D800 General chit chat

The D3s is sitting in the corner sulking, Its been over a week since i used it and i think the trend will continue, Its only when you get a slower camera that you realize how much high speed work you do, There will be times when the D3s will be the main camera but for what i am shooting now the D800 rules, We had some of our old neighbors around at the weekend and i offered to take a couple of portraits, I showed them the results of the images straight out of the camera on screen and it started with oh wow and then turned in my god look at my-lines/wrinkles/bags/spots/pimples/hairs/you name it, Yes the D800 takes no prisoners, the detail is amazing and anybody who does portrait work will have extra processing to do, I have just purchased Portrait Professional V10, Its a huge improvement over the old version that i used to have, Its much more subtle and the skin tones stay true unlike before, that should keep some people a little happier, PP is on special at the moment for under $40 so its a bargain,
I sat out last night in the hopes of getting some fox images, The fox did come and feed in front of me but it didn't get in the position i wanted so i ended up just watching until it left, the deer are coming out before dusk and i hoped to get some shots in daylight but they arrived as i was setting up and soon left the area,
I have bluebirds in one of my nest boxes and Chickadees in the other, I have some of the plants that i recently planted coming into bloom and they have an assortment of bees and butterflies around them which is nice, The planting continues,
The 32gb SD card for the D800 arrived yesterday so it will come in handy for my Florida trip next month-cant wait, I think the D3s will come back into its own there but we will see.
The forums are doing what forums do when a new camera is announced, One person says that they have a problems and before you know its its a major problem spread mainly by people who do not even have the camera, At the moment on the D800 its the far AF points, I have to say i haven't checked mine but i have used them and they seem fine,
Here's a shot from the weekend using the 14-24

I wonder how many Canon users have stuck their thumbs over the 5D3 viewfinder to see if the exposure changes when you turn the illumination on-pure madness but it seems to happen with every new camera, If you want a perfect camera wait for 6 months or more after the launch, If you get one of the first models then don't complain if there are glitches,The only real problem that i have with the D800 is the color of the screen and i have to admit it doesn't bother me and i am sure that it will be rectified,

Dave

Nikon on the marketing spend ascendancy

By the time you read this, Focus on Imaging will either be on it's last day or have come and gone.

Even though I work at the venue, I haven't bothered going in this year as there is nothing I need to spend my money on there, particularly as most things can now be got from Amazon more cheaply these days or I tend to support my Pro dealer for the larger items.

But walking through the venue yesterday, I noticed loads of Nikon ads - banners, posters sites and massive great 40 foot hoardings on the drive in but nothing from Canon at all.

Crappy phone pictures for you

Martin

New Nikon 300 F2.8VR +2X

Nikon today announced a new 300F2.8 VR and 2x converter, I read some leaks on this the other day and didn't believe them as there current 300 F2.8 lens is a good'un and there are plenty of other lenses in their range that are in better need of an upgrade like the 80-400, Nikon's 2x has never had a good review and its something that i didn't buy instead keeping to the 1.4x and 1.7x that are both optically very good so i will wait with interest to see just how good the new version is, 2x in general be it Nikon or Canon have few supporters but with good light and stopping the aperture down a couple of stops can yield very good results

More details here

Nikon announces the New D3s

Its been talked about for weeks but today Nikon announced the new revised D3-The D3s, Nikon sometimes adds an 'S' model to extend the life of a current model for another year or so, But i feel this is slightly different, Instead of just adding video like the D300 and a couple of small tweeks the new D3s has a new sensor which takes the ISO range up to a whopping and incredible 102 400-making flash all but redundant, I recently read that Sony who makes the sensor as new technology that help increase ISO but moving wires to the back of the sensor instead of in the layers of its make up and i guess this is the first of what i guess will be a new wave of higher ISO models, The D3Xs will certainly be a worth contender for it as it will add at least 1 or more stops so now we could have 24mp cameras able to shoot at 800 or 1600 and give good quality low grain images, Finally Nikon have added a sensor cleaner to the D3s which it really needs as the D3 is a magnet for dust, I have said that i would love a dedicated live view button and this model has that as well as a silent shutter mode which i found extremely useful on the Canon 1D mk3, By Nikon releasing this model and keeping the MP to 12 it shows the different philosophy's now between Nikon and Canon and i as i said previously it shows how much Nikon listen to their customers and don't want to get involved in the MP war, One other feature worthy of note is a 1.2 crop mode, This enables the camera to shoot faster and given the crop it gets a 8MP images making the camera very similar to Canons much loved 1D2n this should keep the sports togs very happy-all in all this has evolved from a great camera into a dream camera for me and ticks just about every box that i can think of, Once it has been in use for a couple of months to test for any bugs i may make the jump from 12mp to 12 mp
More details here

Dave

New Lens-Camera Manufactuers or 3rd Party

You would think that by purchasing a Canon or Nikon lens to go with your body you would be getting the best possible quality in both build and image but thats not always the way and sometimes you can get better IQ buy purchasing a lens from a 3rd party manuafactuer and it will also save you money, I dont think you will get better IQ in long lenses than from the camera manufactuers but Sigma do make some different focal lengths than usual like their 120-300F2.8 and their Sigmonster 300-800 both are very good lenses, Not as fast focusing maybe but have very good IQ and are very versatile and nowhere near the cost of a Canon or Nikon, I certainly would say both are well worth a look and i would be happy to have the 120-300 in my camera bag, I read an English camera mag the other day and whilst most things have been written before or are somebody else's words rewritten i do tend to read camera and lens reviews, The review i read was about macro lens in the 100mm range, I used to own the Tamron SP90 and it was a great lens and i doubt you would find a sharper lens, In the review the new Tamron SP90 wiped the floor with Canon and Sigma and just pipped the new Nikon 105VR to take top marks which is amazing, Last year when i renewed all my gear i chose the Sigma 180mm Macro over Nikon's own 200mm macro as i believe Sigmas 150 and 180mm macros are top of the macro pile for that focal length, I would have made the same decision if i had stayed with Canon, not that Nikon's and Canons macros are bad as they are well built and give good results but i can get just as good results or better with a lens that's half the price and probably faster focusing in Canons case , So what am i saying-well don't be blinkered into thinking that because you have a Canon body that you need to use a Canon lens to get the best results,also if you ask for advise on a certain lens on a forum beware of people who have that particular lens and will tell you how good it is without knowing what other lenses in that range are like, i see it all the time and one persons 'pin sharp image' is another persons 'soft' image, Lenses are something that will last for years unlike camera bodies so take your time to make sure that you make the right decisions

Dave

Nikon 600F4 VR Lenshood

As i mentioned a few weeks ago when shooting in Colorado at 14000 feet i lost the end section (its in 2 pcs) of my 600,s lens hood, After numerous phone calls to Nikon's not too friendly parts department in California i was told that if i want just the end piece i will need to buy it in kit form otherwise pay $800 for both pieces fully made up and ready to go.Well i only need one piece but cant understand why i have to put it together myself,surely there is a person in japan who's job that is, Anyway for $349 i have the pleasure in doing it myself, I was told that not all the parts are in so that they would send what they had, So last week a small package arrived and inside was-see below


11 pieces out of the 17 needed to make the whole lens hood,One of the packets in the above image has 2 of the worlds smallest screws


This looks like its going to be fun to put together-NOT
I think i have found the chink in Nikon's Armour here in the spare parts, I understand that replacing 1 part of a 2 part lens hood is a rarity but come on at least for that kind of money have it in one piece
I now wait for the rest of the parts and hope it wont be long but i wont hold my breathe-To be continued

Dave

Low and Mid range Lenses

Not everybody can afford or needs pro lenses but everybody wants to have good quality images, So if your budget is in the low hundreds rather than thousands what should you buy-do you stick with Canon or Nikon or do you look at 3rd party lenses like Sigma,Tamron or Tokina, Well in the past i have used some of Sigmas EX range and had very good results and would have no hesitation in recommending them against the mid range lenses from Canon and Nikon and if you are looking cheaper still then i would buy Sigmas and Tamrons over the Camera Manufactuers lenses, The Quality of 3rd party lenses has increased over the last 10 years and hold their own against low and mid budget lenses from Canon or Nikon, Late last year i replaced all my kit and chose the Sigma 180mm Macro over Nikons macro offerings,Both Sigmas 180 and 150mm Macro lenses are excellent and way below the cost of Canon or Nikons lenses, I used Tamrons 90mm Macro for years and it was as sharp as any Macro lens i have come across, So dont think that as you have a Canon or Nikon body that the lenses have to come from the same as there are some excellent lenses out there are a fraction of the cost

Dave

Purchasing Equipment

Its always good to hear when people are treated well with their equipment, both before and after sales service is very important, I had a letter from Nikon a couple of weeks ago about the possibilities of the 200-400 case being faulty and if there wasn't a 'T' on the base to fill in the on line details and they would replace the bag-well i filled the form in before my trip to Colorado and when i returned there was a prepaid box waiting for me, I sent it off on Tuesday and the new case arrived Friday-Top work from Nikon-very impressed
On the other hand i had a conversation with a Friend over the weekend who purchased a camera from Simply Electronics thinking that they were UK based,The camera took forever to arrive and then after taking some shots the images very extremely grainy(green grain on faces) in auto mode (compact camera) she had many conversations with the company via mail and they will not take the camera back-it seems that they are actually based in Hong Kong and she is now fighting with the credit card company to get the issue resolved-looks like she will be lumbered with a dodgy camera-so take note-only buy from a reputable company and steer well clear of this one-named and shamed

Dave

Lets Talk-Nikon

My Nikon gear has been better than perfect since i bought it but last week the D3 showed a 'cd' error twice and after a phone call to Nikon NY they said to send it in for a checkup,Whilst this is a pain it needs to be done,The 'cd' error is a problem with the card reader in the body and when the error occurs the camera locks up and you have to either remove and reinstall the CF cards or replace the CF cards with different cards which can cost you some shots and last week in freezing conditions was hard to do-It needs a sensor clean so at least this will be done at the same time,The D300 was faultless and has been since i bought it-to me its the best camera body on the market for the money,
Before i went to Colorado i had a mail from Nikon saying that the lens bag for the 200-400 would need replacing if it didn't have a 'T' on the bottom as there a chance of the base failing-mine didn't and after filling in an onlone form Nikon sent a prepaid box to send the old one back which i have now done and should have a new replacement one soon
When i was up in the mountains my lens hood for the 600F4 VR came loose and fell off and was blown over the mountain,I phoned Nikon to get a cost and they phoned Japan and came back with a cost of $350 and that was just for the 1 piece (the lens hood is in 2 pc's) so hardly a bargain but something that will need to be ordered-when it will arrive is anybodies guess as the lenses are like hens teeth
So it just goes to prove that nothing is perfect but at least Nikon have acted in a professional way towards the D3 problem and the 200-400 bag problem,The lens hood is a pain in the wallet to say the least but that's life
New images from my trip last week have started to appear on my website for those interested and more will be added over the next few days, I shot 100% manual mode last week as the weather condition gave constant light and used flash more than i normally do but with the birds it really enhanced the shots and gave nice catch lights in the eyes

Dave

Full Frame or Cropped sensor

I read a mag yesterday and it confirmed things that I have been saying for the last couple of years, since Full Frame cameras came out and namely the Canon 5D people on forums see them as a holy grail-something to aim for whilst having to 'put up' with a camera body with a cropped sensor. I have always believed that a cropped sensor with the correct amount of pixels (I will come to that bit in a minute) will give as good an image as a full frame sensor. When the full frame bodies came out people were over joyed at being able to get good wide angle shots-great for landscapers, but the camera manufacturers soon dealt with that by bringing out super wide and lenses like Canons 10-22 and Sigma's 12-24 so that advantage was gone, with the new bodies using the latest technologies in processing, noise isn't so much of an issue either until you hit a certain amount of pixel density and here's the rub. The magazine tested the Nikon D700 Full Frame against the D300 and found image quality on both to be excellent and quite evenly matched up to ISO 1600, they also tested the Canon 40D and 50D and noted that the 50D with 15 MP against the 40D'S 10MP lost on image quality due to too many pixels as that was producing lots of noise as I believe Martin mentioned a few weeks ago when he borrowed one, so it seems that with the cropped sensors we have reached the plateau of around 12 mp for optimum IQ and after that IQ starts to drop off, I am sure in the future new processors will somehow remove grain and allow higher and higher ISO's to be used. So now we see an advantage with Full Frame sensors where you can still get good IQ at ISO 1600 and above but how many of us actually use extreme ISO, the price difference between a Full Frame body and cropped sensor body is substantial, the lenses needed for the Full Frames a have to be the best and are extremely expensive, this goes for the 50D as well, the high pixel count does not take kindly to cheaper lenses, the cropped sensors give you the reach advantage as well-its like having a 1.5x extender on which for people like myself can be a real boon, yes I do have a Full Frame camera but I also have a Cropped one as well and I find myself reaching for the D300 more times than the D3. So it was summerised as saying that very few (normal i.e. not pro's that need high MP bodies for agency work) people would see an advantage when using a Full Frame body to a cropped body as few people use extreme ISO and very few people print over A3 which a 10-12mp body can do nicely, dont get caught up in all the snobbery of Full Frame unless you need to and can afford the lenses.

Dave

Gear we use and abuse - Dave's Kit Review

My current photographic equipment:
Bodies:
Nikon D3 -Full Frame
Nikon D300-Cropped Sensor
Lenses:
Nikon 14-24F2.8
Nikon 24-70F2.8
Nikon 200-400F4 VR
Nikon 600F4 VR
Sigma 180F3.5 Macro
Nikon 1.4x extender
Nikon 1.7x extender
Flash-Nikon SB900 and Better Beamer
Binoculars-Nikon Monarch 10x36
Gitzo 1548Tripod with Gitzo self levelling base
Wimberly Mk2 Gimbal head
Arca Swiss B1 ball head

Lenscoat protection to Nikon 200-400 and 600 lenses
Bags-Lowepro Pro trekker and Nature trekker
For landscapes-Lee filters Polariser and ND Grad filters 1, 2 and 3 stops
Studio Equipment:
Elinchrom D Lite 4 kit with Elinchrom 135cm Octa softbox
Sekonik 358 handheld light meter

I changed from Canon to Nikon in Sept 2008 for many reasons but mostly as had been an early adapter of the Canon 1D MK3 , I had all kinds of problems with the AF which has been well documented, Canon Suisse (I lived in Switzerland at the time) were next to useless in dealing with the problem and it was only after I showed files from the 5D against the MK3 did they exchange the body. I had had the body over a year by then and it was too little to late as far as I was concerned-a real shame as when I got it right it was a terrific camera. The other reason I changed was that I was about to move Stateside and decided it would be better to sell all my equipment in Europe and with a healthy exchange rate buy new in the States.

This then gave me options as I had a fist full of dollars and could choose what would suit me best at that time-which turned out to be Nikon. A decision that wasn’t taken lightly as I had shot with Canon for 14 years and knew the camera like the back of my hand but its just a tool and one that you need 100% confidence in. Nikon's wide angled lenses have always been great as is their flash system but with the new D3 body and new Long lenses (if you can get them) meant that they had a total system. I am awaiting the new 70-200 F2.8 to fill the gap I have in my lens collection. The current model will work perfectly with the D300 but isn’t so good with the new Full Frame models, but as I would like it for general photography and portraiture as well as wildlife I will wait.

So its all still new to me and I still find myself trying to twist the lens the wrong way when talking off the camera and zooming out rather than in but I am getting there and am so far extremely impressed with the overall quality feel of the equipment and the results that I have been getting from it. The D3 was an easy choice as its had such rave reviews, with consistant AF , great build quality, good ergonomics (once you get used to it) and a battery that lasts forever. The downsides so far are a loud shutter (I miss the quiet mode of the Canon), no dust removal (The Canon wasn’t perfect but every little helps) and no live histogram which is a feature that I loved on the Canon (if there is one can somebody tell me where it is please) - All in all though a truly great camera body. The image quality is top notch and the high ISO is legendary, but I needed a back up camera and after spending weeks deliberating I decided on the D300 as seemed a well spec’d camera at a reasonable price with the advantage of having a cropped sensor for more distant subjects. The thing that really surprised me was just how good the D300 really is. The image quality is excellent and now with the latest firmware upgrade the AF is as good as the D3 with the added benefit of the AF points covering a larger part of the frame-great for composing a shot. The AF really is excellent and from people who have both Canon and Nikon systems working side by side they say that the D300 out performs anything Canon currently has on offer and I have to agree-for the money it has to be the best camera on the market. Now nothing is perfect and I will only shoot the D300 up to ISO 800, above this and its D3 territory which excels at ISO’s up to 1600 and above without need for noise reduction software. When I go out for wildlife I find that I take the D3 attached to the 600 and have the D300 attached to the 200-400 and add extenders if required
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If the birds are distant then a quick swap over of the bodies gives maximum reach. The 200-400 has been around for some time and has always been regarded as a brilliant lens, I have never understood why Canon hasn’t bought out a similar model and feel they are really missing out here. It was one good reason to change to Nikon. A pricey lens like all Nikon Pro lenses but for wildlife its brilliant, as it is light enough to handhold and with a very good range for general wildlife shooting, working well with extenders and has great IQ-What more could you want in a lens. The 600 is a true beast of a lens-huge is one word and after using a 500F4 for years bulky-not for handholding unlike the 500 and not the best lens if you hike, but the new Nikon 600F4 VR (nano crystal model) focuses down to 5m which is an incredible feat and a bonus for shooting small birds from a hide. It is incredibly expensive but the quality shines through in both IQ and build quality-will last for many years unlike my back. Both cameras work well with a 1.4x attached but I find that the 1.7x does slow the AF down enough to be a pain for birds in flight and try to avoid using it in those situations.

I have only used the wide lenses for interiors and portraiture and a couple of sunsets so haven’t really had a chance to put them through their paces. What I can say is that in a studio, the 24-70 is a dream giving great portraits with lots of detail and great sharpness when used with the D3. You can see the sunset taken with the 24-70 in the blog. The 14-24 has had rave reviews from everybody that use it and even some Canon photographers are using it with an adapter, I have only had a play really and have shot some interior images and some test shots which are really sharp right to the edges but will need to use it more to give a better review. The down side of having this lens is the bulbous front element making use of filters next to impossible. The only chance I have had of using the Sigma 180 Macro was when my dog walked in from the garden with a preying mantis stuck to his beard, I managed to get the mantis onto a stick and take a few shots before it went on his way. Depth of field is incredibly small when using this lens at 1:1 so a very small aperture needs to be used so make sure your D3 sensor is clean (its only real drawback) but the images proved to be very sharp and have a nice contrast. Why the Sigma and not the Nikon? -well I have seen some truly great images taken with this lens on forums that I visit and know some pro’s that use it and at the price it’s a bargain.

Nikon have always had a good reputation for their flash system. The SB900 came out as I was about to make the switch and while it seemed expensive, you do get diffusers and filters with the gun which you don’t get with other makes and its also large compared to the previous version the SB800. What limited time I have had using the gun with a Better Beamer have given good results but as I say I haven't used it enough to get a good feel from the gun. There have been reported problems with over heating and am sure that it will sorted soon, it’s a problem I have yet to encounter. I have plans to shoot the possum and grey fox that hang around my garden at night so will be needing to purchase at least another 2 flashguns but will either get second hand SB800 or 600 models for this.
So to round up, so far so good - everything works better than expected and I had high expectations, I feel that I made the right choice at the time of purchase. No system is perfect but for me this as close as it comes. As time goes on I will add to this general over view of the system and see what else shines or doesn’t. Keep watching this space.

Dave