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).
It has been many months since I updated the site. Finally, my travel schedule has slowed down a little allowing me to focus more on updating the the portfolio sections as well as the blog. Since last year I have traveled extensively easily exceeding 100k air miles. One of the places that stood out on a trip I did to India was Hyderabad. Charminar is one of the top spots of any tourist visiting Hyderabad, although to tell you the truth I haven’t seen any, making me as it happens quite often, one of the main attractions. The monument itself is quite impressive, although my main focus wasn’t as much the landscape rather the people. The surrounding area is an incredible mix of cultures, although the majority of the population is Muslim. Charminar and the area around it is a cluster of prominent landmarks in the city’s history. Its neighbourhood is extremely densely populated and around this architectural axis are a multitude of colourful bazaars. Obviously toting a camera around my neck attracted attention, but after spending time in the area, my presence began blending with the crowd. I spent at least an hour just standing at an intersection waiting for the right moment. That morning there was a large contingent of para-military personnel patrolling the area, as not long ago a bomb set by extremists exploded at the historic Mecca Masjid killing 10 people and leaving at least over 50 injured. Despite tension could still be felt even after a few months after the blast, I was almost constantly greeted by friendly people that approached me in curiosity.
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 wouldn’t normally post news of this kind, but I frankly couldn’t resist sharing these snapshots I took while watching the evening news at home in Shanghai.
They were having a piece interviewing a family that owns what it appears to be the fattest cat in China. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it….the poor thing is huge weighing close to 16kg (about 33lbs)! My Chinese is very basic, but I think I understood the cat has some sort of rare hormone dysfunction. Look at his size compared to the other cat as well as his owner. Apparently strangers go visit the family as the cat has become a celebrity around town.
I’ve been adding a few more photographs I have taken recently during a visit around the Wenzhou countryside.
Some are added to the Wenzhou section and a couple in the Portraits portfolio.
I’ve been offline for almost 2 months due to a very hectic schedule and frequent travel. I finally managed to have some bandwidth to update the Shanghai City Life and Shanghai After Eight sections.
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.
Shanghai Fish Market - part 2
Sadly enough, among the vast number of creatures that make it onto Chinese dining tables, aquatic turtles are quite a popular choice.
The ones I photographed here are the same species (just bigger) that many kids keep at home in terrariums and are the ones commonly sold in most pet shops across the US.
While I was returning home after a night out with my camera, I encountered a grandmother holding proudly her 4 month old grandson. As I approached her smiling at the little boy, she jokingly asked if I wanted to buy him, (this is not the first time I am asked that question, which makes me sometimes wonder what whould happen if I said yes) after which I smiled even more (I guess sarcastically) prompting the toddler to produce a hilarious series of funny faces I was able to capture thanks to my Nikon 50mm lens set wide open all the way at f1.4.
