Finally! Its been a week into the new year and well... Its really too early to say anything but the weather has been awesome! My Bates boots are awesome as well! They did not break, deteriorate or whatever! They just work well! Though I'm still not used to it and once in a while slip or kick something. I just polished it on Friday! Not to NS standards where can see ones reflection in it, but at least it looks healthier!
Nothing much went on through the week actually. I got a shoot through cum reflective umbrella on Friday too!
Well... Lets just say my room ain't big enough to test out the umbrella effectively but I sure do hope I can use it properly soon! OH! I also bought some stuff off Amazon... If I remember correctly, I bought a belt, a shirt, 2 space pens and err... Just checked... Socks! The measurements for the shirt is weird though, my neck is apparently 18.5" so I got 19" but sleeves are only available in the 30s range, while my arm is only like 28 from neck to wrist! I don't think we're gorillas... I also got 3 Manfrotto/Bogen 8' lightstands off ebay, they seem sturdy and are really cheap. Sturdier than my old lightstand. It'll be able to support the Elinchrom flashes without any issue!.
Also, I've seen and carried the "transformer" lightstand. It really feels solid and was told it'll be able to support studio flashes. I kinda regret not getting it to light overhead. But then again, its not impossible to shoot with straight stands. anyway. Plus, not like I'm going to always use a silk with the boom stands all the time. Oh well, when I work more as a photographer, I'll have money to change if need be, but I'm more likely to just get a boom arm from Manfrotto, its cheaper than a boom C stand, but works for me anyway. I don't need C stands though I guess a C stand is still better but yea, if it works, it works, no need the best!
I also saw a multiple reflector trigrip, 3rd party of course. Feels pretty good, not sure how the lastolite one performs though. But the only thing I'm thinking now about the trigrip is the part where the hand holds the reflector itself. Its too thin for my liking so am thinking of wrapping it probably in sponge to make it thicker and more comfortable to hold, but they're still in planning stage so no worries, one at a time!
Ok... Now on to the title of my post!
My thoughts on the Nikon D4!
Nikon D4
Canon EOS 1Dx
Seems like the Nikon D4 is the direct competitor of the Canon EOS 1Dx, and I realize calling them by their actual names, Nikon cameras are easier =| So anyway... First impression when I saw the Nikon D4... It looked weird, but the more I looked at it, the more it looks like a refined, streamlined D3. I'm loving its looks more and more each time I see it, but don't get me wrong! I still love my D3 and am sure to use my D3 in years to come!
From the specs I've read, seems that though it still features dual bay memory card, it only takes 1 Compact Flash (CF) card and a new type of card known as XQD. Apparently released not long ago. And according to Wikipedia, Sony is the first to produced (which explains why all the XQD cards picture I've seen so far are all Sony branded) and the Nikon D4 is the first to utilize it. Seems very promising but it is still young. But I can expect it to become THE standard for professional level cameras.
The resolution has increased by like 4 megapixels and ISO has, in expanded range, an equivalent of ISO 50 to ISO 204,800. I am seriously impressed but I wonder when will I actually use that in real life, even in low light situations. The only applications I can image are military ones, but that's just me.
Lets see... I think it has a new metering sensor? It also has the new Expeed 3 image processor, interesting. Focus sensor I think has changed as well. According to Wikipedia, it has a start up of 0.12s and 0.042 shutter release delay. Translation? It feels instantaneous and it'll probably be too fast to notice any "lag".
What else... Image sensor cleaning (AKA anti dust), 10 fps FX mode, improved by 1 fps over the D3, 11 fps without AF and AE, guess apparently sports photographers pre focus and set fixed exposure before shooting, worth noting for me or anyone when shooting sports.
One thing I find mind blowing is the buffer, "100 RAW or 200 jpegs"! I won't be shooting up to 100 RAWs for sure, but it sure is nice to have but practically, I don't foresee myself using that, and I've never heard of anyone actually doing that though... Probably why they're confident with a 100 RAW image buffer is also partly due to the new XQD memory card which has I think, PCI-E technology which gives incredibly fast read and write capabilities? In fact, I find my hard drives enclosures are limited by their own mechanical hard drive. But solid state is still too expensive, back to mechanical hard drives! Fast card, 24 frames buffer, probably good enough for me, 36 max I guess. But I've never actually tested such situations so it's hard for me to comment, probably when I shoot this year's sports day?
I see it has built-in HDR and time lapse mode, interesting no doubt. Think it means it process in the camera itself? Since the D3 has interval timer built in just that one has to create the time lapse in post.
Here's one thing I'm a little interested in. it has full HD "1080p, 24fps, 25 or 30 depending on religion, 720p 25/50 or 30/60 fps". It also has a few in and outputs on its side. On my first compact camera, all it has was a USB and video output. On my D3, it has a wireless transmitter plug in, HDMI out, stereo mic in, earphones, ethernet port and I think it could have a DC input somewhere. I'm not entirely sure of its video capabilities, but I expect a lot of manual capabilities seeing its the flagship camera.
Apparently, the shutter is made of a kevlar/carbon fibre composite rated to 400,000 actuations. Really interesting. Live view apparently has been improved offering still, phase detect as well as improved contrast detect. Also, virtual horizon seems to be available in live view and video capture, don't think any members the the D3 family had it. Active D-lighting now has 6 settings and bracketing. Its still weather sealed. I don't know by how much but I won't worry about light rain, thunder storms call for poncho to hide under. The buttons are illuminated as well!
The camera now has more button and switches. Not sure how it'll handle ergonomically but I'm sure it'll be pretty good considering its the flagship. I think this will have a huge success just as the D3 had.
Will I buy this to replace my D3 or as a backup camera? No, simply because as I've said, my D3 serves me well and I'm sure will continue to do so. I do not need a D4 basically. What I'll get is probably a 2nd hand D700 or if the price is right for the specs of the D800, I'd get the D800 instead. Rumor has it that the D800 will have a 36megapixel sensor. If that's the case, and in low light the image quality is as good as the D3 or better, I'd get that as a backup camera. I hope Nikon actually does something like reduced resolution at higher ISO ratings. So I'll have the option to say... Shoot 12 megapixels at ISO 6400 for events and ISO 50 or 100 in studio or on location with flashes as full resolution (if the resolution is as rumored).
Here's a video to watch for more details, they are probably some differences, so for the best info, go to Nikon's official site for full specs here.
I quite like the Nikon D4 images but they look pretty much the same as the D3, but then again, I didn't place them side by side so its hard to say, but I'm sure there are improvements. I'll look at the D4 very closely in video and photo capabilities to anticipate the Nikon D800. Will drop by Nikon Service Center to get the brochure of the D4 (though I've downloaded it) and if possible, try to play with it on the spot =D
So yea... Can't wait to finally get my own Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII lens. I'm considering getting a Nikkor 35mm AFD f2 lens for my Nikon F5 which by the way, the film is almost at its end, so expect the review soon! I'm excited for the D800 to be out.
Also, I've more or less decided what my setup would be like when I go back to full time work. Laptop with i7 (I hope) in a 15" case, with as much RAM I can squeeze in with probably a 160GB SSD or more depending on price and an external SATA USB 3.0 case. Among other stuff to be fixed in the office. The external SATA drive should be portable so I can bring about for shoots and classes.
Can't wait to get studio flashes this year so I need not go to studio often or anymore. Nothing much left to say except have a good day everyone!
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