The Stealth Nikon

[dr_phil_physics]

I Used To Be A Photographer

I worked on my school's yearbooks from Junior High through college. Eventually I had a pile of Nikon equipment and took a lot of pictures. My SF writing has taken up a lot of my "free" time, and computers in general have dulled interest in film. So my Nikons have languished for years. I've had a couple of nice little digital cameras -- all have had excellent lenses, especially the two Sony cameras with Carl Zeiss optics.

But what I wanted was a Nikon digital camera, which could use some of my old glass. Alas, the first digital Nikons have had DX sensors -- smaller than the 24mm×36mm image size of 35mm film. Thus you don't actually use all the glass in the Nikon SLR lenses, which makes the effective focal lengths longer. Plus they were expensive.

So what I really wanted was an FX sensor Nikon digital camera -- one with a full size 24mm×36mm sensor. Eventually the Nikon D3 and D700 came out, but still cost thousands of dollars.

Last Week I Had A Brainstorm

What about those Kodak digital SLRs that use a Nikon chassis and take Nikon lenses? I looked on eBay and found the Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n. Last produced in 2005, this is a 13.87 megapixel FX camera -- and they were going for far less than the Nikons. Took four auctions to get a clean unit, with a reasonable of service life left on the sensor, for a price I was willing to pay.

Welcome to the future:

The lens is a Nikon 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5D AF zoom I got on eBay for $94. Turns out that though the Pro SLR/n will use all my Nikon lenses, it won't use its exposure meter because the old lenses don't have a CPU chip in them. So I thought a general purpose lens which used all the functions would be an advantage.

But wait, Dr. Phil, I thought you said it was a Nikon? It says Kodak all over the place, not Nikon. You weren't paying attention. Kodak started with a Nikon F80 AE/AF (auto-exposure and auto-focus) film camera and grafted on the Kodak sensor and hardware. And it does have a Nikon logo on it -- see? It says "Nikon F-Mount" right there:


The Real Reason For Posting Pictures On The Internet


My cat Sam. Internal flash, 6MP original, ISO 800, reduced to 20% size.


And our cat Blue. Internal flash, 6MP original, ISO 800, reduced to 20% size.

Still working on getting settings tweaked. I'd forgotten that I'd jacked the ISO sensitivity up to 800, so the image is a little noisier that I'd expect. But I'll get the hang of it.

This is going to be fun.

Dr. Phil

Comments

[kizmet-42.livejournal.com]

Just got a new camera myself - Canon Powershot SX20 IS. It's got more things on it that I have a clue how to use.

Any suggestions how to learn to use it beyond the point/shoot stage? The manual is "Getting Started" only.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

First of all, realize that 80% of the features they pack in these things you'll probably never use. My preference is to do any editing on the computer, not using any features in the camera.

If your zoom lens has both an optical range and a digital range -- don't use the digital range. Optical means you're using the glass in the lens to change the magnification. Digital means you're editing the image by using fewer pixels -- you can do that on the computer. Here's (http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials/optical-digital-zoom/) a link to a website of tutorials -- I found it by Googling "optical and digital zoom".

Next -- take a lot of pictures. Then look at them. For those which you deem "bad", whether dark, crooked, unfocused, whatever -- then investigate whether there's a setting that might help. That sounds unhelpful, but you need to find out what things you actually want to know, rather than be overwhelmed by features in a poorly designed manual.

This answer is too short -- sorry I can't write more. But does it help?

Dr. Phil

[kizmet-42.livejournal.com]

It does help. I'm such a novice that even basic info is new to me. Thanks!

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a start to me! And I'm serious -- the more pictures you take, the more you will learn. If you let the camera languish until you "get to it", it will be an obstacle.

One thing you can do is go for a nice walk somewhere -- and plan on taking 20 pictures total. No more than one of any object or scene. That will get you into the rhythm of looking for things which catch your eye. (grin)

Dr. Phil

Beyond Basics for Powershot

[anne cutrell (from livejournal.com)]

I love the powershot series. As someone who got used to using her dad's Nikon before leaving home, I love having the freedom of being able to choose the Aperature or Time priority settings. A DSLR is just not in the cards for me right now, so the Powershot is a good alternative. Also, it has a "macro" setting, which allows me to photograph things close up -- key when I want to get up close and personal.
My recommendations are to play around with the "scenes" options and get a library book about photography (a children's or young adult book would be a perfect starter, as it would just explain the basics) to learn about aperature and time and light and how it affects your photos.
Most importantly, do as Phil suggests and PRACTICE! (and don't use the digital zoom - just use optical zoom.)

Re: Beyond Basics for Powershot

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

My only problem with a lot of these cameras, the Powershots included, is that some contain a LOT of features. I watched someone spend a whole evening taking just a couple of pictures, but throwing on all the special effects like sepia toned and motion blur, etc. If you do that post-camera, then you still have the original picture from the camera. (grin) Reminded me of navel gazing, sitting there going through all the menus. I want to just take the picture and get on with it. (evil grin)

Alas, I am very out of date with any kind of recommendation for photography books to recommend. But libraries are wonderful places with excellent people on hand to help!

Dr. Phil