Nikon D90 DSLR 18-105mm VR Kit


The D90 is in the house and the general consensus is that it offers some significant improvemets over the excellent D80. To begin, the D90 has a 12.3 MP CMOS sensor while the D80 has a 10.2 MP CCD sensor. A CMOS (complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is a sensor touted for its faster operating speed and lower power consumption when compared to a CCD sensor.

The D90 has added a sensor cleaning system and increases maximum ISO sensitivity to 6400 as compared to the D80's 3200. Frames per second (fps) has stepped up from 3 in the D80 to 4.5 in the D90. The LCD monitor on the D90 is a larger 3" versus the D80's 2.5." Add Movie Mode and Live View in the same size body as the D80 and it is easy to see why some Nikon owners might be swayed to move up to a D90.

In various blogs I have seen much debate about how useful it is to have a video capability in a DSLR. There seems to be as many photographers for as against. The D90 can only take 5 minutes of video and while the results are not bad, they in no way match the video capability of a camcorder. On the other hand, having video capability could be useful for that rare moment when you come face to face with Big Foot.

There also seems to be two camps when it comes to Live View. I think it is best to consider these recent innovations as more bells and whistles. It can't hurt to have them available and I'm told that these features do not increase the cost of the camera in any significant way.

Bottom line, the D90 is an improvement when compared to the outstanding D80 and offers users more versatility - not a bad thing if you think about it.

Nikon D90 DSLR 18-105mm VR Kit - In Stock $1,299.99

Nikon D90 Body Only - In stock Now! - $999.99

"Prices and stock availability posted in this blog are subject to change."

Labels: cameras, Nikon, Nikon D90, products, SLR

 

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Good Photographers are Good Editors

Let's imagine that you have three good photos and seven mediocre ones. If you show all ten to someone they will comment on the good ones but walk away with the impression that you are not really that good a photographer. Maybe those three good ones were just luck.

If you show only the three good photos the viewer will walk away thinking that you are a good photographer because you haven't shown them anything to prove you are not.

If you are tough on yourself when it comes to editing your own pictures it will not only improve your presentation to others but you will fall in love with each jewel you have isolated as a good picture and be inspired to build on that small, tight group of excellent images.

Also, when you are out and about with your camera, you will start to develop a better idea of what to take and what not to...you are in effect editing in the moment of shooting. Of course, in these wonderful digital times it hurts nothing to snap away with abandon. Sometimes great shots are captured accidentally.

You might be thinking 'how will I know if a picture is good or bad?' Admittedly, some subjective, "artistic" interpretation comes into play but beyond this are some time honored rules of thumb for judging a photo's quality.

1. Is the photo exposed well, is it too dark or too light? Can it be improved in Photoshop?

2. Is it in focus and if not why not? Did you move or use too slow a shutter speed or the wrong aperture? Analyze and learn from mistakes!

3. Does the composition work or detract from the picture? Have you applied the "golden rule of thirds?" Is the eye drawn in the picture by an S curve or the arrangement of elements? Can the picture be cropped to enhance balance and composition? That said, remember that some great photos break the rules but are great never-the-less.

4. Does the picture say anything/mean anything to you? If it speaks to you, it very probably will communicate to others. This is the intangible aspect of photography but when the content is properly exposed, well composed and uniquely interesting...you are no doubt looking at a good picture.

5. Finally, when you show your photos certain images will wind up getting the most acclaim and these will no doubt be good candidates upon which you should begin to build your portfolio.

If you take enough pictures and are tough enough on your self eventually you will be editing to weed out the good pictures from the great ones. You are now at a new level. You might decide to take them around to galleries to try to get a show. This is the time to build a tough skin!

You can minimize the pain of rejection by being familiar with what a gallery has shown in the past. Chances are that if you have felt moved by other shows exhibited in a particular gallery and your work is similar it is more likely to be accepted.

But exhibiting in a gallery need not be your goal. Some people are simply after the mind set that comes with looking for photos. Some are writing an image poem about their own lives. If they do it well, it will be a great source of pleasure to themselves, their family and friends for years to come.

The bottom line is that the process of editing not only focuses your vision, it enhances the impact of your work as a whole and ultimately sharpens your photographic eye.

Labels: editing, how-to

 

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Buying a Camcorder - What you need to know

Before you consider the camcorder features you need you must decide which type of storage or capture method is best for your intended purpose. The days of VHS and Hi8 tapes are gone. These were analog capture systems that had problems such as drop-outs, stretch and loss of resolution with each generation of copy. Along came digital capture - a sturdier and more reliable capture media with phenomenal advantages for editing and archiving. Currently, there are four types of digital storage: Digital Tape, DVD, Hard Drive and Flash. All of these capture methods represent a quantum leap forward.

Digital Video Tape


MiniDV is far superior to analog tape. It is a very versatile, high quality recording format enabling transfer via IEEE 1394 (also known as Fire Wire and I-link) and because it is recorded digitally onto tape it can be edited without signal loss. This format was a big improvement over analog formats such as Video8, Hi8, VHS and VHS-C.

MiniDV has become a standard for home and semi-professional video production. At present, it offers the highest quality of any of the recordable storage types. However, tape does have some short comings - it is sensitive to moisture, strong magnetic fields, can break and requires real time transfers to a computer for storage or editing.

DVD

DVD (digital video disk) is a consumer format removable disk that can be played back on most home DVD players and computer DVD drives. The DVD disks used in camcorders are small 8-cm disks which are sometimes referred to as MiniDVDs. They are relatively cheap, can be played back in Blu-ray players and are a handy back-up media that can be stored separately from the camcorder - direct archiving. On the down side, recorded at the highest quality the disks only holds 20 to 30 minutes of video per side for a total recording length of one hour.

HDVD and Blu-ray disks are newer DVD formats offering some improvement in quality to the standard DVD.

Hard Drive

HDD (Hard Disk Drive) camcorders record digitally onto an internal hard disk drive similar to a home computer. This approach lets you back up your recorded video onto your computer's hard drive for archiving, viewing and editing. Capacities of these hard disk drives range form 30 GB to 120 GB - enough space for 14 plus hours of high quality recording. HDD can be damaged from shock or fast movement and can fail with low atmospheric pressure or when used in altitudes higher than 10,000 feet.

Flash Memory

Flash memory such as SD/SDHC and Memory Stick is probably the future for camcorder storage. It is less expensive than hard drive storage and because it is Solid State with no moving parts it is a very rugged storage method - resistant to shock, pressure and temperature extremes and even immersion in water. An 8GB card will record 55 minutes of video.

The Latest Improvements to the Four Storage Types

DVD, Hard Drive and Flash Memory
have been further improved with the introduction of AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). This is a High-Definition tape-less consumer format using an MPEG-4 compression enabling a much faster transfer of data to the computer when compared to DV and HDV camcorders which require a Firewire connection and specialized capturing software. DVD like menu navigation makes AVCHD a more attractive format for consumer use. AVCHD can be edited but requires a fast computer with a multi-core.

If you have a Mac with iMovie '08, it will import AVCHD footage and convert it to Apple Intermediate Codec so you can edit. The latest versions of Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro, Corel's Ulead Video Studeo 11 Plus, Corel's Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6, Pinnacle's Studio Plus 11 & 12, AVID Xpress Pro, Avid Media Composer and Canopus' Edius Pro 4.5 also support AVCHD.

MiniDV is now available as HDV (High Definition Video) which is an improved recording format for MiniDV magnetic tapes using MPEG-2 video compression. This format records higher quality video compared to AVCHD.


Sony HDR-TG1 High Definition Handycam Camcorder

This is the world's smallest Full HD Camcorder! The HDR-TG1 Handycam records Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution video from a lightweight slim body crafted from pure titanium.

It records to convenient Memory Stick Pro Duo media. Sony's ClearVid CMOS Sensor and BIONZ image processor provide spectacular video and stunning 4.0 megapixel still images.

The Sony HDR-TG1 Handycam weighs only 8 ounces without battery. Features include Face Detection, 2.7" Wide Hybrid Touch Panel Clear Photo LCD, Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization, 10x Optical/20x Digital Zoom, Quick On feature, Dolby Digital 5.1ch Sound Recording and Smooth Slow Recording.

A Dual Record feature gives you the ability to capture still images directly to Memory Stick Duo media while recording video in High Definition. This camcorder even has a built in flash!

The list of advanced features incorporated in this tiny camcorder are remarkable. Check out the HDR-TG1 page for a complete description of its capabilities.
Sony HDR-TG1 Camcorder - was $799.99 now $699.99


Sony DCR-VX2100 Mini DV Handycam Camcorder

Want one of the best prosumer Camcorders currently available? Here it is!
The VX2100 utilizes a new Advanced HAD progressive scan CCD technology which dramatically improves illumination, delivering superior low-light performance without the use of infrared. By increasing the three CCD's sensitivity to light, clearer, brighter video with more lifelike color can be captured, even when recording in dimly lit environments.

Its aspherical lens and duel-position neutral density filter minimize distortion from standard spherical lenses and compensates for varying lighting situations such as studio lights or direct sunlight.

The VX2100 includes a built-in lens cap to protect the enhanced optics package, manual audio control and PCM Digital Stereo Audio in 12 and 16-bit modes.
Other features include a manual focus and zoom ring, built-in color bar generator, 16:9 wide screen recording capability, intelligent accessory shoe, both 12x optical and 48x digital zoom, advanced optical SteadyShot picture stabilization and up to seven hours of operation with the optional NP-F960 InfoLithium battery.

Sony DCR-VX2100 MiniDV Camcorder - was $2,299.99 now $2,199.99

"Prices and stock availability posted in this blog are subject to change."

Labels: camcorder, products

 

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