Flying Kites in Hangzhou

The “Look”

View of a Playground

My first words in ages!

I had just been to see a rather curious art installation in the city (Beijing) and was walking back vaguely towards the subway, when I saw this. I am always curious about abandoned or disused places – I think it is because of their Marie Celeste quality. So I had a look throught the gate and there this was.

On a technical note, I was using my Fujica G690, which is a 6×9 rangefinder camera.

From My Window

Image

 

In Hangzhou

West Lake - Hangzhou

Spring in Sanlitun

A Few More Thoughts on the Sony NEX-5n

I have been using an NEX-5n for a few months now, so it feels time to write a little more about my experiences with it.

I love the size and weight of it compared to a DSLR. Walking all day with a bag containing the NEX and a few lenses holds little fear for me. My 50D with a few lenses is a different proposition.

The NEX has a great sensor. 3200 isn’t really a problem – 1600 is fine for everyday use. With my 50D, 1600 is as far as you could really go – and then things were getting messy. I did quite a lot of auditorium photography in the past and the only way to get descent results was to use fast prime lenses, like a 50mm f1.4 or my 85mm f1.8. And that isn’t always practical.

With the NEX I have been able to use the 55-210 at f5.6 at concerts and most of the time come away with reasonable results. Incidentally, I am quite happy with the 55-210, it is a really useful lens and I love its light weight and range, but it isn’t even close to my 70-200 L USM optically. But it is a fraction of the size and weight.

The other thing I don’t like about the NEX-5n is the lack of a PC socket, which (at the current time) means you can’t use off-camera flash without some pretty impressive Heath-Robinson work.

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