Blizzard Of 2011

Prospect Park 2011. Camera: Olympus EP2 with Panasonic 14-140mm F4-5.8 lens

Williamsburg Bridge 1985

Back in 80's I specialized in panoramic images. Here is an image made with a 35mm Roundshot
360 degree camera.

Leica M8-2 Street Sense

I was editing images for a wedding album and found some unedited images I made last summer using my Leica M8-2. Here are a few samples. This images are part of future personal project about the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. I lived there in the 80's when it was a urban waste land of empty lots, burned out abandoned cars, wild dogs and naked prostitutes working Kent Avenue. Now it is a Mecca for young artist, musicians, filmmakers and cooler than cool hipsters. I will post 80's images in future posts.

Sony NEX-5

The new Sony NEX-5 are now available. I have been using the camera for a couple of days and find it extremely convenient for street shooting . I used a 16mm F2.8 (24mm equivalent). It is like having lens mounted on your hand. Very cool indeed. In my quest for the perfect digital compact camera, I find the Sony new contender. Let's see what the future holds for this new toy!

Sony has a new toy for us serious street shooters. The NEX-3 and NEX-5. I just go my hands on a NEX-3 body with a 16mm F2.8 (24mm in 35mm). I will give you more info as I learn how to use it.
READ THE BOOK JOSE! For those numbers freaks you can find more info on the internet. Excuse me while I go out and USE the the camera.

I took advantage of the Olympus EP-2's image vibration reducer for this shot. I used a Nikon
180mm F2.8 lens with Novaflex MFT/Nikon Converter. Hand held at 1/25th of a second, shot at 3200 ISO. Tough lighting!

Brooklyn Summer Sunset

I have been using my older 180mm F2,8 MF Nikkor extensively the past few evenings.
Great piece of class. Here is a sunset study.

I was going through a few of my old Billingham bags this past weekend and discovered a old Nikkor 180mm F2.8 telephoto lens. I used this lens on my F2 and F3 bodies back in the 80's.
I also found a TC-14A tele-converter.

I mounted the lens with the converter on my Olympus EP-2. This combination gave me a 504mm F 4 telephoto. What a great combo! This is an sample image done with the combo.

I also like the new Hasselblad HD40.......

This portrait was made with Olympus EP-2 combined with 40's barrel lens/Hasselblad extention tube/Novoflex Nikon to MFT adapter.

Old lenses can produce some very interesting images on digital cameras. I have experimenting with older, non-coated, low-contrast lenses for about 15 years. Recently I found an old no-brand barrel lens that had been converted to Nikon. The lens does not have infinity focus so I use it only for portraits and close-up work. So if you happen to come across an old lens in a yard sale, check it out and for a couple of bucks you might have found a "gem"!

Novoflex makes adapters for Micro 4/3 rd Cameras to use Nikon and Leica M lenses on the Olympus EP and Panasonic GF1 bodies. Obviously the lenses only focus manually, but will meter automatically. FYI they are very easy to focus. I love the warmth and luminosity of the the Ziess glass.

Tip of the day: On a bright contrasty day...Go long...Go Deep and don't worry what lurks in the shadows.

Image shot with Leica V-Lux 20 at full zoom (300mm).
Great camera with exception that it does not have RAW.

copyright: Jose Gaytan 2010

Contax Zeiss lens modifed for Canon

I have the pleasure of working with a 85m f1.4 Contax lens on my Canon 1DS MKII body. The lens was originally designed for the Contax NX system. Zeiss lenses have a very appealing warmth to them. Here is a recent test image.

Big California Skies

Portrait shot Olympus EP with Panasonic 45mm macro lens. MFT format.

Looking For The Perfect JPEG

Hello To All Fellow Camera Junkies,

This blog is simply an image blog which I will use to post and share all the most current cameras available on the market place. As a dealer/photographer, I am in a unique position. I am Pro Product manager for 17th Photo in NYC. Besides selling many of newest cameras, I use them.
I am a Camera Junkie! For better or for worst, I enjoy using all cameras, from point and shoots to the high end digital backs. I am also a digital workflow specialist. I love to print!

I hope you enjoy the show...

Regards,
Cisco The Camera Junkie