Micael Widell Newsletter #18
Captain's log
September was a pretty good month for me. Had a good rhythm in making YouTube videos and enjoyed it a lot. Tried interesting lenses and cameras such as the Panasonic GM5 and the Mitakon 25mm f/0.95, the Helios 44-M (video coming later), and the wonderful RX0ii video camera. Want to learn more? Read on! :)
/Micael
Fun and cheap manual lens
I am probably the last person in the world to try it, but I got my hands on the Helios 44-M lens recently – a refreshed version of the old soviet classic lens, with it's characteristic swirly, flower-like bokeh. Haven't had time to use it a lot yet, but enjoying it immensely so far. You can find it used for around 40 USD. It is a 58mm f/2 lens, and very compact, so it is perfect as a walk-around and portrait lens. Pretty sharp wide open as well.
The world's most under-appreciated video camera
When the Sony RX0 ii camera came out a year ago, I quickly dismissed it because I watched some of the big gear reviewer's youtube videos on it, and the footage looked blurry and low quality in general. It became a huge flop on the market. I thought it was the camera that was just bad, and I didn't look very deep into it then.
But recently, for whatever reason, I stumbled upon this camera again. What's great about it is that it is extremely compact – the size of a GoPro – while having a 24mm lens, a much larger sensor, color profiles such as S-Log2 and Cine2, a flippable screen, tripod mount, mic jack and 4K video. You can carry it in your jeans pocket and quickly bring it out to shoot a few seconds of beautiful 4K footage. I like this shooting style for my YouTube videos, and before finding this camera I was using the Sony X3000 which is a more conventional action camera similar to a GoPro.
The RX0 ii comes with some drawbacks as well, for example a fixed aperture of f/4, and no continuous autofocus when recording video. Also the image stabilization is not great, and it has some rolling shutter issues (perhaps my biggest disappointment with this camera). So it has a learning curve, and it is NOT a good action camera. And that is probably why all the reviews dismissed this camera as well – the reviewers didn't understand how to use it properly. Since the camera looks like an action cam and has a "simple" record button at the top, they assumed it can be used exactly like a GoPro and didn't understand the importance of focusing – hence the blurry footage.
But if you know how to use this camera it is a true marvel. Basically the perfect compromise ever made between the compactness and roughness of an action camera, and the cine-like footage quality of a more serious big-sensor video camera. I love it! Watch this (ungraded) and this (graded with cine2 + leeming LUT) video where I used this camera. I might do my own review video later if I feel like it.
My favorite finds on Instagram in September
Below my favorite photos that I stumbled upon on Instagram last month. Click the username or photo to visit the instagram profile of the photographer.
@pandamilk101
@a_l_x_ender
@stewartwoodart
@thething.macro
@yuma_and_laura
@solli_food
My Published Videos since the last newsletter
- 10 Camera/Flash Settings for Macro Photography
- Mitakon 25mm f/0.95 + Panasonic GM5 = Tiny Bokeh Machine
- Editing YOUR Macro Photos! Ep 02
- My Best Close-up Photography Tips
Goodbye for now
Thank you for reading this far, and see you in a month! Feel free to follow me on YouTube, Instagram and 500px in the meantime. And also feel free to tell your friends about this newsletter, and to reply to it if you have feedback or comments :)
/Micael