Category Archives: Cameras

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Camera sales dropped sharply this past Christmas

March 4, 2014 3DM

Camera sales always drop at the end of the year and the start of the next year: Camera sales, include Jan 2014 data, DSLRs blood bath – Personal View Talks.

Click through the link for many more charts. Problem is that after the previous drop, sales only rebounded so-so.

3D, Cameras

3D Test Video Sample Shot on paired Nikon 1 J1 and J2 cameras

March 1, 2014 3DM

Cameras, Still photography, Technical

Computar f/1.2 12-75mm c-mount lens on Nikon 1 J2 camera

March 1, 2014 3DM

I recently acquired a used Nikon 1 J1 and a Nikon 1 J2 camera for use in my 3D photography and 3D video photography. I also bought a used Computar f/1.2 12-75mm c-mount lens, originally intended for us on “Super 16mm” film cameras. These can be adapted well for use on the Nikon 1 mirrorless cameras as the sensor is essentially the same size as a “Super 16mm” frame.

Here is what the lens looks like – it has a 55mm filter diameter but came with a 55 to 58mm step up ring:

At wide angle (12mm) and telephoto (75mm), there is minimal vignetting. At some of the in between range, there is very noticeable vignetting.

To make the lens work on a Nikon 1, I used a Fotodiox c-mount to Nikon 1 adapter ring. I quickly found this ring puts the lens too far forward from the sensor focus plane. I ended up using a Dremel cutting bit on my shop drill and did a lot of grinding to push the lens almost 1/8″ of inch deeper into the camera. (Later I bought a different and thinner adapter ring that seems to work without modifications but I have not yet done much testing with this adapter ring.)

Here are some results – shot using the Computer f/1.2 12-75mm cine lens on a Nikon 1 J2 using a modified Fotodiox adapter. All images were shot in RAW mode and contrast or exposure adjusted slightly in Lightroom. The first photo used the “anti-vignetting” feature to lighten the upper left and right corners slightly. None of the photos are cropped. All photos are shot with the camera in full manual exposure mode.

The focus point on this handheld shot is the pond frond located just to the right of center. At f/1.2, the depth of field is so narrow that none of the other plants are actually in focus!

This last photo was intended to test deep focus. However, when shot at f/1.2, the depth of field was still so shallow that te actual focus point ended up being near the back of the trees in the background. I need to go do more tests on the infinity focus but I am not too worried about infinity focus since I do not expect to use the lens for that type of shot. Plus stopping down just a little expands the depth of field.

Overall, I am very pleased with the c-mount lens and Nikon 1 combination. The J1 and J2 do not have electronic viewfinders – only LCD back panels. For 3D shooting, that is fine as I want to see both cameras at the same time. However, if I were to use the Nikon 1 for 2D still shooting, I would probably prefer the V1, V2 or the said to be coming soon, V3 cameras. The V series is like the J series but with EVF and hot shoe, and slightly larger body.

It is amazing to be able to shoot photos like this with such a tiny camera and lens combination compared to shooting FF cameras. I prefer small cameras. Since I mostly shoot 3D, I am often carrying 2 or 3 pairs of cameras and the weight gets old after a while!

For more examples of what c-mount lenses can do for mirrorless cameras, check out this web site. Once upon a time, c-mount lenses were very inexpensive. But since the popularity of mirrorless cameras – micro 4/3ds, Nikon 1, Sony NEX and the Blackmagic Cinema pocket camera (4k video!) – the market for c-mount lenses has taken off. Bargains are tougher to find now but they can be found if patient. Still, a $100-$200 c-mount lens is a lot cheaper than a new $1500 m43 lens that does about the same thing 🙂

3D Tech, Cameras

Nikon 1 J1 J2 compact mirrorless cameras

February 23, 2014 3DM

I recently sold off some older gear that I no longer use. At the same time I went looking for a smaller camera form factor for my 3D work. I already shoot smaller Lumix GH-2 pairs but sometimes I want smaller than that, and especially to place the lens centers closer together for a narrow interaxial.

I explored a lot of options, starting from thinking I wanted something like the Canon s110 or s120. But after building up a spreadsheet of cameras, camera features, and the features I needed, I ended up picking up some “used” Nikon 1 cameras. (“used” because the J2 was in a factory sealed box, so go figure.) The J1 and the J2 are the same camera, for the most part, except that the J2 has twice the resolution on the LCD back panel. Neither camera has an eye viewfinder (need the V1 or V2 for that). But when I am shooting 3D, I use the back panels almost exclusively so I can look at both cameras at the same time.

I will eventually write up more about the decision process that led to the Nikon 1 system cameras (small size, interchange-able lenses, decent low light performance) versus alternatives. And I will eventually do a write up about their use in 3D. This may be a while so do be patient! I am a huge fan of mirrorless – small, light weight means everything to me. At this point, I would not consider a mirror-based “DSLR” (keep in mind I am primarily a video shooter).

The two still photos, below, were taken with the J2 yesterday. Both were shot in RAW mode and processed in Lightroom. Both photos really used the RAW mode to advantage due to the wide dynamic range of these scenes.

On this hike I shot 3D video using paired Lumix GH-2s, and carried the J2 around my neck for “snap shots”. I am very pleased with the results. Very pleased.

The video tests I have shot with the Nikon 1 more than meet my expectations. Because I am primarily a 3D video shooter, video quality is important to me. When I looked online at Nikon 1 samples, most of what was posted was junk. Junk as in very poorly shot, shaky handheld, whip pans type of video, wrong shutter speeds, etc. I found only one video (hosted on a personal web site, not Youtube or Vimeo or DailyMotion) that was shot properly to show off the camera’s capability.

The main limitation is the stock kit lens – 10-30mm, starting at f/3.5. It’s a slow lens. And the slowest video shutter speed is 1/60th of a second, not 1/30th of a second. That means video night scenes are pushed to ISO 3200. Ick. The solution is to get a fast lens. Nikon sells one, reasonably priced, at f/1.8. It’s also possible to use various fast Super 16mm film camera lenses as the Nikon 1 sensor size is about the same size as the 16mm frame size. There are lots of f/1.2, f/1.3 c-mount lenses that work well. More on that topic another day too!