Even though this lens isn't particularly fast the VR system is good enough to get a sharp image. The image above was taken at 30mm (81mm equiv) with a shutter speed of 1/160 which is double the rule of thumb. So some of you might say that is no great feat, but the street was in shadow and was darker than the image implies. You may be right though and this doesn't prove how good the VR system really is. I might have to take some low light images to see just how good it is. But then noise does tend to creep in at higher ISO values.
The image was taken at f5.6 and as you can see the image is sharp from foreground to infinity, a great advantage of the smaller sensors, you don't have to stop way down to get the depth of field you want.
The Nikon 1 camera system is quite amazing. It is small, fast with very accurate WB and focusing. What's not to like. On top of that it has some amazingly sharp lenses, including the zoom lenses and they are sharp wide open.
I think the best thing this system has got going for it is the battery lasts for EVER! When I look at the Fuji system, the batteries die on you before you've turned on the system nearly. OK, that might be a little over exaggerated but it certainy feels like it. As much as I like the Fuji X cameras that is one of the bad points about it. They really should get that sorted out. I have the grip for my X-E1 and it's a pain in the a**e every time I have to change batteries. Please Fuji, take note.
As a side note that Nikon battery is the same one they use in their DSLR systems, so it's no wonder they last forever in the 1 system.
The image above is just an appetizer to show the detail captured by 6.7-13 f3.5-5.6 lens. I have to take more images with this lens to be able to post some more but at present, it looks very promising. More on this lens later.
These two posts about the Olympus 14-150 f4-5.6 was just an interlude from the Nikon V1. This lens is so good that a few more posts are a must.
These clouds, known as lenticular clouds, are seldom seen in Northern Europe but I've seen them quite often in Spain on the Mediteranean coast. They're very interesting formations and take on shapes like flying saucers. It takes certain atmospheric conditions to produce these cloud formations, and it seems to happen more in warmer climates.
I just can't stop snapping away when I see them and my collection keeps growing but it doesn't stop me from taking more.
This really is my goto holiday lens, I just can't leave it behind. For the most part it really delivers although I do have some trouble at 150mm in certain situations. I am still waiting for the Tamron 14-140 to come on the market. Although I have the original Panasonic 14-140 it's too front heavy when mounted on the OM-D.
As you can see from this image the lens is very sharp at this focal length (60mm). This is the normal quality I get from this lens which is very good for an 11x zoom.
I decided on the spur of the moment to put 4 images into one so that I can post more from other systems. There will be some more coming up but I thought this might be of interest to some of you. If you would like me to go back to the old system of 1 image a day, please let me know. I think this will be a way to get more images out there from systems where I would normally just post 1 a day. They might be small, too small probably for some of you, although the images posted in this way are now 1200px.
I don't think I've said this about a lens before but I'm really impressed with the 1 Nikkor 30-110 f3.8-5.6 VR lens. To look at it you wouldn't dream that the image quality can be so good. The price of this lens went down to €175 but is now back up to just under €200. Word must be getting around about just how good it is and demand is higher.
The next few posts will be images from this lens but I must warn you, more images will be posted from this system as it's slowly taking over from my other camera systems. It is so small and light, doesn't require much space, even with all the 1 system lenses, that it is a pleasure to carry and great fun to shoot with it.
Since I'm not a pro (i.e. I don't earn any money with my images) this system is proving to be ideal for my type of shooting. If I was a pro, I'm not really sure if this would be a system to cover all the bases. Certainly high ISO is not it's forte but in good light it's just great. WB is spot on in my opinion, it's fast to focus and has a max shutter speed of 1/16000. That is just amazing. Another key feature for me is that the system is completely silent when using the electronic shutter. You can't hear anything. When I compare the clunk of the Pentax cameras I am just amazed.
There's been some talk about this in many forums and blogs lately. I thought I'd post some of my thoughts on the subject just to get it out of the way. By that I mean I need to analyse my own thoughts on my own GAS. As I see it, this problem really exists where people think that buying the latest and greatest will improve their photography, making up excuses and needs that really don't exist to justify their purchases. This problem (I won't call it an illness because it isn't) will exist until people realise that it's not the equipment that matters. You've probably heard that argument a hundred times either in magazines, on blogs or books or just by word of mouth. It won't make a difference for a lot of people because they just don't want to hear it. All that matters to them is that next lens or the newest camera. The only solution is to think differently not only about your photography but also about how you live your life. Until that changes then there will be no solution to G.A.S. Olivier Duong (www.f-stopeight.com) posted some interesting articles about his own GAS and how he solved it for himself. Part 1 can be found here. Just read that one and keep going. It really is a great read and will certainly get you thinking. At the bottom of the first article are links to part 2 and 3. Do yourself a favour and please do read the article. I certainly have a lot of gear, many cameras and a hoard of lenses. But, I know that more equipment will not improve my own photography, I just love collecting. There's only one thing that will improve your photography and that is to train your eye. Practice, practice and more practice. You hear a lot about taking more photographs, which could be interpreted as meaning holding your finger on the shutter release button. That would be foolish of course because all you get is a lot of images of the same thing. Try looking at it this way; work the subject. Look at it from different angles and work the subject. Go high, go low, get closer to the subject or put a telephoto lens on your camera and see what you get. All the equipment in the world isn't going to help you improve your eye, I should know.
The mirrorless cameras may hunt in low light and have difficulty in focusing when the light isn't optimal but give them good light and the focusing is solid, very accurate. They may not be for sports photography, but they do everything else pretty well.
I focused here on the nearest eye and had only a couple of seconds to do it and it was spot on. So when someone says that focusing is slow on these cameras, take it with a pinch of salt because it's all relative. I must admit the OM-D is very a fast focusing camera, probably the fastest mirrorless camera out there right now. It could even have been faster if I had a prime on there like the Olympus 45 f1.8 or the 12 f2.
I would rate the Fuji X series on par with the Sony Nex series, and they aren't on the same level as the Olympus and Panasonic models. A bit slower I'd say but I still wouldn't class them as slow. Take a Sigma DP series camera, and see what slow focusing is. They would drive me nuts.
This is the last image for now taken with this combination and I hope it gives you an idea of the type of image you get if you're planning on purchasing either the OM-D or the original Panasonic G Vario f4-5.8.
As a matter of interest the woman in the above photograph is an Olympic Gold Medalist. The horse was simply out of this world, a beautiful creature.
