Results From Today’s Dev

Formula-

• Ilford HP5 rated at 400ISO
• Developer- Kodak D76 Stock at 20 degrees
• Agitation- Continuous for the first minute then 10 seconds every subsequent minute
• Time- Eight minutes
• Fix- Ten minutes
• Wash- Twenty minutes
• Scanner- Nikon LS9000 using Silverfast 8, 16 bit and multi-pass for a 150 megabyte file
• Post- Lightroom clarity and sharpening

I exposed most of this by estimation and I was pretty much spot on, good to see that after twenty or so years of shooting I can still nail an exposure without resorting to a meter.

The older Hasselblad lenses are not as contrasty as the CF ones so you get beautiful creamy tonality with excellent edge sharpness- not bad for a lens almost as old as I am.

 

More Ricoh GR

The Ricoh GR- Pocket Power

The Ricoh GR family, I still shoot the GR1v film version which is a tribute to the designers at Ricoh- a classic camera.

I have had a film GR1v for some time and it was one of the most impressive compact ever made, the lens was amazingly sharp so when I had the opportunity to try the Ricoh GR digital I was pretty keen.

The colors are rich and punchy with plenty of tonal range as the files are DNG- perfect for Lightroom and Photoshop.

Handles detail well although it would be nice if the sensor was the new Sony Exmor 24mp rather than the old 16mp one from the NEX-5. Time for an update.

Black and white is pretty amazing and the AF although not lightning fast is OK.

The lens is sharp and will close focus but why would you not have a viewfinder? This camera screams for one.

The close focus is excellent.

Subtle details are rendered nicely by the APS-C sensor and the f2.8 lens.

Love the black & white.

 

The Faculties

The Pentax K-1 goes on location and shoots some old time music.

K-1 And The Macro

Got to try the K-1 and the 100 macro while in Canberra. Tiny for a modern lens but it seems to do the trick. Impressed by the K-1 camera, seems to handle just about anything including very wet rain forest.

K-1 On The Street

Shooting with the K-1 for a couple of weeks now and its proving to be a good workhorse camera. I really wanted to test the resolving power and sharpness of the sensor. I find that the Pentax seems to shoot slightly over exposed to what I am used to but that may be the nature of the beast.

Shot with the Sigma 35mm Art, the fine detail is amazing

The metering tends to slightly overexpose but that is more an aesthetic issue and a difference between the underexposed Canon, spot on Sony and the brighter Pentax

Some of the most natural greens I have encountered, overall the Pentax has excellent color

Handles reds well also

Fluro colors are rendered naturally and accurately

Fine detail is captured but very dependent on lens quality

Great blues

Metering can get confused when a lot of white is involved

All in all a great street camera

The Porkers

Work it baby, have you ever seen a nicer bunch of clean cut lads?

So a quick and dirty band shot for the Porkers upcoming US tour. I this case using the Pentax K-1, some battery powered flash triggered through Hahnel Captur triggers and the Hahnel Softbox 80, shot in a stairwell at Sydney Uni. The whole kit plus an extra light was carried in an F-Stop Anja pack- mobile studio!

The flash heads are old Quantum Q-Flash with Turbo batteries and to be honest are pretty old now so on the hunt for some new lights. Would love the Profoto B1 and B2 gear but will have to sell a kidney to buy them (yes even the Profoto rep doesn’t get to keep the gear). Hopefully there will be a value alternative on the way soon. In the meantime the good old Quantums will have to do, good to know you can do a two light setup just about anywhere and on any camera.

Used the 15-30 on the Pentax, big piece of pro glass and sharp too, its a lens perfect for this kind of deal. I suspect it would make a cracker landscape lens as well however it is heavy and big, as you would expect for a 2.8 zoom and on the K-1 it look huge. The K-1 is a remarkably small camera for a full frame leaving the Canikons for dead but Pentax is not for everyone only for those who want a point of difference with some excellent glass and a tough workhorse body.