Guest Author: Todd Korol
Weight. Weight is the enemy when you are traveling, and generally when you’re a photographer. Weight was one of the factors that led me down the path to Sony cameras. I love the small form factor and light weight of their camera bodies and lenses.
On a recent trip through Asia, was reminded of the importance of traveling with a light camera system. Hoping on and off plains, trains and buses, a backpack full camera and computer gear can quickly wear a photographer down.
Generally when I travel, all of my photographic and computer gear goes into a Gura Kiboko 22L+ backpack. But even with the small size of the Sony bodies and lenses, adding a laptop, computer cords, accessories, everything quickly adds up.
I am a photographer that uses my backpack to haul gear from one location to the other and I don’t haul the backpack around when I am actually out in the field working.
On a recent assignment in Hoi An, Vietnam to photograph the lantern festival, I knew that each night of the festival I was only going to have a short 30 minute window of perfect light, right before the sun goes down until complete darkness sets in, so speed was going to be a factor.
During this time, I would have to move fast to optimize the time I could use for taking photographs. I have found the best way to attack these assignments when you have only a short period to work is with a minimal amount of photo gear.
For working in this low light situation I decided to use only one body, the Sony A7IV, the 33 MP camera that shines in low light with it’s high sensitivity and very accurate colour renditions of a scene.
I paired that with just three small light weight lenses, the 55mm, 28mm and 18mm fixed focal length lenses. With this simple set up I was able to move quickly through the crowds, and with their fast apertures, capture the action in the ever escaping light.
The lantern festival in Vietnam is an event full of colour and beauty. Traditional small river boats lit by lanterns float down the river with tourists, and tourists can release their lit lanterns in the water or the air. With the incredibly beautiful Vietnamese town of Hoi An serving as a backdrop, it is an event not to be missed on a trip to Vietnam.
The small wooden boats start out with tourists just as the sun sets and the event last into the night. But the best time to photograph the event is right before complete darkness sets in. During this time you can still make out the boats on the water with the town in the background, all lit up by lanterns. Wait any later and the correct exposure of the lanterns will make the rest of your scene black, or if you expose for the darkness, the lanterns will be overexposed with no detail, making your photography window just around 30 minutes.
In situations like these the the 658 gram Sony A7IV is the perfect camera for me. I find 33 MP the sweet spot in digital photography. It’s perfect for making a large print, and doesn’t eat up valuable hard drive space when you are traveling. The lightweight of the camera let’s you work in the field without the weight strain on your neck or shoulders.
Do we really need to talk about autofocus anymore? It just works, all the time. I do love the quick 10 fps motor drive for capturing those quick fleeting moments and especially working in these low light situations, having 5-axis optical image stabilization is a great feature.
I’ve often been asked about using Sony camera gear and how I like it. I have the same stock answer; the stuff just works. And when you’re 5000 kilometres away from home, that’s really what you want.
See my YouTube video about the Hoi An Lantern Festival.
Featured in this blog:
Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Camera Body
Sony Sonnar FE 55mm f1.8 Carl Zeiss
Sony FE 28mm f2
