Category Archives: Opinion

Meta, Opinion, photography, The creative process

Bokeh Explained

December 8, 2021 BastianK 55 Comments

Introduction

ttartisan 50mm 1.4 m m-mount leica m10 sony a7riii a7riv sharpness bokeh resolution contrast review — Leica M10 | TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 | f/1.4

The bokeh quality – or a lens’ rendering for that matter – is probably one of the most discussed and maybe also most important aspects of a (fast) lens. While many people think only the focal length and the maximum aperture are important, there is actually much more to it, as I will try to show you in this article. This knowledge may also aid you in finding the best lens for your specific needs.

Sony A7rII with metabones Leica-M adapter and MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 bokeh loca — Sony A7rII | MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 | f/2.4

There are two main things to consider here: bokeh quantity and bokeh quality, which we will both have a look at.

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Meta, Opinion, photography, Projects, The creative process

Finding photo opportunities near home

March 19, 2021 BastianK 20 Comments

Introduction

Sony A7rII | Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8 | f/8.0

I love travel photography, going to exotic places and exploring landscapes and cities different from those I can find back home. But when you travel somewhere far away what you mostly do is checking before what are “the best” spots, hoping for decent weather only to actually end up at a totally overcrowded landmark with lots of other photographers, fighting for a good spot and hoping to not have too many tourists in the picture.

In this article I will try to show some alternatives that might not be as exotic, but can nevertheless be just as enjoyable and in the process might also improve your photography skills more than just “collecting” the shots from other photographers.

Sony A7rII | Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8 | f/4.0

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Opinion, photography, Postprocessing, Projects, The creative process

What makes a picture good?

June 7, 2020 BastianK 14 Comments

Introduction

Sony A7rII | Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8 | f/2.8

What makes a picture good? Not only because this is a very subjective question it is a hard one to answer. We will still try to do that and in the process we will also come across the following questions: why do you take pictures in the first place and: for whom?

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camera, Opinion, photography, Review

How good a camera you need? – A closer look at the Huawei Mate 20 Pro

July 16, 2019 BastianK 21 Comments

Introduction

huawei mate 20 pro phone photography smartphone small sensor resolution review bokeh computational photography — Huawei Mate 20 Pro | 27mm equivalent | polarizer

Very often we get asked questions like: should I get lens X or lens Y? Out of lens X, Y and Z: which is the best performer? Which 35/50/85mm lens should I buy? Do I need a camera with 42mp? Is the Zeiss Batis 18mm 2.8 or the Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8 sharper?
For several reasons we usually cannot answer these questions: rarely we know what you want to use the lens or camera for and often the difference between a good and a bad sample of the same lens is bigger than that between two different lenses.
So, to give you a different perspective, in this article we will look at the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, a smartphone with above-average camera capabilities and see what results can be obtained from this pocketable 200g device.

Sample Images

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Accessories, Opinion, Review

Short-Review: Benro 150mm Filterholder for Canon TS-E 17mm 4.0 L

December 2, 2018 BastianK 8 Comments

Introduction

Benro 150mm Filter Holder for Canon TS-E 17mm 4.0 L

I am always looking for new photography related accessories that might be useful for what I do. Furthermore when holding a workshop or going out with other photographers I constantly have a closer look at other equipment that I wouldn’t have bought myself to see how it works in the field.

Unfortunately every once in a while I come across a product flawed by design (sometimes deeply) and then usually the Team of phillipreeve.net has the misfortune of listening to my complaints. They suggested to make a series out of this so others might be warned about these products. This is one of these flawed products.

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Sample Images

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Introduction

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