Category: Photography

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Ramblings: Technology Thoughts from an Amateur Photographer

In a digital world one has to be very thoughtful of where the industry is going before making a purchase. I wish tech companies would be more transparent in this regard though I can’t blame them for being hard to read; No one wants people to stop buying because in two months a new product is going to come out.

In realistic terms this has a large effect on how I buy camera equipment. I believe that, in time, full frame image sensors with be the norm on DSLR cameras. Basically, a DSLR that you buy today uses a image sensor that is smaller then a frame of 35mm film, but high end cameras are starting to come out with an image sensor that is the same size as a 35mm frame of film.… Click here to read more!

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Underwater Photography

Why is it so expensive to outfit a camera for use in water? I understand the need for divers to have solid and high quality diving cases for their cameras but what about the normal Joe looking to take their camera into a wet environment? I’m not about to spend twice what I paid for the camera for a box made of clear acrylic with a couple of buttons! Not only does a case for the D300 cost double what I paid for the camera but a case for a point and shoot also cost twice what that camera cost!

I’ve found one company making what looks like thick ziploc bags for the camera but they look so damn unwieldy I can’t image them being useful.… Click here to read more!

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Digital Photography Workflow

I shoot a lot of pictures so sorting, editing, and using them can be cumbersome. Over the years I have moved around from application to application trying to find a good way deal with all the data. The biggest issue for me is that the application doesn’t get in the way of my organization of images, but works with it. I don’t want my images stored in some kind of ‘library’ file, I want them stored in flat folders that are easy for me to move around as I need to.

Up until recently I was running Windows or Linux on my desktops but over 2007 I switched to the Mac platform full time.… Click here to read more!

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D300: MB-D10 Battery Grip

When I picked up my D300 I also bought the battery grip, as I mentioned in a previous post my primary reason for buying it was the ability to be able to use AA batteries if need be. I also bought a spare battery for the camera which also fits into the grip so when it came in I of course tried it out.

When you buy the grip it comes with two battery holders, one for the same type of battery the D300 takes, and one that holds 8 AA batteries. Also of note is that the grip is able to boost the frame rate of the D300 from 6 frames per second to 8 frames per second but there is a catch.… Click here to read more!

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D300: Buffer Size and Limitations

Lesson Learned: If using the D300 and you have Active D-Lighting enabled it will limit your frame buffer to 12 shots.

Active D-lighting is a new feature found in the D300, as well as the D3 I believe. Basically, it’s a way for the camera to optimize the image as you shoot. I’m really boiling it down here but it will enhance the dynamic range of an image to make the photo look more like you eye sees the world. Ken Rockwell has a much better explanation on his D300 review, an excellent resource. It’s the place I go for the real scoop on all things photographic.… Click here to read more!

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D300: Interval Shooting

I had band rehearsal last night and, just for fun, I put the D300 up on the tripod and set it to take a shot every minute. I was able to put the ‘Interval shooing’ option into my ‘Custom’ menu so it was easy enough for me to get to but it’s not all that intuitive to setup. Once I completed the options they made sense but at first glance I was somewhat confused as to what I was changing. They feature set offered for interval shooting is pretty good though. You call have it start shooing at an interval right away, or at a specified time which makes is versatile both for fun time lapse shoots as well as for some kind of surveillance shooting.… Click here to read more!

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Review: Nikon D300

Since I bought my Nikon D40 back about a year ago I’ve taken nearly 20,000 shots with it and could not be happier with the device. It does everything I had hoped it would and had a large enough feature set that I could grow into it a bit. I love it. It marks a real turning point for me in terms of becoming a ‘photographer’. One thing to be clear on though, spending money on cameras does not a good photographer make. What the D40 does do for me is allow the camera to get out of the way and let me take pictures.… Click here to read more!

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Review: 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

Unfortunately, one of the few camera and photography shops near me is closing. On the bright side though they are selling off everything in the store, from neon lights and shelves to lenses and camera bodies. I happened to have been in the area on Saturday so I stopped in to see what they had. I found a couple of items at decent prices. One of those items was the 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor.

This is a pretty basic prime lens, that is to say it does not zoom at all. It’s a very small, light weight lens and quite fast as lenses go.… Click here to read more!

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New Cameras and Lenses From Nikon

On August 23rd, Nikon released a number of new products. They added/replaced a number of thier professional lenses and released two new camera bodies. They replaced their current flagship cameras, the D2Xs and the D2Hs with the D3. The specs look great on paper and I can’t wait to see some reviews when they come out in November. In the mean time all of my drooling has been directed to Ken Rockwell’s preliminay look at the device. He seems pretty excited about it. For me, it’s falls in the ‘too expensive’ category. If you are a professional though this camera looks like it’s going to be a no brainer.… Click here to read more!

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New additions to the Image Gallery

Well, I have returned from Nashville where I went to the Music & Worship Conference. Had a great time down there and I took a ton of pictures. I have posted all of the images that I didn’t delete in their unedited form. Out of the 1600 shots I took I’ve keep about 500, not to bad I’d say.

Have a Look. I’ve posted in two groups, one group is pictures from the concerts and classes and the other is shots from around the City as we took some time during our final day to look around downtown Nashville.… Click here to read more!