路遥知马力

F2.8 1/6th ISO3200
Picture control: Vivid
Active d-lighting: Normal

1 month into using the camera, and I'm still at the stage of customizing it. Here are my latest impressions.

Memory Banks

There are 2 kinds of memory banks, namely Shooting menu bank, and Custom menu bank, and it is the most confusing aspect of the camera I've found so far. Each of these banks have 4 slots, and can be renamed. Problem is that ALL the settings can be stored in banks, so I always forget which bank has what settings. It is very frustrating to pick up the camera only to realise that sometimes this button does this, and sometimes not. Sometimes it beeps when in focus, other times it just doesn't shoot. So one fine day I sat down, drew out a large table on an A3 paper with all the available settings, and carefully planned out what I deem should be the most effective way of utilizing them. (And up till now I am still fine-tuning the chart) Here's my plan for reference:

Shooting banks - I tend to think of them as the "film" I load, and name them rightly so.

A - "Standard outdoor" - ISO auto base @ 200/Standard + 5 sharpening/NR low/AD-lighting normal. This is the mode I'll use for walkabouts and casual shots. It delivers pictures ready for print, and works well when flash is not used indoor too.

B - "Indoor flash" - ISO auto base @ 800/Standard + 5 sharpening + 1 saturation/NR low/AD-lighting off. This is usually for indoor events. The reason for ISO auto is that if subject is too far for flash to light up, it will automatically bump up the ISO. For all other cases, it remains at the base 800. U will have to manually crank it up if u want more ambient light. ADL must be off. If left on, it will ALWAYS underexp 0.3~0.7 stops depending on settings, and then level it up in PP. My strategy indoors however is to overexp 0.3 stops and level down, as indoors we are more worried of shadow noise than highlight blowouts.

C - "Vivid landscapes" - ISO auto base @ 100/ Vivid + 5 Sharpening/NR low/AD-lighting high. This is used interchangeably with A. It is equivalent to Velvia 100. Very good for high contrast landscapes.

D - "HDR" - ISO base 100/Neutral/NR off/AD-lighting off. As the name states, this is purely for HDR, as well as pictures where I want to do heavy PP. Since we will be shooting and bracketing on a tripod, NR and ADL isn't required.

Any other settings are normalised throughout the 4 banks so as to reduce confusion.

Custom banks: I think of this as the "camera" I'm using. This is also effective should you be sharing the camera with someone else. Right now I'm only varying the AF settings and button arrangements across the banks. It is worth to consider reserving a bank as "dummy", with everything auto, so that the friend who is picking up your camera won't suddenly realise that the buttons don't work as labeled.

High ISO performance

This was taken for granted in the Canon camp. But with the D300, Nikonians are finally on the same level. But this is no D3. D3 is the jaw dropping available DARKNESS shooter. That said, the shot above was taken around 7.30pm, and the tires were lit by streetlights. Very impressive, coming from a Nikon. But Nikon has never been stingy with image quality. I wouldn't be surprised the upcoming D90 will have better high ISO performance, so this shouldn't be the main factor for any upgraders.

Liveview

I shot the above pic using LV. Otherwise i'll have to prone on what looks suspiciously like an army of ants. But it is without it's idiosyncrasies. It still flips its mirror down, and up, before a picture is taken, even in MF mode. I know I have a 150,000 shutter durability unit, but this is a stupid way to waste shutter count.

AF

It is not magic. U HAVE to fully understand the algorithms before you can max it out. That said, I just shot my nephew - an 18 month toddler running around the house in 3D 51pt focus, and results are superior to D70. I no longer need to focus and recompose. I can concentrate on composition while the camera takes care of focus. You have to watch it though, it may go nuts when the light gets low.

AWB

This is something head and shoulders ahead of D70. It is eerily accurate even under artificial lighting. Tungsten is a little warm though, but very representative of what our eyes see.

That's all for tonight. Shall end with a picture for my 6 year old favourite transportation.

F2.8 1/50th ISO 2200
Yes, the orange light is streetlight as well

My alarm clocks for today

This playful duo were happily chirping away early in the Sunday morning. Their calls sounded very much like "好了没有". Figured I couldn't sleep anymore (it's only 8am!) I got up determined to snap them. Apparently there's a third one around, but these 2 are always together.

This scene is damn hard to auto-focus, the system loves to lock onto the bright and contrasty background instead. (yes even with the CAM3500DX on single point single shot servo). This might be yet another compelling reason why pros use big teles instead of cropping from a high res sensor - to fill more of the frame with the subject for easier AF/AE lock.

It's that time of the day again

The bad thing about an 8-5 job is the monotony of life. Everyday is essentially the same thing all over again. I look forward to evenings, not only because of beautiful sunsets, but because it is the moment I can come out to play - jog, swim, cycle, or just walk around feeling the breeze.

And now I shall get back to work again.

Beauty and the Beast

Shit I'm getting very vain. Only bo liao or haolian photogs would shoot pictures of their own equipment. A search on flickr would throw up lots of pictures of fully loaded backpacks with sweet bodies/lenses spread all over the frame, and drawing silly comments on how cool their equipment is. I despise them. Now I *almost* despise myself.

The AIS lenses just seemed to have a different coating, and the reflections from the elements look wonderfully multi-coloured. Of course I couldn't help but mount it on my new baby and yes, it was shot using the d70 - still alive and kicking.

Towards a better year

The first shoot done by the D300/17-50 combo

I will never forget last year's Chinese New Year. I sneaked out of house early in the morning to buy my Tokina, while most of Singapore's Chinese population were resting from the hectic celebrations. It was a damn worth deal, and that lens remains as the most fun-to-use lens.

In just a short lunar year, I've seen myself progress, equipment wise as well as skill. (Though I seriously think my equipment is too pro for me) The addition of 2 lenses, a flash and a solid pro body, who would have thought of such a major upgrade a year ago? Hopefully, I will experience similar levels of improvement this year.

To all loyal readers of this blog, may the new year bring ample photographic opportunities!

D300 - Coming from the D70

The more you understand it, the less you will want any other DSLR

I am beginning to agree to this advertising statement from Nikon. I put this baby through some portrait shoot today, and shot some 150 pics. While I'm still far from understanding it inside out, initial impressions are that this is something no nikon user could have imagined 5 months ago. I'm not going to bore people with the usual specs, you should know them if you managed to find my blog. This is purely my personal opinion, coming from the nikon d70.

Build and ergonomics

The d70 feels like a toy next to this thing. The softer, stickier rubber used on the already well sculpted body ensures a very comfortable grip. The MB-D10 is almost indespensible if one shoots portrait orientation often. The battery grip, I believe, is the most well made grip ever. (don't know about the F6's grip though). It's revolutionary design means that it has a slimmer profile, and batteries are loaded just like the pro bodies. Solid, with no creaks and hardly any movement even when I mounted the d300 + grip + 80-200 f2.8 on a tripod via the grip's tripod socket. Yes.. it's the closest thing to an integrated grip as I can imagine.

Viewfinder is 100%. Real 100%. Users of D200/D80 would not find any difference in size, but the 100% is CRUCIAL to framing portraits. I can now be confident that I cropped off the body parts at appropriate positions. I can now be confident the space around the subject is just right. Put it shortly, I can frame the shot just like I would crop it in post process.

The LCD

No need to shoot tethered to a laptop on commercial shoots now. Enough said.

The Colours

I loaded up the D2XModeI for a portrait shoot today. While amatuer models would tweak the rendition for a more punchy look, it screws up skintones, making people look jaundiced. This mode got me very natural skintones. Smooth and detailed, replicated pretty darn close to what my eyes perceive. Awesome. No more orangy arms, or magenta faces. Just like I want it to be.

The CAM3500DX 51pt AF module

51pt dynamic 3D tracking may not be the most accurate method for sports, but it is pretty darn useful for portraits. I could concentrate on composition while the model strolls down the road. No need for the subject to stay in selected focus point. The camera takes care of it all, and you could actually see the AF points light up wherever the face is. Something like face-detection on point and shoots. Cool stuff.

Handling and feel

I remembered how intrigued I was when I moved from FZ30 to D70, and as I move to D300, I was equally stunned. Employing a 'soft' spring on the shutter release buttons, I can almost trigger the camera by instinct. I can take a picture before I actually realise it. Wow.

8fps is just ecstacy. I have no use for it now, except maybe to draw some unwanted attention. But knowing that you have such an option is a definite boost to one's confidence.

Oh yes, I've asked this question many times but seldom will people answer me. There IS a noticable improvement in focusing speed when the 8 AAs are loaded. Add that to the inherent improvement over the D70, my all AFD arsenal of lens just got more responsive.

AF Fine tuning

I can now ensure that my lens won't back/front focus. They are now TACK sharp. You won't think this is important until you start shooting 12mpx files. This is the way to ensure every single ounce of detail is squeezed out of your prized lenses.

A point to note though, there can be compatibility problems with 3rd party lenses. My d300 cannot tell a tokina 12-24 from a tamron 17-50... but very very luckily, both my lenses require the same compensation. Phew!

Metering with non-cpu lens

Shot with my AIS 50mm f1.4 indoors. It can matrix meter, and do ITTL flash. No problem. Turning the aperture ring automatically updates the camera. DOF preview is also possible. The large viewfinder makes manual focusing easier, though it's still a far cry from the prism split screens on the FM. But I no longer need to guess the exposure with my 50mm. Every single shot is well exposed, vibrant and colourful. I now know how optically wonderful this lens actually is.

Extras extras extras!!!

The more I read into the thick manual, the more surprises are revealed, all contributing to making the D300 one of the most customizable camera ever built.

This is the closest thing to crazy i've ever did

It's nauseating to hand over large stacks of cash. Almost fainted when I saw my bank balance after the purchase. Felt real sick. It's buyer's remorse at the max. This baby had BETTER be REAL GOOD.

Else this shall be one of my last posts...