CNET Electronics have just reviewed the $399, 3.2 megapixel Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P8.

“Sony’s 3.2-megapixel P8 is loaded with all the distinctive, fun features we loved in the P7, its predecessor in the DSC-P series of compact cameras. The P8 also offers a few treats of its own, including a live histogram and the Tracking Auto-Focus function. While this good-looking camera wins points for ease of use, dedicated point-and-shooters will find better value in 3-megapixel models with more-streamlined feature sets.”

Website: CNET Electronics - Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P8 Review

I’m finally escaping the mountain of work that is my City and Guilds Photography coursework, and jetting off to the Belgian capital of Brussels for a long weekend. The latest issue of the UK magazine Practical Photography coincidentally has a feature about Brussels being a great place for photography, so I’m really looking forward to getting away from my books and actually using my camera for a change. Hopefully the weather will be OK, although Brussels is supposed to be a great city at night, so even if it rains all of those puddles will reflect the night lights. I just need to work out how to fit my tripod into my rucksack and how to get all my extra hand luggage past the RyanAir staff!

Consequently I won’t be updating the site or answering any emails from tomorrow until next Wednesday. Have a good weekend!

I haven’t taken a single photograph in the last 10 days because of my City and Guilds Photography work, so I’m raiding the cupboards, so to speak, and posting the last of my Covent Garden images from my recent visit at the start of May. This photo was taken in the indoor market section, handheld at ISO 800 on the Canon 10D and Tamron 75-300mm lens, focusing on the two old ladies sitting down in the middle.

I often find other photographers’ accounts of how they actually took a photograph as interesting, maybe more so, as the photograph itelf. Sounds like a good idea for a website…Michael Reichmann’s detailed report of his recent trip to Death Valley is once again well-worth reading, helped by some gorgeous sand-dune photographs.

“In mid-May 2003 I spent 5 days leading a photographic workshop in Death Valley, CA. I have shot in Death Valley on several previous occasions during the past few years, and likely would not have gone back there again so soon. But, there was a total lunar eclipse scheduled for the evening of May 15th, and I had decided that this was likely the best place for the eclipse photograph that I had visualized. My write-up on the eclipse shoot describes that event, but since we spent a total of five days working in the Death Valley area, here is a look at some of the photographs that were produced, and a discussion of some of the locations.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Death Valley Location Report

Phil Askey at DPReview has posted an exhaustive 24-page review of the Kodak DCS Pro 14n.

“The DCS-14n is a camera which one moment can fill you with amazement and awe at its ability to capture such fine detail, and the next be frustrating you with its slow startup times, long write time or high ISO noise. It’s also a camera of limits, you can’t go above ISO 400 at full resolution, you can’t shoot faster than 1.7 frames per second, you have to live with 1/2 EV stops and you should expect some occasional image artifacts (moir?, noise reduction etc.).”

Website: DPReview - Kodak DCS Pro 14n Review

Strictly one for all the Canon owners out there; a new version (1.2.2) of Canon’s File Viewer Utility has been released. Rob Galbraith has all the news and links to the download files for Windows and MAC users. There doesn’t seem to be a massive amount of changes, but I’ve downloaded it anyway…

Rob Galbraith - News

Michael Reichmann has posted a very detailed account of how he took the lunar eclipse photograph that I reported on Saturday. It’s a very interesting insight into the world of a professional photographer, and well worth reading even if astronomy isn’t your main interest.

Luminous Landscape

“Cheer Up!” (May 06 2003)

It’s hard to believe, on a grey, overcast, drizzly, British Sunday morning, that the weather was like this only a couple of weeks ago. This field of rape is amazingly just around the corner from the industrial estate where I work; a large aperture was used to blur out all of the man-made paraphenalia in the background (pylons, electricity lines, motorways…) and to focus on the flowers.

Now, I must stop procrastinating and get back to the mountain of work that is my City and Guilds project. Only a couple more weeks to go…

Well, it looks as though Michael Reichmann might have gone and won his own competition! This is by far the most interesting photo of the recent lunar eclipse that I’ve seen:

Luminous Landscape

If you know of a better photograph (in your humble opinion) then send me the URL and I’ll take a look. It will have to be good to beat this one though..

As a relatively in-experienced Photoshop user who predominantly uses the Levels command to tweak photographs, I’ve tended to ignore the Curves command, which is supposed to be the better tool. However, the well-written, in-depth “Introduction to the Curves Command” article at GurusNetwork (found via digicamera.net) may well change my mind.

“I’m going to start this essay with a provocative statement: Anyone who is, or wants to be doing image editing at a professional level needs to be as comfortable with Curves as they are with breathing. Is that bold enough? Do I have your attention now? If I were forced to give up all but one image adjustment tool, the one I would keep would be Curves. Think of Curves as your one-stop-shopping source for improving images the way the pros do.”

Website: GurusNetwork - Curves Article

If you post images on the web and resize them down from their original dimensions, you may have noticed that the resulting image is often, well, a bit blurry and not that sharp. Photo-i have just reviewed the Resize Magic plug-in for Photoshop which “is designed to reduce images with the maximum quality too. It’s hard to believe, but Photoshop and similar programs are really weak when they reduce the size of images: if you reduce a lot you obtain a blurred image. Most resizing plug-ins and programs do not create good images when reducing, too.” Read Photo-i’s review to decide if this specialized software is for you.

Website: photo-i - Resize Magic Review

To round-up my brief look at the macro capabilities of the Canon EOS 10D, here are 6 photos of varying quality from my initial try-out of the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens.




What I’ve forgotten/neglected to tell you so far is that all of the macro samples that I’ve posted were inadvertently shot at the 800 ISO setting (I forgot yet again to check the camera settings). So if you assumed that they were ISO 100 images and were maybe a little noisy, think again, because they’re actually ISO 800 images that don’t really display that much noise.

Macro #3	Macro #4	Macro #5
Macro #6	Macro #7	Macro #8

It’s been pointed out to me (thanks Ian!) that yesterday’s sample macro photograph was perhaps not the best subject to choose, as it wasn’t easily identifiable (not identifiable at all really!). So I’m posting a more recognisable subject - the British pound coin - which will hopefully give you a better idea of what the 10D and the Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro lens can do.




As with yesterday’s sample, the images demonstrate 3 things. From left to right, the first photo is a resized version (500x333 pixels) of the original JPEG file, with levels adjustment and USM applied. The second is a 100%, non-altered crop from the original JPEG. The third is a 100% crop with levels adjustment and USM applied.

Macro #2	Macro #2 - 100% Original	Macro #2- 100% Sharpened

ePhotoZine have reviewed the Nikon F75, a new mid-range film camera. Retailing at around ?299 with a 28-100mm lens, the F75 takes on the likes of the Canon EOS 300V and the Minolta Dynax 5. ePhotoZine seemed to like the camera a lot:

“The results I got from this camera made me confident enough to be happy to own and use. It doesn’t feel like a heavy duty model but it certainly delivers the results like one and you have the benefit of not breaking your back carrying it. If the F75 is in your price range buy it now…I guarantee you will not be disappointed!”

The F75 also scored 89% when reviewed in this week’s Amateur Photographer magazine (a weekly UK mag). So for ?300, the F75 has got a to be a better idea than an equivalently-priced digital camera, hasn’t it? Even if it does use what many people consider to be that old and outdated format, 35mm film…

Website: ePhotoZine - Nikon F75 Review

The release of Pentax’s new DSLR, the *ist D, has been delayed until the end of August due to “a delay in the procurement of material required”. The release of Fuji’s F700 has also recently been put on hold for a similar reason. It seems that the demand for digital may be outstripping the supply at a manufacturing level, at least temporarily anyway. A 2 month delay for the Pentax *ist D surely gives Canon even more time to increase its lead in the DSLR market with the EOS 10D.

Website: DPReview - Pentax *ist D Delay

I haven’t really posted any samples yet showing what the original images files from the Canon 10D look like - I’ve been too busy using it to try and take photographs, instead of pictures of test charts/rulers/cats etc.




Yesterday I bought a macro lens, the Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to show one of the first pictures that I’ve taken with it in various states. From left to right, the first photo is a resized version (500x333 pixels) of the original JPEG file, with levels adjustment and USM applied. The second is a 100%, non-altered crop from the original JPEG. The third is a 100% crop with levels adjustment and USM applied.




If you’re thinking of buying a 10D or a macro lens, it might give you an idea of what to expect. If you’re not thinking of buying either, you may just want to skip this post entirely and read about the Minolta Dimage S414 review instead.

Macro #1	Macro #1 - 100% Original	Macro 1 - 100% Sharpened

CNET have reviewed the Minolta Dimage S414, which doesn’t fare as well as in previous reviews:

“Minolta’s Dimage S414 is a subtle improvement on its popular predecessor, the Dimage S404, but it retains key specs such as 4-megapixel resolution, a 4X (35mm to 140mm) zoom lens, and flexible exposure options. But while the S414’s feature set is a fairly good deal for the price, the camera can’t quite match a variety of similarly priced competitors in image quality and performance.”

Website: CNET - Minolta Dimage S414 Review

Apparently the new ISO 100 version of the amazingly popular Fuji Velvia slide film will be available to buy in the UK in August. Announced at PMA 2003 in March, Velvia 100 “employs the industry’s first Multi-Colour Correction Layer technology in a colour reversal film. It also features new coupler and emulsion technologies.” Velvia 50 is one of my favourite films, along with Kodak EBX 100, so I’ll definitely be trying out a few rolls of the new 100 speed version.

Website: ePhotoZine - Velvia 100