Nikon D800::Big Mistake or Big Leap Forward?

So the Nikon D800 is finally here and it's either a big leap forward or a giant step back. There's actually two models, the D800 and the D800E, with E model having the same spec, but with the anti-aliasing filter removed for sharper photos at the risk of introducing a moire effect. I've held back from buying a D700 for about a year because it's replacement was just around the corner, and I think it would have been if not for the natural disasters in the east over the last 12 months. But i kinda wish I had went ahead and bought a D700 last year, in fact I might buy a D700 this year???.

My first thought when I heard about the 36.3 megapixel sensor was that Nikon had screwed us over, and by us, I mean the guys that want full frame cameras, but can't afford a D3s, D3x or D4. All I really wanted to be honest, was a D700 with twin card slots, Quiet Mode and decent video. What I didn't want was files that take up three times the space, a much slower burst rate, and I especially didn't want worse ISO performance than it's predecessor. The D700 was groundbreaking because of it's low light/high ISO performance, so Nikon have just stuck two fingers up to most of their customers in this category and said "Nikon giveth and Nikon taketh away".

So is it all bad? No, not really.  For studio work, I reckon this camera will shine. Huge files with lots of detail, if fact, I think Nikon are actually trying to bridge the gap between DSLR's and medium format, and if the images are sharp, they will probably succeed. The D800 is like the D3x's illegitimate brother that was the result of a secret affair. Nobody accepts him at first, but they'll probably grow to love him!

The D800 has broadcast quality video at full 1080p HD. It outputs to an external monitor at full resolution and has a mic input. The video is stunning, but I think too much emphasis is put on the motion capturing ability of cameras and not enough on the stills.

So I think I'm going to wait until the dust settles. Maybe I'll buy a D700, but with just a single card slot I would worry about the day when a card fails with a few hundred wedding photos on it. Maybe I'll try to pick up a D3s, there might be a lot of people offloading nearly new ones when they upgrade to the D4. Or maybe the D800 will grow on me and I'll put up with the huge files to get huge quality. What if the upcoming D400 has a 16 megapixel full frame sensor? With the D7000, what would be the point of a D400 with anything less?.....to be continued.

iBooks Author

I don't remember ever getting butterflies in my stomach when using a piece of software for the first time, but that's exactly what happened with the new iBooks Author app. Apple have just changed the face of modern culture again with a bold move into the book publishing world, and a lot of publishers are about to go out of business....a lot! But just as the music world giants like Sony were scratching their heads a few years ago and not coming up with a solution for the dire state of the music industry, Apple have came in with a move that is to the publishing industry what iTunes was to the music industry. I hate to see business's going to the wall, but as Bob Dylan said "times, they are a changing".

Here's another quote, this time from Dane Sanders "we now live in a digiflat world". That means we are all on an equal playing field. I'm typing this blog post on my iPad in a play area while my kids are getting tired out (hopefully). I'll then upload it to my blog for free and you get to read it for free. We can publish what we like and we can look for and read what we like (at least until the men in suits ruin the internet).

iBooks Author is awesome! I've played with it over the weekend and it's really easy to get to grips with. There's a small learning curve, but it's mostly plain sailing, especially if you have used desktop publishing software. I put together a mockup of a documentary book as a way to get to grips with the app. The 'Sections' through me a bit at first. Sections are great for textbooks, but I just wanted chapters in my book, one per project. But once I found how to delete a section, I was off again. Another thing I'm trying to do is link text box's that I make and auto flow the text over a chapter, but I still haven't managed to figure that one out at the time of writing this post (leave the answer in the comments if you know). That said, it wasn't long before I had a couple of chapters laid out the way I wanted, complete with photos that popped up full size at the tap of a finger and embedded galleries that work by swiping the box on the page or tapping first and then swiping them full screen. One of the genius things about this app is that when you click on the preview button it sends the book to your iPad (as long as it's connected to your Mac using the dock cable). The book then stays on your iPad, which let's your friends and family preview your latest masterpiece before you publish it to iBooks. I should state that the app is for Mac only, but maybe a windows version is in the pipeline? I would be gutted right now if I was still a windows user!

When you want to publish your book you simply upload it to the iBooks Store and fill out the information required (which I believe includes tax forms). The financial deal is a 70/30 split, with the author getting the bigger half. If anybody reading this has published a paper book, you'll know just how great a deal Apple is offering.

The best way to great your head around this game changing piece of software is by playing around with it. Even if you only intend buying books in the new format, iBooks Author will give you the best insight into how these books work on the iPad. I can't wait to see some of the new and innovative books that come out on this format.

View From My Keys :: 19th Jan 2012

I'm going to make this a regular feature. Like the title says, it will be views from my keyboards, at gigs, rehearsals...etc. This is the first rehearsal for the 2012 tour. It's hard to get back into the swing of things after a long break over Xmas and New Year, but time is flying by and it won't be long until the first gig. so here's a few to kick things off. Hopefully you will find a lot of the shots interesting as the year goes on.

It's been said that small songbirds weep with jealousy when Billy takes to the mic. They fall out the sky when I do!

This is just a bit of the spaghetti that I have to put up with. I'll post some photos of the full mess from the next gig.

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Why Fuji Has Got It Right

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I love DSLR's like the next guy, they're great tools and they get the job done with stunning results. Nikon, Canon, Sony and co. are getting it right in the DSLR market, but what I'm talking about here is the medium sized cameras that sit between point and shoots and DSLR's, often called compacts or system cameras. Rangefinders were made by lots of manufacturers back in the day, but the only option for a camera of that style or quality for years, has been the Leica M series. But not everybody can afford thousands on a camera, especially if you already spend thousands on a DSLR system. I love my Yashica rangefinders, but film just doesn't do it for me anymore. So I'm thrilled and excited about the direction that Fuji's is taking.

I bought my Fujifilm X100 in March 2011 and have carried it with me ever since. It got me back into street photography in a big way, which led to starting the 35mmStreet blog. It's also the perfect tool for one of my 2012 goals, which is to shoot documentary projects. The X100 is not perfect, but it is a very special camera and I feel lucky to be around at this point in time, shooting with a camera that the next generation will look back on and wish they had something like it.

That brings me to the point of this blog post (at last, I hear you say). I think Fuji have got it right in their X series. The viewfinder is an absolute joy, the glass is fantastic and the sensor/processor combination is really amazing. We all want low noise at hi ISO's and the X100 delivers that and still manages to keep it's great colours. The fixed 35mm equivalent lens has been great for me and I love the fact that you know how the image will look in the viewfinder even before you bring it up to your eye. But the manual focus is useless and there have been plenty of times that I've had to bring along a DSLR because I knew I wouldn't get close enough for a 35mm. So enter the new X-Pro 1. This looks like the camera that you can really take anywhere with you and be confident that it will tackle almost all types of photography.

So why are Fuji getting it so right and other manufacturers are getting it, well, not so right. The micro four thirds system have similar sized bodies, but smaller sensors. I personally wouldn't buy a camera with a sensor smaller than a 1.5 crop factor. Ideally, all cameras would be full frame. How many photographers in the film days shot with 110...none that I know of, it was all 35mm and up. Some of Fuji's hype for the X-Pro1 is that it will have the quality of full frame from an APS-CMOS sensor. This is a big claim, but Fuji has come up with another breakthrough. They have taken the low pass filter out which gives a much better resolution and a sharper image. They have been able to do this because the new X-Trans CMOS sensor has 6x6 pixel units instead of the usual 2x2, that means that the RGB sites can be more random, which gets rid of the moire effect.

The X100 and the X-Pro1 both have the hybrid viewfinder, in fact the latter has the second generation version that slides lenses in to compensate for different focal lengths. The Optical viewfinder is the best feature on these cameras and looking through the X100's for the first time is a memory that's burned into my brain forever. Meanwhile, the competition have either no viewfinder, a small plastic hole or an electronic viewfinder. Even the ultimate rangefinder, the Leica M9 could do with implementing some of Fuji's viewfinder technology. But having said that, there's not much I wouldn't do for a black M9-P with a 35mm Summilux.

Old school dials is another thing that Fuji has got right. Having to wade through a menu system is both a waste of time and not feasible when out shooting. In fact, another Fn (function) button would be really helpful. It's great that they have recessed the exposure compensation dial into the body and improved the buttons as well. It looks like Fuji listen to feedback from customers. Let's hope they have been listening when it comes to the poor manual focus.

So I'll be ordering the X-Pro1 with the 35mm and the 60mm lenses. I'll still have the X100, so I'll wait to see if I need the 18mm, but I'll probably end up getting it. There will be zoom lenses at the end of 2012, but I'm a prime shooter, so the lenses that will be available at the release of the camera are spot on for me. Fuji has made it clear that this is just the start of this system, there will be more cameras and lenses coming. Keep your eyes on this blog for a review as soon as the X-Pro1 arrives.

Fujifilm-X-Pro1 Officially Announced

The Fuji X-Pro1 has been officially announced the and it's pretty much the same specs as the leaked info at the weekend. It's pretty much the same size as the Leica M9 The main feature with this camera is a brand new sensor technology that lets the low-pass filter be removed and allow image quality like a full sized sensor. The Fuji Guys will fill you in on the rest.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 Mirrorless System Camera

This is a cross post with 35mmStreet.com

News of the new Fujifilm X-Pro1 mirrorless system camera was leaked today ahead of it's January 10th announcement. It looks like the exposure compensation dial will be in the same place as the X100's but recessed down into the top plate . I have also seen photos of a pre-production unit, and it looked just like this, except it was in it's bare metal state. Notice how far to the edge of the camera the viewfinder is? That should mean you don't see as much of the lens hood that you do in the X100.

The Specs for this unit will be 16mp APS-CMOS sensor with 6 photo sites instead of the usual 4. It will also have Fuji's excellent EXR processor. The lens options will be an 18mm (27mm equivelent) f2.0, 35mm (53mm) f1.4 and a 60mm (90mm) f2.4. Looks like Fuji have left out a 35mm equivalent so not to offend it's little X100 brother. It will have a 2nd generation hybrid viewfinder that according to the French page below, will zoom. Ship date is said to be March, but I think there may be even more demand for this than the X100. I'm looking at doing quite a bit of documentary photography this year, and this camera is a dream come true. it won't replace my X100, but complement it.

Nikon SB910 Speedlight

Nikon have released the follow-up to the SB900. The new more expensive SB910 is supposed to solve the problem of the SB900 overheating and shutting down, by slowing the re-cycle time when the flash head starts to heat-up. It's an improvement, but to me, it still means missing shots. So it's time to sell my SB900, but not to buy an SB910. I'll be buying another SB700.