Has the new camera bug got you?

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Nikon has released two really nice high end camera for advanced hobbyists and professional users in recent weeks. These cameras start at price points that may leave some of us looking for part time jobs to earn the money necessary to buy one of these new video stressed camera systems, $2,999, $3,299, and $5,999 respectively.

These cameras have technology in them that are giant leaps away from what Nikon originally started out with. Remember the business mantra “play to your strengths?” Well Nikon is looking for a new strength in the video market as the D800, D800E and D4 are all capable of shooting 1080p HD video.

It’s clear that Sony is making a strong play for the micro 4/3′s market with its NEX-7 ILC offering. This camera has been voted by the editors of Popular Photography as its camera of the year for 2011. It’s not a DSLR but it’s pretty darn close. And it’s performance, as shown here on the Popular Photography site is really strong. It will only get stronger as the lens offerings for this camera improve.

So it’s clear that video is the next step for Nikon, but at 30 frames per second capture, it’s not going to blow the doors off of anything at this point. For the uninitiated, 30fps is the same speed that most local news video is shot at. High speed videograpy is shot as a much higher frame rate, maybe 1000fps or higher and it really makes a big difference in ultra-slow motion video ( as seen here ).

If Nikon decides to push videography harder, it will need to increase its frame rate. While 30fps is great for television, it doesn’t lend itself to creative videography. And that’s who is going to want a Nikon with video…those interested in breaking barriers and crossing over into the next medium type.

Should Nikon decides to go back to its photographic roots, it will die as Kodak is doing ever so slowly.

But with a 36.4 megapixel image, and 1080p HD video, the D800/D800E are good answers to photographers looking to cross that boundary. As someone who knows a thing or two about videography, but is by no means an expert, I would suggest to you that you look at a slow motion video shot at 1000fps to see what is possible.

Go start saving your pennies for the next big Nikon camera coming out around this time next year. Who knows..it may hit the 100 Megapixel mark. Then every photograph can be made into a billboard.

New Nikon D4 detailed look

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I’ve been tied up for the past nine months and no I did not have a child but there are two new high end offerings from Nikon that I have put on my “if I win the Lottery” list.

Rather than talk about them here I am going to let the whatdigitalcamera.com review/overview speak for me. One of the key things about the D4 over the D3 models is the use of a new memory card type…the XQD. This is the replacement for aging compact flash format for digital recording.

But enough of what I think…here’s the overview from WhatDigitalCamera.com

Also…I am going to be changing the look of this site. If you have any ideas, please pass them along. Thanks!

To wildflower or not wildflower…that is the question

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Bluebonnets for a front yard

Bluebonnets for a front yard

And the answer lies on how much rain your part of Texas has received so far this year.

Parents have their toddlers ready, their point and shoot batteries charged, and the blankets washed and ready to plunk down on some prime wild-flower filled Texas landscape.

The 20 million dollar question is will there be any wild flowers there to greet them?

Plan your wildflower trips by using these links/tools:

  • http://www.wildflowerhaven.com/default.aspx
  • http://www.txdot.gov/travel/flora_conditions.htm
  • http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/tx.html
  • http://www.lone-star.net/wildflowers/sightings.htm

    • If you know of any other places where landscape photographers in Texas keep track of the state’s annual gas-guzzling targets, please let me know.

A quick word about bokeh

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Some people may hear this term used when discussing photographs and wonder how the “bokeh” is being used. Bokeh is a term used to describe the blurring of the background or foreground objects. Photomatters has a good piece explaining it and how to use it. You can view it here: http://www.photomatters.org/bokeh

There goes my hero–LensHero

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So you have your new Christmas gift camera and it probably only came with a stock lens. Now you are probably wondering things like what kind of lens fits my camera? What size of lens should I use to shoot a child’s soccer game or a loved one’s recital?

Selecting lenses for a Nikon D40, D3000, D5000 or other DX cameras is more complicated than buying a lens for a $5000 Nikon D3x or other cameras. The difference is that in the DX models, Nikon has built the auto-focus motor within the body of the lens instead of putting it in the body of the camera.

Take a look at these two photos (courtesy of DPReview.com) and you can see the drive for the D80′s auto-focusing mechanism at the 7 o’clock position of the camera lens connector. That drive stem is missing from the D40 and it is missing from all of the DX version systems.

A word of caution…because I focus mostly on Nikon systems, I do not know what the equivilent is for the Canon system. So you should check with them about what their lower priced systems use for focusing.

So LensHero has come to the rescue by asking you for information about your camera, what you intend to shoot and then gives you suggestions on the lenses you should consider.

http://lenshero.com/

Check out the site–it covers almost all DSLR cameras. It’s a nice tool for beginners as well as experts. There are other sites that are also helpful but none are as simple as this one.

So you want to give a camera to someone this Christmas?

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You need to learn how that person would use a camera. So ask these questions either of yourself or of the person you are buying for:

  • Where do you normally find yourself saying “If I only had a camera?”
  • Can I/they learn how to adjust aperture, focal length, or shutter speed?
  • Would they be better off with a point and shoot or do they need a DSLR?

Once you can get a handle on those items, you can then adjust your purchase and remember…the bigger the opening of the lens, the more light that lens lets it.

So a camera that looks like this:

A photo of the Nikon Coolpix P100 camera

The Nikon Coolpix P100 has a larger aperture which lets more light in

Takes better photos than a camera like this:

A photo of the Nikon Coolpix L22 camera

A Nikon Coolpix with a small aperture (opening)

And don’t let price deter you. Spend the extra $50-150 and get a camera that will show you a lifetime (or at least 2-4 years) worth of excellent photos!

Dealing with the old and the new

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First off…PC World magazine has a great article on how to turn those old photographs in the family album into digital treasures. This is a key item in any family’s history—old photos and photo albums. The problem with giving them a digital treatment stems from the inability to know how to properly make safe backups of these files. It is not enough to simply store them on a blank CD/DVD and put them in a drawer or safe. Nope…

The best thing to do with these digitized old photos is to store them online. Looking for a place to put them? I covered that a couple of months back in my digital photo storage primer, http://jchampion.com/?p=352

NewToy
Having said that..it’s time that I introduce my new toy. It’s a mid-range camera to most but it’s a solid performer with a good record in the camera world. It’s a D90:

Nikon D90

My new Nikon D90

Here is one of my first pictures with it:

Bailey the Golden Retriever mix poses for the new D90

Bailey the Golden Retriever mix poses for the new D90

Would Nikon dump its entry level lines?

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Word has it that the Nikon 3000 and 5000 series cameras I’m going to check this out because I cannot believe that Nikon is going to abandon the entry level markets and leave the D90 and D7000 as its lower level line. These cameras sell for $800 and up. The D7000 starts at $1000.

That’s now quite an entry level starting point.

Nikon’s new toy

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I have to get my hands on one and try it out but I think that the new Nikon 7000 series camera will be for me.

Just last month Nikon released its new entry level camera, the 3100. It featured something new that is being used on the 7000 and that is the use of autofocus when using HD video mode.

Now without going into too much detail, I know from my experience with my Nikon that sometimes autofocus hones in on the wrong thing. Your mileage may vary however and like I said, I need to get my hands on one of these in order to confidently tell you how it works.

Right now I can tell you that the 7000 is going to run you around 1200 but there is a brightside. You may soon start seeing reduced pricing on the D90 and the D5000 models which were the first cameras that Nikon offered which had some type of video recording.

There will be more on this camera as more information and reviews become available.