No, I don't bike, but that doesn't stop me from driving a van around Singapore taking pictures. Those of you who are sharp will notice some new shots taken recently using a new camera. Yes, a new amateur level camera that Sucre bought for me as THE present for 2008 (including all special occasions). It's not cheap but it's worth it.
The bike hike only started at about 9pm and it was dark outside and the moon was hidden behind a cloudy night. Flash is a no due to many reasons so we have to use whatever light that is available. In the past, a tripod would be a must, but with great ISO800 and usable ISO6400, this camera outperforms my eyes many times over.
28mm f2.8 1/30s ISO3200 DRO Advanced Lv 3. DRO bringing the details in the shadow out from this backlit scene. But there's only so much DRO could do eh...
The reasons why flash wouldn't work well are as follows.
1.) Limited power of onboard flash limits it capabilities as it could only illuminate the objects in front of us.
2.) Dedicated flash may be a lot more powerful but direct flash casts harsh light and takes poor pictures.
3.) No celling to use for bounce photography and the use of a bounce card or light sphere will cut the reach of your flash too.
4.) Reflective surfaces (like the green safety vest) would reflect too much light from your flash and fool your camera metering system so exposure becomes tricky
35mm f2.8 1/25s ISO1600 DRO Advanced Lv 3. Setting off for the hike.
Night action photography was impossible with the A100, it is challenging with the A700. Couldn't get the shutter speed required and focusing becomes an issue. The best camera for this? The Nikon D3 with ISO25600. One day we would need a new system for ISO. ISO(2^n)*100 is the best as we could refer to ISO using only the power n but I doubt it will be welcomed by the mathematically challenged public. But in a decade we may be seeing ISO 409600 which becomes quite lengthy compared to ISO n=10.
50mm f2 1/30s ISO3200 DRO Advanced Lv 2. Thank goodness we insisted on the front blinkers, makes it very easy to spot for the safety drivers.
All shots you are seeing here are straight from camera jpegs. Usually I shoot raw exclusively with the A100 but I was experimenting with compressed raw + jpg with the A700. That makes it about 20 mb per shot in total but I get to compare raw and jpg from camera. I'm quite satisfied with the jpeg shots so far and have yet to work with the raw images. DRO helped a lot as I wouldn't need to mess with layers, masks and curves to bring the shadow details out.
28mm f2.8 1/2s ISO3200 handheld DRO Advanced Lv 2. Scene lit by moonlight and the street lamps behind me.
In camera stabilization makes me very ambitious in trying shots that otherwise would definitely be ruined by hand shake.
28mm f4 1/8s ISO3200 DRO Advanced Lv 2. Riding past.
28mm f2.8 2s ISO200 DRO Advanced Lv 2 Tripod. Punggol jetty.
28mm f8 5/2 s ISO200 DRO Advanced Lv 2. Rest stop
There's nothing to complain about the camera at low ISO. Even for night shots. People have been using the A700 for astro-photography with great success!
70mm f4 1/25s ISO 3200 DRO Advanced Lv 2. He needs the energy bar most since his bike gave him problems on the way up here.
28mm f4 1/15s IS1600 DRO Advanced Lv 2. Those who want prata raise your right hand
When properly exposed, even ISO3200 shots gives great photographs that can be printed to larger sizes.
35mm f4 1/200s ISO1600 DRO off. Mountain Prata de Jalan Kayu.
Pushing the camera too hard doesn't yield good results. As can be seen here. But you won't know your limits until you exceeds it. Isn't it?
28mm f8 2/5s ISO800 DRO off. The remote control comes in handy for a group shot like this. Press, smile, *click*
My precious...
Print size photos to be uploaded hopefully by 2008.
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