Richard Bernabe
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The tripod is the most important tool besides the camera, so I usually don’t compromise unless it’s a long multi-day backpacking trip.
The combo I use 90 percent of the time is a Gitzo 1325 set of legs and Kirk BH1 ball head. Whenever possible, this is what I am carrying.
For backpacking, its a Manfrotto 3444D set of legs (carbon fiber, 4 section) with the center post cut off and a manfrotto Proball 308 with a modified arca swiss QR attachment. I am not even sure they make those legs anymore, but it is a great backpacking tripod.
Tell me something, if you don’t mind. Is there something intrinsically wrong with processing the RAW file with RAW Developer, converting to a TIFF, and finally opening the TIFF in Photoshop to stamp out any dust/blemishes that sort of thing?
My trial version of Bibble was awful, IMO. After 20 minutes I knew it wouldn’t work for me. There were terrible banding and posterizing near bright areas such as the sun and the tonal gradations near the sun.
The two best are Capture One and Raw Developer.
Capture One handles tonal gradations and the sun very close to film. I don’t like the interface with Mac, however.
Raw Developer may be the best raw development software available, good price too at $99. It is ONLY available for MAC (sorry PC users), its extremely fast, and gives you more control over the image than anything else.
I have the Canon 5D and it has the greatest dynamic range of any camera out there today. The 7 3/4 stops is a slight exaggeration but I have measured 7 1/4 myself. I’ve owned the Nikon D2X and D200 and the clean, smooth files of the 5D are head and shoulders over the two mentioned.
As far as sharpening, I don’t even consider it to be a capture process.
If you shoot RAW, there is no sharpening applied, regardless of your settings. I will apply a light “capture sharpen” when the file is converted and brought into PS. The capture sharpener on PK sharpener by Pixel Genius is excellent. Final sharpening is done later.
If you shoot jpeg, you might want to apply a light sharpening during capture, but the real sharpening occurs toward the end of you workflow, after the image has been re-sized for final output.
Will,
I am not sure I can help or not because I am unsure of your terminology.
I have been a user of both Nikon and Canon digital but I don’t understand your definitions, particularly of “crisp”
I think of “crispness” in terms of sharpness and contrast – which are not necessarily functions of the camera’s sensor but rather your post processing (or camera settings, if you shoot jpegs right out of the camera)
Canon’s smooth, clean files are something I can understand since I switched from Nikon to Canon for that reason. Dynamic Range and the lack of visible noise are functions of the sensor.
Help me with your meaning of “crisp” and I will see what I can do to help.
Aside from some tilt/shift and telephoto lenses, the Canon 17-40mm f4, 24-70mm f2.8, and 70-200 f2.8 handle 95 percent of my work – thats on a full-frame camera, however. I can’t recommend those three lenses highly enough.
Nice work, Scott.
I agree with you on the Canon 24-70 f2.8 lens. Its a damn beast and the range is not all that impressive but geez, what a performer!
This is purely my opinion, but a good photo essay should be a cohesive set of images that, as a whole,
Great first effort. The tilted horizon is a real distraction and I would prefer to see more of the fish. Other than that, very nice!
There are no differences in the product – only if/when you need repairs. Nikon USA equipment carries with it the Nikon USA warranty. Grey market products do not.
One of the things that digital imaging cannot come close to as does film is the “ability to maintain detail and enhance gradation in bright areas.”
This is so true – and one of the only aspects of digital photography that I don’t like. I haven’t read that report, Scott, and I appreciate the link. It’s also why I use two different RAW processors – ACR for 90 percent of my work and Capture One Pro, which handles the sun and steep tonal gradations much like film. Still, it falls short and I am happy to hear someone is a) acknowledging it and b) doing something to improve it.
If this sensor sees the light of day in DSLRs, they probably need to come up with new lenses.
Autopan pro is one of the best.
PSCS3 is not bad but Autopan Pro is better.
I was speaking with a Lexar rep just last week about a 3-week canoe trip this fall and I asked a similar questions about durability and lifespan.
He said you should reasonably expect 1,000,000 write cycles and 10,000 insertions in the camera.
Photoshop CS3 – The standard photo editing software
Adobe Camera Raw – RAW converter
Capture One Pro – alternative RAW converter (for images with very bright areas like the sun. No posterization)
NSCS Pro 3.0 – Image management systemAll images are captured in RAW, conversions done in ACR or Capture One and opened into CS3 with 16-bit depth. After all editing is complete, I save a high-rez tiff (flattened and converted to 8-bit if I am completely satisfied, tiff w/ layers in 16-bit if not) and a DNG. All images are shot and stored in Adobe RGB.
All images are then assigned a master image number (automatically assigned by NSCS when entering info) and filing code (my code). Images are entered into the NSCS database with captions, descriptions, thumbnail image, and key words for easy searching.
My storage is kinda complicated. All images are always stored in two places simultaneously. 1) computer HD/external HD > 2) External HD/External HD > 3) external HD/DVD.
Seafood,
Just remember that the greatest degree of polarization will occur at 90-degree angles from the light source, the sun. Zero polarization will occur when aiming directly at or away from the sun.
The polarizer works just like your polarized glasses – it removes glare from non-metallic surfaces such as foliage, water, and water vapor and other particulates in the sky (helping eliminate haze).
A polarizer will hold back 2 to 3-stops of light, depending on the brand. This will enable you to use a shutter speed that is 2 or 3 stops slower – all other things being equal.
Also, if you have many lenses with different front element sizes, buy the size that fits the largest (77mm is a good size to buy) and step-up rings for the smaller, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, etc.
To each their own. I don’t use them.
A trained eye can spot flare and loss of contrast when the sun strikes the front element of the lens. When this happens, I (or someone with me) will shade the sun with a hat or flag it with a portable reflector/diffuser I carry with me. Lens hoods are cumbersome, get in the way of my filter system, and are extremely poor at reducing and/or eliminating flare, glare, or contrast loss anyway. Learn to spot it yourself – don’t solely rely on a lens hood to eliminate it because it happens to be on your lens.
