Camera and Equipment



Camera: Sony NEX-5 (or Sony NEX-3, we have two at home, but the pictures looks almost the same). It's a compact, mirrorless camera. It is much smaller than the standard SLR cameras, but also has the ability to change lens and flash, and is very easy to handle.
Lens: Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 - It has a zoom function (the more you zoom in a object, the shorter the depth of field). I have taken most of the pictures on the blog recently with this lens, eg all pictures from the USA. It came with the NEX-5 camera. Sony 16mm f/2.8 - This lens came with both the NEX-3 and NEX-5 and is the one I use the least because it is a wide-angle lens with a little of a fisheye effect. The advantages though are that you capture a lot more in a picture and that it's much smaller than the other two. Sony 50mm f/1.8 - Newly purchased from Amazon, about the same size as the first one but has a really shallow depth of field. Very good auto focus and sharpness, perfect for portraits, but less great to shoot landscapes and buildings with. Since it's very zoomed in you have to take a few steps back from the object. Picture examples here and here.
Filter: Hoya 49mm UV (C) Digital HMC - Newly purchased from Amazon. Works best as a lens protection.
Pocket tripod: My "invisible photographer" who fits in all my handbags and is frequently used when travelling. Don't know where it was purchased but it can be screwed on almost any camera that is not too big and is a very good thing to have if you don't want to ask others to take the photo.
Remote control: For Sony's NEX cameras, also new from Amazon. Good addition to the tripod. I've tested it and it works with the NEX-5.

After all the questions about my camera and photography tips, it was about time for a post about my equipment. However, I'm far from an expert on the subject! Since I want to take a photo as quickly as possible, I rarely spend time on changing the settings. I use the auto function a lot and I think it works fine for the most part. Sometimes I set the aperture myself or change scene selection. But I don't want this post to be completely without tips, so I can still tell you that I think a lot more about in what light I take the picture, if it is backlight, direct sunlight, etc. I never use the flash unless it is an absolute must because I think that it's always better with natural light. I only use it if it's completely dark, in a club for example. But I'll rather by some lightning or put the camera on a surface or pocket tripod so the image don't turn out to be shaky in poor lighting.


I edit pictures in Photoshop CS5. For the most part I brighten up the pictures and increase the contrast. For those of you who have Photoshop: I usually go into Adjustments > Curves, and drag the little arrows in different directions. Sometimes I change the hue slightly in Adjustments > Color Balance or Adjustments > Selective Color. Then I reduce the image to the size that it will be published in the blog and sharpen Filter > Sharpen.


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