25 January 2007

What we shoot with

A question that pops up from time to time from people seeing our images is, "What type of camera do you use?"

Having grudgingly taken to digital for convenience, M mothballed her 35mm film Canon A1 and F1 cameras, and splashed out on a small point-and-shoot Canon Ixus 400 back in 2003.

Canon Ixus 400 or S400


It's proven to be a great little camera, and takes the majority of images that you see on this blog.

In 2004 on her way from Dubai to Auckland, J purchased a Canon G5 for M in Singapore. It has a few more bells and whistles than the Ixus 400, but the shutter-lag is appalling, so M uses the Ixus 400 for any moving subjects.

Canon G5



The biggest advantage is being able to add a wide angle lens to the G5, and as M loves to shoot wide-angle, the below configuration is how the G5 is mostly used.

Canon G5 with wide-angle lens



As you've probably worked out by now, M is in love with Canon, having used them in both professional and personal capacities.

In digital cameras, the one thing that stands out above all other features is the quality of the image sensor, and Canon has superb sensors in their range. While shooting inside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, a bystander peered over M's shoulder as she took a shot in very low light, and raved over the quality of the image that appeared on the screen. That's mostly due to the Canon sensors - and also a little credit to the photographer!

So, dear readers, now you know our dirty secret. No humungous digital SLR cameras - just normal little consumer models take these blog images!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Finally, we're done with the suspense :)

I've always had this thought at the back of my head that all your captures were captured off a pro-camera :)

BuJ said...

oh man.. now i can sleep at night.. thank the great lord for that... pfew !

all sarcasm aside.. i have been wondering actually what cameras u guys use.. but hey now i know.. since they are not really fancy this reflects very well on the skill of the photographer!

i got a pentax optio S which is ok.. i got it in 2003 i think but it was a 3.2 mp which was wow.. now my pesky nokia can do 3.2! anyway i am not wowed by my pentax's sensor.. do u think the canon's is a better sensor?

however the pentax is nice in that it has got nifty features yet is very very compact. it has a timer, night time mode (but only upto 1 sec exposure) however since i don't use a tripod that's more than enough.. it's got upto 1/1000s shutter speed which makes it good in bright conditions.. it's also capable of small movie clips etc.. so i'm quite happy with it.

in a few yrs an upgrade might be coming.. so it seems ima consider the canon..

i remember in 2003 i was closely considerin canon v pentax but chose the pentax due to size mainly. otherwise i would have ended with one like urs!

Anonymous said...

I do have a canon 4.0 mp, and I vouch for the quality it offers in day light...night photography is a bit let down.

nzm said...

Louis: haha! Not a pro camera, just an ex-pro eye!

BuJ: now you just end that sarcasm, young man, it was because you asked about our cameras that I posted this! lol.

Yes - I love the Canons, and I believe that their sensors are among the best. Both these cameras can take long exposures for night and also short movie clips.

Kishor: I have no problem with night-time shots - in fact, low light conditions is where these sensors excel.

Anonymous said...

So what do you think, the Cybershot I've lost (so far) is good riddance or what? LOL :)

clayfuture said...

I guess a good phtographer can make any pic look like its taken from an expensive, high tech camera!! ;)

I promised myself my next cybershot will have the anti-shake feature! (fingers crossed)

Radha said...

Its the photogrpaher that counts rather than the camera I guess

Mise said...

Well, I got expert advice from M and bought my Canon Elph SD 800 IS in New York and it's brilliant. I've only got as far as using it on auto so far, but it seems advanced enough for even the most discerning photographer...which I'm not. Thanks again M! :D

nzm said...

Louis: J had a cybershot, and when we took images with both the Sony and the Canon - the latter was superior.

But Keefieboy was given a Sony H2 for Christmas by his better 'arf MamaDuck
and the pics on the link to his blog look really good.

Clay: the Sony H2 is what you should get judging by Keefie's images!

Mise: thanks for the kudos - you will not go wrong with that camera. The sunset pic on your blog is testimony to that!

Jayne said...

Hubs is looking to buy a new camera for us to play with, so I can't wait to show him this!

Bravecat said...

*looks disdainfully at her Nokia N73 Carl Zeiss lens...*

Paresh said...

Now that I have the secret, I will now go and make better pictures...

BuJ said...

well if that's so then why not dedicate the post to me in the first place, eh nzm?

also how come ur so goooged by canon and it's ur first digital camera (i assume)?

surely some others out there might have good sensors.. nikon maybe? my dad has a nikon slr.. always thought they were the best... mind you 1970s clothes now look a bit silly :P

CG said...

I emailed nzm and she instructed me into choosing a camera, and very wisely too. I think I, yes I, was the first to ask her....

Buj....70's clothes? huh? shu hadha?

Anonymous said...

You ARE superb photographers! It's not really the taype of camera that matters; it's how photographs are taken. And you Do take great photos.

nzm said...

Jin: if you need any advice - let me know!

QC: from what I've seen of your blog images, they are beautiful - especially your recent Cyprus set. Welcome to our blog and also soon to Dubai!

Paresh: you already know what to do - your NYC images are superb - especially the shawarma eating ones! lol

BuJ: 'cos you weren't the only one who asked! lol.

I've used Canon cameras for the last 30+ years, so you could say that I'm addicted to them! I did sell Nikon cameras for a while, but had to give it up as I was highly frustrated by their different user operability - I was too used to Canon!

There's nothing wrong with other cameras - it's just that I know Canons and can only advise from my experience.

Three years ago at the photo lab in NZ where I was manager, we had one of our clients shoot the same images with Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Mamiya digital cameras. When we printed and analysed the results, most of us preferred the Canon images.

CG: thanks for the endorsement!

Oufff - I now have this image of BuJ in a 70s wide lapel shirt open to reveal his gold medallion, with bell bottom trousers and white shoes - striking the Saturday Night Fever pose! LOL!

Omar: thank you! Your images of Yemen and Hadhramout have really inspired me to come to Yemen one day!

Pandabonium said...

For shooting, I use a Weatherby Athena Grage III 12/20 guage over & under shotgun....

Just kidding. Thanks for sharing that information.

BuJ said...

hehehe NZM there's no subsitute for Travolta!

darn! now i have that image in my head too!

well well.. you've been doing this stuff for a while so i won't argue too much. to be honest i've heard good stuff about canons.. but the reason i got my pentax was purely out of size and hence convenience... and i am no pro so don't really matter.

however now that cg has got one i'm definitely going to steer well away from canons.. do padminis do cameras?

CG said...

Buj
I am going to take that as a compliment....you cannot possibly join my league.
Where is Olivia by the way?
The 'greased lightning' look suits you.

BuJ said...

Definitely a compliment CG..
Olivia's gone.. one way ticket me hopes!