*

Online X3F tool

2012-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

For you out there still looking for a linux friendly solution to the encrypted X#F files there is a possibility of doing basic editing online

http://www.x3f-tool.org/

Does a rough work but it's there for you if you want

Cheers

28082011_Dagmar (1 of 1)-3

2011-08-30T09:59:00.003-07:00

28082011_Dagmar (1 of 1)-3, a photo by gvzfs on Flickr.

28082011_Dagmar (1 of 1)-3

2011-08-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

28082011_Dagmar (1 of 1)-3, a photo by gvzfs on Flickr.

canon 20d + 17-85mm

Back with more comparisons

2011-08-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

Now what is better ?
The jpegs comming from the Canon 20D are very pleasing, but the sharpness isn't there. File size wise the pictures should come out rather nice in print, but the murky feel in the JPEG's are discuraging, so CR2 then, well there's a hurtle right in you face from the off set...
The camera just produces very soft images from the perspective of the lens in question. The 17-85mm is soft and the out put file is soft as well, putting the thing through Lightroom, does give a nice workflow, but the images are not easily put to the color or mood expected.

I did a manual WB on these shots and worked them to the shown result here.

Using the Quantuun R +300 Flash and Canon + 17-85mm.

Now under the same circumstanses I did a comparison witht the Sigma SD14...To be noted I did a 3x increese in the light intensity, resulting in the light read out equal to the Canon.

F-stop was 8 in both cases and in the sigma and Canon the speed was 1/100.

Here before any adjustment, the file was done with custom WB.

Here after the sharpening and saturation adjustment......................

The Cat Katja

2011-08-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

I've had the opertunity to try out a Canon 20D with 17-85mm.

Hmmm Strait out of the box the jpeg's and raws are pleasing in the colors, but there's also an overwhelming softfocus on every shot.

I'll prove my point later on.

For now the Good Ol' SIGMA SD14 is nailing it under the best given conditions... So this hit and miss subject was for once redoable to produce this picture.

The Sigma has a cheap 18-200mm lens on it, but check if you can the detail in the hair.
That is really hard to do in the Canon. I suspect the 17-85mm to be a bit overpricy and a genuine under achiever.

But more on this later.

Getting nowhere with a remote trigger

2011-07-30T00:38:00.000-07:00

Triggering the shutter with timer or remote

It is a bit frustrating look at the Sigmas dead "red" eye and not knowing whether it has activated the count down or not. There's a faint audio signal, but you will have to stand quite close to it to hear it.
A radio remote would also take care of the inefficiency photographing outdoors. (Infra Red remotes can't compete against the sun, and the line of sight can't be interrupted)
Unfortunately no one produces one for Sigma, and I can't figure out how to do this.

I guess we will resort to counting down before the shutter fires and take positions before then.
Oh-well, it's just one more of the quirks of the otherwise really fine camera.

Imagine taking this: You are on the journey of your life, a kind of expedition or photo journalistic endeavour to say... India or much more better Antarctica. (Does anyone know how the Sigma holds up in subzero conditions ?)

I am quite sure to results would amaze, but the way to those pictures would be a none stop nightmare.

Copenhagen Cable Park

2011-07-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

On a gloaming day in Copenhagen I took the Sigma Sd14 out for a spin.
Ended up cycling for 3 hours thought the new recreational area of Copenhagen.

Refhaleøen is filled up with fun for big kids : Paint ball, Qajaq polo,Harbour side bar and and and ...

Actually I did not get to see a lot of that as I was hoping for rural demolished buildings and a chance to do some Mrs. Aniella inspired self portraits.

strik

2011-07-18T12:14:00.001-07:00

strik, a set on Flickr.

Some examples of my busy grannies knitting frenzy .....
All done with th e Sigma SD14 + the new Quantuum R+300 flash

Quantuum +R 300 WS with BattteryPack

2011-07-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Just arrived today.

A full 259€ worth of flash so not a whole lot of high hopes going into this one. But I have been circuling the opertunity for some time now placed my bet and went against the raffles. I could not find but a few glimpses of people actually using this and the best bet was some flimsy video from Rumania. How that for an omen.
Well first impression is that this will actually do the trick and I cant wait to get this fired up propper and in outdoor conditions as well. But that'll wait as tomorrow will be visious, rain and possibly a new flooding...

PPT with sound milieu

2011-06-04T01:25:00.000-07:00

I have been curious about this little idea....

Make your own QR code

2011-05-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered what those Aztec mazes are all about?
They are very clever 2D Barcodes that are going to be every where within months.
With the presence of a camera in just about every phone these days the possibilities of tying the web of information into a very small square just jumps out at you with possibilities.

Have your personal URL or Webshop tied to a poster immediately accessible to a portable scanner and browser, which is what the smartphones are offering now.

Increasingly people use it as street tags as well. So the fun of scanning a 2D code in the street might lead you to new venues of exhibitions music or directions to the locale flea marked.

Well these a lot of possibilities.

Here's a few videos to start that train of thought.

It has become an art form in itself

As the trend grows in this part of the world. The originator Japan must think we are just coming out of the middle ages as they have been using this for ages..... →→→→→→→→→→→→→→→

WIKI LINK

www.Fotocafeen.dk

2011-05-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

The 28.th of May we went through the rain to see what was news to me.

A photo café in Denmark.

The real story is that this concept has existed for more than two years already, but for some reason it has slipped under my radar.

What is the FOTOCAFE.

Well it's the old employees of Xposure, a technical photo lab in DK, that has undergone some new thinking and brought the facilities of printing fine art prints into the street level and there by appealing to a broader audience.
Quite literally relocating their business potential and combining it with the hip coffee to go sign of the times as it is written.

What can you expect from this place.

They want to expand into a whole range of services, I'll sum the up and elaborate further on.

Net Café The café has a couple of IMACs which are free to use for visitors to the café.

Large Format Printer They facilitate over a Large Format printer (Canon) for those who need printing done in poster sizes. A0 for instance.

FrontierThe Fuji Frontier machine has found a new play ground on Vesterbro Torv, You can have digital prints done with very short notice, mean while you enjoy a beer or coffee.

Gallery, you as an amateur of becoming artist are invited to exhibit here using the caffé's walls as you showcase.

Prints can be ordered of you showcase, or the prints on the wall can be bought as ready-made pictures to-go. Just like the coffe ;-) combine your purchase if you feel for it.

The physical prints are either framed or mounted on Styrofoam boards.
The pricing are set at suggested prices. Fotocaffeen takes a 1/3 commission, 1/3 is for you and 1/3 is production cost with framing/ display materials.

The production cost is evaluated into m2 cost at the time of writing it is 800kr/m2.
Their homepage will state better detail once it has undergone the new changes.

Smugmug like concept of ordering print of artists and having them printed as you wait.
The idea is that they will host your showcase of pictures, that you put up for sale as an online ordering form. This provides space for a lot of pictures and makes the potential buyer cross border.
You set up a contract with Fotocaffeen and they host and provide payment to you for every sale you make.

Forum They welcome photo enthusiast of all ages to use the facilities. They use Facebook and other social media to communicate when there's are lectures and classes held in photography, or the use of equipment.

Happenings Currently there's a happening under way Copenhagen Photo Their aim here is to arrange the longest exhibition as photographic art through the length of Vesterbrogade.
This event starts June 9.th through 19.th so hurry up.

You can have you photos exhibited in the windows of the shops along the street.
This is a unique possibility to present yourself to Copenhagen and the world.

For details on how to participate contact Tony @ MAIL
For participants there is a 500 dkr entrance fee, the pricing for production and framing is handled the same way as exhibited material in the café.

I am sure I left out a lot of information from this first visit, but it makes a welcome change for the geeks that you actually now have a meeting point, instead of anonymous Forums.

Vesterbrogade

Welcome to my BLOG

2011-05-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Yes this is where it starts you are here because you clicked on one of my photos with a QR scan code on it.

The BIG IDEA is that you get first hand information on me an my photos and projects as they evolve through this point of reference. I am very pleased to see that you are here after all...

There are a few links leading onwards from this site but I encourage you to have a look a round once you have come here.

My main point here that once you connected you would like to see why so...

Welcome Egypt

2011-05-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

I am totally amazed at the stats of the potential viewer of my sight. I know that I am dealing in the mere margins of margins and that the viewers must be Sigma dedicated fans, well that's for now as it is , because I am going to expand into more and more merchant friendly posts. But more on that later, as this is still very early stages, but let's say today was an eye opener and that has to have time to cocoon into something positive for all viewers.

As it is I am experimenting with broadcast options that do not form the middle of things so hense the trial and error are longer in taking into a final and working way of things. It will never be totally smooth but then if it were it would loose all touch of the real world.

Thanks for you visit and if you DO dig it let me know in a comment or email.

Lonely Planet Egypt (Country Travel Guide)

Photorec Testdisk

2011-05-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

I have added a video of how to restore lost data from ones memory card.
This works on everything I have tested so far. Be it a video cameras harddisk or the data from a micro sd it regained a lot of data.

I hope this in some way useful for you.

As a note I haven't found anything that is able to restore sim card data, but that is a different story for later.

Pirate in stunning Black and White

2011-05-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

I just took a few shots of Dagmar ( yes again and again ) Just using the Metz CT45-4 directed at the ceiling. It never stop surprising how powerful this old flash really is.

I decided to experiment a bit in Sigma SPP4.2 soft ware making a Black and White. added a X3F fill and out came this IR-Effect.

I have been partly busy doing a few videos about this and that, some might have interest for others as well.

As I am using Linux Mint as Operating System. I am aware of the extremely narrow segment of possible users but here's my word that a noob can get this going with very little help if any is needed from an active community. There I've said it, now let's get going with some photos.
It's why we are here....

The rendered Color shot isn't bad, mostly due to Dagmars pose. She's stabbing me with the sword.
But the BW is far better I think.

I've started a collection for a new book. This one is top ranked for the next run.

Spinning the DP1s

2011-05-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Dagmar had an accident and lost a tooth. Of cause this was a perfect opportunity for introducing the tooth fairy. The fairy gave Dagmar a bag of candy. I hope this isn't going to start any speculation in her head, so that she'll get into more crazy stunts and loose teeth left and right. Well I tried to catch the moment of glee over exchanging candy for teeth.

Sigma DP1s 14MP FOVEON CMOS Sensor Digital Camera

Sigma HA-11 Hood for DP1 Digital Cameras

CEWE Fotobuch

2011-05-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Any protagonist worth his or her salt has had the dreaded feeling they alone know the agonizing pain of looking into the clerk's glazed over eyes and hearing something like I really don't see the problem...
The there's a usual dance around the table and if anyone remembers the "Dead Parrot Sketch" you'll know the problem at hand.

I had the idea of making a book a FOTOBUCH of my beloved daughters first 5 years of walking tall on this puny earth. I started out sorting the pictures and immediately found that quite a few memorized pictures and printed pictures were gone. (:-0)
Searching through old CD's and albums did not much to a peace the thought that in time more and more picture will be gone. Mostly due to data corruption, failing hard disk and the inevitable margin for human error. This is indeed a concern that I have tried numerous times to make other people hear and understand and now I had fallen victim to my own dooms day prophecy. I am sure this is some paradox with a fancy name.
Well what to do. From the shots that did produce a span from almost day one up until now I got the strange notion of oscillation. Light Dark Unsharp Shaken Noisy Wrong White Balance Poor Framing and of cause Back Up redundancy. Too many poor pictures of the most important person living! I do did and still have a plan for legacy. Only thing not sure is how the offspring is going to handle the said legacy, which is her's alone to take care of.
1) Back Up cards to hard disk
2) Back Up Hard Disk to External Hard Disk, the idea of keeping data on CD and DVD has gone out the window as the space requirement keeps growing and it has been proved that the CD and DVD don't last as long as one would think.
3) A second external hard disk for the moderate paranoid, and a third for the raving paranoid. They don't last forever either, but it makes it simpler to restore if there's a working disk.
4) print what is worth saving This seems like simpleton advice but way too many are content with having their photos on the disk alone. You did take time and effort to make them? Right? So why it's it worth printing?
The thing about prints...I want to get into the mitty gritty detail of printing, having had a series of disappointing ink printers I don't give them much attention these days. Too expensive and way too feeble in print quality. I gotta see what some more of Flickrs successful youth is doing in this regard. But having had the pleasure of working with the Rolland SP340, a real monster, but more to the point the ink this printer used is, has without a doubt the best longevity of any printer inks. The catch ? Hmmm It's won't fit in the apartment.

For now foto books will do and print ordered through a service.
I quite like www.snapfish.com

As for the experience with the recently ordered book, with all the different types and qualities of shoots, well, having had long nights getting it all together, and having LINUX accept the software from ELGIGANTEN.DK I was hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Some might say I am overly skeptic, and they would be absolutely right.
The book did arrive 14 days later, and I thought that having glanced at the front cover everything would be fine inside. Oh no Sir, not in this lifetime. Wiggle the head in an Indian pose. Every 2.nd or 3.rd page had a scratch right down the the right side. Bonk ! And at 445Dkr this wasn't acceptable. Secondly the online order form or the software compression was so hard that most color had been upped several degrees and over sharpened. Not pleasing.
The good bit of news was that they took the complaint immediately and asked me to reorder the book, and keep the first one as a gratuity.Two ugly books for the price of one ! Yeaaa!

Might I suggest the use of www.blurb.com ?
I was visiting a photographer, he had made a showcase photobook.
The printed book was just a little more expensive but much better print quality.

In 2006 I made one of a trip to Iceland, and I was well pleased with it. I had bought a Sigma SD10 and fitted it with a huge lens and two flash. I was going to get super shots with this... Well or maybe not totally super.
I had only avery little idea of what I was doing with the SD10, and having hundreds of
photos hit the bin, I decided that this wasn't for me. Futile thinking that the next big thing will be the last, and the one to join all wishes. Does anyone know the story about hunting for unicorns?
It would be only much later that I return to Sigma again. Right about now I got the Sd14 and DP1s, as a tool and learning toys for understanding digital color much more in depth.
The earlier experiences was that if it didn't deliver singing birds jubilations from day one then something was amiss. And the sure was a lot of trial and error choices to choose from.
No one manufacturer has got it all down to a tee. Having worked in a camera store it was both heaven and hell. Surrounded with new tinker toys every day, and buffoons like colleagues who never took a serious photo in their life, one get's fed up with the latest and greatest.
I am sure many have been down that road, like I, and non has come of it. Well yes perhaps the aspect that I have sponsored the manufacturers R&D, for better or for worse.
So in an attempt to simplify photo life I rummaged up the ins and outs of what could be expected and ended the search with X3F technology. Only I do crave all things shiny and new. SD1? Perhaps...Just had a Fuji X100 in my hands, still got the shakes. Must buy, bring long term pain to economy...NOOOO! Save me from myself.
But as a finishing line to this rambling. Bigger is Better
So bigger sensor, less pixel, better IO better compatibility of formats. FCOL X3F is encrypted ? But why?
OH Bigger is Better ? Sure look at the detail coming from Sigma DP1, definitely better that something similar, say like the Olympus Pen, of which I have one.
Another thing, Full Frame sensors, that has got to be the killer deal here. If you can afford it of cause.

Metz Power

2011-05-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Sure they are old slow and quaint, and they are really power hungry. But this oldie flash is cheap unbeatable powerful and sturdy beyond any reasonable punishment you might think of putting your ordinary flash through.

Mayday

2011-05-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

1.st of May is a national celebration day. I t gets very close to being a real party day for many. Check out my flickr account for all 66 shots of that event. I must say that the Dp1S didn't deliver expected shots from this event. But the SD14 did do a very well defined job, unfortunately I had to resolve to longer and longer exposures and that killed the idea of being a fly on the wall and getting all the natural behavior from people with out feeling the presence of a camera. Better luck next time I guess.

Damhussøen DP1s

2011-04-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

Damhussøen 29-04-2011 Sigma DP1s
Still working on a method to get that white balance right. I missed a lot of good shots, good thing these swans are tame and I can return anytime for a second try.
This one looked back so you just knew you were being measured up.

Sigma DP1s

2011-04-26T01:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.dpreview.com/products/sigma/compacts/sigma_dp1s
Hurrah... The Sigma DP1s just arrived today.
Gotten this of ebay.de for just 198€
I have no idea of how to get that one going yet so now the tandem of SD14 and DP1 will be rivaling my attention. I have seen extremely nice things done with the DP1, so I'll take it for a spin right now and see what surprises this one holds.

Hours later and burned to a crisp I have returned with just a few shots, I was doing shopping and having this camera with me as a companion. So far the impression is very positive.
I don't want to spend a lot of time covering what has already been said about button lock up on raw write and the fact that it isn't a fast camera. That you will be able to find everywhere.
I just thought that the first positive thing is the shallow DOP (Depth of Field) and the second positive thing was the detail rich pictures. They do require post processing but the results are very rewarding. I cropped these two as to concentrate on detail.
--Oh BTW: These vere done on F.4.0 ! The shot of the station would have come out somewhat differently had I done my homework and double checked the settings. I must have gotten lazy in the sun.

Walking around Copenhagen Southside

2011-04-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday, totally clear skies and a glaring sun that is rendering high blues and UV stray colors. I was invited to go to the far end of the industrial area, which is transforming from what it was to more expensive residential areas. The trip to the end of the new development proved a very big surprise, the are, which I thought was deserted, was littered with people of all kind. One group was doing a music video and others were going to add to the already impressive decorations on the wall covered with graffiti.

We ended the day with joining the lazy mood that had settled all over Copenhagen. People were enjoying themselves in all open places, parks, and benches.

Nyhavn was as always charming...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gvzfs

Night Shots of Copenhagen

2011-04-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

NightShot_6, a photo by gvzfs on Flickr.

Well sometimes you just gotta do something that reminds you of your younger self. I was quite active amateur photographer from the point on when I first had a Nikon FM2, and did all kinds of experiments with long exposure and pushing the film to yield more sensitivity. That would make me go to the industrial areas and freeze for hours as the exposures where taking place.
-Now, years later, one is very reluctant to leave the comfort of ones home to do any thing like that. It better be worth the time and effort..Right?
In this case we did get our gear out for a first run of night time long exposures, and I can't remember when I last did something that required so much dedication to do the shot that I would carry my Manfrotto tripod around down town Copenhagen for 5 hours...
Incidentally the sight of the tripod aroused a lot of unwanted attention from both holidaymakers drunk youth and officials of the train station.
I will have to look into this, but the DSB employee was very persistent on the point that taking photos in the facilities of the train station would require a permit, if one was using a tripod. So we toke the cameras of the tripod, and then everything was ok.

The Sigma performed well under the circumstances. There was a few surprises, like when I was to review a shot the lcd turned totally blue (?) When the files where processed the blue streak was gone. Some twitch in the software perhaps. But as always, at least through the experiences so far the lcd turned out to be more of a guide to framing than to have any hint of actual color exposure accuracy. I was very dependent on the histogram as for having any clue what was going on. Maybe the real setup would involve a laptop for quick Post Process.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gvzfs/5642097084/in/photostream

Flickr

2011-04-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

Latest testings with the Sigma Sd14.

Having read many many pages up and down to find the answers to how to get some of the amazing color and detail other seem to have no trouble of getting I got this slightly more right than wrong. Now I find it is necessary to work a bit on content as well maby get some real and dependable flash power and venture into real life scenarios, who know there might in the end be customers waiting. Nah just as well i perfectly happy with the toy level I am on anywho.

For daily progress http://www.flickr.com/photos/gvzfs/

Please if anyone has gotten all the answers to using SPP 4.2 (Sigma Photo Pro) Then do tell or show.

Starting out

2011-04-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

So help me ! Yet another page on the ravings about high and low.
Well to cut this first announcement short: I have got to claim a bit of turf of my own in this.
I will be showing what I find cool or interesting and for the ones who will find this helpful or even more importantly have something useful to contribute to the findings, apart from correcting when I am totally wrong, I hope to get a lot of traffic on this site.

Here are a few key words: Sigma cameras, Foveon chip - get one they are really chrunchy ;-) Olympus Pen - mostly about videography. Raw conversion from X3F or ORF. Using Opensource programs for most things. The workings of getting good color correction etc...

I'll shamelessly use or redirect to the links that show anything remotely interesting in this field.
Thereby hopefully enriching the content to the point of potentiating it's raison d'être.

Enjoy

/J