jimmy moore at 1:1. Some pixel peeping.
See image below for the full frame....
I shot the dress rehearsal for the David Sedaris play, "Santaland Diaries" last night. It's a one person play and it's being performed on the Zach Theatre's smallest stage which is in the round. Since the actor needs to play equally to all quadrants of the theater, and since we had an audience in attendance, I was positioned in one spot and had to pay rapt attention and shoot while the actor was facing me. The one exception is the shot I include at the bottom of the blog (which is not supposed to be a "great" photography but rather a photographic example of lens performance).
I used two Panasonic S1 camera bodies. One was paired with the S Pro 50mm f1.4 lens and the other was equipped with the S 24-105mm f4.0 zoom lens. Both were set to large, fine Jpeg and both were set to a color balance of 4,000K.
The lighting in the smaller space is lower output which means lower shutter speeds and wider apertures than when I'm working in our premier theater. The walls and ceiling are also painted matte black so there is no reflection to provide any additional fill light. Still, it wasn't a big problem.
The image above is a 1:1 crop of the image just below. This image was taken with the 50mm f1.4 lens, stopped down to f1.6. Not bad. You are looking at a small crop of a file that was downsized to 2200 pixels on the long side for Blogger. The original Jpeg file yields distinct, individual beard stubble and dramatically defined eyelashes. The lens and camera together constitute a formidable image tool. I think the lens might actually be worth the $2,300 asking price.....
Jimmy from behind.
I wouldn't normally include an image of someone's back but this photo fulfills two objectives; it shows just how sharp the 24-105mm f4.0 lens is when used at maximum aperture ( you can see the threads and weave pattern in his sweater and the thread stitching on his jeans) but it also show the resistance to a bright, direct light source that appears in the scene itself. While there is an artifact to the right side of the frame and there is a bit of contrast lowering around the light the contrast and detail are impressive considering that the image was capture at the widest apertures of the zoom lens, used handheld. Works for me.
Just a random set of observations about last night's paid job. New cameras and lenses make me sit on the edge of my seat until I'm certain that everything will work out.....
Loving the spate of holiday plays!!!!! Ready to see my favorite holiday movie, "Love Actually."
Do you have a favorite holiday movie? List it. Thanks!
I have just pulled the trigger on my combined Christmas and Birthday present ( birthday is a week before Santa visits ) and so a Panasonic S1R and 24-105 is on its way. I am sooo excited.
ReplyDeleteNice work Kirk.
In terms of Christmas movies - being British and living near London, Love Actually is a bit overblown for me; I have seen it too many times. Curious how the critics hate that film but it remains a firm favourite. Over here in the UK, the movie is getting some flak in this new world where certain values and perspectives are now adjusted; the stalker character that is obsessed with Kiera Knightly and the young guy going to America to pick up girls, is seen as horribly dated and inappropriate.
I recently caught a Christmas film that surprised me - "Love the Coopers". Again, the critics mauled it but it has a decent cast, a very good soundtrack and a witty script that challenges some liberal / conservative conventions and pitches them against each other in a friendly way. I liked it a lot. But then it has Alan Arkin, John Goodman and Olivia Wilde in it and I would watch any of those actors , any time, over and over again.
Happy Holidays.
"The Ladies in Black" is a fun Aussie movie with sort of a Christmas theme. It's set in a big department store in the 1950s. They have Christmas in the middle of summer. Available on Amazon streaming now.
ReplyDeleteAnother fun Christmas movie is "The Ref."
Most of the other Christmas movies I've seen too many times.
Can’t comment on movies. Inconsiderate audience behavior has kept me out of movie theaters for many years. But the lens and camera combination featured here is pretty spectacular. Of course, I had to drop back and compare the same job shot with a G9 and a Fuji XT3. Looks like the G9 bests the XT3 ever so slightly despite the newer, larger Fuji sensor. Could just be the Olympus lens though. Or my confirmation bias as I stand ready to pull the B&H trigger on the G9.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to you and the family.
Don't look now Kirk - but B&H have an obscene discount on unboxed S1R and 24-105. 50% OFF !
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1455068-OREG/panasonic_dc_s1rmk_lumix_dc_s1r_mirrorless_digital.html
I live in the UK but I am rather gutted - I was in NYC only two weeks ago...
Are you sure you want to know my favorite holiday movie? Bad Santa.
ReplyDeleteFavorite Christmas movie - "Love Actually" - I knew you have good taste Kirk even though you rejected Fuji :)
ReplyDeleteSecond favorite - "Christmas Vacation"
Jon Maxim
Jon, It's almost like you are reading my mind (or monitoring my video stream...) since National Lampoon Christmas Vacation is one of my all time favorites. No holiday is complete without an appearance from "Cousin Eddie." Thanks for the reminder!!!
ReplyDelete