I was going to meet a friend and fellow photographer Steve Saldana, wedding photographer extraordinaire. I was early, as usual and had some time to kill. What better place than B&H Camera. It was literally right across the street from the bar in which we were going to share a drink and catch up. I love gear. Not in that GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) kind of way where you’re compelled like an addict to buy stuff because it strikes your greedy little fancy. I love gear the way a musician loves a fine instrument. The touch, the feel, the fabric of our lives. Sorry, that jingle just crept in. I’m old school and in many ways, I just want a camera that can focus, make a correct, predictable exposure and fire a shutter. Of course, I need to control ISO, aperture and shutter speeds but those are the basics. All the bells, whistles and whirlygigs (let’s see what the Google Translate does with that one) of modern cameras are just that, incidental to taking a compelling photo. Frame rates, buffer speed and all that crap don’t really matter to me. But I do love exposure bracketing. There I go, down the slippery slope of seductive technology. I’ve been shooting Canon and currently it’s a 60D. I was shooting a lot of architectural details here in New York City with a long lens. The combination of flip-out LCD, good sensor at base ISO’s and crop factor on long lenses made it a great choice. With good glass, the 60D makes a stunning 16 X 20″ (16 X 24″) print. I’ve even had my stuff blown up to 4 X 6′ and it looked amazing. It shoots fantastic portraits when paired with my EF 85mm 1.8 too. But the 60D never quite made me love it. I respect it, it’s a great tool, but I really want something that gives me better high ISO capabilities and has a smaller form factor. With the monster EF-S 17-55 2.8, the 60D is just too big and heavy to take out unless I’m on a specific photo mission. I mostly shoot it from a heavy tripod, at 100 ISO to get the most out of the image. Not exactly liberating. When Fuji came out with the XPro1 and now the X-E2, I followed the progress of the X system closely. Still do. I loved the retro rangefinder styling and the system of lenses they keep coming out with. And those high ISO images (handheld low light at ISO 3200!) made me drool with envy. I was totally into ‘covet’ mode. No sooner was the X-E2 announced and in the hands of photographers than the Nikon Df and Sony A7(r) came along. Now, it’s getting interesting.
OK, back to B&H. I’d held and played with the Fuji’s before so my first stop was at the Nikon table to grab the new Nikon Df, a camera that really intrigued me. Full frame, retro styling, supposedly, back to the basics. What I discovered was a Frankenstonian monstrosity, as I, and many others, suspected from the initial pictures of it. Instead of cool retro, Nikon concocted something in between modern digital and old school SLR, failing miserably at both. It’s a clunky, squarishly round and looks like they just had to find places for all those dials and stuff. Copying for copying’s sake. Done here. Then I wandered to the endless counter of some 50 or so stations where somebody knowledgeable and helpful can bring you whatever camera and lens combination you could desire. Jonesin’ big time now. I selected an XE-2 with 35mm 1.4 to check out the new split screen focusing option. That was going to be an acquired taste. I think I’ll stick with AF here. But the camera and lens combo felt so nice and compact in the hand. A camera to love, and whisper to at night. Fuji was still highest on my list. But then, Ah yes, the Sony A7, let’s see what that’s all about. Damn, this is one beautiful piece of work. In the hand, the A7 is a perfect bridge of old and new. It’s unmistakably SLRlike but compact, tight and strong with smooth modern black lines. THIS is what a full frame camera is supposed to be. I was really impressed when Sony put a full frame sensor in a compact body with the RX-1 and I wondered, when will they do that with an interchangeable lens camera. Now baby, now. The camera at B&H had the slow kit 28-70mm zoom but paired with the new 24-70mm f4 Zeiss that will be coming out, this could be a walkaround, travel camera to love and would take extraordinary photos. The Zeiss lenses are going to be very high priced, like Canon L glass or maybe higher in some cases. Great images, definitely. High prices to get there, almost certainly.
So there you have it. Nikon Df, all wrong. Fuji X-E2, loving it. Sony A7, very impressed, so far.
If anybody actually reads this post, feel free to pass it on around the world. That’s what the Google Translate buttons are for.
Later, Bob