a new camera and a trip to rome

By Budiak
*caution* Large images are a part of this article. Also, beware superfluous warnings.

I recently purchased, at great personal cost, a new camera. The device seemed to have exactly what I was looking for- a fixed lens, slim profile, and a rangefinder. In fact, it seems to be the only one of its type that costs less than 13,000 dollars for a kit. It's the Fuji X100. So I did what anybody would do with a brand new piece of equipment they've never used before. I took it as my sole source of photographic memories of a fabulous trip to Rome.

I have mine outfitted with a Thumbs Up grip, an Artisan and Artist acrylic strap, and an Abrahamsson Red Soft Release button. Some of you may recognize these accessories, and it's because I purchased all of them off of Steve Huff's recommendation. He was 100% correct about these accessories. Not only do these accessories look sharp, but they're all functional and add a lot to the experience. The strap is fully adjustable, but the adjustments aren't located on the ends, it's along the entire length of the strap. It is also very light and thin, which suits the camera. I like slinging the camera at chest height so I can either snap off photos from there or bring it up to my face in a hurry. The thumbs up grip facilitates that my enabling one-handed operation-in conjunction with the much larger red button, which has a grip on the sides. The combo enables me to bring the camera up, turn it on with one finger, adjust settings, and shoot all with one hand. Of course any other adjustments need to involve the other hand.

Ok, photos. I went to Rome over Christmas vacation. What I did not expect to find here was a land totally devoid of Christmas spirit. I suppose they define it differently, is all. There is no snow, the temperature was around 70 degrees the whole time, and the people still yelled at you constantly. So nothing has changed since the last time I went to Rome.
I had the privilege of going to the Vatican for Christmas mass, and what I found in the scene outside was apparent bedlam. So it was a great opportunity for photos. Click the link for a larger version. Hopefully this works.

Holy smokes. It seems like the code is working. Now, should you steal these images? Maybe. If you show them to people and tell them how much you like them, and where you got them, yes, by all means. Also, if you hate them and want to show people and tell them how much they suck and where you can see more garbage like them, then again, by all means. I'd rather that than splash some disgusting watermark all over them and destroy them. Just don't say you took them. Nobody will believe you.

Ok, moving on. So there were people EVERYWHERE at the Vatican. Everywhere you looked there was an enormous line of people going someplace. The great thing is that nobody knew what the line was. People would show up and just get into line, expecting something fantastic to be at the end. And in my opinion there was absolutely something fantastic at the end of the big line. But for others, it was a six hour wait to sit down in the largest rock building they'd ever seen, and then have a 90 year old man speak Latin for two hours.

I digress. The first image was of a line of people that was lined up for nothing. They were all standing there for hours. Hours! And none of them moved. And there was nothing to the right or left of them. It is possible that the joke is on me, and that they were in the VIP section, or a line for free gelato. They all looked as confused as everybody else.
So did these people.

The above image is one of the best examples of the limitations of this camera. While it is possible to take quality images in very, very low light, the amount of artifacting is nearl crippling. If you were to examine that image very closely you'd find the faces almost unrecognizable. On the other hand, the camera is able to take decent representations with character at very low light. Two things about this camera that made it a joy to shoot candids are the completely silent action and the ability to manually turn off the focusing light. These things, coupled with rangefinder capability, make the camera extremely stealthy for street shooting.
This next image was a girl I got walking into the underground bathroom tunnel. I know it isn't exactly in focus, but it's what you get when you see a shot forming, reach up, turn on your camera, and shoot a frame from your chest. I still like this photo. It really reminds me of the quality and texture I used to get shooting pulled tri-x and pushing it post process in hot water. So that being said, the camera starts up very quickly. I suggest, however, altering the viewfinder settings because you cannot focus or shoot when the view is switching between the rangefinder display and the LCD.

Some Vatican police walking among the crowd.

In front of us in line were a group of nuns who, if I remember correctly, were behind us in line when I went to the bathroom. Is it possible that these nuns cut in line? Is my aunt just too nice to qeue properly? So many questions.

Once inside, I kept photo taking to a minimum as we were shuffled to our seats. The Swiss Guard does not mess around, and probably have little tolerance for people at a Papal mass shoving cameras into their faces. As soon as you see the halberd, you are likely to oblige their prompting. So once I sat down, I found that though I was in the middle of the room, I was about a football field away from the baldacchino.
By the way, if you've never seen the Pope in real life, the man is an absolute, bona-fide rock star. Take the next image as an example of his stardom.

That's right. Every single time he stirred in the least- every cough, every throat clearance, every time he smoothed a wrinkle, 400 cameras flew into the air with LCDs shining. Of course, I had to join them to take this photo. But at least I recognize it.
So what was my view? I had to sneak a shot of the man through a hole in the crowd. He's the tiny white speck in the center. Overall I am pleased with the definition and fidelity of details in the images- so long as the images are well lit.

I don't know if the egress is designed this way, but we were ushered out through a small hallway that led directly beneath the tomb of Pope Alexander VII, featuring the Angel of Death being smothered by an enormous marble blanket. And you walk underneath it. Awesome.

I love the next one. Day after Christmas we were walking around Rome and this little girl was driving her power wheel on the sidewalk (blocking us, which is why I was so close). The difference in quality between high ISO and low ISO is incredible. The tonal quality and the detail in the higher zones is beautiful. The autofocus is plenty fast in daylight.

Snagged the next one of a dude praying for bucks on the street. Though I didn't give him any money, I gave him the privilege of living in perpetuity in the detritus section 8 web ghetto called DynamiteGun.com. I shot this one from my chest.

I shot this next one from my chest as well. There were scads of these street vendors in Rome. I kept looking into their eyes and wondering what the hell they had going on in there. What dreams they had, what expectations they had when they crossed the border...or at least, what hell they left behind and how this is actually better. And then, how many of these things does this guy have to sell in order to eat? So he sells six of them in a day, and then goes home to an apartment where seven other merchants live as well, and eats out of a dumpster. All of this is imagined, obviously. Fun fact about me- I eat garbage. And they live in Rome, too, so they must eat some pretty sweet trash.

So the verdict so far for the camera is definitely looking positive. In good, natural light, it focuses quickly and maintains splendid tonal quality. In low light and high ISO, the performance starts to get shaky, while maintaining the ability to take pictures that are salvageable in post.
As for Rome, it's as dirty, crowded, and expensive as ever. All in all, a pretty nice place.

Back to Main

Head on back to the main page if you can't handle this one. We'll find something for you to do I'm sure.

All photographs on this site are the intellectual property of the webmaster unless otherwise stated. Please do not alter the images for distribution without the consent of the author at Budiak@dynamitegun.com. Thank you.
Dynamitegun.com 2008