Tag Archives: LX3

photography

Digital Camera Comparison: LX3 versus LX7

1 Comment

Not a Competition.

Lumix cameras. My old LX3 is at top left. Top right and bottom are LX7s. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D.
Lumix cameras. My old LX3 is at top left. Top right and bottom are LX7s. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D.

My first digital Camera was a Panasonic LX3 that I bought in late 2009 on suggestion of my digital photography advisor, Eric Rosenthal.

At the time, I’d planned to use the camera as a light meter, to make supplemental photos, and to photograph in social situations where having an email ready photo quickly was an advantage.

In the first few months, I occasionally used this camera for railway action photos, but for the most part I continued to rely on my Canon EOS-3s for important situations.

CSX Q006 rolls south along the Hudson River at Iona Island, New York in March 2012. Lumix LX3 photo.
CSX Q006 rolls south along the Hudson River at Iona Island, New York in March 2012. Lumix LX3 photo.
Rural station at Riachos T. Novas, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.
Rural station at Riachos T. Novas, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.
Lisbon Metro. Lumix LX3 photo.
Lisbon Metro. Lumix LX3 photo.
Train interior, Porto, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.
Train interior, Porto, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.

I gradually concluded that the LX3 was a fantastic image-making tool. For the next five years I carried this camera everywhere. I exposed more than 64,000 images with it. I’d still be using it, except it broke! (Some observers suggest that I wore it out) The digital display at the back of the camera stopped functioning reliably.

My father lent me his LX7 for a few weeks, and I quickly concluded that I needed one.

Overall it is a much better camera.

On the downside, it is nominally larger.

On the plus side:

  • 1) It is easier to use.
  • 2) When set up properly there’s virtually no delay in making an image from the time the shutter is released.
  • 3) It cycles much faster.
  • 4) It has a better lens, which lets more light in and has a longer telephoto setting.
  • 5) It offers a variety of features that allow for more creative images, including: a built in neutral density filter; an automatic High Dynamic Range mode that rapid blends three images in a sophisticated manner.
  • 6) It has a traditional aperture ring.
  • 7) It has a built in level that can be displayed on the screen.
  • 8) It has the option of an external digital viewfinder.

Over coming weeks, I’ll continue to discuss the virtues (and drawbacks) of these various cameras. Incidentally, recently Panasonic announced another new camera, the LX100, which looks to be even better than the LX7.

The LX7 has excellent reaction time; I stopped the Acela Express at speed at Princeton Junction. The train was moving faster than 125mph. LX7 photo.
The LX7 has excellent reaction time; I stopped the Acela Express at speed at Princeton Junction. The train was moving faster than 125mph. LX7 photo (uncropped, unmodified—except for scaling for internet usage).
The LX7 is easy to use and well suited to making railway photos. LX7 photo.
The LX7 is easy to use and well suited to making railway photos. LX7 photo.
Irish Rail ICR's roll along a speed near Clondalkin. The camera's small size makes it easier to shoot through fences, such as those on highway bridges over the track. LX7 Photo.
Irish Rail ICR’s roll along a speed near Clondalkin. The camera’s small size makes it easier to shoot through fences, such as those on highway bridges over the track. LX7 Photo.

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

 

Related articles
photography

DAILY POST: SEPTA Silverliners at Market East

2 Comments

Three Years Ago Today: December 30, 2010

I was visiting Philadelphia for the holiday season. I’d just got my Lumix back from Panasonic following a warranty-repair and I was happy to make some photos with it.

A wander around Center City on December 30, 2010 with my family made for ample opportunities to exercise the shutter. Sometimes the ordinary scenes make for interesting photos, and over time these tend to age well; witness below.

Panasonic’s Lumix LX series cameras are idea for making urban images. Compact size, ease of use, plus a very sharp lens and the ability to shoot RAW files, gives benefits of both snapshot and professional quality cameras. I’ve enlarged my LUMIX LX3 images to 16x20 inches with excellent results and routinely included LX3 photos in books and articles.
Panasonic’s Lumix LX series cameras are idea for making urban images. Compact size, ease of use, plus a very sharp lens and the ability to shoot RAW files, gives benefits of both snapshot and professional quality cameras. I’ve enlarged my LUMIX LX3 images to 16×20 inches with excellent results and routinely included LX3 photos in books and articles.

This view was exposed on the platforms of SEPTA’s Market East station (the 1980s replacement for Philadelphia & Reading’s Victorian train-temple, Reading Terminal—today a convention center, sans tracks).

Here I found a pair of 1960s vintage Silverliners working the R3 service. These elegant classics were nearing the end of their working careers. After nearly five decades, the last of these machines were withdrawn in June 2012.

 

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
photography, Tips and Technique

Railway Views with a Lumix, Landscape Orientations

Leave a comment

The Aspect Ratio Feature as a Compositional Tool.

Amtrak's Vermonters meet in Palmer, Massachusetts, October 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.
Amtrak’s Vermonters meet in Palmer, Massachusetts, October 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.

One of my primary image making tools is a Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3. I mentioned this camera in yesterday’s post, East Brookfield Station,  October 25, 2009  and I’ve also detailed its use in previous posts.

See: Lumix LX3—part 1  An Everywhere Camera.

The Lumix LX3 has a sliding switch above the lens that allows control of the camera’s aspect ratio (in other words the relative dimensions of the frame). This gives the photographer the ability to compose images using different proportional rectangles and easily change from one to another as it suits the composition.

I find this an extremely valuable tool when making railway images. There are three basic ratios, 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9 (popular as the HDTV video format), as well as a 1:1 square ratio (that must be accessed using the camera menu). Most of the time I use the 3:2 aspect because this makes maximum use of the sensor area.

The 16:9 aspect gives a broader rectangle that can be very useful in landscape style images. It is a good format for photographing railway locomotives and equipment broadside, and can be used to accentuate a variety of compositions.

New England Central
New England Central GP38s work the interchange track at Palmer, Massachusetts on October 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.

Keep in mind, the aspect ratio simply determines the dimensions of the rectangle and does not affect the focal length of the lens (controlled separately).

Someone might ask, ‘why not just shoot everything with the sensor at its maximum and then crop later?’

I find that using the different aspect ratios in the field changes the way I see and thus allows me to compose images that I might not recognize otherwise. While I could certainly crop after exposure, having the ability to work on site produces a different photograph (and perhaps more intuitive) than one cropped later.

New England Central locomotives at Palmer, Massachusetts. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.
New England Central locomotives at Palmer, Massachusetts. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.

I’ve included a variety of 16:9 aspect images exposed over the last ten days. Along with a comparison between a 3:2 and 16:9 aspect of the same subject.

Trolley car.
Connecticut Trolley Museum’s New Orleans Public Service car crosses a road near East Windsor, Connecticut on Sunday October 20, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio. The broader rectangle facilitated this split composition that both features the streetcar and the road it has just crossed.
Pan Am Railways.
Pan Am Railway’s symbol freight 190ED at East Deerfield Yard on October 18, 2013. Using the 16:9 aspect ratio made it easier to include the colored foliage on the right while retaining a strong image of the locomotives. LX3 photo.

This pair of image demonstrates the relative dimensional difference between the 3:2 aspect ratio (top) and the 16:9 aspect ratio (bottom).

New England Central symbol freight 611 waits for a crew at Brattleboro, Vermont on the morning of October 18, 2013. Exposed using the 3:2 aspect ration.
New England Central symbol freight 611 waits for a crew at Brattleboro, Vermont on the morning of October 18, 2013. Exposed using the 3:2 aspect ratio.
New England Central.
Combination of a lower angle and the 16:9 aspect ratio allows for a more dramatic image that minimizes distracting foreground elements. Lumix LX3 photo.

 

Tracking the Light posts new material daily.

See my Dublin Page for images of Dublin’s Open House Event in October 2013.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Uncategorized

East Brookfield Station, October 25, 2009

Leave a comment

 

Last Look at an Old Boston & Albany Station.

On the Morning of October 25, 2009, I brought my brand new Lumix LX3 out for a test run. I had just received my first digital camera and this was a trial to see if it was any good.

I’d bought it on the recommendation of Eric Rosenthal. My initial hope for the camera was to use as a light meter and to make photos of friends.

Lumix LX3 photo.
East Brookfield, Massachusetts looking west on October 25, 2009—four years ago.

That morning I drove to East Brookfield and made this image of the old Boston & Albany station. Two eastward trains came by and I photographed those on film, not trusting the new purchase for anything important.

I later drove around making photos of local architecture in the autumn color. I soon found that the LX3 was an extremely powerful tool capable of very sharp images and useful for making a great variety of railway photos.

Approximately 11 months later, I received a phone call from Dennis LeBeau of the East Brookfield Historic Society: the station had been torched by vandals and gutted. For another year or so the skeletal remains of the building remained trackside as a sad reminder of what had been.

This Lumix image is exactly four years old today. In the interval, since I made this image I’ve released the LX3’s shutter more than 15,000 times.

 

See Yesterday’s News Flash! Massachusetts Central’s Recently Acquired GP38 makes First Revenue Run

Tracking the Light posts new material daily.

See my Dublin Page for images of Dublin’s Open House Event in October 2013.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

Enhanced by Zemanta
photography, Tips and Technique

Sunrise at East Deerfield Yard, October 18, 2013

Leave a comment


Applying an Old Technique with Today’s Technology.

The other day I arrived at Pan Am Southern’s Boston & Maine East Deerfield Yard shortly after sunrise. Although not a wheel was turning, there was some nice light and I made a selection of images.

My challenge was in the great contrast between the ground and sky. With my Lumix LX3, I found that if I exposed for the track area, the dramatic sky was washed out (too light), and if I exposed for the sky the tracks area was nearly opaque.

Railway yard.
East Deerfield Yard, Massachusetts at Sunrise. Unmodified ‘in camera Jpg’. Lumix LX3 photo exposed using the ‘V’ (for Vivid) setting.

With black & white film, I would have compensated my exposure and film development to maximize the information on the negative, then dodged and burned critical areas on the easel in the dark room to produce a nicely balanced print. I’d done this thousands of times and had my system down to fine art.

I applied this same basic philosophy the other morning at East Deerfield. I made several exposures from different angles. In one of these I slightly overexposed the sky to retain some detail in the track area.

The in-camera Jpg from this still appears both too dark and too contrasty (from my perspective having witnessed the scene). Rather than be content with this inadequate photograph, I took a copy of RAW file that I exposed simultaneously (one the benefits of the LX3 is it allows both a Jpg and a RAW to be exposed at the same time) and imported it into Photoshop. (I always work from a copy and I NEVER manipulate or alter the original file).

Under the ‘Image’ menu, I selected ‘Adjustments’ and then ‘Curves’; I then adjusted the curve to produce a more balanced over all exposure. This is possible because the RAW file has more information (detail) in it than is visually apparent.

While this improved the image, I still wasn’t satisfied. So I selected the ‘Dodge and Burn tool’ (which appears in the tool bar as a angled gray lollipop). Using the ‘Dodge’ function, I very slightly and selectively lightened track areas and foliage that I felt appeared too dark.

Then I used the ‘Burn’ function to selectively adjust the sky areas. If I’ve done this successfully, the scene should appear very close to the way I saw it. Similar techniques can be used to make for surreal and unnatural spectacular landscapes. While I may do that later, that’s not my intent today.

East Deerfield, Massachusetts.
The same image as above, but from a modified RAW file using Photoshop to adjust contrast (both across the entire image and locally). Lumix LX3 photograph.

While modern tools, like those of the traditional darkroom, allow for improvement over in-camera images, the effort does take time. I estimate I spent 10-15 minutes adjusting this photograph.

Because this adds time to the work on the photograph, I don’t want to have to do this any more often than necessary. Most of my photographs are ready to go ‘in-camera’ (as it were).

Tracking the Light posts new material daily.

See my Dublin Page for images of Dublin’s Open House Event in October 2013.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta