Episode 2 of my irregular photo journal - I didn’t mean THIS irregular
When I said “irregular” this was not what I had in mind. I just didn’t want this to seem like a weekly thing I’d be doing. Yet here we are. Three months since the first entry. Quite a lot has happened since then. Some pretty major changes.
First off the baby is keeping me busy more and more as she’s growing into the cutest lil goblin. But that wasn’t the sole reason for me putting my blog and photography on a break (Ross pun not intended). I recently became a manager of the photography store I was working at since August 2020 and that means more work, more hours, and more responsibilities. It all happened super quickly with no warning and on top of that right before the busiest season of the year. If you’ve ever worked in retail you know exactly what I’m talking about. It has been rather hectic three months but things are finally slowing down and I can once again spend time doing things I love. Photography, and writing.
I wasn’t completely unable to photograph though. I did manage an odd photowalk here, a portrait session there. I have been playing with more and more different types of cameras and lenses some of which I am going to include in these journal entries.
The first batch of images here was taken when I was reviewing the new Sony FE 70-200 mm f/2.8 GM OSS II. A surprisingly lightweight, brilliantly fast, and tack sharp new telephoto zoom. The lens itself was great to use but I did use it on a third-generation A7R, which kind of marred the whole experience. I still haven’t gotten used to the “calculator with a lens” feel of Sony cameras. Incredible machines with some excellent tech behind them, but they just don’t feel right to me. That was at least until I tried the A7 IV. But you’ve got to wait for the third entry of my journal to see. I promise it won’t take three months.
The second album was taken on my Fujifilm X-Pro3 and the XF 56 mm f/1.2 R or with the new Viltrox 56 mm f/1.4. The Viltrox is a rather nicely built all-metal lens with decent attention to detail. The focus wasn’t terribly slow but what dragged the lens down was the main thing it was made for. The image quality wasn’t great. Don’t get me wrong, it does perform well for the price. It costs a third of the Fujifilm equivalent XF 56/1.2, but to achieve the price corners had to be cut somewhere. The sharpness has left me rather disappointed and the chromatic aberration was super apparent even right at the center of the image. I can see the lens working fine in a studio environment stopped down to f/8 where it performs much better or as a cheaper “bokeh machine” because it does render out-of-focus areas pretty nicely.
And there you have it. The second entry is over. Nothing groundbreaking but hopefully now I’ll have time to focus on photography a bit more again. See you soon? I think so.
