The other sections of this site contain pictures to illustrate a story, or an article on how to make something, or simply as a diary of what happened on a certain occasion. This section is for photography for it's own sake - portraits, landscapes, places, animals, plants, panoramas, videos etc.
Sigma has for a long time been known for it's alternative cameras, using the Foveon sensor instead of a traditional Bayer sensor.
The latest version of the sensor packs 4704 x 3136 pixels, with a red, green and blue sensor at each pixel. With good lenses, the per pixel quality is outstanding.
The first camera using this sensor was the Sigma SD1 Merrill, but unfortunately the management at Sigma decided that since it could provide medium format quality, it should also have a medium format price tag. But the rest of the camera was not of medium format quality, so the sales flopped. Much too long after the introduction, the price was reduced to something that was acceptable.
And then Sigma put the sensor into a compact camera with a fixed lens tailored to the sensor, at a price that the market accepted. There are now 3 models, the DP1 (19 mm lens), the DP2 (30 mm lens) and the DP3 (50 mm lens).
These cameras were so interesting, that I got myself a DP2M and a DP3M. They are rapidly becoming my camera of choice when a slow and contemplative mode of photographing is possible. Here are some pictures taken with the Sigma DP2 and DP3 Merrill.
During a vaction trip to the Philippines, I overextended myself with the amount of Canon gear that I brought. It was simply too much and too heavy. So, while waiting around for the wife and famlily while they were shopping, I perused the internet for alternatives. At the time, the Olympus OM-D had just been announced, and it looked like it could be the replacement my back was requesting.
The Canon gear has now been sold, and replaced by an Olympus OM-D EM-5 with an assortment of lenses.
Unfortunately, the video of the OM-D sucks, the biggest problem being that it has only interlaced video.
The Panasonic GH2 has filled that need, and it is indeed a much better video camera than the Canon 600D ever was. And since the two cameras are both micro four thirds (MFT, M43), the lenses can be used on both bodies.
We visited Tautra, where GI visited Tautra Mariakloster. Tautra is also an important spawning area for birds, and I filmed the birds near our hotel.
The Panasonic GH2 with the Flowmotion 2.02 hack was used, with the Lumix 100-300mm lens.
The Canon EOS 5D Mk II was the first DSLR that could do proper full HD video. But it was the 600D that really made it possible to create wildlife videos without the huge white lenses - it has a 'crop video' mode, that acts as a lossless 3x converter (no light loss, and no quality loss). Here are some of the results with this camera.
We visited relatives in Canada the summer of 2011. During our stay in Calgary, I visited the Inglewood Bird sanctuary several times, armed with the 600D and an EF 70-300/4-5.6 L IS.
The great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is common at Østensjøvannet. During mating, the male literally walks all over the female.
First off a little courtship display, followed by a single clip of 3 consecutive matings. The female wanted more, but the male was used up...
My group of Corydoras sterbai spawned, and deposited some of the eggs on the front glass of the aquarium. Luckily I had cleaned the glass 2 days previous, so the eggs could be filmed fairly easily.
One of the two eggs I had selected for filming hatched during filming on day 6 (day 1 was the day the eggs were laid).
A Canon 600D with a MP-E 65mm was used, the hatching scene at 5X enlargement, and a Zebralight SC51 was used for lighting. It was held inside the aquarium a short distance from the eggs, illuminating them from above and slightly behind.
Creating VR (Virtual Reality) panoramas is also fun.
See some panoramas from a May 17 celebration.
And here are some panoramas from around Norway.
In Oslo there is a lake, Østensjøvannet, where 215 different species of birds have been observed. See pictures of some of the birds that can be seen there.
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