UPDATED: The errors in Tony Northrups “cheating” accuse video.

 

Well, after watching this we are probably cheated. The guy in this video perhaps misleads people about how mirrorless manufacturers(Sony, Olympus and Panasonic) cheating people in advertising. He stated that Sony, Panasonic and Olympus mislead us with the 135FF equivalent conversion, as well as Fujifilm ISO cheat.

 

 

Tony, the presenter in the video, said these manufacturers should have marked the converted F-number on lenses because of DoF is different while not refering to the lens speed. At the end, he praises the big DSLR brands(Canon & Nikon) as a good honest guy.

His statement seems reasonable. As we know, it is a common sense and important photography principle, aperture controls the light volume through the lens to the sensor, which is what does it work for. However he informed us different terms of them. He thinks aperture is a depth of field(DoF) controller, so that manufactor should have convert the F-number on lens label, such as Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 should be labeled 24-70mm f/5.6 due to the MTF has 2x deeper DoF. Seems correct? well, let’s think about when we use M-mode and sunny-16 rule without metering, it would be a problem, because the metering is under 2EV (MTF) or 1EV (APSC).

Do you think Sony, Olympus and Panasonic cheat us?

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UPDATE: This is an important update by Ale (Mirrorlessrumors administrator)

There are a couple of logical errors made by Tony Northrup.

First: No one cheats. All company aperture lens info are correct! The Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 has a f/2.8 aperture and not a f/5.6 aperture. You don’t have to make the equivalence he says has to be done! Use the Sony A7r and Sony A6000 for the same shot. To get same result the camera automatically sets on both the same ISO and same lens aperture despite the different sensor size. Just to say that the aperture remains CONSTANT and is not relative! There is no equivalence to make on that! 

Please read that article why you cannot apply the aperture equivalence you mention on no other than the “depth of field” and “field of view” only:
http://admiringlight.com/blog/full-frame-equivalence-and-why-it-doesnt-matter/

The focal length and aperture do remain constant!!!!

Second: He says Olympus, Panasonic and Sony do cheat. Nope. All companies use the same kind of measuring aperture for all lens formats (medium format, MFT format, APS-C and so on).

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UPDATE of the UPDATE: After re-watching the video I am sure Tony confused “Focal length” with “Field of view” ! It’s the field of view where you can make the equivalence and not the focal length. Tony has been misleaded by the companies because they do that (small) error too.? That’s why when he did the math in the video to explain how aperture gets calculated he made the mistake to change the focal length variable. But actually that variable doesn’t change at all! What changes is the “field of view”  which has no influence on aperture. Hope you got the message :)?

LIke Admiringlight says:

“I’ve heard many times “Yeah, your 75mm f/1.8 is crap – it’s like a 150mm f/3.6.” No, it’s not, it’s a 75mm lens with an f/1.8 aperture and a field of view that is the same as a 150mm lens on full frame.”?

I know Tony had good intentions and I wrote him and hope to will remove the video soon. But please guys, spread the word that what he tells about the equivalence is plain wrong. Don’t worry your f/2.8 MFT or APS-C lens is really a f/2.8 lens!

Fashion Photography With the Sony RX1. It’s One Little Beast of a Camera.

A little Background…
I am a 23 year old photographer who moved to Chicago from Nigeria 6 years ago. I started photography about 3 years ago. After playing around with a DSLR in Target, I was hooked. I shoot mostly fashion photography, and female models. I have shot full frame since late 2011 with the 5D mk2, then the D800 since November 2012.

Why the RX1?
I honestly just had some extra money 2 months ago, and wanted a new toy. It was either the camera or a new road bike. Boy am I glad I went with the RX1. I was lucky enough to get a used one in excellent condition for $1900 with a very nice leather case. 

First Impressions
It’s really small, but substantial. There is a solid heft to it, even though it’s not heavy by any means. The compactness makes me marvel at how far technology has come. Everything on the camera feels solidly built and very premium. 

Using the Camera
It’s such a joy to use. It gets out of your way, and just lets you shoot. The controls are very intuitive, and the feedback from the buttons are very good too. Before getting this camera, my preferred lens was the Nikon 50mm 1.4. I don’t like zooms, so a fixed lens that gave me more room to add the environment was perfect. It took me a little while to get used to the 35mm focal length, but now it just feels natural. I have only shot with the camera in available light. I tried using my generic Calumet flash triggers, but they didn’t fit completely into the hotshoe. The strobe syncing worked fine, but the contact was finicky, so it wouldn’t flash when it secured tightly. I prefer to shoot with available light when I shoot outdoors anyways, so strobing with the RX1 wasn’t a priority for me. That just takes the simplicity of using this camera out of the equation. The auto white balance on the RX1 is wonderful. It always metered much better than my D800 in every situation. 

One big advantage with shooting outside on location with the RX1 is how little attention you gather. It’s unbelievable. Cops just walked on by when I was shooting a model in a vest and panties in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day without saying a word. Contrary to my experiences with my D800, we would have been asked to present permits, and all sorts of documentation. People don’t crowd around to watch, because it just looks like I’m with my hot friends taking pics for Instagram.

The autofocus is good. It’s not going to win any awards for speed and accuracy, but it’s good enough to capture what I want quickly enough. Especially in sufficient light. It does struggle in low light, but I rarely ever shoot in low light, so that hasn’t been a problem. Speaking of low light performance, the RX1 is really good at high ISO’s. Better than my D800 from 3200 and up.

The dynamic range and sharpness from that 35mm f2 lens are just wonderful. I don’t even add sharpening in post, because the photos come out nice and sharp. With tons of shadow and highlight detail which makes post-processing a joy.


I didn’t get the EVF, because it adds bulk to the camera, is quite expensive, and makes it feel like a very formal/professional affair which goes against the philosophy behind the RX1 in my opinion. The LCD works just fine even in direct sunlight. I do not have a single complaint with it.


Battery life is quite bad, but the batteries are really cheap, and I have five of them with two chargers. I usually use 2 batteries for a full 2-3 hour fashion shoot. It’s also disconcerting to models who are used to using loud shutter clicks as cues to switch poses, but they get used to it after a while.

I shoot weddings occasionally, and I use the RX1 for all the pre-ceremony and reception shots where I have more time to be creative. 


My only gripe with using it is that I still haven’t had a bride, groom, or client freak out that I was shooting with this tiny camera. It’s a little disappointing because I expected to get that reaction every time I whipped out the RX1 instead of my big DSLR. My D800 now sits at home collecting dust, and it takes me a while to re-adjust when I have to shoot with it because it really is cumbersome working with DSLR cameras. They’re heavy, bulky, and I hate not being able to see what my photo will look like before I click the shutter. Optical viewfinders are so old-fashioned.


I LOVE my RX1. It has been a revelation shooting with this little beast of a camera. I can’t stress how easy it makes shooting become. It makes something as serious as a high-end fashion shoot feel like a leisure time activity. It makes it easier for me to interact with my models, because everyone is more relaxed and having a blast during the shoot, and it shows in the images. I can’t speak for others, but for my purposes it is the perfect camera for my uses. I recently went on a trip to LA, and I left my DSLR at home. I didn’t miss having it for one moment. That was when I realized that small mirrorless Full-frame cameras are the future. I’ve only done a handful of shoots with the RX1, but it will be my main camera for the foreseeable future. 


You can ask me any question you like, and I will be glad to answer in the comments section.
You can see more of my work on www.isispiks.com
Thanks for reading!

Isi Aakahome