BangkokImages

I have one of the very first x100's and continue to love it. If I may offer some thoughts and suggestions?

1. When coming from a DSLR it's natural to compare it's performance to a DSLR and this makes for many unhappy customers (because it's not a DSLR and doesn't contain all of it's systems). Keep in mind this is a relatively new genre (mirrorless) of camera which is still in the process of defining itself. There will be compromiseis to get that small light feeling.

2. Only use Fuji batteries (not the cheap generics) and cycle their charge a few times and you should be up to 200-250 images per charge without problem. More than enough for this style of camera.

3. Ya, burst shooting ties up the camera, but not being a DSLR it doesn't have the processor power/speed.

4. Your front lit portrait. Whenever exposure mode of the x100 or an DSLR (most are using dynamic exposure mode which divides the sensor up into segments (with the Nikon it's 1005 segments for example) taking a reading from each segment, and then the computer compares these readings against a database which holds (depending on camera model) 50,000-120,000 scenaries and then picks what it thinks to be the most appropriate one. You can vary from a dynamic exposure on the x100 using the super convenient Ev (exposure compensation) dial on the right of the top panel by up to two stops. If this isn't enough compensation many get stuck. All you have to do is put the camera in spot metering mode (where it meters the center 8% of the frame) and allow the camera to meter directly off the face of the subject vs. the entire scene. This will be a direct light vs. exposure reading, and not a dynamic light vs. database reading.. and will provide a very accurate exposure of the face while letting the background do what it will within the dynamic range of it's sensor. And with the x100 you have several compressed dynamic range settings to try.

5. Autofocus is known to be slow. You can improve autofocus quite a bit by understnading how it works and taking advantage of it's strengths. For instance, you can change the size of the autofocus sensor squares you seee in the viewfinder. I think at the time of it's release only the x100 offered this feature. Very handy for adjusting sensor size to subject matter. Also, update your firmware. Fuji has improved AF several times now via firmware upgrades. Lastely, look for vertical contrast splits and intentionally place the AF sensor on these splits for a fast autofocus. A step not necessary for most DSLR's unless you're in very low light.. but it's not a DSLR so anything to helo along it's short comings is helpful.

6. I wrote a short article here on how save a bit using a generic filter adapter and hoodwhich you can't tell from the real one. A writer on my site wrote about using his x100 (actually MY x100) on his last trip to China and includes some great tips on it's use. And then he followed it up with a more complete review here.

7. It's a great little camera with superb image quality. Day or night it's sure to please. I hope you found this post helpful.

Some very useful information here, now that we have been in the world of digital cameras for some time now, I didn't realise how important the memory cards are.

I just thought they came in various sizes, but speed and quality and beware the counterfeits,

The main emphasis is to buy your cards from a reputable dealer, how do airport shops fare if you buy a camera at the airport, can one trust that a memory card bought there as well will be OK?

There is just so much good info on this forum.

This is a good question. I suppose I'd look at the store, is it an independent or a chain. I can see it being a great opportunity for an independent to push counterfiets being an airport shop.. but a store from a reputable chain I doubt it.

I didn't want to leave people with the impression 100% of the cards for sale out ther are counterfiet. But a good number are. And Lexar and Sandisk both have sections on their site showing you how to tell a real from a counterfiet.

Another posted recommend Lexar, Sandisk and Transcend. I don't care for Transcend. I used to and because of this I found myself with 5-6 of them at one point.. and then they started breaking. Weird stuff too. Like the case halves separating because the glue gave.. or controllers letting you write by not read, or read but not write. and since I've been doing workshops I can't count the number of times a student had a problem with their camera and it turned out to be a Transcend card. With all that said, I'll still get them for non-critical devices if the price is really really good. But only Sandisk goes in my cameras or gear I depend on.. Lexar left a bad taste in the mouths of Canon uses a few years back but I haven't forgotten how they handled it.. so while I can't think of one 'real' reason I wouldn't buy Lexar or consider them in the top 3, I still have only used Sandisk for the last seven years.. and until they leave a bad taste I won't be moving from them.

" .... if anyone knows someone who wants to make a bit of extra money during this period."

If you pay for the use of a vehicle it must have rental insurance. Regular insurance will NOT be valid.

This is nice to know.

Does anyone have contact information for reliable car rental? Any referrels would be appreciated.

I'm going to be in the Kingdom from June 22nd through July 20th and I need a super or double cab pickup, SUV, Van, or mid-size car during that time. It should be clean (or should clean up well if I have it done), very safe, reliable, and have cold air. I don't really care if it's an auto or stick. I'll only be using it for approximately 15 photography workshops with one client in the car at a time, all in the local area. The rest of the time it will be in an enclosed carpark at my condo. I have my own GPS and Easy Pass and have been driving in the Kingdom for over a decade. I'm looking for something in the baht 15,000 range if anyone knows someone who wants to make a bit of extra money during this period.

Thanks.

It is a real pleasure, BangkokImage reading your very informative posts, composed with seemingly ease !

It is also a pleasure to see how generously you are sharing knowledge and experience.

You LIVE photography with images and words!

Thank you. I hope I was able to shed some light on your question.

Photography is a gift..

Perhaps the important word is "speed" rather than "quality". Quality should be OK if you buy good brand, but every brand offers different write speeds and shooting video (especially HD) will require a fast card. A fast card can also help with stills photography by clearing the buffer more quickly than a slower card.

You hit on an interesting area. You're right in that given 'like brands' speed becomes the issue to pay attention to rather than quality.

What makes this interesting is that memory cards have a manufacturer specific 'controller' on each card. The success of reliability on the cards comes down to two things. 1. The physical quality of the memory chips themselves. and 2. The quality of the controller which is a firmware based set of instructions.

These controllers are largely what determines the class of the card (assuming the physical memory chips are fast enough for that class) which determines the compatibility of the card in a specific device.

I've found the manufacturers desire to create top quality controllers varies. This is why I only recommend Sandisc and Lexar. I'm sure there are plenty of other great cards, but Sandisc and Lexar consistently puts out a level of controller which can best be described as a professional level.

Each manufacturer also puts out recovery software which can recover images from even a formatted card if it hasn't been written over. How well the recovery software works depends on how well the controller is implemented and how well the recovery software is written to mesh with the controller.

Each manufacturer puts out different lines geared towards a different level of consumer, so we shouldn't assume all Sandisc/Lexar/others are created the same. There is a stringent 'weeding out' process which results in the best physical chips from the same batch.. being designated to build the top quality cards. Chips from the same batch could find themselves in a manufacturers slowest/cheapest product, or their best top product (with the newest class, highest speed, best controllers, and best external casing) depending on how they test. Manufacturers don't make a batch of slow cards and then a batch of fast cards.. the expense is the same. They make their best batch, test it, and then segregate it based on the testing. And most manufacturers don't even make their own chips. There are only a few chip manufacturering plants for each type of memory.. and it's this manufacturer who does the testing and segregates the chips by result.. which are then matched to a manufacturers (Sandisc/Lexar/etc) buy specificiations. It's complicated. The Discovery Channel had a good special on the process not long ago.

They test the chips because as the process is, chips from one part of the batch will test for higher speeds than chips from other parts. Not all chips are born equal. The special goes into the "why."

So.. as consumers we should know the chips all come off the same dies and from the same company, but are tested for speed and then segregated. Manufacturers buy the chips tested to their specs for their specific product. The external casing can vary. The controllers are critical. Buy a card from a company who makes consistently good controllers and recovery software to match. Each device benefits from the latest "class" and "speed" it can handle. It's merely a matter of reading the specs of your device and matching it with the best memory cards available.

I wrote this short piece on memory cards which has some other useful information in response to a readers questions a while back.. the information is still current.

Good information. They left out one realy important thing though. Counterfeit cards. They're a huge problem, especially with the top names and top cards. People have been stung on Ebay as you'd expect, but also on Amazon and Buy.com and other big on-line shopping sites. Sandisc and Lexar both have several pages dedicated to how you can tell if a card is counterfeit which is helpful, but the only way you can tell for sure is to call them and run the numbers. I've personally been stung on Amazon three times, once with one of their associate sellers and twice with the "Amazon LCC." Amazon made good on the two cards but with the associate seller it had passed Amazon's protection period and I waited to check past that.

Now, I only buy my memory cards from the big name camera stores who value their name enough to stand behind their product.

For me it's not so much about getting a counterfeit.. but more about having a card fail during a shoot because it is counterfeit. A $100 card is nothing, a $5000 wedding screwed up can not only cost you the $5000, but also a huge hit on your reputation not to mention how much it sucks for the couple. Be very careful..

Thank you for your comprehensive reply. I am roughly familiar with screen calibration, CMYK for printing with a printing press. I admit, my question was sloppy, didn´t think of printing press but of good photo prints. In the olden days if one printed off slides the dynamic range was limited to, if I remember correctly, 3 f-stops on Cibachrome.

My question was: has that increased, or asked the other way, has photo paper kept up with development ?

I'm afraid it's going to seem like I'm dodging the answer again.. but let's give it a try.

AFAIK traditional chemical photo paper has only made incremental improvements in dynamic range. For anyone following the thread "dynamic range" is defined as the distance between the darkest and lightest pixel (or set of pixels depending on the definition) of the image.

Inkjet papers have only made incremental changes as well, however the printers themselves have made more signficant improvements. Added up they have not kept pace with the increase in dynamic range of modern DSLR's. Even the metallic papers can't keep up.

As you probably know glossy paper will exhibit more DR than say Matte. So you'd process the image differently for each.

As a very general rule the average human eye can discern 14-15 stops, the best camera 10, the best monitor 9, and prints are typically 4-5 stops. I say "very general" because this stuff varies greatly and it's possible for a great monitor to out perform a typical DSLR and so forth.

We're all familiar with "toning" or "tone mapping" in HDR photography? This is where after we combine our images the resultant image looks like garbage. It's not really garbage, it's just that the dynamic range of the un-toned HDR image far exceeds that of the monitor we're viewing it on, and possibly even of our eyes to see it. So, we "tone" the image with the primary purpose of reducing the contrast (dynamic range) so we can see and further process it on our monitors. WIth the best inkjet printer and papers we can sometimes print a greater dynamic range than our monitors can display.. so with great experience we sometimes adjust certain aspects (normally highlights and deep shadows) "in the blind" on our monitors, so we get a higher DR image to print. This requires great experience and care.

And get this.. a cheap monitor with 1000:1 dynamic range might be capable of displaying 10 stops, but we'd never profile a monitor at that contrast setting.. for instance current my NEC LCD2690uxi2's profiled for the web (sRGB) are showing roughly 6 stops, if I change them to ProPhoto 4-5 stops. So the wider the gamut and the more accurate the colors, the less dynamic range.

So.. what the papers/printer can do in relation to the monitor in relation to the camera.. depends on which aspects of the image are important to you. Color accuracy, wide gamut, dynamic range, etc, etc..

I guess I'm trying to say is sure, papers for ink jets are better than ever, but we will probably never realize that gain for the majority of our uses. And that's because camera, monitor, printer, paper.. all have different capabilities but at the same time must work together.. and how they do this depends on which aspects of the image are the most important to us.

Clear as mud eh?

This is more science and technical mojo in this topic than most anything else I can think of in photography.. because it brings all these pieces of equipment together at their higher ends.

On the other hand.. it makes me thing and I've already made several notes on some areas I need to research to make current my personal knowledge in those areas.. so great question!

ThaiPhuket -

I think you meant me @bangkokimages?

This is a huge subject so please allow me to make some bullet statements in response and then I can reply to any of them you ask about.

1. When processing images it's most beneficial to process for your destination. This by itself is a big subject as there are a multitude of destinations, most requiring a different processed image for optimal results. A print requires a very different processing than a web image, as you imply papers are limited and different papers limited in different ways. I'll process a web image differently from a image I print, or differently from a web image or an image I print myself for an image I sent to a print lab. I'll process differently for different print labs. Some clients who will use my work in an advertisement which will be printed in a brochure or magazine require the CMYK colorspace which requires a much different processing as well. So it depends.

2. If you ask why a web image requires a different processing than a print image, part of this is more than the paper. Like paper, the screen has limitations/requirements and there are a multitude of screen types just like papers. The advantage goes to paper because you'll know what paper you're using so you can optimize for that specific paper, but you have no way of knowing what screens or how they'll be set up, so you are more restricted.

3. Your own monitor and how it's profiled will affect all of the above.

4. And obviously, your tastes results in different requirements. By that I mean your taste in capture style, lens, light, your workstation, choice of papers, and artistic preferences all come into play.

5. Ideally, you shoot with a goal in mind. From capture to presentation you make choices which effect small and sometimes big changes.

I think the screens are the most common misunderstood area. I wrote several articles knowing I couldn't cover it all in anything less than a large book.. but I tried to include the most needed information. They might be worth a read:

Monitor Basics

Gamuts, Color Profiling, and the Internet

Good article. Though, Thailand has it's own set of rules it would be interesting to see how much it differs. I've always played it safe and got releases for 100% of any possible commercial subject.. and really, how can you tell when you take a picture if you'll someday get a chance to sell it? If you're in the business of selling images error on the side of caution, if not it's probably not worth the effort. But I always get releases for 100% of glamour/nudes while in Thailand, even when I'm being paid, just because you never know the dynamics of that persons life and what they might have to do/say to explain the images. Or.. if customs or some official manages to get their hands on them god forbid.

One story about releases might be helpful to relay. I was contacted by an NGO in Cambodia who needed pictures of SEA women in rural settings to be used in an abortion phamplet.. basically they were promoting safe abortions over the alternative.

I sarted out offering 200 baht per release, I figured since I knew I was going to make money on this project (and they were picking up expenses) then the subjects should get something. The releases clearly stated the intended use and distribution area (Cambodia).

It turns out 200 baht made them suspicious and many wouldn't sign. So I lowered it to 50 baht and almost everyone signed.

Then.. my Thai assistant asked them to sign for me the next day, and they wouldn't sign for her. But when I asked they would.

It appeared there were deep seated trust issues among Thai's not present with farangs.. a turn you wouldn't expect since normally farangs are distrusted. And, the more you offer the more they think you'll use the images for undesireable purposes.

An interesting experience.

Now.. I keep a clipboard with releases and pen.. and my assistant has it with her at all times and routinely gets releases when I point out I want one. And virtually 100% gladly sign them when you're not offering money. Next time I want to beneift my subjects I'll collect addresses and mail them prints..

Well BKK IMAGE, first of all I love your website , the images are wonderful!

secondly, you came to the same conclusion as David Pogue, Sony Nex is the way to go, for now.

Otherwise I say, David´s article has for sure not only the pro- photographer as his target audience.

But not written for the serious photographer in mind? I don´t see any dumping of conclusion.

Fact is, it is a poor attempt by Canon, too soon.

Quotes from the NYT article

1. Thank you. I hope I don't come off wrong in saying I never get tired of hearing that. We put a lot of work into that site, thought not as much this year as I'd like.

2. I think for most amateurs the Sony NEX is a really solid choice, but some of the OIy's and Panasonic 4/3's systems are quite good and geared towards amateurs. For someone who used to shoot film SLR's the Fuji x100 will bring back memories of solid quality, great optics, and wonderful images. The Fuji xPro1 takes that to an entirely new level. I think it's a mistake to try and say one camera is better for "everybody" than another model, this is rarely the case.. with the Mirrorless genre now in it's 3rd and 4th generations we really have some nice tools available. I'd encourage any potential buyer to carefully examine their shooting style and subjects, what they need in the way of gear to pull that off, and then go through each model and see which fits the best.

3. Absolutely.. he's speaking in general. and in general I think the G1x is a decent enough camera. The lens (I've actually used this camera for a few days and the lens was surprisingly good if still too slow) is decent, image quality is decent, and the only real complaints other than size/ergos are the point and shoot systems. If you are a PNS shooter who wants to improve their lens, image quality, and high ISO performance, but are otherwise happy, the G1x would be worth looking at.

4. You must mean too late.. With as much time as they took to market the G1x you'd expect a lot more. This is their 1st generation mirrorless and others are in their 4th generation. I just don't see it as a poor attempt.. more like a compromised attempt. It wouldn't be my choice, but if someone told me they take slow careful shots of people and landscapes and their PNS works good for them other than for high ISO performance and image quality.. I'd tell them to take a look at the G1x. And several other better executed cameras..

Strange experience i had once..

I'm sitting on board an Emirates A380 at Dubai airport, waiting for the doors to close followed by pushback & then takeoff. One & half hours later - still sat waiting for pushback.

Captain then tells us, 'problem with aircraft, everyone disembark, wait in airport while we attempt to fix it'.

On leaving the plane i snap with my phone a group of guys stood around one the engines, its cover of with some 'fluid' dripping from it onto the concrete below.

Once back inside the departure lounge, i'm swooped on by airport security demanding to see my phone who then make me delete the photo's i've just taken.

If i refused, could have been arrested? detained? who knows..?! Needless to say i complied and deleted the pics.

a photo of a damaged engine or wing could be a huge source of liability for the airport operator even if it's just a snapshot for you. Suppose that plane crashed later and you've got the evidence of faulty equipment. Some authorities would welcome the information

yeah, that's kinda what i've thought ever since... protecting themselves in case something happened with the plane.

I'm sure most businesses, police, etc, would rather not have cameras of any type allowed, but this doesn't necessarily give them the authority to restrict photography/video in a public place such as an airport. I'd guess that one out of a hundred "authorities" who have told me I can't take a picture actually don't have the authority to do so. Most are abusing whatever position they hold.

In an airport the only authorites I'm aware of who has such authority, would be the captain who controls inside his plane only, and the official airport security and even then they should be able to refer to you some refererence granting their authority. Not even the customs officials have this authority even if you're directly filming them, nor screeners, ticket agents, etc.. Many employees just tell you not to take pictures because to them it seems like a good idea, not because they have the right.

But of course, you need to weigh "rights" vs. the reality of abuse by authorities in any given country. Most fo the time it's just not worth it.

Personally I feel individual citizens should have the right to control the use of their image. If anyone asks me to not use their image then I won't. But I won't necessarily ask permission either if it's in a public place. Usually eye contact and observing their expression is enough to know if they're seriously opposed. That should be enough for any photographer.

In Thailand I've got hundreds of examples from the security forces in the deep south to the poppy and citris growers hidden away up north.

More and more business owners tell you no photography. I've had them tell me this when photographing a new television model, a computer, or camera.. since it's their business, even if open to the public, this is their right. But often a white lie will get you permission.. such as you're planning on buying a new "fill in the blank" and you want to send the image to your wife for approval to make sure it's the one she wants.. being creative really helps.

If you do take pictures in restricted areas, and you know the most they'll do if you grab a few is ask you to delete the images.. then a good image recovery software can recover any deleted image.. or any image on a recently formatted card. In areas like the deep south learning to switch cards as they approach and place the desired card in a safe place (I've found an open can of coke is a great place to drop a valuable card when you must have the images)..

Sometimes it's like a game, but other times it's a very serious business.

Please look elsewhere. Thailand doesn't need more "amatuer photographers" running around with their first entry level DSLR trying to pay a few baht to capture the local women nude like a monkey in the zoo..

I didn't know about the prices, I made a mistake, I have done a simple math relation with a seller in a shop, arround 60 bahts/hour, I have thought that 500 bahts/hour would be correct, but I did not know for prices about modeling in Thailand, and we are more arround 1000 to 5000 bahts per hour, but for some more beautiful girls than I've targeted (I was focusing more on the girl next door...)

If some falang consider some girls as monkeys, I'm one of the most defensive for the girls, so I think if you would known me better you would not say that sentence, I'm a bit agree with you in some cases with some photographers

Ooka - I feel I owe you an apology. My mind was spinning not so much on you as an individual, but on my experiences with amateurs in general and I failed to make that clear. I'm sorry.

You will set your own terms and will have the opportunity to be either a positive experence for those you come into contact with, or a negative experience.

I think what you do with your images is much more important to the model than how much she'll be paid, and as long as you're 100% honest with your models about your intended usage, AND you have them sign releases, then you're off to a good start. I have hundreds of such sessions I'd love to use to make a showcase web presence, but I know there are problems with this which might or might not be a problem with your usage designs.

Allow me to run some thoughts by you. In my experience in Thailand there are two major stumbling blocks. And unfortunately they are absolutely necessary if you intended to do practically anything with the images. The first is to explain to the woman you want to put the images on the internet and how they'll be used. You'll need a website with other models on it to give them an honest visual of what you're asking. Or maybe you can show them someone else's site and explain in the future you will make one like this.

I wish you luck with this, but I'm afraid you'll have a very low success rate.

Second, you'll need to get them to sign a release in both languages (English and Thai) and once you put that document in front of them, even if they've agreed, most will stop right there. Of course we're talking about your "girls next door" and not professionals from agencies. Professionals from agencies are accustomed to abiding by their agencies standards using their releases.. but another problem will be that any agency, working with a model at this level, who asks them to sign releases for posing nude wiht the internet as a destination.. has a high chance of not being an ethical company.

I have a lawyer on retainer in Thailand who wrote my releases and because they wrote them, and because they're on retainer, they are prepared to defend them. And to defend them they stipulated strict requirements. I must sign them, the model must sign them, my assistant signs them, and a family member or close friend of the models signs them. Preferrably a parent. Like any legal document, if it's contested, you need to show you entered the contract in good faith and represented your intentions accurately and didn't try to mislead them in any way. And because this is Thailand, if their family has connections the releases can become instantly worthless no matter how much work you've put into making them correct. It's the nature of the local culture.

Now you can start to see the effort necessary to do this legally in a way that protects both parties.. and why most amateurs don't bother. Especially when all this effort can be completed negated by a family with power. And it doesn't take much power, all that's necessary is to have more power than you. This isn't hard because we have none while in Thailand. The most power we have in Thailand is to not stick our head in the lions mouth to begin with.

When you think of a young model who might go home (many young Thai's live at home well into their 30's or longer), maybe they will have remorse, and they tell their conservative parents/uncles/etc.. what they just did,. You could easily put yourself in danger legal releases or not. All of this I've been talking about.. is where knowintg the culture, the language,. and the people becomes very important so you can use your best judgment when evaluating each potential model.

And you can start to see why I don't display this type of imagery on my own site where I'd be asking for trouble, and where my goals/purposes extend further into other areas. The distractions would be severe. And I'd be a sitting target for any crusadar working against a vareity of causes from perceived exploitation to illegal acts. And it wouldn't stop with Thai authorities, you'd get missionaries and other NGO's trying to cause issues for you in your home country. One mistake, one underage girl witih a fake ID, and you could potentially face time in a Thai prison AND then be labeled a sex offender in your home country. All based on someones biased interpretation of my art.

When I ask myself what real benefits I get from displaying such images I come up with very few. Too much risk just to display my work, no real advertising benefits, there's just not much benefit. In fact, I've found there to be benefits to NOT displaying this type of imagery. The best way for a photographer to get these types of shoots, or if a professional - clients who want to be photographed in glamour or nude and will pay to do so.. is to maintain a very low profile with zero risk the authorities will be visiting your studio and examining your files. (there are safeguards against this as well, but another complex discussion area) AND to build this reputation through word of mouth. One happy client who loves their photographs and feels well protected, will recommend you to their girlfriends, who in turn recommends you.. and so on. All of this best happens.. by NOT displaying these images on the internet.

So what do they give permission for when signing releases? A client gives no such permissions, the release protects them. It states I only have permission to capture, process, and manipulate their images to meet their order. That's it. If you asked a paying client for permissions, then you have to give them something such as a free sessions or at least deeply discounted. This works okay in the west, but in Thailand they value their privacy much more. For instance one of my clients is a rich 30ish medical professional with a string of clinics and condos and boats to match. She loves pictures of herself. Her idea of fun is to spend the day modeling in different locations wearing different stuff or not, and pretending she's a professional. But they are only for her. It would be career suicide if these images got out, and maybe that of family members as well. Trust is paramount. Thailand is a very conservative society and you can't forget this for a second.

A model you approach to photograph agrees to permissions you essentially bargain for based on what you can help her feel comfortable with. I'll be very specific, one set of clothed images to be used as samples for a software reivew, inclusion in a specific existing gallery, her own gallery, etc. But what I ask for the most is unresticted access in my actual portfolios, the big heavy book of prints paying clients will use to help them decide on sets, lighting, poses, etc.. Most agree to this because they love the books and want to be part of them, and because they instinctively realize those viewing the books wil be women like them and they won't be going on-line out of control.

A model hired for a specific assignment, I only ask for permissions necessary to work the assignment. No more.

Why do I do this selectively when I could just ask for and in many cases obtain general releases? Because I would get little benefit from doing so. This is Thailand, such imagery could hurt them and bring issues back to me, and as I explained anove I'd get little for my efforts. By not asking for a general release and being selective and maintaining a reputation of honoring my clients requests.. I think I actually derive more benefits.

How much of this can help you or others? Probably just bits and pieces. Our needs are different but maybe by explaining my reasoning it will help you identifiy and address some of yours.

Sorry for the verbosity...

@BangkokImages, I think the above quote was in response to my advice to @ooka about considering professional models. If you reread my comment, you will not find a recommendation for using professional models that work for agencies. Indeed, I would recommend never using agency models unless a client requires it or requests a specific model that is represented by an agency. Most quality models I have known are moving away from agencies unless they are in high fashion which is still pretty much in the stranglehold of agencies. Those that are moving away are doing so for a number of reasons such as more opportunities to work and the ability to control how, when, where, and with whom they work. The agency model is primarily a pre-internet model that is going the way of snail mail over email. Of course, Thailand (and SE Asia in general) is slower to adopt the new model but it is occurring as we speak.

David

This is interesting.. but I can see your point. I've noticed the same about them moving away from agencies, but mostly for models who weren't doing that well and wanted to dip their toes into uncharted waters so to speak. Sadly imo. Not everyone can be a fashion model, and looks are so important in Thai society the draw to being a car show model or whatever.. can seem very attractive at first. This is where knowing how most of these things turn out puts us in a position to advise these relatively inexperienced women. The agenices do indeed have rules and requirements and will drop a model in a second if they work in the wrong venue.

An example story.. I'm sure we all have several. I met a rather crumpled young lady on the street back in 1998. I was just getting started in Thailand at the time, in fact I was here to get my MBA and wasn't actively shooting professionally. I saw facial features and a personality I really liked.. so I hired her as a type of housekeeper, assistant, etc.. and soon she was really enjoying her life. I worked the occassional fashion show as requested by my past employers and she soon learned how to be a really good assistant, she took to lighting in a way few do. As you'd expect it came that I photographed her.. and she was very photogenic. I shopped her around on my own and within months she was making a good 50-90k a month working 10-14 hours a week posing for catalogs. She was very pretty, but had a rare sensual bosum look with very white skin and full lips like Angelina Jolie who had become popular during that time frame. She had a great thing going, was making great money, but was spending it as fast as she made it. Another example of how our experience allows us to see and know things a relatively young and inexperienced local has no way of knowing.

I tried to get her legally signed to an agency but she resisted. She didn't like the restrictions. During this time we become close, in the way you'd care about a daugther in law or something like that. Not real close, but close. She started telling me about offers she was getting to pose nude for local magazines and the big money it would bring. I tried to explain to her that the first time she posed.. she'd never work the catalogs again. I don't think she believed me. One day I found she'd posed nude and as distincitve as she was.. everyone soon knew. Her income dried up. Soon she was playing 2-3 Thai men as sponsors.. they found out.. and her next recourse to support the lifestyle she'd grown used to was the bars.

Sure, she wasn't my responsibiltiy.. but I felt a responsibility to advise her and help her do her best. I did. It didn't turn out. But I couldn't help feeling bad, like maybe I could have done more. Or maybe I'm being silly. Who knows. But the point is, it's a tough industry and if you work in it long enough it won't take long before you know more than most of the models about how it works. We can choose to use this knowledge to help, to take advantage.. or to do nothing. I suppose our character dictates which one.

And something else.. I occasionally get questions from expats who have fathered beautiful Amerasian or Euroasian daughters.. and want to get them and their exotic looks into modeling. I've had family members ask. Without exception I tell them to stay away from modeling.. that what it does to them short and long term is destructive and not in their best interests. Am I "above them" for having this opinion born from my experiences? I don't look at it this way. I look at it as they asked. I wouldn't let me own kids work in the industry and I wouldn't advise you to get your kids into it either. Even when all else is fine and legal, the industry causes damage with rare exceptions.

Steve

@BangkokImages, I say this with no disrespect but based on the 13 "Glamour" images on your website, I am curious as to who your models are. All 13 images appear to be of a western model. And, having looked at the high quality of the other images on your website, I was very surprised at the somewhat cliche nature of the glamour work.

David - I'd be glad to address your questions. My "Glamour" work is intentionally very low key while in Thailand so it's not posted, I'm sure you can imagine why. In the last 10 years I've done over 200 paid glamour shoots for locals (private Thai ciitzens who pay me), and about 130+ for tourists (many Russians for some reason), and another 250+ or so unpaid shoots just because something about the model appeals to me. It could be personality, a certain facial feature, being long waisted, maybe I could use them for a software review I'm doing at the time, whatever. My releases are in both Thai and English and signed by myself, the model, my assistant, and one person on their side. They are very strict in nature, where I tell them exactly what the images will be used for. Obviously if they're paying me they retain 100% of the rights. If not, I'll tell them in writing the specific use and I stick to it. 10 of the images in the glamour gallery are images of a western girl as you noticed who gave me complete rights for services rendered. I have hundreds and hundred of those from the states.. she was chosen becaus her body type was closest to the average Thai. Three of the images are indeed of two of my Thai models. (you have to hit the arrow over key) and are images they picked for my website.. other women are also used (along with several other "models") in some of my tutorials.

As far as models I use for my workshops.. some are selected as "posing and lighting dummies" because they pose and work well and are reliable and all someone needs to learn.. so they might not fit your mental image of a model. Others are stunning. So it depends.

If you think about Thailand and the difficulties posed to us as full time residents trying to work in this profession, it should be very clear why I've omitted this part of my work so as not to draw attention to myself. I would bet my life savings (and probably my life) that if I was as open on my site as I am now (who I am, where I live, phone numbers, etc), AND posted lots of Thai women in glamour portfolios.. I'd quickly become the object of attention to the Royal Police. More, if you've looked through my site you'll see I've also done work for the Royal Cultural Center.. a good way to lose that access would be to emphasize glamour work.

I hope I've answered this set of questions. I'll move on to the next.

As suggested, I would just head to Model Mayhem. If you have anything decent, models will probably come to you. If you don't, then perhaps you could contact some and mention you'd be willing to pay them for their troubles. The "problems" of being culturally unaware are self-correcting as far as i'm concerned. If you don't know the culture here, the Thai girls here obviously do, correct? Having said that, paying somebody for their services with them knowing full well of the potential cultural consequences, is up to them as adults. The problem I see in this discussion, is when you try to "protect" certain people, you are really saying you are somehow above them and need to look after them, demeaning them in your own way. They are adults who can take care of themselves.

1. I don't agree the Thai girls who often end up posing are as aware of the culture and consequences as you might think, quite the contrary actually. Most end up being very surprised.. well.. mortified when the actual situations becomes known to them. Sure, they know many parts of Thai culture better than we do, but this is an area I deal with often and I'm personally convinced they often just don't know.

2. Everything is up to everyone as adults. That doesn't negate our responsibility as photographers, or in many cases older adults, to wash our hands of responsibility. What you're saying in essence is "buyer beware" and where's the personal or professional ethics in that?

3. "Above them" as in being more fully aware of my own profession, a profession which is not theirs and their culture is only a part of.. then guilty. But in feeling superior? No. That's a bit insulting seeing you don't know me. If you knew me and you still felt that way then I'd consider your opinion.

4. Demeaning them by being ethical and not knowingly being part of hurting them? Okay, guilty.

I'll be totally candid with you. As a professional photographer working in Thailand for 10+ years I advise.. no I plead and beg.. my models to stay away from amatuer photographers. If you somehow think you can pay a Thai girl of model quality baht 1000 to pose nude for an amatuer and to sign over their rights.. you're so far off base it's incredible and you really have no idea of the culture and how Thai's look at nude photography (specifically the model) or the stigma attached to farang photographers in general. It takes years and years of a solid reputation before any model of merit will pose nude for you, or as much experience where you can convey to the woman in a short time the confidence to do so.

Do you know that once a model is known to have posed nude she will no longer be able to model for other jobs such as car shows, catalogs, malls, etc? No reputable agency will knowingly touch her. Thailand isn't the west, and even in the west once a model crosses that threshold it most often really affects their career.

The other poster was spot on with his question, "why not professional models?" My guess is because professional models are expensive and their agencies are very strict with releases and what they allow you to do with the images. You somehow think you can come here and pay a few santags to a local girl so you can sell them to a website or whatever your plans may be. I do modeling workshops often, but they're strictly controlled and I refuse more clients than I accept.

Please look elsewhere. Thailand doesn't need more "amatuer photographers" running around with their first entry level DSLR trying to pay a few baht to capture the local women nude like a monkey in the zoo.. If you want to build credibility as a glamour photographer that's something else altogether.. but that's not what you're asking. And please don't get me wrong, I support amatuer photographers 100%, probably more than any other pro I know in Thailand. I make things possible for them and show them things that only years of experience will allow. But before I help them venture into an area that will possibly ruin a local girls life, or endanger their own, I make sure they understand the culture and have the right ethics so these things don't happen. Two days in Thailand and every question you asked would have been more than apparent.

Surprisingly poor review as if Canon threw a new camera on the market without having some field test done. Shame, was looking forward myself.

I wouldn't let this guys review influence your decision. The review isn't written from a photographers perspective nor with a photographers background. That, or the guy is doing a poor job of dumbing down the review.

As for the camera.. look at it this way. It's a large sensor using point&shoot (PNS) systems like autofocus, exposure, cpu functions (file save times, image review speed, etc, etc), and other systems. What is not, is a large sensor camera using DSLR system functions. So far that's only been done with varying degrees of success, and never completely.

If you've ever seen a picture of a taken apart DSLR you'll have noticed it's jam packed with electronics from stem to stern. The tendency is for more modern electronics to become smaller electronics, but I don't think we're at the point yet where all the systems and sensors (image sensor, AF sensors, WB sensor, exposure sensor, flash sensor, etc) can fit in a point and shoot size body.

Let's take some of the more sucessful examples:

The Fuji x100 I talked about here, and one of our reviewers reviewed here and followed up here. It's a really nice camera, but the fixed lens (a superb beautiful fixed lens) puts off a lot of people as does the price. I've learned to adjust well to a fixed lens for personal use and travel but the price not so much. It's a technical marvel with DSLR level exposure and White Balance and the files are very nice.. but the autofocus is at a point and shoot level.

The Fuji Xpro1 solves most of the issues of the x100, same great build quality, interchangeable lenses, much faster autofocus.. but the price is pretty high.

The Sony NEX series.. wonderful camera and reasonably priced. DSLR level image quality (actually better than all but a few full frame DSLR's if you go by DxO Lab's sensor evaluation charts), DSLR exposure, WB is a bit lacking, and the focus while not DSLR level isn't bad. It's hard to be disappointed by this camera. I have an NEX-5 I reviewed here, and with the 16mm wide angle it's quite capable. The gallery I did of Wat Ratchaburaua in Ayuttaya shows what it can do.. These are now being cleared out in kits of 2-3 lenses at really low prices. My wife currently uses it and loves it.

Olympus and Panasonic both make nice Micro 4/3's systems.. but be selective, they make entry level models for very low prices, and models more suited for keen amatuers at higher prices.

The "mirrorless" genre is the fastest growing segment of the camera industry... lots and lots of choices. And development. It won't be long until we see models every bit as capable as DSLR's..

Great subject!

Many malls and other public places are restricting photography where they haven't before. Anywhere children play can be a minefield.

And there's the related subject of what you do with the picture. It might be legal to take the image, but that same image could get you sued if you tried to publish it, or publish it in a certain venue, or if for profit, or maliciously... it's getting very complicated and it's a subject which is constantly evolving.

In Thailand.. wow.. so many changes. You really need to pay attention to the reactions of people around you when you point your camera, many are becoming very hostile and/or suspicious towards anyone with a camera. Especially foriengers.

I've developed methods I'll deploy depending on the circumstances, and these methods have turned into a small bag of tricks depending..

If in doubt ask, but unless you're asking a lawyer who is experienced with the subject and keeps current you're taking your chances. And of course you'll always get 4-5 different people who disagree with any given take..

David - There are many like you who wish to share their images.. I put up a separate User Gallery section on my site which allows you to post images in your own galleries and share them.. and forums to link them to for discussion if you wish. I'd like to extend an invitation to you and any other interested party to come take a peek and see if you find the site useful.

Btw.. I liked the first image you posted. You can almost feel the closeness. Very nice!

Steve

1. Nikon packages their cameras with software which will let you view and manipulate your photos, but they don't put much effort into it. They know most people prefer other packages so they don't even try and compete.

2. As has been mentioned Adobe Lightroom is very popular and for good reason. It's easy enough for beginners to use with minimal training and there's a plethora of online tutorials available. I've made a few such as "Processing a Glamor Portrait" , "Noise Reduction in Lightroom", "Processing a Landscape", "Processing a Portrait", "Watermarking and Framing in Lightroom", and others in the tutorial section of my website.

3. Even though it's easy to use and there are free tutorials available, you can greatly acclerate your capability in any software by taking a well ran workshop. I've had students/clients who have been doing this on their own for years tell me they learned more in a few hours of instruction, and they understood it, than in years on their own. I recently wrote a short article titled "The Anatomy of a Photography Workshop" I'd recommend reading. It takes you step by step through how I personally run a workshop and what to expect and this holds pretty much true to any workshop you'd take anywhere.

4. What can they do.. with modern software you can draw a person that looks like a photograph.. without taking the photograph. There is very little if anything you can't do. Still, there is a learning curve involved and the more complex things you want to do make that curve more steep. I teach Lightroom because it straddles the price vs features vs image quality line better than anything else out there.

5. Consider using one of my free web based software applications. They're free for registering and surprisingly well done. There is an "Easy Express Application" which lets you select what you want done from a text based menu. If you select "black and white" then you get a black and white image. If you select "crop an image" then you get a cropped image. It's mostly complete and will allow you to do a lot with absolutely zero knowledge and no investment. Another us "Advanced Online Editor" which allows a more advanced feature set including layers and most anything you can do in more expensive packages and it's free to use as well. You can get your feet wet with these, but eventually you'll want a software package based on your own PC for the sake of speed and convenience if nothing else. I put these up so if you're visiting THailand and in an internet cafe without your normal software.. you can get a fair amount of work done.

6. When I first read your message I almost didn't respond because in two simple questions you asked a load of information and because your questions were simple it was hard to tell where you wanted to go wiht it.. or if you even knew what directions were available. Were you interested in RAW, jpegs, any previous experience, what type of PC, what software you have now, and so forth. So if any of these answers seem too basic please forgive my presumption. Many people are re-discovering photography after decades and decades as they come to settle or vacation inThailand and quickly become overwhelmed with the differences between film which they might be used to from the past, and digital. It doesn't need to be hard, a single day workshop can really open the doors to how to use your new camera and help you understand processing and where to go next. We can get a lot done in one day. And of course this forum or my site with it's own forum is a great source of information.

I wish you the best with your new D3100.

Steve

What it isn't good for is if you'll be posting your photos on the web and you desire for others to see the same colors you see..

I know I'm stating the obvious, but even if you have your color calibration perfect using something like a Spyderthe majority of viewers of the web page will not be calibrated the same and not see the same colors as the corrected ones. This was not for you Bangkokimages as your knowledge in these matters is significant, just to clarify for others.

You are right in pointing this out. Let me expand on this a bit.

It is true, the greater majority of people viewing your images (on amatuer websites, on photography websites you can flip this stat around) will be viewing with uncalibrated montiors. Yet, there is more to it.

The web started out as sRGB (much of this is explained in my Gamuts, Color Profiling, and The Internet article) and remains so today with few changes. Computer monitors and video cards have always loosely aimed to provide a default sRGB output right from the assembly line. Some have been exceptional, most are significantly off.

Today, as monitors improve and video cards and operating systems improve, we are much closer to a goal of all being on the same page where color is concerned without having to profile.

Using a scale of 1-10, ten years ago an average computer probably achieved 3-4 out of 10 towards meeting an sRGB gamut. 10 years ago very few monitors supported more than 60% of the sRGB gamut and laptops significantly less.. so depending on where in the gamut you pulled your 60% you could be "kinda" on, or way off. Today, monitors almost routinely support 90-110% of the sRGB gamut, a huge improvement. And they've improved on the "factory calibration" so computers are now probably getting a 7-8 vs. the 3-4 from years past. Not bad, but not ideal either.

A Imac, many high end laptops, most of the new Ultrabooks, they're all pretty good where it comes to color.

What this means, is that if you can profile your monitor to sRGB and get less than 10% away from perfection, then you're putting out a good image 'most' people with modern equipment will interprety with roughly 70% accuracy. However, if you didn't profile your monitor as the one making the image, you might only get without 30% accuracy and the variance for the unprofiled viewer might only allow him to 50% vs. the 70% if you profiled.

Of course this is all about averages as we can't know for sure what any one monitor is doing other than our own.. but I hope I've explained this well enough so you can see the advantages of profiling your images for the web.

And then there are the online photolabs, Blurb and other picture book makers, and basically all the products you can order with your images. The printers and machines making these products are painstakingly calibrated on a regular basis which helps reduce returns for bad color. This doesn't count in Thailand.. the stories I could tell..

There is so much more to this topic.. for instance, even when you're calibrated to sRGB for the web, why do most people see a signifcant difference when viewing their image in Lightroom for instance, as compared to seeing it posted on someone else's site vs. their web browser? I tried to explain most of this in my two articles, but to summarize you have browser variations in what they can detect and display, different programs are 'color managed' and others aren't, you're often using 3-4 imaging programs in your workflow and often 1 or more of these programs aren't color managed. and then there's your video card and monitor...

Let's say you buy an expensive monitor that claims to meet 100% of the sRGB gamut. Most people would think this is cool, all they need. Yet, 99% of such monitors also throw our "out of gamut" casts in addition to 100% of the gamut (just like a cheap monitor only displaying 60% of the gamut can do) and you'll see these casts.. they'll make your image appear one way in a color managed application like Photoshop or Lightroom, and a very different way once uploaded to the web and viewed in browser. This is the part of color management which has been driving pros nuts for years, and it's why a big part of my business is profiling/calibrating for other pros, usually reporters and event photographers who need to upload a profiled image via the internet.

Thankfully, NEC and Eizo each has a really good solution, but you'll need to spend big to get there. Basically they have advanced circuitry internal to their monitors which effectively "clamp down" on your selected gamut to ensure no stray color casts escape. And by using an external LUT (look up table) they're taking video card variances out of the equation. These monitors are a godsend. Now, instead of maintaining 5 workstations which are each calibrated for one of the five gamuts I regularly use in my business, I only need one workstation because these monitors allow you to switch between 5+ gamuts (profiled gamuts) with the click of a mouse. Fantastic technology.

Back to this utility originally posted. If you're not making files to be used to make prints, and you're not posting images to the web where it matters how accurate you are, then this program will allow you to quickly and easily get a better looking picutre on your screen. But do understand it's limitations.

Because this post is in the photography section it might be good to go over what this program does for you, and what it doesn't.

In a traditional "profiling" or "calibration" package you have two things. A hardware colorimeter or spectrometer, and software. The software uses the hardware device to read what colors the colorimeter/spectrometer "sees" as it's placed directly on the screen, and then a series of brightness, contrast, and colors are put on the screen. The program knows these colors meet the selected standard (sRGB, Adobe98, ProPhoto, etc), and the colorimeter sees and records another set of colors, compares them to the standard, and then creates a "profile" which compensates for the difference between the standard and what the colorimeter/spectrometer sees. This profile is automatically loaded each time you boot your machine.

What this referenced small program does, is basically the same thing, but it's using your eyes as a reference to see the differences between a standard and what is displayed on your screen. The problem with this, is that learning how to accurately see color with any degree of accuracy is not something a normal human can do. I've been working with calibrated and profiled workstation displays for decades and I can't do it.

So.. what is this program good for? It can make your screen appear more accurate for games, general usage, and even images that you print yourself on your own printer. You can "eyeball" the color differences, it will build a profile that boots when you load the program.. and you can adjust this until what you see on your screen is close to what comes off your printer. Everyone is different and sees and/or accepts a different level of accuracy, but I'm sure this is fine for your casual user.

What it isn't good for is if you'll be posting your photos on the web and you desire for others to see the same colors you see.. or if you'll be sending your files out to a photolab for printing. Photolabs use standards, usually sRGB, and if you only adjust "by eye" their profile will probably be different and the differences can be from slight, to really heavy. It all depends. Which is the point, without a standard and a way to calibrate to that standard, you don't know where you are now, and what you're adjusting the image to. Of course it only matters if you output your images to web or lab, but it's good to understand the differences.

Color profiling/calibration is in fact a very complicated subject and photography forums are filled with such discussions (and their share of heated arguments). It doesn't need to be complicated if you understand a few basics, and not everyone needs to professionally generated profile. But when you do need one there is no substitute. With this in mind I wrote a small series of articles about monitors and color profiling which might answer questions you may have.

Monitor Basics

Gamuts, Color Profiling, and the Internet

There is not going to be a 'right' answer unless you throw in/out some qualifiers. Such as cost. When "value" is added to the equation then you need to weigh your application as well. For instance, for a hobbyists third party lenses might not give you the qualities of a top quality OEM lens, but at maybe half the cost you can easily live with a third party lens. Especially if your budget dictates a third party lens or no lens at all.

I've shot several brands professionally, two Nikon and Canon over the last decade which would be the most current information, and if cost is no object then I've only found two third party lenses which are better performers than OEM lenses. And by better performers I consider sharpness, color rendition, out of focus character (bokeh), build quality, weather sealing, focus throw, focus override, filter sizes, hood effectiveness, etc, etc.. there's a lot to consider other than sharpness.

In general, third party lenses have improved over the last decade or so.. often a modern third party lens is better than a 10-15 year old OEM design lens. But in general, I find their build quality to be vastly inferior which leads to malfunctions and worse what I call "slippage", where a lens was nice and tight and performed well when new, but because of inferior design/build quality tolerances have opened up through use and now performs less well. This is very common. Not so germane for an occasional use hobbyist, but critical for full time pros who puts a lot of miles on their lenses.

I will tell you the two third party lenses I consider great values and perform better than OEM lenses (in both cases by virtue that the OEM doesn't make an equivilent) which I use all the time in Thailand especially, and then I'll mention a few which are great values and performers on their own.. but can't compete with OEM lenses at 2-3x the cost.

1. Sigma 12-24mm This IS the widest rectangular lens made for a 35mm full frame. And no, a 10mm on a crop frmae isn't wider even if it can be used on a full frame because it circle crops. This lens holds up very well, I get 4-5-6 hard years out fo them and I'm very tough on gear. It's one of my top 5 used lenses. It's also light and small, and performs superbly from F8 on. I use my 16-35 and 17-40 for F2.8-F5.6 needs such as events, weddings, etc. But for general landscape use where you have light, there's nothing like it.

2. Sigma 20mm F1.8. Small, light, cheap for a F1.8 lens. Very sharp, good color rendition, focuses fast enough for a 20mm, and makes great images. I find this very useful in caves, dark temple interiors, museums where flash isn't allowed, it's a lens I carry in my bag while in Thailand 100% of the time.

Some lenses I'd consider if I were a hobbyist on a budget.. the 70-200mm Sigma (the newest one, they've had 2-3 improved versions in the last 10-12 years and they keep getting better), is really good, fast focusing, sharp, nice bokeh.. hard to beat at any price, but the OEM's beat it significantly. Some of the newer midrange lenses in the 24-100mm category I'd consider. And many of the fisheyes I'd consider if I was doing 360 panos or images of that type where the wide view is required but you don't want to spend $3000 to try that genre..

Generally, I'd rather have one professional quality prime lens than 3-4 third party zooms or lenses of any type. A good example would be Stick. Maybe 70% of his images are shot with the Canon 35/1.4.. he makes excellent use of it and achieves images he couldn't get otherwise.

Knowing HOW to use one lens to it's full potential will yeild more keepers than 3-4 lenses of any type. A new lens is rarely the answer to images which aren't sharp (soft), or aren't providing great results. You can get great results out of most any lens. A pro lens just lets you get those results easier and they're a bit more great(er).. If you're not happy with your images, look everywhere else before considering a new lens as a remedy..