August 2nd, 2009 / No Comments » / by Bruce Kinokian
Damned… They did it again but, this time, with the semi-pro D300 camera….
Who’s next on the list : D700s ? D3xs ?!
You all know that my brain, spirit and whole body are fully against these kinds of mutant cyborgs. I mean video features embedded in a pro or semi-pro camera. I have always hoped only dark side knights of Canon could commit this kind of crime… But I now have to face the truth and evidence every day : Nikon has transformed by so-beloved D300 in this kind of mutated bisexual stuff… His killing name : D300s. It hurts me too much…
In terms of differences with the current D300, there are few (except video…):
- SD memory card (SDHC compliant) compatible. In fact, there are dual card slots. Either card can be used as the primary card. The secondary card can be used for overflow storage which is a nice feature.
- There is a new release mode named Q for quiet shutter-release.
- There are two new Active D-Lightning modes : auto and extra-high. The both make me afraid…
Has everybody gone ? Am I alone ? OK. Let’s take a look at these demagogic videos…
Please don’t tell anybody what I gonna claim : these videos are gorgeous… That’s really pain in my a.. to tell that but… I need to get one D300s to confirm that damned good first impression. Please stay tuned.
The Olympus E-P1 is hype. Though I’m a Nikon aficionado, I always show respect to Olympus. This company is still alive in this mass-market crazy business and the products are generally great. One can say they have created the Four-Third alternate world.
The Olympus E-P1 is like a fresh breeze in this China-made, plastic-like, marketing-driven digital world. I was told by a sales representative that pre-orders have been huge.
Yes, it’s a marketing product too with a lot of buzz, but, look at this little beast :
As told in the press release, it’s not a DSLR, it’s not a Compact.. it’s a PEN : 12 Mpixels, Four-Third format, Zuiko lens, big LCD, HD video, old-fashion look, handy and light-weighted format. But forget viewfinder and flash, though you can buy them as accessories.
The Olympus marketing campaign is as weird as the camera. Just look at this :
I’m nevertheless concerned that so much buzz may ruin this nice camera. As a second camera, it could sell great, especially as everybody (me included) waits for the new Coolpix from Nikon or any ‘real’ not China-made nor Pana-copy Leica…
But : no viewfinder with the zoom lens, it’s really pain in the …
And how can we really take advantage of this amazing video mode without a decent noise cancellation feature for the embedded mike (or a plug for an external micro…). For sure the definition and the depth of field are great but, remember Oly, in video there is also audio tracks and I don’t want to listen to any rhhhh-rhhhh noise in 21st century…
In the previous related post, I introduced the white balance.
As I said previously, our eyes and brain collaborate into a kind of chromatic adaptation so that we often perceive light as white though is barely true. Each light has a color temperature which is measured in Kelvins (K). The light from our solar has a temperature of around 5 500 K. A cloudy sky is around 7 500 K. An incandescent bulb is around 3 200 K.
If you work with RAW files, you can always modify white balance settings in your RAW development software, like Nikon Capture NX 2. If you shoot and store directly JPEG or TIFF files, the white balance settings of your camera are embedded in your files. In this case, it’s very difficult to correct the white balance afterwards. By the way, even if you shoot RAW files, you’d better always check and set correctly your white balance.
In fact, it’s not so complex. All modern cameras, even the cheapest, have now specific and easy-to-use predefined white balance settings. If you shoot near a beach at noon, use Beach or Seaside settings. If you shoot at home with a flash, use Flash settings. If you shoot at school with neon bulbs, use Neon settings…. and so on… just check your camera’s manual. The pro or intermediate cameras even offer intelligent automatic WB detection modes that compute the average color temperature of the lights. Look dumb and easy, doesn’t it ? So what’s the hell ?
Photography is not a perfect world, dear Reader. For example, a new energy saving bulb is no more an incandescent light but rather a neon bulb. That doesn’t match the Tungsten 3200 K common settings. And an ‘average’ computation is not always the best bet. Keep in mind that an averaged WB drives your camera to process only one dominant color. The other dominant colors which come from the other lights will still be there, on your picture…
So you need to use all the advanced WB settings of your camera either to correct the dominant colors either to create any artistic effect to your advantage.
During a business travel in Switzerland, I visited last week one of my favorite photo store in Zürich. I was discussing with the shop owner about the new Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED and I was complaining about the brightness of this lens and its middle of Nikon’s range position. As usual, I was enforcing all the advantages of fixed wide-angle lens. Nevertheless, this lens is a great buy and I’ll write a review very soon. I’m always very fond of having an ultra-wide angle lens on my D300 to avoid using my crazy, unbelievable and no-protected-and-so-expensive Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED on my D3x. Not because I’m lazy but because I cut my arm to pay this beauty and I discovered AFTER that I was not able to protect the front lens….
By the way, the guy told me that there was a smart alternative with Tokina AT-X Pro DX 11-16mm f/2.8. Hum, Tokina is not exactly the brand I like because it’s difficult to find serious vendors (and guarantee/support service) in Europe (especially in France, where I live most of the time).
He proposed me to plug one on my D300. Frankly speaking, without the Tokina brand name engraved on it, I should have bet it came from Nikon factories. The overall aspect and touch were surpringly solid and pro. I asked him to keep it for a week.
I’m currently playing with this zoom. For sure, you can’t use it on a FX full-frame equipement because you’ll get circular pictures at wide range. But, for DX cameras, it’s a real alternative to Nikon’s equivalence. My first tests have revealed excellent sharpness and smart distortion control (hey, Nikon guys, you are no more alone on Planet of Nice Lenses ! Check your six !). Why spending so much on Nikon lenses (yes, dear Reader, I wrote that…). And the few extra mm are so cute. I always need more ‘wideness’ when I shoot landscapes. One wrong point : there is no protection bag supplied by Tokina.
I have also a minor complaint : it’s difficult to ‘leave’ it on your camera. It’s not a stay-on-the-camera lens. 16 mm is a bit too wide. If you focus on landscape photography, no problem. But if you don’t want to switch too often your lenses, prefer the Nikon whose 24 mm is more usable (remember, it’s a 36 mm equivalence).
If you live in North-America or in Asia where Tokina is well distributed, buy it before it becomes a collector. If not, buy it because at this price level, you can buy two for the price of a Nikon – in case of one fails… Nethertheless, note that some customers have complained about autofocus issues. Sounds that there have been some bad copies. You need to select a Tokina vendor with a good return policy…
First introduced in mid-2006, this lens (Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor ED 18-135mm F3.5-5.6G IF) has been found in a lot of Nikon bundled kits, like those with D40x, D60 and D90.
If you really want to buy it, you can find it at less that $350 (25% discount).
Kodachrome, born in 1935, is dead. Digital world killed him.
This iconic film has been used by so many amateur and pro photographers worldwide. Colors and tones were so perfect. Imagine you can never again listen to any vinyl…
That’s something special that makes all Playboy’s pictures typical and distinct. Wanna achieve the same results ?
In terms of photography and erotism, I’m not very fond of Playboy’s style. It’s not any offense against the photogs who work for Playboy because I know some of them and their personal work is quite different and most of time outstanding. But there is a kind of smoothing attitude in these pictures I don’t like. By the way, it’s a very distinctive magic touch who anybody recognizes worldwide at the first glance (don’t tell me you never opened a Playboy magazine…)
To me, the secret of Playboyism is based upon seven major points :
Typical ’standardized’ model, whatever ethnic origin : not so tall, breasty, gorgeous, pretty face (but without emotion). Playboy employs several scouts to find these hotties (what a hard job…)
Typical location : bedroom, office, stable, den, where lights can be strongly controlled and managed
Medium format camera (Hassenblad, probably not compliant to your budget…)
Average to sharp focus on the model
Average to strong defocus elsewhere using short depth of field (bokeh effect)(I was told of average f/5.6 plus minus 2 stops)
Probably tilt-shift lens usage for some shots with special difficult focus (same budget issue…)
Extensive usage of Photoshop and filters to ’smooth’ any skin or glare/glance defaults.
Using a very quick lens is my rule of thumb to achieve equivalent results.
I use myself my D300 (DX format) with Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G (equivalent to a 75mm in DX format). You can read my review of this lens on this post. It’s a very quick and efficient lens.
If you have a FX format like D700, my preferred lens would be the now old but still famous Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D and, in case you have just sold your grandma vintage antique armchair, try the outstanding but costly Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF.
I’d be happy to share and discuss with you about this topic.
Amateur photographer friends of mine often ask me this question : what’s the hell is the white balance and why is it so important to digital photography. Hum, because it’s the balance of whites which determines the levels of white, grays, black and colors on your pictures. The discussion ends quickly with a huge grin on my friend face. Some people attempt a follow-up question : do they need to deal with the white balance with the camera or with the development software ? My answer ‘probably both’ usually adds to the confusion.
For sure, it’s no so easy to understand for the beginner but perhaps even more complex for the intermediate photographer who’d like to get the best from its camera. Nevertheless, white balance settings have a drastic and huge impact upon your shots.
First, let me give you the ‘goal of the war’ : if you want to get the right colors in your pictures, you need to correctly adjust the white balance. Point.
In the next posts related to this topic, I’ll try to illustrate my explanations with some photo examples but, now, let’s talk a bit about theory. Please don’t zap !
When you shoot a photography, you always have some sources of light (except if you are a sharpshooter aiming at BinLaden himself). These sources vary and often add themselves : natural lights (direct sun light, reflections, fire), artificial but not controlled lights (bulb or neon lights, traffic lights), and artificial but controlled lights (flash, light box, strobe, monolight).
Each type of light, whatever artificial or natural, has its own color. Pros speak of the temperature of the light. For example, incandescent bulbs are rather yellow (warm) and fluorescent lights rather blue (cold). In terms of perception, you get a full range from a warm yellow to a cold blue.
Because of your eyes are wonderful piece of human and genetic technology, you usually don’t notice these differences. Your eyes integrate and adjust automatically for it. Generally, in normal conditions, you perceive white as white. To check that, look at a sheet of copy paper in different locations at your home : toilets, garage, kitchen, living-room and so on… White is white.
The problem is that your camera is not as lucky as you, Child of the Matrix. This son of a Terminator sees the reality and you need to teach it how to fix that !
By chance, I have discovered the work of Stefan Rappo. This talented photographer has an incredible ability to mix light and movement. I’m fond of his pictures of nude models. His portraits and landscape pictures are also wonderful, especially the black-and-white portraits.
Here are some pictures collected from his web site you absolutely need to visit.
You all know that I’m very fond of DX format even if I use both DX and FX in my pro duties. So I have decided to review any new lense from Nikon DX product line. As you, my dear Reader, probably don’t own one D3x or one D700, you’d appreciate, for sure !
This 35 mm DX format is a 52 mm full-frame equivalent. This little beast is fast (1.8G is very nice !) and that is probably the fastest wide DX digital-only Nikkor lense. I have appreciated the very silent and quiet SWM autofocus. I was not able to detect any significant distorsion, thanks to the 8 elements in 6 groups.
Nikon AF-S DX 35mm F/1.8G
Those who like defocused image areas and backgrounds will be delighted. I have noticed no shadow with my D300’s built-in flash.
The only drawback I had to cope with was a strange feeling when turning the focus ring (and no distance scale, my friend…). Hum hum, Japan-designed but China-built ? Not a dead-or-alive concern.
For a street price of $220 in USA or 240 EUR in Europe, it’s a God gift, believe me !
Bruce Kinokian tries to share his time between business and art. He focuses on fine art photography. Despite current common sense, he strongly believes in natural lights and in Photoshop nonsense. His pictures are probably not all perfectly lightened nor color optimized but they all reflect deep atmosphere and model tension that glorify women body without vulgarity nor bad taste.
