GXR and Aesthetics of Japanese Movies

While I am working on the post about the A12 module, let me take a break and share my impression on the 16:9 format of the GXR.

4:3 format versus 16:9 format. The 16:9 image stretches the width and crops the height a bit.

I like the 16:9 format by the GXR a lot. It must have something to do with the characters of the images by the A12 (and S10 too for that matter) which are traditional to the Ricoh cameras. I will talk about these characters in the upcoming A12 post.

There is an unexplainable reason to me that the A12's/ A10's 16:9 format awakes reminiscences of the aesthetics of Japanese movies which to me represent a mixture of some vague concepts including romance, cleanliness, modern classic and contemplation.

^The open-air wet markets in HK offer the best shooting chances

^Petitioning on a bustling street, which is an attraction to the Mainland Chinese visitors. How deplorable!

^The skyline of Central (HK's CBD) at night

I love it so much that I have primarily switched the format to 16:9 with both the A12 and S10.

Comments

Rob Leslie said…

I don't understang how the 'Perspective' can be different with 16:9. Isn't it just a crop?
Only camera to subject distance can change perspective?
Using a wide lens gives more perspective with because foregrond objects are closer to the camera but I don't see how 16:9 crop can do this.

29 January 2010 at 23:41

Nevin said…

Ha, ha, I meant vista. I was surely not thinking. Very good point about minding the diction. Correction to the language problem made.

30 January 2010 at 00:48

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Ricoh Camera Giveaways and the New GRD Bet

The recent months have seen Ricoh’s heavy-handed promotional efforts. Apart from the photo contest in collaboration with Greenpeace concluded some weeks ago in Hong Kong, there are three more chances for aspiring photographers to get free Ricoh cameras. There are lots of Ricoh's cameras to be given away. (A poster about the photo contest co-organised by Ricoh, Greenpeace and Jurlique for Hong Kong only, which was concluded in May. Winners are to be awarded with airtickets plus hotel accommodation, several fully-geared GX200 and CX1 cameras) Ninth Ricoh Photo Contest The first one is open to contestants from around the world, namely, the Ninth Ricoh Photo Contest to close on 21 August 2009. The theme of the contest is easy on the surface, but actually requires some effort to ponder on and express in the final image. The prizes are: Main Award: GR DIGITAL II + optional lenses and accessories (one person) Special Award: GR DIGITAL II (5 persons) Photo St

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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