8 Days with the Epson R-D1s

[jmarcus]

Hi,
I'm in Arizona for ten days. Got my R-D1s 8 days ago. I'm going to post a link to some of my photographs. I would like some feedback, its okay to be brutal.
http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.james/ArizonaTrip02
thanks,
James

 

[Topdog1]

What did you do? Point at random and press the shutter?

What did you do? Point at random and press the shutter?

Since viewing your gallery I've decided to reconsider my purchase of an R-D1s.

Regards,
Ira

 

[Didier]

James
There's something wrong with your gallery. When clicking on one of the thumbnails, the picture is very pixelated (it's the enlarged thumbnail, in fact, instead of the higher resolution picture). Looking at the thumbnails it seems you have not postproduced your images, probably took the JPEG outputs as they came out of the SD card. Many pics are too dark, as the R-D1(s) meter does underxpose a little, to prevent blown highlights. This means you have to edit the RAW files in the RAW converter to get the full quality of your pictures, or, if shooting in JPEG mode only, to overexpose manually in certain, especially contrasty, situations. Needs some experience. The R-D1 is definitely not a point&shoot camera.

Another thing I see is your framing - does not look very experienced. Ira's right by describing your style as "point at random and press the shutter" - it really looks like, sorry. You must work hard on that. And many of your pictures, let me mention Speeding Vespa, Bird, Trolley, Dog Walking Shadows, and others, should not have reached a public gallery ever. They have absolutely no visible quality for me.

I too shoot a lot of crap, but then at least I trash it after the first veiwing on the computer (I never delete on the card). To conclude, it's better to post one good pic than 100 mediocres.

Good luck with your further shooting experiences, and i hope you have nevertheless fun with your R-D1
Didier

 

[Xmas]

James

Ignore snide critics, and help me put on this asbestos jacket...

I like your shots, they are like the ones I try to make but fail, I dont get close enough in.

noel

 

[furcafe]

Looks like some of us took you up on the "okay to be brutal" offer! 😱 I'll be nice.

Yes, they look like snaps, & there's nothing wrong w/that if that was your intention. While it may be "better to post one good pic than 100 mediocres," I think that's more applicable to an actual portfolio than stuff you're posting to your own personal gallery, which is what your pix appear to be. I post a lot of pix (family & party snaps, works in progress, etc.) to my photoblog & flickr account that will never appear in a portfolio because they have non-artistic significance to myself, friends & family, etc.

However, I agree w/Didier that it appears that you need to do more post-processing work on your files. The R-D1, like many other digicams, tends to output low-contrast & dark raw files (probably true for the JPGs, too), that need some post-processing to look good (even on the web). I think the pixellation is from the Picasa site's software.

 

[SteveRD1]

Not bad

Not bad

but keep at it. Before long you will be producing some real keepers. I shoot a TON of crap but every now and then I get a good one. The Rd-1s is a great cam. Use it daily and it will reward you with many memories.

 

[Gid]

I just checked out your link. There are some very good shots there - have you done some editing since you got the first "brutal" comments? I can honestly say that there was nothing there that I thought shouldn't be there - not that my opinion matters, I may have no taste 🙂 . Keep at it.

 

[IGMeanwell]

James
There's something wrong with your gallery. When clicking on one of the thumbnails, the picture is very pixelated (it's the enlarged thumbnail, in fact, instead of the higher resolution picture).
Didier

That is how Picassa generates images ... you have to wait for the browser to de-pixellate the larger images (annoying I know).

To the owner of the RD-1,
I agree some of the shots are a little underexposed; this maybe due to your monitor gamma setting (might be too low, common on LCD monitors as they are generally a high gamma setting). It never hurts when Post processing to bump up the curve right in the middle to give a little more brightness to the photo (without using the brightness slider).

I need to look over the gallery to give a more in depth look when I have a little more time.

Have fun with that camera!!!

 

[jmarcus]

First let me say thanks to everyone who responded.

Ira: That’s not feedback. If my pictures make you so insecure about purchasing this camera then don’t.

Didier: Your comments are very helpful. I am on the step part of the learning curve right now. Learning to use the camera, post processing etc. I appreciate the feedback on the framing, and it is something I have to “think” about and truthfully maybe read up on some theory. I have said in other posts that this is my second camera, my first being a Contax Tvs Digital. So the Speeding Vespa pictures, I just fired the camera as the Vespa was coming down the road, just to see if I could get it in frame. The Bird picture was the same scenario, Trolley was definitely a tourist shot and Dog Walking shadows, is just blatantly unoriginal. I will post a RAW file and a post processed file, because I’m wondering if I’m doing something really wrong. How come you never delete on the card? I just got a new MacBook Pro, which has a new shiny screen, which might make a difference in post processing. Again I want to thank you for your feedback.

Furcafe: I don’t think I ever outputted “for the web” Thanks for your input.

SteveRD1: I will keep at it. ☺

Gid: I haven’t edited since the first “brutal” comments, I may have added some pictures though. Thanks.

Pete: Thanks I will look at Gamma settings etc.

My thoughts:
The R-D1s is not a really a "child of the digital age" camera. I never shot film before and I never shot manual focus, so I will defend some of my "snap shot" photos for they are experimental. Some of the noise is from Google and some is from having the wrong ISO set.

Thanks again,

James

 

[ywenz]

looks better than M8 street snaps, I'll tell you that...

 

[Didier]

That is how Picassa generates images ... you have to wait for the browser to de-pixellate the larger images (annoying I know).

Indeed, after approx 15 seconds I could see the higher rez pic. Strange gallery mechanism, though. I'm used to the slow loading times of flickr, pbase or smugmug, but this is new to me.

James, I have downloaded one pic and edited it the way I would do it:

I tried to get more out of the face while not overblowing the highlights too much (sky/house at the right of your head).
That was your original pic:

I did it on a 21" LCD screen (Windows XP, manually calibrated with Adobe gamma), and it may look less contrasty on mac screens.

I'll have a second look at the other pictures as soon as I have the time for it.

Didier

 

[emdubya]

Dude...

Dude...

looks better than M8 street snaps, I'll tell you that...

uh, okay dude, after reading about 50 of your posts (which, seem to pop up on every single thread about digital rangefinders), I think that even the most dense amongst understands your position: you don't like the M8.

For those of you who are new (like me): YWENZ DOESN'T LIKE THE M8!

It would be a great help if you just posted a thread to that effect that you could link to, rather than wasting everyone's time putting your 2 cents in—the same two cents—on every single thread, no matter how irrelevant.

To the OP: I think the Don Portrait is great. I like the first guitar photo too. I think the car in the long grass could've been a great pic... Actually there's a few that could have been great pics, but seem dashed off. In those instances where you have the time to study your subject, and shoot multiple angles, go for it. Don't hesitate to shoot until the composition is perfect.

Best,

mark.