Happy New Year to you. I started the New Year here in Grand Junction, Colorado with temperatures at 22 degrees . Earlier this morning, I was driving to pick up some groceries, when I saw a collection of rusting VW bodies outside a small business.

I took a few photographs using both my iPhone 12Pro and Olympus E-M1 III with a much loved M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO Lens.

The M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO from Olympus is a versatile 80-300mm equivalent telephoto zoom for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras. As part of the company’s PRO series of lenses, this lens has a bright f/2.8 constant maximum aperture for consistent illumination throughout the zoom range to suit working in a variety of lighting conditions. Its optical design uses a series of aspherical and low dispersion glass elements to suppress chromatic and spherical aberrations for sharpness and clarity, and uses a ZERO coating to reduce flare and ghosting for high contrast, color-accurate imaging.

After looking at the photos, I decided to create a grouped impression of the VW bodies, mostly shooting through a linked fence around the yard.

Note from Joe: Jamie’s post production efforts with these photographs provide, I think, a very Van Gogh, interpretation while adding lots of interest. Maybe that’s why he was the winner of our last photo contest!

 

Volkswagen enthusiasts, especially Beetle fans, should check out my book review of Volkswagen Beetles and Buses, elsewhere on this blog.

Jamie Zartman, who is located in Grand Junction, Colorado, is a talented landscape photographer. But Jamie also has a passion for cars as well.

I used to shoot almost everything as JPEG but over time the constant Internet (and my friend too, to be honest) drumbeat of “shooting RAW” convinced me that I might be wrong. But I also hedge my bets by shooting RAW+JPEG and almost always end up working with the RAW files. Here’s why…

I now believe that the best way to achieve maximum image quality, especially when shooting with the older cameras I have,  is to capture the photograph in RAW along with all of the data captured by your camera’s sensors.

One of the benefits of shooting RAW is that the files can be physically smaller than an uncompressed TIFF file. A RAW file also doesn’t have the kind of quality-reducing artifacts found in JPEGs and parameters, such as white balance, can easily be modified after the image is captured. Most importantly, you have access to 16-bit data to produce images in greater detail.

If the upside of using RAW is that you can squeeze the maximum quality out of every pixel on your camera’s sensor, the downside is that, just like a roll of exposed film, you have to process that file before you can do anything with it. All this takes time and computer software to convert the original file into a more portable format. All the choices you’ll face when deciding to shoot RAW or not involves similar trade-offs. Before you open the door to RAW nirvana, it’s nice to have some idea of what’s waiting on the other side.

When processing RAW image files, you’re gonna have to deal with decisions such as bit depth. Bit depth aka pixel depth is the number of bits used to represent each pixel in a digital photograph and ultimately determines its tonal range. An 8-bits per color pixel produces a 24-bit image. Higher bit depth (more data per pixel) produces a more accurate color representation of the original image. The upside of working with 16-bit images is better image quality but it’s still up to you to capture a properly exposed and sharp image. Starting with an unmolested file means less image degradation produced by rounding errors occurring when a file is processed. Image manipulation using 16-bit techniques takes advantage of Photoshop’s floating-point operations producing smoother histograms and tonal transitions.

The downside of working in 16-bit mode is that larger files take more disk space and demand more robust computing resources. At some point you’ll discover there are some things you may not be able to accomplish in 16-bits. Not all software tools, for example, work in that mode. When that happens you should save a copy of the processed file and convert it (Image > Mode > 8 Bits/Channel) into 8-bit mode, while retaining the original sixteen-bit file in a project folder.

RAW processing is the new digital alchemy and the contemporary equivalent of all those traditional darkroom wizards who insisted that only their formula of Rodinal diluted 6:1 with a splash of Doctor Pepper produced properly processed negatives. These days digital pundits, gurus and posers argue that only their methods, their software will produce the best possible results.

Manufacturers usually provide RAW software free with their DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, such as Nikon’s Capture NX-D shown above Tip: Use what’s freely available first and then up the ante as your experience with processing RAW files increases.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to treat me to a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), please click here. And if you do, thanks so much.

Along with photographer Barry Staver, Joe is co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography that’s out-of-print but new copies are available for $21.88 or used copies for giveaway prices—less than three bucks—from Amazon, as I write this. The Kindle version, for some reason, is expensive.

The First Saturday’s Car Show at First & Main in Colorado Springs is back. Registration is free for Colorado Springs’ largest Cars & Coffee show and custom and classics are welcome to participate. Click here to register,

This year’s Cars & Coffee car shows will take place on the first Saturday of each month, May through October and is located behind the Holiday Inn Express and next to the IMAX theater at the First & Main Town Center. Staging is from 6:30 to 7:30AM, and the show runs from 7:30 to 9:30AM. The show regularly attracts all kind of vehicles—foreign and domestic—including Concours cars, muscle cars, low riders, sports cars, hot rods, trucks, and street rods. In addition to all the local automotive beauties, the show features a host club each month.

2019 Car Show Schedule

• May 4th: Colorado Springs Rod and Custom
• June 1st: Southern Colorado Mopars Club
• July 6th: Firebird/Trans Am (Hole in the Hood club)
• August 3rd: Colorado Car Addicts
• September 7th: Pikes Peak Corvair Club
• October 5th: Rocky Mountain Region Porsche Club

And while there will be a special area for members of these clubs to display their cars, the rest of the show is open to all marques and that means—if past shows are any indication—you’ll get to see some unusual vehicles. Tip: Get there early. When the show starts, that’s when the light will be perfect. Mary and I will be attending the first event, hopefully I’ll be shooting some new Sigma lenses, so please stop me and say “Hi”

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), click here. And if you do, thank so very much.

“So long, Frank Lloyd Wright, I can’t believe your song is gone so soon”— Simon & Garfunkel

I wrapped up 2018 by selling my Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 that I’ve had a love-hate relationship almost from the beginning. So why did I buy it? It’s a long story…

The sale happened very quickly just before New Year’s Day and the car is going to a new home. I still have four low-mileage (22,000 miles) 225/40R18 Potenza tires from it for sale on Craig’s List if you are interested. The cool BBS knockoffs that I installed on the car with its summer Michelin Pilot Sport tires were sold and again went to a good home. The stock wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak’s helped sell the car in December.

While my wife, for some reason, misses the car, I do not. I think she liked the comfort of riding in its passenger seat, which is probably a little more comfortable than her 2016 Beetle convertible. Her other car is provided by the company she works for and is a 2018 AWD Ford Escape that she likes and while I’m not allowed to drive it (by company policy) I have caught ride in it from time to time. As with most anonymous crossovers, it’s pleasant — I guess.

So what’s in store for the next Joe Car? I have a friend who has an old Mercedes Benz AMG that I hope to talk him into selling me. If he doesn’t or I wait too long to make a deal, I still haven’t gotten over my fixation for Saab wagons. I know, I know, I’m demented. So who knows what the future hold for me car-wise. In the meantime, I’ll be driving Mary’s Beetle and while it’s the base model, it’s still lots of fun to drive. Its 1.8 Turbo engine is peppy even with the non-Tiptronic automatic transmission and it handles surprisingly well. In fact the overall driving experience is better than my CLA 250 but then again, I like driving smaller cars.

Stay tuned for what 2019 holds in store for my garage.

Regular readers know that Mary’s personal car (her company car is a 2018 Ford Escape) is a Mercedes-Benz 350 SLK. No more. Recently she’s been experiencing engine problems and the cost of repairs was estimated at $3400. (See “Problems” below.) An experienced Mercedes mechanic told her that lurking in the future were other problems that could cost $8000-9000 to repair. This led her estimated repair cost for the not-so-distant future to exceed the car’s value. The mechanic’s advice to her was to trade it, so we did.

Mary’s new ride is a one-owner, low mileage (12,000 miles) VW Beetle Convertible with 20 months left on the original bumper-to-bumper guarantee and a big chuck of the 5 year/60,000 mile power train warranty intact. Gas mileage is expected to be 23-31 MPG from the 170 hp turbocharged four cylinder engine. It’s a bottom-of-the-line S-model with automatic compared to the manual transmission in my original 2001 New Beetle and 2003 GTI. Other than a few scratches on an interior door handle, the car presents as new.

The funny thing is that the fit and finish and basic amenities of the 2016 Beetle was many times nicer and had more standard equipment that her (originally $55,000) 2006 SLK. Go figure. The radio is not very good but that seems to be VW’s thing. Even my past VW’s with “premium” audio systems never sounded all that good, so this one is no surprise.

The car’s original owner was from California and he (and it is a he, named Kevin) purchased a full set of OEM, and I’m sure expensive, all-weather mats that were never removed from their sealed bag. My guess is that he did a little driving in the Colorado snow and opted out of the VW into a Subaru, I was told. Since the VW convertible is front drive, I think it was the car as much as the lightly worn and very noisy OEM 205/55R16 Hankook Optimo H725A tires. I plan on replacing them with either Continental’s ContiProContact or AVID TOURING-S. But Mary says that she isn’t in much of a hurry but my guess is that her first drive in snow will change her mind much as it did Kevin’s. Any tire suggestions? Click the Contact tab and let me know.

In the meantime, the sunny day we bought the car and she drive it with the convertible top down was followed by an intense snowstorm and then she was off to Texas on a business trip. But she loves the car.

PS. After driving the car, I couldn’t agree more, Even with the crappy Hankook tires, the car provides an overall better driving experience than my 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250.

Problems: For the V6 engine in her SLK, Mercedes-Benz produced certain models (lucky us) with defective gears in their balance shafts or with defective idle gears. These gears wear out prematurely, excessively, and without warning, causing the vehicle to malfunction, and the vehicle to misfire or stop running. If the timing chain fails, the pistons can hit the valves and cause severe damage to the engine. There was a lawsuit (Majeed Seifi, et al. v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC) against Mercedes-Benz USA LLC where the plaintiffs allege Mercedes produced certain vehicles with defective gears in their balance shaft and defective idle gears. And Mercedes lost.

If there is a lesson here it is to do more than just check the CarFax (which we did) when considering purchasing a used car but also poke around on the Internet to find if certain models in certain years also have certain problems.

The July edition Cars & Coffee at the Vehicle Vault in Parker, Colorado was held this past Saturday and continues to grow in size but this particular edition was slightly down in attendance from last month. Could have been the Fourth of July holiday, vacations or whatnot. I look foreword to see what happens in August.

Speaking of which, Mary and I plan to attend  at The First Saturdays Car Show in Colorado Springs, CO is a Cars & Coffee-type event where fellow car lovers gather to see cars from all makes, models and ages. In addition to all the local automotive beauties we will also feature a host club each month. On August 6, 2016 it’s the Jaguar Club of Southern Colorado.

As promised, I brought the Panasonic Lumix GX85 to the show and all of the images shown here were made with it and the Lumix 12-32mm kit lens. Over at our sister blog Mirrorless Photo Tips, I have a few insights on what its like to live with the Lumix GX85. You can read about it here and here. Tip: As always at a crowded car show, like this, get in close.

As regards the red Mazda Miata in the bottom photo: How Can You Tell if a Miata is Happy?

I want to thank everyone who came out to last Saturday’s show, especially those hardy souls who brought along memory cards and were able to shoot the new full-frame 36-megapixel Pentax K-1 that I brought to the show and that was used to make all of the images you see here.

Look for an in-depth review of the Pentax K-1 on Shutterbug magazine’s website in the near future.

This monthly event is held from 8-10 AM on the First Saturday of the month, during the summer moths, The time is limited, I guess, because the nearby Dick’s Sporting Goods opens at 10AM and they need the lot space. Nevertheless, this seems to be the best hand-down Coffee & cars event in Colorado. There are a lot of different kinds of cars and lots of nice people with interesting stories to tell about their cars.

In addition to all the local automotive beauties we will also feature a host club each month. In June, 2016 it’s the Pikes Peak Little British Car Club, so I’ll be sure to be there. Hope you can make it. At this present time we are considering having a Coffee & Cameras event at a nearby (and really nice) Starbucks after the June show.