ABOUT THE CAMERA AND THE SAMYANG LENS
Camera & Lens Choice:
Sony FX30: This camera is primarily designed for video, but its compact size and internal fan make it suitable for prolonged shooting in warmer conditions. While not ideal for high-resolution stills, it provided you with a lightweight, flexible option for navigating tight spaces within the wooded areas.
Samyang 12mm F2: This ultra-wide lens is well-suited for capturing the follies' full scale and their relationship to the surrounding environment. Its fast aperture (f/2) allowed me to maintain a high shutter speed even in low light, minimising camera shake and motion blur from the foliage.
Pros of Your Approach:
Portability: The compact combination allowed me to manoeuvre easily in confined areas and access unique perspectives.
Fast Shutter Speed: High shutter speed helped freeze motion and compensate for any potential camera shake.
Wide Field of View: The 12mm lens captured the entirety of the follies and their context within the landscape.
Post-Processing Potential: Shooting in RAW format and utilising DXO Pro Raw or OnOne Photo Raw provided flexibility to recover detail, reduce noise, and enhance the images later.
Cons of My Approach:
Image Quality: The FX30 is not optimised for stills photography, so image quality, especially in terms of detail and noise, may not be as high as with dedicated stills cameras.
High ISO Noise: The high ISO settings I used introduced noise into the images, requiring more extensive post-processing.
Time-Consuming Workflow: Relying heavily on post-processing can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with a large number of images.
Alternative Considerations:
Camera: A dedicated stills camera with a larger sensor and better low-light performance might have yielded higher quality images with less noise.
Lens: While the 12mm lens was suitable for wide shots, a longer focal length lens could have isolated specific details or textures of the follies.
Lighting: If possible, revisiting the location during better lighting conditions (e.g., early morning or golden hour) could significantly improve image quality.
Tripod: Using a tripod would eliminate camera shake and allow for lower ISO settings, resulting in cleaner images. [There was no possibility of using a tripod]
Sony FX30: This camera is primarily designed for video, but its compact size and internal fan make it suitable for prolonged shooting in warmer conditions. While not ideal for high-resolution stills, it provided you with a lightweight, flexible option for navigating tight spaces within the wooded areas.
Samyang 12mm F2: This ultra-wide lens is well-suited for capturing the follies' full scale and their relationship to the surrounding environment. Its fast aperture (f/2) allowed me to maintain a high shutter speed even in low light, minimising camera shake and motion blur from the foliage.
Pros of Your Approach:
Portability: The compact combination allowed me to manoeuvre easily in confined areas and access unique perspectives.
Fast Shutter Speed: High shutter speed helped freeze motion and compensate for any potential camera shake.
Wide Field of View: The 12mm lens captured the entirety of the follies and their context within the landscape.
Post-Processing Potential: Shooting in RAW format and utilising DXO Pro Raw or OnOne Photo Raw provided flexibility to recover detail, reduce noise, and enhance the images later.
Cons of My Approach:
Image Quality: The FX30 is not optimised for stills photography, so image quality, especially in terms of detail and noise, may not be as high as with dedicated stills cameras.
High ISO Noise: The high ISO settings I used introduced noise into the images, requiring more extensive post-processing.
Time-Consuming Workflow: Relying heavily on post-processing can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with a large number of images.
Alternative Considerations:
Camera: A dedicated stills camera with a larger sensor and better low-light performance might have yielded higher quality images with less noise.
Lens: While the 12mm lens was suitable for wide shots, a longer focal length lens could have isolated specific details or textures of the follies.
Lighting: If possible, revisiting the location during better lighting conditions (e.g., early morning or golden hour) could significantly improve image quality.
Tripod: Using a tripod would eliminate camera shake and allow for lower ISO settings, resulting in cleaner images. [There was no possibility of using a tripod]
ABOUT THE CAMERA AND THE SAMYANG LENS