Haunted Mansion with Micro 4:3

[boBQuincy]

These are not technically great but they show what can be done with a micro 4:3 in a situation that not long ago required full frame to get anything decent. The equipment was a Panasonic GX7 with their excellent Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens. The ISO was mostly 12800 which is kind of noisy but necessary for Haunted Mansion. I will go back and try again, maybe with a Nokton f/0.95!

 

[mom2rtk]

Very nice Bob! Thanks for posting!

 

[fractal]

@boBQuincy - nice job and pretty impressive!

 

[elmoandzoey]

Very nice! Did you do AF or MF on these?

 

[boBQuincy]

Thanks, all!

I used auto focus because the contrast detect focus on the GX7 is really fast, even in low light if it can find some high contrast to lock onto. I also use a single focus point *and* for low light I use the spot meter to avoid confusing the meter with all the darkness around the subject.

The tiny figure at the end uses video for her face and that usually washes out so I need to go back and reduce the exposure just for her face. The gravedigger was 1/4 second and is blurry so I may try -1 stop for him (or the f/0.95 lens).

These are not as good as some I have seen taken with full frame but my camera with lens weighs 21.2 ounces, so there! Btw, a 25mm on micro 4:3 is equivalent to 50mm on full frame, a bit wider than 35mm on APS-C.

 

[elmoandzoey]

Thanks for the comparison to other lens lengths. Seeing that you captured all 3 ghosts with yours, I think I#ll be good with the 30mm on an APS-C. 50mm only ever got me two ghosts...

 

[Creaking Crypt Door]

That coffin picture is incredible! Really highlights the detail on the windows, it's amazing how real it looks!

 

[zackiedawg]

Nice work Bob. Amazing what the little cams can do - fast lens and a little skill are worth a lot for sure!

Thanks for the comparison to other lens lengths. Seeing that you captured all 3 ghosts with yours, I think I#ll be good with the 30mm on an APS-C. 50mm only ever got me two ghosts...

A 35mm on APS-C will be pretty close to what Bob was getting with the 25mm on M4:3, so should be fine for fitting in all the ghosts. This was with a 35mm F1.8 lens on APS-C:

With a 30mm, you should be fine!

 

[boBQuincy]

Interesting Zackiedawg, how your ghost's faces are green while mine are blue. At first I suspected it was the exposure but maybe their lighting changes sometimes? I like yours better. Guess I will have to ride it again, darn it.

 

[zackiedawg]

I do think the lighting changes - either they do it intentionally, adjusting it as you go past, or it could be a light cycle from whatever type of lighting they use, since florescent, LED and other lights all have frequencies that can be off-time with the shutter speed you use on a camera. I've had many attempts at those, and looking back, some were clearly mostly blue...others have the green. I see a hint of the green, or at least different hue, in your ghosts too...it's just not as bold and yours is exposed brighter...almost as if yours is caught in the transition!

 

[elmoandzoey]

My WDW ghosts all have green faces, too - much like zackiedawg's. But looking at the DL Paris ghosts, they are completely blue. The shots were taken during multiple rides so I think it's more of a lightning setting in the ride itself in combination with the camera you are using than a constant reoccurring transition between blue and green?

 

[kellymartin612]

Very nice pictures.

 

[Groucho]

I'm pretty sure white balance can be blamed for a lot of the green/blue variation... since there are so few colors in the hitchhiking ghosts, you can probably swing the WB a fair bit either way and not make huge differences. That, and I do suspect that like zackiedawg said, the colors pulse a little bit, although shutter speeds are usually slow enough there that I shouldn't think it would be a big difference.