The Lens Mount

I was pretty convinced the X-Pro1 would be the next camera for me, but these pictures by Roël Dixon-Mahatoo sealed the deal. Check em out!

I've been waiting for a Leica like, digital rangefinder camera with smaller than DSLR size, but with equal or better image quality than a midrange DSLR.  Finally the Fujifilm X-Pro1 has arrived. (yes I realize it isn't a rangefinder) It seemed like an obvious market gap to me.  What I wanted was a camera that provided some of the benefits of owning a Leica M9 , but at a more reachable price point.  I used to dream about voigtlander  coming out with a digital version of one of their rangefinders in the sub $2k price range.  Again not a Leica, but also not $7k. The high ISO performance of the X-Pro1 seems amazing along with image sharpness, and the bokeh provided by its 35mm f1.4 lens . It does have some drawbacks, but none that I couldn't live with (given my shooting style).  Hopefully there will be enough interest in this photographer's camera that can sustain a market for it. Its always fun to have that next piece of equipment to dream about buying one day.

So I bought myself a new lens.  The AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G. Here are some of my first images using it.  All were taken on a D90 handheld with no flash and no filter (not even UV).

Looks like SoFoBoMo.org is closing its doors after four years of Solo Photo Book Month.

My Nikon 18-200mm lens has finally begun to show signs of the commonly reported loose zoom grip defect. Essentially the zoom grip appears to stretch over time and begin to lift up over prolonged use. I've owned my lens for three years and the problem is only beginning for me. So here is a cheap and seemingly effective fix. Cover the grip with two rubber party bracelets available from the dollar store (at least in Canada) for only $3. The bracelets seem to be the perfect size to maintain a tight fit, and they are made of a soft rubber which makes for a nice non-slip grip. How long will they last? Who knows, but given they are $3 for 12 of them, I'm not too worried about the cost :) .

Camera technologies and features can sometimes distract beginning photographers from what is really important. I was always comforted in knowing that there were really only a few things, that actually affected the appearance of pictures made in my film camera. This is why manual film cameras with only five adjustments or choices (shutter speed, aperture, focal length, focus, and film choice) can make a picture equal in quality to a camera with a multitude of automated features. Automated features automate the setting of these primary camera adjustments (e.g. auto focus and auto exposure modes) but they will only technically improve your pictures to the degree that they increase your chances of getting the shot you want. So given an equally sharp lens and the same film, you can potentially make equivalent pictures with either a fully manual camera like the Nikon FM10 ($320) or a fully automated camera like the Nikon F6 ($2450). Knowing all of this, beginning film photographers on a budg

There is much truth in Ken Rockwell's recent post on simplicity . In brief summary he is suggesting that bringing less gear will translate into making better pictures. This past September I went on a trip to Italy and brought a D70 camera body, a 50mm f1.8 lens, a polarizing filter, and .... nothing else. Here are some of the pictures that I brought back with only that single fixed focal length lens which costs only $124.95 at bhphoto.com . http://www.thelensmount.com/2009/09/slide-show-from-italy.html

"What new Nikon digital SLR camera would you recommend for still photography?" I've been asked this several times. Obviously there are many answers to this question depending on the photographer's needs and their budget. Let us assume their goal is to have excellent creative control over the images they make, while keeping their budget reasonable. In this case I would suggest the following: Great Starting Kit Nikon D90 AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II (for all-around shooting) AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D (for low light and very sharp images) Today the above kit would cost you $ 1,029.85 US at http://bhphoto.com . If you can afford quite a bit more I might suggest the following instead: Amazing Starting Kit Nikon D90 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II (for all-around shooting) AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D (for low light and very sharp images) Today this second kit would cost you $ 1,684.85 US at http://bhphoto.com . "What?" you say, "I'm a

I heard this one from Darwin Wiggett while attending the Windsor International Photo Seminar and thought it was hilarious. How many photographers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: 10,000. 1 to screw it in, and 9999 to say "I could have done that"

One of the most important settings for getting the look you want right out of the camera is white balance. Nikon cameras have had the ability to warm or cool a given white balance setting for some time. For example if you like warmer images you can set your white balance setting to auto with A6 (for amber 6) which will perform the usual auto white balancing then warm it up +6 in the amber direction so to speak. Of course you can accomplish the opposite if you prefer cooler images by dialing in B1 up to B6 for bluer, cooler images. All of this can be accomplished by pressing WB (white balance) button on the back of the D90 and using the command and sub-command dials to select Auto and A6. This is great, and it can be done separately for each white balance setting (e.g. Incandescent, Fluorescent, Direct Sunlight, Flash, etc...). At first glance however it does not appear possible with the Preset Manual white balance settings, since neither command or sub-command dials alter the blue or

I noticed that Nikon claims that Matrix metering is recommended when using Active D-Lighting. Of course they don't mention what happens if you don't use Matrix metering. So if you're someone who always uses Matrix metering then you can stop reading. However if you are someone like me who enjoys using center weighted metering then read on. Now one benefit of buying a D90 is the feature called Active D-Lighting which essentially increases the dynamic (tonal) range of your images. This feature can be set to Auto, so that it will automatically determine when a scene is high in contrast and could benefit from an increase in dynamic range, and to what degree. This automatic setting unfortunately doesn't work as well if you are not using matrix metering. So if you are a photographer who often chooses to use center weighted metering you will find that the Active D-Lighting will work much better if you set it to one of its non-Auto settings, like Extra high, High, Normal, or Low

I'm old enough to know that no statement about the best way to make photographs is ever categorically correct. Some might say "always use a tripod" or "never use auto anything on your camera". In looking at the diverse features provided by today's modern cameras, I often wonder who uses some of them. But I'm certain that there is likely someone out there that uses each of them and has their own good reason for doing so.

I just returned from my first trip to Italy. Here is a brief slide show of photos I created. Slide Show

I've seen plenty of talk about ways to concatenate images into a single PDF for SoFoBoMo. So I thought I'd add yet another way. If your plan is to create an online publication on Issuu from a PDF file and you already own a copy of Photoshop Elements v6, you can simply output a slide show in PDF format and import it into Issue. Presto! Done.

U2, Bruce Cockburn, now the Hip comes out with a new album. What a great couple of months it has been for someone with my music collection. I just started listening.  

Although I'm a huge U2 fan I was still incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. I found their approach and the group dynamic described incredibly interesting. Definitely worth the money if you're a fan. Their is also plenty of interesting photography much of which is from Anton Corbijn . "Anton Corbijn was a person whose own vision would seriously impact the band's. His pictures are often very monumental, whereas the band certainly were not. We were very stoic, it was a very aesthetic time, Anton took pictures that looked like the music rather than the musicians." - Bono

2009 03 29_D70_0752 Originally uploaded by The Lens Mount I just noticed thanks to "My Rhapsody Artist Alerts" that Bruce Cockburn has released a new live solo album. I'm only on track three and will let you know what I think later, but so far it is wonderful. It has 25 tracks. Very few artists excite you by not bringing a band on the road, but Bruce Cockburn is one of them. Not unexpectedly the guitar playing is magical. http://brucecockburn.com/discography/slice-o-life/

2009 03 10_D70_0741 Originally uploaded by The Lens Mount Well I made my official pledge sometime last week to take on the Solo Photo Book Month project this year (http://sofobomo.org). I'm not 100% sure if I'll stick to my initial book idea, but I do know that I need to make it as simple as possible given my limited availability. One thing I'm sure of is that I'll do all processing in camera, to eliminate any time required for post process editing. This may sound impossible but I've recently taken to this approach to increase the amount of time I spend making pictures with my camera and to decrease the amount of time I spend on my computer manipulating images. The images here are recent examples that are straight from my camera  https://www.flickr.com/photos/markbelliveau/tags/sooc  . Wish me luck. Mark

2009 03 01_D70_0459 Originally uploaded by The Lens Mount Here is a dancing girl in celebration of U2's new album "No Line on the Horizon" released today. Photographers will recognize the cover immediately. I can remember first seeing a book by Hiroshi Sugimoto full of horizon pictures of the sea . At the time I was a little baffled by a whole book on essentially variations of this one scene. Now his image is immortalized in the world of Rock and Roll.

It is once again time to begin thinking about The Solo Photo Book Month (SoFoBoMo.org). This seems like a great self-assignment to get into action. Check out some of the results from photographers that completed the assignment last year. The rules are quite simple: Any 31 consecutive days between May 1st and June 30th, 2009 35 or more photos made during your chosen 31 days Produce 1 book in physical or digital form which includes your 35 or more photos before the end of your 31 days Seems like a great assignment. Have a great day! Mark