Mexic-Arte Mural – Austin, Texas (Olympus XZ-1)
I made a mental note of the wonderful street mural that my photographer friend Kirk suggested. It was behind the Mexic-Arte Museum livening up a much needed dingy alleyway. When I was doing my camera tests earlier this month, I made a point of stopping by and capturing a few frames.
I had three cameras with me. And yes, it’s not unusual for me to have multiple on my outings. Luckily, they are usually on the smaller side, and they all fit in a compact shoulder bag. The first photo was with my eight-year-old Olympus XZ-1 point and shoot. I’ve gone on and on about how I love its colors. I shot in RAW and tweaked the image in post.
Mexic-Arte Mural – Austin, Texas (Fuji X-T10)
This second version is with the Fujifilm X-T10 and the 35mm f1.4 lens. Out of the three, this camera has the highest technical image quality. Each camera manufacturer has their secret sauce to create their own look and color profile, even in RAW. I find that the Fuji’s are a bit cooler than the Olympus.
The real reason I was downtown was to test the InstantFlex TL70. It uses Fuji’s mini Instax film. Because of the uniform lighting in the alleyway, I had no dynamic range difficulties. This is about the best the camera can do; no one is going to use the TL70 to make high-quality images. It’s all about the character of these credit card size photos, and fun of using a tactile camera.
Digital cameras are too good these days, turning out perfect images without any effort. There’s a sense of accomplishment making a good photo with the TL70.
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2 thoughts on “Street Mural in Three Variations”
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Which of the two is closest to as-seen reality? I know that’s tough to answer because of subjectivity, the effect of time on memory, and having handled these in post. But what do you think? The electrical vivid color of the Fuji? Or the more restrained yet rich color of the Olympus?
Hi Mike, it’ hard to be sure but I’m guessing the unprocessed RAW from the Fuji is the closest.
Take a look at it here:
https://www.atmtxphoto.com/Blog/Creative-Commons-2/i-jz8jx4g/A