HarveyG

Canon .CR2 RAW

Nikon .NEF RAW

So you have a Canon (CR2) but want to help a friend edit or Post Process their images but can’t open or view them because they are Nikon (NEF)?

When you install your DSLR software, the codec for your brand of camera is embedded into and used by the O/S so you can view thumbnails, open and edit with your manufacturers included software, however it can’t read a RAW file from another manufacturer if that codec is not installed.

You might have bought the camera 2nd hand and the packaging/software is amiss and downloading the original software is either daunting or it simply isn’t available.

Here’s a solution:

You can download the RAW Codec Pack from a number of online resources. Solutions are to get the codecs from your camera maker, O/S House or from a 3rd party, if you have failed at finding/downloading the software from the manufacturer. Please visit each site regularly as they are updated as new camera models are released. You could also join your local camera club, as there will be a diverse collection of cameras and someone might well be willing to copy his/her install CD for you. Once installed, most s/w self-updates to the latest version.

I’ve done some of the leg work for you; download them here > Codec links: (continue reading…)

’nuff said!

ROFL @ “Is that your ‘skinny’ lens?”

Original here:

The New Nikon D800 Offers Unrivaled Resolution and Features Designed for a Variety of Demanding Professional Photographic and Multimedia Disciplines, Videographers and Filmmakers

Nikon D800/D800E

Exciting news indeed. After months of watching and wondering, and 3.5 years after the D700, it’s here! I’ll be brief. After my debate of “Are more Megapixels better?” the D800 now sports a 36.3Mp CMOS sensor in Full Frame (FX) 35mm (35.9 x 24.0 mm). That is rivalling Medium Format…but with the choice of f/1.4 lenses where nearly all MF lenses start at f/2.8! The sensor is also completely redesigned and engineered by Nikon, and with Nikon’s legendary FX Format Low Light Low Noise characteristics, this is a leap forward in the evolution of the digital camera, especially in this format. Not just a small Mp progression…It allows unedited A1 size pictures without needing Fractal Software and amazing cropping options without degradation of pixel/image quality.

That’s a pixel density of 42,131 pixels per mm² and to all appearances it’s not at the cost of IQ, sharpness or noise, keeping in line with the high ISO, low noise tradition of all Nikon full frame DSLR’s from the D700 on up, and specifically the D3s.

(Owners of the remarkable Sigma SD1 Digital SLR Camera with the FOVEON  X3 – 46Mp will no doubt be wondering what all the hype is about…except maybe the price tag, however the SD1 has an APS-C 24 x 16mm small frame sensor and thus a pixel density of 119,791! Yes I know it has 3 stacked sensors (layers), each 4800 x 3200px but thus needs no AA filter (such as the D800E) and no coloured jaggies but with a slight increase in colour noise in low-light.)

As a reminder here are the current FX per mm² pixel densities (from my 2009 500mm Vivitar mirror-reflex-lens report):

Nikon D800/E 36,3Mp CMOS

All of the FX DSLR’s use a Nikon designed and built CMOS

D700—14,063 pixels/mm² (12.1 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D3 -–- 14,063 pixels/mm² (12.1 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D3s –- 14,063 pixels/mm² (12.1 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D3x –- 30,113 pixels/mm² (24.5 Mp FX 35.9 x 24.0mm)
D4 -–- 18,850 pixels/mm² (16.2 Mp FX 36.0 x 23.9mm)
D800—42,131 pixels/mm² (36.3 Mp FX 35.9 x 24.0mm)

I won’t add more tech gumf, as no doubt thousands of other blogs and websites have done so already however you can download the PDF brochure here (3.6MB) / Full D800/D800E Specifications here.

Despite all it’s new bells and whistles, this is the most intriguing and interesting aspect to me:

What is the difference between the D800 and the D800E or the D800 vs D800E? (Note: Both have the SAME resolution and SAME sensor at 36.3 Mp)

(continue reading…)

According to this MF photographer, there are limitations…

After receiving a newsletter from DP Review about the Phase One Mamiya – Leaf tie-up , one commentator, kb2zuz; (Kurt Heumiller)-USA, who shoots for the Yale Center for British Art, with a Hasselblad H3D-II 39 MS and H4D 50 MS, had this to say about the Medium Format  debate (added below for those without restricted internet access):

What are the mythical advantages of sensor size (or the often related larger pixels)? Less noise, better dynamic range, shallower depth of field. I work with an H4D every day, … I can tell you this, at anything over 50 ISO it has worse noise than any 35mm “full-frame” digital I’ve seen. It has only slightly better dynamic range (and again, that’s only at 50 ISO). Yes with the 120mm f/4 lens it will have a shallower depth of field than an 85mm lens on a full-frame at f/4, but you can get f/1.2 lenses for full-frame. Most MF lenses are f/2.8 or slower, there’s a couple f/2.2 lenses… so there goes the DOF advantage. I use medium format every day and there are reasons for it: multi-shot uninterpolated images, no AA filter, and high megapixels. That’s about it.

I’m no expert on MF, but I’ve long thought it would be better than FF or APS-C in all regards, at that sensor size, and I’ve seen jaw dropping images by MF photographers, but there are other factors I should have taken into consideration, (continue reading…)

Lunch Lizard © HarveyG Photography (published on SigmaPhoto.com)

I lay flat on my stomach for an hour watching this guy catch his lunch during a workshop/getaway in and around Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa. Used a Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX DG APO HSM full-frame non-stabilised lens on the D90 (Sadly it is discontinued by Sigma as they have replaced it with a 120-300mm f/2.8 and I’m counting pennies ;p ) This gives me the effective range of 150-450mm on the DX small-frame sensor of the D90 (remember the D90 has exactly the same sensor as the D300s). Distance to subject about 180 cm / 70.9″ right at the cusp of closest focus. A “kit” 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 would also work as long as it’s the DG (full frame) that has that extra reach, and not the DC 18-250mm version. I shot a lot of my early work with 70-300mm f/slows and they are very versatile. A 55-200mm VR or any equivalent new 70-300mm VR DX/OS DC lens will work, but you have to get closer and often these subjects have a personal space of a few meters.

Note the low POV. Critical in getting more powerful images. I wished more people would do that with their pet images on Facebook!

The lizard polished off at least half a dozen insects and larvae in one hour. They are so fast that by the time he’s scampered to catch the fallen insect he’s half swallowed it already before you get a shot. You have to be spot on with focus and constantly alert. Shutter priority is the way to go and once you have mastered that go aperture priority but keep an eye on the shutter speed. At least double the speed of the maximum focal length of your lens to get a sharp unblurred image. In my case that would be 1/1000th (300mm full frame lens x 1.5x crop factor = 450mm x 2 = 900). A bean bag is handy as this big lens weighs 1480 g / 52.2 oz, and gets harder to hold as time goes by, however the POV is then slightly higher and perhaps not as powerful a shot.

ETA 2012/01/19: ID just in! Thanks to to Trevor from Hardaker.co.za Common Flat Lizard (Platysaurus intermedius) Possibly male.

Watching him snack bugs reminded me of The Crunchy Frog sketch by Monty Python:

Well it’s back to the grindstone for most of us. Hope you all feel refreshed like these little guys and have a fabulous 2012!

Splish Splash - Crowned Lapwings aka Kiewiet (c) H Grohmann photographed during a Workshop at Rietvlei NR

and all those togs that can afford the new Nikon D4 should have a blast at the Olympics with it this year.