Nikon D3s DSLR

cambodia, cameras, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures

A few months ago, on a whim, I picked up a well-used but still perfectly functioning Nikon D3s. This was a camera I had always desired but could never afford (at over $5000 when new). It’s a heavy old beast with a FF sensor of only 12MP. My current Fuji cameras have twice that, but does it matter to me.

Why would I choose to go backward I am sure a few people would ask. I had a few Nikkor lenses that I used with my Nikon D2HS and wanted to try these out just for fun. After getting the camera set up to use in the way I like I was really impressed with the results. Yes a little more care had to be taken with composition and framing due to the size of the sensor, but the results impressed me.

My first experiments with the old Nikkors that I had impressed me so much I started looking around at other lenses. I ended up buying, very reasonably from Japan, a Nikon 85mm f1.8D and locally a 50mm f1.8G both of which give satisfying results and great bokeh.

The thing I did notice was the AF ability which certainly was really fast and accurate, in some instances faster that my new fujis. The added weight I did not find to be a problem in shooting just in carrying it around for long periods. The weight seemed to stabilise it with in built stabilisation.

The lenses I picked up could only be described as Nikkor and were contrasty and sharp even wide open which was no less than I would have expected.

This is a 12-year-old camera and in some ways, its functions are definitely lagging behind the new breed of mirrorless as would be expected, but it is still more than capable of taking superb quality images. Do I regret purchasing it, as my son says NO WAY !!!!

Kids Dental Service is a Voluntary Effort.

cambodia, cameras, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, Travel, voluntary

The new incarnation of KIDS International Dental Services was first brought to Cambodia by Dr Bob Renner and now trying to re-emerge from Covid restrictions, under new leadership, to bring Dental volunteers teams to Cambodia again.

The fundamental mission of Kids International Dental Services (KIDS) is to provide pro-bono dental care to impoverished children in developing countries. Other aspects of our mission include: (a) providing a platform for young dental professionals to perform community service world wide, (b) providing an opportunity for young adults to part take in social service and encourage them to innovate projects to serve disadvantaged youths in developing areas of the world.

A Trip to Kampot, Cambodia

cambodia, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel, Uncategorized

Kampot is a city in southern Cambodia and the capital of Kampot Province. It is on the Praek Tuek Chhu River southeast of the Elephant Mountains and around 5 km from the Gulf of Thailand. Kampot was the capital of the Circonscription Résidentielle de Kampot under French rule and Cambodia’s most important seaport after the loss of the Mekong Delta and before the establishment of Sihanoukville. Its centre is, unlike most Cambodian provincial capitals, composed of 19th-century French colonial architecture. The region and town are known for high-quality pepper, which is exported worldwide. It is also known for its Kampot fish sauce, and durian. The government and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Art have been preparing documents to nominate The Old Town of Kampot for admission to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 2017.

In recent years since 2010s, Kampot has been subject to extensive tourism development with the development of a tourism port worth US$8 million under the Kampot Provincial Tourism Department’s master plan. The development of the tourism port includes the construction of a 42-storey multi-purposed twin tower which will be the tallest building in Cambodia outside Phnom Penh when completed; widening and improvements to National Road No. 3; a seaport that carries passengers to and from nearby Cambodian islands, Thailand and Vietnam

According to the 2012 census, the population of the municipality of Kampot is 49,597. Historically, there has been an important presence of Khmers of Chinese descent in Kampot. Recent years have seen an important inflow of foreigners, European, Vietnamese, and Chinese. A significant part of the population is Cham, a minority Muslim group. The Sa’och tribe, an ancient population group in the province, is on the brink of extinction, however.

Sadly the worse thing about Kampot is the private ZOO situated about 20 km from the center of the city. It house wild animals, as seen above, in very bad conditions, small roughly made cages will little thought to the needs of a living creature. I would advise not to visit this until things, hopefully, change.

The PEOPLE are Kampots attraction as is the remaining Colonial architecture.

Fun with Nikon

cameras, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel, Uncategorized

Picked up an old but babied Nikon D3s. Could never afford one when it was new but this was going for a very reasonable price so I treated myself for Christmas. I had a few Nikon lenses that I used with my Nikon D2Hs so I thought I would give it a try.

Of course my first love are my Fujifilm cameras and lenses but this camera is still very capable. I have since buying it added a few prime Nikon lenses that again were very reasonable price, older, like the camera, but still excellent.

It took a little time to get it set up the way I wanted for my picture-taking style but now that is done it is very easy to use, if a little heavy, and is capable of some excellent images with a little, and I mean a little, work in post. The lenses I chose and used for the pictures seen here, where the Nikon 50mm f1.8G and the 85mm f1.8D. If I were not a dedicated Fuji user I could see me using this as my daily camera.

Photography is not about gear.

cameras, Fujichrome, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel, Uncategorized

To me, photography is not about the gear you use to make an image but about the image you make. Yes, it is nice to use a beautiful camera and a superb lens but if you get stuck on that merry-go-round your pictures may suffer. The old saying ” the best camera is the one you have with you” holds true. I always have tried to use what I think is the best camera, that I can afford because it pleases me, but it does not have to be the most expensive on the market. These days ALL cameras can make good images.

Taking photographs is about the ability to see an image using the equipment you have at hand, be that an iPhone or a Leica or any one of a hundred cameras in between.

Learning to see and anticipate is much more important than the actual camera you may choose to use. Each of the images here was taken with a different camera, either Canon, Nikon or Fuji, can you tell which I know I could not if I did not already know.

Certain types of photography such as sports or wildlife demand the use of certain types of equipment, long prime or zoom lenses, for obvious reasons, it would be next to impossible to shoot these kinds of subjects with a traditional point and shoot camera. These professional genres demand the use of professional equipment but this does not outweigh the skill of the photographer, knowing the game or the animal enables he/she to anticipate shots.

Specialised equipment is not always needed, and is not always available as with the pictures of the surfer which were taken with a Fujifilm X Pro2 mounted with the only long lens I had with me the XF 50mm f2. Placing yourself in the best position (on the pier closest the action) and with a little good anticipation (and judicious cropping in post) you can still make some good images.

Its is not always about equipment or camera but more about the skill of the photographer to know how and when to make the image.

Fuji XF 56mm f1.2

fujifilm, Lenses, pictures, street

Viltrox 23mm f1.4

cambodia, fujifilm, Lenses, photography, pictures, street, viltrox

A great lens and a fab price.

Variation of themes in Photography

fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, street, Travel

Taking all kinds of pictures presents different challenges every time you use a camera. What do I want to say with the image, what lens should I use for best effect, is the image viable, ethical and possible.