Sign up Login
Home Forums Articles Galleries Members Galleries Master Your Vision Galleries 5Contest Categories 5Winners Galleries 5ANPAT Galleries 5 The Winners Editor's Choice Portfolios Recent Photos Search Contest Info Help News Newsletter Join us Renew Membership About us Retrieve password Contact us Contests Vouchers Wiki Apps THE NIKONIAN™ For the press Fundraising Search Help!
More5

« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »

March 30, 2008

Digital Workflow Workshop

Improve your photography: Do not miss the in-depth workshops covering the complete digital workflow, held in San Francisco April 10th and in Dallas June 12th. The workshops are lead by imaging pro's for photographers of all levels.

Posted by bgs at 8:12 PM

Weekly News From The Nikonians Academy

Nikonians Academy Director Mike Hagen shares news of a last minute cancellation that opens opportunities to attend the Page, Arizona workshop and provides us with not one, but THREE Quick Tips from the Academy staff. The staff shows you how to use the Nikon D300 for outstanding Dynamic Range photography, adjusting your Nikon D3 for quick command of your metering functions and making sure your don't forget the all-important Printer Profile settings.

Due to a last minute cancellation, we now have two seats available for the Page, Arizona workshop next week from April 8th - 12th.
This workshop was sold out and now you have the opportunity to come along for a great adventure through the slot canyons of the American Southwest. We'll be photographing Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon and lots of other great scenes in this beautiful corner of the USA.

Also, we have opened up another American Southwest photo workshop to Moab this Fall. Join us September 15-18, 2008 for an adventure in Utah's slick rock country. Find more details at www.nikoniansacademy.com.

We are listening!
Your emails and comments don't fall on deaf ears. To the contrary! Your input is extremely important to us and we want you to know that we are working hard to respond to your photographic needs. There's so much interest out there on the D300 that we have started planning for an Advanced D300 workshop. It will be a number of months before we can fit it into our schedule, but we are already preparing the content. Also, for you D40, D60, D70 and D80 owners who have written "help me" letters, we have begun to plan for more of these workshops as well. Stay tuned for more to come.

Preparing for San Francisco
We still have seats available for our Advanced Digital Imaging Workflow series in the San Francisco Bay Area this April 10 - 13. Imagine four days of learning about software, hardware, printing and professional workflow from the Nikonians Image Doctors Jason Odell and Rick Walker and Academy Director Mike Hagen. It's going to be great.

--------------------------------

Quick Tips Bonanza!
We have Quick Tips for you on the Nikon D300 and the D3, and also for our inkjet printing Nikonians.

---------------------------------

Use your D300 to work with Dynamic Range photography
One of the main topics we cover in our Nikon D300 workshops is how to properly use the AE-L/AF-L button. What most people don't realize is that there are 14 ways to program this button! Like most things on the D300, the myriad of choices is often overwhelming and knowing which is "right" can be confusing. One of the ways I like to use this button is to lock the exposure for different elements of a photograph in order to get the proper tonality (exposure) on my subject.

AE-L-Steps.jpg

In this sequence of photographs, the dynamic range is too great for the sensor to capture in one photograph. So, I used the AE-L button to help me take two exposures of the same scene. One was exposed for the sky and the other was exposed for the building. For the first photo, I aimed the light meter at the sky and pressed the AE-L button to lock the exposure.
I then recomposed and took the photo. For the second photo, I metered off the building and pressed the AE-L button to lock exposure there. I then took the same composition as the first photo.

The final step of the process is to bring the photo into Photoshop and then copy the sky from one image and paste it to the second image. The result is a perfect, all around photo that couldn't be accomplished by just pointing and shooting with your D300.

---------------------------------

Using the D3 Custom Menu for Metering Solutions
This last week I've been using a Nikon D3 for all my photography and I'm really blown away by how impressive this camera is in low light situations. This morning, I was hand-holding the D3 with a 300mm lens in a room lit with one light bulb. I set the ISO to 6400 and was getting tack sharp photos of my daughter that looked incredible! This camera is amazing. Because the lighting was so low and contrasty, I wanted to get a great exposure for my daughter by just metering on her cheek.
Normally, I use 3D Matrix metering, but in this situation I wanted to nail the exposure, so I activated the spot meter. The slow way to activate the spot meter is to turn the meter switch on the outside of the camera.
d3-f4-Assign.jpg

The better way to activate it is to program your Function button so that the spot meter turns on when you press it. To do this, go to Custom menu f4 and set the "Function Button Press" value to spot metering. Now, simply press the function button and viola! the spot meter is active. This is just one way to customize this camera to respond even faster to your photographic needs.

---------------------------------

Choosing Printer Profiles is a critical step
NX_Preferences.jpg
In our Digital workflow and Inkjet Printing workshops, people have been blown away by how impressive the photos can be from our ink jet printers. The biggest obstacle most people have when trying to create wonderful prints is that they are using a non-calibrated computer monitor. During the class, we go through some great detail on how to properly calibrate monitors and that makes a big difference right away.

However, the next big step is to make sure that you have set the correct printer profile for your output. Many times, people forget to make this critical selection in their software. Additionally, if you buy a new type of paper, many people don't go through the trouble of downloading the profile from the paper company's website. It is easy to do and will save you tons of frustration.

As an example-- If you are using Nikon Capture NX for your printing (illustrated here), then choosing the paper profile is easy. Go to Edit > Preferences > Color Management.

Under the pull down menu for Printer Profile, choose the printer name and paper type. That's it. Done. Now prepare yourself for great looking prints!

Posted by flashdeadline at 6:21 PM

Nikonians News Flash #85

News-Flash.png

Tune in for your weekly dose of Nikonians News Flash! Chock full of news from your friendly neighborhood Nikonians Community!



Download Nikonians News Flash #85 (NPC-NF-2008-03-30.mp3; 9:56; 9.1MB; MP3 format)

March 30, 2008
In The News:

Updates from the Nikonians Academy.

Follow the Academy Quick Tips with illustrations.


Check out our news feed for all the stories!

From The Forums:
In the Cafe'
Noted threads to look for are: "Why do you have som many posts?" and "Photographic Heros & Icons"

Forum of the Week:
Digital PostProcessing & Workflow

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Snowed In.

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 1:07 PM

March 28, 2008

FotoNation on The Wall Street Journal

The little company that made smile and other face attribute-detection in cameras a reality has hit the big-time. Today's electronic edition of the Wall Street Journal focuses on FotoNation and it's founder Eran Steinberg.

Posted by covey22 at 7:54 PM

Maintenance note

Maintenance of nikonians.org and nikonians-images.org is taking place today, later though than first announced. Our systems will be unavailable due to maintenance approx. 20:00h - 23:00h CET (03:00 - 06:00 PM ESTD) today, 28-MAR-2008

Posted by bgs at 7:25 PM

March 27, 2008

Photoshop on Your Web Browser

Ubiquitous computing hit another milestone today with Adobe's move to make Photoshop available via your web browser. And best of all, it's free.

The web-ified version called Photoshop Express has a much simplifed set of features and controls compared to it's boxed siblings. And Adobe is tossing in a 2GB online gallery for you to show off your stunning shots.

Editor's note: Early adopters should be aware that this is currently a "beta" status application. Additionally, review the terms of use regarding Adobe's reuse rights of any photos you upload to the system.

Posted by covey22 at 7:51 PM

Time-Saving Image Edit Software shows muscle

Our recent News Blog entry announcing the latest version of Arcadia's PhotoPerfect 2.90 now includes a follow-up from our editing and publishing staff.

The free download version of this Windows-based program provides plenty of room to explore the convenient features that simplify the editing process, and for less than $60 USD for the licensed version it is well worth checking out. Comparison work on a random selection of images was accomplished with PhotoPerfect and Adobe Photoshop, both opened on a Vista OS PC. The two image editors did not conflict with each other. A fast method for exploring some of the key features included in PhotoPerfect is to open Arcadia's Image Editing Examples page and follow along.

At first glance the operating controls are so numerous that first-timers to the world of digital editing may be overwhelmed, but with the help of simple online tutorials, the buttons and functions are easy to understand.

ebay_DSC_1139.JPGYou will find built-in batch processing functions for a variety of uses, including the handy eBay processor, which took this image of a GPS unit and within seconds condensed it to a handy eBay-compatible size.

Likewise, you will find a simple email function that quickly takes a pile of your favorite photos and compresses them to the proper size (screen width and file size) for emailing to family and friends.

It even opens your email program and attaches the files.

These are just two of the handy easy-step functions.

There are plenty more to choose from the minute you open the program.

MultiAutomatic.jpg
The fun part comes when you start exploring the other (some optional) features also available.

PhotoPerfect incorporates plug-ins originating from image editing software experts across the globe, each with unique professional level methods for adjusting your image.

Different images benefit most from different plug-ins, and you don't have to understand the complex formulas that took years to research and design.

A few simple clicks of your mouse give you instant access to different versions of the original, allowing you to first choose a pre-set version, and then fine-tune that version. Once again, only a few clicks gets the job done. For a preview, cost options and sample galleries and testimonials make sure you check the Arcadia Extensions/Add-ons page.

Our conclusion: PhotoPerfect is a stable and surprisingly powerful Windows based image editor with user friendliness obviously a high priority.

Posted by flashdeadline at 9:30 AM

March 26, 2008

Nikonians unveils new features and benefits

The Nikonians.org community is preparing for another round of improvements outlined in the newly released edition of The Nikonian. The publication is the community's official Photography Magazine, distributed as a free PDF. Every issue has over 120,000 readers.

The Nikonian, now in its 37th edition, provides background on the reasoning behind the establishment of the Loyal Membership Act (see page 4), presents a sneak preview on one of our new forums dedicated to Aviation Photography (page 9) and also presents a hands-on review of the HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Photo Printer (page 14).
Download Nikonian 37

Download your free copy today!

Highlights in The Nikonian also include:

-An interview with newly named Nikonians Fine Arts Gallery curator, Pascal Baetens

-a step-by-step look at High Dynamic Range processing

-links and data on the new cameras and lenses released by Nikon just before PMA 2008

-Nikonians PhotoProShop News

-A handy Nikonians information Essential Links Guide

Posted by flashdeadline at 6:35 AM

March 25, 2008

---Maintenance Note---

Nikonians.org and our Galleries will be offline briefly for a maintenance upgrade on Friday, March 28th.
The scheduled maintenance period will be from
» 6:00 PM to 8 PM Central European Time (18:00h to 20:00h GMT+1)
» 1:00 PM to 3 PM USA East Coast (currently observing Daylight Savings Time).

Posted by flashdeadline at 11:41 PM

The Nikonians On Location #12

A circus has set up its tents in Martin's neighbourghood, and On Location visits.

Click here to download Nikonians On Location Podcast #12 (NPC-OL-2008-03-25; 28:40; 18.8MB, MP3 format).
Video supplement available here (NPC-OLV-2008-03-25; 8:20; flash format).

Show Notes: March 25, 2008
Brightly colorored tents, wagons and trailers with lots of little details - and a new 10.5mm fisheye to deliver some really distorted images - all that within walking distance. That was more than Martin could resist, so this On Location visits the local circus.

The sound file:
00:10 Welcome
01:00 A circus
02:00 The walk - and a package
06:00 Traffic!
10:00 The tent
20:00 Shooting left and right
24:00 Goodbye

Video supplement:
Images from todays shoot of the Danish Circus Arena. A few too many 10.5mm fisheye-pictures maybe, but man, it's a fun lens!
Click here to view Nikonians On Location Video Supplement #12 (NPC-OLV-2008-03-25; 8:20; flash format)

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes

[RSS] Add the Nikonians Podcast feed to your RSS reader

[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Martin at onlocation@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by martinj at 4:00 PM

March 24, 2008

Sony Ups the Ante - 25 MP Full-Frame Sensor

At PIE 2008 in Japan, Sony let the veil covering their upcoming flagship DSLR slip a bit more. The massive A900 appears to be a direct response to the Nikon D3 and the Canon 1D Mark III series, but with a twist: a whopping 25MP Full-Frame sensor. Will will see this on a future D3X? (Courtesy of masterchong.com).

Posted by covey22 at 10:44 PM

March 23, 2008

Nikonians News Flash #84

News-Flash.png

Tune in for your weekly dose of Nikonians News Flash! Chock full of news from your friendly neighborhood Nikonians Community!


Download Nikonians News Flash #84 (NPC-NF-2008-03-23.mp3; 9:11; 8.4MB; MP3 format)

March 23, 2008
In The News:

Updates from the Nikonians Academy.
Check out our news feed for all the stories!

From The Forums:
In the Cafe'
Noted threads to look for are the latest polls and "Return of the 'milk jug' plastic cap"

Forum of the Week:
Micro, Macro and Close-Up Photography

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Eggxample of Nikon Color.

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 2:57 PM

March 21, 2008

The Nikonian, eZine 37, ready for download

The Nikonian, Nikonians official magazine, now in its 37th edition, presents a sneak preview on new forums and a special gallery to be unveiled in April, a hands-on review of one of HP's most popular photo printers, and a recap of the newest cameras and lenses released by Nikon to kick of the new year.

Download Nikonian 37

Download your free copy today!

Highlights in this issue:

-An interview with newly named Nikonians Fine Arts Gallery curator, Pascal Baetens
-a preview of one of our newest forums dedicated to aviation photography (along with a few airshow shooting tips)
-a review of the HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Photo Printer
-a step-by-step look at High Dynamic Range processing
-links and data on the new cameras and lenses released by Nikon just before PMA 2008
-Nikonians PhotoProShop News
-A handy Nikonians information Essential Links Guide

Posted by flashdeadline at 3:45 AM

March 20, 2008

ID#62: The Image Doctors

Jessica, the voice of Nikonians News Flash, joins the Image Doctors in the studio this week and discusses her photo shoot on location with Jason and Rick.
Looking for an Image Doctors Episode? Check the show archives here.

Download The Image Doctors #61 (NPC-ID-2008-03-20.mp3; 58:02 20 MB; MP3 format)

Show Notes:March 20, 2008

02:12 Listener Mail: Shooting Puffins / AF Fine-tuning

10:32 Shooting Landscapes at Garden of the Gods with special guest Jessica Odell: shooting IR with a converted D2X, and using the new 24mm PC Nikkor.

37:35 Macro shooting at Denver Botanic Gardens with Jessica Odell

54:57 Photo Prescripton: Use your lens hood!

Don't forget! Jason and Rick will be the featured guest instructors at two Nikonians Advanced Workflow Workshops. Sign up now-- spaces are filling up!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Image Doctors directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add the Image Doctors feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically to you.
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by drjay32 at 8:37 PM

How to find Nikonians in your area

if you want to find Nikonians, photographers in your area, that is easy. Use the friend finder functionality in NikoScope.

Searching for Nikonians is possible for all registered Nikonians. To see the details of the resulting matches, you must though be on a Silver, Gold or Platinum membership level.

Posted by bgs at 4:26 PM

Phase One and Mamiya Digital Imaging unveil joint venture camera

Professionals gathered at the Photo Imaging Expo 2008 in Tokyo are getting a first-hand look at what is being described as the world's most flexible open medium format digital camera platform.

645AF.jpgPhase One A/S and Mamiya Digital Imaging Co., Ltd. yesterday announced their co-developed platform, known as the Phase One 645 Camera or the Mamiya 645AFDIII.

The camera will be sold by Phase One and Mamiya exclusively.

More from their Press Release: ----

The Phase One 645 Camera System achieves a virtually seamless marriage of lens, body, P+ backs and Capture One software. Perfect harmony keeps your focus on the subject, not the equipment. Incredible images are created through a perfect blend of man and machine, where the imagination is the only limit. See the website here.

The camera platform answers the calls of professional photographers for a modular system that offers unprecedented feature combinations, and most significantly the freedom to choose individual components from an open platform to best serve their working needs.

Designed to accept all quality digital camera backs, the camera platform is also open for traditional film operation. It offers the widest choice of high-end lenses, including the complete Mamiya 645 lens range, the new 28mm aspherical and D series lenses, as well as Hasselblad V-lenses and Pentacon Six lenses. It is designed to achieve shutter speeds from 1/4000 sec. to 60 min.

The camera features an ergonomic molded grip and provides direct control of critical camera settings using manual dials -- both of which are essential elements for the professional photographer engaged in day long hand-held shooting sessions.

"Phase One and Mamiya have taken the first step in delivering a unique approach to designing camera systems," said Henrik Håkonsson, CEO of Phase One. "We believe that equipment interoperability and personal choice are integral values in realizing the highest quality imaging results. Furthermore we have invested heavily in optimizing all elements of the camera systems reliability to maximize the photographers' time for shooting extraordinary images."

"Mamiya and Phase One are consolidating our expertise and fulfilling our ambitions to provide the products desired by our customers," said Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, CEO of Mamiya Digital Imaging. "We will continue to cooperate and work hard to ensure that future camera systems are limited only by the imagination and desires of the artists that use them."

Pricing and Availability ---------

The first pre-production units will be demonstrated this week at the Photo Imaging Expo. Full technical details, including system component options will be provided at the start of volume production shipments, expected in QY2. For more information about ordering the camera platforms, please contact sales at www.phaseone.com and www.mamiya.co.jp.

Capture One 4.1 also debuts

Phase One's Capture One 4.1 is also being previewed at Photo Imaging Expo this week at the launch of the companies' new open medium format digital camera platform.
The next update to Phase One's raw workflow software will include support for the high quality 22 mega pixels Mamiya ZD camera and digital back. This support is a commitment to the strategic alliance between Phase One and Mamiya Digital Imaging.

Capture One 4.1 will also include two new technologies initially available for Phase One digital backs, built on Phase One's expertise in digital backs and thorough testing with a selection of Mamiya lenses.

Lens+ technology is designed to provide photographers with a superior out-of-the-box solution for removing lens artifacts in images. Not only will lens artifacts like chromatic aberration and fringing be heavily reduced, but at the same time image texture and color fidelity are expected to achieve a previously unseen level – resulting in amazing sharp and vibrant images.

A new standard of image sharpness will be introduced through use of Focus+ technology engineered to enhance performance of the full Mamiya 645AFD lens range, enabling a new level of sharpness and resolution. Perfect pixel definition will optimize the basis for high quality image rendering and extreme scaling. These technologies will be expanded to cover a broader range of lenses in the near future.

Top fashion photographers who demand high resolution, high capture rates and instant high quality previews for evaluation of image composition, exposure, and focus will enjoy the fastest ever tethered shooting functionality in Capture One 4.1. Image transfer and preview generation will be virtually instantaneous with Phase One backs, even with resolutions up to 39 mega pixels.

Pricing and Availability
Capture One 4.1, a free update to all Capture One customers, will be available for download beginning with volume production shipments of the new Phase One 645 Camera platform, expected in the Second Quarter of 2008.


Posted by flashdeadline at 10:40 AM

March 19, 2008

USPS Sees Green: Electronics Recycling Pilot

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the United States Postal Service has launched a pilot recycling program that will allow owners to safely dispose used, broken or obsolete electronic items through the mail.

The list includes "inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players" and can be shipped by using postage paid envelopes found in post office locations. The service will be available in several major cities but could expand nationwide depending upon it's success.

Nikonians interested in this program should ensure that their personal data is removed before recycling any devices. A good resource to start with is this page at MIT, as well as the device maker's support channels.

Posted by covey22 at 3:44 PM

Sigma Takes The High Ground: 50mm f1.4 HSM

Sigma has seized the high ground that many Nikonians have been eyeing for a while: the release of a coreless focusing, high-speed 50mm full-frame lens suitable for use with the D40 and D60 series cameras.

We'll keep an eye out on any updates regarding image quality, but for now, Sigma has two key points that remain unfulfilled by Nikon - this new lens and the 30mm f1.4 DC HSM.

Posted by covey22 at 3:06 PM

March 18, 2008

You link from Nikonians?

If you link to your site from Nikonians (www.nikonians.org), make sure you link back to us. We on the Nikonians team decided quite some time ago not to block the possibility to link from the forum footers to your own site. Many other sites are prohibiting this, we do not.

As a Google Page Rank 6 site, Nikonians drives hundreds if not thousands of other websites, making sure they are getting good search results in the well known search engines. If you link out to your own site from Nikonians, fine, but we kindly request you to link back to Nikonians then.

Posted by bgs at 1:31 PM

The Nikonians On Location #11

Martin spends a snowy afternoon shooting coins as documentation as well as in more creative ways.

Click here to download Nikonians On Location Podcast #11 (NPC-OL-2008-03-17; 32:10; 29.5MB, MP3 format).
Video supplement available here (NPC-OLV-2008-03-17; 7:59; flash format).

Show Notes: March 17, 2008
Spawned by listener feedback coins bace the main subject in this week's On Location. Shooting them both as documentation as well as more creatively.

The sound file:
00:15 Intro
02:30 Concepts
06:00 Setup and first shots
13:20 Documentation
22:00 Reverse ring
26:00 Piling
28:20 Winding down


Video supplement:
The picture supplement to the Coins Shooting Session shows you some of the results, the different setups and how to easily make a snoot.
Click here to view Nikonians On Location Video Supplement #11 (NPC-OLV-2008-03-17; 7:59; flash format)

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes

[RSS] Add the Nikonians Podcast feed to your RSS reader

[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Martin at onlocation@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by martinj at 10:00 AM

March 17, 2008

Nikon Prizes in UN Contest Not Just Potatos

2008 is the International Year of the Tuber, and the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization is hosting a photo contest designed to bring attention to this prolific global food source.

The UN agency is looking for the best shots that "illustrate potato biodiversity, cultivation, processing, trade, marketing, consumption and utilization." Noted National Geographic shooter Steve McCurry will be one of the judges, and Nikon is sponsoring many of the main prizes, including a Nikon D60 bundle for the Amateur and a D300 bundle for Professional categories.

Posted by covey22 at 6:00 PM

Nikkor 16-85mm DX VR: The Photozone Review

Much to everyone's surprise, Photozone put up a comprehensive review over the weekend on the new Nikkor 16-85mm DX VR lens that has generated a lot of buzz.

Posted by covey22 at 2:28 PM

March 16, 2008

Nikonians News Flash #83

News-Flash.png

Tune in for your weekly dose of Nikonians News Flash! Chock full of news from your friendly neighborhood Nikonians Community!

Download Nikonians News Flash #83 (NPC-NF-2008-03-16.mp3; 6:06; 2.1MB; MP3 format)


March 16, 2008
In The News:

Check out our news feed for all the stories!

From The Forums:
Nikonians Badge Information

In the Cafe'
Noted threads to look for are "How Many Photographers started with film or digital?", "Traveling to Europe-Any problems with carry-on?" and "A funny observation while at a carnival".

Forum of the Week:
Landscape Photography

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Mushrooms.

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by drjay32 at 3:46 AM

March 14, 2008

Hoodman releases Nikon D3 LCD screen cap

Nikonians who may have been surprised when they found no plastic cover for their LCD monitors now have an affordable protective option.

H-CAPD3.jpgHoodmans new Patent Pending D-3 HoodCap snaps into place using the mounting points already built into your Nikon D3.

Hoodman spokesman Lou Schmidt tells us the D3's screen provides ample scratch resistance but his company is well aware that many Nikon owners prefer the extra level of protection.

The D-3 HoodCap is optically clear and comes with a scratch resistant coating.

Ordering information for the Model H-CAPD3 can be found at www.hoodmanusa.com

The retail price is $24.99 USD.

Posted by flashdeadline at 7:34 PM

March 11, 2008

Nikon D300: The Thom Hogan Review

The review that everyone's been waiting for has been posted. Thom Hogan weighs in on the new prosumer DSLR and the results are surprising.

Posted by covey22 at 11:16 PM

March 10, 2008

The Nikonians On Location #10

After being under with a severe flu, Martin is still not up to real on location work, but shares some Sickbed Thoughts.

Click here to download Nikonians On Location Podcast #10 (NPC-OL-2008-03-10; 18:02; 18.8MB, MP3 format).
Video supplement available here (NPC-OLV-2008-03-10; 3:45; flash format).

Show Notes: March 10, 2008

Martin Joergensen spends some time thinking back on his film days and what they still do for his shooting. As he says: his career does after all consist of more than 30 years of film shooting and only 5-or-so years of digital photography. And old skills just don't vanish.

The sound file:


00:15 Intro

00:55 Thanks for your concern

01:45 No outdoors activities

04:00 Metering

07:00 Counting frames

09:45 What I learned

13:30 I don't miss film

15:30 Second nature

17:00 Goodbye

Music credits: John Williams, Nothing Lost.

Video supplement:

In spite of being ill, you can still shoot. And surf the web. And look at old B/W prints.
Click here to view Nikonians On Location Video Supplement #10 (NPC-OLV-2008-03-10; 3:45; flash format)

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Nikonians Podcast directly in iTunes

[RSS] Add the Nikonians Podcast feed to your RSS reader

[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Questions, Comments, Announcements?

Email Martin at onlocation@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by martinj at 4:30 PM

Crowds are wise, communities are wiser

A Newsweek article "Is User-Generated Content Out?" discussed how important are expertise views vs. the crowd. Pretty good comments on that article from Steve Rosenbaum over at AlwaysOn.

I especially agree with Steve on that experts do not need to be housed in media companies to support them. The Nikonians community has "raised" several experts over the last years, some of them becoming authors, others professional photographers. These experts see strong growth in traffic, in audience and some also in direct revenue.

Nikonians has many experts and they have a platform that is not a media company, but a user community: Nikonians.org

/Bo

Posted by bgs at 3:53 PM

Quantum and Metz: Better Together

Nikonians using Metz flashguns can now enjoy the high-refresh cycles of belt-pack batteries.

Quantum's new CM, MKZ and XKZ cables allow use of the Metz 54MZ and 58AF flashes with Quantum, Turbo and Bantam series of battery packs. Details are available at www.qtm.com, at professional photo dealers, by FAX 631 656 7400, or by calling 631 656 7400.

Posted by covey22 at 3:10 PM

Spring Releases: Think Tank's Latest Additions

Think Tank Photo has released a slew of fifteen new items in time for Spring; additions to the Airport roller line of bags, the Skin modular set collection and more.

Posted by covey22 at 2:44 PM

March 6, 2008

ID#61: The Image Doctors

This week, Jason & Rick shoot at the US Air Force Academy, discuss AF fine-tuning, and compare the 24-70 f/2.8 Nikkor with its predecessor, the 28-70 f/2.8 Nikkor.


Looking for an Image Doctors Episode? Check the show archives here.

Download The Image Doctors #61 (NPC-ID-2008-03-06.mp3; 54:23 18.8MB; MP3 format)

Show Notes:March 6, 2008

01:57 Listener Mail: How long can film sit in my camera before it goes bad?

07:49 On Location at the US Air Force Academy

24:35 Comparing the 24-70mm f/2.8 Zoom Nikkor with the 28-70mm f/2.8 Zoom Nikkor

34:38 Autofocus Fine-Tuning

50:40 Photo Prescripton: Improve your compositions with wide-angle lenses

Just a reminder that Jason and Rick will be the featured guest instructors at two Nikonians Advanced Workflow Workshops.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Image Doctors directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add the Image Doctors feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically to you.
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Posted by drjay32 at 5:34 AM

March 5, 2008

Arcadia Software simplifies photo editing

Nikonians searching for user-friendly photo editing software at an affordable price (less than $60 USD) have a new option to explore.
If you are looking for professional results with a minimum of technical expertise and a tight budget, you may be interested in Arcadia Software's PhotoPerfect.

PhotoPerfect-165.jpg

Arcadia's PhotoPerfect 2.90, a Windows-based photo-editing program, is currently being offered with free trial downloads and online tutorial support.

The program features one-click optimization for reducing color-shifts from ambient light or bad camera white balance and also corrects contrast, brightness and color. It can also apply global and selective color corrections, enhance blue skies and help you make foliage and skin-tones look more natural.

The features list also includes:

-- A new brightness gradient function to help create dramatically more vivid, unique lighting effects in your pictures.
-- Lab curve support,
-- Band filters for removal of symmetrical distortion,
-- 16-bit support for RAW and TIFF files,
-- batch processing,
-- support for PhotoShop plugins

Check the examples of results on their Web site for more information on the functionality of this software.

Posted by flashdeadline at 2:43 PM

March 4, 2008

Nikon P50: The Popular Photography Review

Pop Photo reviews the new Coolpix P50, one of the first compact cameras in Nikon's line-up to have the same EXPEED image processor as found in the higher-end D3 and D300 digital SLRs.

The conclusion is glowing in it's praise: "In all, the P50 is an excellent performer for the money and in comparison to other economical compact cameras, is a really excellent deal."

Posted by covey22 at 7:04 PM

On Location - Martin Joergensen

There will not be an episode of On Location (#10) this week as Martin has taken ill. Please send him your well wishes as we eagerly look forward to his next installment. For Martin's archived shows please click: Nikonians On Location

Posted by jozef at 11:37 AM

March 3, 2008

DxO Optics with Support for 10 Nikkor AF Lenses

DxO Labs has released ten new modules for optimizing lenses with the Nikon D3 and D300 digital SLRs. This version of DxO Optics is currently only available in Windows.

Nikon D3 - AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Nikon D3 - AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Nikon D3 - AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
Nikon D300 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
Nikon D300 - AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Nikon D300 - AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
Nikon D300 - AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED
Nikon D300 - AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED
Nikon D300 - Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Nikon D300 - AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED

Posted by covey22 at 4:04 PM

March 2, 2008

Nikonians News Flash #82

News-Flash.png

Tune in for your weekly dose of Nikonians News Flash! Chock full of news from your friendly neighborhood Nikonians Community!

Download Nikonians News Flash #82 (NPC-NF-2008-03-02.mp3; 6:28; 5.9MB; MP3 format)

March 2, 2008
In The News:

Check out our news feed for all the stories!

From The Forums:
In the Cafe'
Noted threads to look for are "Nikonian unsung heroes", "Insurance Advice" and "Securing the community's growth"
Forum of the Week:
Travel Photography

Jessica's Choice Photo:
Rainy Days and Mondays.

Questions, Comments, Announcements?
Email Jessica at newsflash@nikonians.org, or drop us a line in the Podcast Feedback forum!

Posted by odle2 at 1:00 PM