Now that all the hoo=ha of Photkina has died down.

Hi guys,
             Well it's over, (Photokina I mean, of course), and the new soon to be released Samsung NX1, has been shown to everyone. If the claims from Samsung turn out to be true, then the likes of Canikon, should be afraid. No, be VERY AFRAID! Because this Sammy cam, will be one that could push Samsung up the market leader board, and knock the main contenders on their collective backsides. After the announcement of the NX1 and its capabilities, it is interesting to note how Canon, (who for so long have ignored mirrorless cameras), have now announced that they are going to try launching into the mirrorless market. The thing is though, they will not have the new 28MP sensor, that is Samsung developed, and built. It is this sensor that is causing a LOT of interest, as well as what looks to be, an impressive build quality of the NX1 itself.

I for one, as a Samsung user will welcome seeing how this new offering from the Korean company will fare. I  have been a user of Samsung cameras since 2006, when I started with the Samsung GX10. This is a DSLR camera, and although being compact, (in DSLR terms that is), is huge, when it is put alongside any of the modern, mirrorless offerings form Samsung. The GX10 was formulated when Samsung teamed up with Pentax, a very well respected Japanese camera company. They made 3, (IFIRC), DSLR's together, before Samsung started manufacturing their own cameras, and they have never looked back since. No in my personal view, Samsung are now the leaders in this field of cameras. If in fact, as I said earlier, the NX1 turns out to be the camera that its spec sheet promises, it could very well take over the APSC sized senor, market. Forget the likes of Canon 7D's and Nikon D750/810. Because at around twice the cost, with the added bulk associated with a DSLR, and the big (costly), lenses, the added draw of the Nikons FF sensor, will not be worth it. At least not if the Samsung 28MP APSC sensor can produce the promises, that Samsung have made.

I was hoping to get out and about with my NX30 today, to get some early Autumnal colours, but the Welsh weather has cospired against us again. Yep, it's raining.  :-(   Oh well in afraid you'll have to make do with some from last weeks stroll. First up is a slow shutter shot of the river.

Next we have a weed of some sort, now in seed. Look at the fine detail it shows in the feathers of its dandelion type seed transport system, You sdould also note the pleasing Bokeh in this shot.

Well that's a;; for now, take care out there guys. My kindest regards to you all, Twm.

Well with Autumn now upon us...........

the chance of green is getting rarer. Whilst I like the colours that Autumn can bring, I'm reminded that it is a short splash of clour, before we return to cold dark days of winter. With this in mind, I am going to spread a bit of colour here. Samsung colour, that is, of course.

This flower, can be seen in abundance along the riverside, in varying shades from an almost white, through to a deep pink.

Below is another shot, this time a very pale pink.

Another one below, but this time a deeper shade of pink.

Yet again below I have another of yet a deeper shade of pink. The variety, and colours that are on show in nature, if one only takes the time to look at it, is truly wonderful.

There are also a lot of various berries on show at this time of year, especially blackberries, if any of you are into foraging for some free, fruit.
There were also a lot of berries around on our walk, and I liked the red berries, contrasted against the green leaves.

Below is another.

Below is an image that clearly demonstrates the effects of a shallow deoth of field. See how the flower is in focus, and everthing in the background is just a pleasing blur. This brings your eyes to the flower, which is the item of interest in the photo. This effect is easier to implement with a fast macro lens. The one I used here was the Samsung 100m.m f2.8 MACRO, which is perfect for these kind of shots.

Another ability of manual lenses of this type is to control the shutter speed. How? Well as we know a camera, has to have a certain amount of ight hitting the sensor at a given ISO in order to take the optimum photo. As a rough quide it used to be called the "SUNNY 16 rule." This stated that in bright sunlight, with the film speed, (ISO), at 100, the shutter would have to be at 100 too, and the aperture, (f stop), would be set at f16. This was the starting point for a good exposure. Nowadays, of course, with Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priorty, cameras, it is automatically set for you. But lets say you want to get that dreamy looking,  silky effect of running water, the trich is to slow the cameras shutter down to get the desired effect. To do this, you can set the camera to Apeture Priority and close the aperture down by using the largest number in the f stop range. This forces the camera to use a slower shutter speed in oreder to get the correct amount of light on the sensor. See, simples.   ;-)

Am example of a water shot is given below.

                             
                             Well that's all for now guys. Take care out there. Regards Twm.

More of our River walk.

Hello,
            Well with the internet being full of all the talk of the new Samsung NX1, I thought that I'd post some more images from our walk alongside the River Rhondda Fach. The walkway is along the site of the old railway line that used to carry the empty coal trucks up the valley, and the full ones down it. Of course, thanks to that Bl***Y woman Thatcher, we have no collieries left in the valleys now, so no use for a railway line, since that other one, Dr. Beeching. killed our passenger carrying service too. But nevertheless, life goes on, and, since the demise of the collieries, our river is once again running clean and pure. There are fish here too, as can be seen by the presence of herons, up and down the valley. But for this trip, flora only, we'll leave the fauna for another time.

From here on, for the next few pages, most, if not all images will have been captured using the excellent Samsung SK D-Xenon Macro lens. First up is an image of the sky........Or is it? Look at the little silver speck.

See, not a silver speck is it? No, it's a helicopter, and the NX30 has frozen its rotor blades, Have a look at the 100% crop below.

See how the NX30's sensor has captured the detail of the windows. Remember this is taken using only a 100m.m lens.

A little further on up the valley and we came to some flowers. I do not know the name of them, but they resemble Antirrhinum. This is a very pale pink one, but they vary a lot in the shade of pink. look down the flowers throat.

Also demonstrated in this image is the effect of a small f stop. The f stop is the size of the aperture on the lens. The higher the number. the smaller the hole, (aperture). The smaller the hole, the greater the depth of field. Put simple. this means that the more DOF that you have in any image, the more of the individual items within that image will be in focus. Look at the leaf to the right of the middle flower, it's blurred.

   Well that's all for now. Have fum looking at the fantastic new Samsung NX1 images and vids that are all over the internet. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other. Regards Twm.

I took the NX30 for a walk.

Hello,
            As I've told you in previous posts, I intend doing some Macro/close up work with the NX30. just to show what it can do with a prime lens fitted. Well this is my first post on this subject. All the images that are shown on this page have been taken using the excellent Samsung Schneider KREUZNACH D-XENON, f2.8 MACRO lens. Yes guys, I know, (before anybody tries to notify me of the fact), this lens is actually a Pentax lens. But the specifications remain exactly the same, this is an excellent performer, and it was
  re-badged for Samsung, when Samsung and Pentax teamed up together to make DSLR's. Now back to the walk. We walked for a couple of miles up the valley. taking pics of things that caught my eye. These images are not necessarily of any great significance or value. They are just shots that I grabbed to show things like the effects of DOF, or foliage when using jpg, (to illustrate the lack of smearing which is common in a lot of cameras), and Samsung colours.

              In the first image. I found a blow fly, sitting on a leaf. Now remember, I was using a manual lens here so I had to focus, set the aperture, and get the shot. I only managed the one pic as the fly would not sit for any more.  :-(

Below is a 100% crop of that fly.

Not to shabby, as they say. But I wish I could have had another two or three shots, but no luck, the fly flew.   ;-)

That's a;; for now gys, take care one and all. Regards Twm.

As I promised, so I shall try to deliver.

Hi there, Well after all the Hoo Haa, of the Samsung NX1, I am trying to get back on track with the Samsung NX30. I have been out and about these past few days, to try and show how good, or bad, the NX30 sensor is. Now when it is paired with the Samsung 18-50m.m kit lens, we all know that it is capable of brilliant results. This got me to thinking about how good the sensor would perform, when paired up with a lens that has excellent resolution properties. I am speaking in this instance of the Samsung Schneider-KREUZNACH D-XENON f2.8 100m.m MACRO lens. In the coming weeks, I

shall also be teaming the NX30 with the legendary Pentax FA f1.4 50m.m lens, but for the moment we are only concerned with the former lens. As a lot of you will know. here in the UK we have just passed the Full Moon stage of the lunar cycle. This particular full moon, was sort of special, not only because it was a Harvest Moon, but also because it happened to be a Super Moon, the last of this year. For those of you who do not know what a Super Moon is, it is the point of time in the orbit of our satellite, when it is at its closest to the Earth. It appears to us to be larger, and brighter, than its normal state. It also appears to be more orange, in colour. I took a few photos of this moon, with the 100m.m lens, and also with the 100m.m lens, and a TAKUMAR 2X T.C. added
First up is the image from the NX30 and the 100m.m lens on its own.

That is not a bad pic of the moon when clicked on and viewed full size. Remember, this is only a 100m.m macro lens, and not one of the huge telephoto lenses that are normally used for moon photos.
Below, is a 100% crop of the above image. All these moon pics are handheld, straight out of camera images.

Now one can see more detail in the image. I think the sensor/lens pairing did well, don't you

Well after I took a few of these, (there is no need to publish any more than one, with its accompnying 100% crop for these demonstration photos), I decided to add a 2X  TAKUMAR Tele Converter into the mix as well. As, adding any sort of EXTRA glass to the MACRO lens will tend to degrade the image slightly, these shots are just for fun, turning my 100m.m lens into a 200m.m lens. Below is the full image of this set up.

Well when you take into account the 2X T.C. added in order to get that image, I think the cameras sensor did an admirable job.

Above you an see the 100% crop. Now, as I told you above, adding any sort of extra glass to ANY lens, wil degrade the image to a certain degree. In saying that with just 1 minutes work in Paint Shop Pro doing a little post processing, and you come up with an acceptable image like below. As I said, this exercise was to test the abilities of the sensor/lens combination, so the addition of the TAKUMAR T.C. was purely for fun.

In the coming days/weeks I shall be testing this lens/camera cobo out more carefully. With true macro shots both with, and without the TAKUMAR T.C. Keep an eye out for it here. 

Until then, take care and have fun with your cameras. 

Regards to you all, Twm.

Wow things are happening quickly now................

Hi there, Things are really happening around the web now. Samsung stated that 15 / 09 / 2014, is the date to watch for the NX1's introduction. But a Kprean website has more information, that is copied and pasted below.


Korean photography website got more NX1 rumors.
http://www.popco.net/zboard/zboard.php?id=dica_news&no=10920
Upper part of the post listed currently rumored specification of NX1, and bottom part listed specs which popco.net got. I will translate bottom part of the rumor in English.
- 15 fps with tracking.
- Vertical grip available.
- Will announce revolutionary PD system.
- Slightly bigger body than NX30.
- Body design matches with 16-50 F2.0-F2.8 lens.
- Best high ISO performance and EVF among crop sensor bodies.
- Available on the market in October (TBD)
- Not retro design but similar with Mamiya?
*POPCO Comments : Samsung has been preparing hard and now Samsung is very confident to the flagship body. They mentioned the camera performance will be the best among the cameras in the market. (Well, it could be, if the comments are true about the performances). Also, they plan to emphasize color accuracy and portrait color, too which Samsung has been strong to. We eager to see how new 28MP sensor will work in terms of high ISO. It could be a monumental flagship if 15fps with tracking is really true.

If this lot is really true then Samsung are going to make a big splash with this camera.

All for now. Bye, Twm.

Well it's not long now.

Hiya, Still no photo's yet, but we are hoping to get out and about with a camera this week. The big news is, the internet is buzzing with news from Samsung about their eagerly awaited  camera, the NX1. There is now a teaser on Facebook, with instructions to mark your calendars for the 15th September. For more info. see the link below.


https://www.facebook.com/samsungnx?fref=photo


Well, it's not going to be long now. If this camera proves to be as good as is promised, this could be the one to really launch Samsung into the popularity charts. I hope it is, because, speaking personally, as I have used Samsung gear since the GX10 DSLR, 2006 or 2007, and lately, the last two or three years, they have really progressed in the imageing market, IMO that is, but of course YMMV, and you are entitled to that. But I love Samsung cameras, since the NX300, their image processing of jpgs. have been brilliant, and their sensors have been very good too. The Samsung NX range of cameras have been the first, from any manufacturer that I have been confident enough to be able to use, SOOC with no p.ping at all. They are great, as are their cameras. I am eagerly awaiting the rumoured NX400 too, as I love their Rangefinder styled range of cameras such as my favourite Samsung camera to date, the NX300. But I shall be getting out with an NX30, and some excellent Pentax glass later this week. I speak of course about my Pentax FA 50m.m f1.4, and the Schneider KREUZNACH D-XENON f2.8 100m.m MACRO lens. I shall also have in my pocket, my TAKUMAR-A 2x TC. So I shall be trying to show you, just how good the sensor in the NX range of cameras is, by using very good quality lenses,with adapters, on the cameras.
                                        All for now gang, take care all. Kind regards, Twm.