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Better Than Daylight


I do a fair amount of higher ISO rated shooting with my photography these days and there is no doubt that the capacity to which we are capable to shoot this way has literally changed the realm of photography.  Its a game changer as much as roll film or Polaroids or the advent of digital photography.

Camera sensors are rated for a range of sensitivity and my Nikon D700 shoots from 200ISO through 6400ISO. Then you have the option of pushing beyond the sensor’s ratings into “High ISO” or, essentially, push processing (remember that?).  Push processing was rating film at your camera for underexposure then “pushing” the film back to its original rating during the processing of the negatives. This was tricky to get just right, unless you did the math.  Let’s be honest though, the math sort of ruined the fun and sometimes I’d rather just guess and see what came out the other end. This was akin to shocking your film with a cold water rinse just before the fixing stage or cross-processing chromes in color chemistry. All these options, with so much left to the unknown, often resulted in undesired results, but every once in awhile strange and happy photographs would greet you on the other end.

I know a lot of photographers that wont budge over 800ISO on their fancy pro DSLRs.  Three years ago I was more inclined to agree with them as the loss of detail through noise reduction or the overwhelming amount of noise produced in the image made it near impossible to see what was what.   Put simply, as a photographer, all we do is chase the light around.  Today, however, if you’re not venturing down the higher ISO road, you’re missing out on some great light.

I love night photography.   The color cast from lights at night are anything but normal.  The strong shadows and eerie light patterns are a draw to my photographic eye. Normally higher ISO ratings aren’t a necessary tool with night photos, a sturdy tripod is, however, a must have piece of equipment.  My daily tripod is the Manfrotto 3021BPro which is the earlier version of the 055XProB.

The image above (click for a larger view) was shot without a tripod because I can’t find my quick release plate for my tripod head.   I know, I know… =/  so the thought enters my head, lets see what light is out there.   With my D700 and my 70-300VR lens hand-held (lens hood pressed against a glass door) I looked across the backyard, dialed the ISO to High 2 (25,600 ISO, this is two stops above 6400 with each stop acquiring two times as much light), set the aperture to f/11 (the sweet spot on that lens) and the shutter speed to 1/2 seconds.  This metering set is equivalent to 200 ISO, f/11 at a 60 second exposure time (shutter speed).  Keep in mind VR in your lens can compensate the same 2-3 stops regardless of what shutter speed you start from.   I braced myself against the back of a chair for a little extra stability.

B/W picture control was set at the camera. The image was processed through Nik Capture NX2 for sharpening only. NO noise reduction was applied (NR was off in the camera, also).

I don’t normally venture above 6400 ISO on my camera, but i didn’t often cross-process slides either. Some days it just feels right to be a little abnormal.

Go shoot something differently tomorrow.

Get outside your comfort zone.

___________________

John Scott



Nikon Announces New Coolpix S1100pj Camera with Projector

Nikon Coolpix S1100pj

Nikon today has announced the update to last year’s novelty S1000pj, the first camera with a built in projector. This year’s model ups the ante, and adds a lot of features to this concept that help to make it a much more appealing package. And then they made it cheaper. Hard to complain about that, isn’t it?

Key changes include an upgrade to a 14 megapixel sensor and a switch to a 3″ touchscreen LCD with twice the pixel resolution. And, on the projector front (you know, that big honky lens on the front that makes this thing unique), we’re looking at 14 lumens, up from 10, and it can now be used as an ad hoc projector for any JPEGS on the memory card, or can be hooked up to your computer and used as a projector for that.

And, let’s not forget these slick new colors on that much nicer looking body there, yeah? It’s good to see someone else taking visual cues from those nifty Olympus Tough cameras, which the design on this is admittedly very reminiscent of (*cough cough Stylus 750SW cough*).

It’ll be available yet this year, and it’ll debut at around $350, or about $80 bucks less that its predecessor did, and not much more than the S1000pj is currently at. Impressive.



Hoya Introduces HRT Circular Polarizers

HRT, or “High Rate Transparency,” is what you can expect to see printed on a new series of Hoya circular polarizers, it seems. What this means, mostly, is that they use a new film that polarizes as normal, but remains about 1/3 stop brighter while doing so. For those of you inexperienced with C-Pols, they tend to cost you about 1 stop in light, making them useful as a 1 stop ND and for making your camera looks like it has tinted windows (like a real gangsta), but not so hot if you were shooting lakes at dusk.

So, luckily, these new C-Pols will be 1/3 stop brighter, which will of course matter so some and be irrelevant to others, but it’s still a nice new offering. And, apparently the new film has UV cut-off filters on its own, so they’re UV filters, too, for those of you with no or weak cut-off filters built over your sensor (or, for those of you nuts using this “film” stuff I hear about).

Pricing and availability still unknown.



ThinkTank Announces Two New Hydrophobias

Hydrophobia 70-200

So, we got this in our mailbox dated for yesterday:

Santa Rosa, Calif. – Following up on the acclaimed Hydrophobia™ 300-600 rain cover for larger lenses, Think Tank Photo announces the release of two water-resistant, seam-sealed rain covers for 70-200 and smaller lenses: the Hydrophobia™ 70-200 and the Hydrophobia™ Flash 70-200 with built-in flash protector. Featuring side arm holes for focusing and accessing switches, they allow DSLRs to be turned vertically. And now, without exposing their expensive bodies and lenses to the elements, photographers can change memory cards and batteries without taking off the rain covers.

The key feature is that the camera strap attached to the camera does not have to be removed. There is a camera strap attached to the Hydrophobia 70-200 that, combined with a strap that buckles under the lens, allows the camera to be carried by the rain cover.

Hydrophobia 70-200 Flash

“The problem with other covers is that holes have to be cut into the top of the cover, and then using a special camera strap, the user has to unclip the camera strap from the camera, feeding it through the top of the cover,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s CEO and lead designer. “With the Hydrophobia 70-200, we eliminated this problem by creating a system that automatically transfers the weight to the rain cover itself, while still keeping it water resistant.”

The fabric used on the Hydrophobia is ten times as water resistant as normal fabric. Instead of a “spray” coating, a “film” is applied to the underside of the fabric, as well as a

tricot mesh to protect it, making it a far more impenetrable three-layer fabric. In addition a waterproof tape is applied to all seams, providing an even more water resistant barrier.

The rain covers have the following key features:

  • A clear window for viewing LCD and controls
  • A fabric cover for the end of the lens.
  • An eyepiece storage pocket (eyepieces sold separately)
  • A detachable camera strap
  • A breathable mesh bag for transportation and storage

For professionals and amateur SLR shooters with smaller lenses who can’t afford to lose a shot or to have their gear damaged, the Hydrophobia™ 70-200 and the Hydrophobia™ Flash 70-200 are powerful new tools for getting the shot in even the harshest conditions.

The 70-200 will debut with a recommended price of $139.00, the 70-200 Flash with a price of $145. Roberts reminds you that to use any Hydrophobia properly you’ll need a special eyepiece also from ThinkTank for your camera.




Tamron introduces 1-Minute “DSLR Know-How With Tamron” weekly videos

I bought the special edition 2-disc edition of Robert Rodriguez’ cinematic adaption of Frank Miller’s Sin City when it was released in 2005. Among my favorite features (before even watching it all in Green Screen or Bruce Willis and the Accelerators performing “Gypsy Woman”) is Robert Rodriguez’ 10-minute cooking school, a brilliant tutorial in making Sin City Breakfast Burritos complete with his grandmother’s tortilla recipe. Rodriguez does another cooking school on the Once Upon a Time In Mexico DVD, where he shows you how to make the puerco Johnny Depp enjoys with homicidal intensity.

Now Tamron will broadcast 1-minute tips, tricks, and tutorials each week starting on the 18th of January and running for 12 weeks not on a special edition dvd, but on YouTube.

“In just one minute per week you can learn the basics of successful photography at no cost,” ~John VanSteenberg, Tamron’s Senior Education Manager.

Tamron has indicated the “101″ series will be followed by more advanced courses as the project continues. You can find them at http://www.youtube.com/user/TamronVids
or embedded here:



Canon Announces Three New Wireless File Transmitters (WFTs)

From the press release, because it’s so dry and to the point as to not be worth rephrasing:

Lake Success, N.Y., January 7, 2010 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, is announcing a step forward in the digital integration of professional photography workflows with the introduction of three new Wireless File Transmitter units to accompany each of the Company’s three professional Digital SLR Camera models. The new WFT-E2 II A Wireless File Transmitter, WFT-E4 II A Wireless File Transmitter and WFT-E5A Wireless File Transmitter for the EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D, respectively, provide professional photographers with a range of innovative wireless connectivity options for all photographic disciplines.

For example, by coupling each compatible camera with one of the new WFT units, professionals can fire up to 10 cameras simultaneously with Canon’s new Camera Linking function, which is perfect for getting that split-second shot from multiple angles. The new WFT units also enable the roaming photojournalist or back-country nature photographer to geotag images easily through hard-wired or Bluetooth-connected GPS devices and append coordinates to the image’s EXIF data. Additionally, reliable file transfer options such as FTP Mode provide wedding and event photographers with the ability to send images in real-time to a computer for instant prints or projection onto event screens while allowing the photographer to operate wirelessly.

Hit the link below to read the full thing.



Clearing out Sandisk Ultra II 2gb SD cards

2gb ult ii
So we’re sitting on a moderate quantity of Sandisk’s Ultra II (Class 4) 2 gb SD cards. They’re going for the stupendously low clearance price of $5.97 each right now. Once they’re gone well, baby they’re gone. It’s a last-chance opportunity here because there aren’t any rain-checks, sleet-checks, body-checks, or IOUs -just cheap 15mbps SD cards.

Linked here: Sandisk Ult II 2gb SD clearance cards.



Digital Foci’s Photo Book Gets Third PMA “Hot Pic”

difi-albumDigital Foci’s Photo Book recently picked up it’s third PMA “Hot Pic” award, having now claimed it in America, Australia, and Canada. Apparently it’s expected to be one of the hottest items this season. We’ve got them downstairs, so it wouldn’t hurt our feelings at all if that turned out to be true.

We played with a while back on here, and they’re really quite nice devices. Friendly, large screen and photo album graphics make this a bit more than your usual photo frame, and the leather(ette?) cover makes it even more oriented towards group sharing and viewing. Looking to move to a digital portfolio? It’s a good direction to go, and cheap.



New Product! ThinkTank Cable Management 20, 30

cable management stackerI don’t know if your kit bag looks anything like the spaghetti-mess of cables and peripherals my old roommate used to keep in a laundry basket…but if you’re looking to contain that serpentine bolus of copper and plastic ThinkTank has two new Cable Management bags for you.