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May 28, 2005
[ THE KODAK Z700 SO FAR ... ]
DPEXPERT HAS BEEN LIVING with the cute little Kodak Z700 for three weeks and we like it. The 35~175 [film equivalent] Retinar zoom combines with the 4mp sensor and Kodak's typical internal processing to produce images that are sharp and saturated straight from the camera.
The lens is comparatively fast for a camera at this level – f2.88 to f4.9
The Z700 has a small optical viewfinder with dioptre adjustment. Unfortunately it doesn't show the entire area being captured on the sensor.
Macro is good and manual controls in the PAS mode are easy to use via the onscreen display.
A full review of the Z700 will appear here shortly.
See some sample images in the Gallery >>>
Posted by terry at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 25, 2005
[ LIVING WITH THE OLYMPUS C7070 ]
WE'VE HAD THE OLYMPUS C7070 for three weeks now and the more we use it the more we like it.
Our pal Doug asked for some photos to go with a visa application so we took the opportunity to give the C7070 another work-out. We liked the results so much that we applied Fred Miranda's BW Workflow to the colour image, added a little brown toning, and here's Doug >>>>
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Posted by terry at 07:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 21, 2005
[ ARE 2 MEGAPIXELS ENOUGH? ]
HAVE A LOOK in the Gallery at the set of photographs taken by Arthur Woods, using a 2 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 950. Arthur was an early adopter and paid dearly for the privilege. The Coolpix 950 cost about AU$2000 when it came on the market and while its pixel count is small it is obvious from these photos that its optics and image processing were first class.
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Posted by terry at 05:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
[ PHOTOREVIEW:23 ]
The June/July edition of PhotoReview magazine is in the newsagents this week.
17 digital cameras are reviewed in this issue, including the Canon EOS 350D digital single lens reflex, picked as the Editor's Choice and declared to be the best value-for-money camera of its type.[See our review in the April archive — click here and scroll down.]
Camera reviewer Margaret Brown has just set up her new Imatest equipment to give more objective assessments of image sharpness, chromatic aberration, colour fidelity and camera dynamic range. Her already valuable assessments of cameras will be even better.
PhotoReview:23 has a section on the work of American photographer Paul Caponigro, the man who influenced many would-be photo artists over the years, including one at dpexpert.
PHOTOREVIEW:23 costs $8.95 and is dpexpert's favourite Australian photo magazine.
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Posted by terry at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 19, 2005
[ OLYMPUS C7070 wide zoom ]
JUST POSTED — a gallery of 12 pictures from the Olympus C7070 Wide Zoom that we have under test at dpexpert.
Keep watch for the full review of this outstanding camera.
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Posted by terry at 08:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 18, 2005
[ NIKON D70 firmware upgrade ]
NIKON today released the free firmware upgrade for the D70 digital single lens reflex to give that camera some of the features of the new D70s.
NIKON says that the new features in firmware v2.0 are:
* Performance of the 5-area AF system has been improved (Dynamic area and Closest subjct AF-area modes).
* Changes have been made to the design of menu displays.
* Page-size settings can now be applied from the camera with direct printing from a PictBridge-compatible printer.
* The number of exposures remaining, displayed in the control panel and viewfinder, when shooting at an image-quality setting of NEF (RAW) or NEF+JPEG Basic has been changed (the number is calculated based on the size of compressed RAW file).
Maximum number of exposures displayed when a 256-MB CompactFlash memory card is used:
Version 2.00: NEF (RAW): approx. 44 exposures; NEF+JPEG Basic: approx. 39 exposures
Version 1.03 or earlier: NEF (RAW): approx. 23 exposures; NEF+JPEG Basic: approx. 21 exposures
* The default setting for camera clock has been changed from 2004.01.01 to 2005.01.01. Now you cannot set the clock back to a date before 2004.12.31.
* A problem that sometimes caused communication between the camera and computer to be unexpectedly terminated when using Nikon Capture Camera Control has been corrected. (Windows)
Australian Nikon owners download the firmware upgrade from Nikon Asia.
We have applied the upgrade to the dpexpert Nikon D70 with only one hassle — the binary file B would not copy to our 1gb Lexar card but we had no problems with a 128m Sandisk card. Someone might have an explanation for this. Trying to copy to the Lexar resulted in a CRC error.
Posted by terry at 03:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 16, 2005
[ IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED... ]
READ THE MANUAL!
A pal rang the other day begging dpexpert for help. His wife had taken his Canon Powershot S45 to a party. She in turn had allowed another party goer to use the camera. He took some photos, which he presumably considered to be masterpieces, so he "protected" the photos and my pal couldn't work out how to unlock them to erase them.
"Have you read the manual?"
"Of course not!" Well, who reads manuals? The Canon comes with a 180 page instruction book. Who is going to read that?
There is a bizarre assumption abroad these days that all new technology must be user-friendly, meaning that everything about it must be immediately obvious. Digital cameras are no exception.
However, the facts of digital life are that cameras come with a bewildering array of features, buttons and menus that are by no means intuitive. Like it or not you must read the manual.
The Canon s45 has nearly 100 settings accessible through the menus or knobs and buttons on the camera body. These range from the really useful, such as custom settings for contrast and sharpness, to the plainly wacky -- choosing custom start-up sounds and pictures for your LCD screen, or your very own shutter click.
There is no doubt that the manufacturers are making cameras too complicated by adding features that no one wants or needs. Even adding to still cameras the facility for taking short, low-resolution movies with sound seems like they are doing it just because they can, not because it adds to the usefulness of the camera.
However, the way that digital cameras function means that many useful features can be added that are not possible with film cameras. For instance, one digital camera can be like carrying several film cameras loaded with film of different speeds and contrasts and in either colour or black and white.
In a digital camera you erase the dud shots on the spot and you don't pay the photo lab to process them.
My pal's Canon lets him choose between fully automatic mode, program, shutter or aperture priority exposure and fully manual. This is what you would expect from a good film camera, but you don't expect the use of such a versatile camera to be intuitve.
He also has settings for portrait, landscape, sport, night and panoramic photographs, where the various exposure and focus permutations are selected for optimum results by the camera itself. But you won't guess how to use them just by looking at the camera.
dpexpert is unimpressed with the Kodak and Olympus practise of providing user manuals on CD in pdf form. The manual for the Olympus C7070 is 222 pages about 12 cm by 16cm -- in other words the pages print in a small area of an A4 sheet. To expect the camera buyer to print and bind the manual is absurd and to expect them to figure out how to access all the features of the camera without a manual is sheer wishful thinking.
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Posted by terry at 09:49 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 14, 2005
[ DIGITAL CAMERA Pocket Guide ]
DIGITAL CAMERA Pocket Guide
$14.95 — from newsagents
Published by PhotoReview
THE DIGITAL CAMERA Pocket Guide, now in its second edition, is a useful little book for anyone thinking of buying a digital camera but still wondering what the technology is all about. The Guide is also useful for anyone who has dipped a toe into entry level digital photography and is considering upgrading.
Written by Sydney technical writer Margaret Brown, the Guide is a quick read that covers choosing a camera, the differences between types of cameras — point and shoot, manual control, digital SLRs etc — and how to use a digital camera and understand how it differs from a film camera.
There is a section on post-camera editing and on sharing digital images.
The Pocket Guide comes with a software CD with a mix of free, shareware and trial applications, including the two essential freebies, Irfanview and Picasa 2. It is a well chosen selection for the digital darkroom.
Margaret Brown reviews cameras for the magazine PhotoReview and her testing and reporting is the best technically objective assessment of cameras being done in Australia. dpexpert highly recommends PhotoReview as a source of reliable information about the technical qualities of any digital camera.
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Posted by terry at 09:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 13, 2005
[ REVIEW – SONY DSC-P150 ]
Price: $699
Rating: 4 stars
The low-down: Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-P150 is a 7.2 megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom lens bearing the honoured name of Carl Zeiss.
The Sony competes in a segment of the market, around the $700 mark, where 7 megapixel sensors are now common -- and most of the sensors are made by Sony. So how do the cameras distinguish themselves?
One difference between the cameras is in size and shape, with the Sony being of striking asymetric design, available in three colours and small enough to fit in a pocket. It is a fairly heavy little camera, but that is to its credit because the weight is related to rugged metal construction.
Another difference is in the degree and convenience of manual control of the camera’s functions. The Sony leans more towards the point and shoot style than the Canons, which are better set up for the serious photographer wanting maximum control. Manual over-rides are built into the Sony, but the expectation is that they will only be necessary in exceptional circumstances. Most of the time the camera will be left to make the exposure, focus and white balance decisions and most of the time that will work well.
In summary, the DSC-P150 is a small camera, available in a range of colours (fashion accessory?), with excellent resolution, good white balance, good macro performance and excellent, nicely diffused flash. The rechargeable battery doesn’t seem to have a long life and the use of Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick means that extra memory is the most expensive of any medium.
Like this: The Sony has both an LCD viewing screen and an optical viewfinder. Camera construction is solid and it feels as though it could withstand the shocks of everyday use.
Dislike that: The Sony handles saturated reds rather badly with pronounced bleeding across areas. This showed up in a close-up of a brilliant red flower in which there was no delineation between petals. Deliberate underexposing helped a little.
Parting shot: The Sony is a curiously shaped camera, with the lens located right at one end. The layout makes it hard to hold the camera rock-steady for slower exposures. It would be best to hold the camera and take a few trial shots before making the decision to buy.
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Posted by terry at 02:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 12, 2005
OLYMPUS NEWS
OLYMPUS has had a bad year, according to a news report in the British online digital photography ezine Let's Go Digital. The word from Olympus management is that although revenue from digital camera sales was up profits were down. The company intends to make part of its fightback the release of two new "high end" digital SLRs.
They will need to do better than the company has done with the E-1 "four thirds" format camera. While the E-1 is a superb camera it was widely regarded as being over-priced on its release and the price has dropped dramatically. When the camera was released it had a RRP of about $5000. It is now selling for $3000.
The E-1 suffered from too few pixels [5 megapixels] for the price and no backwards compatibility of lenses with Olympus film SLRs. There are adapters for OM lenses, but this is hardly comparable with Canon, Nikon and Pentax policy of backwards compatibility with all their auto focus lenses.
And is the four thirds system ever going to appear in any other manufacturer's cameras? It seems increasingly unlikely, which makes the Olympus look like the Betamax of digital cameras — technically superior, perhaps, but ultimately consumer unfriendly.
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Posted by terry at 04:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
MAC ENVY — the cure
THIS IS NOT STRICTLY ON THE TOPIC of digital photography but more in the nature of a public service, rendered to those who wish that the PC came with a graphical user interface as pretty as the Mac OSX.
Well, wish no more. It is possible.
The task bar with the expanding and contracting icons can be put onto any Windows XP desktop very easily. Just download Object Dock from Stardock.
The Object Dock comes already populated with program icons, but they can all be replaced with any preferred set. And the icons have the lovely rendered, three dimensional look of Mac icons.
Once it is positioned on the screen get rid of the ugly Windows task bar by moving it to the top of the screen and setting it to Autohide by right clicking on the Start button, and then click Properties. On the Taskbar tab, select the Auto-hide taskbar check box.
To redisplay the taskbar, point to the area of your screen where the taskbar is located and it will appear.
Much is being made of the new search facility in the yet-to-be-released Mac interface. Why wait? The same thing is already available for Windows XP as the MSN Quick Search Toolbar suite. Download it, install it and drag the icon for the Quick Search toolbar onto the Object Dock. Bingo! One step ahead of Mac already.
Now, emboldened by success so far why not go the whole hog and replace the dreary old Windows GUI completely? One way of doing this is to download DesktopX — a clever application that can change the GUI at the click of a button.
DesktopX gets its screen layouts from pre-packaged theme sets created by geeks and nerds who should get out more. WinCustomize is a good place to start looking for DesktopX themes and widgets [small apps, such as clocks, calculators, games etc]. There are many other sources of themes best found by googling "desktopx themes".
The components of the theme are downloaded in a zip file. Run DesktopX and choose "Create" from the options and then browse to the zip file and stand back. Prepare to be astonished.
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Posted by terry at 04:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 11, 2005
[ TAMRON competition ]
Tamron is celebrating the launch of its new Australian website, Tamronterritory, and additions to the Australian range, with a great new photographic competition.
The competition coincides with the Australian release of the new Tamron AF 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 XR Di-II Aspherical Macro lens. This new lens was named Consumer Lens of the Year by TIPA, the European-based Technical Image Press Association, as it provides digital SLR users with “the versatility of a true wide to ultra-tele zoom in an amazingly compact design”.
The Tamron Territory photo competition is open to all, and first prize is a holiday in the Northern Territory to the value of $4000.
The competition "theme" is as broad as the horizon -- a picture taken in the great outdoors -- anywhere in Australia or the world. The shot should be the consummate "travel photograph" – something that demonstrates an engagement with the world the photographer observes on their travels. It could be a stunning landscape, a study of flora, fauna, or a picture of fellow travellers doing something crazy or interesting on their holidays.
The winning shot will be technically acceptable in terms of sharpness, colour, contrast and composition. The subject and purpose of the picture should be immediately apparent with little or no captioning necessary.
The winner can take a holiday in virtually any part of the Territory, selecting from the huge range of tours and safaris on offer from Adventure Tours (www.adverturetours.com.au).
Second prize is the soon-to-be-released Tamron SP AF 11-18mm f4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Asperical (IF) lens, available in Nikon, Minolta or Canon digital SLR mounts and with a retail value of $1199.00
Third prize is the just-released Tamron AF 18-200 f3.5-6.3 XR Di-II Aspherical Macro lens, available in Nikon, Minolta, Canon or Pentax mounts, and with a retail value of $899.00.
Entry is free and via image and detail upload from the Tamronterritory. Up to five images can be submitted per entrant.
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Posted by terry at 10:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 10, 2005
LENS BLUR in PhotoShop
LENS BLUR in PhotoShop
A forum poster in dpreview.com asks: “What techniques do you use to create a smooth blur background with the Olympus C-8080?”
With the old 35mm film camera it was easy -- put on a lens longer than 100mm in focal length, choose a wide aperture, focus on the subject and the background will be all soft blur and dancing points of light.
Why doesn’t it work that way on digital cameras? To oversimplify the matter, it is because the sensor in a compact digital camera is only a fraction of the size of a 35mm frame and when sensor size and lens diameter work together in a digicam there is greater inherent depth of field and therefore the background is more nearly in focus even with the zoom at the long end and the aperture wide open.
Here is one way to produce attractive bokeh (it is a Japanese word for the effect, pronounced bo-keh, and it literally means fuzziness or dizziness) in Photoshop…
1. Open the image in Photoshop
2. Size, crop etc
3. Do the usual Levels, Curves, Sharpness corrections
4. Create Layer/Duplicate Layer
5. Go Filter/Blur and choose a Blur effect. In Photoshop CS there is a Lens option that mimics the effect of a long lens. In earlier versions of Photoshop try Gaussian and vary the radius slider to get the right effect
6. Select the Eraser tool from the Toolbox, set opacity to 100%
7. At this stage it can help if you reduce the opacity of the top layer in the Layers palette using the opacity slider to better see the object you want in focus on the bottom layer
8. Erase the area that is to be in sharp focus from the top layer, uncovering the bottom layer as you do so, taking care around the sharp edges of the in-focus object
9. Flatten the image
[This photo was taken with the Olympus C7070]
Posted by terry at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 09, 2005
INKJET PRINT LONGEVITY
The life expectancy of inkjet prints is the great unknown of the digital photography business and there are different ratings of printers/inks/papers coming from different places. dpexpert is trying to track down as many testing sites as we can.
Here's one worth visiting. If Livick is to be relied upon then this is a very valuable guide to the best inks and papers to use with any printer.
For dpexpert's trusty Canon i9950 it looks like the best paper for print life is either Epsons' Colorlife [11.5 years] or Ilford Galerie Classic Gloss [12.2 years]. Canon's top paper, Photo Paper Pro, comes in at a miserable 2 years before it fades away.
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Posted by terry at 08:44 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 08, 2005
[ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ... ]
Here are some First Impressions of things we have in the dpexpert shed under test:
Olympus C7070 zoom wide
FI: outstanding optical viewfinder camera, superb construction, excellent image output—we love it—a perfect score were it not for the absence of a printed user manual from the kit—it is 222 pages in a pdf.
KODAK Z700
FI: cute little camera, 4 megapixels, Retinar glass lens, usual Kodak bright and cheerful images, big discounts [Australia] RRP $599 but only $399 in Dick Smith Superstore catalogue
KODAK Professional inkjet paper
FI: lovely surfaces, gloss and lustre—nice output once the printer parameters are properly set—not to be confused with Kodak's disappointing consumer papers.
PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ5
FI: plastic bodied pseudo single lens reflex with small electronic viewfinder—good lens—5 megapixel, seriously overpriced against 6 megapixel competition—does a Leica lens justify the price? it is certainly good and it is image stabilised which is necessary for a 432mm equivalent lens.
JASC PAINTSHOP PRO 9
FI: excellent value for money Photoshop alternative—more features than Photoshop Elements which sells at about the same price—very good printed manual, not to be taken for granted these days. free 60 day trial download.
Keep coming back to dpexpert to check the full reviews as they appear.
Posted by terry at 03:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Your new forum awaits you
The old forum software seemed pretty complex, so we've replaced it with a new one that looks much easier to navigate. And I've just assigned some discussion areas, including one by request, on photography and the Internet.
Once you register (free) you can post questions and answers. Anyone can browse the discussions.
Let us know if you'd like to see other topics in there.
Posted by cw at 02:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 07, 2005
Is it time to go on an image diet?
Under the heading "Stop them before they shoot again", the New York Times catalogues one of those thoroughly modern maladies: the tendency of some people when they get a digital camera to point and shoot and send ... and shoot and send ... and shoot and send.
You can empathise, can you not, with Suzanne Weber?
THE baby pictures just kept coming. At least once a month Suzanne Weber opened her e-mail to find the same friend had sent a link to as many as 50 pictures, often including multiple shots of the same child at the same moment at slightly different angles. Finally Ms. Weber, who enjoys the occasional digital baby snapshot as much as anyone, stopped responding, and the friend, taking the hint, stopped sending.
Ms. Weber, who estimates she will view more than 1000 digital pictures this year of friends, family and their assorted offspring, has some heart-felt advice for the undiscriminating snapper:
"Edit your pictures, people."
A writer in Brooklyn whose pen name is Anita Liberty, she suggests no more than three pictures by e-mail, no more than 12 to an online "album," no albums more than twice a year, with possible exceptions only for grandparents and best friends.
What with America's amateur photographers producing 28 billion digital pictures last year, 6 billion more than they shot on film - even though only half as many own a digital camera - some critics are suggesting that the power of images is at risk of being diluted by sheer volume.
We can't agree. Great images are timeless, and even the merely good can live in the memory. But capturing those sort of images requires a certain amount of knowledge and skill, patience and sometimes luck. We hope we can contribute somewhat to the art of taking pictures that will make the people who see them want to see more.
Posted by cw at 05:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
[ CAMERA Sample images ]
IN THE GALLERY THERE ARE NOW sets of sample images from:
CANON EOS 300D
CANON POWERSHOT PRO1
NIKON D70
OLYMPUS E-1
OLYMPUS E300
PENTAX *istD
RICOH CAPLIO R1 wide
SONY DSC F828
The index of galleries spreads over 2 pages — click on page 2 to complete the listing.
Posted by terry at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
ADOBE updates RAW and DNG
ADOBE announces updates of its Photoshop RAW converter to provide support for the Canon EOS 350D, Nikon D2X, Olympus EVOLT E-300 and Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom.
The ADOBE DNG [digital negative universal RAW format] is also now upgraded.
Both are available as free downloads from ADOBE.
Posted by terry at 09:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 06, 2005
[ TWO NEW KODAKS ]
KODAK Australasia today announced two new cameras, the Z7590 and the Z730.
Kodak's release says:
Kodak EasyShare Z7590 zoom digital camera
The Kodak EasyShare Z7590 camera is ideal for people who want to further experiment with photography using a digital camera that includes both automatic and manual settings. Specifically, the Z7590 model offers a professional quality SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON 10X optical zoom lens (38 – 380 mm equivalent) for outstanding dynamic range, fine detail and delicate highlights. The Z7590 first Z-Series camera to feature flash sync connection. The camera is equipped with a live histogram, which enables users to see the exposure of their subject before taking the shot. In addition, the exclusive Kodak Color Science chip results in portraits with edge-to-edge sharpness and brightness, rich colour, and highly accurate exposure.
The EasyShare Z7590 camera will be available in Australia in July 2005.
Kodak EasyShare Z730 zoom digital camera
Designed for “zoom seeking” picture takers, the fast performing Kodak EasyShare Z730 digital camera incorporates advanced features that offer outstanding performance without sacrificing ease of use. The professional quality SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON 4X optical zoom lens (33-132 mm equivalent) allows greater photography experimentation and more range than that of a comparable 3X optical zoom. The camera’s 2.2-inch, high-resolution LCD screen can be used to preview and instantly review shots. Continuous auto-focus delivers rapid click-to-capture (0.2 second), precisely freezing action at a desired moment, while the lithium-ion battery delivers extended shoot times and rapid recharging.
The EasyShare Z730 camera will be available in Australia in May 2005.
* Also available Z730 Camera and Printer Dock Bundle for $699 (June 2005)
Posted by terry at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 05, 2005
Ladies KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) Kodak
When it comes to the complexities of digital photography, women seem to have a simple solution: buy a brand. That, at any rate, is the implication of a survey by US research company Lyra.
Lyra’s tracking of digital camera sales in the US includes statistics on gender preferences. The numbers indicate that the brand most women prefer is Kodak. Around 20 per cent of women chose their cameras, compared to only 10 per cent of men.
Men, the research indicates, are most likely to choose Canon. A total of 17 per cent of males preferred that brand.
The preferences almost certainly apply in Australia, given that Kodak remains market leader in digital camera sales here, followed closely by Canon. As Steve Morley, general manager of Kodak Australia puts it, “Young mums are the biggest consumers of photos and photography. Time and simplicity is a premium for them, so it is all about making digital photography easy and convenient.”
The explanation, according to the director of the US-based Digital Photography Advisory Service, Charles LeCompte, is that women are generally less comfortable with technology, and are therefore more attracted to trusted brands.
Lyra looked into the photo-taking preferences of men and women and found that women prefer direct printing from their camera, and the Kodak EasyShare system in which the camera docks directly onto the printer satisfies that requirement. And it seems that women think that one camera and one docking station are enough and that all the other equipment that goes with digital photography -- computers, imaging software and inkjet printers -- is surplus to their requirements. The idea is clearly catching on, because manufacturers like Canon are also pushing one-button printing solutions direct from the camera.
Here in the Image research labs, we can confirm that women’s expectations of Kodak are generally fulfilled. Kodak digital cameras are easy to use and do produce sharp, saturated images straight from the camera. It’s only when they’re enlarged that shortcomings emerge: the sharpening, contrast and colour saturation are aggressive and would not suit a fastidious photographer planning on making A3 prints. But as applied technology, developed for a consumer with particular demands, the Kodak range fits the bill.
What is fascinating, however, is that women can’t know that until they buy and try the camera, so there is clearly something else at work in making them prefer Kodak. No doubt Kodak’s history as the company that democratised – and simplified - photography still affects the perception of its products.
As the official Kodak history tells it: “With the slogan ‘you press the button, we do the rest’, George Eastman put the first simple camera into the hands of a world of consumers in 1888. In so doing, he made a cumbersome and complicated process easy to use and accessible to nearly everyone.” For more than a century that company philosophy has been impressed on the ordinary consumer. Kodak is a much more technologically sophisticated company that this would suggest, but in the shop the famous red and yellow logo promises ease of use and consistency of output.
Right from the beginning Kodak camera advertisements featured women models using the Brownies. Although there were great women pioneers in photography it was not an art form with broad feminine appeal because it involved messing around in total darkness with toxic chemicals. That was definitely men’s work. But with the invention of the Box Brownie women became the photographic chroniclers of the family. The image of the Kodak brand has always been domestic.
Posted by cw at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 04, 2005
THE DIGITAL PICTURE ARCHIVE
dpexpert spends a lot of time thinking about the problem of the disappearing picture. You know the problem – inkjet prints fade quickly and hard drives fail and CDs and DVDs are unpredictable and sometimes cannot be read for no apparent reason. And "moth and rust doth corrupt and thieves break in and steal."
As if that were not enough to cause digital anxiety attacks there is the added problem of technology obsolescence. In a short slice of our lifetimes the 5 ¼ and 3 ½ inch floppies have come and gone. CD and DVD are about to be superseded by Blue Ray discs. In ten years time no one will have a drive that can read the archive discs. Does it matter?
The BBC reported recently that “some historians and archivists are concerned that the need for perfect pictures will mean that those poor quality prints which offered a tantalising glimpse of the past may disappear forever.” In other words we might be the first post-Daguerre generation to leave no informal photographic record of our life and times. Kodak is offering image storage to customers who buy their printing services, but what use is that? Who, in the next century, will go looking for pictures of Aunty Kylie in the Kodak vault, always assuming that it still exists and that Grandpa remembered to include the password and user name in his will?
It is a sobering thought that the lowest tech archiving solution, the good old silver halide print in the shoe-box time capsule, is still the most reliable archive of memories of times past, but it requires more conscious effort than in the past. In the olden days when the prints came back from the chemist they were looked at once, stuffed in the box and left there to be discovered amongst the effects of the Recently Departed. Digital photographers are going to have to start thinking of their posthumous responsibility to leave a pictorial family record, and the hard drive, CD, floppy and DVD are not the way to do it. Paper still beats all other media. What an amazing invention!
Are you making plans to pass on your photographed memories to the grand children? How do you plan to beat print-fade and media obsolescence?
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Posted by terry at 08:57 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 03, 2005
Yaay! We have conversation!
The plan for DPExpert's world blog domination has always centred on building a site where people can not only read reviews and news, but can have a good yack about matters (digitally) photographic.
Already a couple of conversations have started up in the forum - look, over there on the right, just click on FORUM - which you can read, and (once you register - free!) contribute to.
Add your thoughts, please. It isn't just Terry who's the expert, you know. A lot of you have a lot of knowledge that can help create a great community resource.
Posted by cw at 12:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
[ LUMAPIX FOTOFUSION ]
LUMAPIX FOTOFUSION is a program that takes the slog and trial and error out of creating photo collages.
The photographs that are to be used for the collage are dragged into an assembly area on the interface, then choose AutoCollage from Tools on the toolbar and the images are quickly arranged into either a regular grid pattern or as images arranged with random rotation in a jumble, rather like an untidy fridge door! Different spacings, edge frames, drop shadows etc are all selectable.
Once the initial collage pattern is displayed every image can be shifted, deleted, replaced, resized (within the constraints imposed by Lumapix) and even have its brightness and contrast altered in situ. The level of control over the final appearance of the collage is extraordinary.
Once the composite is finished it is exported either for printing or for the internet. Output for A3+ prints is excellent.
Lumapix Fotofusion is the perfect medium for those occasions when there is a batch of photographs begging to be displayed all together to tell a story or just to boast about beautiful photography or a beautiful child. Or to remember a special occasion, or to create a life story in pictures for Granny’s birthday.
Download from Lumapix for U$40 for the Standard version which limits print output size to 12” by 12”. The Pro version costs U$90 and outputs up to 13” by 19” [A3+ to us.] There is a free trial version that overprints a Lumapix logo on the images.
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Posted by terry at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 02, 2005
[ REVIEW — Canon EOS 300D/Digital Rebel redux ]
CANON EOS 300D with BG-E1 Battery grip
Price: $1800
Rating: 4.5 stars
The low-down: When the Canon EOS 300D (called the Canon Digital Rebel in the US) digital single lens reflex was announced in late 2003 it caused a small sensation. It was the first digital SLR to sell for under $2000, even if only by one dollar.
Since that time Nikon, Pentax and Olympus have broken the $2000 barrier with SLRs. Retailers are offering substantial discounts and Nikon has been giving a rebate on the Nikon D70 and the Canon 300D can now be bought for around $1400.
To extend the product life of the camera Canon are offering options. It is now possible to buy the camera with a black body, no doubt a concession to those who don’t fancy a silver plastic camera. The black looks a little less plasticky than the silver original, although it still feels considerably less rigid and robust than the plastic bodied Nikon.
dpexpert has been testing the 300D with the optional battery grip, BG-E1. The grip takes two Canon BP-511 rechargeable batteries and screws onto the base of the camera. It adds both weight and bulk, but paradoxically this makes the camera better balanced in the hand. Some of the camera controls -- shutter release, exposure variation etc -- are replicated on the grip to facilitate vertical use. Ergonomics are excellent.
Like this: Canon’s CMOS sensor is superb. dpexpert never fails to be astonished at the low-light capability of Canon SLRs. ISO1600 images are so clean, well-exposed and with spot-on white balance that a flash is almost superfluous.
Dislike that: The flexible plastic body does not feel as reassuring as the construction of the competition. The kit lens, which works well enough, does not have a high quality feel and compares poorly with the lens supplied with the Nikon D70. However the price of the basic Canon 300D kit is now so competitive that it is worth considering adding the superb CANON EFS 17-85 IS USM zoom lens f4-5.6 to the kit at another $1100 retail.
Parting shot: With the arrival of the Canon EOS 350D the 300D has not disappeared from the catalogue but has been moved down a notch in price. It is a fine camera, with or without the optional battery grip. A visit to dpreview's review of the camera and owners’ comments is enlightening -- owners either love or loathe their 300D.
SAMPLE images from the CANON EOS 300D
Posted by terry at 05:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
[ REVIEW — Sony DSC-F828 ]
Price: $1999
Rating: 4 stars
SONY’s DSC F828 set some new standards for digital still cameras when it was released in early 2004. It was the first of the pseudo SLR cameras with the Sony 8 megapixel sensor, a 7x Zeiss zoom lens that ranges from 28 to 200mm in 35mm equivalents. The focal length range and the general quality of this lens is outstanding.
The 8 mp 4 colour (red, green, blue and emerald -- unique to Sony) sensor delivers sharp pictures, through the brilliant Zeiss lens. Even at the 200mm extension the maximum f stop is 2.8. The lens is the equivalent of at least two interchangeable lenses for a conventional SLR.
There is manual zoom and manual focussing. Sony gets a pat on the back for this, but not for the electronic viewfinder, which is a miserable affair, as they all are, and makes manual focussing pointless. And the ergonomics of the camera, which is curiously shaped, are a matter of taste. Controls are fiddly and not intuitive.
Some reviewers claim the 8mp 4 colour sensor has too many light receptors on a small chip causing increased noise and optical aberrations. dpexpert didn’t see any problems in our 30 cm by 40 cm prints, so we conclude that for use in the real world, as long as the ISO rating is not pushed too high, you can make superb pictures. Auto focus, exposure and tonal range are as good as we have seen on any digicam. Auto white balance is about the best we have seen in any camera.
Like this: The terrific Zeiss lens the excellent manual zoom and the super resolution, “film-like” pictures. The solid all-metal build speaks quality of design and construction.
Dislike that: Ergonomics (a personal matter) and the electronic viewfinder. The price is high by comparison with other cameras in its class.
Parting shot: The Sony DSC-F828 was the first of its type and it is still one of the best. The Olympus 8080 challenges the Sony on some points, particularly responsiveness. And the Olympus is $500 cheaper.
SAMPLE images from the SONY DSC F828
Posted by terry at 02:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The DPExpert forum is taking visitors
One of the most vital parts of the Bleeding Edge blog is its discussion forum. It's a great place to ask questions and get answers from some very knowledgeable and generous fellow users - apart from just being able to discuss things with people who share a common interest with you.
Well, we have the same facility here. You'll see the Forum link over there on the right. It wasn't very useful until this morning, when I finally got around to some housekeeping. Now, however, you can post stuff in various areas.
If you'd like to see other Forums created, let me know. You can read the posts without being registered, but if you want to post something you'll have to register. It's free, by the way.
Posted by cw at 11:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cheap deals for Mother's Day
Just noticed Canon has some special deals that will drag Mum into the digital age at a considerable saving. They've bundled the PowerShot A510 with a Selphy DS700 compact photo printer for $598, which is $200 off the RRP.
The other deal cuts $180 off the price of a PowerShot A400 and a Selphy CP400 printer.
If Mum's an enthusiast, Nikon's offering a $200 cash-back on the D70, with any Nikkor lens.
Or you could put Mum into a draw for a "dust-free" trip to Uluru if you buy her an E300.
At Sony, if you buy her a wide-screen TV, she'll also get a Sony Cybershot. Mind you, if Mum wants to become an artomologist, like The Ladybird Chronicles' Jane Davenport, she'll want a DSCF828. Gosh, Jane's got a lot of Sony equipment. Could this be part of a sponsorship deal? Fair enough, given she was the inaugural artist in residence at the Wollongong Botanic Gardens. Wow!
Posted by cw at 09:43 AM | Comments (0)
Got the shakes? Here's how to end the blur
If you've paid big bucks for a looo-oong lens, you might find that you get the shakes when you're working with it. Ecopix Photo Wild magazine has some ideas for becoming the still point of a blurring world.
Posted by cw at 09:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
[ FRED MIRANDA'S Intellisharpen II ]
FM Photoshop Plug-in Intellisharpen II
Price: U$24.90 [AU$ 35 approx] Versions for PC & Mac
Rating: 4.5 stars
The low-down: Photographer and Photoshop expert Fred Miranda has updated his Photoshop sharpening plug-in, Intellisharpen. It is available as a download.
Intellisharpen II further refines what was already a supremely useful Photoshop add-on. It is an image sharpening routine based on the assumption that the photographer wants edge enhancement, but without adding noise to the picture or making flat surfaces, such as skin, disagreeably hard. To produce the best overall sharpening the process is broken down into several steps rather than doing the job in a single stroke by choosing Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask in Photoshop.
Intellisharpen II is considerably more complicated to use than version 1 in which it was a simple matter of choosing a level of sharpening from 14 discrete settings. Now it is possible to select the source -- high or low ISO settings -- and use a continuously adjustable slider to select the degree of sharpening. There are some new, non-intuitive supplementary controls which make reading the instruction manual obligatory.
Like this: Intellisharpen installs itself and is then found in the File/Automate drop-down menu. The degree of sharpening can finally be adjusted using the Intensity Tweak slider and the changing effect is displayed in the on-screen image. A batch of similar images can be sharpened by saving the parameters that work with one image and applying that set to others as they are opened.
Dislike this: Intellisharpen II is more complex than version 1 and the price has risen accordingly. U$24.90 is probably not a lot for well-heeled Americans to pay for a sub-application that does only one thing, but $35 for us is a high price.
Parting shot: Since installing Fred Miranda’s Intellisharpen I dpexpert has hardly used the Photoshop unsharp mask routine. We have preferred to let Fred do the calculations and now version II does the job even better.
Have a look at Fred's web site to see galleries of photographs that will either inspire you to try harder or depress you with the impossibly high standards some photographers achieve. Be brave!
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Posted by terry at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2005
[ TWO PHOTOSHOP BOOKS ]
The Photoshop CS book for digital photographers
Photoshop CS killer tips
Price: $69.95 each, distributed in Australia by Penguin
Rating: 4.5
The low-down: Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are beyond a doubt the industry standard for photo editing but they are two of the most infuriatingly difficult applications to master. Photoshop has spawned an entire publishing industry producing third party user manuals.
Many such manuals are as impenetrable as the programs themselves, so it’s a pleasure to be able to recommend two books that approach the Photoshop useability problem by breaking it down into tasks. For instance, if what you want to do is to remove a colour cast from a digital photo there is a section in The Photoshop CS Book for digital photographers that takes you step by step through the process. [Keep in mind that Photoshop CS2 is now in release, so this book will be deficient in some points.]
There are sections on sharpening, correcting for excessive flash, exposure, removing blemishes and even one on how to trim an oversize bum – or “ass”. These are American books.
Photoshop CS Killer Tips is, as the name suggests, hundreds of little snips of useful advice for solving Photoshop problems.
Like this: These are two elegant books, representing the very best in layout, design, typography and printing.
Dislike that: Scott Kelby, the principal author of both books, has an irritatingly childish style. Also all the screen shots are taken from a Mac.
Parting shot: Kelby’s method of moving step by step through a process without putting in a technical explanation of why something works as it does is surprisingly effective. You do what he says and immediately see the effect and then reflect on the process. This beats having to guess, on the basis of a technical description, if a particular procedure is the one you want.
PS: A chap sometimes wonders what is going on in the US. In his acknowledgements Kelby pays tribute to the usual suspects: parents, editors, publishers, old Uncle Tom Cobbly et al. And then finishes with: "And most importantly, my deepest thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for always hearing my prayers, for always being there when I need Him, for blessing me with a wonderful life I truly love..."
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Posted by terry at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)