Nikon's EVIL

Red Pedal -- NEX-5 & Leica Summicron 90mm f2.

The long rumored Nikon EVIL camera(s), the V1 and J1 have finally been unveiled. I think people are just surprised to find that the sensor size is some weird 2.7x, and than many got angry.  Most would expect Nikon's version of the mirrorless camera to be better than the offerings from Sony and the Micro 4/3 camp, but it turns out to be not what everyone expected.  Personally, neither the J1 and V1 interest me even one bit, I guess they are not targeted at consumers like me.  I understand they do not want the new mirrorless system to directly compete against their own entry level DSLR line.  So, to Nikon, this makes perfect sense, just not to the Nikon dire hard fans who were expecting more.

The samples I have seen look disappointing.  ISO 400 is already too noisy.  Seriously, they don't look much better those from the Canon G12 point & shoot.  What's the point?

So, Canon is now officially the only major camera maker who does not have a mirrorless camera system.  If they are planning something similar to Nikon's offering, I would be very disappointed.  I am hoping Canon will make something more innovative, better than what's already or soon to be on the market.

Toronto Jazz Festival

Drummer of the Margaret Stowe Trio at the Distillery District -- NEX-5 & Leica-R Summicron 90mm f2  

Every year, the Toronto Jazz Festival attracts a lot of people from all over the place.  It's a big music event that starts in June and lasts through July.  Many of the events are free but some are paid.  The TD Bank has been a big sponsor of the Jazz Festival for many years.  du Maurier used to sponsor it until it became law that Cigarette manufacturers cannot sponsor any public events.  For events, check out http://torontojazz.com/.

Shinobi

Shinobi -- Canon 1D Mark IIn & Leica-R 90mm f2 Summicron. Larger.

I now realized why I didn't like the 7D & T2i's image quality as much as my older cameras -- the missing details in the images.  Yes, there are 18 mega pixels in the image, but these 18MP images seem to have less details than I am used to see in the 1D Mark II/5D/30D.  At low ISO, the 7D & T2i seem to contain lots of chroma noise in the shadow area, whereas in the previous cameras, like the 1D II, 5D, 30D, etc, it's very clean.  At higher ISO, the 7D & T2i seem to be muddy and lack even more details, no doubt due to the heavy noise reduction. I guess there is a price to be paid for more pixels, which I don't really care for.  Give me D700 pixel quality and resolution, I will be a very happy camper.

I hope Canon will not increase the pixel count for the 5D Mark III.  21MP is more than most sane people will ever need.  Better yet, they should reduce it to 16MP but increase the Dynamic Range and even cleaner images.

Keeping Toronto Clean

Cleaning Toronto - Canon T2i & Leica-R Summicron 90mm f2. Larger Picture.

Spring in Moss Park

New leaves emerge from tree branches everywhere -- Canon T2i & Leica-R 90mm f2 Summicron @ f2.

Lonely Bench in Snow

Lonely Bench -- 5D & Leica Summicron 90mm f2 @ f2.5, ISO 1000. Larger Picture.

You may be wondering why most of my recent pictures are of evening and at night. The answer is simple. I am busy working during the day, and by the time I am off work, the winter evening is already like night time.

Say Cheese!

Say Cheese -- Canon 5D & Leica-R Summicron 90mm f2 @ f2. ISO 1600. Larger Picture.