Richard Bernabe
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I just got back from Charleston SC over the weekend, doing a photography workshop. One of the students had that particular Pentax DSLR and I was impressed. During our evening breakout session, I looked good and hard at his files on my laptop and they were extremely clean. Very impressed.
Great features, solid build. I think you did good!
Here is what I use.
http://www.lenspen.com/?cPath=1&products_id=DM-C1&tpid=146
I get the combo kit – one large and one small pen.
I learned this technique from Art Morris, the very well-known bird photographer. He cleans his own sensors and I have done it over a hundred times since then.
First, open the larger lens pen and tamp it gently on a piece of cloth to remove any excess carbon from the pen. If your camera has a sensor cleaning mode, use it. If not, use a remote release cable with a locking mechanism (be sure you have a full battery charge on your camera) and press the shutter, exposing the sensor and AA filter. Hold the camera upside down and away from your body and use a bulb blower to remove any loose particles and dust. Then take the larger lens pen and with steady pressure, clean the sensor (actually the AA filter) go over it several times before opening the smaller pen, tamp it on cloth to remove excess carbon, and then use it to reach the corners. When finished, take the bulb blower again and blow the sensor again while holding the camera upside down. Now you,re done.
Its difficult to do any damage to the sensor itself. The real risk is having the shutter curtain close while doing this. If you have a sensor cleaning mode, it is the safest. If you use the remote release and locking mechanism, it is IMPERATIVE to have a full battery charge, or at least half, to be safe. If the camera loses power, the shutter curtain will close while cleaning.
Put a lens on, stop it all the way down, focus at the lens MFD and shoot a solid white scene. If there is any dust you missed, you will see it on your monitor. Repeat if needed.
I have done my own sensor cleaning hundreds of times over the past two years. It is much less daunting a task than you think.
I use the lens pen tecnique and a new product by my friend, Ross Wordhouse – Dust Aid.
It work great and its very safe, if you know how to follow directions.
I’ve got one (without the extra flash area) and it does work. It is, however, difficult to use. Its very hard to use any camera controls (almost everything must be preset with one particular shot in mind before submersing) and it just as hard to see through the view finder.
There is also the confidence factor. I have trouble putting a $4000 DSLR in that thing and taking it underwater. For that reason, I haven’t used it in years. I think it’s last use was with my old Nikon F80 film camera while shooting underwater brookies in 10 inches of water. The slides looked great though.
When I was a Nikon guy, I owned the Nikon 12-24 and I believed it was a flawed lens (at least my copy) If you don’t shoot into the sun often, or use back lighting, or use it at the widest focal length stopped down, its a decent lens. The Tokina 12-24 is the best buy in that class. Its sharper, has a solid quality feel to it that the Nikon does not have, handles flare better and its cheaper.
Zach, the Nikon polarizer is the best one made, hands down.
You don’t need to register your images with the US copyright office to be protected from image theft. The instant you click the shutter release, the copyright is granted to the photographer. Thats the law. However, if the images are not registered and theft occurs, the damages you can sue for are limited to the lost fair market licensing fees only.
Canon 5D, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS
Nikon D2X, Nikon 300mm f4
Nikon D2X, 12-24mm f4, Nikon SB800
Nikon D2X, 12-24mm f4, SB800
Canon 5D, 70-200mm f2.8 ISBilly,
Pretty much what Eric said.
A polarizer is the most important, yet overused filter in outdoor photography. A little polarization can go a long way, IMO. It’s also the only filter that cannot be duplicated (or undone) in any photo editing software, so it must be done correctly in-camera.
Always expose to the right when shooting digital. You want as much image data on the right side of the histogram as possible without clipping highlights. You always would rather darken a slightly overexposed image than try and lighten an underexposed image.
I just did a photo shot for Costa Del Mar down in the Keys. Just shoot in the sweet light of the day and avoid the temptation to want to polarize every sky you see – especially with the new 12-24mm you are getting.
The fridge sitting here in my office used to be for film. Now there is more room for beer and snacks
Zach,
If I were you, I would get in the habit of capturing your images and having your working space in the larger color gamut, Adobe RGB. A simple conversion in PS (edit > color conversion) to sRGB is all you need for copied web-displayed images or clients who ask for the smaller gamut, sRGB.
Some publishers insist on Adobe RGB images because they contain more colors (it usually doesnt make a difference, but sometimes it does, especially with greens and blues) plus the conversion to CYMK is much more seamless. sRGB to CYMK conversions will find certain colors and hues falling out of gamut, and since the original capture was in sRGB, there is no going back and getting them afterward.
You are right about most not knowing the difference. If they have no preference or dont know when asked, I will convert to sRGB to avoid confusion. My master files, however, stay in the larger color gamut so I dont restrict their possibilities later.
I’ve owned both the D200 and 5D. Both are excellent cameras.
Rockwell gets some things right. The D200 is much more ergonomically intuitive than the 5D (I would argue that Nikon cameras in general are better designed as far as buttons and dials being where they should be)
I also think the D200 is the best value out there in a camera. Period. The auto ISO feature, however, is one I would never use anyway. The 5D has the best image quality of any digital camera I have ever owned, but it comes at a price – marginal $$$ and handling. The more I shoot with this camera, the more responsive I am becoming with it, though.
As far as Rockwell is concerned, Zack hit the nail on the head. I have a good freind in Long Beach, CA who is a well-known photographer and printer and he knows Rockwell personally. If we are ever sharing a beer sometime, I will tell you some stories. But anyone who devotes more of his website to his own biography than his images (only a slight exaggeration) and asks for donations to run it (he claims it costs him thousands to run the site) I dont take too seriously. I never have.
For good information and reviews on Nikon products, you would be better served reading this guy instead, http://www.bythom.com
I think Zach Matthews is just a front for a multi-million dollar conglomerate with hundreds of tireless employees working around the clock.
Does Zach actually exist?
Im sorry, but I’ve always believed Ken Rockwell to be poser and an idiot. That article just confirmed it.
He is comparing sharpness between a 4 MP and a 12 MP camera at 768 x 539 and 100 ppi? There will not be a difference at that size. Thats like saying a $60,000 Lexus and a $10,000 Hundai both handle the same at 10 MPH.
The only difference in “sharpness” will be in the technique and the glass used. Considering its Ken Rockwell, I’m guessing its technique.
Then he compares exposure (?) and color. Brilliant. Ken, you genius of all things photogaphic , YOU are responsible for proper exposure, not the camera. And the color? Who compares color straight out of a camera? The 5D has 12 different color settings (if anyone even uses them) and they are irrelevant if you shoot RAW anyway – which most professional photographers do. The $150 P&S is designed to use right out of the box at “factory settings”- the 5D isn’t.
So what is he tryng to say? A $150 P&S camera is capable of taking publishable-quality images? Of course it is under the lighting conditions with good technique. Are we supposed to be impressed with how clever he is to have figured this out on his own? Classic Rockwell.
Man, I haven’t been to his site is ages. Thanks for the laugh!
Joel,
How wide are you looking to get?
On my 5Ds, the Canon 17-40 L f/4 is absolutely wonderful. With your 1.6x crop, it may not be wide enough. I have heard some very good things about the Tokina 12-24.
Overkill.
Give me a 13-16 MP camera with great dynamic range and little noise and I am livin high. Like you said, Zach, 20+ MP cameras are overkill unless you are doing fine-art digital prints. If I were solely a fine-art digital photographer, I would buy a digital back for a 4×5 view camera, have my camera movements and greater resolution.
