Frederik Bøving – Page 25

How to get a wide angle photo with a not-wide-enough lens…

More than panoramas

A panorama is typically a photo stitched together of a series of photos, either purely horizontally or vertically to produce a picture with dimensions out of the ordinary. Below is an example of a very wide photo created using the panorama function in the Sony RX100M3:

Lightroom panorama function

Lightroom enables you to stitch together a photo from a puzzle of photos provided that sufficient overlap is secured. Good news is that the photos can be combined horizontally and vertically at the same time, i.e. in the same photo, which enables you to increase both width and height in the same photo, much like you would see with a wide lens. Hereby the panorama function in Lightroom is more advanced than the panorama function you would typically find in a smartphone or the in camera function of the Sony RX100.

As far as I can tell, there is not requirement to have the photos in a certain order, but of course for your own administration it is probably useful to have some system in the order of the photos. In the example below, in total 8 photos have been stitched together via two columns of photos: The left hand side is built up of pictures moving the camera from bottom to top, and the right hand column follows the same logic but with a solid overlap to the left hand column. This is illustrated in the light blue graphics to the left where the darker areas are the overlap. You probably need more overlap than what the graphics indicate (1/3rd is a safe margin), but it also depends if there is some easily identifiable objects in the overlap zones:

The resulting photo looks like this:

Ease your administrative work

When you are in the field and shooting the photos, you can help your work back at the desktop stitching pictures together by following a few tips. When you are out and about it may seem very uncomplicated and straightforward when you shoot the photos, but not so much when you look a them in the Lightroom grid view. It can be difficult to figure out when your series start and stop and which pictures are “normal” pictures and which ones are part of a series. Therefore I recommend that you find a hand signal to start and stop the series, so that you via a scrap photo can easily identify the start and the top of the series. I usually point to the direction I will move the camera to open the series, and to end the series, I simply hold up an open hand:

These photos are of course not to be used as input to the combined picture but are simply for the benefit of easing your administration of the pictures in Lightroom. Here you an see the overwhelming view in Lightroom and how these pictures help you getting an overview – I think the two “handsignal” pictures gives some guidance:

In the field

In my experience you get the best results using a tripod. I know, they are a nuisance in terms of weight and size to carry around. But a tripod gives you the least variance between pictures – you want the height to be the same between photos and you want the pictures to be without camera shake. And a tripod is the most save route to those objectives. You can also give it a try to kneel down and use your knee to support your elbow and that way get a very solid foundation for the camera if the tripod is at home.
In terms of camera settings, my recommendation is that you shoot in manual mode ideally, because you then have the least variance between shots in terms of ISO, Aperture and shutter speed. In automated modes, the camera will change the settings based on changing light conditions and any variance will complicate the merging process.
Also, unless you have a specific plan with varying the focus across the shots, my recommendation is that you disengage the auto focus with the shutter half pressed and go for back-button focus, or instead that you shoot with a manual lens where you actively have to change the focus. You can, however, re-focus every photo and create some amazing pictures with a depth of field a single shot cannot deliver, but you may find that Lightroom is struggling to merge the pictures if the overlapping parts of the pictures are not sufficient similar. A varying focus may be a complicating factor that could make the picture merge process fail.

Post processing – how to

In lightroom, in the grid view (press “G”), simply select the photos to be stitched together by holding down the shift key and marking the photos in scope. You can either mark them individually or point to the first and the last photo – Lightroom will know you want to include all in between.

After selecting the pictures, right click, and a small window with a menu appears, select “Photo merge” and then menu item “Panorama”. You can also simply press ctrl-M to achieve the same effect, and a picture with a preview and some options appear:

You can try the different projection options, but I find that for landscapes the “perspective” option works best. If you remove the “auto crop” check mark, then you can see the full picture including the parts without coverage:

If you use the “boundary warp” slider, you can get Lightroom to stretch the existing pixels into the areas not covered, so you get a picture with no bare spots, but of course the dimensions may be seriously skewed.

After playing with the parameters, simply press the “merge” button at the bottom right of the screen and Lightroom starts a batch process to merge the pictures. You can follow the progress via the little bar in the screen top left. Unless you have a VERY powerful PC, I recommend that you leave the PC alone while this process is running, as it is demanding, both in terms of memory and CPU capacity. If you press Ctrl-Shift-Esc (Windows), you can monitor the “stress level” of your PC while the process is running.

Once the process is complete, Lightroom will add the picture to the current folder and name the file the same as the last photo in the merged series, with the addition of “-pano” to the file name for easy identification.

Pros and cons of this approach

Pros

More wide and tall pictures simulating a wide angle lens
Two dimensional stitching beats traditional panorama function
Great fun when the result surfaces in the panorama preview – more rewarding?
More resolution – I think…

Cons

Cannot be used for moving subjects or changing light conditions
More work, more pictures, more disk space, post processing, etc
No in-camera result
Best result requires a tripod
Straight lines may be ”fisheyed”, i.e. look strange
Very demanding on your PC if shooting in RAW
Access to picture processing in Lightroom or the like is a prerequisite

A few tips

As shown above, mark the start and end of a panorama series with scrap pictures to easily be identified in grid view
Keep all settings the same for all pictures
Ideally shoot manual mode, or try to keep the setting the same across all pictures
Use back button focus so your focus is the same (again, to keep settings the same)
Use a tripod and ideally also a L-bracket if shooting in portrait mode
Make sure you have solid overlap between pictures – best to have some easily identifiable objects in the areas that overlap.
Keep the number of pictures low if shooting in RAW
– maybe start with JPG to see how your PC is dealing with the task

Questions and comments

Questions and comments are more than welcome – please post below. Hope you found this blog useful. Thank you for reading!

Sony RX100 M3: It has all the modes you can think of!

RX100 M3 mode dial – what a treat!

When I first started to read the manual for the Sony RX100 M3 regarding shooting stills, I could not believe the amount of intelligence and options they have packed into this little camera! The mode dial has 10 positions, and behind two of them are 3 and 12 options respectively, giving more than 20 mode options of which some are auto modes that combines underlying features in a new way! This may seem quite intimidating of you are new to photography or new to this camera, but let me see if I can give you an overview so that you quickly can zoom in on the options that are best for you.

If you want automation

Professional photographers want control of their camera because they want control of the process and hence the outcome. Us more humble amateurs may want to turn to some of the automatic modes, either because we are lazy or because we have other things to attend to (like hosting the party where we are also taking pictures). Now, there are 2 fully automatic modes for shooting stills named Intelligent Auto (green) and Superior auto (yellow/orange), but the text is not written on the dial, instead a little camera is depicted in yellow and green, with an “i” in front of it (i for intelligent presumably):

In these modes, the camera takes care of everything – ISO, aperture and shutter speed. You “just” have to point and shoot. The difference between Intelligent auto (green) and the Superior Auto (yellow) is that the camera in the latter mode takes several pictures and combines them into one. You may have come across a feature named HDR on your smartphone (or bracketing on a DSLR), this is a bit of the same. The camera takes several pictures and combines them so that the low light parts are “boosted” so they become more bright and the high light parts are scaled back a bit so they are not blown out. This improves the dynamic range, i.e. how bright and dark parts that the camera can handle in one shot.

If you want automation with a twist

In the automatic modes, the camera tries to guess what it is you are shooting, and adjust the camera settings to optimize what you shoot. Sony call this scenes, i.e. types of photographs that you do. It is very kind and in the top left corner shows you what scene it has arrived at, based on what the electronics find on the sensor. In this example where I am taking a picture of a plastic cow, the camera figures that it is flower photography! It is not as bad as it sounds – it is an object full of colors and close up, so a flower is not a bad guess. Notice the graphics top left gives the scene mode:

In the two fully automatic modes described above, the camera constantly guesses what we are trying to shoot and it arrives a for example: Pet, Gourmet, Macro, Baby (!), Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset. Night scene, Night portrait, Fireworks, etc. It also has some scenes where it just concludes that the light is very limited or that you are trying to shoot hand-held. In the fully automatic modes, the camera informs you of what it has concluded in the top left corner.

The point putting the camera in Scene mode (SCN on the dial) is that you can now tell the camera what it is you are shooting. Of course only from the list of options given by Sony, but they cover many situations. In this way, you can control that the camera optimizes for the right scene, so that it does not think you are shooting fireworks, when you actually take a picture of a flower (he he). Such mistake is very unlikely I have to add, but there are some scenes where the camera has troubles finding the right scene (gourmet and macro are very similar to give a better example).

So choose scenes mode when you want to still rely on the cameras ability to optimize the settings based on what you are shooting, but you take control and tell the camera what it is you are shooting, so it selects the right shelf to meter from.

Semi automatic modes and manual mode

The RX100 of course also gives the option to select the classic semi automatic modes: Aperture priority mode, Shutter priority mode and Program mode:

(A)perture priority: You control the aperture, the camera selects the shutter speed.

(S)hutter priority: You control the shutter speed, the camera selects the aperture.

(P)rogram mode: You select both the Aperture and the Shutter speed but in pre-set tandems, so the

exposure is still correct.

The ISO is set according to the value selected in the menu system. Press the Fn button top left of the rear command wheel, and the menu appears. Bottom left gives the ISO setting. You can control if you want to set the ISO yourself, if you want to have the camera do so – with or without limitations to upper and lower values:

The RX100 also lets you control it all in manual mode where you can set each of the parameters in the exposure triangle as you see fit. This is probably the mode you want to use of absolute control of the camera is vital to you, for example if you do long exposures.

Memory recall (MR)

In the memory recall mode, you have 3 modes to choose from of previously stored mode information. So you are not only selecting the priority mode, but also the exposure compensation, just to name one. There are 3 pages of information with what the camera stores!

I find that the confusing part is to store this information (not the recall), but the process is simple: set-up the camera exactly the way you like it to, and then go into the menu system and select item 7 in the shooting menu, and hereafter select “memory”. You can the store then information in bank 1, 2 or 3 by moving left and right with the command wheel and pressing the center for storing.

Panorama

I have done an entire video on how to shoot in panorama mode with the RX100 and you may have come across this feature on your smartphone. But it is a nice way to “get it all in” when you have a wide subject to capture. Notice that you can shoot both in portrait and landscape mode – you select the direction on the front dial (the one at the root of the lens).

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Review: Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 – Swirly bokeh!

Helios 44-2 58 mm

The Helios 44 is one of the most debated lenses in photography forums and youtube videos and I imagine the reason probably being:

You can get a copy for 50 USD or maybe even lower with a bit of luck
There were literally millions of copies made, so the supply is endless and gives a low price (I know some complaint the price has gone up, but really: 50 USD for a fairly good 58mm prime lens?)
Its bokeh is know to be swirly or at least different from what you see with other lenses
The lens is OK sharp if you you are so lucky to get a decent copy
Mirror less cameras have given a revival to vintage lenses with the focus aids like focus peak and focus highlight, making the vintage lenses in general more attractive than in the DSLR days

So in short, it is so cheap that there is a copy for everyone, and this in combination with the myth around the bokeh probably makes this lens both realistic and attractive for a large crowd.

History

The Helios lens was made from sometime in the 1960s to the early 1990s in Russia, and rumors has it that it was an attempt to copy a zeiss lens from that time. Although the ambition to make an “as good as zeiss copy” was not fulfilled, the Helios is still a good lens even with the standards of 2019. There were MANY copies made, some for export, others for the local market, so you can get a copy from Russia or Ukraine where the “helios” is written with Russian letters – pretty cool!

The Helios comes in many different versions, 44 were the first ones produced, then followed 44-2 and up to 44-7. The improvements were minor, probably improvements in coating, but I understand there is no dramatic improvement in the later models compared to the early ones. I have no complaints regarding my 44-2 copy.

Price

As stated above, the lens can be found used on e-bay and amazon. Always used, as they are not produced anymore. The price is typically around 50 USD, but many report that they have got copies down to 20 USD and at flea markets it should be possible to find them even cheaper. Often they served as kit lens for a zenith camera, and many get the lens for almost nothing, pretending to be more interested in the zenith camera than the lens as such.

If you buy this lens in Russia or Ukraine via the net, be aware that postage costs to e.g. Europe can be quite significant relative to the price of the lens. Remember also to set off some money for a adapter for this lens (M42). They come cheap and quality is usually ok, also for the cheapest ones, but if you are on a budget, both postage costs and adapter should be included in the total price before making a purchase decision.

Copy variation is an issue. I do not know why, but my guess is that quality control varied back in the days when it was produced, or the quality was dependent on individuals performance in the production line. Whatever the reason, quality varies and it is a bit of a lottery, so if at all possible, see if you can test your copy before making the purchase decision.

Characteristics

First and foremost this is a manual lens – no auto focus, no CPU contact, no metering, nothing. Just glass. So if you are not comfortable with manual focus or EXIF information in very important to you, then this lens is not for you. Secondly, it is a prime lens, so if zoom is important to you, you probably want to look elsewhere.

The lens is well built, all metal and surprisingly light IMO (warning: I am used to Nikon vintage glas!). The focus throw is long (270 dgrs) and reminds me of the Samyang 14mm lens – you turn and turn and turn, and then some more!

At 58mm and with full frame coverage, this ens is excellent for portraits, flowers, still life, product shoots or basically any stable subject that is not too far away. Maybe even street photography if you are a manual focus shark! But the classic use for this lens is portrait as far as I can tell from the blog posts. I use it mainly for flowers and product shoots.

At f/2 it is a reasonably fast lens, and it has a dual aperture control system, so that you can limit the upper limit of the variable aperture. I am not a video shooter, but supposedly this feature is valued by video shooters. The aperture does not move in clicks but is completely step-less, another feature that video shooters appreciate. The aperture ring on my copy is wobbly to say the least – if fear it will fall off any day soon! Aperture range is form f/2 to f/16. The focus ring has a loooong throw – around 270 degrees.

Distortion, vignetting and CA is seldom an issue for me, so I have not really looked into this in details, but I understand from others that the lens does OK here.

Color rendering I find to be quite natural, maybe at bit more warm than what I am used to from my Nikon lenses, but very pleasant (others report the opposite, so opinions are a mixed bag here).

Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 — Notice the bokeh!

Flare control in my experience is non-existing! Maybe this is a bit harsh, but it is not super well controlled, and some video shooters actually use the as a creative feature rather than trying to suppress it. I find as a stills shooter that the flare can be reduced surprisingly much by closing down the aperture just a little bit, so you may give that a try if flare with this lens bothers you. A lens hood should also help mitigate the flaring.

Sharpness is excellent, especially center sharpness. All the way from f/2. When you stop down, the corner sharpness improves a lot, and at f/8 I dare to call this a very sharp lens edge to edge, even compared to modern lenses of 2019. Contrast is good, but only when you are in the clear when it comes to flaring or you have some bright light in the frame.

Bokeh

The bokeh is what most talk about when it comes to this lens, and it is special. Probably due to a construction error, the bokeh balls of this lens gets oval towards the corners, which is probably the reason for the swirly reputation. Take a look at these two picture, taken 20 seconds apart with a slight variation in composition.

Notice the bokeh ball in the top right corner – here it is nice and round:

But moving the camera just a little bit so the bokeh ball now is closer to the corner, you see that the ball now is more oval than round:

All lenses probably has this characteristic, but the Helios simply enhances or exaggerates making the out of focus areas oval. In order to make the best use of this (swirly) effect, you ideally need either a lot of small lights surrounding your subject, or some sort of structure that will reveal the bokeh distortion.

See this example of an ordinary hedgerow, nothing special going on here, other than maybe a foreground out of focus:

But if you zoom in on the foreground, the notice what happens to especially the background to the right – all of a sudden circles appear:

The same subject with my beloved Nikkor 50 mm 1.4D at f/1.4 gives this where the bokeh balls do not have this swirly effect:

So with a subject right in the middle of the frame, you can get this swirly effect of circles encompassing the subject, giving a dreamy effect:

In conclusion

So who is this oddball of a lens for? If you fall into one of these categories, I think this lens is for you:

You find the bokeh effect great fun and want to see what you can do with it
You think it is good sport to find a lens at a bargain, that performs well
You are new to photography and want to try something more than the kit lens on your camera without breaking the bank
You are a on a very tight budget

This lens is definitely not for you if:

You are not comfortable with manual focus
EXIF information is vital for you
Good flare control is a must
Corner sharpness fully open is important
You are not comfortable with the lottery of getting a good copy

DSLR versus mirrorless – what is right for you?

A shift from DSLR to mirrorless

Anyone who spends 2 minutes studying global sales of photo cameras will quickly notice 2 trends:

The total sale of camera systems with interchangeable lenses is dropping like a stone
The sale of camera systems is switching from DSLR to mirrorless

So is this important to you and what you decide to buy as a consumer here in 2020? Well, yes and no.

The dramatic drop in sales of camera systems is mirrored by a equally dramatic increase in the sale of smartphones with better and better cameras. Some smartphones today come with sensors that have more megapixels than entry level system cameras, and with added clip on lenses from Ollo-clip and Moments, the smartphones pose a serious alternative to many entry level system cameras. And I guess that no-one wants to invest in yesterdays technology unless it is done very deliberately – like buying a LP player these days. My guess is that within a few years, the DSLRs will be viewed somewhat like the same way a LP record and a film camera is seen today – there is definitely a market, but more niche than mainstream. But, please remember, that the stock of DSLRs out there is huge, and that the mirror-less only have 1-2% of the total stock of cameras out there. That is also why you continue to see companies like Nikon pushing out new DSLRs like the D780, simply because it still has some advantages over mirror-less (battery life, ruggedness, OVF).

Why is your smartphone your camera?

There are probably a number of reasons why so many of us have the smartphone as the main camera:

Most consumers do not have a need for a better camera than what the smartphone offers
The cameras in smartphones get better and better, not only in terms of specs like megapixels, but also low light performance, electronic zoom, stabilization, panorama, SOME integration, etc
The camera is always with you as your smartphone is also your:
- newspaper,
- game machine,
- alarm clock,
- watch,
- wallet,
- notebook,
- bank, etc. In other words, you do not leave home without your smartphone
Your smartphone is small and compact
It is difficult to get a smartphone without a camera these days; it is part of the package deal

So even if you are consider to go very serious with your photography and you are willing to invest in your hobby, you may find that a very good starting point is your smartphone – especially in combination with click on lenses. However, be aware that the lenses may not be transferable should you later upgrade your phone. I switched from iPhone 7 to X, and my Ollo-clip lenses could not follow.

What if you want to go further?

If you decide that you want to go for a system camera, then there are two main paths you can follow: DSLR or mirror-less.

A DSLR camera has a mechanical viewfinder, where a mirror shows you what will be in the frame when you hit the shutter release, and when you do, the mirror flicks away to lead the light to the sensor. A mirror-less camera has no mirror, and is typically much more compact than a DSLR as the room for the mirror is no longer necessary. The DSLR to a large extend works the same way as the old film cameras, where the light hit a roll of film rather than a sensor. So first when the mirror-less camera came around, the moving parts in the inside of the camera were no longer necessary.

Camera manufacturers have spotted that the market is moving away from DSLRs to mirror less, so they try to get the best out of the DSLR lineup they have without investing too much. Recently the two big old players Nikon and Cannon have released mirror-less cameras, and it is difficult to assess how much they will continue to invest in the DSLR product lineup. However, this means that you today can get a DSLR camera for a fraction of what it was some years back. In other words, you can make a great deal if you are willing to invest in a receding technology. A good DSLR will give you 500t actuation’s or more, and that will cover most consumers needs for a considerable number of years.

The mirror-less camera has some advantages over DSLRs, as it can give you much more precise feedback in the viewfinder as to what the picture will look like, i.e. exposed correctly, in level, etc. It also gives you some aid for manual focus lenses (focus peak) that the DSLR cannot offer unless you shoot using the back screen LCD only. So if you use lenses with manual focus on a mirror-less, then it is much easier to get sharp pictures than with a DSLR.

Why should you care for manual focus? Well, wise men say that the quality of the pictures first and foremost is dictated by the quality of the glass in the lens. The large players like Nikon, Pentax and Canon have produced lenses for 60+ years, so there is plenty of vintage lenses to choose from. These vintage lenses can often be found at a fraction of the cost of a new lens. But of course without the comfort of auto focus and good coating to keep flare at bay. But if you shoot subjects where auto focus is not an issue, then you can get super glass at a bargain. And you are no longer tied to a specific producer – you can put Nikon glass on a Sony body, etc. It now gives you a lot of freedom, where you previously were locked in – Nikon body = Nikon glass. This is no longer the case.

So what should you do?

I would suggest that you first and foremost try to see how you like photography, using your smartphone only. If you find you don’t care for photography, then all you have wasted is your time and not your budget. If you still insist to invest, I would give a clip on lens a try and see how that works for you.

Should you still have appetite for a system camera, I would serious consider starting with a mirror-less. Only if you don’t mind the more bulky, loud and heavy DSLRs, then this could be right for you in order to save money. Buy used if you don’t mind – even if you buy from your local photo shop you can save a lot of money. Further, the advantage of an “authorized” dealer is that you know where to go back and complaint if not all is to your liking. That is more cumbersome if bought on the net.

Finally, irrespective of your choice of DSLR or mirror-less, the next question that comes up is the size of the sensor: APS-C or Full frame (FF). That is a good question. In my own experience, the APS-C cameras have come very close to the FF cameras so I would not put too much emphasis on this part. However, if you have always wanted to go for full frame, give it a try with a borrowed camera and see if you notice the difference. It would be silly to go for a FF camera and invest in heavier glass etc, only to find that the difference is negligible. My own experience is that only for landscape photography I have noticed a difference between APS-C and FF – for product shoots and portraits I see no difference at all. But don’t take my words for it – I recommend that you try to borrow or rent a FF and see what you make of it.

Questions and comments

Hope you found this useful. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. All the best.

What is aperture? And why important?

Aperture

Aperture is the iris of your lens. You can regulate the area that lets light pass, just like the iris in your eye. The larger the area, the more light it lets through. Typically on a modern camera, you can regulate the aperture via controls on the camera, but often you can also operate the aperture manually directly on the lens.

Just to confuse things, the aperture is measured in f-stop numbers, and the larger the f-stop the smaller the aperture.

Fast and slow

A fast and a slow lens. This is not a reference to sending your lens to the race track, which of course would be pointless, but rather it is about how much light your lens lets through to the sensor under a given set of conditions. Fast = lets through a loft of light. Slow = less so. Using a fast lens at open aperture can be used to highlight a subject due to the background blur that is achievable with a fast lens. So we all want fast lenses in the best of worlds. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. It comes at a price, literally. And not only your wallet feels the weight, also your camera bag will be burdened with more glass if you insist on a fast lens. And more so if you do so with a full frame camera body. But let’s have a look at your lens speed and what the impact is on your photography.

Aperture measures

Aperture is measured in f-stop numbers, so that the lower the f-stop number, the more light is let through. A very fast lens has an aperture of f/1.4, whereas a not-so-fast lens has an aperture of f/5.6. The aperture numbers are odd and difficult to remember, but it is a good thing to understand the scale, as walking one step up and down the scale is referred to as “stopping down one stop” and “stopping up one stop”.
An amazing fast lens has a minimum f-stop of f/1.0. The next f-stop on the scale is f/1.4. If you just remember these two numbers, and that the f-stop scale is a doubling of these numbers for every stop, then you can remember the entire scale. The f/1.0 series is hence:
f/1.0 f/2.0 f/4.0 f/8.0/ f/16 f/32
Similarly the f/1.4 series is:
f/1.4 f/2.8 f/5.6 f/11 f/22
If you then weave these two series together you get the following
f/1.0 f/1.4 f/2.0 f/2.8 f/4.0 f/5.6 f/8.0/ f/11 f/16 f/22 f/32
The series can be extended beyond the above, i.e. some lenses are below f/1.0, but it is rare. On an old lens like this Nikon 135mm, you typically find the aperture scale in the bottom of the lens (closest to the camera) with a ring to turn in order to change the aperture. Notice how the numbers on the lens match the f-stop numbers above. Here the lens is set at f/8:
If you try to look into your lens with the aperture wide open, you typically get a very good idea about how fast your lens is. This 135mm lens can stop down to an (relative to the length of the lens) impressive f/2.8, and as you can see, this lens is all glass, that uses every inch and mm of the inside of the lens to let through light:

Ambient light

Ambien or available light is important if you shoot in low light conditions where a flash or artificial light would ruin the scene or seem odd to those in the picture. Take this picture from evening in the summer cottage – the scene would simply not have been the same with a flash light added:

Bringing a flash to this scene would ruin it all…

So in low light situations a fast lens is key.

If you are so lucky to have lots of light available to your photography, no matter if it is ambient light created by the sun, or artificial light created with flashes, steady light, reflectors and what not, then the speed of your lens is less of a concern. But only less. If you have a slow lens, then artificial light can get sufficient light to your sensor so that your Shutter speed is fast enough to prevent both camera shake and subject move without raising your ISO to a “grainy” level.

However, a solid depth-of-field effect where your subject is clearly separated from the background (“pop out”) can be difficult to achieve with high f-stop numbers, as the depth of field increases as you reduce the aperture.

If you want to play with the options, this depth of field calculator shows you exactly how narrow your depth of fields gets when you work with a fast lens and get close to your subject:

Photopills DOF calculator

So a fast lens is more important for ambient light shooters than artificial light shooters, but faster is also better in terms of background separation. If you are willing to pay the price and weight penalty that comes with the a fast lens is of course entirely up to you.

Your lens and the speed of it

Either on the front of the lens or on the side of it, the fastest aperture it will go to is clearly written on the lens. The picture shows a lens that will go down to f/2.8 as the fastest. You may also be able to see that this is a prime lens (it cannot zoom, the length is fixed), and that it is a 135mm lens.

The longer the lens is, the more difficult it is for manufacturers to construct the lens so that it lest through a lot of light. Physics simply dictate that a long lens requires more glass – this is also why long fast lenses (that sports photographers are so dependent upon) are super expensive.

Non-linear relationship

Now, you may think that the difference between a lens that is f/2.8 and f/1.8 is a relative measure indicated by the size of the numbers. It is not. If you stop down from f/2.8 to f/2.0 you have reduced the light that hits your sensor to 50%!! Every time you stop up or down one step on the aperture scale, you double or half the amount of light! That is why the speed of your lens is so important – we are not talking a marginal improvement as as a consequence of the last stop – we are talking an overwhelming doubling of the light. And that is why serious photographers can get a heated debate about how fast their nifty fifty (50mm prime lens) should be: f/1.4, f/1.8 or f/2.0?

As you can see, I found the f/1.8 version to be appropriate for my budget and need, but of course I have a dream to get a 50mm f/1.4 lens some beautiful day!

Now, just to illustrate how dramatically the amount of light is reduced when you stop up in the f-series, here is an illustration of how fast the amount fades upwards:

So, in my mind, the speed discussion is very fair – we are at the important end of the scale!

Questions and comments

Questions and comments are more than welcome – please post below. Hope you found this blog useful. Thank you for reading! Please share if you find this post useful.

Review: Sony RX100 M3 = value-for-money!

If you are in the market for a serious (enthusiast) camera that will deliver pictures on par with many entry level cameras but in a pocket able size, and doing do without breaking the bank? Then I think you should have the Sony RX100iii on your short list. I am not sponsored by Sony and I bought the camera myself.

I guess we a are all looking for a good deal, and the most value for money, also when shopping camera gear. I find that the Sony RX100iii is an amazing value for money “package” and below i give you 18 reasons why this is a great pocket camera. And then some less-than-optimal features of this camera and finally my verdict after using this camera as my every-day-in-my-pocket camera for more than half a year.

Notice that the camera I review is the mark 3. It comes in later versions: Mark 4 and 5 has the same lens, whereas mark 6 has a new lens with longer zoom (and it is not so fast). Later version gives 4K, more frames per second, etc, but if you like me want to get the best value for money, the trick is to not buy the latest model, but an older model that still fits your personal preferences. So if say 4K video is important to you, the mark 3 is not the one to go for. So if you decide to go for an older camera model to get better value for money – make sure you do not compromise what is important to you. Ok, lets have a look at the mark 3…

1) Small and compact

The best camera is the one that is with you. We have all heard that statement – but although trivial, it is also very true. I throw the camera in my bicycle bag frequently, and the fact that it is light and takes up very little space, makes it an easy decision to bring it along.

2) Lens cover built in – turtle mode when closed!

Maybe a small thing, but the fact that the camera has a lens cover built in and that it closes every time you shut down the camera is one of those small things that makes life with this camera so much easier. I don’t have to worry about fingerprints on the lens or what way the camera is turning when I grab it to go out the door. It is a turtle until it unfolds!

3) Lens: It is fast!

With a minimum aperture of 1.8, this Zeiss lens is fast! Notice that the M6 version of the RX100 is at 2.8, also with a longer zoom, but it is not as fast as the M3, M4 and M5 of this camera. If you shoot a lot of available light situations with the “risk” of low light, say restaurants and other places where a flash would ruin the mood, then you will love the speed of this lens!

4) Lens: Good all round zoom range

The lens zooms from 24 to 70 mm, and that is a classic all-round zoom range that I find is great for most situations. Maybe not shooting sports and wildlife, nor a landscape (although it has a built in panorama function), but for most other situations, the zoom range is all I need.

5) Lens: fast focus!

Maybe someone who has tested a lot of different AF lenses can dig out examples of lenses that focus faster than this camera does, but I must say that I am impressed, given that it is a pocket camera. I have not missed a shot due to the lack of speed in the auto focus, but of course I use this camera mainly for street photography and friends/family, so maybe I am easy to please.

6) 20 mp sensor

20 mp is a lot if resolution. It is only slightly less than Nikon’s entry level cameras D3400 and D5600 and at par with the D7500. I am impressed with the quality of the files this camera produces, both in JPG and RAW. It is truly impressive that such a small camera in terms of sensor resolution and ability to produce RAW files takes up the competition with many DSLRs and mirror-less.

Lighthouse, Langelinie, Copenhagen harbor

7) In body camera stabilization

I could simply not understand how I was able to come home with “stable” pictures shot at 1/4 of a second. That has never happened to with my DSLR – always blurry pictures! That was until I read that the RX100 has in body camera stabilization – and it works! Not that it works miracles, I can still come home with shaky pictures, but it certainly enables me to have the shutter open for longer than on my DSLR, where I would be cautious to go below 1/80. Here 1/4 is the limit in my experience.

8) Tilt screen

Camera reviewers always talk about the benefits of a tilt screen, and to be honest I think it is over rated. But I must admit that especially for shooting close to the ground, I enjoy the option to flip out the tilt screen so that I don’t have to lie on my stomach in order to see what I am shooting.

9) Viewfinder in that small camera!

I don’t know how they have managed to fit it in there, but there actually is a “pull it out manually” electronic viewfinder built into this small camera! And it is a great feature for those sunny days where the back LCD screen is of little use. Some complaint that it is a two step process to pull out the viewfinder, but I find that once you have learned it, then no problem. And the viewfinder turns off the LCD screen when you put your eye to the viewfinder – smart!

10) All the benefits of a mirror-less

You have all the benefits of a mirror-less, meaning that it is a quiet camera, you see what you get in the viewfinder prior to shooting and you have all the LCD information in the viewfinder also. I especially enjoy the level information for shooting landscapes, so I don’t have to level in post but can get it right in camera.

11) Ten (10) frames per second

This camera shoots up to 10 frames per second, and the M4 and M5 takes this even higher (24 FPS). I do not really know what you need all those FPS for in this small camera (I mainly shoot burst for wildlife with a long lens), but if you need it – there it is!

12) Consistent menus and controls

The Sony product range has as far as I can tell, consistent interfaces and menu systems across their product range. I think all Nikon and Cannon shooters that convert to Sony find the menu system terrible, but it is consistent across the product range and if you “speak Sony” then you will quickly learn how this camera works.

13) Fast startup – ready shoot!

I think the camera starts up and is ready surprisingly fast. Of course, not as fast as a DSLR where it is just a flick of a button (and where the mechanical viewfinder always works). On this camera, you have to wait for the lens to extend and the EVF to get operational, but I often find that I miss a short more because of me fumbling with pulling the camera out of my bag or pocket than the start up time.

14) ND filter

Although the ND filter “only” gives 3 stops, and maybe will not be enough for those loooong exposure where a waterfall turns silky smooth, it still comes handy when shooting into the light and the maximum shutter speed becomes a limit. Again, I am impressed that it has been possible to cram in an ND filter in this feature packaged camera.

15) Smartphone integration

Unlike the say Snapbridge software from Nikon, the software from Sony actually works every time and transfers pictures from the camera to your smartphone both fast and in a relatively user friendly way.

16) Charges via USB

You can charge the camera via mini USB, so in your car or in the office, just plug it in and it will start charging. Flashing orange light means charging – steady means done.

The camera does not come with a dedicated battery charger, which some will see this as a downside. Instead it comes with a cable and an AC adapter. As battery life is a bit shallow on most mirror-less, the option to charge in your car or at the office in my case takes some of the pain from poor battery life out of the equation.

The only minor gripe here is that the plug is not USB-C which the industry seems to adopt as the new standard – but here the fact that this camera is an older model starts to show.

17) Control ring

The control ring on the front of the camera in my mind is brilliant! Some complaint that it does not have clicks or stops, but it is not on my wish list. What the ring controls depend on the mode, but if you shoot in aperture mode, the camera will allow you to control the aperture by simply turning the ring at the bottom of the lens. I think this is a brilliant way of making an otherwise not-to-user-friendly interface a lot better.

18) Price

When you go for the M3, then you get a model that is a few years old. And it does not have the latest features like 4K video, a motor driven pop-up eve, 24 FPS or a zoom range of 200mm. If you can live with the specs of the M3, then I think you for the price (400 EUR) get a fantastic feature packed pocket camera that is worth every euro!

On the contrary

Just to complete the picture, I also want to share some of the less great things about this camera:

First of all, it is not weather sealed. A 2 euro cent plastic bag from IKEA can help a lot, but it is not sealed for rough conditions!
The zoom range ends at 70mm. If you need longer zoom, then th Mark 6 offers 200mm, but it is also at a very different price, and the lens is then 2.8 at the short end (up from 1.8)
The LCD screen is not a touch screen. As I have a few “older” DSLRs where the LCD is not touch screen either, I am used to using controls to swipe and zoom in and out. But it is annoying when you have been shooting with a smartphone for a while to come back to a screen that does not react to a touch!
Battery life is not good – but I think this is a common feature of the mirror-less cameras with all the power that is necessary to operate the EVF and the LCD screen.
Some may miss the external flash (a hot shoe), but the camera does provide a built in pop-up flash.
Others may miss a dedicated charger – standard this camera only comes with a AC adaptor for in-camera charging.
The menu system and user interface is – as it is with Sony – a bit cumbersome, but you get used to it. It is a funny mixture of features you use often and features you seldom or never use. So shooting experience is sometimes hampered by a less than optimal user interface.
Some get frustrated by the fact that the camera closes down when you close the EVF. I am now used to it and actually find it quite useful.
4K video is not a feature of the M3 (comes in later models), but I am fine with 1080p and this camera does ok video footage as far as I can tell.
The electronic viewfinder has to be “pulled” out manually, in later models it opens up motor driven. I have no problem with the manual solution. The EVF even survived that I dropped the camera on tarmac, landing on the corner with the EVF (not popped out when it happened, but still!)

Conclusion

This is a feature packed pocket-able camera that I bring with me almost everywhere I go. I love the combination of great technical features and specs packed into a very compact camera body. The shooting experience is not great – the user interface is as Sony is, and it takes some getting used to. But past that hurdle, this little camera delivers and punches far beyond its weight. And if you can live without 4K and 200mm zoom, then this value wise, as I see it, is difficult to beat. Provided what you mainly shoot is landscapes, street photography, travel pictures and friends/family. Sports and wildlife, macro and other more specialized types of photography is not what the pocket cameras out there are intended for.

My only major concern with this camera is that there is no magic or x-factor! When I shoot with a Nikkor vintage lens I sometimes get the feeling that some sort of magic blends into the equation and gives something extra to the pictures that is hard to define. Not with this one. Top level engineering. But no magic. Just technically good pictures. In pocket format. For around 450 EUR (March 2019). I find that value package difficult to beat.

Comparison table III to VI

Below a table with selected differences between the later models of the RX100. As you can see the mark 3 is starting to get old, but in my mind still is a very good pocket camera, considering the price point:

RX100	III	IV	V	VI	VII
Release year	2014	2015	2016	2018	2019
LCD Touchscreen	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Lens focal length eqiv	24-70	24-70	24-70	24-200	24-200
Lens aperture	f/1.8-2.8	f/1.8-2.8	f/1.8-2.8	f/2.8-4.5	f/2.8-4.5
ND filter	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
FPS	10	16	24	24	20*
Video	1080	4K	4K	4K	4K

					*90 in Burst

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Sony RX100 M4

Sony RX100 M5

Nikon AF-D 50mm 1.4 is so much fun!!

The Nikon 50mm 1.4D comes with mechanical auto focus, and hence only works for those Nikon cameras that have a built in AF motor. So if you have a D5x00 or a D3x00 series Nikon, beware that AF will not work. The entry level cameras simply assume that the lens has built in motors. It is a mechanical construction with no motor and no stabilization. The construction is an oldie, but still a goldie:

The aperture ring enables you to manually switch from f/1.4 to f/16, and the lens is an FX lens, meaning it will work both on full frame cameras and on cropped sensors. However, on a cropped sensor, you may want to go for a 35mm lens to get the equivalent of a 50 mm.

Why the Nikon AF-D 50mm 1.4?

Price. Unless you are flea market shark (very lucky or a very good negotiator) you will find that a lens as fast as f/1.4 is very expensive, as it requires a lot of glass. This lens will only set you back 230 USD, which compared to other lenses is a true bargain. I think it is because the lens construction is very old and has been produced in so many copies that the R&D that went into making this lens has been recovered many times since the first version of this lens saw the light of day back around 1950. You can get it used a lot cheaper, and if you go for a Pentax 50mm f/1.4, then you can get it down to 50-80 USD if you follow e-Bay closely for a while!

Low light shooting. This lens is fast and will let in a lot of light. Lots of light enables you to shoot where there is very little ambient light, without adding flash or the like. For each f-stop you go down, the amount of light the lens lets in doubles, i.e. it is not a linear relationship but a more “explosive” one. So a 1.4 lets in double the amount of a 2.0 which is also considered at fairly fast lens.

Background separation. When the lens is wide open and you shoot at f/1.4, the depth of field (DoF) is very narrow, meaning that you will have excellent background separation, even to the extend where parts of your subject may be out of focus! I find that if I take a picture of my cat at f/1.4, then if the eyes are in focus, the nose may not be! The DoF is that shallow! At 45 cm distance (minimum focus distance for this lens), the DoF is 1-2 centimeters!

Shooting wide open on a summer’s day

You may find that your pictures are overexposed if you shoot at f/1.4 on a summer’s day.

The problem is that the lens lets in so much light, that even at a ISO 100 and maximum shutter speed, to much light hits the sensor. My Nikon D750 has a maximum shutter speed at 1/4000th of a second, and shooting a white or yellow flower in bright sunlight leads to over exposed pictures. The solution (other than stopping down) is a Neutral Density filter. I find that a ND3 filter (takes out 3 stops of light) solves the problem in most cases.

Sample pictures

Below some sample picture that I hope can give inspiration. I really enjoy shooting with the 1.4 lens, and if you are a photography nerd but have never tried to use a super fast lens, I can only recommend you try it! It is really great fun! If the price tag seems steep, try to see if you can lend or borrow one – but be prepared to be hooked! PS: Links to related reading at the bottom of the below images.

A thermometer – notice the blurred background.

The below is a wine bottle cork with some graphics on top. It stands on my kitchen table. But because the DoF is so shallow, the structure of the wood is only visible very close to the subject – the rest is blurred:

A small souvenir from Rome... — A small souvenir from Rome…

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Sony RX100 M3: Manual exposure guide

Introduction

Maybe shooting in manual mode with the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 (M3) is a contradiction in terms, as the camera has been designed with a lot of features to automate the process of taking pictures, but it still offers a manual mode despite all the automated options available. The advantage of manual mode is that it gives you as the photographer full control of all the parameters (shutter speed, aperture and ISO) and hence no decision to be made on your behalf by the camera. So if full control is your thing, manual mode is for you.

In the following the back screen will be used to show the menus and the effect of changing the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Notice however, that all of this can also be seen in the viewfinder, so that you do not need to use the back screen, for example on a sunny day when the back screen is difficult so see.

Mysterious manual mode?

Manual mode is often regarded as a complicated mode only managed by the most senior of photographers. With the introduction of mirrorless cameras like the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100, this is much less so now, as both the viewfinder and the back screen shows exactly what the sensor is capturing as it happens, and hence an over- or underexposed picture will be visible before the fact, so you can adjust the settings beforehand. So my suggestion is that you simply give manual mode a try to see what it is like and then based on that decide if manual mode is for you.

Manual mode selection

Manual exposure mode. Sony RX100 M3: Manual exposure guide. — Manual mode is selected on the mode dial on the top of the RX100 as the red circle shows

Aperture

When in manual mode, the aperture is controlled by the ring on the front of the camera. By turning the ring as indicated by the blue arrows, you change the aperture.

The aperture value is shown at the bottom of the back screen. Here it is f/2.8 which is very wide and open i.e. letting in a lot of light:

The Sony RX100M3 at f/2.8. Sony RX100 M3: Manual exposure guide. — The Sony RX100M3 at f/2.8

Here is the same motive, same light, same shutter speed (1/30) and same ISO (80) but with a much more narrow aperture (f/7.1). Notice how dark the screen is now compared to the above:

This is one of the big advantages of mirrorless over DSLRs – you can see the picture will be underexposed immediately – no need to take the picture and review it afterwards. You can fix the exposure problem before you take the picture.

Shutter speed

The shutter speed is controlled by turning the command dial (red arrow) in the direction shown with the blue arrows:

The shutter speed can vary from 30 seconds to 1/2000th of a second. And again, you will see the brightness of the picture right in the back display, so if it all black or very dark, you probably need to go to a slower shutter speed meaning that the sensor is exposed to light longer.

ISO

ISO as far as I can tell from the RX100 manual does not have a dedicated button. Instead you have to push the “fn” button just above and to the left of the command dial. When doing so you can move the cursor to the bottom left cell using the command dial:

ISO value displayed bottom left in the rear LCD. Sony RX100 M3: Manual exposure guide. — ISO value displayed bottom left in the rear LCD

Pressing the center of the command dial selects the ISO menu point, and then a list appears where the ISO can be selected, ranging from 80 (the least sensitive) all the way up to 12.800. Notice that you can also choose auto-ISO, where the camera selects the ISO automatically for you. The advantage is that you do not have to worry about the ISO when shooting, but you leave the selection of the ISO up to the camera. The camera may then select a very high ISO, which may not be to your liking.

When the menu selector is on top if the ISO item, then an alternative an more easy way to change the ISO is to use the command dial to change the ISO. No need to press the center button first. Simply turn the dial in the direction shown with the blue arrows to the right (do not press down as when moving the cursor around) and a little table appears top center as shown below here. Simply turn the wheel to change the ISO value.

Selecting the ISO. Sony RX100 M3: Manual exposure guide. — Selecting the ISO

Maybe even easier that this is that instead of using the command dial, you can use the ring on the front of the camera (the one used for aperture previously) and that will have the same effect as turning the command dial.

The price for a high ISO is that your pictures are likely to be grainy, meaning that it looks like sand or pebbles have been thrown at your picture. So be careful if you go much above 1000 – you may get some very grainy pictures. Post processing software like Lightroom may be able to remove or reduce the grain, but it is better to get it right in camera to minimize your post processing time and workload.

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Select the right Peak Design plate for Manfrotto

Standard versus dual

If you have bought a Manfrotto tripod with a ball-head or just a Manfrotto ball-head, you may have come across a plate that is a little wider than the Peak Design standard plate. Have a look a this picture where the Manfrotto plate (left) is a little wider than the Peak Design plate (right):

If you try to mount the Peak Design standard plate on the Manfrotto tripod head, then it will simply not grab on to the plate properly and it is likely your camera falls of if you attempt to mount it anyway.

So why not simply use the Manfrotto plate to the Manfrotto ball-head? If you like me absolutely love the Peak Design anchor links, that enable you to attach the strap to both the side of the camera and to the plate on the bottom of the camera, then you will miss the holes in the Manfrotto version, meaning that you will have to change the plate at the bottom of your camera back and forth between Peak Design and Manfrotto. However, there is a simple solution.

Dual plate

Peak Design makes two sizes of plates, one called standard and another dual plate. The dual plate is the same size as the Manfrotto one. In the picture, the Manfrotto is on top, Peak Design bottom):

In addition, the Peak Design version has the holes to allow the anchor links to be mounted. So when you order your peak design plate, make sure to go for the dual plate model, if you want your Manfrotto ball-head to work with your Peak Design plate.

Here you see the Dual Plate mounted at the bottom of my D750 (viewed upside down):

And here it is mounted on a Manfrotto head, with the Peak Design anchor link sticking out:

And just to illustrate, here is the Peak Design plate in the Manfrotto head but without the camera, so you can see how it fits. You can see the black/red anchor point sticking out to the bottom left. Also notice the plate with the stripes in the center bottom – you have to push that one down in order to move the leaver to the left of it, and hence this is a very effective locking mechanism, that reduces the risk of an accidental release of the plate to and absolute minimum:

Below the Manfrotto plate to the left and the Peak Design to the right. The normal size plat is in the background with a pencil to give proportions. Notice how the rectangular shape of the plate introduces a direction for mounting the lens. You can see the arrows in the right hand side of both plates:

When the plate needs to be mounted with a certain direction, I cannot use my “trick” to turn the entire plate when tightening it. That works for the square standard plate as I can force it into position (it is never more than 89 degrees off). But with the dual plate, there is only one direction that is right, and then you have to put the plate in the right position and tighten the screw with an allen key. As I seldom have an allen key at hand, you may want to get a model where it is possible to tighten the plate without a plate like the model shown here to the left. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a Peak Design dual plate with a tightening ring like that one, so for my Peak Design plates, I have to be disciplined and bring an allen key, if I do want to be able to mount my anchor points. No free lunch, apparently!

Questions and comments

Hope you found this blog useful. Questions and comments are more than welcome.

Sony RX100 M3: How to shoot Panorama pictures in camera with

Introduction

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M3 camera makes it easy to take panorama pictures. Most of us have got used to the ease of taking panorama pictures from our smartphones, and the RX100 matches that in terms of user friendliness, and on top also gives better picture quality. The RX100 will get your panorama picture ready “in camera” meaning that no post processing is necessary in order to stitch the pictures together. It is ready for you to view a few seconds after the sweeping is completed. But lets dive right into how to take a panorama still picture with the RX100.

How to

To get started you have to turn the mode dial to the panorama mode as shown below. It has a symbol that looks like a box that has been stepped upon lightly:

The panorama symbol above is flush with the white dot on the camera body. Once that is done, all you have to do is press the shutter and follow the instructions on the screen. Notice that you don’t have to hold down the shutter while the panorama shooting is in progress – you can release the shutter immediately – the camera takes over from here.

By default the camera will ask you to swipe the camera from left to right while it takes a series of pictures. And it will tell you this via the LCD instructions:

In that case, start pointing to the left of what you want to be in the center of your frame and with a steady hand swipe the camera from left to right.

You can use a tripod or the like to stabilize the camera while you sweep, but in my experience the camera (in daylight) takes excellent hand held panoramas.

When you sweep, the camera will give you a status bar showing the panorama progress, but I would ignore that for starters. Simply concentrate on moving the camera in a steady pace from left to right and continue until the clicking sound stops. Once the process is complete, the picture will be presented to you on the LCD screen.

If you have moved the camera too slowly, the RX100 will give an error message at the end of the shooting and ask you to start over again. Don’t be frustrated when this happens – it generally takes a few attempts to get the panorama captured.

The result

The RX100 presents the result in the LCD screen, and it may look a bit strange since it is presenting a very wide picture that is not very tall on a small LCD:

The example above is a picture of the Danish parliament. As you can see, the camera shows the picture in full width and hence not very tall. And apparently I have done something wrong as the right hand side of the picture is left grey. But it is super easy and fast to do a new panorama, so no harm done.

If you have the panorama presented as above, you can get the RX100 to present the panorama as a small movie, where it pans across the picture. Just press the center of the command dial while the panorama is displayed on the LCD, and the presentation starts. The good thing about this way of seeing it is that all of the screen is used top to bottom:

Configuration

There are a few options available regarding the panorama function. If you go into the menu system and on the first page on the first sub-menu in the main menu, you will find two options: size and direction (sorry that the LCD is so scratched here – it is a camera I use a lot!):

The size menu gives top options: Standard and wide:

You can test both versions, but as you probably have guessed, the wide version stitches together more pictures than the standard mode, and hence will give a wider panorama and ask you to turn the camera for a bit longer than the standard mode. My suggestion is that you try both and see which one is to your liking.

The direction menu lets you choose which way to swipe the camera, and I find this option especially useful if I do a panorama in portrait mode. Then I ask the camera to swipe up, but as the camera is 90 degrees turned it becomes sweeping to the right! The point is that the aspect ratio of the panorama is changed so that the picture is more tall and less wide, but there are probably many other reasons why you want to change the direction.

There is a more easy way to change the direction when in panorama mode – simply turn the ring on the front of the camera, this will change the direction (the LCD will inform you):

Moving objects

If you have moving objects while shooting the picture, you may find that you get some strange results. Take a look at the picture below, where the cyclist has been captured many times and chopped up in the most dramatic way! Poor guy! As you have probably guessed, he is moving in the same direction as the camera while producing the panorama. Had he been moving the opposite direction, we would have seen him appear only once and in half a version!

So if you can, try to avoid moving objects when shooting your panorama, unless you are prepared to work with the picture in post when you get back home.

Questions and comments

Hope you found this blog useful. Questions and comments are more than welcome.

More than panoramas

Lightroom panorama function

Ease your administrative work

In the field

Post processing – how to

Pros and cons of this approach

Pros

Cons

A few tips

Questions and comments

RX100 M3 mode dial – what a treat!

If you want automation

If you want automation with a twist

Semi automatic modes and manual mode

Memory recall (MR)

Panorama

Related reading

Video link

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Helios 44-2 58 mm

History

Price

Characteristics

Bokeh

In conclusion

Related reading

A shift from DSLR to mirrorless

Why is your smartphone your camera?

What if you want to go further?

So what should you do?

Questions and comments

Aperture

Fast and slow

Aperture measures

Ambient light

Your lens and the speed of it

Non-linear relationship

Questions and comments

1) Small and compact

2) Lens cover built in – turtle mode when closed!

3) Lens: It is fast!

4) Lens: Good all round zoom range

5) Lens: fast focus!

6) 20 mp sensor

7) In body camera stabilization

8) Tilt screen

9) Viewfinder in that small camera!

10) All the benefits of a mirror-less

11) Ten (10) frames per second

12) Consistent menus and controls

13) Fast startup – ready shoot!

14) ND filter

15) Smartphone integration

16) Charges via USB

17) Control ring

18) Price

On the contrary

Conclusion

Comparison table III to VI

Related reading

Video link

Shopping link

Why the Nikon AF-D 50mm 1.4?

Shooting wide open on a summer’s day

Sample pictures

Related reading

Video link

Introduction

Mysterious manual mode?

Manual mode selection

Aperture

Shutter speed

ISO

Related reading

Video link

Shopping link

Standard versus dual

Dual plate

Questions and comments

Introduction