Thursday February 18
 
11:27
 
Are your photos worth $5000 to you?

I was looking though the photos I’ve taken since getting the D90 in Lightroom.

Most of my photos are “memories” type photos – ie, photos of family, friends, etc.

As a result, a lot of them are indoors, in bars, in the evening, etc so I always knew I use high ISO a lot, but looking in Lightroom I was astounded to see just how many shots I had at ISO 3200 and ISO 6400. Thousands.

It got me thinking. OK – a D3S is a lot of money at about $5000.
But later in life, what is going to be more important to me?
Looking back at grainy D90 ISO 3200/6400 photos and thinking “I saved $5000″, or looking back at ISO 3200/6400 photos which are almost perfect (in terms of noise)?
In that context – saving our memories – isn’t $5000 worth it?

Heck, I look back at my pre-DSLR photos and wish I’d bought a DSLR sooner. It’s irrelevant to me now that I “saved money” by waiting until they became affordable.

I’m really beginning to think that maybe blowing $5000 on a D3S isn’t such a bad idea…

Thursday December 17
 
19:29
 
Autofocus accuracy & shallow depth of field

After publishing my Tamron f2.8 VC samples, I’ve been asked a number of times directly about focus accuracy, with some people wondering whether they have focus problems because they get variation between shots.

Since this question keeps coming up, I’ve written a page on the issue: Autofocus accuracy & shallow depth of field. Hope it helps people understand camera sensor limitations with f2.8 lenses!

Thursday December 17
 
18:20
 
I’m a double flasher

One of the reasons I bought the D90 was to experiment with wireless flash. I already had an SB-600, but what you can do with one wireless flash is limited.

Yesterday I bought an SB-900 – the more powerful big brother of the SB-600. I’ve not had time to use it yet, but with two wireless flashes, it should be fun.

What’s the point of having multiple flashes? How does it improve image quality? Why is Nikon wireless flash good? Have a play with this demo from Nikon and you’ll see.

Monday December 14
 
11:07
 
Scaredy Cat

Not the best photos, but I do like the last one. Nikon D90 with Tamrom 17-50 F2.8 VC, early evening in the streets of Tokyo.

Really I should PP these to adjust for the different warmths of light – it’s caused by the first two including the lamp in the frame and the last two just pointing into the shadows.

Friday December 11
 
17:13
 
Nostalgia: Sony DSC-F707

The Sony F707 was the first consumer 5 megapixel camera. Not only that but it came with an F2-2.4 5x zoom lens, hologram laser focus assist, and IR NightShot. It was my main camera for years, and I loved it.

I still have it. Occasionally I pick it up and have a play, because with that fast lens, laser focus, IR NightShot, and a powerful flash with IR framing, it’s a good camera in low light. It’s even possible to get some nice bokeh:

I can’t help but seeing a matchstick figure and head in that leaf photo. What would a psychiatrist make of that?

Apart from wishing the camera was a bit less sluggish during image review and supported memorysticks greater than 128MB, the main thing that stops me using the camera more these days is the “halo effect”. At the time it was a resolution class leader, but now I find the sharpening just too aggressive. I guess I did at the time also, but then there was very little alternative.

It’s not too extreme in the leaf photo, but at times it can be overwhelming:

When I look back at photos, I do wish I could get rid of that. Sure, it doesn’t affect the photos too much at 4×6, but it can become noticeable and it prevents cropping.

Still, it was a camera that created many great memories for me. I’m sure that while it still has life in it, every year or so I’ll return to it and play with nostalgia.