My backup camera, Nikon D700

Ok... So basically I've recently gotten a used D700 as the backup to my D3. One thing mainly because of price, another thing is because of workflow


Nikon D3 & D700

FX Logo

So one thing is of course, both bear the FX badge and are full frame cameras. They're very similar as most people would have noted. But somehow, the grip of the D700 doesn't quite match the D3. People may go "of course, if they make it exactly like the D3, its one reason more to get the D3" but I'm saying, its off. I held the D300 and it felt a lot better than the D700. I'm still waiting for my grip to arrive though.


Front D3

Front D700

So yea... The front of both the D3 and D700 are pretty much the same. I don't see much differences other than the port covers for the remote and sync port.


Top D3

Top D700

The LCD on the top of the D3 is noticeably longer, but other than that, I still don't see much differences.


Back (both cameras)

Back D3

Back D700

Other than the obvious difference of the 3rd LCD panel on the D3. Its quite similar between the 2, and having used a D200 for a while some time back, the D700 was no stranger to me. Though getting used to zooming in on preview took a little bit of adjusting.

The one thing that I missed on a camera is in the picture below

Yup, I miss a pop up flash on my camera. Though I guess the good thing about not having a pop up flash is that its probably more durable? Less parts exposed, less mechanics to break? Only thing I hate about the flash is that with the 24-70 and hood, there's a shadow, no surprise there. But if I were to use the pop up for last resort fill flash, I guess I'll zoom in anyway.

So yea, another thing about the pop up flash, commander mode. True I don't get the flexibility of a speedlight rotating head, but it lightens the load, especially when I know I'm not shooting in open areas.

The reason why I chose a D700 as my backup rather than the D600 or D800 as I probably said in previous posts is because of workflow. The D800 having a 36 megapixel sensor and the D600 having a 24megapixel sensor means huge files to work with, which I don't think I want to stress on my computer at the moment. Also, bigger files means I'll need a bigger hard drive, which I try not to spend money on yet cause it'll mean I'll have to upgrade my computer earlier which I'll do a few years later with the technology then. Also, the future technology would mean my computer would be faster in processing bigger image files rather than current computer technology. They do a fair job, but I'd rather not spend time waiting.

Also, higher resolution doesn't really mean better images. I'd rather have my main and backup as close as possible. So probably in the future, if like, the D5 is similar to D800 or D900 (whatever the model is at that time), I'd probably get those 2 to replace the D3 and D700 together and by then, computers should be processing their images about the same time as my computer processes the D3 and D700 images now.

But seriously, the megapixel war is getting more and more ridiculous. I'm good with 12 megapixels, even the D4's 16 megapixel is good. But the resolution of D600 isn't too bad, its the fact that the body isn't a robust one which I would require with the world I shoot now (unfortunately). I'm hoping that the megapixel war will end soon because I dont' want to work on a 70 megapixel FX format camera with huge file size and many hard drives at home. I have a lot of hard drives at home as it is. I don't want to add more. So yea, an entry on my choice for a backup camera. Have a good day everyone!

Nikon SB910

Hey guys,

So recently I order a Nikon SB910. I know... I'm slow, but doesn't matter. The delivery was from Hong Kong and it was very fast.


Huge packaging

Huge Box

The box of the flash

So yea... I forgot to take photos of the flash itself. I also bought a few batteries for it. Specifically 2 sets of 4 Sanyo XX/XXX (unsure how many Xs are there) and 4 normal Sanyo Eneloops.


The batteries

I actually like the sheen of the black batteries. So anyway, I took out the SB910 and played with it on my D3 after setting it up to my preferences. Feels as good as SB900 and supposedly similar performances. I like the light up buttons (which matches the D4 but works with my recently acquired D700 and D3. It should work with pretty much all modern day DSLRs and the F6).

I love the new hard filters that comes with it, but I hate the new pouch which is similar to the SB700. Its basically a big squarish rectangle, hard to stuff in my bag. I'm currently using the SB900 case until I find an alternative. I've used it for a few events recently and it works good. Unsure of the overheating improvement since I've yet to work i that hard though, but I'll update this when I have.

The SB910's UI has changed a little and it has a dedicated menu button as well, not sure the purpose since I hardly enter the menu after setting up, only entering to turn off flash to use AF assist only but yea. The on switch feels better too for some reason.

That's pretty much it for now since nothing much has been going on actually so yea... Have a good day everyone!

Personal Thoughts On Nikon D600 & D800

Alright, its finally here, my personal thoughts on the Nikon D600 & D800/

So, probably start with the older model, the Nikon D800.

Initially when the D800 rumors were floating around, I was very excited and happy until the official announcement and release was made, which made me kind of sad seeing that its 36 megapixels as opposed to the Nikon D4 which had 16 megapixels. I didn't really like the roundedness of both the D4 and D800, but the D4 was still quite good looking.

The D800 seemed really small as opposed to the D700 which according to Amazon, which is the replacement for the D700. Looking through the specs, the use of 1 SD card and 1 CF card is pretty cool. But the price of the camera and the resolution are what deters me from getting one. I love the video function and capability of it though. The quality I've seen from the web show great promise though. I don't have much to say really.

The Nikon D600.

When rumors of the D600 were around, I was once again happy that a cheaper FX camera is in the works and seemed to have everything I would want. Unfortunately, that isn't the case when it was released.

Again the camera is too rounded, and now its made smaller. Similar in size and shape to the Nikon D7000 though. Which I had in the office and was able to try a few times since I use my own D3 for shoots. The D7000 is pretty nice to hold and I can only assume the D600 would be too. Unfortunately, it is too small for my own liking. Even with the grip, its holdable, but I find that there's something missing to it.

24 megapixels is quite a lot to me actually. And the video function has some limitations to it which puts me off. The price is reasonable though. But one thing I find still desirable is the overall size.

I find that both cameras cannot truly replace the D700 since the D700, with a battery grip can improve its burst rate. I would also like a D700 size replacement without too much curves. And probably the same sensor as the Nikon D4, 16 megapixels.

Not sure if Nikon actually researches or what, but I'm writing my thoughts here in the event they do. A camera that is the improved version of the D700 without the resolution of either the D600 or D800, with D800's video capabilities and possibly closer to D600 price. That's my dream backup camera to my D3.

I honestly can't see the D600 or D800 as the backup to the D4.

On a side note, was thinking of the future of these cameras, with their resolution. D800's 36 megapixel RAW files is huge. So it would require a lot of hard disk space to store the photos and backup. Think there's a 4TB hard drive now, with motherboards having 14 SATA connectors. 1 DVD drive, so its 4TB times 13 equating to 52TB worth of storage space. Quite a lot though, but I don't want to have a huge external drive to backup all my photos especially over the years as I shoot more and more. Unless they become really really cheap. But 36 megapixels, and D4's XQD cards, gotta wait for technology to catch up, like quad core processing 10-12 megapixel images, probably the gen 2 i7 computers can process 20 plus megapixels, and probably the next generation of computers to process 30 plus images with even bigger storage capacity.

I wonder how things would be like in the next few years, especially since everything is constantly changing and improving. One thing is for sure, I hope that manufacturers will quit the megapixel race. Nice to have D3x type of camera, and probably D700x type? Rather than like the D800. 2 versions would be good. That's all I'm saying. Everyone's thoughts differ. These are mine from a event, photojournlistic type of photographer. Or even wedding, pre wedding, commercial and fashion would probably be happy with the resolution, but there are still limits that need to be set.

Exactly a month since my last entry

Hey guys,

So well, its been a month since my last update, mainly because I've been busy and I still am, but at the moment, I'm bored today so since I have time, I shall update my blog for a change.


New Stuff

Alright, first off, I got my Sekonic L758DR light meter. It's great, still learning to use it though, especially finding middle grey to do spot meter from a distance. Many functions which my old Sekonic L308s couldn't. Like metering in aperture priority mode rather than in shutter priority mode. Also, it does exposure compensation. It was a little dirty as well so I cleaned it up and its fine now.

Unfortunately, I got a scratch on it not long after I got it. However, I manage to polish it to a point its a hairline scratch. So I bought a couple of screen protectors (meant for the iPhone 4s) and I cut it to fit it for my Sekonic L758DR, Nikon SB800 and SB900. I don't have the expertise to cut it properly nor cut curved corners, so I cut it as best I can and now, some part of the screen is exposed, but I highly doubt I should be that unlucky to get scratches within that exposed areas.


My phone died on me, not exactly died, but the screen had some issues and since my contract has expired, I could renew my contract. And I got myself the HTC One X. Which I didn't know was the flagship from HTC at the time but well, its been working great so far. I also had a hard time getting a case and subsequently got a Ballistic SG case. And its doing good protecting my phone.

Sorry for the crappy photo, but yea, it was charging as well.


Shoot At Botanic Gardens

Alright, just the other day, I also got down to practicing 1 light flash. Didn't shoot many different one as I didn't think of a single portrait shot, but it was good practicing something different for a change.

I went down with my sister's friend who is also my assistant for the shoot and my friend from ITE, Rizal, was my model. He suggested shooting a composition shot which I thought to myself "Hey! Never did it before, so why not?" which I did. It wasn't fantastic but it isn't bad either. We did this just for laughs.

After that, we went ahead and did a one light flash with mainly an umbrella, then some were did with a softbox, and some with reflectors. Though I've only put 4 here, there are more, but I didn't since many of them are quite similar.

I quite liked the results though. I also saw a lizard in the street lamp so I thought that it was quite interesting. I shot handheld with my Nikon D3 and Nikkor 70-200mm VRII. Nothing special really.

Recently, the Nikon D600 has been released. Supposedly its a similar body to the Nikon D7000 and we have a D7000 in the office. It feels pretty good, if what is said is true, I think I'll be happy with the D600, even though David Hobby was sad with lack of PC sync which personally, I've ever only used once since now is slave or radio. And I've heard quite a bit of complains about the 1/200 sync speed. A small bummer personally but no biggie since it can go down to ISO 50 and well, I seldom shoot in bright open areas, the 1/200 sync speed ain't gonna be a deal breaker since for its use, its likely to be stuck in a studio environment and if its in the field, probably f11 with no flash since its gonna be landscape.

Full HD video if I remember correctly, 24mp, fits where the D800 couldn't in my books. I'd prefer the D800 though, with the D600's resolution but well, that's life. Nikon Professional Service, was researching that recently. Unfortunately, the D600 isn't a pro camera, and I only have the D3 so in a way, I don't qualify. THEN! I saw another accepted camera, the Nikon F5 which I do have, so I could actually join NPS without issues. Of course, I guess as technology improves and hard drives get a hell lot bigger or SSDs get a hell lot bigger and cheaper, cameras that replace the D4 and D800 will become part of my life when the D3 and my future D600 no longer function.

I'd probably write a post on my thoughts of the D600 and D800 and comparison with D4 in another post soon so that hopefully Nikon would read what people say, even if people who don't matter, yet or ever, will improve from comments.

So well, its been more than a year since I enlisted into NS and there's a funny website, not funny actually, just a funny URL which is whymustweserve.com which is used to countdown to our ORD dates. So here's mine, less than a year, slightly over a hundred working days left. I can't wait!

That's all for now. Shall update when I have more, till then. Have a good day everyone!


PS: I just added a link to another website that I did to showcase my photos with technical details there. So yea, just to show case some works which I may not show here or on my Facebook for those who know me.

Woah! Its been a long while!

Hey guys!

Sorry its been a long while, didn't have much to blog about and been busy as well.

So anyway, I got some new stuff recently. A DVD, couple of books, earphone case (which took a long time to arrive) and a new pair of boots!


My new hard case for my earphones, works great, big though, so now its hanging on my pants when I go out.

My new Magnum side zip boots and my Dean Collins DVD

They look a little weird for boots but I quite like how they fit everything in.

So yea, I've been wearing the boots for like 2 weeks and using my hard case for like a month now. I've watched finished the DVD and it was really educational, I've learnt some new stuff but I need some time to digest the info. The boots are really comfortable and zip up pretty easily. Fits perfectly too! Anti slip works great, pretty quiet too. Thick sole, pretty much sums it up. Have yet to put up my Amazon review though =/.

Also, I went out to shoot with the guys and I was more concentrated on shooting video with the Panasonic G5 which I wrote a review on at Clubsnap (under the review's sub forum) hence I didn't shoot much photos. I shot a pano sun rise in none HDR, the light was amazing, but mine is kinda fake cause the sky then, I don't remember being that color, but its still beautiful hahaha. Since its pano, the thumbnail is normally small on Blogger, unfortunately.

That's all for now, will update when I have more to say, have a good day everyone!

Been awhile again

Hey guys!


So its been awhile again. My apologies as nothing much has been happening. And things that are happening, I can't say anything about it sadly. So I lost my earphone case, quite sad as I'm fond of it but I've bought a replacement from ebay but have yet to receive it. Getting impatient especially since its labeled as being located in Singapore.


I also just bought a 3TB Buffalo hard drive to backup the remaining 2 hard drives that has no external hard drives to backup my data.

Buffalo Disk Station

Quite nicely designed

And just today, I've finished backing up my data. Works pretty well, and next time I buy hard drives, I'll be sure to get something like Mediasonic 8 bay case or something, so I can save my USB ports. I now only have 1 free USB 3.0 port but I still have a few USB 2.0 ports.


On the same day, I went around shooting some night photos and I have 2 to share, also under my tripod head review post.


Lasalle School Of The Arts in HDR

Central Fire Station in HDR

Today, I gave a good cleaning to my Nikon F5. I also been recently looking for some good deals and I found an amazing deal for a Elinchrom BX 500 Ri (if I remembered correctly) which was like 142 USD when I wanted to bid. It was tested to power on and the settings can changed. And being Swiss made, I expect it to be working, so I bid, but it went up to like 300USD and I lost the auction cause I didn't want to pay for more. So I decided to look at SU800 for Nikon cameras which I then decided not to get since my SB900 and future SB910 won't work on the F5, I decided to get the SB 800 to work as full time commander for my D3 and future D600 and as a flash for the F5. And should I need to utilize all my flash, I can use the SB800 as a manual strobe.


And since I have no space for studio, neither do I have a studio and since I hardly shoot photos that require studio flash, I've decided not to get them (after searching high and low for good deals and suitable ones as well but I still prefer Elinchrom) unless I shoot a lot of photos that will require monolights like corporate photos and such. In my office, I will get the boss to buy studio flashes if we shoot more in the studio rather than depend on hotshoe flashes. But for my own personal work, I'll stick with hotshoe flashes.


Although fact that my complete setup which consists of:
SB 900 x 3 = About 500 per unit
SB 910 x 1 = Not sure, keep at 600?
SB 800 x 1 = Hopefully can get around 350

The total costs more than a studio lighting kit. In fact, I could get 2 sets of D-lite 4s and probably a BX 500 Ri kit. But fact remains that its more mobile and auto which will help me a lot in most of the shots I do. So if I ever do more flash that requires the power and recycling speed of monolights, I'll stick with my portable units. Since if I do work as a full time photographer, I can use the office monolights so I don't need to buy my own anytime soon (probably in my older age if I do go into my own photography business or full time freelance).

Though thinking about it, I should get studio lights now instead but the fact remains that they'll require an outlet (I know battery units exists) but studio lights are hard to resell and like I said, I need to be mobile.

As Joe McNally has proven many times over, TTL flash with hotshoe units can get the job done but a little bit more hassle as compared to studio flash units. So did David Hobby and the other great photographers who shoot with hotshoe units! I'm sold! To each his own and to each job its own!

That's all for now, have a good weekend everyone!

Been awhile

Hey guys!


So yea... Its been a while and well... Its close to the end of June. 1 year 1 month and 12 days more to ORD! Seems like only yesterday that I enlisted, but living through it has been tiring.


Recently my 22" Samsung monitor got too dim to use for photo editing so I've purchased a new 24" from Dell!


The box



Opening it, so excited!



Out of the box



Comparison to my old 22"



All set up



After awhile, I realize that there was a strange orange banding that I have never seen before.





So I requested for a change since I didn't see it when using VGA cable (after talking to tech support) and I've got a new one! Its not as noticeable, but its somewhat still there. I suspect is from the way I'm using the monitor. I use it somewhat parallel to how I sit when using, it'd be lower and facing up, but it doesn't bother me now anyway as long as my colours are good.

I like the new monitor, its bright and tall! And very easy to use to calibrate my colours, first time I got everything right when calibrating. I also got my PVC pipes and built my 77" x 77" light panel! Its a little flimsy but it should work fine in a studio enviroment. So I've decided to get the original frame from Photoflex in the future if I use it more often.


Other than that... Nothing much really happened actually... So I shall stop here for now, until I have something else to say, but that'll probably be in my next post already. Till then, have a great day everyone!

Manfrotto 054 Magnesium Ball Head with Q2 Quick Release: My thoughts

Hey guys!

So this post will be a review of the Manfrotto 054 Magnesium Ball Head with Q2 Quick Release based on my own user experience. I haven't used it for any shoot as of today (4th June 2012) and I haven't had it for long, like a week? But the experience has been great when messing with it at home. Guess I shall start with why I got this particular ball head and not the others in the series.


Why this ball head?
Why did I choose this ball head? I choose it for the balance of strength and weight. The 055 series could carry up to 12kg and the 057 series could carry up to 15kg while mine could only carry up to 10kg which honestly, was good enough for me since I don't use huge lenses like 500mm lenses and such. The heaviest I see myself carrying, either by renting or purchasing, should be the Nikkor 200-400mm f4 lens which is only 3.275 kg, with my D3, it doesn't hit the 10kg mark yet. And the heaviest combination I use most often would be the D3 paired with the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII. My tripod is the discontinued 055 PRO which is pretty heavy, and though I can carry it without much issues, I don't want too much additional weight pulling me down. And its pretty much get according to need.

Why I choose the Q2 quick release head is because I'm familiar with it and I love it. The basic round disc looked like you have to spin the camera on it, but watching the video on the Manfrotto website here, click on videos, it seems that you can actually turn the disc itself. But its not very convenient when I want to remove the camera. The RC4 and Q5 heads have a removable plate like the Q2, but the need something flat like a coin to screw it, which is very troublesome for me especially since many times, I can be quite a klutz, hence my choice in the tripod head.


My experience so far
My experience with the head so far... Initially, it was very shaking because it was brand new and a little different from my previous 3 way head in the quick release mechanism. When I turned, and pushed down on the safety release, it didn't budge, so after a while I decided to use more strength and finally! It popped open and released the plate, after that, its been smooth as butter. The knobs all felt good except the pan head which was a little hard to turn, probably because its new, but I'm unsure, might be a good thing especially if I were to record videos. But for normal stills (not including panoramic), I'd probably be using the ball release instead of the pan head. Its very solid and smooth. Holds my D3 with the 70-200 at an angle without any movement.


Photos of the tripod head

Out of the box



The base of the head



Top of the head, showing the quick release



The vertical selection



Ball lock



Mounted on my trusty tripod



When using the head and the tripod socket closest to my camera on the 70-200, the D3 will hit the lock



Fortunately, the 70-200 has 2 sockets and using the one further from the camera, the D3 has a short distance away from the lock, making orientation easy and hassle free.



Closeup of the tripod collar foot



Conclusion
Sorry users from other brands, I can't say much for them but as a Nikon user, if you have the 70-200mm vrII, its not an issue, but if you don't use the tripod foot, or you're using a lens like the 80-200, it will be an issue to switch orientation. Depends from lens and body as well. I saw a review of someone using 70-200mm f4 with Canon EOS 40D and battery grip, his camera couldn't clear the lock, but without a grip, there shouldn't be an issue. But if you have to use a battery grip, then probably look at other heads or live without the grip when using the tripod head. Looking at the lens collar (unsure which one) for the Canon lens, there's only one tripod socket, so it might be an issue for that particular lens.

For people living in the states, you can actually buy and return, shouldn't be an issue. For the people living in countries like mine without a return policy, please go down to local stores and try it out, or if you can find review like mine which shows a particular lens and body in use, then not its not much of a problem. As many people have told me, try out to see if it fits you and if its to your liking. Personally, I'm loving how solid the head is and yet how smooth it is in use and I can't wait to use it in actual shoots which could happen pretty soon. I'm waiting for the weather to clear to shoot some sunsets, but I'll find time to do some night shoots.


Photos taken using the tripod head
Shot of the moon (composite 2 images, 1 to preserve moon details, one for building details) and the moon was blown up a bit. The glow is digitally created. Shot with the D3 and 70-200 aimed up, tripod head didn't move at all.


Lasalle School Of The Arts in HDR

Central Fire Station in HDR

More to be added