My attempts to learn photography

The Silence

2008-01-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

I have not been writing much. Why? Quite simple. One thing that I have learnt in my quest to learn photography is that this is a slow process. Photography is made up of several aspects:

Skill, as in technique
Composition, the artistic side
Science, a little like skill bit with more emphasis on lighting and optics rather than camera handling
Post processing. Yep, my friends, most pros and amateurs alike fake their pictures, oops! I meant post process quite a bit.

So in order to get good pictures one needs to master all of the above. Then there is equipemnt which is not cheap. Put all this together for a person who has a life, as in a job and a family, things tend to get slow. But don't worry, I have been taking pictures steadily.

To keep up to date with some of the pictures I am taking you can look at my pictures on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mogambo.

Macro Photography - Reversing a Lens

2007-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I talked about using diopter lens as a cheap way for doing Macro photography. Another option that is avaliable is reversing a lens. Any lens can be reversed to achieve some level of magnification. The shorter the focal length the higher the magnification.

For my Nikon D80 I bought the BR2A ring that screws into your lens filter threads on one side and then mounts on to your camera from the other. Thus enabling you to reverse your lens. The lens I use is a Sigma 28-70 mm zoom. At 28mm I get maximum magnification.

Here are some sample pictures taken using this technique:

Please note I have not done any significant cropping to enhance the size of this image or the following one.

Pretty impressive levels of magnification by spending just a few dollars for the BR2A reversing ring, isn't it?

Its not all that easy

Reversing a lens for macro photography is a cheap way to do Macros but its not always that easy. There are several issues with this approach:

The problem with most macro photography is depth of field. As you get closer to the subject your depth of field gets lesser and lesser. What this means is that you aim at the head of a spider and you barely get a part of it, the rest of the spider is a blur. How do you solve this problem? Well you increase the f stop, i.e., reduce the aperture. Ahaa! but now you have two new problems, not enough light and you can't see a thing.
As you reduce the aperture you get greater depth of field but you do not get enough light. So now you need to make sure you have plenty of light natural or with a flash. This is not always easily available if your subject is an insect in the wild.
Also, when you reverse your lens you loose all camera functionality such as metering and aperture control etc. Now everything is manual. So when your lens is reversed and you reduce the aperture none of your camera's mechanisms are at work. So when you look through the viewfinder, i.e., through the lens very little light is coming through. In fact in some cases almost no light comes through. This makes it virtually impossible to focus. So now you have a catch 22 situation. Wide aperture, plenty of light, easy to focus, NO DEPTH of FIELD. Narrow aperture (large f number) great depth of field but no light for exposure, even worse, not even enough light to focus.

So is lens reversal a bad idea then? No, its all about knowing when to use a certain technique. Direct lens reversal is great for stationary subjects. This way you can focus first and then change the aperture to get some depth of field, then release the shutter. But if you are chasing a bee in your garden, this may not be the best approach.

So is there an affordable way to chase a bee in your garden and get great macro shots? Well I intend to try another form of lens reversal for that. More on that soon....

Books to read - A quick post

2007-04-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post to list some books that I think are worth a read. There is no shortage of books on the subject of photography and of course there are a gazillion web sites on the same subject. The two books I am suggesting are ones that I have read and so I can speak for them.

Closeups in Nature - John Shaw. This book provides great insight into nature and macro photography and all the technical information you will need.
The Digital Photography Book - Scott Kelby. This is a book that may require some explaining. There is no real knowledge imparted in this book. When you read it you will most likely say "I knew that." However, the reason I liked this book is that it provides quick tips on how to do various types of photography. As a beginner I find that I may have learnt a lot about cameras, lenses, apertures, speed, exposure etc but putting all that knowledge to practice is not always easy. This book with its quick one page tips helps your bring all what you have learnt into perspective and tells you what and how to do without focusiing on the physics.

Buying tripod - Part 2

2007-01-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

So I started my venture to buy a tripod. My first take was that I need something with three legs on which I can put my camera. Right? Wrong!!!!

A good tripod is a must. Buy a cheap tripod and you will undergo immense frustration instead of the joy of photography. The problems with a bad tripod are:

They are unstable, i.e., they move a lot.
They vibrate so the shutter of the camera can result in a movement that can spoil a picture.
The levers to adjust the camera angle on a bad tripod will drive you nuts. Just when you think you have the right position and your hand moves off the lever the camera dips.
They do not offer too many features, i.e., angles in which a camera can be mounted.
They do not provide the ability to change the mount/head, i.e., the part to which the camera is mounted and which swivels etc.

So basically a good tripod should shield you from all of the above. Then what should a good tripod have?

Stable and Light Weight

Most good tripods will offer great stability. Of course this stability comes at a cost. Not just $$ but also weight. I need a tripod that I can carry. I do not do potrait photography. Carrying a tripod on a long backpacking trip in the mountains can be a pain. So I needed something stable yet light enough to carry. This made my search tougher, though not impossible.

Changeable Heads

A tripod should allow you to change the type of head being used. To the best of my knowledge there are two types of heads that fit on a tripod. A ball head and a three way head. I ball head screws on to a tripod and then you attach the camera to the ball head. It has a singled knob used to tighten it once your camera is in position. The camera is positioned by simply rotating it on the ball head.

This is a Bogen Ball Head.

A three way head has three levers that allow you to move the head and then you tighten them when you find your position. With a three way, you can loosen just one lever that will allow movement in just one direction.

This is a Bogen three way head.

Low Min Height

Th tripod should be able to go very low. Almost to ground level. This allows you to take pictures of small flowers and insects.

Horizontal Camera Mounting

Another critical feature for me was the ability to mount my camera such that it is facing downwards. Some tripods offer this feature by letting you remove the central beam on which the camer is mounted and place horizontal. See picture below.

Having laid down my criteria I went looking for tripods and realized they were quite expensive. Then based on recommendations from several friends I ended up buying the following:

Bogen / Manfrotto 3021BPRO Tripod Legs with 804RC2 3-Way Head & Case
Bogen / Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head w/Rapid Connect System

The legs with the three way head and bag cost me $180 and the ball head about another $60. I got lucky as this was on sale. By no means is this cheap but its teh cheapest good quality tripod and head system I could get my hands on. I have to say this. I love this tripod. It is stable, the heads move with precision, there is no sagging after you take your hands away.

Buying a Tripod

2006-12-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

So I decided to hit my next step. Buy a tripod. Why? Well, there is always that time when your hands are just not stable enough. Your camera on a stable tripod allows you to take pictures where the slightest shake would ruin the capture. Then there are those long exposure shots that you may like to take. I am not a studio photographer nor do I have any current interest in that arena so I am not even going to discuss the advantages of a tripod from that point of view.

Everything in photography eventually comes down to light. How much light you can get. There are several factors that determine total amount of light received:

Aperture (size of opening in the lens that determines how much light gets through)
Shutter speed. Time the shutter remains open.
Speed of the film (sensor nowadays)

Longer exposure, larger aperture (smaller f number) and faster ISO gives you more exposure to light. However not all are possible at all points in time.

Higher ISO usually results in lower quality pictures. So there is a limit to how much you can push this to get more light or exposure.
A large aperture (small fnumber like f2.8) will give you plenty of light but no depth of field. So when very close to an insect you will get its head but its body will be out of focus.
A slow shutter speed will give you plenty of light but the slightest movement of eth subject or of your hand will result in a blur.

Usually a combination of the three is used along with artificial lighting such as a flash. However, there are situations when these are not enough. You are always restricted by the capability of your lens with regards to its speed (maximum aperture) and hence you are limited to one option, i.e., increasse the exposure time by reducing shutter speed. Which then exposes you to the risk of blurry images.

Now a tripod will not stabalize a cheetah running at 100 mph on a dark cloudy day, but it definitely helps when what you need that one additional step.

So anyway, I need a tripod, big deal, just go buyone, right? Well not exactly. Buying a tripod can be a complex process. More about that in my next post.

Back to Macro Photography - Close Up/Diopter Lens

2006-11-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog one of my first articles was on explaining what a macro lens is. http://shutterology.blogspot.com/2006/06/understanding-and-buying-macro-lens.html

Since then I have changed cameras and am now with my new Nikon D80. The one problem most photography enthusiasts face is the high cost of equipment. So I decided to take my attempts at Macro photograhy in small steps.

I started by purchasing a cheap set of Tiffen close up lens of +1, +2, and +4 diopters. These lens are like filters that help you focus in closer. They are NOT true macro lens and the image quality you get is not necessarily that good. However they do have some advantages:

For less than $50 these diopter lens are not a bad way to start looking at objects from up close.
They do not reduce the amount of light going through.

Since the close up lens/filters let you focus in closer, i.e., distance from object, you can get a larger image. Be careful though. In some cases I was way too close to the subject. While taking pictures of a bee I was stung a few times. Not fun!!!!!

Magnification attained by using a diopter lens is focal length of prime lens / focal length of diopter lens.

The focal length of a diopter lens is computed as 1000/diopter power. So a +2 diopter lens used on a 50 mm lens will give you a magnification M = 50/(1000/2) = 50/500 = 1/10 = 0.1X.

Stack a few diopter lens to get a total of +7 ( I used a +1, +2, +4) as I did for the pictures below and nwo you have M = 50/(1000/7) = 50/143 = 0.34X. Not too shabby for a $30-50 investment.

While I like the pictures above, I have a lot more to learn. A visit to any photography site will show you what amazing pictures can be taken using a Macro lens. Pictures from a Macro lens are not limited to little critters. Very fine potraits, pictures of water drops, dew, spider webs, flowers, etc can all be taken with a very unique perpective.

Based on the few pictures I have been taking and on what I have been reading up I realized that I need the following:

A good tripod.
A good flash (lighting is essential to all photography, Macro photography is no exception)
A good Macro lens or other lens that can be used as a macro by reversing them (more on this later)

In following posts I plan to write about my experience and analysis in acquiring this equipment followed by my experience using it.

Whats been going on?

2006-11-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

I have been quiet for a while. Mostly because I am trying to learn about the Nikon D80 before I go ahead and try to learn some advanced photography. Knowing how your camera works is critical.

In the mean time I am also reading up on macro photography. I had written a little in teh past about macro lenses. This is a subject I will be returning to very soon. In addition to Macro lenses I will talk about other options for doing Macro photography. A macro lens can be quite expensive.

More later ...

A quick followup

2006-09-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

I just went on a trip to Yellowstone National Park with my brand new Nikon D80. Great trip and I loved the camera. I managed to take some great pictures and some not so great. But that is very normal for an SLR or DSLR unless you are an absolute pro.

In a DSLR you always have the option to go fully automatic, i.e., treat your camera as a point and shoot. Well, while you have that option you are also wasting your money. The beauty of a DSLR is to have the ability to control various aspects during photography.

Now if you are novice like me, these manual adjustments often end up making a bad picture :-).

Some of my pictures turned out bad because of what I think is a poor design issue with the Nikon D80. Don't get me wrong. I am loving this camera. The D80 does not display the currently selected ISO anywhere by default. You have to press on a button to see what ISO setting you have. So if you are in a forest and under the trees and hence in shade and you see some moving animals, you rapidly switch your camera to 800 or 1600 ISO to compensate for the low light and take the pictures. Then you walk away to your car and drive to a nice wonderful sunny lake and take more pictures. Oops!!!!! you are taking pcitures at 800 or 1600 ISO. You are compromising quality even though sufficient light is available. I wish the view finder or the main monitor had a continuous ISO display.

Now if I find out that there is a way to continuously display the ISO then I will rush back and correct this statement.

I soon hope to start posting some pictures and explain what I was attempting. But before that I may have a discussion of what software to use and whether to shoot RAW or JPEG or both images.

Nikon D80 My First Impression

2006-09-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

So I finally bought my Nikon D80. I have not been able to use it as the lens arrive tomorrow .. grrrrrrrrr......

Since I have been a Minolta person up until now I can compare my "opening the box" experience only with Minolta cameras.

Honestly, I am super excited about my new camera. But I did notice a few negatives as compared to the Minoltas I have owned.

I have to admit I am a little disappointed with a couple of things. (Everything in comparison to Minolta)

The manual is made from poor quality paper. I hope they have a PDF on their web site because I am sure the manual will tear soon.
I dislike the eyepiece cap. Its doesnt just snap into the eye piece as it does for the Minolta. You have to slide of the eyepiece guard/pad and then slide in the cap. Seems like a tedious process. I was afraid I was going to break something.
I wish the manual had some instructions or information on the CDs and the software on those CDs. What is PictureProject? Do I need it? For now I am not installing it. I have a feeling its useless.Buying experience. This has nothing to do with Nikon.

I now know why I started buying everything online. No its not to save $10 on taxes. Its the avoid the used car salesmen. This guy tried to sell me evrything from an extended warranty, to courses in photography, to membership to their store, to photo printing services and on and on. I was standing there credit card in hand and all I wanted was for him to charge it and give me the damn box. What should have taken 5 minutes took an hour.

Also like a moron I bough a SD card from the camera store instead of CompUSA right next to it. I need to return the card tomorrow and buy one from CompUSA. By then hopefully the lens will arrive. Then wooooooooo hooooooooooooooo.

BTW. Best place for the SD cards is still www.newegg.com. I have a bunch ordered. They should get here by Tuesday. I just need one to play around with over the weekend.More on this new adventure later :-)

More later.

Decision almost made - Nikon D80

2006-09-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

I feel like some politician flip flopping on issues. The one big difference is that I am not trying to evade questions. In fact I am trying to answer questions posed to me by me :-)

Earlier I indicated that I was leaning towards purchasing a Canon 30D. I still believe that the 30D is a great camera. Essentially both Canon and Nikon offer great camera systems. I have mentioned earlier in my posts that buying an SLR or DSLR is a lot more than just buying a camera. Its about buying into a company that can offer a vast array of equipment and accessories for years to come. For anyone who is serious about photography or learning photography, in the long run the camera will matter less and the lenses and accessories will matter more.

As time goes by I have looked at some additional reviews and sample pictures from the Nikon D80 including some high ISO pictures. A popular criticism of the Nikon D80 is that it has poor high ISO performance. Most of this criticism comes from the fact that Nikon uses a Sony CCD which gives some pretty poor high ISO results.

However, based on a few high ISO pictures I have seen of the Nikon D80, I find that the D80 pictures are better. I have even shown teh pictures to friends without telling them which camera they came from and people tend to select the D80 pictures. Even at high ISO. This is in comparison to the Canon 30D.

The most ppoular camera review site www.dpreview.com , however, has not yet reviewed and compared the Nikon D80 to the Canon 30D. Here is an example of a high ISO Nikon D80 picture from the D80 review at http://www.dcresource.com

Nikon D80 at ISO 1600: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d80-review/nightshot1600.jpg (if image does not show then just hit refresh on the page)

Please read the full review at http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d80-review/

Canon 30D at ISO 1600: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/eos_30d-review/nightshot1600.jpg (if image does not show then just hit refresh on the page)

Please read the full review at http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/eos_30d-review/

I have also heard that the canon D30 should be compared to the Nikon D200 not the D80. I disagree. The D80 has all the features the Canon 30D has. The 30D is slightly faster and is $200 - $300 more expensive.

So, lets do another review of the Canon 30D vs the Nikon D80.

The D80 is cheaper by $200
The D80 offers all features that the Canon 30D does, except for time elapsed photography.
The Canon 30D has 1/8000 max shutter speed the D80 is at 1/4000. (Not sure where I would use either).
D80 has multiple exposures capability. I believe the only DSLR that offers this.

For $200 less and in my opnion equivalent quality pictures I think the Nikon D80 is a good camera to buy. With regards to lenses etc the Nikon and Canon family are equally large.

So until I have another swing in my way of thinking I think the Nikon D80 is the way to go.

As though decision making was not tough enough

2006-09-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

Just as I was about to purchase the Canon 30D out came a rumour that Canon will release the 40D on September 26. The 40D is supposed to be Canon's reply to the new generation of 10 megapixel DSLRs that have been released by Nikon and Sony. Canon has already announced the release of the 400D which is an entry level 10 megapixel DSLR. The release of teh 40D is just a rumor so far. Will have to wait and see if there is any truth to it.

Then just today Pentax announced the release of their 10 megapixel DSLR the Pentax K10. From preliminary information this camera has some amazing new features that are not supported by other cameras in its class. Notably:

Weather sealed body. One would think that expensive and sensitive equipment is always weather sealed but apparently only super expensive ($3000 and above) cameras offer that. This feature is not new for Pentax.
Very reasonably priced. I think $899 which puts it par with the Sony A100 and cheaper than the Nikon D80 ($999) and much cheaper than the Canon 30D ($1200).
3 Frames per second (Canon 30D is 5) but can keep going till the memory card is full. Most cameras stop after 20 maybe 30 pictures. This guy will keep clicking to 70 or more pictures at the rate of 3 per second.
Two new exposure priority options unique only to the K10. Sensitivity Priority and Shutter and Aperture Priority. For the former you choose the ISO and the camera will automatically determine shutter and aperture. With the latter you select the shutter and aperture speed and the camera will automatically detect ISO speed based on the light available.
From the looks of it great ergonomics. A lot of cameras are menu driven. Pentax seems to be living up to the tradition of providing the photographer with easy access to change settings.

What remains to be seen is the quality of images the camera takes. I do not know for certain but I am guessing that the Pentax is using the same 10 megapixel Sony CCD that is used by the Sony A100 and the Nikon D80. If that is the case the quality of images could be, though not necessarily be inferior to picture taken by Canon's CMOS sensor.

This is becoming a very interesting time to sit and watch rather than buy a camera. Technology is always changing and one cannot keep waiting to buy the best because you will just keep waiting. However, in the DSLR market there appears to be one year cycle and right now we are witnessing the release of cameras by all major manufacturers in the 10 megapixel class. In about a month or so detailed reviews on most of these camera will be available. It only makes sense to wait out this month or so. So that the expert reviews are complete. Perhaps late October or early November is the time to buy.

I doubt christmas or post christmas season will have much impact on the price. One may get lucky and find a bargain but I think the current prices of the new models will stick till about March or April 2007. Want to buy then? Bad idea, new models will start trickling in and then you will be enticed by them :-)

Yet another delay in my purchase of a DSLR

2006-09-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

So now I hear a rumour that Canon is about to release the 40D late September and that the 40D will be a 10 MP camera. By itself 2 MP is not a reason to upgrade your camera. But I see no reason to buy a 8MP camera on Sep 12 to see a 10MP camera released on Sep 26. Also, from what I hear Canon is known for dropping the price of their new model.

So it just makes sense that I wait for a month and then make a final decision. Sigh! I want a camera. LOL

Buying a new DSLR Part - 3. Canon 30D vs Nikon D80

2006-08-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

My previous post brought down my selection of Digital SLRs to the Canon 30D and the new Nikon D80. In that post I also seemed to lean more towards buying the Nikon D80. Some new information I have gathered is now making me lean towards the Canon 30D.

I have yet to see any detailed review of the D80. In my previous post I point to some pictures taken from a D80. However these are not done in a controlled environment. In addition I am told the Nikon D80 is identical to the Nikon D200 with regards to its CCD. This would imply very similar pictures between the two. If that is the case then I would prefer a Canon 30D because based on well controlled reviews the Canon 30D takes better pictures than the Nikon D200.
The Nikon D80 does not time elapsed recording
Canon D30 has shutter speed going as fast as 1/8000 of a second. The Nikon stops at 1/4000.
Canon is much better for astrophotography (a feature/need I forgot to mention in my first post.). See http://www.astropix.com/HTML/M_DAP/M009/M009.HTM,
Canon 30D is 8.2 MP vs the 10 MP for the Nikon D80, however it appears that the Canon 30D takes better pictures. What good are the additional Megapixels if the quality of the image is not good enough.
The Canon 30D is listed about $300 to $400 more expensive however the price is dropping and is currently available for $1195 which is $200 more than the Nikon. Maybe the price will drop a little more.

Unless new reviews show the Nikon D80 images to be better than Canon 30D images at all ISO sensitivities, I think the Canon may be a better camera.

More as I learn more.

Buying a new DSLR Part - 2

2006-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Before getting into too many details let me start by dropping a few cameras off my list.

Canon 20D - No spot metering
Nikon D70 - At just $100 less than the D80 it makes no economic sense to buy this. Plus just 6MP as compared to the 10 MP on the D80.
Pentax - I actually like these cameras but I think they need a new and improved model to catch up with the rest of the brands. I know megapixels are not everything. But now 6 MP just does not cut it. I would not recommend people with 6MP cameras to switch for a 10 MP. But if you have none, then why buy a 6MP?
Nikon D200 - Just too expensive :-)

So this boils down to the Sony A-100, Nikon D80, and the Canon 30D. As much as I hate the idea of buying a Sony product I do have to consider this camera simply because I have Minolta lenses that are useless otherwise.

Sony A100

Next one being eliminated: Sony A100. Why? performance. I looked at the detailed review and the pictures the camera generated on its detailed review at dpreview. I took some of the camparison pictures and showed it to people after removing the labels. I used this method for all the cameras. Most people who saw the A-100 found them inferior to the competition.

Also the A100 has extremely noisy high ISO (800+ ISO) pictures. This means I will have to buy extremely fast, therefore, extremely expensive lenses.

So this comes down to a Canon 30D vs a Nikon D80 decision. So lets look at some differentiating factors.

30D costs almost $300 more.
Nikon D80 is 10 MP vs 8 for the 30D
Nikon D80 has some neat features like multiple exposures which is extremely rare in DSLRs as they expect you to take two pictures and use photoshop.
Nikon software sucks. You have to pay an additional $100 to get Nikon's good quality raw image editor. This essentially ups the camera cost by $100. Canon comes with the software.
The Nikon D80 uses a SD card and not a Compact Flash card. nothing wrong with that except taht I have a 2GB CF card. This adds another $100 to the cost of the Nikon. Making the Nikon cost of ownership approach that of the Canon 30D.

The main battle comes down to image quality. as yet, no proper detailed review of the Nikon D80 is available. A few sample pitcures are available which make the Nikon look far better. However, in my opinion the Canon 30D generated far superior pictures to the Nikon D200, D70, and D50. So compared to other Nikon models the canon does much better.

Then I saw these pictures, not a very well managed comparison, but still a revealing comparison of Canon 30 and the Nikon D80. They seem to reveal that the D80 has reversed the trend. I used my old trick of showing several friends both sets of pictures without telling them why and what camera. Asking them to select the pictures they thought looked better.

In 100% of the cases people selected pictures taken by the Nikon D80 at ISOs ranging from 100 to 3200. I too preferred the Nikon D80 pictures to the Canon 30D pictures. You can see for yourself and make your own opinion.

When you browse to these link and are asked to install some fonts, just hot cancel. You may have to do so a few times. Then scroll all the way to the bottom and click on the photographs. Please note these are large files.

Canon 30D

Nikon D80

The pictures have made me lean towards the Nikon D80. I do still intend to wait for some more detailed reviews to be published before I make my final decision. But the Nikon D80 does look promising.

Buying a new DSLR - Part 1

2006-08-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

So now that I will be getting my money back from Sony for my Minolta 7D (See previous post) the question is what camera do I buy now. The 7D which I loved is still available at Walmart now for just about $700. A great bargain (I love this camera) but too much of a risk based on my recent experience. Plus why buy a camera with a known problem and a maker that is no longer there.

So then the question is what camera to buy. I hate doing this and I may end up regretting this decision but I am starting by eliminating one brand until I can be convinced otherwise. The brand being Olympus. This is not because I have any reason to believe that they are good or bad cameras. Its just that I cannot seem to find sufficient reviews on them. Also I dont seem to find many vendors that make lenses and accessories for Olympus. If shown otherwise, I will be more than happy to include Olympus cameras.

Therefore, based on preliminary research the current contenders are:

Canon EOS 20D
Canon EOS 30D
Nikon D70
Nikon D80 (just released, no major reviews available as yet)
Nikon D200
Sony DSLR-A100 (unlikely I will buy it)
Pentax DSLR (problem with Pentax is that they have a host of very similar models)

Nikon is about to announce a new 10 MP camera in the $1000 range. I believe we are just a few days from the release of information on that camera. Lets wait and see. As you will see I have added the D80 to the list above. The features of this camera are now avaliable but no major review of it is out as yet. Features are important, but the camera should also be able to perform well.

One of my main sources of information is dpreview. An instant comparison of the models listed above can be found here.

The table listed in this list, however, simply lists features that these cameras have. Not how good they are with respect to these features. Also, just having a lot of features does not make a camera good. What makes it good is whether you need these features. So lets start with features that matter to me.

Price. This is not the most important feature. I have a range. I am trying not to go above $1500 for the body.
Quality and customer service. After my fiasco with Sony, I do not want a repeat performance. If I am going to spend so much money on a camera and more on lenses they better give me quality products and good service.
Compatibility with my existing Minolta lenses. This pretty much narrows down the list to the Sony A-100. Yes despite the horrible service I got from them I will evaluate their camera.
Spot Metering. Digital cameras measure the amount of light and then adjust exposure to get the best possible picture. In spot metering you get the camera to adjust exposure to the amount of light you are focussing on. This way the light sorrounding this object will not impact the overall exposure of the shot. Imagine taking a picture of thr moon at night. The moon is a very bright object sorrounded by absolute darkness. Without spot metering the camera may try to increase the exposure as a result of the dark sky. This will result in a moon shot without any lunar features. Sometimes you dont want the camera being too smart :-)
Low noise at high ISOs (800, 1600, 3200). I am not a professional and I do not have very many (infact any) very high speed lens. I found that low noise high ISO functionality allows me to compensate for a slower lens. Many a times while hiking in the back country I have been able to take wildlife pictures under inadequate conditions as I didnt have a fast lens. Just being able to take pictures at 1600 or 3200 ISO is not good enough. There is little value if the pictures are too noisy.
Availability and variety of accessories and lenses. As I mentioned above buying a DSLR or an SLR should be a long term decision. Therefore one must invest in a camera for which there are plenty of lenses and accessories available.
How well does the camera perform. It matterws very little as to how many features a camera has. The big issue is how well does it perform. At the end of the day all what matters is the quality of the pictures you get. Most of my decision making making will be based on this criteria.
Effective Pixels/megapixels. You cannot discuss a digital camera without discussing megapixels. Many have said this is a key factor and many have said this is an overblown factor. To me this is a key factor. I have repeatedly said that there are features and then there is actual camera performance. We are currently listing features that are important to me. I feel the MP of the camera is important. Higher the MPs the larger the printouts I can get without adversely affecting the quality of the image. Also, higher MPs let me select a small section of the image and blow that up. And the end of the day, its all about the math. More the MPs you have, the more you can do with the image.

Sony Sony What are you doing to me

2006-07-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

So my entire attempt to blog my experience learning photography is on hold thanks to Sony. My camera a Konica Minolta 7D broke down. It was less than 10 months old and had a 1 year manufacturers warranty. Except that Konica Minolta solds its camera business to Sony.

May 29, 2006

It all started late May. May 29th to be precise. My camera all of a sudden stopped working. I t would turn on but would not take any pictures. However while turning on it made a funny clicking sound that lasted a few seconds. No it was not the AF lens. The exact symptoms were:

Shutter does not release.
When camera is powered up, after the initial lens shuffle a clicking sound is heard.
The auto shake bars (all five of them) to the right of the view finder are blinking
Shows 0 (zero) as the number of frames remaining in the view finder.
The problem is intermittent, i.e., it goes away after letting the camera rest for some time, but then recurs.

So I call Minolta who has me call Sony and they have me send the camera in for repairs. That was on May 31, 2006.

July 6, 2006

After a month in repair, around July 6, at Precision Camera their online status says repaired, shipped, shipment confirmed (please note the shipment confirmed part).

July 14, 2006

A week later no camera, so I call Precision. The lady says, the camera is still with them with a note on it saying that I have to call Sony. Hmmm, how does that equate to shipment confirmed? I have no idea.

I wanted to ask her exactly when was Precision camera going to inform me that the camera was not shipped and that I was to call Sony, but I figured she would have no intelligent answer so I let that pass. Anyway.....

So I call Sony. They say the camera cannot be repaired as they are no longer making spare parts. They offer me a DSC-H5 in replacement. While on the phone I quickly check online on the DSC-H5, hmmm a $400 camera in place of a $1100 camera. A point and shoot camera instead of a SLR. No lenses vs. a couple of thousand dollars worth of lenses I have. Great job Sony.

I tell the Sony Customer Service that the exchange is unacceptable. That a point and shoot is no replacement for a SLR. At which point she said "SL what?" Right then I should have known I am headed downhill. I tried to explain it to her in simpler terms and said "I have a Ferrari, you are offering me a Yugo in exchange." There was a pause and she goes ohhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

The lady then sheepishly says that Sony will alternatively offer a refund by prorating the cost of the camera over 7 years. Since my camera was less than a year old and cost about $1,100 I should get about $950 plus. Sony says I must mail them my proof of purchase, i.e., a bill stating how much I paid for the camera. Since the camera was in its first year of warranty I felt I should get all my money back, but for now I was OK.

I did mention to the lady that Sony should at minimum offer the new Alpha A-100 as a replacement and not the DSC-H5. She didn't even know what that was. Sigh!! I said I will fax my proof of purchase for the Minolta 7D and would like to get my money.

July 17, 2006

So I fax my proof of purchase. no news for a while. I was told someone would call me the day or the next day after I fax proof of purchase.

July 20, 2006

Finally I get an email from Sony stating that I need to provide proof or purchase of a DSC-H5 to get a refund. huh? What the fuck was that? I never owned a DSC-H5.

So I call Sony trying to explain to them I need a refund for a Minolta 7D that is still under warranty and that they are saying cannot be repaired. After being on hold for about an hour I finally get to talk to someone and express my frustration. I was assured that they have set their records straight. I hope they can resolve this issue so I can buy a new camera.

I am asked to re-fax my proof of purchase. I do so. I call back to confirm and am told there is absolutely no way I can confirm that they received the fax. I was told if they have received the fax they will call me in 2 to 3 days. I explained how I had already faxed the information in the past, but to no avail. They would not confirm receipt.

July 26, 2006

So I have not yet heard from Sony. I call. By the way, in the previous calls I was told to always directly ask for Level 2 support. So I call and ask for level 2 support. The lady says I first need to give her my event ID. I do so, and she says, "h! so this is for your request for a refund for a DSC-H5?".

I exploded. WTF!!!!!!!!!! I had to start all over again and explain to her the entire story. At the end of my explanation she says "well now I understand, so, foirst you must return the DSC-H5."

I was in shock. This has to be the twilight zone. In what language am I to explain the whole story to them? Sensing my extreme frustration she finally connected me to level 2 support.

The gentleman here was a LOT more knowldegable. He said he had not received my faxes (both of em) and said there was no point sending a third fax as there is no way to confirm the receipt.

So, he tells me the following:

Sony is currently processing cases for people who inititaed support 5 days before me, thereby implying I will not hear from anyone for at least 5 days. At that time if they do not have my fax they will call or email me. This is a lot better than the previous statements of "someone will call you later today."
He also said there is no 7 year prorating and that if the camera was under waranty I will get all my money back.

So, now I have at least a week to wait. Lets see what happens.

July 31, 2006

I get a letter from Sony. Guess what? They want me to fax them my proof of purchase for the camera. But wait, there is good news too. There is a direct line to the lady who sent the letter.

Aug 1, 2006

I call the lady. She was very polite, courteous and helpful and told me I will get a 100% refund for my Minolta 7D. The check will be cut on August 9 and that I should expect it to reach me in 10 business days from then. Finally. But somehow I will wait till I get the check and cash it.

During this ordeal I wanted to know if I was the only person who was having this problem. So I went to dpreview and started asking questions on their online forums. Here are three threads that will be quite enlightening.

Camera Stopped Shooting

Minolta 7D Anti Shake Problem Log

Argh!!! Sony

My run around with Precision Camera....

So why am I writing this incident on my blog? Well buying an SLR is a big decision and requires quite a bit of research. Plus in addition to buying the camera, you need to buy lots of lens. When you buy such an expensive camera you need to know you bought the right product from the right company because service and support are critical features.

So now that I do not have a camera I will start by writing my search for a new camera. Yes, despite Sony's pathetic service, I will evaluate their new Alpha A-100 DSLR too.

Keep tuned.

Aug 11, 2006

I get a call from Sony Electronics. The guy leaves a message which went like "aaah hmmm, we need to talk, call me, I am blah blah from Sony Electronics and my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx."

Now I go paranoid. I am convinced that there is something wrong with my refund. I call him back but he is never at his desk. Finally I get a call back from him. He said he wated to know why I was so upset with Sony. Not sure how he knew I was upset. I told him my story. He listened, I thanked him and that was the end of it. He told me that my refund was processed and that I should be receiving it soon.

Nothing he said has changed my mind about Sony in any significant manner. Though I did thank him for calling.

Understanding and Buying a Macro Lens

2006-06-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

I guess I should make this a two parter. The first post trying to explain a Macro lens and the second on my experience buying one.

First of all, I am no professional. What I am writing here is based on my experience and meant to guide other newcomers.

So, whats a macro lens? In simple terms its a lens that will let you take a picture where the size of the image on the film, negative, or CCD (for digital camers) is the same as that as the size of the object. This is called a 1:1 magnification. Some people will say a 1:2 magnifacation is also a macro (purists disagree). A 1:2 means the image on film is half the real size of the object.

Now to clear any confusion about image and object size. Please focus on the size of the image on the film, negative, or CC. What this means is that if you take a picture of a coin that is 10mm wide then it will be 10mm wide on the 35mm film and it will be 10mm wide. Or if yu have a digital camera for example a Minolta 7D, then its CCD is 23.5 x 15.7. So the 10mm wide coin will take 10 of the 23.5mm of the CCD.

So the 10mm coin takes up 10/23.5 of the width of your CCD. So when you print this picture on a 4x6 you will see a coin that is (10/23.5)x6 = 2.5 (approx). So this way you see a 10mm object as being much larger when coverted to print media.

A macro lens specializes in giving you high quality 1:1 magnification.

Another aspect of a macro lens is its focal length. The shorter the focal length, 28mm, 50mm etc the wider the view, but also implies that you have to get that much closer to the subject. Maybe you dont want to be so close to a bee, or another critter that wont sting, but will simply fly away because of your proximity.

So in order to make your life a little easier gettng a Macro lens with a 100mm or more focal lenth is probably a good idea. Of course greater the focal length higher the price and also potentially slower lens.

Zoom macro lenses. Be warned about several zoom lenses out there that classify themselves as a macro lens. They are usaully like a 28 - 70 mm macro. But if you look at their specs you will see that the magnification on most of these lens are 1:2, 1:3, or even as low as 1:4. So don't be fooled. If you want a macro lens, make sure the specs say, magnification 1:1.

So now I am off to see out a macro lens with a 1:1 magnification and a 100mm focal length.

Camera Broken

2006-06-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well I managed to break my camera which is why I have not posted anything. But on the brighter side, I am looking into buying a macro lens so I can start doing some macro photography. So in the next few posts I will talk about my experience understanding macro lenses, evaluating them, and buying. Hopefully by then my camera will be repaired and then I can start taking pictures and talk about Macro photography.

Close up of flowers in my yard

2006-05-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

Name	Value	Name	Value
Like most people I have been taking pictures for a long time. Even though I had an SLR I never pushed to gain any technical skills. Purchasing a digital SLR however changed that. I guess I am too lazy for teh film to be processed. With digital photography I found it was not only fast (no processing etc) but it allows one to make plenty of mistakes and learn from them. Plus there is a lot of information embedded in the image itself making analysis of the photographs a lot easier. Earlier I used to take notes for each picture. Not anymore. Having said that I decide to start by taking simple pictures right in my own yard. There are ample opportunities to take pictures with contrasting clours, details, long exposures, high speed macro etc. As in there are plenty of flowers, insects, bees, bugs, and creepie crawlies around. My intent is to start here and start with simple pictures and then move on to more technical photogrpahy. Any input from anyone on how to improve is always welcome. The two pictures below are a simple attempt to vary depth of field on a close up shot. They are both taken using a 70-210 zoom but the main difference is the F stop or F Number. The first picture has a smaller aperture (larger F Number) thereby giving it more depth of field. Notice that the leaves behind the flower are clear. The second picture has a larger aperture (smaller F Number) thereby emphasizing on the flower and not the world behind it.
Equip Make	KONICA MINOLTA	Equip Model	MAXXUM 7D
Exposure Time	0.01	F Number	18.0
Exposure Prog	Shutter priority	ISO Speed	100
Focal Length	160.0
EXIF Property HTML Tag created by: ExifPropertyViewer

Name	Value	Name	Value

Equip Make	KONICA MINOLTA	Exposure Time	0.001
F Number	5.6	Exposure Prog	Aperture priority
ISO Speed	100	Date Orig	2006:05:12 21:57:11
Focal Length	180.0
EXIF Property HTML Tag created by: ExifPropertyViewer