Ricoh GX100

[pollobarca]

Thanks Antara-boy did she sit still .

I'll try some BnW work next week.

thnks n rgds

paul

 

[pollobarca]

Thanks Wouter,
Ricoh blue skies are nice ,and the continuous mode made the shot easy too.
brgds

paul

 

[pcheywood]

T
@Paul: Thanks for sharing your photograph. I think it is very good in combination to the grainy feel. What ISO did you use? Looks great in B&W. For getting the feel of sharpness you could do an extra sharpening after you resized the photo for webpublishing.

Thanks for looking Wouter, I think I'm going to have to play around with my PP for that particular site ( everytime I look at the image it seems worse, and only bears a passing resemblance to the file on my pc). The shot was taken at 400 iso, and -0.7 eV.

Paul.

 

[wbrandsma]

Thank you for your answer Paul. Good luck with the PP-ing.

Here more recent work.

 

[antara]

The Soup Man
B&W jpeg pp in PS.
A quick grab while ordering lunch. 2.5, 1/20 iso 80
Please critique. I'm trying to learn Off Street Shooting((- skills.
Read the informative thread with Mitch, Sean and Wouter in the other thread.

Antara

 

[pcheywood]

Thank you for your answer Paul. Good luck with the PP-ing.

I'll keep practicing with the PP That DP1 is looking good though?

Here's another go.................

From the Sunday market at Chiang Mai. Is it too dark or contrasty?

Really like that Soup Man Antara!

I've never tackled any sort of landscape Wouter, but looking at your images has me thinking about giving it a go.

Paul.

 

[wbrandsma]

The market picture is absolutely not too dark or contrasty for me. I think it makes it more interesting to. I try to learn photographing those landscapes. Examples, tips, and ideas really help me.

Thanks for sharing Paul!

 

[antara]

Paul, I think the dark pulls you into the two lit faces and I am especially drawn to the fellow with glasses, and get an overall feel of the celebration from the light near the table. Even tho much is dark you still get a sense of the place and atmosphere where this is all occurring. Good work.
Wouter, I am always appreciative of your landscapes. And I keep wondering how you can pull it off so well so often. Especially the composition. Would you be willing to share how you compose? I notice the close, middle and far are there, and sometimes the rule of thirds. I am rather intuitive about composition, but would like to become more conscious of the elements that really make that magic.

 

[wbrandsma]

That is tough question Antara. And there is no straight answer for that. Where I life it is all around me. Within in a few minutes I am either in the forest or open fields. It is my habitat and I feel comfortable there.
I am more conscious of my whereabouts then I am of my compositions. It is not something I am really thinking about, but more like something I am feeling. Maybe that is way I want to extend my horizon and add the street to my landscapes to. I love to learn, adapt, and feel. Maybe that is the magic for me.

 

[helenhill]

I'll keep practicing with the PP That DP1 is looking good though?

Here's another go.................

From the Sunday market at Chiang Mai. Is it too dark or contrasty?Paul.

Hi Paul
I like the Overall Vibe/Mood at 'The Sunday Market'
and NOT too contrasty for my Taste
Cheers! H

 

[wbrandsma]

You are right Helen. That picture has a fantastic vibe.

 

[antara]

Here's a couple from today.

Thats a goji berry, strawberry, coconut pie.

Antara

 

[Kiri]

Hi, I've just joined this forum after Antara told me about it over at dpreviews (thanks Antara
Basically I'm trying to learn more about photography and how to use my GX100 'properly', rather than just point and shoot. At the moment I'm in experimental mode, and just learning the basics of ISO, aperture, shutter speed etc.

I would also like to learn more about post processing in photoshop etc.

If anyone has any tips or good tutorials about either topics, they would be most appreciated

A couple of specific questions I have after reading through this thread:

I notice a lot of people doing B&W photos which are really nice. Do you shoot in colour and then convert to B&W in post, or do you shoot straight to B&W in camera?

Could someone give me an overview of the steps taken in post production to get the nice tonality and richness in the B&W images? I'm semi-familiar with photoshop, but not really sure how to go about this..


Thanks a lot!

 

[wbrandsma]

Welcome Kiri! Congrats with your GX100.

Like many small sensor cameras the GX100 has huge depth of field. Unlike SLR cameras you will get sharp images from front to end with aperture of f4. I would suggest you leave the camera in aperture priority (A mode) and set an aperture of f4.6. Choose a exposure compensation of -0.3 to avoid (most of the) clipping of the highlights.

Try experimenting with the MY 1 and MY 2 settings to save your preferred settings. And when you feel comfortable with switch to RAW.

Regarding B&W conversion I suggest you make your photographs in colour first and convert them in PP. A great way for creating B&W filmlooks in Photoshop is with Channel Mixer. On the website Petteri's Pontifications you can see several RGB settings for the Channel Mixer (don't forget to select Monochrome). With a Curves adjustment layer you can add more or less contrast to your photographs. But in Photoshop there are so many way's to create B&W photographs and there are many tutorials on the web.

Cheers,

 

[pcheywood]

Antara, that cake looks like I could reach out and take a bite!

Kiri, I'm with you. I'm perplexed at the number of methods for converting to mono, seems like every pro has a 'killer action', I'm very much experimenting myself.

Meanwhile, here is another couple for your perusal, think I prefer the colour version myself!

For the mono I used 'Convert to B&W pro' from theimagingfactory.

I'll keep practicing. :salute:

Paul.

 

[Photon-hunter]

Paul, lovely shot. I have tried some of the software that there is around for BW convertions, but to be honest, I allways end up with results that I like best by doing the convertions by myself in Photoshop. It may seem a bit too complicated at first, but a little of experimenting and playing can give nice results in little time. The method that seems to be giving the more pleasing results to the majority of the people (myself included) is the "channel mixer" route...You can find an interesting essay and some helpfull guidelines in the following article: http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/100_Curves_and_Films/_Curves_and_films.html?page=7

This guy, Petteri, has a ton of usefull essays there, and he has a sense of humour as well, great fun.

I mentioned before I really liked your image, so much that i actually "grabbed" it and gave it a try myself..hope you won´t mind.

Channel mixer (25,35,40), a little curves and very minor dodge and burn. I thought a little of toning would help the lovely warm atmosphere in the shot so I gave it a mild Duotone, desaturated a bit and ended with another tiny bit of curves. BW is a VERY subjective thing, some people like very contrasty images and others like low contrast with plenty of detail in the shadows or the highlights. I simply converted this shot to something that pleases ME. Your approach might differ. It´s all about fun!! (obviously a five minutes process of a little web-JPEG is going to deteriorate an image visibly...)

Cheers, Erik.

 

[The End Of Print]

WELL, i finally made a decision between the GRD and the GX100.
I went for the GX100 for its zoom, "MY Settings" and shooting in 1:1 format.

I bought it yesterday from Jessops (uk) as thats the cheapest prices ive found PLUS they offer a 3 year no quibbles warranty for only £40. If anything goes wrong with the camera in that time or even if i drop it, i'll get it fixed or a new one in return. nice deal they have!

Anyway, no sooner had i charged the battery and put it in i realised that the language had already been set - very strange ..... then as i continue to flick through the manual, i find a train ticket for a month ago in there!!!!
It seems the camera has been on its holidays before i had it! lol.
So phoned up the shop today, the assistant manager couldnt be more appologetic and told me to bring the camera in and he'd get me a new one within a day. he's also offered some Print discount vouchers or a discount off the camera. I already got £25 off the price by using an online voicher code . SO any more money off would be very nice. Might try and wangle getting a 4gig card rather than the "money off prints" vouchers as i dont do prints.
I'll stress the case that im a good customer of theirs - spending about £20-30+ a week on getting films developed and scanned.

On sunday night on ebay i bought myself a lens for my GX100.
It's a 16mm Nikon WC-E68 Wide angle lens that i will be able to fit to the camera via the HA-2 adaptor and a step-up ring.

I'm soooooo looking forward to getting the two married together
hopefully by the end of the week!

 

[Kiri]

Welcome Kiri! Congrats with your GX100.

Like many small sensor cameras the GX100 has huge depth of field. Unlike SLR cameras you will get sharp images from front to end with aperture of f4. I would suggest you leave the camera in aperture priority (A mode) and set an aperture of f4.6. Choose a exposure compensation of -0.3 to avoid (most of the) clipping of the highlights.

Try experimenting with the MY 1 and MY 2 settings to save your preferred settings. And when you feel comfortable with switch to RAW.

Regarding B&W conversion I suggest you make your photographs in colour first and convert them in PP. A great way for creating B&W filmlooks in Photoshop is with Channel Mixer. On the website Petteri's Pontifications you can see several RGB settings for the Channel Mixer (don't forget to select Monochrome). With a Curves adjustment layer you can add more or less contrast to your photographs. But in Photoshop there are so many way's to create B&W photographs and there are many tutorials on the web.

Cheers,

Thanks for the advice Wouter!
I've been experimenting with your suggested settings the last couple of days... Will post some images a little later.

Is there any particular reason you suggest a setting of f4.6?

I've been experimenting with aperture and depth of field, but as you said, it is hard to get much DOF in digital compacts I guess, unless using macro mode.


I'll also try some B&W tuts around on google and see how I go. Might ask some more questions later about that part though. Thanks.




I also managed to pick up a HA2 adapter so I can now fit filters and other lenses on.
Unfortunately the filter I really wanted to play with (Hoya R72 IR) is unavailable here in Japan, even though it is MADE here in Japan! Go figure.

 

[wbrandsma]

WELL, i finally made a decision between the GRD and the GX100.
I went for the GX100 for its zoom, "MY Settings" and shooting in 1:1 format.

I bought it yesterday from Jessops (uk) as thats the cheapest prices ive found PLUS they offer a 3 year no quibbles warranty for only £40. If anything goes wrong with the camera in that time or even if i drop it, i'll get it fixed or a new one in return. nice deal they have!

Anyway, no sooner had i charged the battery and put it in i realised that the language had already been set - very strange ..... then as i continue to flick through the manual, i find a train ticket for a month ago in there!!!!
It seems the camera has been on its holidays before i had it! lol.
So phoned up the shop today, the assistant manager couldnt be more appologetic and told me to bring the camera in and he'd get me a new one within a day. he's also offered some Print discount vouchers or a discount off the camera. I already got £25 off the price by using an online voicher code . SO any more money off would be very nice. Might try and wangle getting a 4gig card rather than the "money off prints" vouchers as i dont do prints.
I'll stress the case that im a good customer of theirs - spending about £20-30+ a week on getting films developed and scanned.

On sunday night on ebay i bought myself a lens for my GX100.
It's a 16mm Nikon WC-E68 Wide angle lens that i will be able to fit to the camera via the HA-2 adaptor and a step-up ring.

I'm soooooo looking forward to getting the two married together
hopefully by the end of the week!

:thumbs: Congrats! Have fun and share some of your first results.

 

[Kiri]

By the way, can anyone recommend a good memory card to use with the GX100?
Currently I only have a sandisk 1GB card.
I would like to buy an extra 2GB card. I've seen people recommend the extreme III and 2 cards as being the fastest.
Are there any others that are reasonably fast, and reasonably inexpensive?