|
Articles and Reviews
|
Home >> Old News Items What's New Archives 2007 - January to June June 29, 2007 - With all the hoopla about Lightroom 1.1, I downloaded it again for a 30-day trial to see if I was missing anything. As I've previously said, it's super slick and easy on the eyes and the interface is quite lovely. I love the side-by-side comparison for before and after editing views and it does seem less hog-like than before - or maybe it seems that way because I wasn't sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for it to import a folder of RAW files into the Library. It has fantastic potential to be an incredible RAW conversion application (it already is according to some high profile photographers), but for me and my particular needs, I still don't see it shunting aside Bibble Pro at this time. While I would love to see stacking and side-by-side editing in a future version of Bibble, the overall feature set of Bibble still makes it a better converter for me. For the last major edit, I processed over 1100 RAW files and did so fairly quickly even though I reviewed each file one at a time and did custom white balance clicking for each image (yah, I'm anal). The benefits are varied:
There are a series of other plug-ins and tools that I haven't messed around with too much at this time, but the tools mentioned above help to minimize Photoshop time for me. Is Bibble ideal? Well, it could be more stable (at least on my current computer) and not crash everytime I try and create a custom set of tools and I'd like a better rendition of highlight details, as it can sometimes come up with some pretty funky colors when using the highlight preservation tool. Also, I would love for every major section of Bibble to be floating window compatible so that I could move them off to the second monitor. What I'd like is a Photoshop-like way of being able to move everything off the main screen so that I can have the entire main screen available for editing the chosen image (or, preferably, to be able to do the before and after viewing). On the second monitor, I would locate the browser of thumbnails, as well as the tools, exposure information, and the file browser/batch processing window. My general way of working with Bibble is to batch edit globally, such as using Perfectly Clear and maybe some Noise Ninja if the folder is filled with images that were taken at a higher ISO. Then I cruise through each file, performing custom WB if needed, and to do more individual edits for fill light settings and exposure, straightening, cloning and lens correction if needed. Sometimes I do batch processing as I edit, but I find that I'm still taking a performance hit even with my dual-processor box, so I tend to do the edits first then do a full batch conversion while I do something else. I can't wait to see what Bibble can do on a new, near state of the art box ;-) Reader's comment: Just a small correction on your comments aoubt Bibble vs Lightroom:
I stand corrected and serves me right for speaking too loudly without knowing much about Lightroom. Ah well, live and learn 8^) June 28, 2007 - Reader's comment:
Most of my personal photographs (I don't differentiate between film or digital, because all are photographs to me) are masterpieces best displayed at the bottom of the trash bin. I admire a former cowoker of mine (who will likely read this soon) for having the bollocks to quit his relatively well paying job to pursue his passion for photography. But, then he's younger, single with no kids anchoring him down. He doesn't have a wife harping about when I'm going to go out and get a "real" job and make some "real" money for her to spend. She's expecting that I should become a CFA before I hit 40 and come July, I'll start my first tentative steps towards that goal and maybe, just maybe, make some "real" money for her. However, knowing myself too well, more income just means more gear ;^) Unfortunately, gone are the days when I used to be able to head out on a weekend morning and just take some carefree photos with good old Velvia in my F90x and just experiment and learn what photography is about. As mentioned earlier, I've got a tremendous amount of crap sitting in archival sleeves in my closet, but it's nice to look at those old slides every now and then and remember what it was like just being a photographer instead of a gearhead pretending to be one ;-) June 27, 2007 - Reader's comment:
That's an interesting observation, but I would want to clarify it a bit. While Cartier-Bresson was not like Ansel Adams, slaving away in the darkroom to produce his masterpieces, he did utilize the services of a master printer. So, even if Cartier-Bresson felt his creative moment was finished after he released the shutter on his Leica, as with Adams, the creative process was really not complete. Cartier-Bresson is like the late Galen Rowell in his approach to photography, wherein he farmed out the technicalities to concentrate on picture taking. Rowell was fully aware of the benefits of digital technology, but he wasn't necessarily going to be as great at the editing process as he was a photographer in the wild landscape. So, I would surmise that Cartier-Bresson would have been a RAW shooter too, just that he would have hired a Photoshop Evangelist to edit his files, whereas Ansel Adams would have been right in there massaging the pixels with a computer just as he did the print with chemicals in the darkroom 8^) Follow-up comment:
Yes, definitely, RAW versus JPEG is getting almost as bad as Nikon versus Canon. After slogging through a couple thousand RAW files from a job, I wished I was the type able to let go of the editing process and just be happy shooting JPEGs ;^) However, the technocrat in me can't let go of the benefits of shooting RAW mode, especially when I foul up an exposure or some other such thing and having a RAW file to edit can sometimes (not always though) pull my rear end out of the fire. But, as you say, to his/her own for their own creative process. What works for me won't work for others and vice versa. A friend of mine abhors the editing process and others I know shoot JPEG only with only a modest bit of post-production editing to serve their purposes. However, that would get us back into the Nikon versus Canon thing and differences in the tonality of some cameras that lead me to one editing approach and another for my acquaintances. And, we don't need to go there at this time ;^) June 26, 2007 - Check out this news posting at Rob Galbraith's site about an Italian fresco captured digitally. It warms the Nikon heart to hear of how the D2X (an "older" model now and certainly not of the highest resolution) was used with the 80-400 VR lens (an "older" lens now and certainly not of the highest optical fidelity) to capture a very serious piece of photography. And, what, the almost 1200 frames were stitched and processed on an eight-core PC, not a Mac?! Egads, what will St. Jobs think? Of course, I say this with my tongue firmly in my cheek 8^) June 25, 2007 - PopPhoto has posted their review/test of the new Canon 1D Mk III. Interestingly, the reviewer referred to "Internet chatter" about the 1D3's autofocus and made mention that no such problems were found in the pre-production sample provided to the magazine. While I'm sure the reviewer put the camera through its paces and it's certainly not inconceivable that PopPhoto received a "good" sample (but then why wouldn't Rob Galbraith be equally deserving?), I really don't think that the PopPhoto reviewer would have been as rigorous as Galbraith. Granted that Galbraith is likely a much more demanding reviewer, but since he's a professional sports and news photographer (the target market for the 1D3), I place far more credence to what Galbraith has to say than PopPhoto's reviewer wandering around New York City doing happy snaps. I follow Galbraith's findings with some mild interest because the 1D3 seems like the camera I've long desired, but I'm in no rush until Canon responds to the AF problems, and also until Nikon responds in kind to the 1D3 in the form of a D3H. Nikon's 90th anniversary is apparently in July, so there may yet be some good things to come forth. I can't recall where I came across this information, perhaps it was the TOP blog, but a person wrote that when test subjects were outfitted with optical devices that put the world upside down, the test subjects eventually adapted and could continue on as if everything was right side up. It made me think back to high school when I played a bit of football. Back then, I wore coke bottle sized glasses and was more or less, blind as a bat without them. However, one does not play serious football with glasses on, so in practice and in games, I went without them and I didn't get contact lenses until after high school. I think back and while there should have been an obvious problem with me being able to see properly on the field, my recollection of that time was that I was able to adapt and function relatively well. Interesting how the human body and its various parts work. However, the best investment I ever made in my life was to do laser surgery on the eyes in the early 1990s and dispense with glasses and contacts for good. Reader's comment and question:
I haven't bought the Lacie or any other NAS to keep the Buffalo company at this time. I was more drooling at the 4 TB Lacie NAS 8^) Even if I buy another NAS, I'll still keep the Buffalo around despite its limited storage capacity (700 GB with RAID 5 configuration) and slow speed (backup device only, so speed is not a major issue). I spec'ed my new box with two 750 GB Seagates to start so the Buffalo can back up one drive and there are enough externals around to easily back up the other in the short term. The new box will also be big enough to accomodate more drives as needed, but I think I'll need another NAS or similar device for more convenient backup than having four or five externals cluttering my desktop. A couple of options besides a NAS would be the Drobo Robot and the Lacie Biggest FW800, a storage box that looks like a NAS, but doesn't use ethernet connections in favour of Firewire 400/800 and I believe USB 2. The Drobo looks pretty interesting because it allows you to use a mish-mash of drive capacities, so I could dispense with the external cases and throw in the 300, 320, and 500 GB drives into one case. June 23, 2007 - Reader's comment:
Always! Although, I'm not looking forward to when the new eight-core box gets delivered...8^) Another reader offered this comment: "With digital, you can take all the pictures you want for free ....it's keeping them that costs you money!" I'm biding my time for more storage devices, to see what I can fit into a new box and then decide what I need to back it up with. It's a never ending moneypit. The Lacie Ethernet Disk RAID looks pretty sexy though, but the 4 TB version is "just" a little bit out of my reach. June 22, 2007 - Yesterday at work, our office had a little barbeque on the roof of one of the connecting buildings. As I was munching away on my burger, a couple of coworkers were talking about computers and the need for storage due to using digital cameras. One person mentioned buying a 1 TB NAS (configured as a 500 GB RAID 1) to store all his digital photo files, while another mentioned having a 250 GB external drive and thinking that it would be all that he would need, even though he was generating a number of files with his digicam. They discussed how file sizes can range 3-4 MB and that how that can add up and require a lot of space. I smiled and kept on munching my burger, sheepish in thinking how my RAW files are 15 and 20 MB apiece and how after conversion to 16-bit TIFF files, the new files end up in the 55 to 70 MB range. So, with a D2X, keeping a RAW+TIFF eats up almost 100 MB of storage space. I was asked about my own storage requirments and I casually mentioned how one wedding can chew through over 100 GB of storage space and that even with over 2 TB of storage (actually closer to 3 TB), I was hitting the wall again. I went back to munching my burger, not wanting to be Mr. Big 8^) Well, I find myself in the wife's doghouse again. She discovered my new 24-inch LCD monitor in my office last night and gave me that look only a wife could give. I didn't say anything; there's no point in explaining that it's a relatively cheap LCD that I bought to give me more screen real estate for browsing image files. Seeing the new LCD, it dawned on her why I had given the kids my old 17 inch LCD for their use (I setup my former hotrod, but now jalopy-like P4 box for them - actually, it's surprising how peppy an older box can be without a load of huge applications installed). At least I'm not forced to sleep on the couch. June 21, 2007 - By now, some of you have probably already read Rob Galbraith's report on the new Canon 1D3's autofocus and its Jekyl and Hyde like personality depending on whether the camera is used in bright sunlight, or overcast conditions. It's a rather sobering and surprising result from Canon for a flagship model that costs almost CAN $6000. However, I've observed that Canon is fairly good at listening to and responding to complaints about its equipment, so hopefully, some sort of fix is being worked on. But, until then, I'd not be too keen to part with such a sizable chunk of coin for one. The high ISO seems like the real deal and is exactly what I've been seeking all these years, but there isn't much point if the camera can't do something as simple as keep focus on a bride walking down the aisle. Incidentally, my buddy Larry seems not too surprised by it because he mentioned he's had issues with focus tracking on his Canon cameras (1v and EOS 3) and the 70-200 IS lens. June 20, 2007 - Here's a couple of snaps taken by my friend Larry last weekend of yours truly in action. The shot with the tripod in it is a crop of a much wider shot. If you can make it out, that's a Manfrotto 322RC Grip Action Ball head sitting on top of the Gitzo tripod. I'm using a Kirk Arca-style quick release clamp screwed on top of the Manfrotto quick release plate. Not ideal, but works for me now for a lot less than a special Kirk plate adapter. I find the Manfrotto head much quicker and easier to adjust than the larger and more stable Arca Swiss B1. For my own personal photos, I'd still use the B1, but for faster pace shooting, such as weddings, the 322RC fits the bill.
The D2X with 17-55 lens is mounted on the tripod and attached to the neck strap is the Nikon SD-8A battery pack. I'm using a D200 with the 70-200 lens for some quick candids as I wait for the groups to form for the tripod shots.
I'm dressed in the now standard wedding photographer's uniform of all black from shirt to shoes. Oh, in case you're wondering about the funky angle of my flash, I was shooting ambient and just left the flash head as is from the last time I was using it. June 19, 2007 - Here's an interesting article at Rangefinder, called Digital Disease. I think I'm afflicted with some of the key symptoms 8^) As I review the files from the weekend, I definitely notice a trend towards "shotgunning" a series of shots to counteract subject eyes being shut, to stem my own sloppiness in technique when I feel rushed, and a general sense of "needing" to capture as much as I can. However, quality always trumps quantity and I need to learn to slow down my pace and work on getting more good shots rather than a series of average shots. I'm also getting really sick of flash photography and I need to overcome my fear of a bit of noise at higher ISO settings. A well exposed shot at a high ISO setting can still produce a fairly nice image - if you have the time to get the exposure right and are rock solid with your handholding technique. I'm also guilty of wanting to do everything myself, which I've been fortunate enough to be able to slowly learn as I go, as well as being able to afford the tools needed. However, time is money and sometimes, doing everything yourself is not always a good use of personal time. June 18, 2007 - Reader's comment:
Ah, if it were only that easy for Nikon to improve the high ISO quality of their current cameras. I love my Nikons, truly I do and if I could get good image quality at ISO 1600, I would be a very happy man. As much as ISO 3200 and 6400 sound really sexy, I'm not looking for "publishable" or "usable" image quality, but good to excellent image quality and in most venues where I might find myself, ISO 1600 is plenty. That's the sweet spot for me and high ISO and Nikon will probably produce prety good quality at that setting in their next generation of pro cameras, but the question is when will these cameras come out and will Canon still be superior in quality? I don't know how long I'm willing to wait. June 17, 2007 - Reader's comment:
Photography and audio pursued at their highest levels are very easy ways to take a large fortune and make it a small one. Not that I would know either, as I've never had a fortune, large or small ;^) So, yesterday I photographed a full-day wedding, starting from a bit before 11 am and ending around 10 pm. The morning started with rain into the early afternoon, which was not good for us wanting to take photos outdoors. The ceremony at the church went well, strict rules and all. The church lady coordinating the weddings that day took me to the minister's office for what I thought would be a stern talking to. The minister looked me over and after a few seconds just said, do what you want, but give me 7-8 minutes to get the ceremony going before you do your thing. Oh, well, ah, okay, thanks. This was essentially carte blanche for me and my buddy Larry (who was helping me out) to do whatever we wanted. However, I advised the minister that we would still respect the church's rules and that we would not at all make ourselves noticeable. We did our thing from the back of the church and I did a few shots from the balcony too. When the official portion of the ceremony ended, the couple went up to the altar to light the unity candles. I slowly crept up the aisle to try and get some closer shots, but then the church lady came up behind me and told to go on up to take the photos. Okie-dokie. After the ceremony ended and everyone's coming out, the church lady thanked us for being so "wonderful" in respecting the rules. Hey, you never know when you might be back at the same church, so best to be on good terms with the officials. Afterwards, the rain let up briefly for us do some group shots outside the church and then we headed back to the bride's condo complex for some more photos, which also happened to coincide with when the rain picked up. We worked with what we had in the rain and towards the mid afternoon, the rain let up again to allow us to ditch the umbrellas for some fun shots. We worked pretty quickly, so we ended up being ahead of schedule and I arrived at the restaurant well in advance of everyone else. I was told by the couple to order whatever I wanted to eat before the main dinner started. Unfortunately, the restaurant refused an order until after 5 pm, which is when I had to start photographing again for the traditional Chinese tea ceremony. After that I was asked to photograph the couple receiving their guests arriving, which took me until 7 pm. Short of it, no dinner for Edwin until the night was over (my buddy Larry was only hired for half the day, so he was gone). And, I forgot my snack bars at home, so I was fueling myself on adrenaline and a bowl of instant ramen noodles from the morning. Needless to say, I went out afterwards and had a steak at Earl's (restaurant chain in Canada). The evening went well and equipment wise, everything went swimmingly. Although, I think I need to find another method of strapping the Nikon SD-8A battery packs to my rig. For this wedding, I taped the two SD-8A packs to my neck straps, because I tend to swap cameras frequently and I didn't want the packs on my belt with cables getting in the way. Unfortunately, my method is a bit clunky and the packs tended to smack me on the head everytime I brought the camera to my eye. However, when shooting events, you definitely need the extra juice that external battery packs provide you with. I cannot imagine having to go back to the days before I had the SD-8A packs and waiting several seconds for the flash to recharge before being available for another pop. As good as the SD-8A is, I'm thinking I need even more juice in the form of some of the bigger Quantum packs. In the church, I was able to keep my ISO at 400, so hopefully, the noise won't be too bad (I've not done a review of all the files as of this writing). However, at the condo complex, due to the rain, we did some shots inside the foyer and I did some shots using the soft window lighting, but I had to bump up the ISO to 800 to get a decent shutter speed. Some definite Noise Ninja action will be needed for those shots. One thing I notice when going back and forth between the D2X and D200 is that the D200 seems to be more forgiving of exposure than the D2X, especially for highlight detail. The D200 also has a warmer tonality than the D2X and I must say, the D200's LCD is far superior than the one on the D2X. However, I never fully trust the LCD and final judgement awaits for the review of the files on my 30-inch Dell. June 15, 2007 - I'm back in town after six days working in Victoria. It was great to get back for a visit, something I had not done since some friends were married way back in 1998. I'll see if I got any worthwhile photos to post and provide some details about the trip down memory lane of my old university town. In the mean time, some news I found interesting or curious:
Bold emphasis are mine to point out the rather dubious marketing claims from Kodak for its newest digicams. In other circles, this would just be described as bullshit. In other news:
$10 to $25 an hour?! Jeez-us! Who the hell can afford to be a photographer at those rates. Absolutely brutal and it destroys whatever glamour people may have about being a photographer (albeit, the article is about event photographers, whereas other segments of photography may pay more). June 9, 2007 - Reader's counter comment to the June 8 posting:
I recall a recent National Post newspaper article stating that the largest of GM's SUVs actually emits less carbon than some of the hybrids. As for which cars make up the sales, for Toyota, I'd expect that it would be nowhere near number one without the bread and butter Corolla, just as GM would not be in its position without all those sales of Chevrolets and Pontiacs. However, one area that I expect North American dominance to continue for some years is in the pickup market. In my home town, every second vehicle is a pickup from GM, Ford and Chrysler, and unlike the "glamour" pickups in Vancouver, the trucks in Kamloops are actually used for their intended purpose. And, as far as my choice is concerned, I don't care for a Toyota or a GM. I'm still pining away for that classic Jeep CJ/YJ/TJ/Wrangler. I would "love" to have one of the new four-door Wrangler Unlimited's 8^) The boss has exiled me to Victoria for next week, so no new postings will be made until I return the following Friday, June 15. But, I have a wedding to photograph on the 16th, so it won't actually be until Sunday before I get a chance to catch up and maybe post a few shots of my week back in my university town. Although I'm out of town, I'll still be checking emails everyday, so send them along if you wish. Everyone be good and happy. June 8, 2007 - A new version of the Bibble RAW convertor is now available with support for the new Canon 1D3, Nikon D40X and the Fuji S5 Pro SLRs:
Additional reader's comment:
Ha! A Lexus over any of the American brands is a pretty easy choice, especially if you got the model with the Mark Levinson sound system 8^) Nikon does have some history, if not extensive, in designing its own LBCAST chip used in the D2H/D2Hs models. I keep hearing that the D3 will continue to use a Sony chip, but after that, who knows? Perhaps Nikon will have to continue development of the LBCAST with higher resolution and throw it open to another manufacturer. I guess, as long as Nikon can deliver then it really does not matter who fabricates the chips for Nikon, but I'm just getting a bit tired of waiting to see what actually comes. June 7, 2007 - Reader's comment:
You're not the only one wondering what Nikon is up to. I think we can be fairly certain that Nikon is working on a full frame SLR, but while I have heard of 24 MP as being the resolution for some time, 18 MP seems to be popping up as a possible first step in the full frame arena. If true, I'm pretty much certain that I'll ditch and buy into Canon (if readers haven't already gotten the gist of some of my recents posts, I'm pretty besotted by the new 1D3). I also think that it is fairly certain that Nikon is sitting on a hoard of new lenses to come with the main consideration for them and the new SLR is timing for release. Are we going to see them in time for some major 2007 sporting event, e.g. the World Cup of Rugby, but if not then you would think for sure before the Beijing Olympics. Unfortunately, for Nikon though, without being a chip maker of its own, it relies on Sony to produce new designs, although some speculate that Nikon has a significant role in designing them with Sony. Ironically, Nikon produces the machines likely used in fabricating the chips (steppers). Some suggest that with Nikon not producing its own chips that it has flexibility to go to any chip maker to specify a new design, and given that Sony is now a competitor to Nikon, what will happen to this partnership? As for medium format back makers, I love that Mamiya has packaged an entire kit with a 22 MP back for less than what a new 16 MP back from the likes of Phase or Hasselblad sell for. While the new ZD back is a bit old now and perhaps lacking in some features compared to the latest European designs, I think it's a significant shot across the bow of the Viking techies that if they're not careful, they could end up as Japanese sushi. However, I don't mean to imply that it will be Mamiya that will be the equivalent of a 1950s Nikon that started the end of European dominance of the 35mm format, but with Canon's new 50 MP chip, is Canon hinting that it might eventually target the high-end photography market? Canon could really clean up with its massive R&D, production capabilities, and scale of economy to bring some sanity to the cost of digital backs. If so, and of course, this is all just idle speculation on my part, it would follow the classic Japanese tactic of gradually dominating the lower end of the market first, the mid-range second, and once there is overwhelming dominance, then they go after the high-end. It's happened with cars (Toyota-Lexus, Honda-Acura, Nissan-Infinity) and it's happened with consumer electronics such as audio gear and televisions. It's not a fast process by any means, often taking many decades to achieve the goal (look how long it's taken for Toyota to reach number two in auto sales), but it's been a consistent business model. I won't comment on Al Gore's politics, but I do love his computer setup - triple 30 inch Apple Cinema Displays. June 6, 2007 - Pixel-peepers rejoice, Canon has announced a 50 MP CMOS sensor in what appears to be their 1.3x sized sensors, the same size used in its 1D series of cameras. Unfortunately, before anyone starts salivating at the prospects of this 50 MP sensor showing up in a 1D camera anytime soon, the new chip is slated for more industrial use such as surveillance cameras. However, it does shudder the mind though...50 MP...in a 1.3x chip. Egads, imagine the noise issues at ISO 1600 and the lens defects that it would reveal 8^) I watched Friday Night Lights the other night and boy, did it bring back memories from my own brief time as a high school football player. Football is religion in Texas, the setting of the movie and of particular interest for me is that the high school team portrayed is the Odessa Permian Panthers, circa 1988, the year I finished high school. Prior to 1986 when I played, our football team was rather sad-sack playing against the big teams from Vancouver. Our coaches took inspiration from the Panthers and devised an offence based on the Wing T. We also took inspiration from the Panthers not being the biggest team in the state, but using their speed and tenacity to make up for that lack of size. We had some success in 1986, but fell short of making it into the provincial finals when we lost to the South Delta Sun Devils in the semis, whereas the Panthers have a long and proud history of being multiple 5A state champions. Some classic sports movies scenes such as the preacher coming in and doing a prayer while all the players are on their knees may not have been big in Canada, but this was a regular occurrance in our pregame preparations when we played at home, as one of our coaches was a real southern preacher. Coach Shock was a transplated American from Arkansas, so we had our own southern drawl in the locker room with the statement, "We all gonna play some football today!" being a regular refrain. One of our other coaches liked to show off his prowess at being able to boot field goals from about 50 yards out...barefoot! Our head coach, another transplanted American, who as a Canadian, almost made the 1988 Canadian Olympic baseball team, showed off his pitcher's arm by having us do drills where we were to run down the field waiting for him to throw the ball. We'd run 30 yards, no ball. We'd run to 40 yards, but still no ball. Then around 50 yards, maybe more, he'd toss the ball to us. There were some other compelling moments in the movie, such as small town kids wanting out of the small town lifestyle, something that I always knew would happen for me, but not necessarily something that would happen for everyone else that played ball. As a little Asian kid growing up being a bit of an outsider, my parents always drummed into my mind that getting a university education would be my ticket out of the hard immigrant lives that they had led when they came to Canada in the 1950s. Not that Kamloops is the end of the world, far from it and given the way it's grown and brought in a number of shops and businesses, the town is actually not a bad place to raise a family. However, I'm a city boy now and it would be difficult to contemplate having to move back to the old home town. June 4, 2007 - So, I throw some of my microfiber cloths in the laundry for washing (a good thing to do from time to time) and after drying them, I brought them upstairs, but for some now forgotten reason, I dropped them down on a bookshelf in the living room and forgot about them for a day. Last night as I'm walking by the dining room table, I see something and do a double-take. It seems my little girls found my cloths and used the bigger one to dress up one of their naked Barbie dolls. So young and yet such virtuous modesty 8^) Unfortunately for Barbie, I reclaimed my cloth and now she's once more showing her wares in all their glorious plastic.
June 3, 2007 - I have a wedding to shoot in mid June and I just read the photography policy of the church where my clients will have their ceremony. It is the most restrictive I've come across in my years photographing weddings. I thought Catholic weddings were tough, but they're a walk in the park compared to Anglican and some other Protestant churches. I gathered that I'm allowed to be at the front to photograph the wedding party walking down the aisle, but as soon as the ceremony begins, I have to disappear to the back of the church. At no time am I allowed to come between the sight line of any of the guests and the wedding party. And, I'm not allowed up front until the signing of the registry, right at the end of the ceremony...to preserve the sanctimony of the ceremony. Sanctimonious is more like it; however, it's not for me to break the rules of the church, so I'll certainly do the best I can. Equipment wise though, I have some concerns with the severe limitation in the use of flash in a dimly lit church, even if the ceremony is in the early afternoon. This is the type of situation where the new Canon 1D3 would seem to be a killer tool to workaround the low light venue. Being able to shoot at ISO 1600 without a huge drop in image quality is a luxury that Nikon shooters don't have at the moment, and no, I'm not convinced that the D40 or D40X are up to snuff. I'm sensing at some point, something's gotta give. Either Nikon responds in fashion (very soon) with their own killer, high ISO camera with enough resolution to make it worth my while, or else I'm going to have to take a long hard look at my current tools and determine if they are still up to the task. June 2, 2007 - Last Wednesday, Master Corporal Darrell Priede was killed when the helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan. Priede was a Canadian military combat photographer, so anytime you hear of a photographer killed doing his or her job, most photographers take notice, pause, and ponder about the thought of being killed doing your job. I also have an emotional attachment to the Canadian military, having served very, very briefly in the Army reserves when I still lived in Victoria. I was with the Canadian Scottish Regiment, a unit that goes back to World War I and has several battle honours throughout the decades. If my right eye wasn't so buggered now, I suspect that I may have joined the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada after moving to Vancouver. May 31, 2007 - Reader's question about the Epson R2400:
I think what you’re seeing are known as pizza roller tracks; fine lines seen in light tone areas and especially apparent when using specific papers such as Semi Gloss or Luster, but I haven’t heard of it appearing on matte papers until now. Unfortunately, other than using different papers, not much you can do about these lines because these are the roller wheel marks from the printer itself. The R2400 and smaller sized printers use rollers to move the paper along the print path. I think even the new 3800 uses rollers too. The advantage is very precise paper placement, which means being able to print as small as 4x6 inches, but the disadvantage is that under the right conditions, you will see roller marks. The larger printers, like the 4800, use vacuum suction to hold down and move the paper across the print path, meaning no physical contact on the paper except the ink from the heads. Unfortunately, vacuum suction requires at least letter size sheets and if using cut sheets, a minimum of a half-inch of white space for the trailing edge of the sheet (the bottom of the print that’s last to emerge from the printer). Regular readers will recall that I've been championing a rumour that Nikon's next generation flagship camera would be a near full frame, 24 MP uber camera. Well, it seems that I see the figure of 18 MP pop as being more credible, which if true, would be a disappointment. I had seen the 18 MP figure bandied about with the 24 MP one, but this was on the basis of a 24 MP D3X and perhaps a companion full frame, 18 MP D300. It s disappointing in that at 18 MP, it really only matches the current 17 MP Canon 1Ds Mk II and there are pretty strong rumours of Canon's coming replacement offering 22 MP. Now, to go from 12 MP to 18 MP is not a huge step up per se, and from the current Canon 17 MP to 22 MP is even less of a jump percentage wise, but psychologically, the numbers are significant. If I were to switch, I'd wait out the next generation Canon and jump from 12 MP to 22 MP. I don't think anyone can deny that this would be a significant jump up in resolution and hoped for quality. While Nikon is going gangbusters in the consumer range of SLRs, this is of no interest to me, and really, I do hope that the 18 MP rumour will turn into a 24 MP reality. We'll see what happens in the fall. May 30, 2007 - Could this be the first of a new onslaught of Nikon lenses to come by the end of this year and/or the beginning of the next? Rumours indicate 11 or so new lenses in the works at the Nikon foundaries, so who knows. This one certainly looks to be a worthy replacement to the rather average 80-400 VR lens. Thanks to Eric in Ontario for the tip. I think the end of 2007 will shape up to be a very interesting and meaningful year for Nikon and Canon photographers. One hint are the price drops on assorted Nikon cameras and the rebates available for certain Canon products. Price drops and rebates are usual precursors for new products to be announced and soon rolled out. I just wish Nikon would hurry and get on with it though ;^) I forgot to mention that Monday marked a milestone for me, as I finally got over 35mm film and finally dropped off my beloved F100 at the local store for consignment sale. It's a rather anticlimatic end of the 35mm film era for me, as it was already dying a slow death when I bought the D100 in 2002, and it was de facto dead in 2006 when I bought the mighty D2X. At the store, it was mentioned to me that the new Canon 1D3 was arriving at the store. Two only and both already long sold and I believe paid for in full. An omen of where my future lies? Who knows... May 29, 2007 - So, Michael Johnston has made the good graces of the mighty Erwin Puts, the Leicaphile that does laboratory-quality tests of cameras and lenses – you know, the theoretical test results that no other photographer can achieve in real life. Such as, laboratory tests indicate that said Leica lens has the resolution to resolve every individual hair on a gnat’s ass, but in real life, you can’t actually even see the gnat’s ass. According to Puts, there are three ways to test lenses, Johnston’s method, which is less formal and takes into consideration the entire process of taking a photograph with a lens so that critical review is done with a print. Kind of like a holistic approach to reviewing and writing, which Johnston does quite well…when he sticks to photography. A second method, which Puts is famous for, is to review the lens in isolation through instruments to obtain an objective understanding of what the lens can achieve. In other words, what the theoretical capabilities of the lens is, which may never translate to something achieved in actual photography, even with a large and sturdy tripod, head, and use of a cable release. The third method, which I gather Puts has no use for, is to review or compare lenses by taking photos of real world subjects and then comparing them at 100 percent magnification on the monitor. The criticism being that this takes into account far too many variables such as the camera and its sensor, support used, editing software, and quality of monitor, and anything else that does not meet with approval by Mr. Puts. In short, these reviewers throw in too many variables to truly understand what a given lens is capable of. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to laboratory test equipment and microscopes to review test results. Frankly, I doubt that too many would find such results to be of much use out here in the real world. Reviewing prints though is quite valid because it’s a real world product that you can use provided that the prints are consistent in quality, i.e. digital prints that can be controlled and easily reproducible. As you might have guessed, when I offer “reviews” of lenses, I’m smack in the middle of the disdainful third way. However, I think viewing comparison crop samples on the monitor is no less valid than reviewing prints, because I’ve made test prints in the past and I’ve seen the differences in them, just as clearly as on the monitor. And yes, Virginia, there is a difference between a $200 lens versus a $2000 lens and you don’t need Steve Austin’s bionic eye to see those differences. What I strive for in my tests is consistency. Use the same camera, mounted on a good tripod and head combo with a cable release in hand. I wait a few seconds between exposures to allow the energy from the previous exposure to dissipate. When converting the RAW files to maximum quality JPEGs, I ensure that all the shots receive the same amount of sharpening. In short, I do test shots the same way I would a killer landscape that I plan to print a 16x20 from. It’s real world, it’s repeatable, and it’s nothing that someone couldn’t do with the same kind of kit. It’s not as subjectively lovely as a well-written Johnston review, but offers the straight goods to the best of my capabilities and available kit. May 28, 2007 - Anyone want to take a guess at what the picture below is?
It's an air bubble in the Yellow ink line of my Epson 4800, just one of likely several in the same line that help to make some Epson users lives (including mine) a cleaning cycle misery. Regular cleaning cycles tend not to do anything and power cleaning cycles consume tremendous amounts of ink. About the only you can do is create an image of block colors and alternate between printing that and then trying a cleaning. The idea being that printing helps to move the ink and hence the air bubbles forward and out of the lines. Trouble is, the one you see above is about six inches away from where the ink cartridge sits and has many more inches (24 inches or so?) to travel before it will eventually be expunged. That's a whole lotta ink to consume just to get ride of one, somewhat large air bubble. It would be nice if I could manually clean or power clean just one ink head rather than having to clean through all eight at once with the Epson printing utility. I certainly do hope that Epson will find a solution with their generation of printers. With Canon and HP being serious players in the high-end printing market, offering products that are the equal of Epson print quality without the Epson liabilities, Epson must address their shortcomings. Once upon a time, I was so certain that when the time came for me to buy a larger printer (24-inch capability), Epson was going to be my only choice. Unfortunately, not anymore. May 21, 2007 - Idle Daydreams: Face Detection technology seems all the rage in the most recent crop of digicams with most brands offering some variant of cameras being able to recognize the shapes of faces and focusing on those faces. Useless as far as I'm concerned, but then I got to thinking, what if you took face detection out into left field and utilized it in a RAW convertor or photo editor such as Photoshop. It wouldn't be so much face detection, as it would be object mapping, but bear with me. What if our convertor or editor could map specific objects, say the face of a bride with some blemishes and then the application could search the entire folder of images for the same object, or "face" and then apply the edits you wanted to brush away the same blemishes without you having to do so in Photoshop afterwords. You would likely have to group batches of photo together taken in the same lighting to match the edits and of course, this wouldn't have to apply to just faces, but any object in an image file that you want repetitive edits applied to. I was thinking that this was yet another brilliant contribution by me to the world of photography 8^) Then I remembered that Nikon actually already has something similar, albeit for a different purpose, the Image Dust Off found in Nikon Capture that maps dust spots on the sensor then removes them automatically in the RAW image. Ah well. May 20, 2007 - You'll forgive me if this post seems meandering, I've been feverish and suffering from chills and hot spells for most of the week, so my head is a bit wonked out as I type this. I've recently been thinking of the classic children's tale, The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Anderson. It's a story that breaks the heart as it describes the cruelty of poverty, but does offer hope in an afterlife in the good graces of God. Thinking about this story jarred in my mind another story, actually an animated show that I watched but only once as a child many years ago during the Christmas season. Despite only seeing the show once, the basics of the story have never left me, which are of a bird flying south very late, but compelled by a golden statue to do his bidding to help the poor in the city. The statue requests the bird to pluck his jewel eyes and then strip his golden skin and give them to the poor so that they may have bread. At the end of the story, the bird falls dead from the cold of winter, having waited far too long to fly south. The statue is pulled down and smelted, but a lead heart inside will not melt. An angel gathers the dead bird and leaden heart for God to bestow his gifts in the afterlife. Now, if you happen to have a Masters in English like my buddy Rob Greer, then you probably already know the story and author, but since I didn't and Google being as good as it is, it didn't take long to find out that it's Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince. Both stories have common themes, poverty in the temporal life with redemption from poverty in the afterlife through God. Both are what I would describe as tales of the human condition, an elusively defined term if ever there was, but I know it when I see it or read it. Why such thoughts? Well, maybe the high fever had me thinking of my own mortality and whether or not I've done any good in my life. No, actually, it was a former coworker sending me links to some of his recent photography that made me think about poverty. William quit his day job at our government agency a few months ago to become a full time photographer and much of his work has been editorial and documentary with personal projects mixed in with his freelance work. His current project is Zero Loonie Shelters, of makeshift "homes" created and used by Vancouver's poor. May 18, 2007 - Got my June issue of Stereophile yesterday (best overall magazine dedicated to audio nutburs). The inside cover editorial by Jon Inverson hit home for the way I'm listening to music these days. Iverson commented that high-resolution file downloads is the way of the future and that using physical media such as records or CDs seems like he's tied to a ball and chain. To quote Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide, "XO concurs!" After some false starts and flip-flops on file formats, about a month ago, I finally finished ripping all of my CDs to AIFF format using the latest version of iTunes. I had to buy a couple of new 500 GB hard drives to handle all those uncompressed files (one for main storage and one for backing up), but I feel that long-term, it was well worth the month or so of effort to just sit down and get the job done and over with. My CDs are still stored in the living room, but in such a way that ready access to most of them would be a hassle. I've even thought of hauling the whole lot to a used store to dispense with them permanently, but then I'd probably be held up by local police procedures to ensure that I hadn't ripped them off someone else. I also made MP3 copies of all the AIFF files for portable use and how convenient, my new 80 GB iPod has just enough storage space to store all the files ripped at 320 kbps. My older, resurrected like Jesus, 40 GB iPod is now a "hits" collection. However, I'm faced with a problem in that with no need or desire to playback CDs, my Benchmark DAC-1 sits unused. I'm on the lookout for a DAC with a USB interface, such as the newest version of the DAC-1, or the Grace M902, or the Apogee Mini DAC, or a Headroom Desktop system. Unfortunately, money is an object and the price for any of the above options isn't all that wallet friendly. I'd also prefer a whole 'nother computer to store and playback the AIFF files with instead of slumming it with the iPod and MP3 files (perfectly fine for noisy commutes on the bus, but not the last word in high fidelity at home). If anyone is interested in my two-year old, infrequently used Benchmark DAC-1, I'm open to reasonable (and serious) offers. May 16, 2007 - Interesting article at PopPhoto about parents and grandmother's lives destroyed by overly sensitive prosecutors on the lookout for child porn. For those of us that are parents of young children, who hasn't taken innocent pictures of the kids taking their baths? It's a part of watching the kids grow up and documenting their lives with pictures. However, it certainly does seem like our kids are at greater risk these days than when I was a child, but then again, in British Columbia, we have a sordid past with Clifford Olson, the worse child killer in Canadian history (BC's reputation is taking another black eye with the current Robert Pickton trial, who is alleged to be the worse serial killer in Canadian history). On a much lighter note, my friend Rob Greer sent along this link to an article about art directors and their foibles from the perspective of a pro photographer. May 15, 2007 - Some people contacted me to enquire about Oleg Novikov's website. Oleg is a friend that looks after the Chinese and Russian NikonLinks pages, but being as busy as he is with his travels inadvertantly allowed his domain to lapse for a week. I'm happy to say that Oleg's website is now up and running once more with some great photos of China, where he lives and works. May 14, 2007 - Thanks to everyone that wrote in about blog sites. Based on those comments, I'm going to keep going with the status quo. However, do keep coming with suggestions and comments for improvements that can or should be made. I will also stay away from commenting on things I don't know too much about, such as financial analysis of companies ;^) May 12, 2007 - What do reader's think about CameraHobby being mirrored, or even replaced by a blog site such as LiveJournal or BlogSpot? It was suggested that being on a dedicated blog site would make it easier for readers to interact by posting comments more quickly. I'm always open to ideas that would make the site more useful. Nikon has posted its year end financial statements and once again Nikon is doing well. In financial analysis, the layperson often looks at the balance sheet for assets and liabilities and then the income or revenue statement to look at operating profits. However, the key document to review is the cash flow statement, because this statement reveals how much actual cash a company has available at the beginning and ending periods with all the uses of cash in between. What you want to see is a company being able to cover all operating expenses, investments and financings (short and long-term debt) with cash generated from its operations, i.e. the business the company is in. Looking at Nikon's cash flow statement indicates that Nikon is more than able to meet all of its operating and financing expenses handidly with cash left over at the end of the fiscal year. Companies that cannot fund their operating costs, investments and debt must borrow more money and/or sell more shares on the market, neither of which is desirable. Companies that must sell assets in order to generate cash are also on shakey ground, which is why the recent Pentax news is a red flag; however, I've not reviewed Pentax's financial statements, so I'm speculating. Interestingly, in reviewing the notes to the financial statements, I see no mention of operating leases, which is good in that Nikon's stated liabilities on the balance sheet are accurate. US and Canadian GAAP allows leases that do not exceed a certain percentage to be struck off the balance sheet and buried in the notes (don't know about Japanese rules). Most analysts will add operating leases back to the liabilities for a more accurate look at a company's liabilities (think airline companies). May 11, 2007 - Imaging Resource posted a news article about Pentax selling its headquarters to help increase profits. I just can't see this as being good news for a company to have to sell its HQ and think that it just sends a signal to the market that Pentax is in play. Will Hoya make another attempt at taking over Pentax? Is there another white knight in the wings? If no suitor comes by, will Pentax survive? Sorta, kinda related is this article by Dirck Halstead at the Digital Journalist. Halstead predicts in 10 years time, only Canon will survive as a major photography company thanks to its video division that produces camcorders. Halstead predicts that still photography will cease to exist for journalists and that high definition video cameras will become the tool of choice. Just jogging my memory, but was it not Halstead that is alleged to have claimed that Canon had 90-percent of the pro market, which seems a bit too much even if we acknowledge that Canon is very strongly in the number one slot for market share. If video does become so good as to replace still photography then does that mean that wedding photographers all become videographers, able to pull out whichever frame caught the right moment and then print it for the couple? Does that mean that everyone will soon be carrying mini camcorders instead of still cameras and doing the same, just print out a particular frame from the video sequence for the album or scrapbook? Will certain pros using still cameras call themselves traditionalists, offering clients the "old school" method of creating a photograph? Will these photographers be considered artisans of a bygone era, just as we are now considering the darkroom printer in today's digital age? Laugh now, but 10 years ago, would you have believed someone if he told you that within 10 years film cameras would go the way of the dodo and that most everyone in the world would be using silicon to capture their images with ones and zeros? May 9, 2007 - Reader's follow-up comment:
Hmm, yes, Canon is very marketing driven, but then they do tend to back up that marketing with products that deliver. I was thinking Nikon and Apple as an analogous comparison, but then Nikon is not as good at marketing as Apple, which is far better at it than Microsoft is and Nikon isn't quite as bleeding edge as Apple has been consistently. Nikon also has more market share in the SLR arena than Apple versus Microsoft, but you'd never know that from looking at the brilliant ads from Canon showing a sea of white lenses speckled by token black lenses here and there. May 8, 2007 - Reader's comment:
Canon is the Microsoft of photography? On an overall, very general sense, yes, I’d agree that Canon is the Microsoft of photography. Canon does not have anywhere near the monopolistic market share that Microsoft has for computer OS and office productivity, but there is little doubt that Canon is the king of photography. Microsoft is somewhere around 85-perecent market share for operating systems, give or take a few percentage points, while Canon is somewhere around 20-percent overall market share as a photography company. For SLRs though, Canon has around 50-percent market share. Michael Johnston of TOP described Canon as being the largest and richest photography company in the world. Canon dominates as number one or number two in just about every facet of consumer photography. Digicams, Canon is number one; best selling SLR in the world, Canon Rebel XTi; dominance of the professional SLR market, Canon with their 1D and 1Ds SLRs. Canon is also a very innovative lens maker with the most comprehensive lens line-up available of any brand, of any format. Canon was first to produce lenses with ultra sonic motors for focusing and first to market image stabilization. Being first is important even if the technology is not exclusive to the company, as Nikon had VR capability for many years before they actually produced a VR lens. Canon has the fastest prime lenses available for SLRs. What other company has the following:
There are rumours that Canon will resurrect the discontinued 200mm f1.8 to match the current and highly regarded Nikon 200 f2 AF-S VR lens. Also, don’t forget that Canon once made a 50mm f1 lens (I think there was also a 50mm f0.95 lens for their 1960s and 1970s era rangefinders). Canon also have a range of tilt/shift lenses covering 24mm, 45mm, and 90mm, while Nikon only has an 85mm f2.8 T/S, albeit, the Nikon lens is very highly regarded, more so than the largely unspoken of Canon 90mm T/S lens. And, of course, Canon has a comprehensive range of IS lenses:
Put it all together with Canon’s public declaration of being the number one photographic company in the world and it’s hard not to see Canon as being the Microsoft of the photographic world. Hell, as I was typing this up and realizing just how comprehensive Canon’s lens line-up is, it had me thinking of a switch J If you were a beginning photographer researching which of the two major pro brands to invest in, it would behoove you to gravitate towards Canon. The majority of news, sports, and wedding photographers are Canon-based, and for good reason. Canon has consistently kept their SLR offerings up to date and have pushed the edge of the art for high ISO image quality, frame rate speed, and high resolution. Once Canon has updated their 1Ds Mk II to Mk III status, there will be no better one-two punch in the SLR market than the 10 MP, 10 fps 1D3 and the rumoured 22 MP 1Ds3 (subject to Nikon producing competitive D3H and D3X cameras). And, you gotta love that Canon has put weather sealing in their flash units, which is a natural progression of putting weather sealing o-rings all over their cameras and lenses. It’s not to say that everything Canon does is perfect, because like every other brand, there have been lapses and a need to build to a certain price point, which limits how good some features can be. Case in point, the Rebel XTi maybe the best selling SLR in the world, but those who care about such things, deplore its poor quality viewfinder. However, Canon is but one guilty party among all the brands making consumer SLRs, although Pentax and Nikon have heard the whingeing and have improved the viewfinder quality in their most recent cameras. The 30D is also another product that while solid and very capable, didn’t catch the photographic world on fire like the Nikon D200. However, on the debit side of the ledger, the 5D is a very significant product, because it brings full frame digital capture to a price point that many serious amateurs and pros can actually afford. Who wouldn’t want to shoot with a high-resolution 1Ds camera, but who amongst the general population can afford $9,000 for a camera? At $2800, the 5D, while still expensive, is not unreasonable for what it offers. And seriously, who but Canon could afford to produce a relatively affordable full frame camera? It’s well known now that Canon develops and produces its own sensors, which provides it with vertical integration of all of the major components needed to produce a state of the art SLR. I think only Panasonic has the same capability as Canon to develop its own sensor for use in its own SLRs, but Panasonic only has one SLR. Fuji also make their own SLR, but need to piggyback on Nikon cameras and lenses, as there is no Fuji system to speak of otherwise. Another debit for Canon is its responsiveness to the needs of its market, specifically, the pro market that gives Canon so much visibility on the sidelines of sporting events and news scrums. For example, the original 16-35 f2.8 lens was an okay lens in the film era, but perhaps so-so in the digital world due to the high demands placed on lenses by capture sensors. Note about debits and credits, in the consumer world, a debit is regarded as a minus while a credit is a positive, but in the accounting world, debit just represents the left side of the ledger column while a credit represents the right side of the column. If one side goes up, the other side must go down. With the third generation of 1D cameras coming, Canon introduced a new version of the 16-35 lens to match lens quality with sensor demands. Another example is the 85mm f1.2 lens. This is considered an outstanding piece of glass, but often considered a piece of something nasty when discussing focusing speed. Again, Canon listened and produced a new version that is now faster to focus. Meanwhile, Nikon users are wondering if their own outstanding 85mm f1.4 lens will ever be updated to AF-S standard from the 1980s era screw drive focusing. With so many positives, you’re perhaps wondering why I’m still a Nikon user. Let me clarify:
I’ve made my Nikon bed and I’ll be sleeping in it for probably many years to come. May 4, 2007 - I'm in a state of depression now that my beloved Vancouver Canucks are out of the NHL playoffs, by some fowl competitors from Anaheim. A state of mourning ensues until I'm over my grief, in the meantime, go Ottawa Senators (the last Canadian team left in the playoffs). Public comment:
May 3, 2007 - Is it me, or did I just read that Pop Photo considers the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC lens as being superior to the much more expensive Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 AF-S? I don't know if I should laugh or if I should cry ;^) A link posted by Mike Johnston at the TOP made for an interesting read. Diglloyd, a photographer with the means to afford and use both Nikon and Canon systems, is contemplating selling a big part of his Nikon kit in favour of going whole-hog to the Canon system based on the potential and expectations of the coming Canon 1D3. I’m sure much of what Diglloyd has written sums up a lot of what many Nikon users have felt or are currently feeling, that Nikon is always behind the times and is not able to keep up with the Canon juggernaut. This is not an incoherent rant, but one that intelligently touches on various issues that have irked many Nikon users over the years. My own observation of the Nikon versus Canon debate in the digital age have been:
I thought it was fantastic that Nikon produced a 200mm f2 lens and when they followed that up with a 300mm f2.8 VR lens, I thought the bubble had finally burst and that Nikon was well on its way to upgrading it lens line up. Unfortunately, instead of a flood, we received a trickle run off in the form of the 105 VR Micro and assorted consumer quality zoom lenses. No big VR super telephoto lenses and no revamping of any of the prime lenses below 105mm. We’re also seeing a slow killing off of the F mount legacy. Instead of taking a big one-time hit as Canon did in 1986 with the move to the EOS EF mount, Nikon is bringing the F mount into the 21st Century by attrition. There is the distinct impression that Nikon would love to kill the manual focus lens legacy and just move straight on into the AF-S and/or VR era. I don’t have any problem with Nikon doing away with their manual focus (MF) lenses; however, with millions of those lenses floating around the world, I also recognize that there has to be some legacy and usability for those users with modern SLRs. The way the D2X and D200 bodies allow for the use of current technology lenses along with old school MF lenses shows that Nikon has the ability to adapt while recognizing and maintaining its cherished legacy. If Nikon wants to do away with the AIS lenses then it should also kill off all the screw driven AF lenses at the same time. Then introduce a whole new and comprehensive set of redesigned lenses that use the AFS focusing motor and throw in VR into as many as the buggers as possible (exceptions acceptable for specialty lenses such as tilt/shift designs). And for goodness sake, if Nikon is going to be behind the curve as far as high ISO quality is concerned, throw us some fast primes to compensate for the noise. It’s pathetic that Nikon users have to look at Sigma (in recent times, a more innovative lens maker than Nikon has been) for a fast, normal prime lens (30mm f1.4). Yah, I know that this all costs money and that the world does not revolve around me, and gosh darn it, Nikon Corp. is doing just fine and dandy selling all those D40 and D80 SLRs. But, wouldn’t it be nice to offer all those D40 and D80 users a clear upgrade path and comprehensive photographic system that will meet all their future needs (pro and amateur alike)? Nikon’s got the consumer range of cameras and lenses nicely covered with more 18-XXX lenses available than necessary, but would it hurt to give users of its higher end products a bone with some tiny morsels of flesh still on it to satiate our hopes of an improved system? What happened to the Nikon of the 1960s to the early 1980s, when it was the leader of the pact with innovation and some wildly fantastic lens designs? Throw us a roadmap as other companies have done and show us what Nikon will do and offer instead of remaining secretive and forcing more of its higher end users to read the tea leaves and decide if it’s worthwhile to switch to a company that really is innovating and producing compelling products for the pro market. If there’s a full frame SLR in the works, I can’t see it as anything but a positive for Nikon users to know that they too will have an uber resolution camera to upgrade to. Actual specs and details don’t have to be provided, just an acknowledgement in plain language that Nikon will remain competitive and ensure that its users will not be left behind. Otherwise more of us will be doing the same as Diglloyd has decided to do. Despite the heart and hand wringing above, I actually do have faith that Nikon will produce stellar responses to the Canon SLRs. Nikon knows how to make good cameras and one of the smartest things it’s done is to keep having Giorgetto Giugiaro design its flagship cameras. While Canon has some wonderful innovations, think of the small and sometimes subtle things Nikon has done over the years that are now standard in other brands.
My big beef is (using one’s best irate grandma voice), where’s the lenses? I have the 85mm f1.8 lens, but I really want to buy the 85mm f1.4, but I really don’t feel like blowing $1200 on a lens that still uses a screw to focus with. I really want an 85mm f1.4 AF-S VR lens and I’m willing to spend the money that such a lens would cost, but instead, I make do with the much cheaper 85 f1.8. Similarly, I had long desired a real macro lens and the 105mm f2.8 Micro made for the best compromise between the three offerings of the 60, 105, and 200 lenses. However, when rumours surfaced about a new AF-S VR version, well, I held tight and waited and was rewarded with being able to buy a lens with all the right kinds of technology I desired. The 105, 200 f2 and 300 f2.8 AF-S VR lenses clearly show that Nikon hasn’t lost its ability to produce outstanding lenses, but why oh why are they seemingly so complacent about revamping the rest of the line up in this very demanding digital age? And, remember, many of the current AF lenses were designs from the 1960s and 1970s that were just given updates over the years for lens coatings and auto focus, but the core designs have rarely changed. I can dream and hope that Nikon is taking its time doing exactly what I desire, redesigning all its lenses to 21st Century standards to work with digital sensors, i.e. preparing for the über resolution D3X. It would be fantastic if Nikon also took some tips from Hasselblad to produce a symbiotic relationship between lenses, sensors, and the software to process the image files, as Hassie has done with the H3D. It would be like having DXO treatment automatically for every file taken in-camera rather than having to use various converters and plug-ins to correct images out of camera, as we do now. May 1, 2007 - Excuse the lack of posting the past week; you know how it is with life with a kid's birthday party to prepare for (not so little boy turned nine last week) and out of town relatives stopping by for a visit. Although the review is a few days old, if you haven't read it, take a peek at Mike Johnston's review of the Leica M8 at the TOP. The pros of the M8 is here and the cons, the more interesting piece, is here. To paraphrase one of the comments posted from the cons piece, Mike Johnston and I are continents apart politically, but I admire his masterful skills as a writer of photography. He's also a music lover and he clearly enjoys fine audio equipment to listen to his collection of jazz music; how can I not like this guy 8^) The man's got a huge pair of balls to be posting a mildly negative review of the M8 in light of the zealous affection many of the Leica-initiates have towards the fabled German cameras and lenses. And, he will need (needed) some mighty flame resistant underwear to protect those balls. Johnston explains some of the things that I thought of for the M8, things that I wouldn't have bothered saying because I ain't got no street cred with Leicas. Sure, I've used a fabulously minty M3 sometime back, but that's piddling and of no comparison to Johnston's credibility as an actual (former) M owner and user. He's been bitten by the Leica bug many a year ago and he regularly recounts those years in his writings. You sense that he regrets selling his M6 despite moving full on into the digital world with his Minolta 7D. So, if he says the M8 is close, but not quite there, that's good enough for me given who the man is and has been in life's journey. For me, I couldn't get past the issue of the IR sensitivity and the need for hot mirror filters on every lens used with the M8. Spend $5000 and you gotta use some filters with the lenses?! However, to be fair, the original Nikon D2H also had IR issues and required the use of hot mirror filters, which is ridiculous for a camera that caters to pros. I suppose that there was an expectation that a Leica M8 would, or should have been a perfect M camera, but I also couldn't get passed the lack of weather sealing, which means the M8 would be the first M camera that could not withstand the elements as well as its predecessors. The usual clichés come out, the worse being the "it's the photographer, not the camera," which is a load of smelly stuff you'd rather not step into, if you were to give Moose Peterson or Arthur Morris an M8 and expect them to take wildlife and bird photos with it. Or, Dave Black and expect him to get that Sports Illustrated cover shot while covering any of the varied sports he photographs. Yes, in the right hands and for the right situations, the M style camera offers some compelling attributes that allow the genre to excel, but the other cliché, horses for courses, is the one to live by. Just as one camera bag cannot fulfill every single need for a photographer, neither can one camera. April 24, 2007 - It was close, but the Vancouver Canucks finally got the monkey off their backs and have made it through to the second round of the NHL playoffs...now back to our regularly scheduled equipment junkie blog (was so depressed for a bit when the Canucks dropped two in a row to the Dallas Stars that I couldn't write ;^) Rob Galbraith appears to be besotted by the new Canon 1D3. There is even a fantastical reference to "publishable pictures" at ISO 12800, but given that "publishable" likely means only in newspapers, that ain't quite as impressive as it may first read. However, that isn't to take away anything from the Canon 1D3, because the realm of ISO 12800 is pure fantasy for Nikon shooters. Canon's been eating Nikon's breakfast, lunch and dinner for high ISO quality in the pro-level cameras and the 1D3 seems to continue that trend. While Nikon has made significant strides in recent years at the consumer level with the D50 and D40/D40X models, we can only wait to see if Nikon can match those strides at the pro-level where few users have expressed any satisfaction sho |
In the other shot, I'm using the same D2X and 17-55 combo for shots of the couple in the rain (they had an umbrella, while I obviously did not). The cameras and lenses came through like champs in the rain. 
