markogden

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<p>Imagine my shock when I woke up this morning to find a very detailed multiple-choice survey from Nikon in my inbox. The initial questions were heavily weighted around the whole pixel thing, they asked a lot of questions about my attitude towards pixel-counts, how many pixels I would find "adequate" in an FX sized sensor, and other camera features, which were important to me and the like. Plus an odd question about why I did NOT buy a D700, then the usual "what other suggestions can you give us?" type of thing. It struck me that they were looking for some guidance in where to go next, which then led me to believe that they have nothing on the horizon now as far as new bodies go. Did anyone else get this?</p>

 

</p>

<p>One other thing to keep in mind besides the video feature: there are some convenience items as well. I use tripod live view on my D300 quite a bit, and you get it by twirling the top left function dial. On the D300s, it's a dedicated button. While the dial is hardly an annoyance, the button is a little easier and faster. Also, there is a dedicated rear-screen info button, a good thing because on the D300 "info" shares a function button with help/protect, which is to me a HUGE annoyance if you are shooting on manual with any haste. The dual card set-up also is nice, allows you to split RAW and JPEG by card (jpeg to the SD card, raw to the CF card, for instance).<br>

If you are buying new, I would get the D300s. I don't know as it is worth an upgrade from a D300, unless you can get a nice used price for it.</p>

<p> </p>

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Ron, I respectfully, but very strongly, disagree. This is not Apple's mess, it's Nikon's. When computer manufactures introduce

new operating systems, as they are wont to do every few years, they invariably seed new

versions of it to other developers (Apple is, at this moment, starting to send out a Snow leopard SDK nearly a year

before the actual update is expected). The developers (Nikon, in this case) either pay attention to the forthcoming

change and accommodate it, or they do not. If you'll recall, Adobe got caught with their pants around their ankles on

many of their platforms when Leopard came out, it took them months to issue updates that should have been ready to

go at once.

 

My Nikon Coolscan has gone from being a pleasure to a pain because Nikon has never updated SCAN 4 to run as smoothly on

Leopard, and apparently has no plans to do so. You say that Nikon has no obligation to update their software as OS

systems are released. Well, I suppose you're right, but it makes horrible business sense not to do so and tends to

annoy otherwise loyal users like myself. That can't be good, or smart.

 

If Nikon wants to run on Apple OS, and not anger their user base, it is THEIR obligation to update.

Hold it, hold it, hold it! Time out on the field!

 

I'm sure this goes without saying, but . . .

 

When you say that you are doing a clean install, I presume this to mean that you are

using the "erase and install" option, which leaves you with just the OS on your hard

drive, which means that you will ABSOLUTELY LOOSE EVERYTHING ON YOUR

COMPUTER THAT'S NOT PART OF THE OS. In this case, you MUST have the

photos AND all of the processing that you did to them backed up somewhere

non-volatile. If you are backing up to an external hard-drive, I strongly recommend

disconnection of same prior to installing Leopard. Better still, take a moment and

transfer everything to DVD and keep that separate.

 

Again, not to overstate the obvious, but this is a matter one should be very clear on,

lest a lot of work vanish.

I use the Cokin "P" holder with Singh-Ray graduated ND filters with no problem whatsoever.

Camera, lenses, filters, plus: a few mircofibre cloths, camel hair brush, Artic Butterfly sensor brush, Sharpie pens, compass, extra tripod mounting plate, ExpoDisc, Hoodman Loupe (HIGHLY recommended, if you've never tried it).

Frank is correct. Placing a DX lens on the D3 will cause the camera to internally crop down to a small section of the full-frame sensor, at markedly lower resolution.

Thanks, Paul. I hadn't noticed that site before.

Hello, </BR>

 

<BR>Now that the weather has turned colder I'm going to use my increased indoor time to do some more

scans from 30 years of pre-digital shooting, and that means hooking up the Coolscan again. The last time

it was out, the included Scan software ran flawlessly on OSX 10.4 Tiger. I have the new iMac now and

haven't reinstalled the software.</BR>

 

<BR>With all the issues that Capture is having with Leopard, I'd thought I'd ask if anyone has noticed any

performance issues with Scan on a Mac running OSX10.5 <em>before</em> I hook everything back up

again.</BR>

 

<BR>Thanks!

Adobe Lightroom has had a number of issues with OSX 10.5 as well, including inability to

switch between the various workflow modules and importing images from the camera.

They issued an upgrade (1.3) which addresses most of this just last week. But Apple was

issuing SDKs to software manufacturers months and months ago. It makes you wonder

why it took so long. I guess the policy at Nikon, like Adobe, is to sit on your hands and

see if a problem develops with a new OS release, instead of being more pro-active and

having something ready to go.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I very strongly recommend this cool thing, which eliminates the need for the plastic monitor

cover:

 

http://www.hpmarketingcorp.com/aegis.html

 

You get a two piece set with the purchase, one screen for the main LCD and another for the

top status readout. It's crystal clear, and doesn't compromise the monitor screen's visibility

at all. When it gets smudged, I clean it with a microfiber cloth.

Little Falls, New jersey, representing!

I'm very interested in obtaining Nikon ColorEFX Pro software. This is advertised as being a Photoshop

plug-in. My question is, does this mean it will NOT work on a stand-alone basis? I currently use

Lightroom. Can I export a shot to this program somehow and still have it work, or will I need CS or

Elements to get it to do its thing?

 

As always, thanks!

Vince: if you have a second, I've been getting ready to flip a coin between LR and Aperture.

Since you have both, can you give me an idea of what goes missing on the two programs,

compared to each other? Anything really annoying, any big omissions on one comapred to

the other, anything make you think "I should be doing this in the other program?" Thanks

much.

Download the Genuine Fractals 5 Photoshop plug-in for CS and Elements. Up-rez to

whatever you need!

 

www.ononesoftware.com

"John" of CamTech Photo Services in Huntington NY claims to still have "tons" of replacement

parts available for the OM series. He is an ex-Olympus bench tech now on his own, and he is

top-notch.

 

http://www.zuiko.com/index_009.htm

It sounds like you may be looking for a color grad filter, Lee and Cokin make many for

their "P" size holders. You can also obtain screw-in types from different makers, but with

them you are somewhat limited as to accurate positioning. From what you describe, you

are probably looking at a graduated mahogany, which can give you a really lovely effect at

sun-up and sunset, or perhaps a graduated chocolate or tobbacco. Disable your D80's

auto-white function when you use them, or the effect you get may not match you saw in

the VF.

 

If you have pre-visualized your shot, and know what you want to achieve, there is nothing

wrong at all with using filters and going for it in-camera rather than in Photoshop.

The shutter release button has a "lock" position when you push it down and slide it forward.

It stays in this position with the shutter open until you slide it back again. No need to keep

holding the button down.

Remco:

 

I see what you are talking about, the front element when zoomed in covers the very bottom

thread rings. This is not an issue, though, because the threads are unnecessarily deep in the

first place. All my 77mm filters, including a circular polarizer, fit fully and snugly. The

remaining threads are more than enough to screw one in tightly.

So, I'm advancing enough age-wise to have to pick up the reading glasses more often than not, and I can

no longer see the VF screens in my OM series cameras (2N & 2S) clearly.

 

There were many sizes of VF dioptric lenses made for the OM series, but I cannot quite figure out the

nominclature, they run from +2 to -5, and I am not sure which is which. I wear contact lenses to get to

20/20 and then add +1.5 readers on top of that for close-up vision. Dioptric lens I need is . . . ?

 

Thanks

Any standard UV filter (that is, any filter not designated specially for wide angle use and

therefore lacking front threading) should take the Nikon "squeeze-on" lens cap. Both my

72mm and 77mm Hoya HMCs are fine filters and will do as you want.

I put a few drops of Tide into a large Tupperware container, fill with water and cloths, seal

tightly and shake the hell out of it for about two minutes or so. Remove top, drain out soapy

water, place container under tap and let fresh water run over cloths and over top of container

untill the water runs clear (no more visible suds), which is usually less that about 45 sec.

Perfect results, everytime!

I had my D200 out on a hot day in bright sun yesterday, and after some shooting I began to notice that

the plastic shield that protects the monitor began to discolor. It delevoped dark brown streaks at roughly

the top of the sheld, extending about one-half way down. After awhile back in the car, they went away.

Not a big deal, but for a few moments, until I realized what was happening, I about died. I thought the

imager was streaking!

 

Does anyone else get this? Is this a common occurence, a bad run of these things, or . . .?

If I may suggest, be sure to place an order at your local authorized independent Nikon

storefront dealer. The last three people I know who obtained this lens got it from such local

dealers (Bergen Camera being one) after waiting weeks and months with large web based

concerns.

 

Places like Ritz and Amazon have hundreds of back-orders to service, and you would be

placed on the end of a very long line. Your local store may have only a handful of orders

outstanding. It's good practice anyway, supporting your local business.