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Industrial Design, Anyone Remember This?

http://robertsimaging.com/cmItemDetail.jsp?pid=12153So, month’s ago when the new Sony digital camera, the A900, was being introduced I wrote a blog where I started touching lightly on my love of industrial design and the different approaches to camera designs. I promised way back when I wrote that I promised I would discuss the that famous red triangle that adorns the grips of the Nikon digital SLR cameras.

So, let’s talk about automobiles. I’m sure everyone here has heard of the DeLorean (at the least everyone knows Doc Brown’s car in Back to the Future), and most probably know the Volkswagon Golf. These cars, as well as dozens of others (including many highly celebrated sports cars dating back to the 70s), have something in common with Nikons dating back to the F3. Namely, an Italian designer named Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Now, if you believe the internet (and for now we’ll assume it’s not lying to me too horribly), Giugiaro designed the first Golf, which used a red line around the grill and the headlights for emphasis. When he designed the F3 for Nikon, the brought that same simple concession to color to the world of black professional SLRs.

This line, once dated, would expand into the ellipse found vertically beside the grip on the F5 and the D1, and would with the D2 series condense into the red triangle that adorns so many cameras right now, including the D40, D60, D90, D300, D700, and the once-again Giugiaro-designed D3.

So, there we go, modern Nikon cameras come from a design heritage that also includes several iconic cars like Lotuses, BMWs, Alpha Romeos, Bugattis, Mustangs, and more. Addressing Nikon’s continued use of an element introduced back with the F3, Giugiaro said this:

“For the Nikon F3, I added a red line to the professional-use camera, which used to be entirely black. I sought to make that the hallmark of the Nikon F3 through a bit of graphic flair. In other words, I added a bit of fun to it. Fortunately, the company likes the addition of the red line. I am delighted that the company still uses it extensively to give a family feel to Nikon’s camera line.“

Next time, we’ll look at the history behind the current, sleek legacy of Canon digital SLR cameras, and continue my push into digital camera comparisons via industrial design.

Further reading on the Nikon designs can be found here and here.



Niftiness Built In

This is the age of feature-lust. Every forum I look on seems to be people bemoaning the absence (or in weird cases the inclusion) of various features which are apparently the Single Most Critical Feature in the World (at least until the next camera comes out with something new). And, if you ask me, the whole sensor noise debate and high ISO has started getting in the way of a lot of casual shooters getting out and getting shots they never would have gotten as little as ten years ago anyway. But, while composing over recording a picture is a post to itself (and one I’m likely to write sometime soon), what I’m trying to get to is instead a mini-summary of all the amazing little joys the digital age has given us which tend to get overlooked in the megapixel/sensor-size race.

Hyper-Program: Easy Quality1. Pentax’s Hyper-Program. Pentax is not exactly the first company to come to most people’s minds when talking cameras, but they certainly have some neat features the rest of the world is missing out on. Like Hyper-Program. It starts out like any other program mode, you select everything except aperture and shutter, the camera picks those. But, that’s where similarities end. Normal cameras have program shift, the Pentax can instead drop you out of P and into either aperture or shutter priority (so you get to decide how to shift the program line.) Push a button and you’re back in program, easy-peasy. And, it gets better: You can pick your program line. It can be normal old vanilla program, or you can pick a mode weighted towards hi-speed, high depth of field, or MTF (maximizing lens sharpness).

Super-Control Panel, My Old Friend2. Olympus’ Super Control Panel. Yes yes, we all know by now I’m biased on this one, but in my defense this feature is why I bought an Olympus digital camera for my first DSLR, and not the Alpha 100, D40, or Rebel XSi. Most cameras will show you your settings on the back LCD. Fewer of them will let you just hit the “OK” button and edit them right there on the spot. (DCResource has a wonderful animation of how this works, go here and scroll about halfway down the page). Coming from the rather-dated Canon AE-1 Program I used in college, the variety of advances present in even entry-level DSLRs was a bit dizzying, and being able to see the setting and change it right there seemed more intuitive than diving through menus for it.

3. Nikon’s In-Camera Processing. Many new Nikon digital cameras, including the new Nikon Coolpix cameras and the D60 and D90, have a wealth of software-driven in-camera editing features. These range from the pedestrian enabling or disabling of their D-Lighting curves to such wild-and-crazy gimmicks as star filters (those of you familiar with the Cokin filter system will remember these). The big write-off for these is that you can do all of this stuff on your computer. Sure, true, but sometimes I don’t want to wait that long, or need to show someone how the picture can be tweaked right there in the field. It’s still definitely something we, collectively as digital shooters, should appreciate more.(I’ll point you towards DPReview this time, look here under “Playback retouching” to see these processing options)

Alright, I know I can write some rather long posts, so I’ll stop there for now. I’ve got another of my (in)famous bokeh posts coming up next, then we’ll talk about more digital goodies and why we should appreciate them more.



Coming Attractions

Tamron 18-270VC imageTamron, long a leader in lens design and technologies announced an astounding 15x range zoom 18-270mm lens in development on July 30th. Yesterday our Tamron lens rep was here at Roberts Imaging with a little more news. The first 18-270 lenses shipping will be for the Nikon DSLR bodies, including the D40 and D60 series bodies. That’s right the AF 18-270mm Di II VC lens will also carry the BIM designation, so it will mount on all Nikon Digital Cameras. (Note: the full frame sensor cameras will not reduce the file size and coverage area as they do Nikon’s DX lenses, and  Tamron does not recommend their use. If used the resulting image will have to be cropped to eliminate vignetting).
Tamron’s Canon EF mount lenses will follow shortly after the Nikon’s and don’t be surprised to see the Sony/Minolta mount soon too.
If you are unfamiliar with the vernacular of the lens world  I will  give you a brief  jargon translation.
DSLR: Digital Single Lens Reflex. A camera with a mirror box and prism for viewing the image through an eyepiece (or now on live view); the mirror pivots (reflexes) out of the way allowing the light path to reach the sensor. AF: Auto Focus; just like it sounds the lens and camera can focus automatically (there is always the option to manually override if desired).
Di II: This is Tamron’s designation for a lens designed to work with the smaller APS-C sized digital sensors, some higher end DSLR’s will have a full size sensor the same dimensions as a 35mm frame of film (you remember film, right?).
VC:  Vibration Compensation; built in stabilization features that help reduce user shake,allowing sharper photos in challenging conditions. Nikon Lenses and Canon lenses offer their own version on some of their lenses VR (Vibration Reduction) is Nikon’s terminology, and IS (Image Stabilizaition) is Canon’s. Remember: vibration reduction, compensation, control or stabilization  reduces but does not always eliminate the need for a camera tripod.
BIM: (Built-In Motor) a motor on-board the lens instead of a mechanical connection to the camera body. Built-In motors are nothing new, Canon Lenses have been equipped with internal motors since the first EOS lenses. Nikon came on board several years ago as well with their AF-S series of lenses. Now Third party lens manufacturers like Tamron, Sigma and Tokina to name just a few are building the more efficient internal motors in some of their offerings too.
With new longer range lenses cropping up all the time the options for the casual photographer are much greater. A lens with a 15x zoom would be an all-in-one solution for a lot of users. We don’t know the delivery dates yet but you can pre-order this lens on-line or you can contact me at 800-726-5544 or [email protected]



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