A Photographer’s Perennial Doubt

(Leica X1)

If the camera industry and in fact the whole photographic community had been all the trees in the garden, what could be the photographers’ perennial doubt as the nourishment other than the constant wondering of when the non-existent best camera would be here on earth? Notwithstanding the lack of preciseness in the question asked, the doubt itself is the fuel that has kept the history of photography going in a big way.

So to contribute to the course of that history, and hence the development of humanity, I have recently been wondering if it is high time for me to make a proper upgrade to hopefully the Leica system.

(Ricoh GR)

The Ricoh system was my first sortie into the digital photographic era as I evolved from what the quantum leap in digital photography has made it seemed the medieval film period. I still keep the the historical relic, the Minolta Dynax 7 (film) for its sentimental value to me though. Kudos to the Ricoh GX200 designed with photographers in mind, it had left me with lots of keepers before I sold it to get the GR4 and then the GR. The GR has since been my trusty daily companion. Very sharp lens. Image quality amazing. Haptics-wise excellent. The only gripe is that it is not with a FF sensor. I know, it would have make it bulky in that case.

(Leica D-lux 5)

But then there have been times when I really wish the camera is fitted with a full frame sensor, especially when I discover some very agreeable images made with it on the computer screen at the end of the day. It was this reason why the Leica D-lux is now mainly for ornamental value sitting in my camera cabinet, and why the special edition white GR4 was sold in less than a year after I bought it. Instead I got the GR to replace its daily companion’s role.

(Ricoh GR)

Granted, Leica costs a premium for every single addition to the system. But there is nothing like Leica. The image quality and the color rendition are uniquely pleasing to most eyes. It is widely argued that for reason of the CCD senor the Ms after the M9 are too digital and for want of the film feel in the images that are signature in M8, 8.2 and 9. I can understand that for the GR’s images initially looked too clean to me compared to those from the previous model so much so that the grainy feel in the images are lost. If that is also the case for the newer Ms, there are only two ways forward for the upgrade, which are either getting a used M8, 8.2 or 9 (the price difference compared to the 9 is too steep to make it justified for a sane choice IMHO) or laying my hands on the Q which is a better digital Leica, skipping the 240 and the 262 for now.

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

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).

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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