Nikon D3x repaired PERMALINK

Nikon did a great job repairing my stalwart D3x. Great service that I really appreciate.

Having the D3x back, its imagery knocks my socks off after shooting the Canon 5D Mark II. The only negative was that I mistakenly thought I had turned quality back to NEF, but instead the camera was left on JPEG.

Now the D3x produces terrific quality JPEGs (Canon EOS JPEGs are crap), but boy am I peeved that I shot 200 JPEG images before detecting the problem (actually my observant companion on my photo tour noticed it!). And I really dislike having the sharpening and white balance “baked in”; I shoot assuming I can tweak those to my liking. Sh*t. Check your equipment before each shoot.

Yosemite imagery PERMALINK

I’ve been so pressed for time the past 10 days that I’ve not even been able to look at the images I made over the past few weekends in Yosemite. Tonight I took a few hours and made some quick-and-dirty renditions.

Here I share images which I think show the varied character of the stunning Yosemite landscape. All of these are from the D3x, most were from JPEGs.

If you’d like to photograph this beautiful area with me as your guide, join me on my next photo tour!

Near Cathedral Peak

Tenaya meadow

Erratics

Forces of Nature

Glacial polish

Above the falls

Dome near Tuolumne meadows

Tuolumne meadows

Cathedral and Unicorn peaks

Night sky near Saddlebag Lake

Underwater beauty

Trout habitat

Black eye bowl

Cathedral Peak

Tenaya Lake traffic

Flashlights and headlamps PERMALINK

How many crappy flashlights do you want to buy?

The answer I learned (at great expense) from scanners, cameras, lenses, bikes, cars over the past 20 years etc is none. “Save” money, buy crap stuff, then less crappy, then half decent, and pretty soon you’ve spent more money than buying something of quality in the first place. And the experience along the way sucks. Can’t afford it? Don’t eat out or drink beer for 6 months. You can afford it.

I wrote my Headlamps and Flashlights article a few years ago, and little has changed except that everything has improved!

My ventures to Yosemite and my backyard grilling efforts remind me emphatically that a quality light opens up new possibilities for properly cooked meat, and safe hikes and photography after dark without hassles (even deep into a canyon).

My top choice is the mind-blowing Lupine Betty (or WIlma) on a headstrap, with the Surefire L4 Lumamax the top pick as a flashlight. Get the L4 along with a 20 pack of lithium batteries, and you’ve got a great emergency kit (use the L4 daily, the batteries stay good almost a decade). Guys, get your wife or girlfriend the diminutive E1L Outdoorsman (better and brigher beam than a crappy 4 D-cell maglite) to fit into a purse for those dark parking lots.

Surefire flashlights

The Lupine Betty 7-LED headlamp has all 7 LEDs color-matched to within 200°K. Amazing color rendition also results in superior depth perception at night. The Wilma is also excellent. Neither are anything like the LED lights you might have experienced, in beam quality, color rendition, build quality, backward compatibility, service, battery life or anything else. Be sure to buy a crappy light first so you can appreciate Lupine’s lights when you eventually get one.

Good stuff lasts a long, long time. BTW, if you’re a cyclist who rides at dusk or night, don’t f*ck around with a “pretty good” light — ambulance and hearse rides are expensive, and I’ve almost had that displeasure even with top lighting. You can get the Betty or Wilma at Gretna Bikes, tell ’em Lloyd Chambers sent you.

Photographed (“painted”) using Lupine Betty headlamp

Back from Yosemite PERMALINK

Back from Yosemite backpacking with 3 kids. Gorgeous weather, too many mosquitoes!

More Yosemite June 26-28 PERMALINK

I’m away for a few days to Yosemite again this Friday/Saturday/Sunday.

Subscriptions to DAP, Zeiss ZF Lenses or Guide to Digital Infared Photography purchased June 26-28 will be delivered on June 28 (late). I won’t have email access during that time.

Camera settings for D3x/D3, 1D/1Ds Mark III PERMALINK

At a reader’s request, I’ve updated my Camera Settings page to include loadable settings for the Nikon D3x (in addition to the Nikon D3 and Canon EOS 1D and 1Ds Mark III).

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II apparently has no way to save settings to a flash card, or at least I can’t find one in the manual or by using the camera.

Back from Yosemite tour PERMALINK

My first workshop/photo tour was a great success, and Yosemite is truly lovely right now, if a bit unusual, with snow still blanketing some higher elevations that are normally verdant green.

Off to Yosemite tour PERMALINK

I’m away for a few days on my Yosemite workshop/photo tour. If you could’t join me this time, watch this blog for the announcement of the next one. Special dates can also sometimes be arranged.

Subscriptions to DAP, Zeiss ZF Lenses or Guide to Digital Infared Photography purchased June 20-23 will be delivered on June 23. I won’t have email access during that time.

Tioga Lake, just outside Yosemite’s eastern boundary
(infrared false-color, 60MP stitched image)

Hatchlings at 12,000 feet with the ZF 50/2 PERMALINK

I was strolling along at 12,000' in the White Mountains a few weeks ago in May, enjoying the intermittent snowflakes, when I was startled by a sudden flash of orange. A good thing too, as I might have stepped right on this clutch of hatchlings, which are really hard to see, even when looking straight at them. This is just one of many very enjoyable details I’ve come across in the White Mountains.

The larger and more aggressive chick must have heard enough noise to figure that it was food arriving, and indeed each click of the shutter elicited another gaping mouth. I stayed 30 seconds or so, not wanting to scare away Mama Bird, who (my theory goes) was away collecting accumulated bugs and insects from the remaining snowfields.

I shot this with the Zeiss ZF 50mm f/2 Makro-Planar (about $1033 at B&H). I like its field of view on full-frame, and It’s so versatile for walk-around shooting. Image quality ranks up there with the very best 50mm lenses, while offering 1:2 macro capability. With no focus shift like f/1.4 designs, its an easy-shooting lens.

Unknown bird species hatchlings
Nikon D3x + Zeiss ZF 50/2 Makro-Planar

The interior markings are really striking. This must be nature’s way of making it easy for Mama Bird to figure out where the bugs go, or maybe to startle big animals with cameras.

The big one is on top and eats first
Nikon D3x + Zeiss ZF 50/2 Makro-Planar

UPDATE

After posting this, I was contacted by Professor of Biology Mark Chappell at the Universtity of California, Riverside with some interesting information. I did observe an adult in the vacinity, but it stayed at too great a distance for me to observe details. In that area, there are no trees or brush, just open ground.

I've done quite a bit of research at the Barcroft Lab in the White Mountains over the past few decades (on birds, deer mice, other rodents, and insects) and know the place fairly well. Your nest is very probably that of a horned lark. Looks like it is on the ground and more or less out in the open (typical for this species), and although the chicks are not quite into fledgling plumage, they look rather 'larkish'. Did you notice an adult that looked like this in the vicinity?

It turns out that there has been quite a bit of study of how adult birds and offspring go about the business of getting food. You are correct that the bright mouth is a signal to the parents. In at least one species, the color is largely due to surface capillaries engorged with blood; interestingly, if the chick has a full stomach, blood is diverted to the digestive tract and hence the mouth isn't as brightly colored. This is an 'honest signal' of satiety and helps prevent the chick from 'cheating' (begging for more food than it needs). In some species, parents simply give food to whichever chick begs most aggressively; in other species parents share food equally among chicks (sometimes male and female parents differ in how they chose to provision).

Simple and cost-effective backups PERMALINK

I discussed a simple and cost-effective backup strategy in my May 10 entry. I’ve expanded that effort in Mac Performance Guide as Simple and Cost-Effective Backups.

Many people aren’t backing up, or are doing so to a single drive connected to the computer— an unacceptable risk if your data matters to you economically or personally.

PercepTool PERMALINK

I’ve just started using a 30-day demo of PercepTool, and it offers what I really like: quick adjustments that can really help make an image look good, with almost no effort on my part. Infrared images are great candidates for this. Thanks to reader Doug D for pointing me at this new tool.

Here’s one example I made in literally 10 seconds; easy as pie, the challenge is figuring out the look you want.

With PercepTool

Default processing (DPP) with Photoshop Auto Levels

Default processing (DPP)

 

PercepTool PERMALINK

I haven’t checked out PercepTool, but readers interested in black and white might want to.

A clean tick PERMALINK

I reported on my tick bites and a rash a few weeks ago, and there was quite an outpouring of support—thank you everyone.

I’m happy to learn that the one tick I had tested at Igenix was free of diseases. The other tick got away, and the bite site with the rash I never found the tick, so it’s small reassurance. Ten days or so into the Doxycycline the rash has faded, so I’ve got my fingers crossed there.

Slower SATA in new MacBook Pro? PERMALINK

See my previous comments on the new MacBook Pro, namely that except for the 17" model, say goodbye to the ExpressCard slot, the only way to get high-performance external drives attached (eSATA).

I don’t go in for conspiracy theories, but it’s probably not an accident; Apple cripples the otherwise excellent iMac in several ways, so you have to buy a Mac Pro to solve storage and memory issues for a reliable and fast system (if your data or time is not worth much, then just don’t worry about it).

Several readers pointed me at the rumor that the new 13" and 15" MacBook Pros incorporate an internal SATA port running at 1.5 megabits (150MB/sec) instead of 3 megabits (300MB/sec). That’s 10 bits per transferred byte for those doing the math.

A big deal? Yes, a friggin' big deal as the Intel X25-M offers read speeds of about 250MB/sec (lighting fast), and reads are much more important than writes. Chopping off 100MB/sec of performance is, well, stupid. Then again, Apple has generally shipped sluggard SSDs so maybe this is a way to level the playing field. And it might not be true after all. I'll be finding out when I can borrow a new 15" MacBroke Pro.

BTW, burst rates (drive cache) off hard drives could also be impaired. Notebook hard drives now can sustain 100MB/sec, but transfers from cache are a lot faster than that.

So think twice before buying new Apple snake oil—which includes dubious performance gains (if any). Sleek and polished they may be, but with the loss of the ExpressCard slot and (maybe) this new insult, caution is advised with the new 13" and 15" models.

The 17" model still apparently does the Right Things, so go with it instead. Or save some serious money with the previous model or refurb.

You’re not paying for an SSD anyway? Well, later in 2009 you might want a super-fast SSD as the prices plunge, and it would be a pity if it didn’t run at full speed.

Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II reviewed PERMALINK

My in-depth review of the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II is now online in DAP (direct link for subscribers). I cover flare, distortion, vignetting, sharpness, bokeh, field curvature, as well as night shooting and how much to stop down. And there are lots of high-res examples.

Canon 5D Mark II + EF 24/1.4L II @ f/8

Even if you already are one of the lucky few to own the 24/1.4L II, it’s likely you’ll find useful shooting tips in my review..

I have no hesitation in recommending the 24/1.4L II as a top-grade lens, though it has some quirks that must be understood for best results. In fact, I’d like to own it, and not that much in the Canon line excites me these days. I’ll probably acquire one for myself when finances loosen up. You can get the 24/1.4L II at B&H Photo.

I obtained the 24/1.4L II I used for testing through LensRentals.com. Given them a try, it’s a very convenient and cost-effective way to try a lens or camera for a fraction of the price before you buy.

Canon 5D Mark II focusing PERMALINK

Update: this note apparently hit a nerve, with many peeved readers emailing to describe similar experiences with their 5D Mark II bodies. I don’t have any immediate answer, but my one suggestion is to prefer the central focus point and use “focus lock and recompose”, which isn’t perfect but often works better than using an off-center sensor.

With my D3x away for service, I pressed the Canon EOS 5D Mark II into duty shooting a children’s orchestral group with the EF 85/1.2L II. In the past I’ve shot such things with the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, a pro body, and I’ve never had focusing problems.

But with the Canon 5D Mark II, it was a joke— most of the photos were ruined by backfocus. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing; I put the focus sensor squarely on a good contrast area, and the 5DM2 screwed it up repeatedly. I had to compensate by focusing a little more forward. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but I’m just going to stick to the 1Ds Mark III for such things.

Canon 24/1.4L II and Voigtlander 20/3.5 in stock PERMALINK

B&H Photo had two lenses in stock that haven’t been as I wrote this: the Voigtlander 20mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar ASPH, and the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II. Your purchase through the links on this page via B&H or Amazon is very much appreciated.

The Voigtlander 20mm is already reviewed in DAP, and the Canon 24/1.4L II is coming very soon (see below).

Canon EF 24/1.4L II PERMALINK

A variety of shooting has persuaded me that the Canon 24/1.4L II is a great lens to have in the bag for a variety of uses, and my coming DAP review will of course detail why, with the usual repertoire of high-res examples.

As I wrote this the 24/1.4L II was in stock at B&H.

Is Nikon ever going to offer a pro-grade full-frame f/1.4 autofocus wide angle? Heck I’d be perfectly happy with a 24/1.8.

I remain steadfast with respect to my comments on Canon 5D Mark II image quality, but the fact remains that the 5D Mark II can make great images at a great price. Where is the 24 megapixel Nikon D700x?

Canon 5D Mark II + EF 24/1.4L II @ f/1.4

Canon 5D Mark II + EF 24/1.4L II @ f/5.6

Nevada’s Wheeler Peak PERMALINK

If you’re driving Highway 50 across Utah/Nevada, stop at Great Basin National Park, and if you’re so inclined, hike to the summit of 13,063' Wheeler Peak. It’s an easy climb as such things go, and provides a 360° view.

Lloyd on Wheeler Peak summit, May 27, 2009

View from Wheeler Peak summit, looking south

Clouds form by late morning, so it’s a good idea to get a start near sunrise.

Near treeline at ~11,000 feet

The best way down is on your butt when conditions allow, and the slope is steep enough. This saved my iffy right knee from further abuse (it’a a bit weak from tearing both the ACL and PCL ligaments 2 years ago). It’s not easy taking a picture doing this; you’re riding a small pile of snow, kinda like having a big mushy diaper strapped to your butt. Staying alert for rock piles is a plus.

Butt slide

D3x in for repair PERMALINK

It was surprisingly hard to send it off, but my Nikon D3x is now at Nikon to have the damaged vertical release repaired. I hope it returns soon, as a I miss it already.

I’m pretty sure the lens mount is OK, but I’ve asked Nikon to check the lens-mount-to-sensor alignment. Zeiss replaced the 21/2.8 Distagon for me, and the out-of-kilter one is back at Zeiss.

Hartblei lenses — availability and pricing PERMALINK

Some readers have asked about obtaining the Hartblei tilt/shift lenses.

At present, get the Hartblei lenses direct. Hartblei ships to the USA, and other countries. Customs fees may apply, including the US.

See the flyer and the price list. Prices are in Euros with the exchange rate in effect the day of the order. In most cases the lenses will be shipped immediately (in stock), according to Hartblei.

If you’re into “as good as it gets for bokeh”, look no further—all of the Hartblei lenses offer gorgeous blur.

Nikon D3x + Hartblei 80/2.8 SuperRotator

New Apple Macbook Pro PERMALINK

All the advice I offer in Mac Performance Guide applies to the new Apple MacBook Pro lineup, which is a yawner except for a few useful developments. Laptops still suck in a lot of ways: where is the quad-core with 16GB and dual drives that would make it a true desktop replacement?

The addition of an SD card slot means you can plug in your SD card from your point and shit camera or low-end DSLRs. Or you can stick a piece of tape over it if you own a Nikon D3x, D3 or various Canon CompactFlash-based cameras. Crap—Apple got it 20% right.

One word of warning: only the 17" model retains the ExpressCard/34 slot, your only viable option for high performance I/O via eSATA. The 15" model drops the ExpressCard/34 slot in favor of the SD card slot, a really crappy tradeoff. In short, if your MBP is to replace a desktop, the 17" model is your only option, unless disk speed and capacity doesn’t matter to you (Firewire 800 is 25% slower than a single fast hard drive).

The most significant news is that a 13" MacBook Pro with Firewire 800 is a much improved Apple option for those on the go who want light weight and compact dimensions. At home though, the 13" will feel terribly cramped, so you’ll need a real display using the asinine Mini Display port, which means an Apple display or the problematic Apple DVI adapter (video noise). Thus, the whole proposition gets expensive quickly. The 15" model is the sweet spot there.

The ability to use 8GB memory ($1100 = WTF?) is another plus (in Apple’s bank account?). Get that memory at OWC and save some money if you need 8GB. And yes, it really does matter if you’re using the MBP as a Photoshop workstation.

But unless you use your laptop intensively, get a Mac Pro and a basic model for the occasional travel. Or put all the money you save by not getting a laptop into a Nikon D3 or D3x with dual card slots (backup), and lighten your load when traveling.

Faster graphics are a marketing mirage unless you’re a gamer, but the longer battery life is a plus—unless you’re off the grid— and thus screwed since you can’t insert another battery. I’ve already been close to that absurdity with my 17" MacBook Pro. Still, most people will like the idea. I certainly enjoy it on my weekly flights to and from Paris. Uh huh.

The one option you definitely should pay for is the 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive. See Why You Need More Space Than you Need. Of course, a 256GB solid state drive should be even better, but not inexpensive—wait till a bit later this year for SSDs of that size to drop in price.

Don’t get caught up in hype: the MacBook Pro at any speed still is grossly inferior to a Mac Pro when you want hard disk reliability or performance and/or automated backup without a mess of cables too slow for even one drive. Or if you use any CPU-intensive tools. And 8GB is a minimum for serious work, but the maximum in a MBP.

OK, I still like my MacBook Pro, but to configure a high-end MacBook Pro costs as much as a far more capable Mac Pro, so get a MBP only if you must have portability, don’t waste your money otherwise.

Did I mention “green”? Apple devotes a whole sermon on the topic.

The new religion... does anyone really give a crap if their $3500 laptop is slightly more recyclable? How much jet fuel is burned to get one here from China, Apple? (Or worse yet, bunker fuel, damaging the health of untold hapless people near ports of entry). If you really want to be green, kill yourself, or at least become a vegan. Or power the damn thing with a pedal-generator or solar and take Bean-o, to reduce your methane output.

Canon 5D Mark II image quality PERMALINK

I’ve been preferentially shooting my Nikon D3x for the past several months, with the Canon 5D Mark II and 1Ds Mark III sitting mostly idle. The D3x must now must go to Nikon for repair due to the recent damage. Both cameras have review coverage in DAP, especially the D3x.

I recently started shooting the 5D Mark II again (for my review with the 24/1.4L II), and I’m amazed at how much I dislike its image quality now— it’s just not in the same league as the D3x ( I noted this way back in January). Simply put, 5DM2 images look muddy and struggle to look real, lacking the depth and clarity that the D3x offers; they just don‘t come together, looking like digital images, not the real thing. Maybe that’s why the results with the Hartblei 40/80/120 look so good: the marriage of top optics and top image quality are magic.

Of course it’s unfair to compare a camera costing $8000 to one costing $2700, but professionals make such choices all the time based on image quality; that’s why a market for medium format digital exists (but is under severe pressure).

I do hope that Canon ups the ante with a next generation camera sometime this year, the image integrity just isn’t there with the 1Ds Mark III or 5D Mark II— which is why the Nikon D3x remains king of the DSLR market and the “poor man’s medium format”. All the reviews in the world won’t change this fact, but viewing thousands of real images make it plain to see.

Canon EF 24/1.4L II PERMALINK

I’m currently reviewing the Canon EF 24/1.4L II for DAP.

My early impressions are of excellent color rendition and flare control, but so far I’m underwhelmed by sharpness.

Spreading rash from unknown nasty (probable Lyme/tick)

Lyme and ticks PERMALINK

Update: thanks to everyone who responded to this entry (many). It’s clear that a lot of people have had lives or the lives of loved ones damaged by Lyme, and my heart goes out to them—we get only one chance at it after all—without your health you have nothing.

I am fortunate to have noted the ticks and bites early, and so far I am not sick, but I am taking the antibiotic Doxycycline prophylactically for 2 weeks, though I wonder if it should be 3 or 4 weeks.

The rampant physician obstinance and ignorance along with insurance company denials is a common thread that makes my blood boil, but don’t worry: with nationalized health care looming on the horizon here in the US, you’ll be able to see an incompetent doctor within a year or two of infection!

....

The world is scary enough with all the nut-cases out there, but tick bites are a worry we all face when enjoying the outdoors.

While traveling recently, I was bitten by two ticks from Utah and/or Colorado, one of which I retained and is being tested for various diseases. But I was also bitten by an unknown creepy crawly, which left a 1mm bloody spot, which scabbed then turned into a spreading rash, now 18mm in diameter two weeks post-bite.

Lyme disease? Who’s to say for sure— tests are notoriously problematic, but fortunately I have a receptive physician who is going to put me on antibiotics. This is one case where the downside is so compellingly nasty that preventive treatment is a no-brainer.

The truly scary part is the widespread ignorance and dogmatic stupidity in the medical profession, insurer denials, and the misdiagnosed symptoms. Too many people have had their lives ruined by Lyme, and I certainly don’t intend to become one of them.

This rash looks trivial enough, except that it has slowly spread over two weeks. A Lyme disease rash doesn’t always appear even when Lyme is present, but in my case it’s clear that something is “up”; a trivial bite might simply heal and go way; this rash us growing. If it’s Lyme, then it’s a precursor to a systemic and debilitating disease, so I’ll be aggressively treating it.

Spreading rash from unknown nasty (probable Lyme/tick), 15 days post-bite

Hartblei 40/80/120 SuperRotators reviewed PERMALINK

Just posted in DAP is my three-lens review of the Hartblei 40/4, 80/2.8 and 120/4 “superrotator” tilt/shift lenses, using medium format modern Zeiss designs. These lenses offer stunning image quality, particularly on the Nikon D3x, with their bokeh (blur) characteristics being particularly outstanding.

Nikon D3x + Hartblei 80/2.8 SuperRotator

Nikon D3x + Hartblei 80/2.8 SuperRotator

Infrared in Yosemite PERMALINK

Below is Tioga Lake on May 30, 2009, just outside the Yosemite park boundary. By today it has almost certainly “iced out”; I’ve seen it ice-out in a single day when a strong wind rises, urging the ice to the eastern end of the lake.

Images here are “quickie” converts, no special effort made. I stitched multiple frames together in Photoshop CS4 for the panoramas. Click for larger versions.

Learn more about digital infrared in my Guide to Digital Infrared Photography.

Tioga Lake, just outside Yosemite’s eastern boundary
(infrared false-color, 60MP stitched image)

Black and white rendition of above

The lake is actually an almost-natural reservoir, and power is generated at its eastern end, with the creek roaring down Lee Vining Canyon.

Tioga Lake, just outside Yosemite’s eastern boundary
(infrared false-color, 74MP stitched image)

 

This time of year, water is everywhere in Yosemite, churning, covering, gurgling, a really awesome time to visit—and no mosquitoes yet!

If you want to visit places like this, join me on my photo tour of Yosemite high country later this month.

Tenaya waterfall
(Canon 5D-Ir + Zeiss ZF 25/2.8 IR-Distagon)