GX GARNERINGS

...do better, we have to know why we're doing what. I just approached my housemaid with a weird question when she was ironing clothes, "What is the meaning to life while you're ironing the clothes?" She was baffled, busying with her work on hand and beaming an embarrassed smile. "There are many answers to this. They are not either correct or wrong. There is no model answer," I expounded to give her some hints, " You may put your answer this way or that. You can have your own thinking." "Then," she said in an uncertain voice, "is it to make a living?" I accepted her answer but gave my view that she might put more philosophical substance in her answer. I went on to explain to her that her answer didn't fit in a lot of situations like he meaning of life was while I was taking a photo. Well, making money could be a good answer. Everyone can have an unique answer. What's important is that when we don't know why we...

GX GARNERINGS' long-time reader and regular contributor, Chris, sent me this photo probably to demonstrate the truth of depth of field.  The photo effectively achieves this goal and on top of this, proves that her feet are healthy. A very good way to start the day and end the working week.

The reason is in the NEXs. But first up, if you haven't read and seen enough, DC Watch has done an informative report showing size comparisons between the NEX cameras, the PENs and GXR. Two clips are included one of which shows how to attach the external but not optional flash. (Note: Sorry that only Google Chrome can manage to give an English translation to it and there is no way to get the link out of it) From the now clearer picture of the NEXs, Sony has not actually entered into the market of serious compacts YET. The NEX3/5 are positioned as point-and-shoots with an APS-C sensor and capability to change lenses. They are aimed at the populace market. That is to say, the largest possible base for making money in the pyramid of consumers. Fact is, there are more existing and potential camera owners who don't know photography than those who do. The NEXs' diving-into-the-menu-for-controls approach speaks volumes for their targeted buyers. Why bother with buttons which wou...

The iconic Bank of China Tower from a novel angle. (Kudos to Samsung HK for the loan items) 1) NX10 Field Report: The Body 2) NX10: Full Size RAWs and JPEGs 3) NX10: Smartest Menu System Ever 4) NX 10: Picture Wizard, Exposure Latitude and White Balance 5) NX10: The Tough Proposition of Viewfinder 6) NX10: Using the Lenses 7) NX10: Issues of the Lenses 8) NX10: Conclusive Remarks

(Postscript: the post linking to all the NX10 review posts is here .) After the first few days playing with the NX10, I asked myself, "What are the reasons if a photographer is to buy one of these serious compacts?" With the exception of GXR for, rightly or wrongly, its designs and rationales defiant of the long-time sensor-in-body concept, all the serious compacts are simply shrunk DSLRs. The two Sony NEX cameras launched today are of no exception. Beaten tracks are always safe to travel and surely profit-making ones. But where do these beaten tracks lead the photographers to and is the destination worthy of the admission price? And the admission price is the starting point after which comes the investment in lenses and the paraphernalia. Do We Need a Serious Compact? GX GARNERINGS always advocates serious compacts. But there are guiding principles which we have also been advocating all along. The small size of such cameras shall not be just made for smallne...

In this post, we will look into the issues surrounding the focusing of the lenses.  Contrary to the conclusion of some big camera testing site, the focusing of the NX10 raises some concerns. Focus Locking First, it is about the focus-locking speed which ranges from fast to okay to mediocre to sluggish depending on the lighting situations, the lenses and the AF area in use. Just as the Pany's lenses for the GF-1, the focusing speed of NX10's lenses still lags behind as compared with those made for the regular DSLRs.  Actually, the focusing speed cannot be called slow under decent lighting conditions but are not as fast as we would like.  As discussed yesterday, there is an explanation for this performance.  While the regular DSLRs are fitted with a dedicated module to do the algorithm for focusing, the MFTs and the the the likes of NX10 put this additional burden on the imaging sensor, hence the slower focusing speed. Simply put, under good lighting condi...

Okay, let's have a break from the NX1o review.  The question for this week is: Where is the invisible photographer in the photo? Any clue? This is Sunday, take a break!