The one area of photography which still continues to evolve at speed is mobile. One of the handsets which really made me start to think about when I wouldn’t need to carry a main camera most of the time was the Google Pixel. It couldn’t compete with my a7R but you could see where the market was going, especially with the computational work that was going on with the images and by the time we hit the Pixel 3 range I was able to drop an image into my a7R series review and have it not stand out amongst a range of full frame images. Here’s an image from my original Pixel…

Pixels Pt.1

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-03-28 12:03:54
• CameraPixel
• Camera MakeGoogle
• Exposure Time1/2200
• Aperture2
• ISO54
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashAuto, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Regular readers will no doubt be aware that I like to experiment, a lot. In many ways. One such experiment, on the tech side of things, has been 360 content. Mostly video but occasionally i’ll drop in something like today’s image which was created on one of the reasonably early Insta360 models. You can do all sorts of weird stuff when you’ve got all that image data. For more experimentations in 360, click the 360 category just under the title of today’s post. All sorts in there, from me randomly walking around places all over the word, to discussions with interesting people such as Hugh Howey (creator of Silo on Apple TV) and Dr Jack Horner, the dino guy that Sam Neill’s character in Jurassic Park is based on.

Experimentations in 360

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• Date Taken2018-04-17 10:56:58
• Camera
• Camera Make
• Exposure Time
• Aperture
• ISO
• Focal Length
• Flash
• Exposure Program
• Exposure Bias

For those who haven’t picked up on the recent theme, I’m rounding up my camera journey across the last couple of decades before talking about what I’ve just purchased as my new main imaging device. Here’s another random one from along the way, something I had kicking about in my bag over a number of trips. The super compact, RX-100 series. I think I had two of them, the Mark 3 and the Mark 4. Fun little devices for when you can’t get your big camera into a situation, or don’t want to…

Another Random Camera

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2024-04-25 01:48:38
• CameraDSC-RX100M4
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture1.8
• ISO125
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Just like when I was playing a little with Fuji cameras to see what they might do for my workflow, I spent some time with the Medium Format Hasselblad H5D. Wow that thing was huge and being a little crazy I decided that a trip across the world including India, the Middle East and Europe (a good chunk by train) with the family was an ideal situation for it. It did give me a lot to think about in terms of what I needed or wanted in a camera system, and it also created some epic images.

The First Hasselblad Adventure

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-09 02:04:23
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1/20
• Aperture5.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length80.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Next up as I wander through my past lives camera wise was the first refresh of the Sony a7R range, the a7R Mark 2 which joined me, early on in its time for a trip to a wintery Japan.

The Sony a7R Mark 2

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-02-18 22:03:16
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time0.6
• Aperture6.3
• ISO400
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

As well as the a7R series from Sony, I’ve dabbled in a few other a7 models along the way. The a7S was a particularly interesting experiment. For those who don’t remember (or know) the S series is (was?) Sony’s twist on the full frame mirrorless range which prioritised low light performance over resolution. The sensor may “only” have been 12MP but the benefits for both stills and video in low light from this alternate design were huge. I had it out with me in Antarctica where it created some cool shots, but it was probably this one from Africa which most stands out in the portfolio.

The a7S

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-09-18 13:44:40
• CameraILCE-7S
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture
• ISO1000
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

The NEX-7 was awesome. It went all over the place with me, even shot a campaign for Air New Zealand with it but it was always a steppingstone for Sony taking them towards full frame mirrorless and for me that meant the a7R. Here it is, doing its thing, in Antarctica.

Full Frame Sony Mirrorless

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2015-01-17 10:22:27
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture9.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

In the latest post about my journey through different camera bodies I mentioned yesterday that I buy my own kit, which has the benefit I don’t need to be concerned about the wants and needs (or restrictions) of brands. I do however sometime borrow some kit to try out and see if it suits me. One such occasion was with the Fuji X-T2 and it didn’t quite go as smoothly as I’d hoped… or more to the point as smoothly as Fuji might have wanted. I’d been out to Burning Man with the X-Pro2 the year before and it was good, and I wanted to see a little more from the range so decided in 2017 to try the X-T2 and take it to Burning Man as well. I felt I was pretty clear about the stress it would be under and the environment out there… but it would be fair to say that Fuji were not exactly enamoured with the dusty condition it returned in. On the plus side, the images were great, and it handled the extremes really well from a reliability point of view!

(Side note, not the worst camera mishap I’ve had… that probably goes to a Hasselblad. More about that in a few days!)

Oops!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-08-29 14:28:35
• CameraX-T2
• Camera MakeFuji
• Exposure Time1/6400
• Aperture3.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I’ve long said that I’ll always lean towards the tool that gets the job done in the way I want. I don’t get camera bodies from the various manufacturers, at least not to keep, and buy what I use. So along the way I’ve tested out a few things like the X-Pro2 which went to Burning Man with me in 2016.

Non Sony Experimentation

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-09-02 12:31:44
• CameraX-Pro2
• Camera MakeFuji
• Exposure Time8.5
• Aperture5.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length27.4 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

Finishing up the cropped Sony range, for me, was the A6400 in Africa…

The A6400

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-07-17 19:29:05
• CameraILCE-6400
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture6.3
• ISO250
• Focal Length266.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias