Our holiday is officially over—I’m getting ready to head north for the first leg of an intensive three-conference/meeting rally which won't see me back in the UK until the beginning of July. Luckily, I have my Surface Pro 3 with me (I really need to finish my review), my trusty RX1, and of course, my A7R.
I feel as though I am using the A7R more at the moment, though that might just be because I went to the effort of bringing it (and a few lenses) with me, and thus feel more inclined to use it. Or is it because I prefer the different focal lengths? Recently I have been shooting with 28mm and loving the field of view and high contrast from the Distagon, but the 35mm Sonnar on the RX1 is exquisite and probably the best lens I own. There's really not much in it. If I want to travel as light as possible, it is RX1. If I want one or more lenses at focal lengths other than 35mm, then it's the A7R.
Incidentally, I had no idea there were so many different types of hibiscus.
Not my best photo, but I was pleased I managed to freeze this butterfly mid flight. Same with the photo below, actually!
The Distagon (first butterfly photo) and Sonnar (second butterfly photo) do render differently, though these photos were taken in different locations and days, with different lighting conditions.
This morning I read a review of the new Leica Q. Upon finishing the review, I thought; "I would definitely like one of those!", and I do. Will I get one? Right now, it is very unlikely for a few reasons (house purchase being the main one). Then I started thinking about that famed camera, the Ricoh GR V. An APS-C camera with 28mm equivalent focal length and no AA filter results in some of the crispest files I have ever seen. The camera is damn small, too. Though I would miss the bokeh from the RX1, the GR would probably outdo the RX1 for the majority of the type of shots I tend to take. I really don't need the A7R and a bag of lenses, but I do enjoy using different focal lengths and experimenting with different scenes.
I've read many times that sticking to one focal length and shooting style will help give your photography an identity. I agree with this. If I shot exclusively in black and white, with my RX1 only, I imagine that I would create a "signature" look. Perhaps I could achieve fame and fortune (I would only want the latter) with such an approach. Perhaps, but it's unlikely. What's more likely, is that I would improve in that particular style far quicker by reducing all of the ancillary noise one gets from chopping and changing lenses and letting the camera "get in the way". However, the flip side, is that by experimenting with different focal lengths I am finding which lengths I prefer (I didn't know I would like 28mm until I tried it...), and I can also try to define which looks (rendering, high-key, low-key, noise, composition) I prefer. I would already say that I prefer wide-angle lenses, simply by looking at my lens collection. This is a little interesting, as many people prefer lenses of 50mm and above for obvious reasons (easier to exclude objects from the frame, blur them with bokeh, and less concerns over distortion). However, I have brought both a 50mm and 60mm lens with me on this trip, and have used them, so stay tuned!