Sony RX1RII - The King of Street Photography

 

Pictured below: Sony RX1RII can certainly be labeled as a boutique camera, luxury camera, street photography dream camera or all three.

I desperately needed to get out of my barracks room today and clear my mind. I won't get into the details other than to say that my lovable little dog Oliver was attacked by the neighbors junkyard dog who hopped the fence. He got beat up with a couple puncture wounds but nothing broken. I was completely bummed out about getting the news, even more so that I am on the other side of the world here in Korea, unable to be with him.

But after a full day of semi-wandering the countryside, traveling on foot, train and bus, photographing anything that caught my eye, I feel much better. I was able to replace images in my head of my little dog in the jaws of a beast with it's teeth sunk into his skin, with all the people, places and things that I captured in the viewfinder of my Sony RX1RII 42mp compact camera.

Before you run off to buy one of these fantastic little cameras, let me give you fair warning that it will not come cheaply. Even used, this premium, professional camera is going to set you back at least 2000 USD, brand new it'll be more in the neighborhood of 3000 USD. But is it worth it?

Well, it depends what your needs and expectations are. As I am only able to speak for myself, I can say with a resounding yes! Although it has one major weakness, that weakness, which I will mention in a moment, does not detract from the fact that this camera delivers fabulous photos.

It is paired with a fixed 35mm f/2 Zeiss Sonnar lens that is about a sharp a lens as I've ever used. The 35mm lens is a fantastic focal length for street photography and landscapes and while it's not my first choice in focal length for something like portraits, you can absolutely use it for portraits and getting amazing results. And don't forget, with a 42mp sensor, you can crop your images A LOT and still retain high resolution images. 

The Sony RX1RII utilizes the TINY Sony NP-BX1 battery. According to the official specifications, you can snap around 200 photos before exhausting the battery, which is way below average for a compact camera. I shot approximately 200 over the entire day and had to change the battery once, so I'd have to say that the official specs are pretty accurate. Still, changing batteries has never been a deal breaker for me and I brought along 5 batteries with me on my trip over here to Korea.

I did a short video review of this amazing little camera a while back and you can see it here - https://youtu.be/PeTRYQNohXQ

Other than that, enjoy the photos and thanks for visiting my blog.

All images shot in the area of Yangju and Uijongbu, South Korea.

First Impressions - Fujifilm X100S

I have been itching to purchase a high-end point and shoot camera such as the Leica Q or the Sony RX1RII, I mean, I have it real bad for either of those two cameras. But the Leica Q costs around $4,500 used and the RX1RII costs around $3,200 new, both cameras are out of my price range for the time being. Besides, I keep looking at my Sony A7R and A7II and wonder why I even need any other cameras. But there's something about a fixed lens point and shoot that captures my imagination, and having seem some amazing sample images, it just makes my mouth water even more.

My photography buddy, Turner, recently purchased the Fujifilm X100T for his soon to be ex-wife, and it's a fantastic camera. And as it so happens, it is also a fixed lens point and shoot, like the aforementioned Leica Q and Sony RX1RII, just not as expensive. I got to shoot with the X100T for half a day when we were shooting our final episode of HeyDontShoot.com and it made quite a good impression on me. The FujiX100T comes in around $1000 new, I still didn't want to spend THAT much on what was to be a fun camera that I was going to use for travel and street photography. So what else was out there?

Well, the predecessor to the X100T is the Fujifulm X100S, but what are the differences? Well, for starters, the X100S came out a couple years ago and is available for around $650-800 for a used model, ok, now we're getting into my ball park. Both cameras feature the same 16mp APS-C sensor so the only big differences are that the X100T has a third option for the viewfinder which is a hybrid optical and EVF option. One the X100S you get two choices for the viewfinder, either an optical OR an EVF. That feature is not really a big deal to me, as both the optical AND EVF viewfinder on the X100S are outstanding! Another difference is that the X100T is wifi enabled and the X100S is not, again, not a real deal breaker for me. With all that in mind, I made my mind up to add a Fujifilm X100S to my camera inventory as a stop-gap go-between until I have saved the 3 fricken grand for a Sony RX1RII. Hopefully prices will come down in a couple years, I'm sure there'll be some nice used models available in a few years as well.

But maybe I won't end up buying a Sony RX1RII after all? (Who am I kidding?) The Fujifilm X100S really knocked my socks off today. Today being my first time venturing out onto the streets of Seoul with it. I didn't buy the X100S, I traded for it. And it was a good, fair trade. I found a guy on one of the plethora of Facebook photography pages I belong to, that was willing to trade a nice Fujifilm X100S with lens hood and 2 extra batteries for my Leica 50mm Summicron f/2 DR lens with near focus goggles. It was a tough lens for me to part with but I recently purchased a brilliant Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2 lens and I like it better which made the Leica 50mm expendable. 

The first thing I noticed about shooting with the X100S is just how quiet the shutter is, in fact, it makes almost no noise at all, which is great for street photography. The colors are brilliant and life like and the camera captures images with mixed lighting conditions quite well (see the sample photo below of the mother and child exiting the subway station into the sunlight). 

The X100S fits my hand quite nicely, the trade also included a thumb rest which helps with my grip on the camera. The camera starts up quite fast, so I am able to see a subject, turn the camera on and capture the image within a second or two, I found that I wasn't missing many shots throughout the course of the day.

The battery lasted all day and was still above 90% when I got home. I shot around 100 images.

The lens is really sharp, but don't take my word for it, check out the sample images below!

I really enjoyed my first day out with the Fujifilm X100S, I'm happy it's found a home on my shelf here and I am quite positive I will be reaching for it when I run out the door for whatever photography I happen to be engaged in.

Introducing Friends to Seoul with the Sony A7R and RX100 IV

I spent the day Saturday showing two friends around some good spots in Seoul for camera shopping and street photography. One of the things I enjoy best about photography is sharing what I know and when it comes to Korea, I know where the best places are for camera gear and accessories. And no matter how often I go there, it never gets old. I have probably been to Namdaemun and Chungmuro 20 or 30 times in the last 3 years, but there's always something new to see and even though I go shoot street photos in the same areas, the people and the faces are always different.

Caleb and Allen had never been to Namdaemun or Chungmuro, and both of them being photography enthusiasts, it seemed paramount to me to show them around. Especially Caleb who has only been in Korea for a few months. Check out his Facebook page and give it a "Like". Our first stop was Namdaemun, across the street from the Sungnyemun Gate (Great South Gate of Seoul). My camera repair shop is located there, and I had to pick up a vintage camera that was in for repair and drop off another. This routine has become somewhat of a ritual as nearly 50% of all the vintage cameras I buy on eBay are in need of some small repair or service (usually bad shutter curtains). There are also a number of camera shops and one in particular that specializes in Sony gear, which I love. We looked at a few shops and made some minor purchases; I bought a 72mm UV filter for my Zeiss 16-35, Allen bought a wrist strap and Caleb picked up a shutter release cable. From there we took a walk around the famous Namdaemun Street Market and spent about an hour shooting street photography. After that it was off to Chungmuro for a snack and a beer, the beer having been a long time coming since my army unit had been on a no alcohol order for a few weeks, it had been lifted just the day before, and boy did that cold beer go down nicely with a spicy Korean soup.

My favorite camera super store was closed but there were plenty of other shops open and as always, I went by the Leica store (AKA Bando Camera). They always treat me like a king when I go in there, even though the only money I've ever spent there was the $240 I spent having my Leica M3 serviced. Still, when you walk in the staff is attentive and courteous, always offering free coffee, water or energy drinks. We had a good time there, window shopping all the pricey Leica gear we wish he had the money for; like the Leica M Hermes edition with two lenses priced at $31,000 USD. There was one item I really wanted to take home, although I probably never will, that was the Hasselblad CFV-39 digital back for around $7,000 USD.

After drooling and browsing the shops it was time for more photography, so I took my two friends across the street to Namsangol Village, we were about to make our way back to the car when Allen reminded us that he wanted to check out Dongdaemun Design Plaza, another spot I had been to multiple times for photos, which never got old. And as it turned out, Allen showed me some new spots there that I didn't now about. 

I've been shooting quite a bit with my recently acquired Sony A7R lately, and with good reason. It's the best digital camera in my inventory. At 36 mp it is extremely sharp and detailed. I paired it with an outstanding Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2 and Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 for wide angle shots. The results can be seen below.

We finished off our day with burgers, fries and soft drinks and I went to bed happy and content at another fine day of shooting on one of my final trips to Seoul.

Sony A7R with Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2 ZM. Also pictured with Zeiss FE 16-35mm f/4 wide angle.

That's me shooting with the aforementioned rig. Photo credit: Caleb Cornish.

Caleb places a Polaroid that I just took of him in his bag.

Allen shooting with a Canon and Canon 24-70 lens.

I love the look of high contrast black and white photos using the Zeiss Planar 50mm lens.

Namdaemun Market

Caleb

Ajummas stopped to pose for a photo.

Shoes, clothing and knock off designer hand bags are the main items that can be found at the Namdaemun Market. Bring cash.

People form up in long lines for some of the street food. Not sure the name but it's like a deep friend pancake filled with a meat and veggie mixture.

These two "ajummas" were not happy about having their photo taken.

Allen is not nearly as comfortable in front of the camera as Caleb is,

Namsangol Village

Seoul Tower in the background.

The Seoul time capsule was built in 1994 and contains a number of items representative of Korean culture. Not sure when they will dig it up and open it. 

Entrance gate to Namsangol Village.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

I did not pack a tripod, therefore, long exposure shots were not possible, which was ok because time was short and we were moving quiet rapidly.

The wide angle shots are all taken with the Zeiss FE16-35mm.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza never gets old no matter how many pictures I take there. 

I had a figurine made of myself like the ones pictured here. It's produced with a 3D printer based off an image captured with 100 cameras shooting simultaneously. I pick it up in a week. More photos below.

******

The other camera in my bag was the mighty little Sony RX100 IV. Shooting at 20mp with a Zeiss 24-70 f/1.8 lens, this camera is absolutely outstanding. I have always said, that if I was ever in a position in which I was forced to sell all my cameras and keep only one, it would be the RX100 IV. All the pictures below were taken with the RX100 IV.

Sony RX100 IV with aluminum grip and red leather trim.

Pictured above is the Hermes Edition Leica M priced at just $31,000 USD. Yes please.

Bando Camera, the Leica store in Chungmuro, always has some impressive cameras on display, some of them are not for sale, some of them are.

That's a $6,000 USD Rolleiflex TLR.

This is how the 3D figurine is produced. We counted 96-100 cameras, they are fired simultaneously, the resulting image is used to produce the little statue. I'll be sharing photos next week when I pick it up. I got it for my dad who I haven't seen in 3 years. Now he can put me in his pocket and take me everywhere. I just hope he doesn't start having conversations with it.

Making friends. I snapped a Polaroid for these nice folks we met on the street. Two of them are students from Spain, studying here in Seoul. The Korean was their friend who happened to speak perfect Spanish! Photo by: Caleb Cornish.