Mathieu

Photoshow 2013 – Hands-on with the new Canon EOS 100D/Rebel SL1: Is it a mirrorless killer?

24/03/2013 By Mathieu Leave a Comment

Yesterday, we spent the entire day at the Photoshow in Milan, which is the most important here in Italy. It was a great occasion to test mirrorless cameras we have yet to review, as well as to see many new products that will hit the market in the days to come. But our first article from this event isn’t about mirrorless cameras at all, but a possible mirrorless competitor …

Experimenting with the Fuji X20: A Homemade Macro Test

21/03/2013 By Mathieu Leave a Comment

Update: Check out our x20 full review, Photoshow gallery, Advanced mode test, and high ISO test.

Yesterday, we published the very first pictures taken with the Fujifilm x20 the day the camera arrived. Tonight, back at home, I was inspired to play around with the macro mode. The important thing was to find something small and detailed to photograph, so I turned to my old collection of Formula 1 cars, as I was a big Ayrton Senna fan when I was little. I took three of them, and put them in different positions on our dining room table.

After placing the camera on a tripod, I set the ISO to 100 and the macro mode to Super Macro. There are two modes on the X20, the Macro and Super Macro mode. The first one lets you use a little bit more focal range, while the second lets you focus in really close. However, it is restricted to only the widest angle and flash is disable. With the Super Macro mode, the X20 can focus really close at its widest angle, around 1 cm.

In-Depth Review of the Panasonic GH3 for Video: Episode 1 – Chaos&Cosmos

14/03/2013 By Mathieu Leave a Comment

N.B.: only two images aren’t shot with the GH3 in the video below. There are actually JPGs of paintings inserted into the video (min 1.36 and 2.09).

My first experience with large sensor cameras didn’t start with HDSLRs unlike many of my colleagues in the filmmaking industry. Rather, it began with Micro Four-Thirds and the Panasonic AF101. At the time, it was the only alternative to DSLRs. I still use that camera for my work because it has all the proper features you’d want from a professional camcorder: XLR inputs, ND filters, and so on. But now the AF101’s sensor is old (the same as the GH1), and Panasonic doesn’t seem to be planning any substantial updates for this camera at the moment.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review: Small body, big quality!

07/03/2013 By Mathieu 10 Comments

Update: check out also our article about using the OM-D E-M5 as a primary camera for work!

N.B.: This article is a complete review of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and includes excerpts from the First Impressions Review and the Low Light Performance Review.

When one writes a camera review, it is standard procedure to reveal the conclusion at the end of the article. In this case, however, I want to drop all suspense and start by saying that I really fell in love with the Olympus OM-D E-M5, so much that I would consider substituting my DSLR with it for some work I do. The reason is simple: it has great image quality (both dynamic range and low-light) in a compact body while remaining powerful in terms of speed, auto-focusing and processing. Think I’ve let my heart run away with my head? Read the article, and, as always, let the pictures be the judge!

Alessia: An Olympus OM-D E-M5 Portrait Session

05/03/2013 By Mathieu 11 Comments

Last weekend, my dear friend and great Italian actress Alessia Olivetti asked me to do a short portrait session as she needed to update her portfolio with new photographs. I seized the opportunity to work with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 coupled with the M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 and the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95, which my collegue Marco Iozzo was kind enough to lend me for a couple of days. I love to shoot portraits with natural lighting, so we took to the streets of Turin to carry out the session.