Hey, this is cool, check it out!

Steadicam DIY + HV30 + 35mm from stephen greg on Vimeo.

More DIY here.

I was floored when I saw gigabyte images for the first time in Digg. Wow, pretty cool, although I couldn’t quite think of an application in my field of photography. This is a screen thing and since I mainly work with albums, images in the range of 10-20 Megapixels are more than enough resolution for me.

A gadget, no less.

They’re produced kind of automatically with this machine:

Just plunk in one of their approved compact cameras, press a few buttons and wait for the shooting to end. Download all the images to the computer and run the image-stitching software.

Voila!

Squarely in gagapixel-nirvana, you can now zoom to your heart’s content.

The website of Gigapan.

Usually Nikon implements new features in it’s more expensive products, then lets them percolate downwards to the cheaper models. Examples: D3 to D700, D300 to D90, D200 to D80, D80 to D60. With the announcement of the D5000, the new swiveling display should be a feature which will be available in it’s future upscale models. This should be inexpensive in production, yet immensely useful in Liveview-mode.

Nikon’s also announced it’s AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 10–24 mm f/3.5–4.5G ED, which should be a nice lower-cost, smaller and lighter alternative to the 12-24mm/2.8, which, although nice, is positively huge and heavy. Pity it’s got an amateur aperture range at an almost pro-price, though. 

A great blog with regular interviews by Ron Dawson, recommended!

F-Stop Beyond

Wow, I didn’t know these existed, but they do!

Canon supposedly made f0.95 lenses in the 60′s and Leica has one too:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/digital-life/cameras–camcorders/articles/leica-lens-matches-aperture-record/2008/09/19/1221331172762.html

(at 10k a pop and ISO 25k I couldn’t care less – - – - although that Bokeh must be SWEET!!!  Drool….

It’s always a good idea to periodically check your gear manufacturer if any firmware updates are available.

There were some goodies out for my crop of Nikon gear

Check here if you’re in Europe: Nikon Europe Update Site

Nikon D300 Body: 1.10 (cures a number of issues including autofocus)

Nikon SB900 Flash: 5.02 (cures a number of issues including overzealous overheating shutdown)

Nikon D90: None as yet

Nikon D700: None as yet

The Nikon D90′s an amazing camera for the price! I bought it for travel – my regular D300′s and D700 are just too big, heavy, expensive and conspicuous.

Click on the thumbnail to see the original image taken at 6400 ISO, F2.8, 1/10th of a second hand held (it was really dark in this cave in the Marble Mountains, Vietnam) with a 17-55/2.8, no flash. The image is straight out of the camera, all the EXIF data is intact. No, it isn’t quite near the D3/D700′s low noise levels, but then it costs just 1/3 the price!

The D90 sure has lowered the cost-of-entry for new wedding photographers entering the business. I’d say all you need to get some pretty darn good pictures is:

* A D90

* A 17-55/2.8 Lens

* An SB600 flash (the camera’s built-in flash is the backup)

* Your old SLR and lens as a backup

* A bunch of batteries for the flash, a backup battery for the D90 and some memory cards

* Your artistic eye and technical photographic knowledge (you didn’t think the camera alone would get you great pictures, did you?)

With the war between Canon and Nikon in full swing on all fronts: image, features and price (lucky us!), I can’t help but notice the production inefficiencies of Nikon, ultimately hurting us consumers but also Nikon. This is evident from small details.

The D300, D700 and D90 have the same 3″ display, right? That’s good.

But look at the display covers:

D90: BM-10

D300: BM-8

D700: BM-9

Say what?

Yes and they are not interchangeable, although the size difference is in the millimeters!

(the D3 has no display cover)

The D3X was just announced and I’m still wondering why Nikon chose this path.

Who needs the D3X? Commercial photographers and landscape photographers.

Hasselblad territory, although I doubt those people will stray Nikon’s way (those who wanted chose Canon a while ago).

With the Canon 5D-II with it’s 21MP just out, at ONE THIRD the price of a D3X, and the Sony A900 offering the same pixel count as the Nikon also at ONE THIRD the price, there is simply no reason for anyone to go Nikon, other than to reuse an available lens collection for supplementary commercial work.

Nada.

Bad move, Nikon. You should have plunked the sensor into a D800….

At last.

Ho-hum.

24.5 Megapixels. ISO 1600…

The price? Double that of the D3! Haha, you must be joking, Nikon.

A studio camera. But in the time it took to release this baby, Hasselblad has racked up to 50 Megapixels (H3DII-50). I think it’s a great portable all-round entry system for budding studio togs, but the Blad will still be the gear to get for the real pro. We shall see.

I love the Giugiaro design of this body, though! Just compare it to the clunky mess of the Sony below.

Heck, things are moving FAST for Nikon!!

The “problem”:

Checking out Sony’s A900 with 24.6 Megapixels I guess Nikon’s strategy department is in a bit of fix.

It’s D3x was supposed to have this resolution, but the long delay in it’s “imminent” release – which still hasn’t happened yet – is now clear. Sony is keeping the first-mover advantage to itself by presenting a 24MP camera in the D700′ish price range. Wow!

Since Sony is Nikon’s sensor supplier and any D3x will probably have the A900′s sensor, the A900′s price-point will have a hard time convincing anyone to buy a D3x for probably double the price. Heck, the 12MP D3 sells for more than the A900! (sure, it may be faster but that’s about it).

What can Nikon do?

Plan A:

- Let the D3 go it’s own way, reducing price significantly while not infringing D700 territory

- Replace it with the D3X with a lower price point than the D3.

- Eventually or simultaneously (sooner rather than later -  the Sony is already out!)  release a D800 with a slightly higher price point than the D700 (similar to the Sony)

Plan B (more probable):

- Introduce a D800 competing with the A900 sooner rather than later at a A900 price-point. This will also serve to blow some wind out of Canon’s 5D-II offering with it’s 21MP sensor. It will/must have a movie mode – never mind that everyone says they don’t need it. Also never mind that spectacular Canon-sponsored short movie taken with the 5D-II. It could have been taken with the D90′s movie mode as well, but then Nikon is all “features” while Canon is “benefits”.

- Sit back and think up a feature-set for a D3X which will convince people to shell out a premium for it.

The target of the D800? Pixel-hungry commercial, landscape and surveyor photographers. Us wedding photographers won’t be letting go of our D700′s just yet: The A900 is only rated at 3200 ISO with additional boost modes – same as the D300. The killer low-ISO-capability of the 12MP sensors is missing.

Whew, and I just thought my D700 would soon be obsolete!

Ok, so I caved in.

This is what I got a few weeks back

I’d been holding out because the Nikon D3 hadn’t impressed me too much. I used a pair of D300′s and was satisfied. 1600 ISO was good and 3200 not bad either. Sharpness was down, but – ah well.

But the D700 is truly life changing.

No, I don’t use that term lightly.

But having been used to maxing out at ISO 1600, being able to crank up to 6400 and higher is just so much FREEDOM!

The pics at those ISO’s are sharp and the noise is negligible (the pic above was taken at 6400, of course).

What else is new and different (compared to the D300)?

The crop factor of 1 is either good or bad, depending if you want to be wide or close with your lenses. Not being able to really use DX lenses at full resolution is a downer.

The artificial horizon is great!

The lightweight strap a-la the D3 is great!

The greatest bonus which no one is talking about is being able to use the year-old 24-70mm/2.8 lens!! This amazing piece of glass is soooo sharp and yields such great colors and contrast it’s frightening! If you thought the 17-55mm/2.8 DX lens was sharp, this is something else. I would almost buy the D700 just for this lens!

Holy smoke: Look at these images from the new Lavazza calendar shot by Annie Leibovitz. You can download the images with a calendar app from the link after answering some demographic questions thinly veiled as a “quiz”. You don’t get the images in a higher resolution though, so it’s a waste. Wow, Lavazza sure splurged on this PR stunt and has easily surpassed Pirelli’s yearly calendar offering.

The cover:

January/February:

March/April:

May / June:

July / August (ha, we’re on home turf here. Although a nice image, the guy’s pose is awkward with his legs apart and his hips so far away from the woman. His jeans are completely out of place! Although the cool color balance enhances the blue of her dress, the image would be noticeably improved with more warmth like the image below it. Annie should have hired my wedding photography consulting services )

September / October:

Novermber / December:

Also the interesting “Making-Of” videos. Part 1:

Part 2:

I took these today in the shop with a Nikon D700 and 24-70/2.8 lens, mixed tungsten/daylight, camera on Manual, ISO 200, 6400 and 25600, White Balance on Manual, JPEG Normal/Large. These are Straight out of the Camera images, each is about 3MB. All the EXIF Info is intact.

The shutter *IS* louder on the D700 than the D300, but subjectively quieter than the D3. Do something about this, Nikon.

ISO 200

ISO 6400

ISO 25600

Now that the D300 is out, and the D700 is out, and the D90 is out: What’s next?

I don’t care too much about Nikon’s flagship, the D3. It’s just too big, too conspicuous and too noisy for my style of wedding photography.

I do like the current D300 – and possibly – the D700. But I hate the concept of carrying two cameras with differing formats, DX and FX on the same gig. I want a new camera, a D400, which will be all I need for my job. Nikon, please add these features to it:

*  much quieter shutter than the D300, even quieter than the D80. A little damping should go a long way here. This is crucial so I can get more and better shots in quiet settings

* Keep the DX format. I’ve gotten so used to it that I like it. It works. FX is unneccessary.

* Add dual card slots, preferably of the same format. Two 32-Gig CF cards in place would keep me going all day and night.

* Add an easily retractable display hood so it’s visible inbright sunlight

* Add a mechanical ISO-Dial like film cameras for quick ISO changes

* Improve White Balance handling. How about a WB meter similar to the exposure meter showing the current color temperature? A mechanical °K WB-Dial? Nirvana!!! Green-Magenta compensation also has a dedicated button.

* Optionally save JPG images with maximum (14 bit) depth (maybe in a special format, not RAW) so highlights are recoverable in post processing where neccessary.

*  Add a couple of programmable buttons to which ANY menu function can be assigned (I’d want to access CLS flash settings with a single button, e.g.)

* Same light strap as the D3, but with no Logo or text on it. Just a plain black strap, please. I hate those which scream “D3″ or “D300″ at you. Ugh!

* Eliminate the top display and move it to where the corresponding buttons are (the back), same as on the D3.

* Add a 1:1 “image sharpness check” key.

* Add even more AF points, especially at the edges.

That’s it.

The end of this list.

Nikon R&D: To work!

Holy mo!

WHERE IS CANON?

It seems the whole R&D crew of Canon has gone to Nikon!

In almost breathtaking speed, Nikon is announcing new cameras to spruce up it’s whole range to push them to the forefront of what is available today.

The object at hand:

After the D700 has essentially many of the features of the D3 needed by low-light shooters and being full frame, the new D90 has essentially many of the features of the relatively new D300 packed up in a light amateur body. The price will be nice. For starters, the 12MP CMOS sensor (the D80 has a noisy-ish CCD sensor) is the same, which pretty much defines the ISO levels, going up same as the D300 up to 3200 plus boost. Pretty darn good.

Comparing to the D300, the D90 has a slower maximum frame rate, only 11 AF points instead of 51 (a deal breaker for me). On the other hand, it has HD-Video Capture (albiet WITHOUT autofocus, so that’s pretty much a dud sold as a feature, haha). Who the heck would roll a video without autofocus???

I love the dedicated Liveview button and wish the D300 and D700 would have it. The shutter is quieter than the D300, nice! The camera is faster on all points than the D80: Maximum frame rate, scrolling when using the display, etc. And also better on all points, effectively rendering the D80 obsolete.

It has a dust shaker which the D80 didn’t have (marketing ploy, these shakers are not good for much. All they do is shake the dust around the insides of the camera, so it will eventually find itself back onto the sensor. You need to REMOVE dust, not shake it around!)

So all in all, a welcome upgrade to the D80. It’s just of matter of time till this technology trickles down to the budget DSLR line of Nikon (D60), but at this rate, Nikon is running out of model numbers…. The D70 is already taken.

Here’s a glowing report with some of the shortcomings of the D90 (NY-Times article)

These are cool. Pictage is interviewing a Photo Pro every week and these guys do give some good tips.

Fresh and Free!

Check it out here http://blog.pictage.com

I got a D3 with the 14-24/2.8 today.

My first reaction when I picked it up was: “It’s not as heavy as I though it would be”.

You get a feel of the quality just when turning the ON-OFF switch. Butter-smooth, ahhhhhh, Mercedes Benz! This camera oozes quality!

Does this get you better pictures? NO. It’s all about holding the state-of-the-art in your hands. The flagship. The best there is.

Nikon, while being great of ergonomics haven’t yet mastered making all their cameras the same to operate. Even among cameras which were released together, like the D3 and the D300. Switches and dials are maddeningly different places (metering, ISO, WB, Quality), this function differently (e.g. the magnify-button will not react to repeated presses like on the D300, which is again different in the D80, but you must press the button and turn the thumb wheel).

There is a back display for ISO, WB etc., which is nicer that to operate the buttons on the back and look at the top.

The strap is beautifully light, this seems like some kind of high-tech material. Lots of anti-slip.

Ah, yes: It does not have a dust-removal mechanism and no built-in flash to trigger CLS flashes.

There are two continuous-frame modes, high and low, as on the D300. The high frame rate is SUPER-WICKED.

The mirror slap is very loud and not good for weddings. The D300 is already loud coming from the D80, and now that I’ve finally gotten halfway used to it, along comes something even louder! Fix this, Nikon.

The camera comes a beautiful dual high-end charger which displays the charge level through a couple of LEDs and it also comes with two batteries. Man, these batteries are large!

The dual CF-card slots are nice too, but I’d be hard-pressed to use this feature. I’d probably plunk in 2 16GB cards for a wedding and forget about changing cards.

I couldn’t get used to the vertical grip yet, because it makes me rotate the camera the wrong way for verticals. I think my method is at least as stable and convenient for verticals as is the grip. No no points for this one.

Image quality? Nice at ISO 6400, although image quality is nowhere that at ISO 200. There IS noise in dark areas, contrary to what all the media hype has made everyone believe. So there is no way I would leave the camera set at those high ISOs.

Auto white balance is, well, not usable for me. I did some tests with halogen lights and the shots were too yellow for me. I guess it is ok but I am an all manual guy and will probably get better results much of the time.

So all-in-all: A beautiful bit of machinery to hold, it does have good high-ISO performance, but apart from that: I prefer my D300. So, as soon as the D700 comes out I will be testing it and that will probably be my low-light camera of choice.

D3 – nice to have known you. Bye.

As has been widely speculated since the announcement of the Nikon D3, two cousins of this sensational camera are in the works and are due to be announced soon. The naming is similar to the D2 series, so few surprises here.

The D3x will be a high-resolution studio camera with 21 MP and a frame rate of 3 images per second.

The D3h will be a lower resolution sports camera featuring a blistering frame rate of 16 images per second.

Wow, Canon has some catching up to do!

Not only has Nikon replaced it’s entire R&D department but also it’s marketing department. R&D is busy churning out sensation after sensation making former big-boy-on-the-block Canon look so yesterday. After the D3, which really is a pretty revolutionary machine – much to the chagrin of some die-hard Canon-ites who can’t stand being have-beens, and the D300 which is a pretty nice camera as well, now the D700 is finally offical.

D700, an ultra low-noise full frame camera without the bulk and the price of the D3.

A dream come true!

The ‘leak’ of a Chinese printing press employee who was near the printed D700 marketing material and ‘snapped a few pictures of it’, published the pictures in an east Asian blog, and swiftly got picked up by photo blogs all over the world didn’t convince me. I rather thought of this as a planned leak by Nikon’s marketing department, which created tons of free buzz and anticipation to photogs all over waiting for a ‘cheaper D3′. Well, it’s here.

The D700 is official, and above is the picture.

http://www.nikon.ch/product/de_CH/products/broad/1627/overview.html

This looked pretty damn impressive when I saw it today. A set of wedding photographer David Beckstead‘s killer images had been transformed by a video company into a “3D Ken-Burns” effect. You know the panning effect which made Show-It Web so popular.

At first I was dumbfounded and said “damn, how is that done?”.

I read a bit about the making of these shows and it seems they are painstakingly made by hand, one image at a time.

OK.

Looking a little closer, the following seems to be happening:

* the original image is separated into separate 2D layers, the fireground, some mid area, background, etc.

* an intelligent “Ken Burns” is then applied which pans the image but each layer is panned at a different speed simulating their distance from the viewpoint, thus creating the stunning 3D effect.

* Some goodies are put into a few of the images, like a real cloud movie instead of a static sky and dynamic flare effects for some of the backlighted images.

Now I just have to find the software which allows this and it should be possible to roll my own

Any ideas?

Update: here’s a great tutorial on how it’s done!

Ok, if you’re a bride or groom, this is not for you. Go away. NOW!

For all others, listen in how six women wedding photographers discuss their business while pulling everything in the dirt. All the while they’re having loads of fun.

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Nikon’s got this interesting interactive demo using 4 remotely controlled speedlites to light a sitting bride. Turn individual flashes on and off and control the power on the front and rear flashes and view the result. Cool!
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Everyone does it, right?

The camera manual recommends it: “how you focus on a subject which is off-center”.

The “pros” do it.

While it may work with point and shoots or when shooting at small apertures, it is a bad technique.
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Get RAW capability from your Canon point and shoot? LOL – it’s true!
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If you thought that getting macro shots meant getting a Nikon “Micro” lens, think again. It is possible to do macro photography with a smaller and cheaper option.
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I found an interesting post about modding a Nikon flash to make it bare bulb [PIC].
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Why Nikon’s high-end consumer DSLR is not such a good deal.
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Did you know that you can get good image stabilisation with a small piece of hardware you probably already have around the house?
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Do you like cars or do you like to drive? Do you like cameras or do you like the images?
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