Month: June 2013

Tips for photographers who use Macs

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Computers and cars have one thing in common—every so often you need to do some routine maintenance to get the best performance.

With cars about every 5,000 miles you need to take the car in for routine maintenance. I would say that once a month you need to also do some basic maintenance for your computer.

For the Mac owner I recommend just a couple of things that will improve your computer’s performance.

Disk Utility

Performing disk maintenance using Disk Utility that is included in the Mac OS X.

You can also use this even when your computer starts just fine but you want to check the disk for possible file system issues.

1. To launch Disk Utility go to your Applications Folder>Utilities>Disk Utility.
2. Click the First Aid tab.
3. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
4. Select your OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.

You should see improved performance when this is done.

NVRAM

Your Mac stores certain settings in a special memory area even if it is turned off.  On Intel-based Macs, this is stored in memory known as NVRAM.

Information stored in NVRAM includes:

1. Speaker volume
2. Screen resolution
3. Startup disk selection
4. Recent kernel panic information, if any

How to reset your NVRAM

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

After resetting NVRAM, you may need to reconfigure your settings for speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, and time zone information. If issues persist, your Mac’s logic board battery (not a portable Mac’s rechargeable battery) may need to be replaced. The logic board battery helps retain NVRAM settings when your computer is shut down. You can take your Mac to a Mac Genius or Apple Authorized Service Provider to replace the battery on the logic board.

If you have never done this you will notice major improvement in your computer.  The Disk Utility may take some time to run that first time. Running Disk Utility once a month takes less than five minutes unless something unusual has happened.

Parting Comment

I still recommend buying DiskWarrior and using this utility. It does more than just the Disk Utility.  However, just using the Repair Permissions in Disk Utility when it makes changes does improve your performance. 

Your camera choice does make a difference

by Stanley LearyNikon D4
Nikon P7000 ISO 3200, ƒ/4, 1/65

While on our cruise through the Caribbean we did some ice skating on the cruise ship. The first time we went I took my point and shoot and got some photos.

As you can see in the photo above I got a decent photo of my lovely wife Dorie.  I didn’t want to use flash so you could see the ice rink.

I had a lot of blurry photos due to I could not get above 3200 without changing the resolution on the camera.

Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 12,800, ƒ/5, 1/60

The next time some of the family went ice skating again I took my Nikon D4 and shot some photos as well.

There are a couple of things I think worth comparing. First of all the Nikon D4 @ ISO 12,800 looks better than the Nikon P7000 @ ISO 3200.

This is the reason I own a Nikon D4.  The sensor on the Nikon P7000 is CCD and the Nikon D4 is CMOS. The CCD has more of an electrical charge going that actually creates a noise as compared to the CMOS.

The size of the actual sensor also impacts the quality of the image. I am talking about the physical size and not the megapixels. The Nikon P7000 has a 14.9mm width CCD sensor size. The Nikon D4 has a 36mm width CMOS sensor.

If the megapixels were equal just having more space on a sensor helps spread out the sensors and cuts down on the noise created.  Just think of how your AM radio is impacted when you drive near power lines and you hear a buzz.  This is the major advantage for right now between the larger sensor and the smaller.  The larger the sensor the less noise.

CCD stands for Charged Coupling Devices.  They have been around a long time. CMOS stands for Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor.  They are a newer technology.

The biggest difference is CMOS sensors are already superior to CCD sensors in terms of power consumption. You get a much longer battery life out of a CMOS camera, which means you can take more pictures.

How many megapixels do you need?

Now let me try and clear up this megapixel dilemma.

My first digital camera was a 6 megapixel CCD sensor camera. I made 16 x 20 prints that are still hanging in my home. These were shot with studio lights giving me the best quality and I like the quality of the prints.

The general rule of thumb is this, if you are not making prints bigger than 16 x 20 then any 8 megapixel camera or more will work just fine.

If you like to make bigger prints or you tend to need to crop your photos then getting more megapixels will benefit you.  However, for most people who are posting their photos primarily on social media websites, most any camera will do. This is why so many people are using their camera phones today instead of carrying another camera. Most of the latest phones have 8 megapixel cameras and that will work well for most of them.

For the Geek

Now for those of you who like to talk about how many millimeters your lens will resolve then you can go and get those specs on any camera you might want to buy here at http://www.dxomark.com/.

As you can see there is a big difference in the specs on these two cameras. I hope so, because the Nikon D4 sells for $6,000 and the Nikon P7000 sold for $500.

Nikon paid attention to these scores and improved them and the most recent version of the Nikon P7000 is the P7700.

Summary

If you just do general shooting then buying the high end camera is just overkill.  However, if you like shooting in low light inside then you just might need to consider something like the Nikon D4 to capture those images.

Your camera choice does make a difference in the quality of the image, but it is the photographer who makes a difference as to if the images are truly captivating to the audience.

Vacation Planning Guide for Photography

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 100, ƒ/5.6, 1/800,  Off camera fill-flash using the Nikon SB-900 and SB800.  The Flash is on the Pocketwizard TT5 and being triggered by the Mini TT1 on the Camera with the AC3 to control the output of the flash. Flash is +2 EV and the camera is 0 EV.

I took the past week off for a family cruise of the Caribbean on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas with my parents, sisters and all of our families.  There were fourteen of us each evening at the evening meal.

I realized from watching so many folks traveling with cameras and from my own experiences I think you need a basic checklist of what you should bring for your vacation trip.

I am going to address two types of camera kits that you might want to use for your next vacation. The two kits are the Point and shoot camera and the DSLR.

Nikon P7000, ISO 1600, ƒ/3.2, 1/160

Point and Shoot Camera kit

First let me just list what should be included in your carryon bags for this kit.

• Camera
• 2 Batteries
• Battery Charger
• 2 Memory cards
• Lens cloth which can double for your gray card
• Bag or a plan for carrying what you need

The camera is obvious, but many people travel with just one battery. I recommend always having at least one spare battery always charged with you. At the end of each day, I recommend going ahead and charging the battery you used that day and if necessary your backup if you used it.  Too many people miss opportunities due to dead battery on the trip of their lifetime.

Today I would recommend carrying large capacity cards. Check with your camera manual and get the largest capacity possible.  Today many of these cameras will take a 64-gig card. Sometimes it may make more sense for the price to buy a few 16-gig cards than one 64-gig card.  If you take enough memory cards you can eliminate the need of carrying a computer or something like a portable hard drive designed to download memory cards.

Carrying a gray cloth that is designed to clean your lens can help you keep that lens clean and help for white balancing when you need to do so. Please remember to check your lens each day periodically.  Fingerprint on the lens will deteriorate the quality of the images.

Nikon P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/3.5, 1/1250

Which point and shoot should you buy if you don’t have one?

I recommend getting something with a decent zoom on it so you can get those images of things far away. I think most people will be able to find a camera in the $200 – $500 range that gives you a great deal of flexibility that can fit in you pocket.

Here are a few models that I would consider:

Canon PowerShot SX280 HS

• Canon PowerShot SX280 HS – It has a 20X zoom, which is equivalent to the DSLR 25 – 500mm. It is a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor. ISO 80-6400
• Nikon Coolpix L610 – It has a 14X zoom which is equivalent to the DSLR 25-350mm. It is a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor. ISO 125-3200
• LUMIX ZS25: Compact Long Zoom Camera – It has a 20X zoom, which is equivalent to the DSLR 24 – 480mm. It is a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor. ISO 100-6400

There is another Point and Shoot camera model in between the small pocket camera and the larger DSLR. I call these Bridge Cameras.  They are cameras with incredible zooms that make them a little larger and look like their big brother the DSLR, except you cannot change the lens.  However, with the zoom on these who would ever need another lens.

Here are just three Bridge Cameras you should seriously consider before sinking lots of cash into a DSLR.

Nikon Coolpix P520

• Nikon Coolpix P520 – It has a 42X zoom, which is equivalent to the DSLR 24-1000mm. It is an 18.1 megapixel CMOS sensor. ISO 80-3200 [H2 pushed to ISO 12,800]
• Canon PowerShot SX50 HS – It has a 50X zoom, which is equivalent to the DSLR 24-1200mm. It is a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor. ISO 80-6400
• LUMIX LZ30: Long Zoom DSLR Alternative Bridge Camera – It has a 35X zoom, which is equivalent to the DSLR 25 – 875mm. It is a 16.1 megapixel CMOS sensor. ISO 100-6400



Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 250, ƒ/8, 1/500


DSLR Camera Kit

Plan to carry this on with you for security reasons.

• Camera
• Off camera flash
• Zoom or fixed lenses to cover 24 – 300mm recommended
• 2 Batteries
• Battery Charger
• 2 Memory cards
• Lens cloth which can double for your gray card
• Bag or a plan for carrying what you need

The basic difference for the hobbyist and the professional is the need for backup on everything for the pro.  My comments for each are the same as before with the Point and Shoot cameras.

Plan for the plane’s you will fly. If you have one of those really small jets or propeller plans you can only put a very small bag on board with you. If you are carrying a lot of gear I recommend suing the ThinkTank roller bags and check them at the door of the gate.  They will give them back to you as you get off the plane. It is a little safer than checking the bag where it can get lost.

If flying internationally you really do need to watch the weight. This is where a camera vest can pay off because you can put gear in it and it doesn’t count as baggage.  Cargo paints will work great for a lens or two.

My two sisters gave me a surprise kiss during our family photos. Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 12,800 ƒ/8, 1/30 with Nikon SB900 on camera with 0 EV compensation and slow-sync.

Here is a family photo that I setup and asked a person to push the button for us.

Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 12,800, ƒ/8, 1/125 with SB900 direct flash for fill on slow-sync.