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Big thanks to the SnapKnot wedding photography directory for offering this great camera giveaway!
Wanna win a Nikon D800 or Canon 5DMkIII?
My New Epiphanie London Camera Bag
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
I can't believe my luck! I won an Epiphanie London camera bag in their video sharing contest! I got the bag today and I want to share my initial impressions. Consider this a first look and I'll do a more in depth review later once I've got some use with it.
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
When I found out that I won, I spent quite a while trying to decide which bag I wanted. It came down to the London or the Austin. I finally landed on the London because the ability to use it as a backpack could really come in handy. They're both really good looking, stylish bags, but that feature won me over. The design reminds me of a high end attache, and that's cool.
My first impression upon opening the box was a very positive one. The bag came in a nice dust cover bag that I may use for storage if I need to. It's a nice touch that keeps the bag from getting scuffed in shipping and could really come in handy if the situation arises.
When I got the bag out of the dust cover, I was happy to find that the materials feel like they're of high quality. The leather is synthetic, but doesn't feel at all cheap. To the contrary, it feels like it's made to last and is top shelf. I used to work in a pocket book factory after I got out of high school. I got to see top quality handbags made up close and this bag reminds me of them. The stitching and seams are perfect and really impresses me.
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
The antique brass finished hardware looks really good, too and compliments the leather nicely.
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
The bag came with four panels, two long and two short. That is very nice because as you can see, I have a use for both sizes.
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
That's my Sony NEX-5N, Fujica AX-3, and Yashica LM TLR. On one end, where the short panels are, I have the 16mm NEX lens, flash, extra battery, and memory card with the short panel folded over it and on the other I have several rolls of film.
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
It's got a spot for a 17" laptop, but I won't be hauling mine around. It's nice to be able to stick my Kindle in there though. The padding is a nice thickness on the interior and the material it's made from is soft. There isn't any slackness due to too much fabric being used in the lining of the bag, which is great. It's just another check mark in the quality build column. The attention to detail really shows in the small places that you wouldn't normally look.
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| From Epiphanie London Camera Bag |
Here's all the gear I had loaded in this bag, and it wasn't even full! This bag will allow me to carry film cameras along with my digital which is something I haven't been able to do. My other bag is one that I re-purposed into a camera bag and that limited me quite a bit. I could only carry one camera and one lens at a time. Sometimes that's OK, but often I found myself wishing for what I didn't have with me.
I'm really in love with this Ephiphanie bag. It's got plenty of room for what I want to carry, it's very well made with quality materials, and it's a very good looking design. I can't wait to take it out shooting!
Goodnight Sweet Lady
Mrs Linda Beckum was my great aunt. The funny thing about that was that I never
met her until I was in high school and I was one of her students. I had her as my teacher for 12th grade English
and she was my home room teacher my senior year. She was such a remarkable woman in so many
ways.
Her wit and shining intelligence could've been intimidating
but she was so kind and charming that it never was. She was a brilliant teacher that always made
you feel as though you could accomplish whatever task was laid before you. She never seemed to take herself too
seriously and that put her students at ease.
(Everybody remember the Viking helmet for Beowulf?)
In my senior year, thanks to Mrs Sara Dupree, I competed in
the Literary competition in our area for Extemporaneous Speaking. Aunt Linda encouraged me and allowed me to
practice on her classes and it was such an immense help. I didn't win, but I felt confident in my
attempt, thanks to her and Mrs Dupree.
That seemingly small thing has helped me immeasurably through my
secondary education and professional life.
I was truly blessed to know her and be touched by her
influence. She will be sorely missed by
everyone who ever knew her and their lives will forever be enriched because of
her.
From the Leaves of Gold book that she gave me:
Do not keep the alabaster box of your love and friendship sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them, and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier. The kind things you mean to say when they are gone, say before they go.
— George W. Childs
Sony NEX-5 vs NEX-5N ISO/Image Quality Test
I wanted to see the difference in the ISO capabilities and image
quality of the NEX-5 and NEX-5N, so I set up a tripod and shot a series
of shots from each in RAW+JPEG to see the differences. I chose a scene
in my house to show color reproduction and detail that also had some
straight lines to also show distortion from the 18-55mm kit lens. I used
Program mode and just adjusted the ISO. I left the lens at 18mm for each shot.
First, is the NEX-5's Auto JPEG. I corrected for lens distortion in Lightroom. The NEX-5 chose ISO 800, 1/30 at f/3.5.
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| From 5 test |
Here's the 5N's Auto JPEG. I didn't have to correct anything since the 5N has built in distortion correction on JPEGs. The 5N chose ISO 2000, 1/60 at f/4.0.
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| From 5n test |
Just to show the barrel distortion, here's the auto JPEG from the 5 without lens correction.
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| From 5 test |
I did the lens correction for the remaining shots.
Here's the 5's Auto shot in RAW.
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Here's the 5N's Auto shot in RAW.
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ISO 100 JPEG from 5N. The 5's ISO sensitivity starts at 200, so nothing to compare here, but I just wanted to include it.
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ISO 100 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 200 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 200 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 200 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 200 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 400 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 400 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 400 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 400 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 800 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 800 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 800 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 800 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 1600 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 1600 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 1600 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 1600 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 3200 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 3200 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 3200 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 3200 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 6400 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 6400 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 6400 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 6400 RAW from the 5N.
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ISO 12800 JPEG from the 5.
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ISO 12800 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 12800 RAW from the 5.
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ISO 12800 RAW from the 5N.
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That's where the 5's ISO sensitivity tops out. The 5N continues though.
ISO 25600 JPEG from the 5N.
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ISO 25600 RAW from the 5N.
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| From 5n test |
I hope this is helpful to someone!
I just want to take this opportunity to thank Amin Sabet from the Talk NEX forums for the NEX-5N giveaway that allowed me to have the NEX-5N. I really love the camera and the community of those forums!
Georgia National Fair 2011
We went to the Georgia National Fair Friday and had a mini Photowalk. These are all from my NEX-5 and most from the 18-55mm kit zoom.
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| From 2011 Fair Day |
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My half eaten pork chop sandwich. It was awesome.
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| From 2011 Fair Day |
