something that unfortunately now is a mandatory requirement. The quality of the images is phenomenal if you manage to hit the sweet spot, though not without trial and error attempts. Right now the images are prone to excessive color noise and blooming artifacts unless the lighting conditions are ideal. High contrast areas are also a source of issues, night shots are a coin toss 9 out of 10 times. Despite all these shortcomings, the D3 is a remarkable piece of equipment that will be in a class of its own once all the imperfections get fixed.
Anyone interested knowing more details about the images and/or publishing rights, please contact twistedpixel@gmail.com
I have been toying for a few weeks with a Seitz Roundshot D3. In case you haven’t heard of it, the Seitz is a state of the art super high resolution panoramic camera based on a DALSA scanline sensor. Just to give an idea, the resolution that one can achieve is staggering. Vertically the sensor captures 7500 pixels, while horizontally, 360 degree panoramas are well in excess of 30,000 pixels on average! The resulting images have an average size of 500Mb in RAW format at 48bit. The image size is dependent on the lens used and the degrees of the panorama. It is also possible to use up to 50mm of vertical shift, thus merging 2 shots and creating an effective vertical resolution of 13,500 pixels. The Roundshot comes bundled with a tablet PC that needs to be tethered to the pano head motor of the D3 via gigabit ethernet connection.
I won’t delve into specifications as those can be obtained at the Seitz website. I will offer a few impressions based on some tests that I performed in order to get familiar before I start using it on the road. First and foremost the build quality is truly outstanding. Mechanically it is on the same par as cameras from ALPA and Linhof. The outer body of the sensor housing as well as the battery and pano head motor units have a special rubber coating that help prevent the camera body from overheating in direct sunlight, and it actually works.
The camera body is precision machined to very small tolerances. Under practical use, levers and latches provide a very reassuring clicking sound when tightened. The camera body is attached to an optical bench similar to that of a Large Format camera. Each lens has different rotation nodal points that need to be set on the optical bench. The lens I have been using most during my testing is a Hasselblad CFi 40mm, that requires an extra long optical bench as seen in the photographs below.
The operation of the camera is completely driven by the bundled software application that in the case of the system I am using is a Motion Computing branded Tablet PC. In my opinion, the weak link of the whole package is the tablet PC; while the processing power is adequate (the CPU is an Intel Core 2 Duo 1.5Ghz) the screen on the other hand is virtually unusable outdoors and completely pointless in sunlight despite I use a screen sunshade. During my testing I found myself having to disconnect the Ethernet cable and find a spot in the shade or indoors to check exposure and correct focus; something that is less than ideal when using the camera in a field or on top of a mountain, let alone in relatively crowded areas. I feel this is a severe limitation, something that Seitz should have put some more thought on when offering this solution. I guess one could eventually switch to a better Tablet that has a better screen contrast. The other weak link as of now is the software controlling the camera. Despite being quite functional and easy to use it is still a V.1 release and it shows. There is nothing wrong with it per se, although it is too basic for such a powerful and complex camera as the Roundshot D3. It needs to be more flexible especially since as of now .DNG files in excess of 30,000 pixels can’t be processed using Adobe Camera Raw or anything else out there. Larger files need to be processed using the Seitz software which is frankly not comparable to ACR when it comes to fine tuning control.
Seitz keeps updating the software and will eventually get Adobe to support the larger .DNG files, but that’s probably still several months off. Bottom line the Roundshot D3 is an amazing system that once all the kinks are removed will set the high end standard for digital panoramic photography. In the coming weeks I will begin posting a portfolio section dedicated to panoramic imagery.
I’ve been purchasing regularly every issue for the last 3 years of Chinese Photography Magazine.
I think it’s worth mentioning that it is one of the best magazines in the world dedicated to general photography. The quality of the paper stock it is printed on, including the essays on photographers, subjects and equipment make it a must buy even for those that can’t read much Chinese (like me).
I’ve been using for a while a very little known and rare (only 800 were built) Manual Focus lens on the Nikon D2X, that I found at this camera store in Shanghai. It is the Auto-Topcor 58mm f1.4 with Nikon F mount built by Cosina in Japan, which happens to be the same manufacturer that builds all new manual focus lenses for Zeiss. I made several comparisons between it and the Zeiss 50mm f1.4 ZF, but ultimately I chose the Auto-Topcor as it was a little sharper and has smoother mechanics than the Zeiss. It is a very high quality all metal construction lens with very smooth bokeh. I’ll have to make some comparison between the Topcor and the Leica Noctilux, which is about 8 times more expensive. All images in the After Eight gallery have been taken using this lens.
I’ve had a new Leica M8 for about 2 weeks, despite the outcry from early adopters on the official Leica Forum after it was found that the camera has some issues related to high sensitivity to IR (Infrared), resulting in a quite pronounced Magenta cast given certain ambient lighting conditions reacting to mostly synthetic black fabrics, as well as poor White Balance performance and banding. Leica has issued an official statement on their website essentially recalling all the cameras it has sold.
These issues, despite annoying, do not affect too much my type of photography, especially since my intention is to use it primarily for Black and Whilte low light situations. Other than the aforementioned issues, the camera and image quality are superb, in large part due to the legendary Leica lenses and exceptional build quality.
I can’t wait to put this new tool to the test on my next assignment.
Anyone merely interested into photography HAS to visit this relatively new location in the XiJiaHui district. You can find it on the right hand side corner of Xietu Lu and Luban Lu. They also have a website, in Chinese here.
I found it by accident because my regular place next to the Shanghai Main Railway Station has been shut down. Basically all the little stores that populated the old Mall premises have relocated to this new location. As the photograph I am posting illustrates, the new location is a modern building of seven floors crammed with medium to tiny sized stores filled to the gills with every kind of photographic equipment, from the cheapest digicam to the 39MP Medium Format digital back. Imagine a store the size of B&H in NYC, but subdivided into small stores. The place is organized by categories, in the sense that on each floor you get a certain range of equipment.
On the ground floor you can find all new equipment from the big Japanese manufactures, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Fuji, etc. I have found that they usually have a very wide selection of lenses for Nikon and Canon, pretty much everything with the exception of the most expensive glass which needs to be special ordered, not a big deal since in Shanghai both Nikon and Canon have a very strong presence, not counting the fact that Japan is only a couple of hours away by air. The Second floor is dedicated mostly to Point and Shoot, accessories, camera bags and tripods. There are also 2 book stores that are crammed to the gills with exclusively camera and photography related material. Mostly Chinese editions of foreign books, but also beautiful publications about Chinese photographers.
The third floor is dedicated to printing and acquisition both digital and traditional. You can find any size of Epson, Canon and HP printer units. CIS systems appear to be a big thing, with many Chinese manufactured inks and hardware for the big (44″-24″) printers. There are several companies that offer an incredible variety of printing and scanning services. I am planning to have all my slides and negatives scanned and saved to DVD’s. The best part is that I got quoted for 2RMB ($25c) per each 6×6 slide, and that’s before any kind of price negotiation.
I wanted to highlight the location of the Nikon Showroom in Shanghai, situated on the corner between Nanjing Xi Lu and XinChang Lu.
The Showroom does not sell any products, but rather have on display every Nikon camera past and present, as well as the full lens lineup along with current DSLR’s for customers to try out. Ever wanted to try out a 600mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II on your camera body and feel the sheer weight in your hands of that mighty glass? Then, you should definitely go check the place out. There is also a full range of point and shoot cameras as well as film based bodies including the F6. Staff is knowledgeable and generally one representative is English speaking.
Nikon has updated Capture NX to v1.0.1. The latest version of Nikon’s image editor and NEF processing application for Mac and Windows adds the support for the new D80 NEF files and improves the software’s functionality in various areas. Unfortunately v1.0.1 of Capture NX is still not a Universal Binary.
If you’re a proud owner of a Nikon camera you will want to make sure to check out Thom Hogan’s site. It is by far the most informative and complete online resource regarding anything Nikon, including excellent eBooks on virtually any Pro and Semi-Pro Nikon in the past 10 years.
If you happen to be in Shanghai and have an interest in photography, I highly recommend checking out the solo exhibition of Italian photographer Olivo Barbieri. His well known ’site specific’ series is a collection of aerial photographs taken using a large format camera with heavy use of tilts and shifts to create blurred and distorted areas of various international cities.
He photographs from a helicopter at about 500 feeet above ground, reducing massive city structures into toy like miniatures. I’ve been to a few of his exhibitions in Milan, Rome and Siena, and each time I leave mesmerized by the images and technique. Here are a few links to images taken in Italy, China, India, you can also check a short video here.
The exhibition is going to be held at the Bund18 Gallery . Exhibition Date: September 5 to Septemebr 24, 2006
Hours: 10:00 – 19:00 daily. Address: Bund 18 Creative Center, 4/F, Bund 18, Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road, Shanghai.
All the images contained in all portfolios with the exception of the USA, Malta and Italy collections, have been processed using Nikon’s latest RAW converter - Nikon Capture NX. I won’t delve into technical details as on the web there are a few good reviews here: 1 - 2.
Despite some shortcomings, namely the lack of Universal support on the Mac, slowing down things considerably on my MacBook Pro, I can’t say enough good things about this software. The conversion of NEF files is the best, better than Lightroom and Aperture. The standout feature is the so called U-Point™ technology, developed by Nik Software, a tool that allows the user to define a control region applying non destructive local corrections to the image. The tool is absolutely brilliant and enabled be to edit images in minutes compared to hours in Photoshop. Capture NX works with NEF, TIFF and JPEG format and a 30 day trial version is available here.
Jiuhua Shan is over 8 hours train ride and 2 hours car travel from Shanghai into Anhui Province. It is a place of majestic peace surrounded by spectacular views of mountains covered by bamboo forests. I think I have seen at least several hundred buddhist monks during my stay. Most of them live and work at the various monasteries and 99 temples scattered across the mountain range.
I have been lucky enough to be able to photograph some monks who were particularly happy to let me shoot away while performing their daily chores and meditation. I was invariably a great source of comments and curiosity as the only foreigner in a 100 mile radius.
This collection of photographs is an ongoing series of children’s portraits of rural and urban China. Some are from villages tucked away in deep remote areas which appear to be a world apart from the tremendous economic growth that many cities are experiencing. During the last year I volunteered my spare time to help and assist some families in need. Most of the children roaming the streets are abandoned due to China’s one child per family law. The majority are girls. Luckily in the areas I visited most children are adopted by local families, although many children are still ‘lent’ to other families, in an attempt to avoid consequences for giving birth to more than one child. I’ve witnessed a case where a girl was abandoned and eventually adopted by an other family when she was only a few days old, after 3 years her biological parents took her back with great emotional distress for the adoptive family and completely disregarding the heartbreaking cries of the girl. In rural areas daily life is very tough, animals and humans share the same harsh environment. The hardship and sadness transpires through the eyes of the beautiful children I met and played with.
The village of Xian Ju is one of those rare places where time has stopped. It is tucked away in a remote mountain range in the Zhejiang province.
What I have been able to record with my camera are just a few glimpses of the dramatic reality and social differences still profound within China’s recent history. It is a village where running water and electricity have been a luxury until a few years ago. Most houses have been in the same exact state as they were 500 years ago. Made of wood and joined together without any use of nails, yet strong enough to withstand centuries.
This was my first visit, I was caught unprepared. It was a very bright sunny spring afternoon and the contrast between sun lit and areas in shadow made it very difficult to get correct exposures. But that paled in comparison to the darkness of the interiors with white hot shafts of light creeping in through the gaps surrounding the wooden walls and doors, forcing me to use high ISO sensitivity (800) and lenses wide open with shutter speeds well below 1/30s, making it very difficult to achieve sharp images. One woman was gracious enough to let me in and take a few photographs of her home. Even the only 2 light-bulbs hanging one in the kitchen and one in the dining room appeared as if they had been there for 200 years. As I snapped along in the kitchen area, I could hear a low pitched faint rumbling noise, when I enquired about it, the woman opened the door to the adjoining toilet area, which consisted of a wooden bucket with a pole sticking out of it to help carry it out into the latrine canal. To my surprise the partition wall just a couple of feet away gave view and explanation to the noise I heard earlier. Two large 400 pound pigs were sleeping in a small pen maybe 10×10 feet wide.
I am planning a second visit later this year.
