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Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

While there’ll likely be a slew of nex-gen point-and-shoot cameras hitting my desk in the coming months, there’s a bit of an announcement lull going on right now. But, don’t let that fool you into thinking nothing is going on. At least not in the ol’ Circle City.

Those of you not in the habit of poking around our site might have missed the following things going on in Indy soon:

Under “Upcoming Events” we have several seminars coming up, including Amanda Arrick (last seen in this Raw Footage video) giving a seminar on the 40D and 50D Canon digital SLR cameras, and Nikon’s Jason Stewart giving two sessions of his seminar on the D300 and D700 Nikon digital SLR cameras.

Anyone in attending any of these seminars can find more details on the Upcoming Events page, and can reserve seats by calling 1-800-726-5544 and asking for “Classes and Events.”

And, don’t forget about our new Indianapolis Photo Calendar, which is starting to fill up with weekly club meetings, special seminars, and events. Check those out over here.

Still not enough to keep you busy this winter? Why not grab your camera (be it a Sony CyberShot camera or an Olympus digital camera like the E-410), and give our new monthly photo contest a go? Anyone can enter, and the prize every month is a 16×20″ print courtesy of our Online Photo Lab. The current theme is “Winter Wonderland,” so get out there and get shooting.



End of the Year Ramblings

2008 is working its way to a close, and in the end-of-the-year fervor over Canon’s long-anticipated 5D Mark II and Nikon’s rather controversial (or so it seems on the forums, anyway) D3x, I’d like to take a moment to go over some cameras that, to my mind, didn’t get quite the recognition they really did earn out there on the market.

One is Nikon’s D700, the po’ man’s D3. Attacked on several fronts, mostly the decision to stick to “low rez” 12 MP and not to include video, somewhere in the shuffle I think the market lost sight of the fact that this is among the absolute best low-light cameras ever made (consistently getting the promised 2-stop ISO advantage over my own beloved E-3, in my own findings and comparisons). In addition, reputation has the weather-sealing on this up to snuff for pro use (even if the shutter is “only” rated at 150,000). All this for comfortably under 3 grand.
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High ISO vs Image Stabilization

I guess the debate between high ISO (championed in cameras like the D700 Nikon digital SLR cameras or the new 5D Mk II Canon digital SLR cameras) and built-in image stabilization like in Olympus digital cameras (well, the 510/520 series and the E-3, at least), Pentax cameras (like the and Sony digital cameras like their Alpha line) is more important to the enthusiast market than I’d given it credit.

To that end, this is one of the more level-headed articles I’ve read about the two that basically boils down to “they both do their jobs for static subject”. (whether or not you want to stop motion blur is a different and artistic decision, and in that case there’s no substitute for higher shutter speeds via high ISO if you want to counter-act it). Nikon users, don’t write the article off until the second example where he does the test more empirically. The first test is good for showing how different factors contribute to overall image quality, however.

http://theonlinephotographer.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html



Nikon D3x

D3x Nikon digital SLR cameraSo, while this is old news in the forum worlds, it’s new news in the official world: the D3x has been announced. 24.5 megapixel sensor as more-or-less widely expected. I’m impressed it can shoot 50 mb RAW files at 5 frames per second. Time to start stocking up on 16 GB compact flash memory cards, and lets hope Sandisk trots out some 32 GBs this season.

But, I think my favorite thing about this camera is how it’s clearly designed for a purpose. Yes, I’m talking about the new 100-1600 native ISO range. Yes, it can only push the ISO to 6400, low by today’s standards and seemingly against everything people want from full-frame sensors. But, it seems fairly obvious Nikon wasn’t intending this to be a low-light champion, there’s the D3 and D700 for that purpose. No, this is a new beast designed for work that more than likely already needs a camera tripod. Studio, landscape, macro, fashion– the D3x is claiming a dynamic range and tonality gradient that’ll go head-to-head with medium format.

And I say good for them, taking an 8,000 buck camera and pulling it out of the ISO war. It’s a nice reminder that cameras are tools, you pick the best one for your needs, and if you don’t need ISO 25,600 it becomes little more than a number on the spec sheet.



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.



Don’t Hate the Popup Flash

Pop-Up Flash on the E-3 I feel sorry for the pop-up flash. This appears to easily be the most hated of all camera features, and I just don’t know why.

For those not in the know, the pop-up flash is generally not considered a ‘pro’ feature, and therefore finds its inclusion on high-end cameras such as the D700 Nikon digital SLR camera highly criticized. I’ve also seen countless forum threads begging manufacturer X not to “mess the camera up” by including a pop-up flash.

But, no matter how you approach this, it just seems irrational to hate the pop-up flash.

Let’s start with the most common critcism: it’s not “pro.” IE, the highest end Canon digital SLR cameras and Nikon digital SLR cameras (like the EOS 1Ds Mk III and the D3) don’t have pop-up flashes. But, who’s to say that the no pop-up flash, integrated grip design is what makes the camera pro? Shutter life and body construction seem like better markers, and companies like Sony and Olympus and now Nikon (with the D700) are releasing pro models without integrated grips. So, it seems kind of picky to not like them just because they’re not pro.

Cost: Given that a $400 E-410 Olympus digital camera has a pop-up flash and the $5,000 D3 does not, I think we can safely say including a pop-up flash isn’t increasing cost.

Durability: Another popuar complaint is that they’re a weak point for durability, but I’ve ad a 17″ CRT monitor call over onto my E-3′s pop-up flash without it taking any damage (and, the E-3 also manahes to be water-sealed with the flash up, ruining the argument that it affects weather-sealing.)

So, where’s the harm in the pop-up flash? If you prefer a more powerful, less harsh light, using something like the SB-900 (in Nikon flashes) or 580EX II (for Canon flashes) is always an option and will over-ride the pop-up, but for users who don’t want the weight of a flashgun for some quick fill light or snapshots, the pop-up is useful to have around.

There’s so much in photography we could be focusing on, how about we stop complaining about the pop-up flash and see it for the value-added feature it is?



Quick Release Camera Straps

So, I just finished working on a web ad for the D700 Nikon digital SLR camera, and I was taking a breather and fiddling over my much loved E-3 Olympus digital camera. using live view to explore under my desk, and I noticed the little quick release connects for my strap and thought to myself “Aha! Story time!”

Quick Release Connectors
So, I rooted through my bag and realized I’d forgotten the strap itself at home. Sooo, I journeyed down to our sales floor and grabbed a new Tamrac Boomerang strap off a shelf. Now, I’m not a fan of camera straps, using them only in a transport capacity more than a carry around one, but I did feel it worth upgrading my stock camera strap to one of these. Why? Quick releases.

Also among the things I hate, as a few of you early readers might remember, are tripods. So, whenI have to use a tripod (like the Bogen Manfrotto tripods I use for some of my blog shots) and have my camera strap dangling in the way, getting caught on crank levers and under the ball head, well, you can just imagine my frustrations. So, quick releases. Right near the camera, this strap has two heavy plastic snap buckles. A good pinch and there we go! No more annoying camera strap. This is far superior to the more traditional approach. You know the one:

Quick Release, Wide Shot“OK, so, I think this threads through here, and then I, wait, yeah, I put it through that bit there, and then up and… wait, down? Aaaaargh!”

No more of that for me. Click. Snap. Happy.



Nikon Days

Nikon Days

The next several weeks are going to be all the best kinds of crazy at Roberts as we have the hat trick of Nikon Days, Canon Days, and our Fall/Winter Expo in quick succession. This week is Nikon Days, and it culminates this Saturday at our Indianapolis downtown store where you can meet our Nikons reps and try out as much equipment as your little photog heart desires: including the newest wave of Nikon Coolpix cameras, the very best VR Nikon lenses, and the top-end Nikon digital SLR cameras like the D3 and D700.

We’ve apparently got quite a few specials going on all week, and I’ll be uploading graphics for them throughout today and tomorrow on our homepage, so you’ll probably do well to keep an eye on it as the day progresses.

Unfortunately, our next free Nikon class isn’t until January, but you can focus instead on our Roberts Raw Footage video blog, I’ll be stealing down to the floor and doing some product overviews for the S60 Nikon Coolpix camera (you might remember it from here), as well as a few other informative shorts and reviews. Want to see something in particular? Let me know in the comments and I’ll try and make it happen.



Virtual Levels

Olympus E-30This could honestly be done as another of my Niftiness Built In posts, but we’ll let it slide by itself. Yesterday’s rumor of a new Olympus digital camera seems stronger today, what with DPReview’s hands-on preview and Wired running with it. And, while I could spend an hour talking about the differences between it and the pro model its against and what that says about consumer design, I would instead like to talk about the coolest feature I can’t believe I forgot to mention: virtual horizons.

This one owes its existence to Nikon digital SLR cameras, and premiered on the D3 (it’s on the D700, too, as pictured.) The idea is simple, the camera already has rotation sensors, why not use them to say when you’re holding it straight? It’s a boon to landscape and architectural shooters, and from what I hear loved by wide-angle shooters everywhere.D700 Virtual Level And the Olympus E-30 will have an implementation of it, which it sounds like won’t just show you level, but can automatically correct for level.

And it shows this in the viewfinder, too. Consider me jealous.




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