Month: April 2012

Nikon D4: Breaking it in

by Stanley LearyNikon D4
Nikon D4 with 28-300mm

I got the newest high end Nikon and I will blog about it a few times as I become more familiar with it.

The first thing I do when I get a new camera is to become familiar with it. I do this before I shoot a job with it.


Camera Manual

Here is the direct Nikon US link for the D4 manual.

This is the first camera that I downloaded the manual and put it on my iPad to read using Kindle Reader.

The reason I left the camera manual and a few other things unopened is to help later when I want to upgrade I can sell the camera with all the peripherals that came with the camera in mint condition.

While I do have the manual, I try to first see how much of the camera is similar to my last Nikon. In this case I am comparing it to the Nikon D3S.

Similarities and Differences

One thing I like to do right away is try and customize some of the settings like I had on the older camera. On the Nikon D3S and Nikon D4 you can assign custom functions to your buttons and dials on the camera.

Info Button

One major upgrade is the graphics display of the Info Button. You can see which button you are changing. You need a graphic with so many controls. I am excited to see a camera company upgrade their menu to include graphics.

If you are wondering what I have learned about the controls is there are more buttons which some take a on the roll I used to used custom settings to create.

IPTC

The really cool thing I discovered with my Nikon D4 was it has built-in support for 14 of the more important IPTC fields.

The D4 and the IPTC Preset Manager software support the following IPTC fields:

Caption
Event ID
Headline
Object Name
City
State
Country
Category
Supporting Category
Byline
Byline Title
Write/Editor
Credit
Source

You can save 10 Presets of these.

Besides doing this in the camera you can also type all these on your computer PC or Mac and then put them on your memory card and import them into the camera. That software is available from Nikon here http://tooldl.nikonimglib.com/iptc/index.html.en

It requires an up-to-date version of Microsoft Silverlight to download. here is that link http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/Default.aspx

In addition to the usual USB and HDMI connectors, the D4 also incorporates an Ethernet port, mic and headphone jacks, and a connection for Nikon’s wireless transmitter.

Connections

One of the other things you notice other than all the new buttons are the connections on a D4.  Nikon added to the D4 an Ethernet port, headphone jack and a connection for the wireless transmitter, which wasn’t on the Nikon D3S.

I will work on testing some of these in the next few weeks. Come back and look for posts talking about this later.

First Shots

Nikon D4, ISO 2000, f/5.6, 1/100, 28-300mm
Nikon D4, ISO 640, f/5.6, 1/30, 28-300mm

I shot a few images at my church’s Palm Sunday services. I am pleased with all the images from the Nikon D4.  When comparing the Nikon D4 to the Nikon D3S images there was minor differences.

Nikon D3S, ISO 12,800, f/8, 1/200, 14-24mm

Nikon D4, ISO 900, f/5.6, 1/30, 28-300mm

I think the D4 focusing is a little quicker and locks in a hair bit faster, but for the most part this situation wasn’t the best test for really low light.  I will test this even more in the next few weeks.

Photo Marketing 101: Step one (Old School)

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Even if you are still in school the business card is one of the most valuable Old Schoolbusiness tools you can use. If you are in school the goal is to get a job and you need to start now networking and the business card is one of the most valuable tools I use.

What is shocking to me is how often I go to meetings and people do not have business cards. Usually these are the same folks saying they need to learn more about business practices.
How they are used

You never know when you will need one, so I always carry a stack of them. Networking is happening at any moment and not necessarily just for those planned networking events.

When I meet someone at a meeting I like the Old School way of getting their business card and writing a note to myself to help me remember them on their card I was given by them.
If I am at a conference for a few days I find that those really unique size cards are more annoying than unique and helping them standout.

When I meet someone at the event I think it is important to see if I can get an appointment with them later.  I find that once we find something in common I like to say how about we get together later and have a cup of coffee or lunch to talk more about it when we don’t have any other distractions.

This is when I typically get their card and say I will be in touch later to schedule some time together.

Accuracy

If someone doesn’t have a card I have to pull out a pen and paper and write the information down or put it on my phone.  This takes some time to do and sometimes in loud areas very hard to hear them talking.

When it is so critical that the difference of a dot when you are trying to find someone on the web is important, don’t you think it should be important enough to be sure they can find you?

This is the QR Code for my website http://www.StanleyLeary.com

QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes.


If you want to generate a QR Code to put on your business card or create stickers then go here http://createqrcode.appspot.com/.  

What should be on a business card?

While many are starting to ad QR Codes to their business cards here is some other basic information

1.     Full name
2.     Email address (Use your domain to host [email protected])
3.     Website/online portfolio (register a domain name www.YourDomain.com)
4.     Phone number
5.     Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter)
6.     Blog
 
Some things you can leave off today
1.     Street Address
2.     Photograph

Electronic Business Cards
http://www.CardCloud.com

You may want a virtual business card. One of these examples is the CardCloud.  Unlike traditional cards they never run out. You can share it with anyone; they don’t need the app for you to use it. It lets you track whom you gave your card to and therefore helps you to reconnect easier in the future.

CardCloud is a digital business card application that is looking to replace the traditional printed business card. Rather than trading contact info by passing out a printed business card, CardCloud allows you to share your contact info directly from your iPhone to anyone in the room which is then stored automatically through .vcf or .vCard format. Alternatives to CardCloud include contxts, dub, Bump and BusinessCard2.

vCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards are often attached to e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways, such as on the World Wide Web or Instant Messaging. They can contain name and address information, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, URLs, logos, photographs, and audio clips.

With LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other ways to connect on the spot when you meet someone what good is a business card? I can tell you from being a journalist for more than 30 years when someone tells me how to spell their name many times we still get it wrong due to the accent or lack of articulation by some folks.

While many in sales are saying the business card maybe on the way out—I think it is here to stay.  I think the difference is now in what information you put on your card.


www.Sharpdots.com is where I get my business cards printed.  You can get 2,500 business cards with 4-color on the front and back for only $35.

Do me a favor and send me your vCard so I have your business card.