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I found a few minutes this evening to experiment with an area of photography that I have virtually no experience and, until recently at least, no interest in. Macro photography, and in particular macro photography of flowers, has never sparked my imagination. I mean, if you’ve seen one photo of a flower, then you’ve seen them all, right?
Err, wrong actually. Now that I can actually see and review what I’ve just taken a photo of, I’m willing to try out new things, including, would you believe it, macro photography. So here’s a few shots of flowers taken with the 10D and the macro function on my Tamron zoom lens (which isn’t strictly speaking a macro lens at all).
*Note 1: Macro number 3 is actually a 500x333 pixel crop from Macro 2.
*Note 2: I have adjusted the images slightly in Photoshop - levels, contrast, USM, the usual things…
*Note 3: The 10D can save an image as both a RAW file and a JPEG file at the same time. All of these images are the small JPEGs that the camera created.
*Note 4: If anyone’s interested in seeing a full-size, unedited RAW file, then let me know, and I’ll maybe email something to you.
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Canon 10D Macro #1 | Canon 10D Macro #2 | Canon 10D Macro #3 |
I found a few minutes this evening to experiment with an area of photography that I have virtually no experience and, until recently at least, no interest in. Macro photography, and in particular macro photography of flowers, has never sparked my imagination. I mean, if you’ve seen one photo of…
The Photo-i website has been quiet for some time, but has just been updated with some interesting articles, including a review of 3 completely free photography applications that may be worth downloading.
Website: Photo-i
The Photo-i website has been quiet for some time, but has just been updated with some interesting articles, including a review of 3 completely free photography applications that may be worth downloading. Website: Photo-i
Here’s yet another review for you to read today…DCResource has taken a look at the Minolta Dimage F300, a 5-megapixel digital compact that retails for $599.
“The Minolta DiMAGE F300 is another one of those cameras that I like, but at the same time don’t think is the best of the pack (I’d give that award to the Canon PowerShot S50). The F300 offers full manual controls, sharp, well-exposed images, an above average movie mode, and a unique tracking autofocus system. I really like having an LCD info display as well. Negatives include higher-than-average noise in images, a very slow moving lens, shutter lag, and the lack of an AF illuminator. The bundle could be better, too. Don’t write off the F300—it’s definitely worth your consideration if you’re in the market for a small 5 Megapixel camera.”
Website: DCResource - Minolta F300 Review
Here’s yet another review for you to read today…DCResource has taken a look at the Minolta Dimage F300, a 5-megapixel digital compact that retails for $599. “The Minolta DiMAGE F300 is another one of those cameras that I like, but at the same time don’t think is the best of…
Steve’s Digicams has reviewed the Minolta Dimage S414, a mid-range digital compact. According to Steve you should rush out and buy one before they disappear off the shelves…
“The DiMAGE S414 is an incredible deal (steal?) at just $399 (or less.) Most other 4-megapixel cameras are at least a hundred dollars more expensive. Few of the competing cameras offer a durable aluminum body and even less have 4x optical zooms. This is an excellent choice for the advanced user or the beginner who wants a camera they can grow into. It has plenty of image resolution to make photo-quality prints up to 13x19” size. They should sell as well as the S404 did last year so grab one now if you want one—they could go very fast.”
Steve’s Digicams has reviewed the Minolta Dimage S414, a mid-range digital compact. According to Steve you should rush out and buy one before they disappear off the shelves… “The DiMAGE S414 is an incredible deal (steal?) at just $399 (or less.) Most other 4-megapixel cameras are at least a hundred…
CNET Electronics have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix 4300 digital compact camera, awarding it 7.8 out of 10:
“Easy operation, comfortable ergonomics, and excellent image quality make the 4-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4300 an appealing buy for snapshot photographers. But there’s more to this camera than simple point-and-shoot functionality, as its long list of features attests. If you like to rely on your camera to take care of the basics but want the flexibility of fine-tuning your shots, this versatile and very reasonably priced model should be on your short list.”
Website: CNET - Nikon 4300 Review
CNET Electronics have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix 4300 digital compact camera, awarding it 7.8 out of 10: “Easy operation, comfortable ergonomics, and excellent image quality make the 4-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4300 an appealing buy for snapshot photographers. But there’s more to this camera than simple point-and-shoot functionality, as its long…
Luminous Landscape are posting a series of 9 new articles by Alain Briot which look at various aspects of the topic Aesthetics and Photography. The first article is entitled “Part One - How to See Photographically”.
“This article is the first in a series of nine essays focused on the aesthetic aspects of photography. The overall goal of this series is to help you create a photograph which is aesthetically pleasing: a beautiful photograph.”
Luminous Landscape are posting a series of 9 new articles by Alain Briot which look at various aspects of the topic Aesthetics and Photography. The first article is entitled “Part One - How to See Photographically”. “This article is the first in a series of nine essays focused on the…
DP-Now have reviewed the Lacie 6-in-1 Media Reader.
“Lacie’s new compact and slim-line 6-in-1 (Compact Flash I/II and Microdrive, SD/MMC, SmartMedia and Sony Memory Stick) universal media reader is less than half the price of the model it replaces and that couldn’t boast a high speed USB 2.0 interface.”
Website: DP-Now - Lacie Media Reader Review
DP-Now have reviewed the Lacie 6-in-1 Media Reader. “Lacie’s new compact and slim-line 6-in-1 (Compact Flash I/II and Microdrive, SD/MMC, SmartMedia and Sony Memory Stick) universal media reader is less than half the price of the model it replaces and that couldn’t boast a high speed USB 2.0 interface.” Website…
CNET Electronics have belatedly reviewed the Sigma SD9 DSLR:
“The Sigma SD9 works far better as a proof of concept for the Foveon X3 sensor it uses than as a practical digital SLR. The first camera to take advantage of Foveon’s 3.42-megapixel, 10.3-million photodetector imager, the SD9 manages to capture extremely sharp images of stationary or slow-moving subjects in good light. But action and low-light scenes produce mixed results, and when combined with the rest of this camera’s characteristics, it all adds up to a mediocre digital SLR that displays flashes of greatness only occasionally.”
Website: CNET - Sigma SD9 Review
CNET Electronics have belatedly reviewed the Sigma SD9 DSLR: “The Sigma SD9 works far better as a proof of concept for the Foveon X3 sensor it uses than as a practical digital SLR. The first camera to take advantage of Foveon’s 3.42-megapixel, 10.3-million photodetector imager, the SD9 manages to capture…
Guy Lerner, who reviewed the Canon 10D last week, has now posted an informative article at Go Inside Magazine entitled “Canon EOS 10D Further Tests: Soft focus, Bad apples, & Other stories”. Essential reading for any new 10D owners who think their camera has problems…
“This article takes an in-depth look at some of the issues reported with the new 10D, and looks for solutions to common problems reported by 10D owners.”
Website: Go Inside Magazine
Guy Lerner, who reviewed the Canon 10D last week, has now posted an informative article at Go Inside Magazine entitled “Canon EOS 10D Further Tests: Soft focus, Bad apples, & Other stories”. Essential reading for any new 10D owners who think their camera has problems… “This article takes an in-depth…
The April issue of the excellent 28mm.org, “a webzine dedicated to the love of photography” has just been released, featuring 14 new photographer’s galleries. I particularly like the “View from above” gallery by Jeremy Clouser…
Website: 28mm.org
The April issue of the excellent 28mm.org, “a webzine dedicated to the love of photography” has just been released, featuring 14 new photographer’s galleries. I particularly like the “View from above” gallery by Jeremy Clouser… Website: 28mm.org
Reported on ePhotoZine yesterday, Minolta have announced a very highly-specced and very competitively-priced film scanner, the Dimage Scan Elite 5400. The new scanner has a very high resolution of 5400dpi and incorporates Digital ICE technology. IEEE1394 (FireWire) or USB 2.0 interfaces are both supported, which should make for quick transfer times to your PC. The Dimage Scan Elite 5400 will be available from mid June 2003 for ?599.99.
You can read the full story here:
Reported on ePhotoZine yesterday, Minolta have announced a very highly-specced and very competitively-priced film scanner, the Dimage Scan Elite 5400. The new scanner has a very high resolution of 5400dpi and incorporates Digital ICE technology. IEEE1394 (FireWire) or USB 2.0 interfaces are both supported, which should make for quick transfer…
Steve’s Digicams has reviewed the intriguing Contax Tvs Digital. Available in silver or black, at $895 the 5-megapixel camera is aimed at the more expensive end of the market, which doesn’t go down too well with Steve:
“Taking the overall performance, image quality and price of the Contax TVS into consideration I can’t really recommend it. Boutique item or no boutique item—it’s just too expensive given the competition is selling equal and better cameras for much less. Today’s buyers for the most part don’t know or care about the heritage of the camera maker.”
Website: Steve’s Digicams - Contax Tvs Review
Steve’s Digicams has reviewed the intriguing Contax Tvs Digital. Available in silver or black, at $895 the 5-megapixel camera is aimed at the more expensive end of the market, which doesn’t go down too well with Steve: “Taking the overall performance, image quality and price of the Contax TVS into…
I’ve not posted anything here for the last 2 days. Very unusual for me. You may be wondering why? Well, as the title of this post suggests, silence is indeed golden. I’ve taken the metaphorical plunge and bought a Canon EOS 10D. Despite my “Just Say No Kids…” remarks at the start of this week, which have provoked quite a bit of debate, I’ve changed my mind and done a complete about turn.
First impressions are positive. I particularly like the way that I can take a photo, review it on screen and immediately see if the exposure is correct (via a histogram) and even which parts of the image are overexposed (they flash to indicate over-exposure). Several times yesterday I needed to re-shoot and use exposure compensation to prevent the highlights from “blowing-out”. I can’t remember ever doing this with my Canon EOS 300 film SLR. The auto-focusing and shutter are very responsive; the camera seems more responsive and zippier than the EOS 300. In fact, the 10D feels just like an SLR with an LCD display on the back, which I guess is the point really.
I’ve only had a couple of hours shooting with the 10D, and you can see the first images in the next post. However, without jumping the gun too much, it already feels like the right decision for me. I think the 10D is a sunstantial upgrade from both the EOS 300 and the Minolta Dimage 5, and it’s already allowing me to try new things and instantly see the results. At the end of the day it’s only a camera, but hopefully it will be a camera that ultimately improves my photography.
I’ve not posted anything here for the last 2 days. Very unusual for me. You may be wondering why? Well, as the title of this post suggests, silence is indeed golden. I’ve taken the metaphorical plunge and bought a Canon EOS 10D. Despite my “Just Say No Kids…” remarks at…
I had about an hour yesterday afternoon to venture out into the Spring sunshine (which has now disappeared) and try out the 10D for the very first time.
Unlike a lot of new 10D owners, I didn’t take any shots of rulers to try and prove if my camera has focusing issues, and there are definitely no pictures of cats…
At this very early stage I’m also completely unsure of the conversion process from the camera to print and the web. These images were shot in Raw mode, converted to 16-bit tiffs using Canon’s File Viewer Utility, tweaked in Photoshop (levels, contrast, USM), then saved as web-ready jpegs in Macromedia Fireworks. This is almost certainly not the best way to do things; further reading is required.
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Canon 10D #1 | Canon 10D #2 |
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Canon 10D #1 | Canon 10D #2 |
I had about an hour yesterday afternoon to venture out into the Spring sunshine (which has now disappeared) and try out the 10D for the very first time. Unlike a lot of new 10D owners, I didn’t take any shots of rulers to try and prove if my camera has…
Bob Atkins has posted a brief, informative and even humorous guide to the Canon EOS 10D, which is principally aimed at people who are upgrading from point and shoot digital cameras.
“I’ve seen reports that 10D images aren’t as sharp as they might be, or the saturation is low, or the contrast is wrong. Opinions differ and that’s why the 10D let’s you adjust all these settings (manual, p.56). However you have to make these adjustments BEFORE the shot is taken if you are shooting JPEG files. If you shoot RAW files you can make these adjustments later (Software manual page W.27 or M.25) when you transfer the files to your PC. You can’t print RAW files, they have to be converted first, so you need a PC for this. If you don’t have a PC then (a) You bought the wrong camera and (b) How are you reading this?”
Bob Atkins has posted a brief, informative and even humorous guide to the Canon EOS 10D, which is principally aimed at people who are upgrading from point and shoot digital cameras. “I’ve seen reports that 10D images aren’t as sharp as they might be, or the saturation is low, or…
Steve’s Digicams has reviewed the following 4 digital compact cameras during the last few days:
Steve’s Digicams has reviewed the following 4 digital compact cameras during the last few days: Canon Powershot S50 Toshiba PDR-4300 Olympus Stylus Digital 400 Olympus D-560 Zoom Website: Read my review of the Olympus Stylus 400
Mike Johnston’s “Sunday Morning Photographer” column this week looks at the Nikon F100, Minola Maxxum 7 and the Nikon N80.
“Over the years, at my various jobs, people have regularly sent me or brought me examples of their work to look at and comment on. The only conclusion a thinking person can draw from seeing all this work is something I’ve said many times: “Cameras don’t take pictures, photographers do.” I’ve seen good work made by all kinds (and I mean all kinds) of cameras, and I’ve seen awful work made by all kinds of cameras too, even the very best ones. Sometimes especially the very best ones.”
Mike Johnston’s “Sunday Morning Photographer” column this week looks at the Nikon F100, Minola Maxxum 7 and the Nikon N80. “Over the years, at my various jobs, people have regularly sent me or brought me examples of their work to look at and comment on. The only conclusion a thinking…
Imaging Resource have reviewed the 3-megapixel Nikon 3100 and 2-megapixel Nikon 2100 digital cameras that Nikon announced at PMA 2003.
“I was impressed with the feature set and ease of use when I first reviewed a prototype of the new Nikon Coolpix 2100, but now that I’ve had the opportunity to test a production model, I’m impressed with the photos it shoots too.
All in all, Nikon has come up with a very nice little package here for novice photographers on a budget. Unique features like its “scene assist” mode (that helps you frame your shots to take maximum advantage of the camera’s preprogrammed scene exposure modes) make it easy for even rank beginners to bring back great-looking photos from what would otherwise be challenging situations.”
Website: Imaging Resource - Nikon 3100 Review
Website: Imaging Resource - Nikon 2100 Review
Imaging Resource have reviewed the 3-megapixel Nikon 3100 and 2-megapixel Nikon 2100 digital cameras that Nikon announced at PMA 2003. “I was impressed with the feature set and ease of use when I first reviewed a prototype of the new Nikon Coolpix 2100, but now that I’ve had the opportunity…
Fred Miranda has released a new Photoshop sharpening action for the Canon EOS 10D, called “10D CSPro”.
“The 10D CSpro action is a new sharpening technology specific designed to accommodate the Canon 10D SLR non-linear files. It rapidly performs approximately 35 steps and offers many intensity levels.
Although both the D60 and 10D offer similar file size, the 10D CSpro was redesigned from scratch in order to accommodate the improved noise levels and CMOS quality improvements of the 10D. This new action provides everything from haloless sharpening, edgesharpening, luminance sharpening, mode sharpening, and more with just the press of a button.”
Website: Fred Miranda - 10D CSPro
Fred Miranda has released a new Photoshop sharpening action for the Canon EOS 10D, called “10D CSPro”. “The 10D CSpro action is a new sharpening technology specific designed to accommodate the Canon 10D SLR non-linear files. It rapidly performs approximately 35 steps and offers many intensity levels. Although both the…
ePhotoZine have reviewed the Pro version of one of the most popular mid-range digital cameras, the FujiFilm S602.
“The S602 Pro is an easy-to-use camera that provides a flexible range of options, combined with higher image quality than most other three megapixel consumer cameras. There are minor niggles to be found in some parts of the user interface, with the slowish image playback being the most noticeable culprit. On the whole though the handling of the camera is in the best of class league and will suit many beginner or amateur photographers well.”
ePhotoZine have reviewed the Pro version of one of the most popular mid-range digital cameras, the FujiFilm S602. “The S602 Pro is an easy-to-use camera that provides a flexible range of options, combined with higher image quality than most other three megapixel consumer cameras. There are minor niggles to be…