Time to start enjoying my new NX1

After a week of taking picture with my NX1 just to test it out and get used to some of its features, it was finally time to start taking pictures for enjoyment. And to see if I would remember how to use the camera without the instruction manual (at least what I know how to do so far.)

I set the camera to JPEG, Shutter Priority, Multi-point exposure, AWB with +1A,+1M (per my prior thread), and packed both 16-50S and 50-150S lenses in my AW200. The sky was crystal clear and bright blue with a very strong sun. This was going to be good practice with combined strong highlights and deep shadows.

So it was up to follow the Housatonic River north for the afternoon. This is a regular landscape trek for me, so not only would I get a chance to use the camera for fun, I would also have comparisons to prior equipment.

NOTE: All images are reduced size. This set is for enjoying the visual characteristics of the equipment, not to pixel peep.

First Stop: Bull's Bridge

Looking at Bull's Bridge from up river. I immediately started liking the range of tones I could see in the EVF review. The sun was way too bright for the LCD.

The view North from the middle window of the bridge in the first image.

Climbing around south, the view of the bridge from down river. Despite the scene being visually washed out to the eye due to the very bright sun, the actual image maintained good workable contrast and details.

The view South from the middle window of the bridge in the prior image.

Second Stop: Scenery along Rte 7

Red barns under an expressive old tree made for a nice landscape with a subtle palette.

The long end of the 50-150S was not enough for these grazing horses, but this 1/3 crop (the only crop in the set) still retains great detail.

Third Stop: Sloane Stanley Museum

The first of two images that would test the mettle of the NX1's DR, our old locomotive fared quite well in the deep shadows while the bright background retained very good color.

To the eye, the shaded door wall was deep black and the sun drenched stones, timber and background totally washed out. Not so in the final image.

That timber and stone made for a beautiful study in texture and light.

Last Stop: Kent Falls

These are the lowest falls at Kent, with about a dozen more going a ¼ mile up the mountain. Both highlights and shadows held very well in the strong sun.

The main falls are at the top, dropping the height of a seven story building. This is a special place for my wife and I as I asked her to marry me here almost 4 decades ago.

So for my first day out just for enjoyment with my new NX1, I am pleased. The camera handled very well and I didn't fumble when changing settings. And because of the strong sun, EV was changed often over a 2 stop range. That probably wouldn't have been necessary if I choose Spot Metering, but that's for a different day. And I will say that over the entire afternoon, the slight rotation of the lens mount on both lenses did not really affect my shooting. So I forced myself not to notice it . . . successfully. I'm liking this camera.

Thanks for looking, and comments are always welcome.

Ed