Poor little old Nikon. This is a company a fraction the size of Canon, and they still go tit-for-tat with Goliath. Nikon's newest pebble in their slingshot is the D200, a camera designed to fill the void between the overpriced D2x (about 4800.usd) and the D70s at the bottom of the (professional) spectrum (about 800.usd). Most of Nikon's cameras in between are outdated, or overpriced for features offered in them.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been using Nikon for about 20 years and have no plans to convert systems. Currently, I am on the waiting list for the D200 as I believe it offers an affordable (est. 1699.usd) alternative to the D2X and a replacement for my Kodak 14nx (a total dog except in studio). (Is anyone interested in a class action lawsuit involving Kodak 14N?) Make no mistake, when you hold a D2X it feels like you are holding a true professional camera. It is heavy, solid and has lightning fast focusing. The reason to hold off though is that rumors are that camera will be going to 22-megapixel by the end of 2006. Why not wait? Chances are it will cost the same as the current D2X. Beware though that I believe we will reach a usable threshold limit at about the 20-megapixel level in DSLR size cameras.
Another blog put the comparison of Nikon vs. Canon most accurately:
Nikon has been consistent in their sensor size - staying with the 1.5 magnification APS while they do change the sensor types from camera to camera from ccd to cmos. Canon on the ohter hand has three different sensor sizes while staying with the same sensor type - cmos. However you feel about brands, these two distinct directions are what keeps respective owners loyal to their chosen brands.
SEE NEW D200 IMAGES HERE
12.14.2005
11.02.2005
THE PHOTO PLACE PRICING POSTED
As promised, the pricing for good old fashioned services from the Photo Place on Teasley Lane in Denton, Texas.
10.19.2005
Final Wrap Up - Class Sessions 3 & 4
Rather than present the instructor's view of what was presented in final two sessions, it would be more interesting to have students chime in with what they got from those sessions.
It is pretty obvious, based on feedback, there is a need to add another class like the "Beginning 35mm Photography" for the Spring, but in digital format. That class will start from square one - f.stops, shutter speeds and iso's - then build from there.
It is pretty obvious, based on feedback, there is a need to add another class like the "Beginning 35mm Photography" for the Spring, but in digital format. That class will start from square one - f.stops, shutter speeds and iso's - then build from there.
10.03.2005
PERSONAL PHOTO LESSONS AVAILABLE
I am available for one-on-one photo related lessons in several areas of photography including 1) Studio Lighting 2) Digital Image Workflow 3) Photoshop 4) Nature Photography 5) Location Lighting using on camera flash 6) Digital Inkjet Printing 7) Classic Darkroom Printing 8) Sports Photography . There is a two hour minimum and rates can be split up between up to three people. Send me an e mail or post here if you are interested. FEEL FREE TO THINK
9.26.2005
JOYCE TENNESON IN DENTON!
This is an amazing opportunity. If you don't know who she is, she is an internationally renowned photographer with books including Transformations, Wise Women, Illuminations and Light Warriors. Her work has appeared in countless publications including Time, Premiere, and Fortune. Catch her tomorrow night at Texas woman's University.
Class Meeting Two
The second ever meeting of the UNT digital photography class seemed to bring great strides in progress for instructor and students alike. Topics included a review of the previous class meeing's highlights and general outline, followed by a demonstration of the image capture, downloading images off cards and workflow that leads to a satisfactory image to begin the Photoshop processes.
Capture included:
- flash versus ambient light
- Camera auto white balance versus manual white balance
- shooting with flash on manual white balance
- shooting wtih ambient light on auto white balance
Downloading included:
- using a firewire card reader
- controlling files on desktop
- archiving raw files immediately
Manipilation & Correction included:
- opening images with camera raw software
- camera raw color correction
- camera raw exposure correction
- conversion from raw to jpeg
- discussion of raw / jpeg / tiff benefits of each
Manipulation & Correction of converted images:
- Adobe Photoshop CS used in class demonstration
- sizing images for different uses
- cropping
- using curves to add or reduce emphasis
- black & white conversion methods
- Quadtone conversion
- using distort > diffuse glow
Assignment to be completed on following week was for each student to size down and e mail the instructor jpeg image.
Capture included:
- flash versus ambient light
- Camera auto white balance versus manual white balance
- shooting with flash on manual white balance
- shooting wtih ambient light on auto white balance
Downloading included:
- using a firewire card reader
- controlling files on desktop
- archiving raw files immediately
Manipilation & Correction included:
- opening images with camera raw software
- camera raw color correction
- camera raw exposure correction
- conversion from raw to jpeg
- discussion of raw / jpeg / tiff benefits of each
Manipulation & Correction of converted images:
- Adobe Photoshop CS used in class demonstration
- sizing images for different uses
- cropping
- using curves to add or reduce emphasis
- black & white conversion methods
- Quadtone conversion
- using distort > diffuse glow
Assignment to be completed on following week was for each student to size down and e mail the instructor jpeg image.
9.15.2005
Say Goodbye to Big Labs Too
Professionals in the Dallas Fort Worth area recently received a letter from BWC lab, a mainstay for years in the professional and demanding amateur processing and printing market. I always open lab letters first because I am almost 100-percent assured it is not a bill, and I am curious as to whether it is another announcement of going out of business or going up in pricing.
BWC generated a nice letter saying they had not increased prices on certain areas of their processing in ten years and in the current market of increasing expense, they were going up on some processing prices. My economics immediately kicked in and made me wonder, with decreasing demand do you really want to RAISE prices? My curiosity got the best of me, so I flipped the page over to see the new price grid, and what was the shocking news - a blank sheet of paper! OK, am I the only one who thinks a company has a problem when it is sending out blank sheets of paper? And why had they not increased prices for ten years? That seems a little strange.
BWC does have a great service that converts digital files to slides and that is what my studio will be offering for doing student art portfolios. It is impossible to beat having one exact exposure, with perfect lighting and at a higher quality than 35-mm film, but that is the future. One set of slides and digital files is impossible to beat. So, I called BWC to see what pricing is for this service, and once they quoted it to me, I asked them if their "good customers" had a better rate. He looked me up and informed me, after looking at my account history, that I had done 122-dollars in 2004 and 26-dollars thus far this year. After a big laugh, the full weight of what he said began to sink in. In two short years, I have gone from thousands of dollars at BWC to dozens. Frightening for them.
We can only hope BWC is around for a long time to come. It is easy to imagine a Mad-Max-Road-Warrior scenario in the future: We finally get our hands on a roll of film, shoot it, and now have to find a lab to process it. We hear about some guy hidden away somewhere who just might - might - have the machine, and a few precious drops of the chemistry that makes it all GO. We finally find him in a run down old strip mall ... sleeves rolled up, unshaven and unbathed ... he dusts off the machine with a blow from his nicotine addled lungs ... "Yep, I can do it - it'll cost you one thousand dollars, or ten gallons of petrol."
FEEL FREE TO THINK
BWC generated a nice letter saying they had not increased prices on certain areas of their processing in ten years and in the current market of increasing expense, they were going up on some processing prices. My economics immediately kicked in and made me wonder, with decreasing demand do you really want to RAISE prices? My curiosity got the best of me, so I flipped the page over to see the new price grid, and what was the shocking news - a blank sheet of paper! OK, am I the only one who thinks a company has a problem when it is sending out blank sheets of paper? And why had they not increased prices for ten years? That seems a little strange.
BWC does have a great service that converts digital files to slides and that is what my studio will be offering for doing student art portfolios. It is impossible to beat having one exact exposure, with perfect lighting and at a higher quality than 35-mm film, but that is the future. One set of slides and digital files is impossible to beat. So, I called BWC to see what pricing is for this service, and once they quoted it to me, I asked them if their "good customers" had a better rate. He looked me up and informed me, after looking at my account history, that I had done 122-dollars in 2004 and 26-dollars thus far this year. After a big laugh, the full weight of what he said began to sink in. In two short years, I have gone from thousands of dollars at BWC to dozens. Frightening for them.
We can only hope BWC is around for a long time to come. It is easy to imagine a Mad-Max-Road-Warrior scenario in the future: We finally get our hands on a roll of film, shoot it, and now have to find a lab to process it. We hear about some guy hidden away somewhere who just might - might - have the machine, and a few precious drops of the chemistry that makes it all GO. We finally find him in a run down old strip mall ... sleeves rolled up, unshaven and unbathed ... he dusts off the machine with a blow from his nicotine addled lungs ... "Yep, I can do it - it'll cost you one thousand dollars, or ten gallons of petrol."
FEEL FREE TO THINK
FIRST CLASS - UNT Continuing Education
Class One (9/15)
Class began with a disclaimer: The description I turned in for the class is nothing like what is written in the UNT Continuing Education:
SECRETS OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Take better photographs and have more fun doing it with the fascinating technology that is catapulting the photographic world into the 21st. century. We'll discuss the basics common to all digital photography; equipment, software, printing, internet and e mail use. You'll also explore strategies for taking excellent photos in all types of situations, including portraiture, landscape, macro and still life using your own digital camera.
Wow. That's a pretty big order, especially compared to what I actually wrote in the original description. It reminds me of Elaine's job in Seinfeld; "... and it looks just as lovely on the Serengetti as on the streets of Manhattan."
OK, so we will take everyone and anyone into the promised land of digital imaging. Come along.
I was pleased to find three repeat students from my now defunct 35-mm class once offered in the dark ages of film photography. Three students also professed desires to be professional photographers - God help them and me!
I managed to come up with a coherent 3 phase approach and broad outline for the 5 session class just before the dry erase marker touched the board. The three phases are:
1) Digital capture / storage
2) Correction of images and manipulation
3) Image output
Tonight's topics included -
methods for importing images into computer
digital workflow begins -
archive images immediately
File types: RAW - TIFF - JPEG - DNG the new universal raw conversion from Adobe
The pros and cons (there are none) of upgrading to Adobe Photoshop CS2
We managed to convince one student to rent equipment from either Dallas Camera Exchange or Competitve Cameras instead of rushing out to buy without trying out different options.
It seemed to become clear by the end of the first session that this is not a class for beginners who do not understand exposure and the elements of f.stops and shutter speeds.
Future qustions yet to be answered:
How to look at images made by students
Students upgrading computer systems
Upgrading of software
Now begins the process of building this blog by you the students, the surfers and whoever has a nugget of knowledge to add to the mix.
Feel free to think -sd
Class began with a disclaimer: The description I turned in for the class is nothing like what is written in the UNT Continuing Education:
SECRETS OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Take better photographs and have more fun doing it with the fascinating technology that is catapulting the photographic world into the 21st. century. We'll discuss the basics common to all digital photography; equipment, software, printing, internet and e mail use. You'll also explore strategies for taking excellent photos in all types of situations, including portraiture, landscape, macro and still life using your own digital camera.
Wow. That's a pretty big order, especially compared to what I actually wrote in the original description. It reminds me of Elaine's job in Seinfeld; "... and it looks just as lovely on the Serengetti as on the streets of Manhattan."
OK, so we will take everyone and anyone into the promised land of digital imaging. Come along.
I was pleased to find three repeat students from my now defunct 35-mm class once offered in the dark ages of film photography. Three students also professed desires to be professional photographers - God help them and me!
I managed to come up with a coherent 3 phase approach and broad outline for the 5 session class just before the dry erase marker touched the board. The three phases are:
1) Digital capture / storage
2) Correction of images and manipulation
3) Image output
Tonight's topics included -
methods for importing images into computer
digital workflow begins -
archive images immediately
File types: RAW - TIFF - JPEG - DNG the new universal raw conversion from Adobe
The pros and cons (there are none) of upgrading to Adobe Photoshop CS2
We managed to convince one student to rent equipment from either Dallas Camera Exchange or Competitve Cameras instead of rushing out to buy without trying out different options.
It seemed to become clear by the end of the first session that this is not a class for beginners who do not understand exposure and the elements of f.stops and shutter speeds.
Future qustions yet to be answered:
How to look at images made by students
Students upgrading computer systems
Upgrading of software
Now begins the process of building this blog by you the students, the surfers and whoever has a nugget of knowledge to add to the mix.
Feel free to think -sd
9.02.2005
Mom and Pops are Dead - Small Operators Falling by the Wayside
If your region is anything like North Texas, you are experiencing a contraction in the number of small photo stores and Mom & Pop labs that were, in many cases, the places where information and knowledge flowed to the novice photographer and the humble professional alike. Now, in the new world of photography, the Mom & Pops are trying to find their way or in some cases going away. Locally, the old stand by lab - The Photo Place - closed last July 15. Inside are still sitting several machines for processing film including a FUJI FRONTIER which was probably a 250-thousand dollar machine new, and now according to another lab owner may, may be worth 30-thousand. This is a state-of-the-art machine and looks new!
A photo supply store manager nearby may have hit on something "Did you see the show on PBS the other night? Wal-Mart just opened its one-hundredth store in the Dallas Fort Worth area! What does that tell you? We're surrounded by a bunch of cheap a$$es! There aren't even a hundred stores in the entire State of California!"
Not many people realize what the margins are in the photography. For the most part, the area of supplies (film / paper /chemicals) and camera sales, margins are less than ten percent. So, when I was cornered yesterday by a dissatisfied customer of the previously mentioned "local photo supply store", an idea I had been considering once again boiled to the surface: open an online supply sales site aimed specifically at University students. However, a quick call to owner of one of the largest stores n Dallas brought me back to earth quite quickly - "There's no profit in it! People don't care anymore! You can't make any money anymore!" OK, case closed - I hung up the phone and the cyber dollar signs disappeared from my eyes once again.
A photo supply store manager nearby may have hit on something "Did you see the show on PBS the other night? Wal-Mart just opened its one-hundredth store in the Dallas Fort Worth area! What does that tell you? We're surrounded by a bunch of cheap a$$es! There aren't even a hundred stores in the entire State of California!"
Not many people realize what the margins are in the photography. For the most part, the area of supplies (film / paper /chemicals) and camera sales, margins are less than ten percent. So, when I was cornered yesterday by a dissatisfied customer of the previously mentioned "local photo supply store", an idea I had been considering once again boiled to the surface: open an online supply sales site aimed specifically at University students. However, a quick call to owner of one of the largest stores n Dallas brought me back to earth quite quickly - "There's no profit in it! People don't care anymore! You can't make any money anymore!" OK, case closed - I hung up the phone and the cyber dollar signs disappeared from my eyes once again.
8.27.2005
WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION - Already in Progress
This forum exists as a coduit for the free flow of information about the digital revolution well under way in the world of still photography. It was created specifically to be a place for my students to go to suck the marrow of knowledge from the bones of the internet and from those more knowledgeable about 1's and 0's than myself. Ask questions - get answers.
Shameless promotion of other digital photography purchasing resources is encouraged. Shameless self promotion of your images, web sites, other knowledge sources, other web sites, bad and good purchasing experiences, bad and good photo adventures will all be welcomed here.
Remember this - www stands for worldwideweb - whatever you do here is, for better or worse, visible to the world.
FEEL FREE TO THINK
Shameless promotion of other digital photography purchasing resources is encouraged. Shameless self promotion of your images, web sites, other knowledge sources, other web sites, bad and good purchasing experiences, bad and good photo adventures will all be welcomed here.
Remember this - www stands for worldwideweb - whatever you do here is, for better or worse, visible to the world.
FEEL FREE TO THINK
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