johnbuckley Posted April 1, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 1, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) My family and I were fortunate enough to have just gotten back from a two-week trip to Bhutan. It was a glorious trip to a truly magical country. I had had some anxiety prior to the trip about whether my M8 would hold up. After all, the winter was full of postings on this site about crashes at the worst time. Knowing I would be at a Buddhist festival I would never again visit, it really was a drag worrying whether my camera would crash. It didn't. In fact, it performed flawlessly throughout a trip that saw extremes in temperature, altitude, etc. as we trekked through remote villages, and shot morning and night. I share the photos below on my Zenfolio site. A few notes: 1. The WATE arrived from Leica the day before I left. What a gem it is! I found I used it to capture the massive fortress architecture of Bhutan with great regularity. There is some barrel distortion to be sure. But the new finder is brilliant, and I really recommend this lens to travel photographers. 2. I downloaded each day's shoots onto a Macbook, and organized/processed them with Lightroom. I think Lightroom is the greatest software invention since...OSX. It was a joy to be able to show my family a processed slideshow each night. 3. There were some battery issues, but while they made my heart race, none was serious. I traveled everywhere with a spare, and occasionally, if there was a hiccup, just switched batteries and kept shooting. 4. You will see shots from two festivals we attended. I must say that, as an amateur, I have new respect for those on the forum who shoot events, such as weddings. The dancing monks, whirling by in costume, were so difficult to get in focus! But having shot 500 frames, perhaps a few of them turned out well. Link below. These aren't yet perfect -- I still see some sensor dust, etc. But I wanted to get these posted while I was still jetlagged and filled with excitement for what was a trip of a lifetime for my family and me. JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 1, 2007 Posted April 1, 2007 Hi johnbuckley, Take a look here M8 Performs Flawlessly In Bhutan. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
MP3 Posted April 1, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 1, 2007 Hi John It must be a great trip. Glance through your Zenfolio. One thing pop up instantly, I like the colors from your pictures. I believe you have mostly your 486 on. What is the difference in the resultant color between post-process with C1 and LR, as you observed? Cheers Matthew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografr Posted April 1, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 1, 2007 I'd say both the M8 and you performed flawlessly. That is a very impressive collection of images. One question: Did you do the three consecutive battery drain-downs as some have recommended? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted April 1, 2007 Mathew - yes, 486 filters on everything but the WATE. I think the colors are rendered pretty accurately -- everything there is very bright and vivid, and I found myself keeping the colors mostly as is, with a few notches up in Vibrance. I only use Lightroom now that I have gotten into a good rhythm with it. And yes, Brent, I did all of the things you are supposed to do to make the batteries work well. And they mostly did. But there were a few moments when, having shot a lot of pictures and then turned the camera off, when I turned it back on, it wouldn't go, until I'd taken a battery out and either put it back in, or replaced it. An annoyance, but nothing fatal -- no moment truly lost. And thank you for the comment on the pictures. Cheers, JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm23221 Posted April 1, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 1, 2007 Beautiful portfolio, nice images. Hope you had a great time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted April 1, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 1, 2007 Hi John, I just took a quick flick through the Bhutan set (will do so in mroe detail once my weekend guests have gone!) and they are very nice indeed. Looks like you got to grips with the WATE quickly, and I agree that the Frankenfinder has totally disproved my original scepticism. Thanks for sharing. Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted April 1, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Many thanks, Tim. JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmskov Posted April 1, 2007 Share #8 Posted April 1, 2007 Excuse me but what is a WATE? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted April 1, 2007 Share #9 Posted April 1, 2007 Hi John Looks like an exciting trip - lots of wonderful photos, I haven't had time to do it proper justice yet, but I'll be back. Splendid! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share #10 Posted April 1, 2007 Excuse me but what is a WATE? WATE is the Wide Angle Tele-Elmar (16-18-21) lens that was released concurrently with the M8. I did find I missed having the 24 along at some point when I didn't feel like putting on the finder. I had left it home in favor of taking both the 75 and the 90. In retrospect, I probably should have taken the 24 and the 75, not the 90. And Jono - thanks so much! JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted April 1, 2007 Share #11 Posted April 1, 2007 Stunning photos John, thnaks for giving us the link. What hotels did you stay in? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted April 1, 2007 Stunning photos John, thnaks for giving us the link. What hotels did you stay in? Brian - we stayed in the Aman hotels, of which there are four. There is one in Paro, Thimpu, Gangtey, and Punakha. Each is small, and blends very well into the environment. Alas, they are expensive. JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
losta Posted April 2, 2007 Share #13 Posted April 2, 2007 Really nice work John! I enjoyed your photos of Bhutan. You really covered it, great people, scenics, closeups everthing. Bravo! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted April 2, 2007 Share #14 Posted April 2, 2007 Well John, knowing how much the Aman group charges, 2 weeks set you back a fair few $$!! Excellent hotels though. I did not know they now had four, as Bhutan carefully controls access so as not to spoil its essential nature. It has long been on my list of places to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted April 2, 2007 Thank you, Lisa! And Brian: the Amans in Bhutan are really lovely, and sort of the equivalent to a Leica! JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwfreund Posted April 2, 2007 Share #16 Posted April 2, 2007 In fact, it performed flawlessly throughout a trip that saw extremes in temperature, altitude, etc. as we trekked through remote villages, and shot morning and night. Very Nifty. Perhaps those who are having difficulty should plan a trip to Bhutan -bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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