Featured:'Bangkok Cityscape'

[Etude]

Hi all, sharing some cityscape shots during a recent trip to Bangkok. Not a lot of photos as it was a short trip.
All taken with E-M5.

View attachment 394005

Temple of Dawn
Wat Arun
12-40mm
Visited a bar just to take this shot. Tripod is not allowed at the bar. Fortunately, they allowed me to use a clamp and I managed to catch a uniform light trail of a cruise ship passing by.

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Sky View
P7-14mm
Taken from the sky bar at Lebua at State Tower. The rare sunset I managed to shoot as it was raining almost every single day.

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Highway Spin
Ratchaprarop Tower Mansion
P7-14mm
One of the vantage points in Bangkok. I had to pay 1500 THB (46USD) to go to the rooftop just to shoot this image. A great view to shoot but I doubt I will come back again in future. Shooting at Lebua Sky Bar is cheaper as I only need to pay for a drink to shoot at the bar.

This shot also shows a gap in m43 lens for me. A 7mm-8mm that can take ND filter. I was not able to achieve the light trail I wanted due to the lack of filter. I know there are DIY options available but I really wish someone can fill that gap.

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Urban Reflect
9-18mm
Taken at Benjakiti Park. Love the calm reflection of the buildings.

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Riverlights
P7-14mm
As tripod is not allowed at Lebua, I had to take this shot by placing the camera on the thin railing, turn on IBIS, hold my breath and shoot. I also managed to catch the lightning on the right side.

Thanks for viewing and C&C are welcome :smile:

 

[hazwing]

nice shots!

What sort of processing do you put your images through?

 

[Etude]

nice shots!

What sort of processing do you put your images through?

Thanks! I use LR for the above images. I usually start by pulling the shadow and highlight, followed by white/black adjustments. Sharpening is next but with masking to minimize noise in the sky and water. I also applied NR and sometimes I will NR the sky with brush. Vibrance, saturation, contrast and clarity is adjusted next to achieve the desired colors. To make the buildings straight, I would correct the distortion and that would involve some cropping as well.

 

[50orsohours]

What a wonderful set!!! Amazing!

 

[Lionroar]

I especially like the second from the top, but they are all great shots! Thanks for sharing.

 

[agentlossing]

I love these!

 

[robbie36]

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Sathorn Bangkok by Salintara, on Flickr

One of the problems with Cityscapes is that you tend to either get the day time detail or just the lights. A cheap trick to get around this is to stick your camera on a tripod and take 2 shots one hour apart.

Then in Photoshop put the lights layer above the earlier shot and set the blend mode to lighten. Only the lights will show through.

 

[Etude]

One of the problems with Cityscapes is that you tend to either get the day time detail or just the lights. A cheap trick to get around this is to stick your camera on a tripod and take 2 shots one hour apart.

Then in Photoshop put the lights layer above the earlier shot and set the blend mode to lighten. Only the lights will show through.

Thanks! I have blended/lighten images before but never 2 images taken one hour apart. Will try it out.

That's a great image. It is tempting me to get A7 now that 16-35mm is released.

 

[robbie36]

Thanks! I have blended/lighten images before but never 2 images taken one hour apart. Will try it out.

That's a great image. It is tempting me to get A7 now that 16-35mm is released.

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Bangkok Riverside panorama by Salintara, on Flickr

Actually that was my thinking to. Wait for the 16-35 to come out and get the A7r. Wide and ultra-wide are important to me and this is the one area where M43 is weak. As it turned out a bargain basement A7r came on offer so I jumped at it a couple of months ago.

A 16-35 has been waiting for me at the shop since last Friday but I am currently photographing in Bhutan. Still I will collect it this week and use it this weekend I suspect for an elephant shoot. So if you pm me early next week I should have a couple of raw files as well as 7-14 comparison.

Here is my Lebua shot.

 

[penWS]

Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Etude]

Actually that was my thinking to. Wait for the 16-35 to come out and get the A7r. Wide and ultra-wide are important to me and this is the one area where M43 is weak. As it turned out a bargain basement A7r came on offer so I jumped at it a couple of months ago.

A 16-35 has been waiting for me at the shop since last Friday but I am currently photographing in Bhutan. Still I will collect it this week and use it this weekend I suspect for an elephant shoot. So if you pm me early next week I should have a couple of raw files as well as 7-14 comparison.

Here is my Lebua shot.

For Sony, I am considering A7 or A7r. In your opinion, do you think A7 will be a good enough upgrade in IQ over E-M5 for landscape/cityscape? Or is it better to get A7r?
What about Fuji with 10-18mm. Have you considered Fuji before you bought A7r?

My purpose is to get another camera to complement my E-M5.

 

[mattia]

For Sony, I am considering A7 or A7r. In your opinion, do you think A7 will be a good enough upgrade in IQ over E-M5 for landscape/cityscape? Or is it better to get A7r?
What about Fuji with 10-18mm. Have you considered Fuji before you bought A7r?

My purpose is to get another camera to complement my E-M5.

I also have the A7r, not the A7, but I think the A7 can be a good upgrade for landscapes or cityscapes. What you're looking at there is base ISO performance assuming you'll be shooting off a tripod. The base iso performance (smoothness, more resolution) is the big differentiator. And the A7r is a resolution monster thanks to the lack of AA filter and the ridiculous number of pixels. My old Canon 5D mark II (about 21 MP) is still a better camera than the E-M5 for landscape detail (slightly less dynamic range, but more resolution, smoother base ISO files), so the A7 will definitely do the job.

I did look at Fuji, but there's no big resolution gain over MFT, I did not like the occasionaly smearing visible due to the X-Trans sensors (particularly foiliage) although it is not always a problem, and the number of RAW converters that play nice with Fuji files is smaller (e.g. no DxO Optics Pro, which is my favourite). I also don't feel the difference in sensor size between APS-C and MFT translates to significant differences in IQ, at least not those that matter to me.

 

[robbie36]

For Sony, I am considering A7 or A7r. In your opinion, do you think A7 will be a good enough upgrade in IQ over E-M5 for landscape/cityscape? Or is it better to get A7r?
What about Fuji with 10-18mm. Have you considered Fuji before you bought A7r?

My purpose is to get another camera to complement my E-M5.

Well for me the key part of your question is that you are looking for 'a complement for the EM5'

Essentially you have 'IQ' with these cameras and 'usability'.

The EM1 comes top in usability and bottom in IQ, the A7r is the opposite - so in that respect they complement each other.

I have compared files from the A7 and the A7r and there isnt a lot of difference to be honest. The A7 is certainly good enough. So if I bought new with a US$600 price difference I wouldnt have thought the A7r is worth it but if buying second hand I suspect that you will get back most of the US$250 premium you paid for the A7r when you sell it. And if you are a landscape/cityscape sort of guy the extra pixels are where it is at.

Fuji seems like a very good system - perhaps as an alternative to M43 - but it doesnt seem like a complementary system.

 

[robbie36]

I just picked up the 16-35 f4 Sony. I no longer have the 7-14mm but I can do a quick and dirty comparison using by kitchen.

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It is a really horrible shot for a wide angle lens with a lot of dynamic range (I live in Thailand).

The difference become rather more obvious at a 100% view although the Sony clearly zooms in further.

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[Etude]

I also have the A7r, not the A7, but I think the A7 can be a good upgrade for landscapes or cityscapes. ...

Well for me the key part of your question is that you are looking for 'a complement for the EM5'...

Thanks guys for the inputs. Much appreciated!

FE 16-35mm looks promising, but I will wait for more reviews before making any decision. At the moment, I am leaning towards A7 although I do wish A7 has weather sealing as well.

I do have a question though regarding A7r. How does A7r perform without a tripod for landscape and cityscape? Thanks in advance.

 

[Joe King]

Great photos; thanks for sharing!

 

[Djarum]

Really nice set of pictures.

 

[manhattanproj]

i have read your other post from your trip to the U.S. you mention using the haida filters. i want to get started on doing some long exposure photography so i need to look into filters.

what kind of holders are you using for your filters? obviously lee is pretty well known and expensive so haida seems like a good alternative as far as their filters are concerned.

and if you are using or can recommend another system, let me know. thanks

i actually use a fuji system, so i'll need to look into the 100mm size ones.

 

[350duser]

Beautiful shots. Thanks for sharing.
Have never been to Bangkok but now Lebua bar seems to be a must!!

About your comment "This shot also shows a gap in m43 lens for me. A 7mm-8mm that can take ND filter. I was not able to achieve the light trail I wanted due to the lack of filter. I know there are DIY options available but I really wish someone can fill that gap."

The EM1 and EM10 allows you to use live comp function to achieve the same without ND filters or photoshop.

 

[robbie36]

Thanks guys for the inputs. Much appreciated!

FE 16-35mm looks promising, but I will wait for more reviews before making any decision. At the moment, I am leaning towards A7 although I do wish A7 has weather sealing as well.

I do have a question though regarding A7r. How does A7r perform without a tripod for landscape and cityscape? Thanks in advance.

Personally I find that any camera performs better with a tripod and that applies to M43 nearly as much as an A7r. I also found that I really couldnt see a noticeable difference between the A7 and A7r even when mounted on a tripod. Still that probably says more about me than the cameras (you, for instance, tend to get more out of an M43 sensor than I do.)

Professional photographers, who have both the A7 and A7r, say they get more resolution from the A7r than the A7 (partly due to the lack of AA filter) whether handheld or on a tripod. See Brian Smith's comments here...

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52346659

I dont see any disadvantage to more pixels. For me the biggest advantage of 36 MP is that it is quicker and easier to edit in post. While that might sound somewhat counterintuitive, selections are easier to make with more pixels and close up editing is easier.