Digital Shutters

Are you so scared of RAW that you still stick to shooting with JPEG even if you now have your brand-new digital SLR camera?

With DSLR’s now becoming more affordable, many capable photographers from the point-and-shoot crowd have recently graduated to serious photography by using the more advanced digital single-lens-reflex cameras. But many of them were familiar only with the default JPEG file format of the compact digicams, and are now stumped by the unfamiliar territory of RAW files. What to do?

Well, fear no more. Help is on the way.

First, there’s this helpful guy, Michael Tapes (you know him? He’s an alpha male who gets to test-drive first whatever Adobe comes up with, alpha tester they call him) who shows us how to use Adobe Lightroom (it’s in Beta 4 now).

Now, Adobe Lightroom is kind of new too, even to Adobe (those same guys who brought us Photoshop). They came up with Lightroom to meet the needs of the growing population of DSLR users who shoot in RAW. Lightroom is a RAW file converter and what it does is download your metadata-laden RAW digital photo from your camera to your computer and then in your computer Lightroom can manipulate your photos just as any good imaging software does.

But more than that, it also allows you to sort, catalog, present and print your digital pictures in a professional way. In short, the whole nine yards of the photographic workflow. Thus, the name Lightroom, like in the old days of film photography when they used a light table and a darkroom to produce those classic photographs (get it? light table to darkroom…naah, I just made that up).

Now back to Michael. He’s got these videos on his website, RawWorkflow.com, and in there he takes us by the hand and walks us through the whole process of getting to know Lightroom so we can work in RAW.

He’s chopped the video tutorial into several bite-size pieces for us to easily chomp on it and he covers the really important things like the user interface, importing files and the Develop module, including how to use the Basic and Tone Curve panels, plus the crop tool.

So head on over to RawWorkflow.com and see for yourself what RAW and Lightroom are all about. It’s free.

When you’re done, come back here for more because there’s also this eBook, The Photographer’s Guide to Capture NX, which teaches us more about working with RAW.

The Photographer’s Guide to Capture NX, is a 180-page PDF eBook by photographer Jason P. Odell and is a must-have guide for new Nikon owners who wish to use the latest version of Capture NX.

And what the heck is Capture NX? That’s Nikon’s imaging software to process your Nikon photos from your Nikon cameras. After buying your expensive Nikon DSLR for more than a thousand bucks, you still have to cough up $150 to get Capture NX (can’t you just bundle this for free, Nikon?).

Anyways, back to our RAW files and this Odell eBook. What is RAW? It is a file format created by a camera which support it, and it still contains the unaltered hence, raw, metadata or information of the digital picture. It is useful for precisely the complete information it still contains. But you can’t just display your RAW picture on your computer by using an image browser; it has to be processed first. And that’s the job of Capture NX.

The job of Odell’s eBook is to make you understand Capture NX. See the whole picture now? OK.

Odell says, “this book allows photographers to sit down with actual RAW files and process them in a step-by-step manner.” Each chapter is illustrated with dozens of screen shots, giving readers simple, step-by-step instructions on everything from opening files to noise reduction, sharpening, and printing. In addition to the book, readers are treated to a full suite of ready-to-use settings files for Capture NX, and can download all the actual NEF (that’s Nikon’s RAW) files used in the tutorials from a special users-only website.

You may download the eBook from Luminescent. Just remember, it’s not free. You have to pay for it.

Now, are you more scared of RAW? (chrismalinao)

Digital Photography Review is by far the most thorough camera reviewer on the planet. The Internet looks to them for guidance about what camera to buy or avoid. What they say makes or breaks a brand.

And now, they have just reviewed the Canon EOS 400D.

The verdict: Canon EOS 400D is a good camera, but there is something better.

DPreview said the 400D carried over the winning formula of its very successful predecessor, the 350D, and did not much venture out into untried territory that it became predictable. So predictable in fact that Nikon engineers anticipated Canon’s next move and came up with the better Nikon D80 DSLR.

In photographic merit and ease of handling, the Nikon D80 came out on top of the EOS 400D. Bear in mind of course that the D80 is more expensive, and that for its price, the Canon EOS 400D is still a great camera. (chrismalinao)

[Via: DPreview.com]

You don’t want your data pried upon by snoops when you’re not looking; neither would you want it chewed to pieces by your dog Snoopy even if you’re looking.

Memory maker Kingston Technology was certainly thinking about your dog when they made their Data Traveler Secure USB flash drive with industrial-grade titanium-coated stainless steel. They made it tamper-proof and chew-proof. Hey, they even made it waterproof not only from Snoopy’s drool but also for when you bring it to a depth of 4ft for whatever reason.

As for snoops, Kingston made it with 256-bit AES hardware encryption so strong that even Mitnick will take a very long time (about 29 seconds) to hack.

You can buy these critters now, priced at $33 for the 128MB version all the way up to $244 for the 4GB variety (ouch! Didn’t know steel and silicon could be that costly).

There’s an even more secure big brother, the Data Traveler Secure – Privacy Edition, geared towards businesses who want to lock down their data on a USB stick. It comes with full drive AES encryption and a “complex password protocol”, whatever that means. It hasn’t been released yet because Kingston still has to perfect the protocol, or maybe they still haven’t decided how much to gouge businesses who are clueless about encryption. (chrismalinao)

[Via: DPnow.com]

Even photographers use those USB flash drives too. Heck, we lose a lot of them. To replace the ones we lost, here’s a few of them. Take your pick.

The Darth Vader USB Stick:

The Darth Vader USB stick comes in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB versions and Mimoco – who makes really outrageous flash drives (designer drives, they say) – is offering you these totems of the Dark Force to convince you to join them. Not everyone can have this though, not only because of their limited (about 3,000 units) edition, but because they’re a bit pricey: $80-$170 a pop depending on the Gigs. But don’t worry, there’s more.

The Rubber Ducky USB Drives:

Choose from the cute little rubber ducky into which you can stuff your tutorials and other school work, or the Evil Rubber Ducky from EverythingUSB where you can stuff all your you-know-what.

The EZVue USB Flash Drive:

The EZVue from Royal Vista may actually be quite useful because it features a small LCD display that scrolls the contents of the flash drive with the push of a button. Available in 128MB to 1GB capacities. $50 for the 128MB version.

And finally this:

From Japan, the land of the Rising Sun and of those oh-so-realistic imitation food that you see in Japanese restaurants, the Sushi USB Drives. Drives me nuts!

Thanks Engadget and Gizmodo for the pics. (chrismalinao)

Tamron has upped it a notch again. It has released its 18-250mm ultra zoom lens to make it even better than its already very popular 18-200mm zoom.

The new Tamron AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro lens is a light and compact high powered zoom lens exclusively designed for digital SLR cameras with APS-C sized image sensors.

This is astounding because it’s quite a breakthrough. Tamron has extended the telephoto length of the very successful 18-200mm lens without adding much weight or bulk. It has achieved an astonishing 13.9x zoom power but added only a mere 0.2mm more in its maximum diameter and just 0.6mm in overall length.

The Tamron AF18-250mm offers a 388mm ultra telephoto focal length (diagonal angle of view of 6° 23′) when converted to the 35mm film format.

Compatible mounts for the versatile Tamron 18-250mm telephoto lens are: Canon AF, Sony/Maxxum AF-D, Nikon AF-D and Pentax/Samsung AF. (chrismalinao)

[Via Camera News]

If you’re a camera then you’re supposed to take pictures; if you don’t take good pictures then you are not a good camera.

Even if you’re equipped with a top-of-the-line 2.8-inch 16:9 aspect ratio LCD screen, or a 10.4-megapixel CCD image sensor, or your Venus Engine III, or whatever…if you don’t take great pictures you, sir, are blah.

You see, the problem here, ladies and gentlemen, is that the Lumix DMC-LX2 takes noisy pictures. Yes, very loudly! Even at ISO 200 - and that’s not a very high setting - the LX2 “displays some noise, with ISO 400 being both noisy and blurred as the camera attempts to mask the noise; ISO 800 and 1600 should simply be avoided if possible,” according to a PhotographyBLOG review.

And there’s more. DPreview also confirmed this excessive acoustics, photographically speaking, of the Lumix LX2 and cited another one of its infractions, “a processing engine that replaces fine detail with smeary, watercolor-like artefacts.”

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 would have ranked better were it classed among the lower-priced compact digicams. But at about $500, I’d rather get me a decent DSLR.

You style yourself very fashionably and stuff yourself with high-end features so you can command a high price. But you take washed out pictures. So you, sir LX2, are hereby marked BLAH.

Next case, please. (chrismalinao)

What! A $900 camera phone? That kind of money would buy me a good digital SLR camera AND a decent mobile phone.

But bragging rights don’t come cheap that’s why Samsung upped the ante so much so that all competition – even giant Nokia – folds up in the face of this trump card.

The Samsung SCH-B600 boasts 10 megapixels of resolution that the company claims will produce the same level of picture-taking sophistication that a 10-MP digital camera offers. Really, now.

Maybe its autofocus unit and built-in flash would help produce that good quality picture. The SCH-B600 is even equipped to support white balance, manual focus, continuous picture-taking, and interval picture-taking functions.

It takes videos too. Moving pictures can be recorded in QVGA resolution at 15-30 frames per second. And then you can watch your movies on the telly via its TV-out interface.

Did we mention TV? Well, it turns out you can actually watch live TV on the B600, crisp live TV through its Satellite DMB function. TV on your cellphone… Bah, humbug! (chrismalinao)

via: ePhotozine

I love memory maker Kingston’s Icon of Photography series. It features top – even legendary – photographers and shares their thoughts on fine photography.

This month’s Icon of Photography is award-winning photojournalist Harry Benson. He shares his new tips and techniques on how he shoots captivating photos for major newspapers and glossy magazines like Life, People and Vanity Fair.

He says it’s important for a photographer to be aware of his environment even when not holding a camera. “Take the time to look around and understand what is going on,” he says. “Photojournalists have a unique way of seeing the world. This is what makes us different.”

Rapport with the photographic subject is also very important, he said. Digital photography has offered him a new way to establish that rapport by showing the subject’s photo immediately after taking it. “Sharing what you’re doing with your subject can build rapport, but it can also hinder momentum,” Benson said.

The Icon of Photography series by Kingston features a top photographer each month. The current featured Icon photographer is Barbara Bordnick. The website featuring Harry Benson will go live beginning October 16. (chrismalinao)

She’s done it again. This lady is really amazing. Now she has dipped her multimillion-dollar little fingers on photography’s pie and it looks like she’s a winner again.

Martha Stewart has joint-ventured with Kodak to change the face of holiday photo cards, stickers and labels with more than 60 beautiful new designs. The partnership will offer Martha’s iconic design expertise with high quality, customizable KODAK products. With just a few clicks, customers can upload their photos with ease and create personalized, high-quality holiday cards and photo gifts that will warm the heart.

Martha said, “I am delighted to be working with KODAK EasyShare Gallery to provide attractive, new designs and easy-to-use tools that inspire customers to create beautiful holiday photo products that will personalize their holiday greetings.”

Hey, if you’re a fan of Martha Stewart (or just plain curious), head on over to http://www.kodakgallery.com/marthastewart or http://www.marthastewart.com/kodakgallery to see her newest creations. (chrismalinao)

I want to buy myself a good entry-level digital SLR camera. This will be my first DSLR. Which one should I buy? I first considered the Sony Alpha-100, but that being their first foray into the DSLR market, they might be able to improve it some more.

Then there’s the Canon EOS 400D, successor to the highly successful 350D, but the 400D’s tendency to churn out photos on the soft side, although not entirely a bad thing, makes me hesitate.

The Nikon D80 looks very appealing, looks and feels just right for me. Their D200, although still for amateurs, is quite too complicated for my taste, and too expensive. The D80 feels just about right.

Then along came the Pentax K10D (oh, the Pentax name. I get sentimental about it. I still have lots of photos taken with my now long-gone Pentax film camera). The Pentax K10D offers features that look solid on the specs comparison table: 10.2 megapixels, 2.5-inch LCD, ISO 100-1600, 11-point AF system…the works! You really have a solid camera here that can hold its own against all of the above. To top it all, it’s waterproof!

And yet, I can’t really dismiss the Sony Alpha-100 outright. It was well received in Tokyo when it debuted. I like its color accuracy and very good image quality; also its built-in body-based SteadyShot anti-shake system. Maybe I can live with its high noise levels at ISO 800-1600 by shooting well below that. Maybe…

The Canon EOS 400D (also known as the Rebel XTi in the US) is one fine camera, I think. But will it carry on the huge success of its predecessor the 350D? The 350D used a very competent image sensor with a more-than-adequate 8 megapixels of resolution, that’s why it produced excellent low-noise photos. But the 400D? I think they’re using a lower-sensitivity chip there, albeit with a higher 10.1-MP. Stuff more pixels on a similarly-sized sensor chip and something’s gotta give; in this case, sensitivity. Maybe I should just get the EOS 350D instead? Mmm…

But specs have gone up and the Nikon D80 has indeed raised the bar for entry-level DSLRs. I want that 10-MP resolution and that 2.5-inch LCD, that near-instant power-up time of 0.18 second and shutter-lag of only 80-milliseconds. Between the EOS 350D and the D80 I’d choose the latter for its updated specs.

But then again there’s this matter about the Pentax K10D. I passed up on their *ist DL because I can’t even pronounce it, but the K10D is different. It feels just right. Aside from the 10 megapixels, 2.5-inch LCD and other stuff that are hallmarks for its generation of DSLR, the K10D has 72 seals that make it waterproof and dust-proof, qualities that make it stand out above its batch. Then there’s the K10D’s 22-bit analogue-to-digital converter, instead of the competition’s 12 or 14 bits. It’s supposed to endow the K10D with a greater dynamic range, meaning that with a 22-bit ADC it can deliver truer color tones with richer and smoother color gradations, particularly useful in shadow areas of the object scene.

There’s this bevy of seductive pictures that tell you the K10D is no slouch in turning out beautiful photography. If they keep up with that kind of seduction I just might buy the K10D.

Ah, Pentax…I can still hear that Michael Franks song (“…you always load your Pentax when I’m in the nude…”). Told you I’d get sentimental with the Pentax name…

You can’t be sentimental when you’re about to spend maybe a thousand dollars on hardware. You gotta come down to earth and weigh things up more carefully. Then look at the specs again. Review the reviews. Consider the pros and cons…and then decide.

But it’s hard to decide when you’re faced with such a formidable array of very competent cameras. Eenie-mini-myni-mo, what in heaven’s name should I do? Should I buy a Pentax? Help!!! (chrismalinao)