Sony Nex-7 in Paris ...

[squareframe]

I've been living in Paris the last month and found it to be the perfect venue for learning the ins-and-outs of my new Nex-7. my initial

impressions are positive but not without complaint. the convoluted menu structure may well be ultimately learned but not without pain and

suffering. thankfully, I have the manual on my iPhone at the ready.

 

beyond the menus, the camera shines and I am enjoying the Tri-Navi control structure. a terrible name to my mind but generally works

well, excepting the ease of inadvertently changing the exposure compensation on the right-dial. the dreaded undesired video activation

hasn't been much of a problem, though it would be nice to disable it. the inexcusable implementation is within the playback mode and

attempting to view stills and videos. they are in separate directories, viewable separately, and requiring a juggling act at times. not as

onerous as taking a bogus still photo to change directories as reported after an errant video entry however.

 

blazing  fast shutter- release, adequate autofocus, overkill (not particularly useful or needed) creative modes, non-pleasing HDR,

imbecilic restrictive bracketing mode (+/- 0.7 stop max),  EVF works well and makes the camera. I don't use video but my inadvertent

activations have yielded beautiful hi-res movies of no artistic merit! I'm also anxious to use adapters to attach my old Nikon lenses off my

Nikon F, the 55mm f1.2, and perhaps my Hasselblad lenses that have been collecting dust.

 

what I really wanted to reflect upon is that with all these features,  resolution, ease of image capture ... the photography I just viewed at

the Pompidou Museum of Modern Art of Brassai and Dosineau so eclipsed what I have been producing, obviously not limited by the

camera, and I'm left with a sense of liberation to simplify and distill down to the lowest level where the camera essentially disappears

between me and what I desire to see in front of me. which might help explain why I am tending to use my iPhone as much as I do. 

 

I also feel blessed to have gone to the Eugene Atget exhibit at the Musee Carnavalet here in Paris. those visiting should make the effort

to see the most amazing photography capturing the essence of Paris at the turn of the century. It shows through the end of July.

 

and finally, though I have seen a few Nex-7's on the streets of Paris, by far .. Nikon DSLR's are the clear leaders, surprisingly so, as the

camera of choice. 

 

daniel

[leslie_cheung]

<blockquote>

<p>Nikon DSLR's are the clear leaders, surprisingly so, as the camera of choice. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Why would it be surprising? Everywhere I go, it's Nikon or Canon, then maybe Sony, Pentax, or maybe Panasonic...</p>

[squareframe]

I assumed Canon DSLR's would be the prevalent choice. yes, there is no shortage of Canons on the streets of Paris, but

my unscientific, if not subliminal itemization was surprising to find Nikon the preponderant leader and ostensibly the more

popular camera. a factoid unworthy of further assessment.

[leslie_cheung]

<p>Happy shooting!</p>

[carbon_dragon]

I'd like to make the video button (which I never use) a lock button for exposure compensation, or something similar. I can't

tell you how many times I have shot off the meter because that too easy to turn TRINAVI knob got turned accidentally.

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Thanks for the report, Daniel. How about a few pics from your Parisian activities? </p>

[squareframe]

thank you .. we're off to the south of France later, then Barcelona, Madrid, and Portugal. the Nex-7 in many ways is the

perfect camera for travel and a pleasant departure from the DSLR poundage around my neck. I bought the cheap

Manfrotto travel tripod with integral ball-head that is almost perfect for the Nex-7 excepting the quick-release plate that

some might find overly intrusive. I have been experimenting with HDR, not finding the in-camera solution pleasing, but it

is rather easy to use exposure-compensation to take a series of exposures and merge them in Photomatix. a pity though,

that I can't automate the process via bracketing in 2-stop increments. I do have a suspicion that we might all be pleasantly

surprised with the next firmware upgrade. looking forward to its arrival!

[squareframe]

<p>I recently bought an apartment here with the idea of spending half the year in Paris studying photography and art history. the Lapin Agile is an old night-club, cabaret, that was the haunt of Picassso and my favourite painter Modigliani. it's across the street from Renoir and Utrillo's home and studio here in Paris and simply gives me goosebumps each time I trek down the cobblestone road from my home in Montmartre. I am experimenting with HDR and this was my first attempt at merging multiple exposures together. I attempted to purchase Photomatix but decided instead to use the trial version since anything downloaded here gets charged a ~20% added tax in Europe. <br /> I'll post additional photos here when I can ... daniel<img src="http://doublereef.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/au-lapine.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="405" /></p>

<p> </p>

[squareframe]

<p>it's very difficult to compose and make things right when there are a gazillion tourists on the street. as I recall, there were tour busses on the right and I had to use a long exposure to blur (eliminate) the tourists walking in front of the gate. Paris is so amazing .. but tourism is a reality and I'm simply not bold enough at this juncture to be oblivious to their presence. someone like Brad .. would come away with some spectacular photography against my derivative tourist snaps.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

This HDR is pretty heavy handed, but I have to say I really like that effect. I tried the NEX-7 HDR this weekend and found

it very underwhelming. I find the Pro HDR application on my iPhone 4s a lot more fun and effective. Sounds like I should

buy Photomatix though.

[frank_skomial]

<p>There was an old saying: "Sooner or later you will get a Nikon"</p>