Taking a break this morning to unwrap my Holiday Gifts from Panasonic. Santa came early with updates!

 

One of the many things I like about buying and using Panasonic cameras is the company's amazing generosity when it comes to firmware updates and the "gifting" to older cameras with the latest features. 

I was pretty impressed a while back when, out of the blue, Panasonic did an upgrade to the G9 that improved focus and, more important to me, added a bunch of higher end video capabilities to the camera even though those new additions would potentially reduce the market for their own GH5 camera when it comes to video use. Impressed again when Panasonic introduced a free firmware update to the GH5 this Summer improving continuous AF in video, along with lots of other tweaks. Not a paltry move when you consider that the G9 is already two years old and the GH5 is a three year old camera. In a couple of free updates Panasonic increased the useful life of two of their most popular cameras by a number of years!

When the newest addition to Panasonic's Lumix S series cameras came out the S5 included the newest and fastest AF software in the line up. Other camera makers might have waited to see how to leverage sales of the new camera but Panasonic announced, almost immediately, that all of their S1x cameras would be getting the same high performance AF algorithms in short order. They even gave us a date; the 24th of November!

Back to the studio. When I got back to the studio and fired up the computing machine I went straight to Panasonic's site to look for firmware updates. There were FOUR camera updates for four of the cameras that I regularly use. Those included the G9 (improved I.S.), the S1, S1H and the S1R. 

All of the S1 cameras got the same AF improvements which should bring them to par with the S5. We'll see it most in continuous AF and then most noticeably in video. I can't wait to see how it affects the S1H as I'm getting more and more video use from that camera. 

I won't go through everything but I will go through some of my favorite updates by model.

The S1R and the S1 both get the red frame line around the edges of the rear monitor when video recording is active. This is a feature that was already on the S1H and also on the Atomos line of external monitors. It's a very quick and obvious way to tell whether you are actively recording or if you didn't push the right button to get things started. It's a great "user" update. 

The S1R now shoots in 5K (4992x3744) video in both 24 and 30 fps. In .Mov you can shoot in 5K internally at 4:2:0 but with 10 bits. You can now shoot 4K in 10 bit, 4:2:2 to an external monitor up to 60 fps. I can't wait to try out the 5K performance and hope that downsampling to 4K makes for a more detailed 4K file, even if I can't shoot in 4:2:2. But speaking of 4K the camera can now be using at up to 60P with 10 bits and 4:2:2  when you output over HDMI to an external monitor/recorder. That's pretty spiffy. 

In the S1R the tracking and recognition of AF have been improved by way of a head recognition feature. My hope for this is that when using face detect AF I won't lose contact with the subject when they turn their face away from camera. We'll be testing that right away.

The S1R can now do high resolution audio recording using the XLR microphone adapter. You gotta use .Mov to get this.

We can now set shutter angle in the video menu. This is great for productions when we want to match cameras and we're working quickly. It's more control and gives more accurate video settings. 

The S1 had a major update earlier in the year which improved the range of video options in the cameras by a great deal. It's also slated to get a big update in the first quarter of 2021 which will add 6K ProRes Raw to the mix. But for right now the big improvements, in addition to the AF improvements which all of the S1x cameras share, are more about usability and minor functions.

The camera adds shutter angle to the video menu and it's AF performance has also been improved in V-Log mode. You can also now using the {AF+MF} when recording video. A few of the improvements are less important to me such as the ability to play back vertical videos vertically or being able to transfer 4K video files to a smartphone via wi-fi. But as soon as I talk down a feature I end up having a use for it so I'm glad they are there. 

The S1H got a huge update in July with Raw video being able to be output over HDMI to the Atomos Ninja V monitor/recorder. That's actual 12 bit Raw video data. That's really cool. So, on this firmware update we got the basic improvements in AF and the lesser upgrades like being able to transfer 4K to smartphones. They also mention some operational improvements in the way of bug fixes. 

All the improvements are most welcome and they go a long way towards solidifying Panasonic's video forward reputation in the hybrid camera market. With the S1H as the flagship video model the rest of the line closes the gap by a quite a bit which means better file matching across "B" and "C" cameras. For users who only occasionally dip into video it means that the S1R and base S1 become more than "good enough" to do 95% of the video work most of us will ever need. While having traditional photography cameras that are among the highest rated for overall image quality at sites like DXOMark. 

It's like an early Christmas present but without having to go out shopping or even spend more money. 

It's one of the less advertised features that makes me appreciate the Panasonic camera line. 

If you are shooting with Lumix/Panasonic cameras go here to see what kinds of updates they've got for your cameras: https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/download/index4.html

A break for swimming. Swim practice left me with mixed feelings today. We've done so well as a group at practicing pandemic safety at the masters swim workouts. We're supposed to be masked any time we're not in the pool swimming. But it seems like "pandemic fatigue" has set in with a number of our swimmers who are starting to act like the rules don't apply to them. That attitude really put me off today since we're in the midst of rising case numbers and hospital beds filling up. 

I talked to our coach and let him know we needed to honor the contract we make each week as we sign up for our choice of swims during the upcoming week. I hope he follows through and gets people back on track. I would hate to have to escalate to the club's B.O.D. (I served as V.P. of the board for 10 years and I'm sure they'd hate to have to deal with this...) and get everyone twisted up. 

Otherwise it was a good swim. Lots of medium distance repeats for a change. I'm still working hard at extending my reach in my freestyle stroke. You always need a target for improvement. 

Keep masking up till we get those vaccines out to the public. It might save someone you know from a world of pain.

Writing in overdue praise of the conventional 24-70mm f2.8 lens. Revised thinking now posits that it's a glorified normal lens. Takes me a while...

this was the frame I had the camera set to shoot. And Lightroom honored that choice 

automatically. It's a shot of one of the many boulder fields at Enchanted Rock.

I can't help it. I started taking photographs in the 1970's and my Leica toting mentors at the time assured me over and over again that..."All zoom lenses are crap." Even though I know that's not the case and hasn't been since the 1990's all those subconscious prejudices die hard. Oh sure, I've bought more than my share of professional caliber zoom lenses over the years but I always compartmentalized and rationalized those purchases as necessary tools for commerce. If I was shooting for The Kirk Tuck Museum of Incredible Contemporary Photo Art and Philosophy it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that I'd be doing so with a "real" lens. A prime lens. And in all probability it would probably be some focal length between 49 and 51 millimeters.

I always saw 28-70 and 24-70mm zoom lenses as compromises; I thought people just "settled" for lesser performance because they were too lazy to carry a bevy of primes and too eager to follow the "herd."

I should have changed my beliefs after using the original Nikon 28-70mm f2.8. It was superbly sharp and, truth be told, blew the doors off the Nikon 50mm f1.1:2 ais lens when one compared both at f4.0 and f5.6. But dogma won't always heel when you want it to.

So while I dutifully carried the holy trinity of zooms around during working hours (20-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm) as soon as I exchanged the Cole Hahn oxfords for flip-flops and the Burberry shirt for a T-shirt with a beer logo on the front I'd pick up my "real" camera with my 50mm OMG-o-flex Prime on the front and do the art strut. I'd poo-poo zooming and announce to anyone who would listen that serious photographers knew how to zoom with their feet...

About two and a half months ago I broke down and bought the Lumix 24-70mm f2.8 Pro lens. (It was all Eric's fault. He used mind control on me when we were at Precision Camera....).  At the time I justified it to myself based on the video friendly features like the fully manual focusing ring (hard stops at both ends) and the quiet focusing motors. And let's be frank; I loved the little line of type on the bottom side of the lens: "Leica certified." 

While the theater was still open I used the 24/70, in conjunction with the 70/200, to make all kinds of show production photographs and videos and was generally very happy with the lens. The constant f2.8 works well for video and the ability to do accurate focus pulls was great too. But it seemed too large, heavy and cumbersome to be an all day, street shooting lens. I left it home when I went out to shoot my artsy stuff and relied on groovy primes instead.

Well, I was grappling with what single lens to bring along on yesterday's adventure at Enchanted Rock and I knew two things: One was that I really wanted to use an S1R camera body so I could get as much fine detail as possible. And, two, that a single, normal lens would be too limiting, given the ever changing subject matter. In my masochistic prime only! days I would have packed a 24mm, a 50mm and an 85mm and spent the whole dusty day trying to change lenses over and over again without getting those lovely diffuse spots on my finished images. It was finally time to join the "lazy herd" and submit to the zoom tyranny.

While in the VSL clean room I carefully inspected the camera sensor and the back of the lens before mating the 24-70mm to the S1R (yes, the same one that came back from repair a few months ago...).  I placed them into a Think Tank Airport Essentials backpack and headed out.

Cutting to the end of story: I was very happy with the performance of the lens at both extremes and in the middle. I knew from my experiences at the theater that the lens performed better than most of my previous primes even at f2.8 but now I was seeing the lens at its optimum apertures of f5.6 and f8.0. It's still big and heavy and brutally expensive but it certainly does deliver high optical performance over all of the camera's full frame. For paid, commercial work, or those times when I can use those focal lengths to get exactly what I want, it's really a fabulous lens.

Were I to get an equipment re-do for yesterday I have to confess that I'd probably choose the 24-105mm f4.0 instead. I didn't really need a fast lens in the bright sun and the 24/105 would have given me a bit more range... and weighed half as much. Still, I'm not sure I would have gotten quite as much clean detail with the slower zoom lens. There's something about the 24-70mm that just screams  = optical performance. At least in its limited focal range envelope. Okay. I'll admit it. I now really like my 24-70mm. I'll keep it around.

this is an enlarged crop from the bottom right corner of the square frame.

this is an enlarged crop from the top right corner of the square frame. 

this is the full frame from the camera with no crop.

this is a the lower left corner of the full frame shot, just above.

First (legally allowable) outing with the Leica 90mm-R Elmarit lens. A morning trip to Pedernales State Park.

I got an e-mail a few days ago from the Texas State Park folks letting me know that a number of parks were opening back up to the public starting Monday the 20th and I rushed to make a reservation. I checked the weather first. The app predicted that today would be a beautiful Spring morning in central Texas. Coolish temperatures and low humidity, and not a rain cloud in the sky. My reservation was for Pedernales State Park which is about 45 minutes due West of Austin. I stuffed sunscreen, a couple water bottles and some roasted almonds into my little leather backpack and grabbed a Lumix S1R with the Leica 90mm on it. I tossed a Zeiss 50mm into the pack, just in case the 90mm became too claustrophobic. Oh, and I invited Belinda to come along with me.

We hit the park around 9 a.m. and picked up our "no contact" windshield sticker from a board outside the park office and then we headed for the falls. The Park officials have some rules: First, all reservations must be made online and in advance. Second, the entrance to the park is staggered by time slots. We had the 8-11 a.m. slot. We're allowed to be in the park all day until 10 p.m. but we had to be in by 11 a.m. latest. Third, face masks are to be worn at all times. Fourth, everybody has to practice proscribed social distancing. With thousands of acres of fun land to explore, and only about 18 cars per time slot allowed in, the park was a much different place than what we experienced a year ago. We saw very few people and intersected with almost no one. Everyone followed the rules to the letter. 

The 90mm Elmarit R lens is wonderful. Very well behaved and as sharp as a macro lens. While I post my images here at 2800 pixels on the long side I can assure you that at the full resolution of the S1R raw files, and with f-stops set to 5.6 or 8.0, the amount of detail you get in a file is just stunning. The color is neutral and the nano-acuity is off the charts. The lens was just as I remembered it and now I'm keeping an eye open to see what I can pick up in the used markets. I'd like to pick up a 50mm R Summilux (f1.4) and also the 80mm Summilux but I fear the cat is out of the bag among Panasonic S users and the prices are starting to surge up again. Not the worst outcome for me; I can always at least try to practice some financial restraint from time to time....

I didn't bring a tripod or an ND filter so all my water in the shots flows in real time. But that's okay; I was getting a bit bored with the clichéd, smooth water I see in EVERY landscape shot that includes moving water.

We hiked until one p.m. and figured we'd soaked up enough vitamin D, nature and sunlight. I'd shot some test shots to play with and it was starting to heat up going into the afternoon (it's supposed to hit 98 degrees (Fahrenheit) tomorrow afternoon --- not looking forward to that). We exited the park and went to look for lunch. 

When we were younger adults, with meager budgets, we always loved finding a What-a-burger hamburger stand out in the Texas countryside. They started as a Texas chain and we trained ourselves to love their griddled burgers and mustard based condiment philosophy. It was, and probably still is, the only fast food, burger chain where you can order Jalapeño slices as an addition to your burger. We found one just outside of Dripping Springs, Texas today but as it was lunch time and they were only doing drive through, the line of cars was outrageous. We skipped What-a-burger and headed towards home. 

There is a McDonald's just a few miles from our house and when we drove by on the main road we saw that there were only a few cars in line so we stopped there to grab a lunch and take it home. We probably haven't done that in a decade but it was a carefree day and we were enjoying the nostalgia of it all. The food was...okay. But the adventure was fun and relaxing. Next week we may hit Enchanted Rock State Park, if we can get a reservation and the weather is nice. 

And I'll probably bring the 90mm R along in tow. 

Signs everywhere telling you two things:

"Practice Social Distancing."

"Keep an eye out for Diamond Back Rattlesnakes."

got it.

An old favorite comes home to roost. It's the Leica 90mm Elmarit-R on the Lumix S1R. Nice.

Leica Elmarit-R, 90mm f2.8 Adapted to the S1R

with a Novoflex adapter.

However you feel about the value proposition of current Leica models it's hard to argue that, through the decades, they've made some of the finest lenses in the world --- and continue to do so today. In the early 1980s one of the most sought after lenses for the M series cameras of the day was still the Dual Range 50mm Summicron (f2.0) which was designed in the 1950s. It could stand up to anything on the market some 30 years later, and it was better than the majority of its competitors. I know, I bought one when I started shooting with a single stroke M3 in 1979.

I was a Leica fan in the film days and throughout the 1990s I shot with both Leica M6 and M4 cameras as well as a very functional collection of R lenses and a motley (and ever changing) collection of Leica R bodies, including: The original Leicaflex, the SL, the SL2 Mot, the R3, R4, R5, R6 and R8 (for some reason I skipped the R7...). I did not own them all concurrently but at any one time I usually had one of the totally manual classics, a mechanical R6 and finally, until the end (death by digital), the R8s. 

But the reason to own Leica R cameras (all SLRs) wasn't for the bodies (some were better than others) it was to be able to use lenses of the same quality that we'd come to enjoy using on the M cameras. There were some things the M lenses did better. I don't miss semi-wide or wide-angle R lenses much; the M versions always seemed better. But the longer lenses (from 80mm on up) were much better suited to SLR style cameras and we started adding R cameras to our systems to get easier good results with fast 90mm lenses, 180mm's and longer. The longer focal lengths were harder to use on rangefinder cameras because the finder images got smaller and smaller while focusing accuracy got worse and worse. 

My favorite working combinations by the late 1990s were M6 cameras with 28mm and 35mm lenses combined with an R6 or R8 equipped with, alternately, the 80mm f1.4 Summilux, the 90mm f2.0 Summicron or the 90mm f2.8 Elmarit. Most Leica R shooters gravitated to the faster lenses not because they were optically better than the slower ones but because the very narrow depth of field on those fast, short telephotos made manual focusing so much easier in dim lighting. Also, we were more or less constrained to use films rated at 400 or 800 ISO at a maximum. So, easier focusing and better light gathering capabilities pushed us to reach for the fastest glass we could afford. And, for the most part, Leica lenses delivered very decent images even when used wide open (as long as you didn't care too much about field flatness...).

Most of us were aware that the f2.8 lenses were either just as good at f2.8 and slower as the fast lenses, the only reason to spend more was for speed, not quality. But we also learned, by shooting thousands and thousands of frames, that when it was possible to shoot in good light and take time to focus accurately, that the last generations of the Elmarit 90-R lenses were better. By f4.0 the f2.8 lenses were sharper and resolved more detail. They were also flatter field lenses so there was less compromise on the edge of the frame. 

Sadly, Leica stopped making R lens compatible cameras for a number of years and interest in the orphaned system of optics waned until the rise of the mirrorless cameras along with their shorter lens flange to sensor distances which allowed for an almost unlimited use of adapters. This brought all kinds of really good, film era, SLR lenses back out of drawers and off shelves and back onto the fronts of cameras. And with highly superior high ISOs (think  6400 and 12500 on the S1 and Sigma fp) the slower aperture hardly matters anymore.

I really like the lenses I've accumulated for the Panasonic Lumix S1 series of cameras I'm shooting with now and my only complaint has been the huge size and  ponderous weight of the lenses that correspond to the focal lengths I'm most interested in using. I love the image quality I can get with the Sigma Art Series 85mm f1.4 but the lens is huge and weighs a ton. I'm waiting impatiently for Panasonic to release their 85mm f1.8 but I fear it will still be a beast; especially if the 50mm f1.4 gives us any indication of their design aesthetic for modern lenses. 

What I really wanted was what I had back in the days of Leica R stuff: a very good lens that's small enough to carry around for a full day and which will blow the doors off many more modern lenses available for other systems. Like the Leica Elmarit 90R. It's not light, even by modern standards, but it is compact and easy to use. The focusing ring on my copy, which is probably 25 years old, is like clarified butter. And the image, even just in the finder, is superb. Quintessentially Leica. 

I bought this current copy of the 90mm from a friend who bought it in a moment of impending Leica lust only to be distracted at the last minute by the Leica S2 camera system instead. I bought it from him immediately. 

I ordered a cheap adapter ring from Amazon.com but in their current disarray, and fervor to ship more toilet paper and Diet Coke in bulk, the adapter ring would not arrive for the better part of a month. Not acceptable. I canceled that order and paid ten times the price for a Novoflex R to L-mount adapter from Camera West in California. It came in a few short days and it fits perfectly. 

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot much of anything with the new/old lens but will take it with me tomorrow on a shooting expedition outside the city. If it's half as good as I remember I'll never take it off the camera. 

Tomorrow I'll shoot it on an S1R outdoors in nature. But what I'd really like to see is how it will deliver when used on the Sigma fp, in the studio, for a nicely lit portrait. That vaccine can't come quick enough. 

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we're up and running on what will be a multi-post test of the lens. Nice to be back in the Leica glass world. Hope this doesn't lead to any rash purchases of current Leica SL lenses, that way lies financial madness...

Today's project, continued. Cowboys. Painting. And more.

We loved the Cowboy Paintings when we moved in.

They seemed just right for a young Texan like two year old Ben.

Today's big assignment was to make an archival documentation of the "primitive" paintings that have graced our back porch for over 23 years. It was long past time to re-paint all the wood and, as we no longer have any children in the house, Belinda decided that now was the time. But before we started the painting process the big, sentimental, nostalgic softie who lives in the house insisted on creating a record of the artworks. (That would be me...). Scrapbook material. Memories.

I found myself well supervised by a lizard who seems to be one of many that has a key to the house. I find them more often that one would imagine, and in all the weirdest places. I check my hiking boots regularly before putting them on...

I used two cameras to document the painted panels you'll see in this post, along with natural light coming through two semi-diffuse, four foot by four foot skylights that help keep the porch lit up all day long. The primary camera was the little Sigma fp with the highly competent 45mm f2.8 lens (used mostly at f8 and occasionally at f16). This combo was used on a Gitzo G 2220 tripod to keep everything nice and sharp. 

The other camera was a Lumix S1R which I used to make a few wider photographs to show more of the wall and also the set up with the Sigma fp. The S1R was paired with the 24-105mm lens and was used for the photo I like most from today, which is the lizard just above...

The Gitzo G 2220 tripod has a built in "side arm" that allows for two things:

You can shoot from straight over the top of things or you can orient 

the side arm so that the tripod can be used super close to the ground.

It's absolutely as solid as a block of lead. But what did you expect from 

an "old school" metal Gitzo?

A stout Manfrotto bullhead held an Arca Swiss plate adapter

and the whole assemblage offered an infinite range of placements for the 

camera. The fp is just the right size and weight for this kind of work. 

No matter how many tripods you own you should always also have a Gitzo.

Gitzo and fp working beauty shot. 

The new color for the porch will be "Baked Clay" which is being sampled in the background.

It's too light in this shot because I increased the exposure in post to get more 

detail in the black camera body.

Belinda tired of the cowboy paintings quickly (years and years ago) but it's credit to her patience and forbearance that she allowed me to keep them around so long. Like many things in life, I will miss them. She, on the other hand, is always delighted by a fresh coat of paint. 

At least I found a good use for the cameras today.