How long how long?

After about 4000 shots with my new toy, I begin to see subtle improvements to my pictures. They are mainly in event photography, where the speed and ISO performance really makes a difference. But even so, I've come to demand much better pictures than before, so much so that none of the pictures taken so far deserves a place on the blog. (ever since the bird nest pic)

I've decided to rant a little, and add a mediocre pic (trying out the panaromic crop) just to keep this blog alive. Also wanna update on what feature on the new camera has proven its worth.

1. Live view - Surprise surprise =) This is a very useful feature to have. It allows me to get pictures from wilder perspectives, perspectives that others have to rely on experience and trial and errors to get.

2. Auto area AF - This is another sick feature. Not because it isn't seen on other cameras (it has been there since the days of the d70), but because of the awesome coverage of the AF points, together with a dedicated switch to flick it on. Shooting from the hip? No problem. Run and gun? No kick. In a flash you are ready to tackle the situation.

3. Auto ISO - This is one hell of a feature. So powerful i wonder how i managed without it in the past. Together with the "flash off" button, it does wonders especially indoors. Set the base to ISO800 to retain background detail when using flash, and when you cancel the flash with "flash off", the iso automatically ramps up to attain proper exposure. I can take successive with/without flash shots instantaneously. Sick.

That said, I feel that I am still at the tip of the iceberg of features the D300 has to offer. I still make lots of stupid mistakes, like leaving ADlighting on, and switching shooting modes without checking ISO used. The above picture was shot at ISO800. What a waste.

Mom, what's for breakfast today?

1/250th f11 ISO 800
AFD 80-200mm
Vivid

Had the luxury of covering a sunbird family's breakfast, as they conveniently built their nest on my neighbour's plant. Sunbirds always return to where they built their nest previously, and I was told by my neighbour that this is the third time this couple chose this spot. Even if they are forced to abandon a half built nest, they would reuse the materials collected.

I've been keeping an eye on their activity about a month ago, ever since they began construction. Both the male and female contributed to building the nest, and soon after completion the female lays her eggs. Only 2 eggs were laid. I suppose thats the maximum the nest could hold, and perhaps the max the female could produce as well.

12-14 days later, the eggs hatched and out pops the chicks. Both parents took turns feeding them. It is really heartwarming to see their co-operation =)

Sunbirds are curious creatures, and quickly adapt to human environment, as well as human presence. After standing beside the nest for about an hour, they completely ignored my presence (so long as I don't move) I was able to get as close as 1.5m.

With 12mpx, I was able to discern what was fed to the chicks. This mornings menu was full of caterpillars and grasshoppers, different from yesterday's berries. I was also able to tell that little yellow feathers are beginning to grow on the chicks. What's most interesting is the materials used in the construction of the nest - feathers, twigs, tree barks and nylon strings.

Some tips I picked up:

1. Use a tripod. U will have to hold the setup in position before the birds come in, and you will never be able to handhold for hours, even a compact camera is going to render you exhausted.
2. If you had to use flash, always use manual. Small birds have super fast reflexes and will react to your pre-flash. I was told that certain species can even fly away when your mirror flips, and before your shutter opens!
   
3. Lots and lots of patience. And do some homework on the bird's behaviour before approaching the subject.

Oh yah in case you are wondering, I only had photos for today's breakfast.

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!