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Scoop
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
A New Zealand Photographer's 'Poetic Journey' Into Papua New Guinea's Past
, RNZ Pacific senior journalist Forty-eight years ago, a young New Zealand photographer set off on a brief solo journey into the remote Papua New Guinea Highlands. Victoria Ginn is now in her seventies and has a gallery in the small Taranaki town of Normanby. That trip, almost five decades ago, was the first in a series of exotic trips she undertook and resulted in a remarkable collection of photographs of the indigenous people, which she has called 'A Welcome Adventure'. Victoria Ginn spoke with RNZ Pacific. (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) Don Wiseman: So when you were 23 years old, and I guess, a fairly inexperienced photographer, you took yourself off on your own into the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Why did you do that? Victoria Ginn: Well, I probably wasn't as inexperienced as you state. I began photography when I was about 14 years old, in the 1960s, after a friend of mine realised I could take good photographs. He gave me his Leica camera, and I self taught. I was interested in human culture and nature right from day dot really. Why I took myself into the Papua New Guinea Highlands at the age of 23, probably a yearning to connect with a deeper part of my own self and also a deeper part of the human culture, than was represented in my own modern culture, in terms of 1970s modern Melbourne, Australia, and that sort of system. I was probably a natural photographer in terms of my yearning to use a camera as a way to connect with people. It is a form of connection, photography, or was. Nowadays it is a form of intrusion and narcissism. But back then it was an art form, and it mesmerised me to know that you could translate a moment in reality into something that was a beautiful essence of somebody through black and white portraiture and a moment in time, where you saw an emotion or an expression or a sense of the self that was portrayed In another person. It was never intrusive photography. When photography became fashionable in the 1970s, art photography became fashionable in the 1970s through the production of a book by Diane Arbus, and everyone had to be a photographer, sort of thing. But photography in a way, became corrupted by wide angle lenses and people not realising the sensitivity of the other, meaning the subject, and a lot of deceitful photography happened that was calling itself art photography at that time. DW: It's still very difficult on a number of levels to access the Papua New Guinea Highlands. But in 1977 and on your own, it would have been very, very difficult. VG: Yes, it was. But I was an adventurer. I enjoyed the attraction of the unknown and the challenge of finding a way into an area of such remoteness in the world, where there was not a pollution of modernity, if you like, upon the peoples that I wanted to meet. So yes, it was difficult. It was basically bussing up the Highlands into the Highlands, and then finding ways to get around. And I did have some fairly hairy encounters, not with the local people, but with imports, imported construction managers and things like people from Australia. Papua New Guinea was only two years into its independence at that time, so there was still a very raw aspect to the confusion between what was meant to be and what was, where you have an important psyche, like the Australian mentality, wanting to civilise and develop a country, and you had the indigenous people who had stayed sane and intact and culturally together and had a very rich, beautiful culture that was kind of timeless. DW: How did you communicate? VG: That is an interesting one, because I discovered the art of non verbal communication, and it sounds stupid or nonsensical, but there is a way. I developed it later, when I was travelling through other remote regions of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, particularly. There's a way to communicate that does not require speech in terms of your tongue, and it becomes a very basic, essential, means of communication, which involves gesture, but it also involves something that is unspoken, and it is very difficult to describe that, and you connect. It is about someone connecting to you, and you connecting to them on a level that is not cerebral, and it is not through your tongue, so not through speech. I used that method. It grew on me. It developed. I was not there long enough to become adept at that sort of thing, but I got a taste of it, and I learned how you can communicate without language. I have spent time in a lot of different cultures using that means. DW: This happened back in 1977, so 48 years ago. Why has it taken you so long to bring a book out? VG: I have gone backwards, looking at my work, in a way, I'm going backwards. I am in my 70s now, and I mean, I have had other work that propelled me to do other creative essays that I was prompted to do by my own artistry, and that has come to an end. I am no longer a photographer, so I am more a writer now, and I am looking backwards and tidying up my life, you could say. And it is a beautiful little essay. It is a very poetic essay which portrays a form of gentleness, contrary to what is happening in Papua New Guinea today. It is a counterbalance to what is what is occurring in the Highlands today, which is now a lawless place where people have had their essential culture stripped from them by the incursion of missionaries and what have you, and mining companies and so on. It gives voice to a portrait of a people. DW: You've visited a number of places, as you say, remote areas around the Pacific, particularly, where does this adventure into the PNG Highlands in 1977 sit? VG: That is a hard one. I think the last big work I did in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia was called The Spirited Earth, which was subtitled dance, myth and ritual from South Asia to the South Pacific, which was a philosophical look at the religious and spiritual forms of expression through performance art and ritual in those regions. Mostly color photography. Back in 77 you could say this was a stepping stone to my awareness of the depth of understanding of the spiritual aspects of the human psyche within a people that were so called prehistoric and primitive. It's candid work. It is more portraiture, portraiture in terms of face rather than form or body, which my book, The Spirited Earth, looks at the complete picture of face and form and body and environment. This is mainly a portrait, and it's a poetic portrait which involves the poetry of the people, but also the more prosaic sort of day to day, here am I sitting in a marketplace, or here am I pulling my bow and arrow, carrying my grasses from the fields and so on. It is more a documentary portrait than an artistic portrait, but it contains artistry, of course.
RNZ News
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
A New Zealand photographer's 'poetic journey' into Papua New Guinea's past
From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied Forty-eight years ago, a young New Zealand photographer set off on a brief solo journey into the remote Papua New Guinea Highlands. Victoria Ginn is now in her seventies and has a gallery in the small Taranaki town of Normanby. That trip, almost five decades ago, was the first in a series of exotic trips she undertook and resulted in a remarkable collection of photographs of the indigenous people, which she has called 'A Welcome Adventure' . Victoria Ginn spoke with RNZ Pacific. Kabo – the Sorcerer, from A Welcome Adventure into the PNG Highlands, 1997 by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) Don Wiseman: So when you were 23 years old, and I guess, a fairly inexperienced photographer, you took yourself off on your own into the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Why did you do that? Victoria Ginn: Well, I probably wasn't as inexperienced as you state. I began photography when I was about 14 years old, in the 1960s, after a friend of mine realised I could take good photographs. He gave me his Leica camera, and I self taught. I was interested in human culture and nature right from day dot really. Why I took myself into the Papua New Guinea Highlands at the age of 23, probably a yearning to connect with a deeper part of my own self and also a deeper part of the human culture, than was represented in my own modern culture, in terms of 1970s modern Melbourne, Australia, and that sort of system. I was probably a natural photographer in terms of my yearning to use a camera as a way to connect with people. It is a form of connection, photography, or was. Nowadays it is a form of intrusion and narcissism. From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied But back then it was an art form, and it mesmerised me to know that you could translate a moment in reality into something that was a beautiful essence of somebody through black and white portraiture and a moment in time, where you saw an emotion or an expression or a sense of the self that was portrayed In another person. It was never intrusive photography. When photography became fashionable in the 1970s, art photography became fashionable in the 1970s through the production of a book by Diane Arbus, and everyone had to be a photographer, sort of thing. But photography in a way, became corrupted by wide angle lenses and people not realising the sensitivity of the other, meaning the subject, and a lot of deceitful photography happened that was calling itself art photography at that time. DW: It's still very difficult on a number of levels to access the Papua New Guinea Highlands. But in 1977 and on your own, it would have been very, very difficult. VG: Yes, it was. But I was an adventurer. I enjoyed the attraction of the unknown and the challenge of finding a way into an area of such remoteness in the world, where there was not a pollution of modernity, if you like, upon the peoples that I wanted to meet. So yes, it was difficult. It was basically bussing up the Highlands into the Highlands, and then finding ways to get around. And I did have some fairly hairy encounters, not with the local people, but with imports, imported construction managers and things like people from Australia. Papua New Guinea was only two years into its independence at that time, so there was still a very raw aspect to the confusion between what was meant to be and what was, where you have an important psyche, like the Australian mentality, wanting to civilise and develop a country, and you had the indigenous people who had stayed sane and intact and culturally together and had a very rich, beautiful culture that was kind of timeless. From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied DW: How did you communicate? VG: That is an interesting one, because I discovered the art of non verbal communication, and it sounds stupid or nonsensical, but there is a way. I developed it later, when I was travelling through other remote regions of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, particularly. There's a way to communicate that does not require speech in terms of your tongue, and it becomes a very basic, essential, means of communication, which involves gesture, but it also involves something that is unspoken, and it is very difficult to describe that, and you connect. It is about someone connecting to you, and you connecting to them on a level that is not cerebral, and it is not through your tongue, so not through speech. I used that method. It grew on me. It developed. I was not there long enough to become adept at that sort of thing, but I got a taste of it, and I learned how you can communicate without language. I have spent time in a lot of different cultures using that means. DW: This happened back in 1977, so 48 years ago. Why has it taken you so long to bring a book out? VG: I have gone backwards, looking at my work, in a way, I'm going backwards. I am in my 70s now, and I mean, I have had other work that propelled me to do other creative essays that I was prompted to do by my own artistry, and that has come to an end. I am no longer a photographer, so I am more a writer now, and I am looking backwards and tidying up my life, you could say. And it is a beautiful little essay. It is a very poetic essay which portrays a form of gentleness, contrary to what is happening in Papua New Guinea today. It is a counterbalance to what is what is occurring in the Highlands today, which is now a lawless place where people have had their essential culture stripped from them by the incursion of missionaries and what have you, and mining companies and so on. It gives voice to a portrait of a people. DW: You've visited a number of places, as you say, remote areas around the Pacific, particularly, where does this adventure into the PNG Highlands in 1977 sit? VG: That is a hard one. I think the last big work I did in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia was called The Spirited Earth , which was subtitled dance, myth and ritual from South Asia to the South Pacific, which was a philosophical look at the religious and spiritual forms of expression through performance art and ritual in those regions. Mostly color photography. Back in 77 you could say this was a stepping stone to my awareness of the depth of understanding of the spiritual aspects of the human psyche within a people that were so called prehistoric and primitive. It's candid work. It is more portraiture, portraiture in terms of face rather than form or body, which my book, The Spirited Earth , looks at the complete picture of face and form and body and environment. This is mainly a portrait, and it's a poetic portrait which involves the poetry of the people, but also the more prosaic sort of day to day, here am I sitting in a marketplace, or here am I pulling my bow and arrow, carrying my grasses from the fields and so on. It is more a documentary portrait than an artistic portrait, but it contains artistry, of course.
Tom's Guide
4 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I tested the Leica Q3 43 for a week and fell in love — there's just one problem
I test some of the best mirrorless cameras here at Tom's Guide. I've tested ones from Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, you name it. And I own a Nikon and Fuji for personal use too. And when you think real hard about cameras, there's one name that always comes up, and that's Leica — premium, classic, sharp, and usually out of most people's budgets. But as is the nature of my job, I'm very lucky that I get to test Leica cameras too. I recently reviewed the Leica M11-D rangefinder and the Leica Q3 43 compact camera. Both of them got glowing recommendations for me, and when I had to return the loan units, I had tears in my eyes (slight exaggeration but you get the sentiment). Pin-sharp precision is what the Leica Q3 43 is all about. Featuring a 60.3MP CMOS sensor and utilizing Leica's best-in-class autofocus system, the Q3 43 captures stunning images with beautiful color reproduction. The new 43mm lens has a standard field of view and comes with a dedicated macro mode. The camera itself is compact and comfortable to use, and for those who like shooting video, it can record 8K/30fps and 4K/60fps footage. Leica cameras are the pinnacle of sharpness and image quality, as my in-depth testing has proven. And I, for one, wish I could get one for myself. But there is a very big hurdle here: four figures that usually come after or before a currency symbol. So what makes the Q3 43 worth the premium? Let me show you. If you were active back in the good ol' days of Tumblr, remember how everyone used to say things like, "That's sharper than Benedict Cumberbatch's cheekbones"? (Or Tom Hiddleston's or Cate Blanchett's, fill in the blanks with your celebrity of choice.) That's how I'd describe the Leica Q3 43's image quality — it's sharper than all the knives in my kitchen. The Q3 43 has a 60.3MP sensor and utilizes Leica's latest Maestro IV processor to make images feel almost ethereal yet lifelike. Color reproduction is absolutely fantastic with a great balance between shadows and highlights. Plenty and plenty of detail is packed in these images, even when you zoom in. Just take a look at the photo of the swan in the gallery above. Feathers? Sharp. Water droplets? Crystal clear. You could use these images straight out of the camera without having to do any post-processing. That's the beauty of the Q3 43. It is a ridiculously good camera that gives you barely anything to complain about. The Leica Q3 43 won me over as soon as I took it out of the box, to be honest. Its ability to capture gorgeous photos and video were the cherries on top of an already delicious cake. There aren't many cameras I test that make me go, "That's a beautiful camera," but the Q3 43 did. It made me actually gasp when I unboxed it. It looks like a million bucks, sporting a compact yet premium look, its front wrapped in a leather-like material. It's as comfortable to hold as it is a treat for the eyes to look at. If you think the Q3 43 is good for stills only, think again. This camera can shoot 4K/60fps and 8K/30fps video, making it great for casual video — I say "casual" because it doesn't have a 3.5mm headphones/mic input/output port, limiting its use out in the field for videography. "So, Nikita, should I buy the Leica Q3 43?" I hear you ask, and I say yes, you should. But if you aren't familiar with the vast world of cameras and have heard whispers about Leicas being great, I have some news for you. These cameras do not come cheap. The Q3 43 retails for $7,380 / £5,900 — but at least it's a fixed-lens camera so you won't need to spend extra on glass over the years. If money is a concern, I completely get it. If you can afford it, though, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't buy the Q3 43. I wouldn't let the price tag put me off because this camera is so ridiculously easy to use with a straightforward control scheme. If it's pure power and image clarity you're after, I can't think of a better camera to recommend. I'm transferring some extra money to my savings account every month now so that I can eventually, one day, get the Q3 43 for myself. That red dot sure costs a lot but to me, it feels like it's worth every cent.
Tom's Guide
5 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I've been testing the Leica Q3 43 for a week — and if you didn't believe the Leica hype already, you will after seeing these photos
I'm in the very privileged position of testing the best cameras, from compacts to medium format bodies and everything in between. More than a year of testing these cameras has proven one thing to me: the Leica hype is real, and these cameras are in a league of their own. And the camera that proved that? The Leica Q3 43, which I tested for a week — I had tears in my eyes when I returning the loan unit. The Q3 43 is an exceptional compact camera. It's tactile to handle and intuitive to use, and it's very easy to travel with, barely taking up space in your backpack. Fitted with a 43mm lens whose field of view resembles human vision, and a 60.3MP CMOS sensor, the camera takes stunning images packed with plenty of detail and beautiful colors. The autofocus performs well for stills while the Maestro IV processor captures a wide dynamic range. For casual videographers, the Q3 43 offers the ability to shoot 8K/30fps and 4K/60fps footage too. While not without its faults, as there's no IBIS and the battery life is short, the Q3 43 is worth every cent… if you can afford it. Read on for my full Leica Q3 43 review. Specs Leica Q3 43 Price $7,380 / £5,900 Sensor 60.3MP CMOS Processor Leica Maestro IV Stabilization Optical Image Stabilization only AF system Intelligent Hybrid AF Focus modes Intelligent AF, Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual Focus Viewfinder OLED EVF, approx. 5.76 million dots Display 3-inch TFT LCD touchscreen, approx. 1.84 million dots ISO range 50-100,000 Max video resolution C8K/30fps | C4K/60fps | FHD/120fps Ports USB-C, micro HDMI output, 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II/V90 Wireless/Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Max shooting speed 15fps (electronic) | 7fps (mechanical) Max shutter speed 1s to 1/16000s (stills, electronic) | 120s to 1/2000s (stills, mechanical) Battery life (Stills, CIPA) 350 shots Size 5.11 x 3.84 x 3.16 inches Weight 1.51lbs (body only) Leica cameras don't come cheap and they fit a certain luxurious lifestyle. The Leica Q3 43 retails for $7,380 / £5,900, but unlike the Leica M11-D ($9,799) where you need to spend extra on glass, the Q3 43 has a fixed lens. This lens has a focal length of 43mm, which I'll discuss in depth later, and it has been specifically designed for the Q3 43. The Q3 43 finds itself competing with the likes of the Fujifilm GFX100RF ($4,899) — also a fixed-lens camera but medium format. It's priced closely to the Hasselblad X2D 100C ($8,199), which is an interchangeable lens camera (ILC). Given the Q3 43's compact, full frame nature, the Sony A7CR ($2,999) and the Fujifilm X100VI ($1,599) are also its competitors, but they cost a lot less than the Leica. So why would you buy the Q3 43 if you can just get one of the aforementioned cameras for cheaper? People who want a Leica aren't looking for cheaper alternatives — they want a Leica. If I could afford it, I would be buying the Q3 43 in no time. Its unique 43mm focal length sets it apart, and the image quality and color reproduction are phenomenal. The Leica Q3 43 is a stunning camera. It's near-identical to the base Leica Q3 which features a 28mm lens. That has been replaced with a 43mm lens with a field of view that resembles human vision and what your eye sees. It's a fantastic, sharp lens that, when combined with the camera's 60.3MP sensor, captures an incredible amount of detail. Unlike every other camera that comes in black or silver, the Q3 43 is available in a few colorways: Black Paint, Matte Black Paint, Red, Safari Green and Silver. The front of the camera is wrapped in a faux-leather material that gives it a premium edge — and yes, this looks like an expensive camera. The camera measures 5.11 x 3.84 x 3.16 inches so it's slightly bigger than other compacts, like the Fujifilm X100VI. Without a battery and SD card, the Q3 43 weighs 1.51lbs and has great weight distribution. It feels great to carry around your neck with the included leather strap. Tactile to hold and use, I love how the Q3 43 handles. One thing I would change? Add a protruding sculpted grip, like on the Fujifilm GFX100RF. That's not to say it isn't comfortable to hold; that would just make it even better. Similar to the Leica M11-D, the Leica Q3 43 doesn't house as many ports as most other cameras. Located behind a hatch on the left-hand side, you'll find the USB-C port for data transfer and charging, and a micro HDMI output port. Even though the Q3 43 is a hybrid camera that can shoot cinematic 8K video, it doesn't house any 3.5mm jacks for headphones and mic input or output. However, Leica's partnership with Rode means that the Q3 43 supports Rode mics via the USB-C port, such as the Rode Wireless Go Gen 3 ($329). On the bottom plate, you'll find a silver release lever which, on being pushed, releases the battery pack. Also located on the bottom plate is the memory card compartment, and the Q3 43 is compatible with one SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I/UHS-II card. There's no support for CFExpress cards which may be an issue for those looking to shoot a lot of 8K video. The Leica Q3 43 is fitted with a bright 3-inch TFT LCD touchscreen around the back. It has a resolution of approximately 1.84 million dots, and it falls just short of the Fujifilm GFX100RF's which boasts 2.1 million dots though, but I still found it bright enough to read in direct sunlight and in the dark. I found the touchscreen highly responsive in my testing, enabling me to quickly adjust settings and swap between Leica Looks, for instance. The monitor has a Tilt-Type mechanism so it can tilt only up and down and can't be swung outwards, but it's handy enough for shooting at waist-level or remaining discreet when shooting the streets or macro. The Leica Q3 43 features an excellent, detailed OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a resolution of approximately 5.76 million dots. It's on a level playing field with the Fujifilm GFX100RF's and the Hasselblad X2D 100C's (both 5.76M dots). You can choose between a 60fps or 120fps refresh rate, and while the latter will shorten battery life, it will relay smooth motion. The viewfinder also provides a depth-of-field preview as half-pressing the shutter button stops down the aperture. In my testing, the viewfinder was quick and reliable and never once let me down. Unlike the Fujifilm X100VI, you don't need to buy a weather-sealing kit for the Leica Q3 43 as the camera has an IP52 rating, This means its body prevents a significant amount of dust from entering, and it is also safe against water drips at a tilt. You should be able to use the camera while it's drizzling but as always, err on the side of caution. Keeping in line with Leica's ethos of simplicity and minimalism, the Leica Q3 43's control scheme is stripped back and very intuitive. The camera doesn't host as many dials as most other cameras, and it didn't take me long to get to grips with it. The buttons and dials are all within easy reach and customizing them is simple too — keep a button pressed down to change its function via on-screen instructions. One of the Q3 43's standout features is its digital crop button, located above the touchscreen. At first I thought it would be difficult to access while shooting through the viewfinder, but it was actually easy to do with my thumb — yes, even when my face was pushed against the back of the camera. This button enables you to apply five digital crops, alongside the standard 43mm: 60mm, 75mm, 90mm, 120mm and 150mm. The camera crops into images to give effective focal lengths at the cost of some resolution, which is okay because you have 60MP at your disposal, allowing for extreme cropping. Sound familiar? That's because a similar function exists on the Fujifilm GFX100RF! As I'd already tested the GFX100RF before the Q3 43, I was familiar with the real-world application of the digital crop button. I used it constantly to see, in real time, what an image would look like if I cropped into it, and it helped me frame my images better. The other controls include traditional dials on the top plate for adjusting shutter speed, ISO and exposure, and the mode button which allows you to quickly swap between stills and video. It's important to note that there's no joystick for changing focus points. Instead, you'll need to use the D-pad. It isn't as comfortable as a traditional joystick but it isn't unusable either as it's responsive and quick. If it gives you any comfort, the Hasselblad X2D 100C doesn't have a joystick… or a D-pad, and you need to use the touchscreen for focusing, so at least Leica has implemented something to make focusing easier. At the time of writing, the Leica Q3 43 boasts the brand's smartest, most advanced autofocus system. It uses a combination of phase and contrast detection as well as depth mapping to accurately lock onto humans and animals/birds. As with other cameras, you can choose between Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual focus and Intelligent AF which automatically swaps between the first two. In my testing, the Q3 43 quickly focused on every subject I pointed at, as you can see in the gallery above. It locked onto my coworker's face and I didn't have to think much. Similarly, it locked onto the man's body in the second shot, even though his face was turned away, and the swan in the third. I also like that when there are multiple people in the frame, the camera will highlight the person it is focusing on with a yellow box and the others with white. You can then use the D-pad to swap between your primary subject — a great feature for street photography. Where the Q3 43's autofocus slightly struggles is in video. In the video above, it's slow to focus on my face as I enter the frame. It's not the slowest but not the fastest either, and I'd recommend the Sony A7CR's AF system over the Q3 43's, at least for video work. The Leica Q3 43 doesn't feature in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which makes it difficult to shoot at very slow shutter speeds. I'd recommend using a tripod when shooting in low-light conditions or anywhere else that requires slow shutter speeds. Instead, the camera utilizes optical image stabilization. The first photo in the gallery above was shot at 1/4s and that's the slowest I could shoot handheld. Any slower than that and the result was blurry, impacted by camera shake, as you can see in the second slide. How would I describe the photos the Leica Q3 43 takes? Pin-sharp, gorgeously colored, extremely stunning. The camera is fitted with a 60.3MP CMOS sensor and Leica Maestro IV processor, both of which work together to deliver stupidly beautiful images. You can see a few sample shots in the gallery above. As I mentioned before, the Q3 43's viewfinder shows an accurate depth-of-field preview which I utilized in the first shot, swapping between different aperture values to capture a lovely photo of one of my coworkers. This camera is great for taking candids of friends and family while on vacation. In terms of shooting rates, the Q3 43 utilizes a 15fps electronic or 7fps mechanical shutter, which is more than enough for street, landscapes and travel photography. The electronic shutter has a maximum speed of 1s to 1/16000s while the mechanical shutter has speeds of 120s to 1/2000s. I had a lot of fun photographing birds with the Q3 43 too. I especially love the first photo of the bee collecting nectar and pollen from the purple flowers. It's sharp and the colors have been faithfully reproduced. I also shot this with the 120mm digital crop. Good news is that, if you're shooting in both JPEG and DNG, the camera will save an uncropped DNG version if you aren't happy with the straight-out-of-camera JPEG. What about the other digital crops? You can see how the images look with each digital crop in the gallery above. Even at 150mm, you can clearly see the sunburnt spots on the leaves. Similar to other Leica cameras, the Q3 43 gives you access to six Leica Looks, such as Vivid, Monochrome, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed using the High Contrast Monochrome black and white profile, which I like almost as much as Fujifilm's Acros. You can see sample images in the gallery above. It works great for street photography as it adds a dramatic flair. Because you have 60.3 megapixels at your disposal, you can crop right into images, and because the camera retains so much detail, these photos will make for great large-format prints too. The first image in the gallery above is a crop of the second. The flower's petals are still in focus and appear sharp with refined edges. The Q3 43's built-in lens has a dedicated macro mode. Using the lens dial closest to the camera lets you swap between macro and normal, and twisting it reveals a new set of markings for close-up focusing (as close as 27cm). The photos above were shot with the lens' macro mode active. I deliberately chose to focus on the petals, leaving the stigma slightly blurry, and I'm very pleased with the result. I did the opposite in the second shot and again, there's plenty of detail in the shot. The Q3 43 has an ISO range of 50-100,000. Similar to the Leica M11-D, the Q3 43 captures JPEGs alongside DNGs, and DNGs are usually 15-20% smaller than RAW files, but the difference is negligible. At ISO6,400, the camera performs as you'd expect so let's talk about higher ISO values instead. The images above were shot at ISO12,500: the first is a JPEG export of the DNG file and the second is the straight-out-of-camera JPEG. In the DNG, you can see a lot of grain in the background and the bobblehead, but the Q3 43's in-camera noise reduction technology has done a fantastic job of eliminating it in the second photo. The bobblehead's features and the text in the background are still sharp. The photos above were shot at ISO25,000 where things start to get really noisy. While the camera does a good job of reducing noise in the SOOC JPEG (second slide), you can still see grain in the bobblehead's trousers and the book in the background. There is also a slight loss in sharpness around the bobblehead's fingers. Just like with the Sony A7CR, I wouldn't recommend shooting at ISO higher than ISO25,000. The photos in the gallery above were shot at ISO50,000 and at this point, noise is destructive. The bobblehead's fingers and hair don't appear as sharp and neither do the letters on the book. While you can shoot at up to ISO100,000, use it only as a last resort. The Fujifilm GFX100RF outclasses the Q3 43 when it comes to shooting at high ISO. I noticed noise only at ISO102,400 when using the GFX100RF, which is commendable, and I'd recommended getting the Fuji instead if you want to shoot at high sensitivities. Similar to the Leica M11-D, dynamic range performance is where the Leica Q3 43 shines. Offering up to 14+ stops, you can make extensive adjustments in post-production without significantly impacting image quality. To test the camera's dynamic range, I conducted an extreme test by photographing my collection of bobbleheads and instant cameras against a light source (the sun), and I was very impressed with the result. In the gallery above, shot at ISO50, the first shot is a JPEG export of the DNG file, unedited, and the second is the same photo but with shadows and exposure boosted and highlights reduced in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The shadows have remained very clean and plenty of color detail has been captured. While the Leica Q3 43 is primarily regarded as a stills-first camera due to its lack of 3.5mm input and average image stabilization, it's excellent for casual video work. It can shoot 8K/30fps, 4K/60fps (as seen above) and FHD/120fps slow motion video, and cinematic 8K and 4K too (17:9 aspect ratio). 4K and 8K video is recorded in 4:2:2 10-bit which means it can capture 1.07 billion individual hues, while FHD is limited to 8-bit (16.7 million hues). Leica has also added support for Apple ProRes for high-quality video editing in professional post-production workflows. You can shoot in L-Log too to capture a wide dynamic range for more flexibility in post. Cinematic 4K, as I said, records footage in the 17:9 aspect ratio, and you can see a clip above. Movement is smooth and flawless at 60fps. This video was shot in the Vivid Leica Look which adds more saturation to colors and it looks fantastic, perfect for shots of flowers and any other bright subject. Where the Leica Q3 43 falls short is in the battery department. It utilizes the BP-SCL6 battery pack and it has a 350-shot CIPA rating. The Fujifilm GFX100RF blows the Q3 43 out of the water here as it's CIPA-rated for 820 shots. Even the cheaper Fujifilm X100VI (450 shots) and the Sony A7CR (530 shots) outlast the Q3 43. CIPA tests, however, are conducted under very strict testing conditions, and real-life results will always vary depending on your shooting conditions and habits. I shot JPEGs while regularly accessing the gallery, adjusting settings, shooting through the viewfinder and using the monitor, and a single charge yielded nearly 450 shots. It's always safer to take CIPA ratings as the standard, though. With a 60.3MP CMOS full frame sensor that takes beautiful photos, aided by a 43mm lens that is extremely sharp, the Leica Q3 43 is a force to be reckoned with. Great for street, architecture, travel and candid portraits, the camera boasts faithful color reproduction and it makes colors pop. Digital cropping adds to the camera's versatility while retaining lots of detail. Autofocus works well on both humans and animals as the camera quickly focuses on subjects being photographed. While primarily aimed at stills shooters, you get access to 8K/30fps and 4K/60fps video recording too, which is hindered by the camera's lack of 3.5mm input and lack of in-body image stabilization. Regardless, the resulting footage is smooth and gorgeous. The Q3 43 is a lovely camera to handle and compact enough to carry around your neck or in a small bag. I haven't stopped thinking about the Q3 43 since I tested it and I think it will be a while until another camera blows me like this one did. If you can afford it, then there's nothing like it.
CNET
6 days ago
- CNET
I Took My Leica On a Trip to the Arctic. Here Are My Pro Tips for a Photography Adventure
Earlier this year, I traveled to Sweden to research, write and photograph a feature for CNET on why electric cars are great for winter driving. It was a huge undertaking, requiring me to travel around multiple parts of Sweden and venture north into the frozen Arctic Circle. As both a journalist and a professional photographer, it was my job to not just tell the story with my words, but to capture it on camera. That meant traveling with precisely the right equipment and knowing exactly how to use it to get the shots I'd need. From the camera gear I took with me to the difficulties of shooting on location to the thought process behind my shots, here's how I captured my story on camera. The camera gear I used Because I'd be traveling around Sweden, hopping on and off trains and planes and jumping in and out of taxis, I knew I needed to keep my setup lightweight. I didn't want to be burdened with a heavy backpack full of camera bodies and a myriad of lenses and accessories. Instead, I took just one camera: my new Leica Q3 43. Shooting stills on the frozen lake. Volvo I bought this camera for myself late last year. It combines a high-resolution, full-frame image sensor with a fixed focal length of 43mm. I love this focal length because it provides a great balance between a wide-angle view and a zoomed-in look. I often shoot on 35mm or 50mm prime lenses, so a 43mm lens that's permanently affixed to the camera is a great sweet spot for me. The result is that I had just one camera and lens to carry, keeping my pack-load down and eliminating any distracting questions in my head about which focal length to use. Instead, it encouraged me to work harder to find the best compositions. I brought a spare battery, along with a power bank to top up the camera over USB-C if I needed to (which I didn't). The only addition to my setup was a PolarPro 135 Gold Mist filter. This provides a gentle golden haze over the images that softens the sometimes harsh details of high-resolution shots and provides a slightly filmlike aesthetic that I absolutely love, and I kept this filter on the camera almost the entire time. To help protect my camera, I used a leather Oberwerth half case, which also provided extra grip -- helped too by a PolarPro thumb grip on the back. The half case also has a hidden pocket for an Apple AirTag, giving me a degree of extra peace of mind should my camera be misplaced. So that it was always ready to shoot, I often carried the camera around my neck using a Bowman Leather camera strap. Needless to say, for a $7,000 camera, I had my own photographic insurance for it, in case anything unlucky happened. When the gear wasn't in use, I carried the camera, accessories and other bits and bobs in my Wandrd Prvke backpack, which provides a secure storage section for my camera equipment, along with an expandable roll top for my jacket, hat, gloves or anything else I need to take with me. Video equipment Andrew Lanxon/CNET I also needed to shoot video on this trip, both for the CNET video that would run alongside my article, and to capture content for my personal photography YouTube channel. To help keep the weight down, I decided to buy a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo. This tiny, gimbal-stabilized camera captures great-looking, smooth footage and was the perfect partner for my busy schedule. I used it for capturing B-roll inside Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg; for filming cars as they slid around on a frozen lake; and for capturing my photographic walking tours of Stockholm on one of my days off (seen embedded above). Sure, maybe the footage wasn't as cinematic as I'd normally try to achieve from my usual Canon R5, but it looked more than good enough and the DJI setup was far easier to carry around with me than a full-size mirrorless camera and lenses. Arctic photography The first destination on my trip was Volvo's HQ, where I was shown various areas used for the testing of its electric vehicles. Places like this aren't always easy to shoot. The main issue is that Volvo, understandably, isn't keen on showing off all its engineering secrets, so many areas I visited were off-limits for photography. Other spots where photos could be taken were maybe not that illustrative for my story, so it was important to work with Volvo -- as I do with any company -- to find compromises that both sides are happy with. That wasn't a problem, and I'm especially pleased with some of my imagery taken inside the company's battery testing area, which was a key subject of my written piece. As a journalist and photographer, my aim is always to rely on my own images when I'm visiting an area like this. It adds to the authenticity of the story, showing CNET's readers that I've actually been somewhere and seen something firsthand. This wouldn't be the case if I simply used images provided by the company. Things got more dramatic as I joined Volvo in the frozen north of Sweden. My trip first took me up to the Arctic Circle, to the city of Kiruna, where I not only saw inside Volvo's Arctic testing facility, but was also given the opportunity to ride a snowmobile at night across frozen lakes and through snowbound forests. Taking this image of the aurora borealis required a tripod and a slow shutter speed. Andrew Lanxon/CNET It was amazing, especially when we stopped and got a brief glimpse of the northern lights overhead. I set my camera up on my Peak Design Travel Tripod, framed my image using the snowmobiles as foreground interest and used a three-second shutter speed and ISO of 800 to capture enough light. I'm pleased with the image I was able to get. Watch this: I Drove an EV This Winter in Sweden to Prove It Could Be Done. 04:18 Frantic photos on a frozen lake We then traveled a little more south, to the city of Lulea, where we were handed the keys to Volvo's all-electric EX90 and given a route that would take us across the countryside and to an ice track Volvo had cleared on a frozen lake. I shared the driving with another journalist on this leg of the trip, giving me an opportunity to shoot out of the car window, capturing some details around the area that I felt would add some extra color and scene-setting to my story. On the lake, things were less sedate. I started off doing some of my own driving, going hell-for-leather around the course in the hopes of sending the car sideways around the corners -- and frequently spinning off the track into snow drifts. Great fun. I'd attached my DJI Osmo on a small clamp inside the car to film my efforts from multiple angles, but then it was time for me to do something a bit more dangerous. Capturing a car in motion like this is no easy task Andrew Lanxon/CNET I needed to capture images and footage of the cars driving, and that required a more complicated setup. First, I needed one of Volvo's test drivers to drive the car that would be the subject. I'd then be in a car in front, sitting in the trunk with the tailgate open, allowing me to freely photograph the car as it drove close behind us. When I do this on public roads, I wear a high-vis vest and I'm firmly attached inside the car using a safety harness. We didn't have this on the closed track, so I just had to sit in the back and try not to slide out as we took each corner. At one point I nearly did, but I kept my foot pressed hard against the side to support me, which helped. Was it safe? No, not really, and it's absolutely not something I'd have done on public roads, if nothing else, because it would've been illegal. But it was the only way I was able to get the shots I required of the cars in action. The freezing conditions and high speeds on the track meant that snow and ice billowed around me, covering me -- and the camera -- in snow. Thankfully, my Leica Q3 43 is weather-sealed, so I wasn't worried about any water damage. At the top of this article, you can see me sitting with the remnants of snow on me. Hunched in the open back of the car, I tried hard not to fall out. Volvo I used a slower shutter speed on my camera -- usually around 1/80 of a second -- which slightly blurred the motion of the car's wheels and the ground as it sped past, while hopefully keeping the car in sharp focus. I used burst mode to increase the chances of getting sharp, usable images, but even then I got only about 10 that I was happy with out of the couple of hundred I shot. But that's fine, I needed only a few to illustrate my story. I did another run, this time with my Osmo, to capture video. I did some out of the back and some out of side windows, filming both the subject car behind and some footage of the car we were driving, in order to give our talented video editors more varied footage to work with. After our last lap, the day came to an end, as did my time in Sweden. Editing and advice I shot many of the images on this trip using Leica's built-in Chrome color profile. I adore the colors and tones it provides, especially when paired with the PolarPro Gold Mist filter. But I shot my images in both JPEG and raw, allowing me to also apply my own edits to the raw files if I wanted to. For some shots -- like the ones of the cars in motion on the track -- I used my own edits, while for others I simply used the JPEG with the Chrome profile built in. The Leica's built-in colors allowed for dreamy-looking shots. Andrew Lanxon/CNET I shot many images for my own use on my travels, and the majority of my favorite shots use the built-in colors from the Leica. Don't be afraid to use these profiles, as they can offer you a great creative boost when you're out taking your images. Fujifilm's cameras (like the excellent X100VI) are famed for having a variety of stunning filmlike color profiles built in, so look toward those if you're keen on using in-camera colors. Overall, I'm really pleased with the variety of images I shot for CNET and for myself. It really helped that I kept my equipment load to a minimum, because it allowed me to be nimble and react quickly to moments when I saw them. If you're keen on taking your own travel and documentary photos like this, make sure to check out my full guide to professional travel photography. Editors' note: Travel costs related to parts of this story were covered by the manufacturer, which is common in the auto industry. The judgments and opinions of CNET's staff are our own.
