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…)

Photographic Workshops:

I’ve had the good fortune to travel around Africa on my photo tours/workshops and see many camps, lodges, parks, hotels, conference centres and the like. There are only a handful that are memorable and make you want to return time and again. Not just the scenery, wildlife, facilities and peacefulness but what really makes the difference is the people. Seokama is one of those rare places where you can relax with family and friends and truly feel at home.

At the beginning of, and throughout the summer I visit Dave, Monika, Peter, Ryan, John and Tepa. The Waterberg is one of my favourite bush-veld getaways. Whilst there are dozens of lodge choices in the area, I occasionally need some escape from the pressure of only chasing the Big 5 for clients and not focussing on the other wild and birdlife, scenery that Africa has to offer.

Seokama Private Lodge is this escape.

Lodge Building. Seokama Private Lodge.

Sunrise

Vista

African Sunsets

Within walking distance from the lodge, 4 luxury canvas tents sleeping 8 on very comfy beds, each one with a covered verandah and an en-suite bathroom where the shower overlooks the bush at the back (just your head is visible!). A well appointed lodge with kitchen, lounge, bar and pool deck with views of the bush-veld savannah tucked amongst some beautiful mountains and landscape, a boma with Bush-Baby’s calling at night, has all one really needs to wind down. There is also a conference centre for hire, with facilities. Seokama has an abundance of bird life, especially around the summer rainfalls, as well as a good variety of game..

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I’ve been asked that dreaded question again:
Q: More Mega-pixels is better, right?
A: Sure, if you can afford an H4d-200MS or 645DF & IQ180 Medium Format…with a lens or two.
Q: What’s Medium Format?
A: * Sigh *

Nikon Canon Nikon Canon ...

Has aggressive marketing and consumerism made potential DSLR buyers really believe that N is better than C or C better than N thanks to the Mega-pixel count of the latest release? Are Mega-pixels the be all and end all buying factor of the perceived quality of a digital camera and thus the only basis for a purchasing decision? It’s as bad a question as the “What camera is better? Nikon or Canon?” Define “better”?

What about Sony, Sigma, Pentax, Kodak, Olympus, Fuji, Samsung, Panasonic, Leica, Hasselblad, Phase One, Mamiya, Zeiss etc. Are they no good? Never heard of them? Won’t consider them?

Sensor Sizes (Not to scale) Image courtesy Wikipedia. Click on the image to go their comprehensive sensor article.

What about the actual sensor dimensions used in various iterations of all these brands and cameras?
What about the TYPE of sensor, the design and the technology of the actual sensors that record the image? There are many different types of sensors each with their own unique design and improvements over the years. How does the manufacturers in-camera image processing software algorithms shape up? Do you need to shoot low light without flash? Are you only shooting in natural light. Wildlife, events, PJ? How about studio work?
Are lenses/glass quality also not part of this equation? Do you want one lens that goes from wide angle for landscapes to 600x zoom for spotting the tick on a Warthog’s butt at 200 meters? It’s ok, it’s got anti-shake! Will it still be as sharp on a P&S 600mm 12Mp with 1/1.8″ sensor (24.7mm²) as on a full frame 24Mp with 600mm f/4? with a 35mm (370 mm²) sensor? What about the signal-noise ratio? The larger sensor also has less clipping.

Based on ones need, I can make a purchasing suggestion wrt body, make, model, lens and sensor type/mega-pixel choice. It’s about the intended use, not only the Mp. Get a FF DSLR and the 4 or 5 lenses you will need to go from Ultra Wide Angle to Super Zoom at 800mm. Now try sneak it on as hand luggage on your way to the Serengeti.

There is not one definitive answer unless money is no object. Note that these two cameras are used in mostly studio and product photography and may not be ideal or practical for wildlife, astronomy, your next fishing trip (or event work?) due lens selection and body size, practicality and even weather resistance:

Who here has seen (drooled over) the Hasselblad H4D-200MS yet?

Hasselblad H4D-200MS - CCD based back.

Or the Phase One 645DF with IQ180 Digital Back?

Phase One 645DF - CCD based back.

In order to answer the More Mp is better question:

What is your intended use of the camera? (Holiday snaps to billboard advertisements of supercars/models).
What print size do you want? (Postcard or a wall mounted A1 Canvas?)
What is your budget!? (How deep are your pockets?)
Have you got old AF or MF lenses from the film days and what brand? (Saving money on glass allows you to spend more on new body technology)
How big are your hands and how strong is your back? (Good glass weighs a tonne)

You can see where I am going with this… (continue reading…)

I spotted this gent at a recent airshow. About 30 meters away. He came across as an ex military man, perhaps down on his luck but still proud.

Chiseled - (c) HarveyG Photography

Shot handheld with a 1996 Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 APO Aspherical for Nikon (AF-D). Who needs VR?! You can pick a 2nd hand one up for R4000-00 ($550-00 / £400-00 / EUR 400-00) or so. About 1/2 that of the new Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens never mind the price of a similar Focal Length zoom or prime from Nikkor or Canon.

Silkmoth, Bombyx mori

OK. So you have a yearning to try Macro work? Ladybugs, Mantids, Flowers or anything else that springs to mind. But that $1000.00 105mm f/2,8 VRII Macro Lens is just a little beyond the budget? You should have gotten an 18-55mm Kit lens with your DSLR or you have a nice 28-70mm f/2.8? Your not sure if spending so much money will be worth it? There are a number of solutions. You can buy an adaptor ring or reversal ring, which mounts into your DSLR body and the other end is threaded so that you can reverse your lens and screw it into the adaptor. This effectively turns your lens into a macro lens. Sure there will be no metering. Focus and exposure is manual and you will have to determine the correct exposure, by trial and error. Set mirror lock-up and use the best tripod you can afford. A small shutter release is also a definite must. All of which prevent camera shake and blur. So choose an object that is stationary, like a coin, or flower or rings. This reverse ring will cost you all of maybe $25-00. Don’t like it? Too much effort? Then macro is probably not for you. You see, even with a dedicated Macro lens you will eventually only manually focus. Focus and composition is so critical on macro’s that you can’t let the camera’s AF do it for you. Whilst the exposure is auto on such a lens, you might sill need to add flash or fill light to your subject. Trust me, its better to set that up manually too, you will want to control the light direction and intensity more often than not, meaning off camera flash. iTTL or eTTL is pretty pointless then, unless you insist on running it using an ext cable. There are many online macro tutorials, all I’d like to say here is go cheap first. Go manual. You have more control and if you find that going from stationary objects to moving beetles or bees becomes near impossible, yet you are still keen to try, then go for a few extension rings. You get manual and automatic version of this. If you can afford it, take the auto’s. It’s one less thing to worry about when you start chasing live subjects. Sure you can throw the bug into the deep freeze for 5 minutes and haul him out in a state of narcosis, but you don’t have a fridge in the veld 100 miles from home. So you need to practice before you hit the road.

This image was shot with a set of Phottix AF Macro Tubes coupled to a Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 EX DG and a YongNuo YN-460 II Speedlight that was fired with a set of Phottix Tetra Triggers and an IR Remote Control. Outlay for flash, AF ext tubes, batteries, triggers and IR RC (excluding camera and lens) about $390-00 vs a dedicated 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens of about $1000-00, no flash or batteries…

A word of caution, the smaller macro lenses around 40/50/60mm tend to minimum focus (1:1) TOO close to the subject. The front element is literally a few cm’s or even a few mm’s away from the subject, and if it’s a live subject, it’s scared off long before you can focus. This is true for extension tubes combined with normal short tele lenses. But at least you haven’t made a $700-00 to $1000-00 mistake.  This then is the attraction of the huge 180mm Macro’s. 40cm / 18″ closest focusing distance but thats one huge chunk of glass, and thus heavy to lug around. In everything there are compromise, especially photography.

If you are going to buy a real macro lens, also don’t bother with those 70-300mm “macro” lenses. You normally don’t get 1:1 lifesize ratios, they tend to be 1:2 or often 1:3. Maybe you have one of these lenses. Go right ahead, switch it to macro and try it. Not what you expected right? If macro is for you, get at least a 100mm (Canon) or 105mm (Nikon) mount from Canon, Nikon or Sigma. I use a 180mm f/3.5. It’s a chunk of glass weighing in at 2.1 lbs (965g) and no OS/IS/VR. (ETA: Sigma have released an OS f/2.8 version in Jan 2012.) Tripod only unless you have arms like Arnold…which I don’t! But it’s closest focus distance is 18″ from the subject. Get something in the 100-150mm range. Thank me later

Canon's 120Mp APS-H Sensor

Canon successfully develops world’s first APS-H-size CMOS image sensor to realize record-high resolution of 120 megapixels.

TOKYO, August 24, 2010—Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed an APS-H-size^*1 CMOS image sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280 x 9,184 pixels), the world’s highest level^*2 of resolution for its size.

Compared with Canon’s highest-resolution commercial CMOS sensor of the same size, comprising approximately 16.1 million pixels, the newly developed sensor features a pixel count that, at approximately 120 million pixels, is nearly 7.5 times larger and offers a 2.4-fold improvement in resolution.^{*3 /} Read the full Press Release here.