Photonic Shunkan

After months of thought, it's time to say it: Fujifilm are right to call a 4433 format camera, "Large Format". Fujifilm copped a lot of flak for using that term, but there are good reasons why they are ahead of the curve in pushing for nomenclature change. In fact, it wasn't so much Fujifilm but DPR who pushed them in this direction. I draw your attention to DPR's write up of an interview with Fujifilm at CP+ in March 2019: https://www.dpreview.com/interviews/8410636142/cp-2019-fujifilm-interview-we-want-to-show-photographers-the-future Highlights are my own. Quotation from the article, including photo, here considered "fair use" as we are critically examining the statements made in it. As you can see it's DPR that keeps leading the discussion asking about "large formats". Later DPR states: "many of our questions at CP+ were focused on the GFX 100 and on Fujifilm's large-format strategy in general...". Fujif...

Man is the measure of all things, so said the Greek philosopher, Protagoras. At least when we compare the size of animals we compare them with ourselves to get a sense of their relative scale. The size of an average adult becomes the standard size reference point. The comparative size of a human = 1. What about cameras? A commonly used standard comparative reference point is the 35mm format camera after it was popularised by the Leica I released in 1925. The odd thing about this comparison is that some people refer to a 35mm format camera as being "full frame". The reason for this is that its comparative size is set at relative size = 1. This makes it a 100% sized camera and hence "full frame". This is like saying that a human being is a full frame animal because its comparative size is set at 1, making it a 100% sized creature. Large circle: 640mm diameter of the LSST space telescope's digital sensor Civilian digital camera sensor formats shown for c...

When I first started shooting with an interchangeable lens camera, I chose a Canon and considered myself a Canon shooter for a long time. These days I shoot more Fujifilm, both the X and the GFX Systems. I have kept the Canon EF mount system because there are so many lenses you can't get for Fuji mounts. Today, I would discuss how the field vs studio camera difference  that we previously discussed comes into play in practice. Of late I have been shooting a lot of macro work after making friends with Kiki the neighbourhood brushtail possum! They are encountered often in suburbia here in Australia. Here's a little link to the story on Instagram . Kiki is quite the Fujifilm fangirl. When she sees my camera, she comes rushing down from the treetops to say hello. She is fascinated by the Fujifilm camera and goes right up to it, sniffing it and touching it with her hands. There were issues I had with shooting this scene. The biggest one comes from the fact that poss...

A field system is for sports, wildlife, reportage, and street photography. A studio system is for more methodical use in ideal light situations where portability is less of an issue. As with all dichotomies, the margins are always blurred, but I see this as a good thing. For some, the field is the studio, and Ansel Adams did take his large format camera out into Yosemite. I still find the term "field" vs "studio" camera to be a useful distinction for the purposes of discussion. The most interesting phenomenon today is that we can squeeze much better quality out of much smaller formats. The basic field camera in everyday use today is the phone camera. Today, M4/3 and APS-C cameras are maturing into remarkably highly resolving field systems. It used to be that 35mm format was considered a low resolution field system that compromised on image quality for ergonomic gain. You could even buy a disposable 35mm camera at souvenir shops at tourist spots (and nobody t...

It looks like Hasselblad are up to it again in trying to pre-empt Fuji in releasing a new model. The last time, they released the X1d ahead of the GFX50s even though Hasselblad had no previous experience with mirrorless cameras. The end result was a Hasselblad beta model rushed into production in an effort to steal the limelight from Fuji. The Chinese DJI owned firm didn't even manage to incorporate live exposure preview when first released. Now Hasselblad appear to be rushing a new model into production with the same 100MP Sony 4433 (44 x 33mm) medium format BSI sensor that Fuji intend to use on their GFX100. As yet too little is known about the specs of either of the two new bodies. So far the Fuji GFX system has proven to be the one that has made the biggest impact in the marketplace. It is looking like medium format has returned to the mainstream of photography once more. So much so that 35mm format can no longer be called "full frame". In fact, Phase One calls its ...

Welcome to my new photography blog, Photonic Shunkan フォトニック瞬間. In Japanese "shunkan" (瞬間) means "the moment" because photography is about capturing the fleeting moment in light. I am from Tokyo but my blog is international, so I will post mostly in English. English speaking photographers will find this a gateway to the discussions on photography found in Japanese. There will also be the occasional brief blog in Japanese too. I shoot mainly portraits but there is also travel photography and sometimes animals too. I am mostly a Fujifilm shooter (both the X system and GFX system), but you'll find shots from Canon and Sony A mount systems too. You can find my portfolio on 500px: https://500px.com/sator I hope you find something interesting here. Satoru