I shot this scene from my train on my way from Asahikawa to Wakkanai. This tiny village is called Otoineppu, which is one of the coldest villages in Japn.
I got to JR Wakkanai station at 10:56 PM, I photographed the station and around it for about 20 minutes and walked to my hotel.
At 11:27 pm I checked in to my hotel,and I took a quick shower and ate free noodle dinner. Then, I took a short night walk to Wakkanai dome.
it was extremely windy and cold there, my ears hurt and my hands went numb, so I could not use my tripod at the night.
I just shot everything handheld there, walked around the port for 10 minutes and then walked back to the station, but unfortunately the convenience store there was closed already.
And so I had to walk 20 minutes to find a 7-11 near Minami Wakkanai station. Then I took a taxi back to my hotel.
Miss the snow and snow storm and everything about Otoineppu and Wakkanai area of Hokkaido.
I always had kind of feeling I may not like warm so-called nice climates at all, since I hated so called nice climate places such as San Diego,LA, Bangkok, Hawaii, Fukuoka, Osaka, KL ,etc due to the warm weather they had.
Now I confirmed it, I do hate these places, more precisely I have hated these places for the boring the warm air, I think I can't wait going back to Sapporo in this coming winter and travel through Hokkaido from there again.
Eventually, I might move up there, I love Sapporo, North Hokkaido and North East Hokkaido.
I did not really like Otaru or Hakodate since these places were not very cold compared to Wakkanai, Asahikawa , Kushiro,etc and even compared to Sapporo, Otaru was noticeably warmer.
This image was shot with Canon 6D handheld, actually one handed since I had my dog with me at the time of shooting this.
A few months after coming back from Hokkaido with my broken 6D, I realized was kind of missing it. It has technically no real advantage over any of my current cameras, but I kind of miss it.
So I have been checking through my old but not updated 6D images. I have also tested thorough them with some custom made software I bought a month ago from my old friend working as a Tsukuba university practical physicist.
I think I will re-measure it but as far as I remember the numbers I got from my test with the special made program, it was not even half as good as I thought it would be.......and I was deeply disappointed, in fact almost immediately depressed.
I just wish Canon to get its act together and makes a great sensor or even just buy off from Samsung or Renasus, whose sensor patents and designs are, imho, more advanced than that of Sony.
As long as we expose it to the right and or apply so-called ETTR it is fine, but a bit of under or over exposing makes it really bad. This is the reason why some call the Canon sensors like slide film in terms of exposure tolerance and the way we should use our Canons, and I guess I used to be able to some how manage it well to make my Canon look just fine.
But now, I am just too used to shooting my A7 A7R A7M2 A6300 and A7R2 other Sonys, with a couple of stops better dynamic range at ISO100, or more precisely better latitude. So now I tend to intentionally underexpose it to save the highlight, and in the post I lift the shadow up.
I think Sony sensors are like negative film, and Canons are like positive slide film, they are both good and bad , but for most of non-tripod handheld work, Sony has the edge since it allows us to underexpose intentionally to save the highlight and later on we can easily get the hidden shadow data back in PP.
With Sony A7 series I think we do seldom need CPL filters or ND filters, and it is hard to screw the exposure in normal use.
But I think Sony sensor quality is just plain overrated by DPR kind of sites, if any one challenge the assessment numbers or so called reviews they write, we must be labelled as naive fanboy or poor guy in short of cash and defending his old choice hard, or inane technically challenged morons.
Sony sensors are good in harsh day light high DR required scenes,but usually not great at high ISO.
I think many many people deliberately misguided by DPR DXO ,etc and without measuring the sensors in question themselves , just bashing one type of sensors that they dislike or reviews say bad, but in reality there is no such dramatic difference there.
Really, it is not that simple, the 5DS sensor is excellent in many regards, but it can not score well at DXO, and I am sure why the biased DPR guys rated it much lower than the Sony 36mp sensor ignoring the fact it is a very very different type of sensor than the Sony 36mp or 42mp chip, or even very different design than the Canon's own 6D sensor or 5DMK3 sensor.
The 5DS sensor is simply optimized for the best skin tone in a studio or great out of the camera color for landscape, so it has very strong intense color filters. I think it is about 1.6 times stronger than that of the 5DMK3,whose sensor design focus was high ISO or low noise throughout the ISO range, thus used weak thin CFA design.....So the 5DS sensor tends to produce better stronger punchier colors out of the camera compared to the previous Canon with weaker CFA design but at the cost of a tiny bit more shot noise at the base ISO.
I think Sony and its Alpha community is becoming like a fanatic religious group(like young earth creationist group let by Kent Hovind), never even accept or listen to any kind of different voice, opinion and preference, and it seems to be all review communities are misled by them or their excessively loud voice.
If you even mildly pan or hard on any Sony Alpha line camera, they will attack on you, or if you prefer something other than their preferred ones, they call you a troll or a fanboy, to turn the debate into a name calling contest.
It always happens at DPR fora ,especially in the Canon and the Open talk forums, Sony E mount fanboys really act like some sort of cult-worshipers intrude into other forums and bash others choice or force others to believe in Sony cult. If any one says anything good about Nikon, Canon, Fuji or Samsung compared to Alpha 7 line cameras, then they freak out and turn it into a name calling contest(it is always their tech to win any debate there), so it is impossible to logically argue or even talk anything about the A7X with presence of some die-hard Sony fanatics there. It is really that ridiculous.
It is like being in a Catholic church, these real die-hard Sony Alpha 7 fanboys in camera fora never accept any different belief, value or different opinion on any camera. If someone prefer the other sensor manufacture than Sony then they insult his or her technical knowledge or sometimes even his or her personality that they don't even know...........For example a few days ago, some one (obviously a wedding guy) mildly criticized(not even seriously bashed or panned) about terrible battery life of the A7S and he said the real issue for "HIM" was not the terrible battery life itself or having to carry many of tiny, lousy batteries for the Sony, but it was difficult to change it over and over many times without missing many important decisive moments.......I think it is very correct and I experienced it myself many many times, too, as a long time A7 user. But they(A7 fans)got obviously hurt by his comment because it is a fact, and they have to gather to attack on his personally. A few hours later the thread was closed as usual, and it was sad.. Well, I sometimes wonder if there are many kindergarten kids in the camera forums, they are seriously thin-skinned and easily hurt, maybe their self-esteem or pride (more like ego)is totally dependent on their so-called FF cameras? or winning the debate at DPR or some moronic rumor sites like SAR or CR really important for them to keep themselves calm and sane or just alive?
I have now several people asking me about my opinion on A7M2 vs 6D vs D750 issue, and I told them it is a personal choice, and there is no objectively or absolutely better one for every one, and I don't even believe there is any absolutely objective review at all. Then they said I have been intentionally closing my eyes, trying hard not to see the fact Sony is taking over the industry.........if I do not admit it then I have to be called a Canon or a Nikon or a Samsung or a Fuji fanboy, silly to say the least........... A few days ago I criticized about A7RMK2 pricing a bit, and I also said I began to realize how reasonably priced D810 was, and comparing the price of the D810 to the price of my own A7RMK2 or the5DS shows it very glaringly.
Then, a couple of usual Sony fanboys criticized me of being super ignorant about the A7RMK2, and told me that the Sony camera would be like having a great pro 4k cinema camera and a high resolution stills camera in one tiny body, so it is a historic game changer and nothing on the market compete well with it. And according to them the A7RMK2 sensor is really great at high ISO, even slightly better than the A7S or the Pentax 645Z........although all lab test results say otherwise.....I am sure they never used the 645Z if they think the A7R2 beats it.
Well I partly agree with them, but I say it is not a pro video camera, or it is not really innovative cinema camera that replaces real super 35mm pro cinema cameras; the battery life is too short, the heat dissipation issue is really bad, the FF is not suited for serious video, especially for running gun type of event or documentary work, etc. The bigger the sensor the more battery power consuming, and therefore, many of us do not want a FF video camera. In addition to all the above issues, it does not even have dual card slots, and it is a big issue for me and any one using it for serious video work.
But according to them the Red dragon, BMCC , Canon cinema EOS,etc are all immediately thrown into camera coffins by the advent of the Sony A7RMK2 and the A6300.
I think it is getting a bit too ridiculous although I admit it is an amazing camera mostly for stills landscape and studio work, it may or may not replace all, or it may even change the history of hybrid camera world.
But do not forget we all have preferences and different needs, different views on cameras, and sometimes technical numbers or feature set does not matter, sometimes we simply prefer one even if it is just technically a inferior camera or tool, we cannot measure usability and practicality of each system to each of us but it is very important to consider when we choose a new camera system.
That all said though, I think Sony has been right , it is really shaking the conservative camera world, just slowly but surely increasing its market share by introducing a great compact FF hybrid camera system.
Do not forget the biggest sales point of the A7 series is not any specific camera feature or the BSI sensor,etc, but it is being the only one hybrid open mount camera system that takes all mounts lenses,including the A mount lenses,the EF lenses, the F mount lenses with several times more accurate AF than any D-SLR type of cameras.
I think something like below is always happening now:
Some Canon guys buy an A7R2 or an A7M2, with use of adapted Canon lens line in mind and use it for a while with their adapted EF lenses or A mount lenses..
But in a few months, they'd realize they need some native FE mount lenses and buy some Zeiss Batis and Sony Z, G and GM series lenses, then they'd be like fragile insects trapped into a big spider nest. At this point, there is no more way back to Canon or Nikon even if either of these 2 makes something similar to the A7RMK2 in the near future because selling used FE mount lenses is very difficult because the FE lenses cannot be adapted to any other mount system as they have the shortest flange back design.
So, while I think Sony has succeeded converting many Canon guys into FE mount users, I am not sure if it will take over the market entirely so soon. The A7 system is just a temporal stop gap solution for many of us. After a few years it may be completely abandoned just like most of so-called Sony's great innovative products. Remember Mini disc or Memory Stick Duo?
I just think the future is open mount system but it is not the A7 or any Sony or Samsung.
The A7 system prevails for a short time but it will not be able to replace all Canon Nikon fast enough, and the Sony will be overlooking or dismissing minor brand but truly innovative small players emerging out to rival against Sony.
I think something like BMCC or Red of stills will take over the market.....I think the open mount is a dual-edged-sword for Sony it will help Sony to get many many Canon Nikon users temporarily coming to their mount but at the same time give a serious opportunity for a Red-like company to truly invent(not just innovate) something really new to take over the entire industry.....
But in any case I am sure the D-SLRs are dying, I re-confirmed this again in Thailand and Malaysia last year:
I went to Malaysia for work for a few hours(wished I had had more time to spend there shooting around Penang) in last December and then visited Thailand for about several hours(very sad to have just 2 hours there), and I saw the camera industry of SE Asia changed a lot like below.
It changed a lot there these 2 countries. I spent a lot of time in Thailand in 2011 and 2010. Back then, Canon and Nikon were the definite dominant players for sure. Now? I passed several of the chain stores in a few malls in Pinklao, Skumvitt and Platunam area that did not even carry Canon in the windows. Nikon, yes but not many were displayed there either.
Went to a photography trade show in Georgetown, Malaysia, the Nikon and Canon booths were there without any people. The mirrorless cameras, Sony, Fuji(especially popular), Olympus were packed with folks trying and buying.
For now, Canon and Nikon have lost their momentum over here for sure. Let's hope they can come back strong, but I feel it is too late now already.
Everything changes very fast in Asia and anything considered to be uncool cannot sell well there, it is even more drastic in Japan and South Korea, so I believe the sales numbers for CN are even worse there.
UPdate : now, Canon has just announced its new sensor development policy. Canon seems to have built a new sensor plant in Mie prefecture of Japan. It seems like Canon is going on new 65nm process rule and all upcoming Canon sensors will be produced at there.
I think the 1DX2 and the 80D sensors are processed at the new plant.
Sony is still leading the CMOS imaging industry, but giants like Samsung are in close pursuit. Also big players like Panasonic are forming joint ventures with the likes of TowerJazz to offer 12-inch wafer fabrication with state-of-the-art quantum efficiency and dark current performance at 65 nano meters, and additional 45nm digital technology, and added available capacity of approximately 800,000 8-inch wafers per year in three manufacturing plants in Japan, according to TowerJazz.
The stakes are huge. The CMOS image sensor market will reached the historic $10 billion milestone in 2015, according to Yale, and with new applications popping up in automotive, medical and surveillance, while smartphones begin adopting high-definition front facing cameras, the industry is likely to hit the $16 billion mark by 2020. So nobody is just sleeping and Sony has to consolidate its position ASAP, or probably Sony will lose it again just like its short-lived TV business.
UPDATE2:Another serious issue all the camera makers will have to face but I did not really realize before is that all ILC cameras are big to most of NORMAL non-photographer people, and they are very intimidating to most of NORMAL people(I mean regardless of mount type or sensor type).
I never realized it before but while walking around down town Fukuoka with one of my long time friends here forced me to understand it. A friend of mine told me that he thinks all interchangeable lens cameras are huge and intimidating to most of average people regardless of sensor size or format, it's just simply annoying!
I guess a big lens scares or annoys people more than a big body......I never saw it his way but I got his point and I decided to carry my tiny Canon G5X when I just walk around the city area with other people. If I am alone shooting something, then I usually carry my big camera, and I think it does not matter it's a m43, a FF, an APS-C, it is all big to most of NORMAL people, anyway.
Then why not just go all the way up to FF or MFDB, or at least APS-C?
So maybe the one really doomed is not Nikon F or Pentax K or Sony A but m43?
Nikon and Pentax have historically had very enthusiastic and even fanatic core shooters and they are usually too old to adapt themselves fast to new EVF based gear even if they understand it is the more logical thing for them as they are aged. So D-SLRs may survive as antique cameras, but m43 or Nikon One?
Update3:now, I think FF mirrorless is, like self-driving car, it is the future, definitely, but not really mature enough to be practical for many real life tasks, and they are both still immensely overpriced just because newer tech relatively to their older more practical rivals.
The Sony a7R2 should be cheaper than the D810 considering it does not have the complex mirror and proper weather sealings on the shutter. The X-T2 should be as cheap as the D7200 or the 80D. The A6300 should be as cheap as its predecessor(about 650US), no more than that, it is a great camera but still not able to shoot from a fast running car or train like the 7DMK2 or the D500, and so if you were a paparazzi or anything like that, you would not choose the A6300 as your main camera.
When I wrote my previous A6300 vs D500 hands-on experience,I was very very impressed with the A6300 AF, especially with the FE55mm f1.8Z. But now I am sure if my work is completely relying on the best AF in the game, I'd definitely choose the D500, not the A6300, which could not focus well on a super fast moving thing from a fast running train or a car unless the light level is perfectly ideal.
In last week,I tried to shoot street snaps from a fast running super express train with my A6300, A7M2 and A7R2, none of my Sonys could focus on anything moving from a 300km/h fast running train, I was really glad I also brought my D750 with me for my last short train trip.
Like Thom Hogan said, the Sony Alpha E mount cameras are too slow for anything moving fast, I mean their single AF speed is very fast, but it cannot track fast, especially when the light level is not really ideal.
Plus, the general operation speed of the Sony is just painfully slow, even the most expensive A7SMK2 is very slow. I mean it takes about 30 seconds to format a card, about 5 seconds or more to wake up from a long sleep, etc, and is too slow for anything unpredictably moving or decisive once a life time kind of shot. Another big issue of the Sony FE system is terribly short battery life. I know if I bring this up, many Sony fans would tell me after adding a couple of extra batteries it is still lighter than any of Nikon Canon FF D-SLRs. Maybe so, but the real issue here is because we need to change the battery almost every couple of hours, we would miss many decisive moments, and it is really annoying.
Now, it is obvious this is the most difficult time to spend some serious amount of money into any of these already existing camera system since they all suck in some ways and all the camera companies are too arrogant or stupid to listen to the actual users.
The FE50mm f1.4Z is an amazing lens that may change the direction of the entire industry but it is a huge lens, honestly, if I knew where Sony were heading to at very first place in 2013, I would not have spent this much money into Sony FE system......I wanted it to be small, light and simple, but now it is a big, heavy, expensive and very complex system.
Really, why every new lens must be AF and this huge is beyond me. It is just making the system impractical with the terribly oversized lenses. I have never seen any 50 this big(except my Otus 55 and the old Sigma Art I hated both of those huge 50 primes), seriously it is as big as the 85mm f1.4 GM and is an ugly looking lens, too.
Sony should not try a D-SLR replacement system with the A7 system, but a great RangeFinder replacement system.
Hope they wake up soon.
UPDATE4: I think I must correct some terrible lies spread by so called reviewers here:
1 Fuji X-Trans3 is just the same sensor design or some variant of the A6300 sensor. A lie. The Fuji 24mp sensor is Toshiba design, Sony produced sensor. Last year Toshiba sold out some of their CMOS plants to Sony, they made some specific contract conditions that they would continue to design core sensor designs and produce prototypes of their own sensors themselves, albeit a small number of each sensor they design, and then they take that to main fab process and Sony would mass produce that in Kumamoto Tech and Nagasaki tech.
And the Fuji X trans 3 sensor is the first practical case of this Toshiba Sony sensor business collaboration. So it is definitely not a Sony sensor. If you have both the A6300 and the X-Pro2 or X-T2 , you can easily tell that. The specs are very different and even the base ISO value is so dramatically different, I'd say the a6300 sensor is the better one here.
2 Nikon D7200 sensor is also Toshiba sensor but some similar variant of the X-Trans 3 sensor. No. Lit is another lie spread out through internet by the so called reviewer community.
The D7200 sensor was initially produced at Toshiba Kyushu plant, and then moved to Renesas Mie plant.
Now it is produced at Sony Kumamoto or Kagoshima tech.
So it is definitely a Toshiba sensor used Renesas IP, and the 20mp DX sensor used in the D500 seems also share the same tech used in the D7200 Toshiba sensor.
And they are nothing to do with Sony tech. Just now produced by Sony since Toshiba sold out their main CMOS factories to Sony last year does not mean they are Sony chips. It is a simple contract work and nothing like Sony designs it for others.
3 The Nikon D5 uses old Toshiba tech. No, wrong again. The Nikon D5 sensor is designed by Nikon and Renesas, produced by Renesas. All the high-speed read-out sensors from Nikon are designed by either Aptina or Renesas, nothing to do with Sony or Toshiba.
4 Canon does not sell sensors, it is another lie. They sell their industrial design sensors such as automobile and airplane sensors to Toyota or some other car airplane manufactures in Japan.
5 Renesas now has no their own CMOS factory. Wrong again, they still have 3 and 2 of which are small car use sensors but the last one in Mie still produces big sensors for Nikon. But their CMOS production capacity is not large enough for Nikon consumer grade bodies sold under 3k. So the D810 and the lower grade cameras use either Toshiba or Sony sensors produced at either Sony Kumamoto or Nagasaki, or some rare cases at Kagoshima.
6 Nikon is now completely dependent on Sony. Again, a big lie.
Nikon is now seeking another contract sensor producer who has large enough production capacity for their consumer grade camera sensors. And they are probably choosing Tower Jazz as their next main sensor producer. Now Panasonic, Tower Jazz and Sony are competing for that and I am sure Nikon will not choose Sony for their main sensor producer this time. As obtuse as the current Nikon management is, they at least understand how risky to give Sony all prior info about all their upcoming cameras, so they want to go against Sony. But the sad part is Nikon cannot be 100 percent independent from the Sony tie since Aptina one inch sensor choice is now no longer available as they are now a part of On Semi.
UPDATE5: Now, I just confirm that Nikon DL series actual shipment date would be next January 17th as planned in last Nikon conference at Nikon D3400 launch. But it may delay even further to next CP+ show in Yokohama Japan(in Feb 2017).
So it is already promised to be a failed product line before the actual launch. I think Nikon is really stupid, I mean I don't think phones or mirrorless killing Nikon but itself, it obtuse marketing killing it.