Merco_61

Here is an abstract...

D300

MicroNikkor 105/4 Ai'd

6s

f/11

ISO 200

D2X Mode3

The background is a 120g MODO paper mounted in a holder to generate a seamless background for macro. Lighting is an ordinary desk lamp.

I am starting the new year with a new workflow. I will be using Photo Mechanic fully for ingestion, keywording, IPTC and export. For raw conversions I am switching to Capture NX-2 and NX-D as a start and probably Photo Ninja when I have figured out exactly how to optimize my workflow in Photo Mechanic. I like ACR less and less the more I use Capture as I need to do so many small tweaks to get the same result as my in-camera settings that carry over so well to Capture.

Jerry, congratulations on finding a solution that preserves the keywording between the two DAM solutions.

The camera tries to get the background well lit, which means that the spot-lit singer or band members get overexposed. As long as you aren't in full auto mode you can either dial in some -compensation or spotmeter off a face and shoot in manual.

D610 24-120/4 65mm f4 1/125@ISO400
Post processed in Lightroom

Yes, I am currently experimenting with Lightroom after having transfered my complete catalog from Aperture, but I still have to get fully familiar with it.

This is an old Ford - but don't know the exact model. Maybe somebody can help out with this?

To me, this looks like a late first generation F-series, but I don't know them well enough to pinpoint the year.

Changing over to LR isn't easy as the workflow is so different from Aperture. Did your keywords transfer without a hitch? I still miss the DAM part of Aperture and don't think LR has quite caught up yet.

Here is my current street kit ready for action.

Kodak DCS760, Tamron 28-75@48 mm, 3 seconds, f/4.5 and ISO 80. 

Subjects are D300 with 24/2.8 AF-D, 50/1.8 AF-D and D700 with 105/2.5 Ai.

It is time to get some new gaffer's tape and redo the masking of the logos. The D300 has Tesa tape, done in 2012 and the D700 Stokvis, done less than a month ago. 

Provided you get genuine gaffer's tape and not cheap masking tape repackaged as gaffer's tape.

 

--Ron

Or, even worse, that fabric tape that separates from the glue and leaves a waxy, sticky mess behind without holding anything in place. I have tried alternatives to Nichiban and Tesa tape, but nothing else compares. Nichiban can often be found in 1-inch wide rolls, which makes it easier to handle.

The sensor is more or less linear in response, but long exposure noise shows up instead. When you switch the long exposure NR on, the camera shoots a black exposure with the same time as the shot directly after the exposure and maps out the hot spots when the time is longer than 1 s. Another thing to remember is that the non-calibrated ISO settings often are slower than nominal.

Remember, gaffer's tape is just like the Force. It has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together.

Here are the half-dozen hobby shots I like best from my past year.

Those of you who follow my blog and the Your best... weekly challenge will recognize them.

I don't see how changing systems would solve anything as the modern Canons use the same connector... The advantage of using standard connectors is that you can buy cables anywhere. If the connector was proprietary, you would have to stock up or risk being unable to use the systems for quite a while if the only supplier ran into problems with production and something happened to your cable.

Have you tried an angled Micro-USB3 cable? This removes the connector sticking straight out and makes it possible to secure the cable with some gaffer's tape.

I have to admit that I didn't get this kind of high-ISO behaviour when I started using a D700. They are very sensitive to underexposure. It is often better to raise the ISO and err towards overexposure, both for reduced noise and better DR. From what I have seen, the D600/610 has some of the same behaviour. Exposing to the right is not as necessary as it was with the D200 and D2X, but you still get even cleaner files at high ISO if you do.

The problem when going outside calibrated ISO is artifacts like the banding and that the lower DR removes all exposure latitude. I think I have about 6.5 stops of range at 25600, this is about the same as Kodachrome 64 had. This gives an exposure latitude of about +¹/₃/-0 steps, about equal to Kodachrome's +0/-¹/₃ steps.

The first two definitely qualify as insanely low light... 1 hour and 15 minutes before sunrise...

1/25, f/10, ISO 25600, D700, 14-24@14

1/25, f/10, ISO 25600, D700, 14-24@14

These two are at the maximum calibrated ISO, 6400.

1/40, f/10, ISO 6400, D700, 14-24@24

1/100, f/10, ISO 6400, D700, 14-24@21

The banding at pinpoint lights because of internal reflections at the edge of the shutter curtain is one of the reasons the 12800 and 25600 ISO settings aren't seen as calibrated.

Active D-lighting low and D2x mode 1 set in camera, jpegs SOOC, only watermarked, reduced in size and sharpened for screen in LR.

Refurbs are often demo cameras and open-box returns that are sent back to Nikon, checked, repacked in neutral boxes and sold at a lower price and a shorter warranty. They can often be a result of the no-questions-asked returns policy in some chain stores. Stocks never last long, but if one checks regularly it is possible to get one at a bargain price.

As the 35-70 draws so like the 28-105, letting go of that one should be easy. The 35-80 never did well when it comes to clarity and sharpness, but it draws different from anything else for moody dawn or dusk landscapes. I still miss the one I had, but I gave it away with a F801 to get a friend's son started with film some years ago.

Alden did a series of misty dawn captures in February 2014 with his that show these qualities admirably.

As they are definitely not traditional portraiture, I would say they qualify .  I wonder what the second one would look like if you nudged the clarity a little higher?

Tom, I am not too sure about the downsizing of the bodies... I have used full-size cameras for the last 20 years, first F4E, then Kodak DCS 760 and after that gripped D300 and D700. I will have to test the ergonomics thoroughly before I decide. 

I think it is easier to come from the prosumer bodies and take the step up than the other way around. Since the D7200 and D750 both have dedicated BKT buttons and the movie recording button is programmable, the lack of buttons where they used to be isn't dealbreaking.