Adventures in b&w

My initial adventures in photography involved a Canon point and shoot film camera. Sorry, forgot the model – some all-plastic model.

My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix L4. At that time I knew nothing about exposure or anything. Just bought the cheapest camera affordable. I really liked that camera. It is capable of producing some pretty decent images. Just point, zoom if necessary, and shoot! One day the Nikon’s battery latch broke and I was shooting with a bandaged camera for a while. Then one day the lens assembly got stuck. Too much dust. By then I had to move to Qatar.

After much research and search in the local market bought a Panasonic LX3. What a camera! I fell in love with the amazing Leica-branded lens. Anyone would. I pledged never to buy a camera with an aperture smaller than F/2. It is one of those all-round cameras that come once in a while. Today, very camera brand wants to mimic the Panasonic LX-series. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Some of the imitations are apparently even better. I never tried any of them though. I must admit that I am tempted to try the Olympus XZ-1. It looks too cool and the lens seems pretty decent – reading from the reviews. Olympus is sure to give Panasonic a run for its money!

One of the trick I do with the LX3 files  is to use ImageMagick to change the profile of the camera from LX3 to Leica D-Lux 4. I will write a detailed how-to one day. After converting the camera profile open the files in Capture One and it is really magic. The colors undergo a subtle change that is wonderful. You have to see this to believe! One day I will post a few images side by side as well.

The camera bug bit me and I started researching about good small cameras. I like the classic rangefinder styling very much. I think the modern day SLR/DSLRs are a design nightmare. One fine day I found a brand new Panasonic LC1 at throwaway price with full warranty. Who said you can’t love more than one thing at the same time. After much debate I bought the LC1. Never regretted the decision. Technically it is just a little inferior to the LX3 at 5.2 mega pixels and an equal-F/2 lens. The lens is fabulous. Technical specs are completely meaningless when it comes to what this camera is capable. The camera is a little temperamental with poor high-ISO performance but produces sublime images with a great color rendition and overall look. It is a pity that Panasonic and Leica stopped improving this line. Maybe Leica felt that it might cannibalize its own M Series!! Just a thought. If there is one thing Panasonic and Leica could do, they could just upgrade the sensor to 10 mega pixel with high-ISO performance like the LX5 and change nothing. Nothing at all!

The micro-four thirds revolution started. I bought the Panasonic GF1 with the 20mm F/1.7 when the prices crashed a bit just before the 2nd-generation cameras started appearing. Do you see a pattern here with my love for Panasonic. I just love small cameras. The LC1 was an exception, in size that is, because the deal was so sweet to ignore. Coming back to the GF1, it is an excellent camera, just needs a little bit of work to get the right color and look from the files. I then bought a set of Carl Zeiss Contax-G 45 mm & 90 mm primes from yesteryears with an adapter. Using the adapter is a little bit of a pain, but all is forgotten when you see the images. You just want to shoot grass and leaves and everything to keep looking at the bokeh and the way the 90 mm renders images. No. I am not joking.

Finally, when the newer models (EP2, EPL1) were announced I found an Olympus EP1 body again at a throwaway price. My philosophy with digital photography is simple. You are never going to be happy with the image quality of digital cameras. It is not like the Leica M Series. You buy one and will be happy for life. You have to keep upgrading as with every generation the digital cameras are getting better and better in every way. I just don’t go out and but the latest and the greatest available. I know that it will have to be replaced in a year if you are after the greatest image quality in digital format. I just buy the outgoing model at a great price because it delivers fantastic images at that price.

Back to the EP-1. Now I don’t have to fiddle with Gimp to get great images. Generally. Everything this camera throws out is fabulous. It even betters the GF1 in high-ISO performance. I don’t know how Olympus managed to do it. Do I need the GF1? Maybe not. I just like the fact that the pop-up flash is quite useful for fill-purposes and someday I can attach the EVF. Someday. I only wish Panasonic could bring the LC1 image profile to GF1. That would be magic! Don’t get me wrong. The GF1 images are excellent. It is just a personal preference and the Olympus image profile matches my taste. But in my opinion, the LC1 is better than both in this respect.

Some of the images on this site were shot with in-camera B&W settings. Most were converted later from color. I have to confess that I like Picasa for quick edits and image management. I use Gimp only when more than just simple level-adjustments are required.

Now I am waiting for the Fuji X-100. This camera is too tempting that I might break my trend and pay the high introduction price to get my hands on one! The X-100 is too perfect an idea to believe.

Update: I recently bought the Panasonic GH1 as there are numerous offers. I have put up my GF1 for sale! The GH1 is a gem of a camera. The best I have shot until now. The Olympus still produces great images out of camera, but the GH1 is absolutely fantastic. I have also started using Adobe Lightroom for image editing.