Nikon N80 With 28 80 Lens 35mm Film Camera

Capture each and every moment of yours with your film camera. It will make sure you get amazing pictures with superlative precision. At the same time, you do not have to engage yourself in a tedious task. It has features that will make photography easy for you and at the same time let you get an idea about your own creative energies.

Key features

Nikon N80 with 28 80 lens 35mm film camera is almost similar to its close cousin N90S. However, it has some features that make it a bit different from the elder one. For example, N90S has a shutter speed of 30-1/800sec. On the other hand, N80 has a shutter speed of 30-1/4000 sec. It can shoot 2.5 frames per second. N90S, on the other hand, can capture 4.1 frames per second. Otherwise, all the features are almost similar. Nikon N80 with 28 80 lens 35mm film camera has SLR type camera. It is enabled with a zoom lens. It needs 2x 3V lithium Batteries. It has both auto and manual focus. It is enabled with manual shooting modes like Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Fully Manual. It does not have a mirror lock up. It also has four light metering modes. It also has auto exposure feature.

User friendly aspects

Nikon N80 with 28 80 lens 35mm film camera is extremely compact and light in weight. It weighs only 515 grams. When you fall short of time, you can change all the settings without even looking at the camera from your eyes since the buttons are placed and the settings are easily to manage.

Know More

Nikon D80 with 28 80 lens 35mm film camera comes with a Red Eye Reduction option. This feature causes the flash to emit a burst of light before the photograph is taken, which narrows the pupil of your subject which in turn does not allow the red color to appear in the photograph.

Conclusion

Nikon N80 with 28 80 lens 35mm film camera is an ideal camera for professional use. However, when compared with N 90S, it takes a fall back.

Nikon Vs Canon in a Changing DSLR Marketplace

Nikon is in a very competitive marketplace, so what other manufacturers do has a direct impact on Nikons product direction. Twenty years ago, Nikon owned the 35mm professional photography market, and then along came autofocus, followed by digital. Canon was traditionally the number 2 company. However with autofocus, Canon made inroads as both companies updated their product lines with new technology. Then came digital photography, Canon seized the opportunity, and by innovating and marketing more aggressively than Nikon, they seized the number one spot. They became the camera of choice for most pros by the early 21st century. Nikon responded hard in late 2007 by launching the D3 and D300 - anyone watching the Beijing Olympics will witness that about half the pros were shooting Nikon, the rest Canon. Four years earlier in Athens, Nikons were few and far between.

Now it's the second half of 2008, and Canon is firing shots back across Nikons bow.

The new Canon EOS 50D comes in a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the Nikon D300, yet beats the D300 in the megapixel race (15.1mp vs. 12.3mp) while claiming a higher maximum ISO (12,800 vs. 6,400). The D300 on paper appears to have better AF and faster frame rate, but someone new coming into the market will look long and hard at the cheaper, higher resolution, higher ISO Canon.

A couple of weeks later Canon fired another shot with the full frame EOS 5D Mark II. Again priced a few hundred dollars less than the Nikon it takes aim at - the D700. It boasts 21.1 mp vs. the Nikons 12.1 mp, while matching the max ISO of 25,600. Again, the D700 has a faster frame rate etc., but from a marketing perspective Canon now has a very strong platform to go after the serious amateur/prosumer, especially if they are not sports shooters.

However, it gets better. At the end of August Nikon announced the D90 - the first DSLR with video capture, sporting a full 720p. The ability to use SLR lenses for video and capture a very shallow depth of field is significant - it's not a feature for everyone, but for some this is huge, and could possible save them tens of thousands of dollars on video equipment. Less than 3 weeks later, Canon stole Nikons thunder again with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, sporting a full 1080p video capture mode in a prosumer camera (vs. the more entry level Nikon D90). Obviously Canon is serious about video too, and appears to have the superior system.

Then there is the 24.6 megapixel Sony that should start shipping in a few weeks time.

So far Nikon has been pushing back on the megapixel race, making noises about not wanting to slow down workflow, and higher megapixels not being needed. Higher megapixels also show up problems in lenses, cause diffraction issues and introduce a whole new set of problems. Very few people actually need more than 12 megapixels, however your average user or beginner does not know this. They are listening to the marketing people, and comparing bullet points on web sites between cameras to make their purchasing decisions. From a marketing perspective, Canon now has the upper hand in the serious amateur/semi-pro market. Nikon has to respond - either with a new set of products, or with an aggressive marketing campaign to educate consumers as to why megapixels don't matter. As has been proven time and again by numerous companies across multiple industries, launching new products to meet demand is virtually always cheaper and/or more profitable than trying to reeducate the consumer.

These are exciting times in the DSLR world; it took Canon a year to respond to the Nikon D300, and several months to respond to the Nikon D700. A response from Nikon will come, maybe not this year, but it has to come.

Photography Today

From a box brownie to a Nikon D3 in 50 years

I have been a professional photographer for over 30 years and the changes that have taken place over that time are just incredible.

My first pro camera around was a Rolleiflex 2.8 which I still have to this day - in working condition as well. I used these cameras - Rolleiflex, Bronica and Mamiyaflex over the years for Weddings, Portraits and Press Photography.

In the early 70's I bought a Pentax S1A and a Nikon 35mm camera but only used them for certain jobs mainly because of the quality I could get from the 6cm cameras.

So most of the time until the 90's I still used the medium format cameras for weddings and portraits but gradually moved over to Nikon cameras for press work.

Towards the end of the 90's things changed so quickly with the introduction of digital cameras, so much so that gone are the hours and hours in the darkroom processing films and printing photographs in black & white for the press.

Now, I use Nikon digital cameras for virtually all the photography that I undertake. So now, instead of standing in the darkroom for hours I now sit in front of a computer for hours doing everything digitally.

Obviously, it makes things easier with retouching photographs etc., moving heads and figures and converting colour pics into black & white or sepia at the click of a mouse but it doesn't save me hours & hours of time in work. That is progress for you.

Top 10 Photography Tips

With the boom of digital photography more pictures than ever are being shot everyday. Digital Photography allows us to increase significantly the picture production by lowering costs. But does the quality increase on the same ratio? Probably not.
With few simple tips it is possible to take more advantage of your own equipment and increase the value of your own pictures.

1. Get closer to the Subject: 90% of the pictures are taking too far of the subject. Just step towards your subject and ensure that it fills completely your visor. It is never too close.
2. Use a tripod: take a light high quality tripod with you and use it! You will be able to capture more details of your subject and increase the sharpness, specially when taking scenics, arquitecture and landscapes.
3. Use the "Raw" mode of your digital camera: JPG pictures allows only 8 bit per channel, this means the information per channel is restricted and you may loose information when processing your picture later in your digital lab. RAW modes support the full range of your digital equipment and provides highly flexibility to re- process your pictures afterwards.
4. Use low ISO values: your digital camera is able to be setup to high ISO Values (ISO 500-1500), however the noise of the sensor will increase dramatically, needing also an intensive post-processing, i.e. using noise reduction filters. Use higher ISO values only when its unavoidable
5. Keep it simple: in photography less is more. Concentrate on the message you desire to capture and try to eliminate everything else. Keep your backgrounds simple and your main subject understandable without anything else that could disturb your clear message.
6. Bring profundity in your pictures. The world has three dimensions, but your pictures only two. A subject that looks great to your eyes may appear flat in your pictures. Play with diagonal elements crossing the picture, but with simplicity of lines.
7. Either Fore or Background: a typical beginner error is to try to capture fore and background on the same picture. This is the typical "tourist" picture in front of some touristic attraction. Decide if you would like to capture the fore- or the background and concentrate on one subject. Only by using extreme wide-angle lens and a good composition you can have both.
8. Discover hidden details: The world is infinite complex and contains innumerable details that are waiting to be captured by your lenses. Use tele-photo lenses to bring to the audience what only you have discovered.
9. Don´t place your subject in the middle. Your pictures will be boring if everything is symmetric and the subject is exact in the middle. Apply the "golden section" of the "rule of the thirds". Keep your composition balanced. Of course, extreme symmetry can be wonderful, if applied properly.
10. Unleash your creativity: once you have carefully applied the rules 1-9, forget them and start using creative photography. Don´t use tripod and move your camera intentionally in order to get blure pictures, play with high ISO values and extreme perspectives, extreme light situations and unusual subjects. You will be a great photographer.

Nikon D300 VS Nikon D700

Nikon officially introduced the 12.1 MP Nikon D700 FX format (equivalent to 35mm format) digital SLR on July 1st, 2008. The D700 is often said to be a "D3 in a D300 body". Take a D3, put it in a smaller body, do some clever cost-cutting but modest feature changes, lower the price to nearly a half, and you've got a D700. So, just how close is the D700 to the D300?

The D700 shares a number of features with D300. Both of them sport a powerful 51-point AF system, a high resolution 3in VGA monitor with Live View, the same 1005-pixel metering system, along with an HDMI port for connection to HDTVs - albeit using a mini-jack on the D700. Both of them are also tough, offering resistance to dust and moisture.

For the camera body, the dimension of D300 is approximately 147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.5 x 2.9 in), D700: approximately 147 x 123 x 77 mm (5.8 x 4.8 x 3.0 in). Without battery, the weight of D700 goes up 995g and the D300 is 825g. So the D300 is slightly smaller and lighter than the D700.

The Main difference between the two cameras is that the D700 uses a FX - full frame sensor and the D300 uses the DX - 1.5x cropped sensor. The D700 employs exactly the same 12.1 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor as the D3, which conforms to Nikon's FX format and deliver images with 4256 x2832 pixels when coupled with an FX-compatible lens. Like the D3, you can still use DX-format lenses, but with a cropped portion of the sensor, delivering 5 Megapixel images.

The viewfinder on the Nikon D700 features an eye-level pentaprism with high refraction index and provides 95% frame coverage with 0.72x magnification. It's not as accurate as the D300 or the D3 which both offer 100%.

Now let's talk about the sensor size. D700 uses a 36 x 24 size and pixel density is just 1.4MP/cm2 compared to the 23.6 x 15.8 Size and Pixel Density of 3.3MP/cm2. It means that technically the D700 should have cleaner file since the pixel density is almost half that of the D300.

Nikon D300 has 70-300mm VR lens and you effectively get a lens that has a 450mm reach at the telephoto end of the zoom range. This comes handy when you're shooting wildlife or sports where the subjects are far away. The same lens on the D700 would result in photos where the subject will not fill up as much of the frame as it would on the D300.

In a word, the Nikon D700 is basically a Nikon D300 sized version of the Nikon D3 digital SLR. The major advancements in performance and design that were first introduced with the Nikon D3 and D300 have been incorporated in the D700 along with a few differentiating features and functionality. But the D300 is much cheaper than the D700-nearly half of the D700's price. So whether it is worthy to upgrade your D300 to D700 depends on you needs.

Setting moon

Setting moon
Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe.

Maybe I should have called this photo "Moonrise over Tim Horton's". If that means absolutely nothing to you let me explain.

I took this photo last night while on a stroll in my neighborhood. The establishment on the left is called Tim Horton's, a very successful chain of coffee shops in Canada. Tim Horton's shops are never very far away.

The other reason is that when I saw this scene, it reminded me of an Ansel Adams photograph, Moonrise over Hernandez, which was probably the most inspirational photograph I ever saw as a young man. Having that flashback was what made me stop in my tracks, take out my Canon G10, and find something to rest it on for the 1 second exposure it took to capture this. I used the self-timer feature as well to reduce shake.

Ten minutes later the sky was ink black. I don't think it would have looked as good.

Click the photo to view a larger version. What inspires you?

35mm DOF Adapter - Do You Need One?

One of the more apparent differences between film and digital video is the way the cameras handle depth of field. Film cameras have allow for a shallow depth of field (resulting in only the subject area being is in focus), while video cameras offer a larger depth of field (resulting in everything being in focus). To achieve a shallow depth of field with digital video camcorders a depth of field adapter is generally used. Before you rush out to purchase an adapter you should ask yourself if you really need one.

Before you decide if you need one, you have to understand exactly what you are purchasing. A depth of field adapter is not a quick solution. It will not provide perfect results once you install it. They are a tool like any piece of video equipment in your arsenal. This tool, like any, requires mastering. It will take time and practice to achieve the results desired from an adapter. With that said and adapter should not be an impulse by nor one you should rush to buy/build. I will say for most videographers it is a fun tool to experiment with.

Ok, so you decided you want to go for an adapter. The first thing you should do is research. They're are many high-end commercial solution that cost $1000+, however there are also as many 'DIY" versions on the market ($150+) and tutorials for building your own DIY adapter. I can say i have seen footage from many of the 'DIY' adapters and they can be very comparable, if not superior, to commercial solutions. This is why research is the key. You can search sites like Vimeo.com for HD footage from most of the adapters out there. There are also many comparison videos there as well. While researching adapters keep in mind that there are 3 types of adapters; static, spinning, and vibrating. Static is fine, but you run into trouble with keeping the internal ground glass(heart of the adapter) clean, which results in noticeable artifacts and patterns in your footage. The solution is to add movement to the ground glass...hence the vibrating and spinning adapters. Spinning adapter are larger and use a rotating disc as the ground glass, this can actually cause a 'pumping' focus effect if not aligned correctly. Vibrating adapters are my personal choice. They actually vibrate the ground glass, usually in a slight circular, pattern. The vibration is very slight, but enough to make any dirt on the ground glass disappear. Usually vibrating adapter allow for speed adjustment which provides you with even more control.

Okay so you decided you want an adapter and you understand the basics of each type, now what? Now you decide if you want to attempt to build on yourself or purchase one. Purchasing a DIY vibrating adapter will run you at least $250 (most likely more), while a commercial version will be at least 3x as much. Building your own sounds like a cheap route to go right? Well, not exactly. Unless you have the parts available to you at a local store (most likely not) you will probably end up sourcing them online. And you can find great prices online, however, since there really isn't a one-stop shop for parts, you have to factor in shipping. Which really ranges greatly from store to store. This will make a vibrating DIY adapter about $100 - 200 easy. However there are a few creative solutions utilizing PVC pipe and other easy to get parts from local stores. Tutorials for these can be found at here.

I hope this helps, also don't forget to figure in lens support and a tripod into your budget...once you start experimenting with the actual adapter you will understand why these might be needed.

Portrait Photography Tips

Usually budding photographers, as well as those who have already been shooting for awhile, are usually wanting the same thing. They want to shoot admirable photographs that create the "wow" response. It is not often an straightforward thing to undertake, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet, it is not impossible, and rather than sticking to rules, sometimes it is necessary to break them. Be casual and brazenly follow your gut to come up with that exceptional photograph that makes everyone stop and take notice.

1. Experiment with Lighting - The possibilities are endless with lighting. You are hindered only by your imagination and aptitude to be creative. There is no good and bad. So go ahead and mess with the lighting. You may surprise yourself. Back-light, sidelight, silhouette, the possibilities are unbounded.
2. Don't Stage the Shot - Photographing candid pictures is often better than posing the subject. People, and kids in particular are inclined to tense up and hide rather than reveal their personality when the picture is staged and they are required to pose. Shoot your grown-ups while they work or toddlers while they play. Try to capture them reacting normally to their environment.
3. Vary the Frame of Reference - More often than not portraits are done with the camera at eye level. Adjust the aspect by varying the angle from which you are photographing. Get up high over your subject for one effect. From that site you may be able to behold an even more refreshing scene. Mess around with your composition.
4. A Part of the Whole - Try focusing on just a part of the scene, for example, instead of photographing the head and shoulders of your subject, shoot their back, or their hands, or maybe even a shoulder with a special tattoo, keeping the face in shadow. Be bold and dramatic. Sometimes what is left out of the scene is as important as what is left in.
5. Mess around with the Eyes - Eye contact or the angle in which the eyes are tending powerfully affects the effect of the portrait. Looking directly into the camera isn't always the most pleasing way to capture a subject. It may be more pleasing to have the person look away from the camera, drawing those who look at the resulting photo to wonder what's there, off camera, unseen. But be careful how you do this, because drawing the viewer's eyes to the side also takes their eyes off your subject.
6. Variation on a Theme - Partially covering your subject in order to focus on one particular property works well too. In other words, concealing a lady in a shawl leaving only her eyes visible and looking at the camera. Possibly making the shawl match the eyes of the subject making for a dramatic color effect.
7. Composition Rules - Composition rules as described in these portrait photography tips, are made to be followed and broken. The rules are great to know and to use, but stretching them, or propelling to their limits makes for a more dramatic portrait. Learn the rules, get comfortable using them, then learn to break them in order to achieve a more dramatic result.
8. Move the Subject - Stunning portraits happen when you take the subject out of his or her comfort zone. Make the subject move. Put them in clothing or in a setting where you wouldn't ordinarily find them. Surround them with stuff that says who they are, but make them react differently to it. For instance, put them in business clothing in an office, but have them jump up and down or read a book upside down. Again, be artistic.
9. Staying Focused within the Frame - Namely, have your subject holding something, like a woman holding a toddler, or a child grasping an item assists in keeping the viewer's eyes focused inside the frame and on the subjects. It creates a second point of focus and helps to create a story within the frame with the main subject.
10. Using Props - Enhance your shot by creating another focal point with a prop. For example, if you are photographing a doctor, have them wear a pair of scrubs or hold a skull. Be careful not to let the prop dominate the picture, let it be part of the picture telling part of the story.
The prospects for taking WOW photographs are limited only by your capability to think outside the box. Know the rules, know how to work them, then learn how to break them for a more alluring portrait. Finally, take a series of shots... not just one... shoot often and quick... sometimes, in order to get what you were looking for.

Nikon D90

The Nikon D90 is a digital single lens reflex which is capable of excellent cinematic results, thanks to its high definition movie shooting function. This is further enhanced by the optical quality and selection of lenses. We achieved absolutely breathtaking image fidelity, much thanks to the 12.3 megapixel DX-format CMOS imaging sensor along with Nikon’s image processing techniques.

Fast moving scenes were captured really well, thanks to its fast 0.15ms power-up and split second 65ms shooting lag. Image and movie playback is done easily due to its high resolution, 1700 wide angle LCD monitor. As I take a lot of photos of people, I found the accurate face recognition system, with 11 point autofocus to be a very important feature of D90. It works really well even when taking pictures in poor lighting conditions.
D90 has a considerable heavier body than other SLRs I have tried. It feels really heavy at 1 pound, 10 ounces. In my opinion, the shutter durability and dust prevention system are better than that of its predecessor D80. D90 is easy to hold and the layout of its controls is easily understandable. Additional features observed in the shooting controls include an expansion of Active D-Lighting parameters, nine slots for custom Picture Control settings, and advanced scene modes which has Picture Controls and Active D-Lighting.
It has wireless flash controls and high speed flash sync features. It can automatically program itself to shift to slower shutter speeds when the camera knows a VR lens is attached.

Good:

• All features exhibit high performance.
• It has a nice viewfinder incorporated inside a solid, well-constructed body.
• Contrast detection autofocus with face detection is very accurate.
• It has a large sensor enabling it to control depth of field with high precision.
• Details within shadows can be controlled thus keeping the high contrast situations in check.
• It has an in-built ultrasonic image sensor cleaning.
• D90 can record movie quality film clips at up to 720p high definition in Motion JPEG format.

Bad:

• The implementation of D90’s video capturing capability is not complete because of many limitations like recording is possible for only 5 minutes, exposure is fixed for the length of the clip, it has monaural sound, and focusing is manual only in the video mode.
• The kit lens is not as sharp as its competitors, since the zoom ring is a bit too stiff.

Bottom line:

On the whole, Nikon D90 is an interesting camera. At current prices, the D90 is competitively priced compared to other manufacturers. The quality of images are good, the colors are accurate and saturated. The quality of recorded movie clips through D90 isn’t up to the mark. I also give it high credits because of the cheer shutter and processing speed which gives a great shooting experience and superb quality images.

What is More Important? - Camera Body, Or Lens?

What are important things to know when deciding which photography equipment to get?

When I got interested in photography, I had absolutely no idea about which equipment to get. It was because there were so many different kinds of cameras to choose from, and not to mention all different kinds of lenses. Many of the people who are starting out on photography really do not know what kinds of equipment to get. It is because the world of photography is changing so fast that it is evolving as you read this article.

Compared to 10 years ago, the world of photography took a new form on how to capture the moments. The new introduction of digital sensors made the film to be obsolete, and made a film division of a global company like Agfa to discontinue its film line not too long ago. Some of the major producers of film camera even discontinued their lines of film cameras.

I started photography long before the digital cameras started to surface on the consumer market. So, I had to buy film cameras. I still do enjoy using film cameras and will continue to do so as long as the films are available in the market. It is because there is this true enjoyment of developing your own film in the darkroom that many people who started on photography with digital do not know about.

Although many people are already used to the digital cameras, but they do not really know what it is that they need to get when it comes to getting the equipments for serious photography. Most of the people just talk about how many mega-pixels the cameras have, and have no idea on what kind of camera they got. So, I will explain them to you so that you can make right decisions on getting the right camera equipments for you.

This is what most of the people do. They just see the picture on the display, and they are very happy with the image that they see on the screen. But, if you are serious about photography, then you should know that what you see on the screen is never the same with the pictures you are going to get. It is because of the quality of the camera equipments determines how the pictures are going to look like. Of course, there are many other factors that determines how to pictures are going to look. But, camera equipments are what you can control to create beautiful pictures.

There are basically three different types of cameras. They are point and shoot cameras, rangefinder cameras, and SLR (Single Lens Reflect) cameras. If you want to be serious with photography, then I personally recommend SLR cameras, and here is why.

The point and shoot cameras are what you see most of the times with other people. These cameras are basically computed image capturing devices. Some of them actually have built-in zoom lens and do more things then typical point and shoot cameras. Personally, I would not even call these as cameras, because they use digital sensors not like the old point and shoot film cameras where the images are being embedded onto the film which sometimes you can still get very high quality pictures. Most of the times, the point and shoot digital cameras have low quality digital imaging processors that the end result is not even worth the time for making a print. On this kind of camera, you basically have no control or very little control on how the pictures are being taken. You should stay away from this kind of cameras because you have basically no control on how you want your pictures to look like.

Next is rangefinder cameras, and I do not like them because it is a hybrid between point and shoot and SLR together. You have the control on focal lengths which basically is the ability to shoot different distances by changing lenses, but have approximate view on what you are really taking pictures of. It is because you are not seeing what the camera is taking pictures of. You are seeing through this open slot on the corner to take the pictures of. I can not compose my picture correctly with this type of cameras, so I do not own one of these cameras.

The one that I recommend is SLR cameras, and it is because you have the full control of what you can really control. The more you are able to control how the pictures are being taken, the more you will have better pictures. If you like film and know how to use film, then go on the internet and you will plenty of great used professional film camera equipments for very low price. On film cameras, you don't have to get the best of the best because the images are being captured on the film. So, just get mid level to professional level according to your budget. I do recommend Nikon because their lenses are good compare to their prices, and you can use the old Nikon lenses to any new Nikon bodies. This is very important because you will save lots of money when you decide to get more serious. Old canon lenses are not compatible to new Canon bodies, so I would stay away.

For those who chose to go digital, then you have to get the best and spend some serious dollars. With Nikon, you have to get at least D200 or better. It is because when you are taking pictures, the sensor is recording the images. If you get a cheaper digital camera, then you will be spending lots of money upgrading cameras as you become more and more serious. On digital cameras, it is not all about mega-pixels. It is about quality of the pixels and how the camera is recording the data from the sensor. Cheaper digital cameras, quality of the image is so dramatically different then the high end ones that you will be able to notice the differences when you compare the pictures side by side. That is the reason why I bought Nikon D3 when I had Nikon D2X which I upgraded from D1X.

I got these cameras because I am a professional, and I had to get these cameras to deliver highest quality. But if you are starting your path as a serious photographer, then go buy a used high end digital camera. It is because digital is keep getting updated and when you decide to upgrade, you would not lose too much money selling the old one to get a newer one.

Also, it is very crucial to get the faster lenses. I recommend spending more money on lenses then camera bodies. It is because camera lenses are what brings the images to your film or sensor. Don't be frugal on lenses! Get the best lenses possible. For a starter, I would recommend lenses with minimum F3.5 to F4. If you are really serious, then get F2.8. You will see that bodies will change, but the lenses will be there for you as long as you do photography. I would recommend 28-70mm F2.8 if you have digital camera with 1.5 crop factor or DX format, and 70-200mm F2.8 if you have full frame digital camera or FX format. Just having one of these lenses according to the camera body you got, you will be in pretty good shape just starting out.

Many people are saying "You must have 35mm or 50mm if you are using 35mm camera!", but I find that to be just a waste of money getting those lenses which you most likely would not use unless you always want to capture everything wide.

I will post more helpful stuff later...

I hope this helped you guys.

Digital camera binoculars

As any binocular enthusiast knows, there are all kinds of binoculars to fit just about every need out there. There are waterproof binoculars for aquatic sports and hobbies, night vision binoculars for hunting or observing nocturnal wildlife, compact binoculars for travel, and tons of other types in between. One of the newest types of binoculars available are camera binoculars.

Digital camera binoculars are a fairly new addition to the binocular market, but are gaining in popularity. They combine the ability to see objects at a distance with the ability to capture them digitally, so you can capture exciting moments and share them with friends and family via e-mail or photo sharing sites like Flickr, or include them on your own Web site.

Camera binoculars work much the same way regular digital cameras do. Depending on the model you choose, camera binoculars can offer from one to four megapixels. The more megapixels, the better the photo resolution. Like digital cameras, some camera binoculars have liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, so you don't have to actually look through the binoculars to see what you're photographing. The LCD screen allows you to easily focus and center the image you want to photograph.

Most camera binoculars have a magnification of 7x to 10x, which is good for general viewing. Some even offer the ability to record video in addition to still photos. Whether they're set up for photos or video or both, camera binoculars will come with a cable that allows you to connect the optics to your computer to retrieve all the images you record with them.

Some camera binocular models have a slot for a memory card, making the transfer of data even easier and more convenient. Most also include about 16MB of internal memory, so if you forget the memory card, you can still get a few photos if the need arises. As with a digital camera, it's a good idea to carry extra memory cards with you. When you're out on the trail, or at a concert or other event, you want to make sure you have enough space to store all the photos you want. The worst thing is to have to delete photos to make room for new ones. Don't get caught in that situation. Memory cards aren't that expensive, and you can store them in the binocular case.

Speaking of cases, it's a good idea to have one for any pair of binoculars, but especially for camera binoculars. They have more electronics and mechanisms than standard binoculars, which could be damaged if the binoculars fall or are bumped with other objects when they're stored. Binocular cases will protect your investment, and ensure your optics last for many years to come.

If you really want to go all out and combine binoculars with digital camera technology, there are some high end models out there that offer the best of both worlds. Some camera binocular models offer a keypad specifically for controlling the camera. It gives you more control over the photos you take, and the quality of the images. They may also include auto focus, which is great for wildlife viewing and photographing. When an animal appears in your view, you may not have time to focus and get everything just right to snap the picture before the animal disappears again. Depending on how you intend to use your camera binoculars, it may be worth paying a little more for more features and easier use.

Derek Robinson is a keen outdoorsman who contributes regularly for many websites including The Binocular Site which is the premier consumer site about binoculars, monoculars, spotting scopes and much more at http://www.thebinocularsite.com

Making Money from your Photos for Beginners

The best, fastest and potentially most profitable way of making money from the photos you have taken over they years is to simply submit them to stock agencies that sell them for use in commercials and ad campaigns. The easiest of the agencies to enter are the "microstock" agencies. Agencies selling images at low price, but at a high volume. I am currently the world's top selling microstock photographer and yes it is quit profitable, in fact I make more then 1mil USD per year from royalties. The purpose of this post is to give you a two minute, super quick overview of the landscape of microstock and a list of the microstock agencies that are worth submitting to.

The non-exclusive microstock distribution channel (submitting to a lot of agencies, such as I do) still remains the best income provider, despite the higher commission of the exclusivity offers out there.

Finding where to sign up at these agencies can sometimes be a little difficult, so I have provided some names to sign-up with at the bottom of this post.

The income speaks for itself but you should always take into consideration the time it takes to organize, upload, attach model releases and assign categories at the different agencies. Some agencies have made it extremely easy to upload and organize your images, including Crestock and 123RF. Other agencies have not thought so hard about this aspect and it can therefore be quite time consuming to get your files submitted for inspection. Files have to be categorized and organized before they are evaluated by the editors where they may or may not get rejected.

If you have just spent hours organizing your files and a lot of them get rejected afterwards it can be quite frustrating.

The most cost-efficient (time spent uploading vs income) agency to upload to is Shutterstock, followed by StockXpert and Fotolia. The least cost-efficient is Snapvillage and Istock. This does not mean that you should not submit to these agencies, but just that you should take this into consideration if you have to do all the uploading yourself. The Yuri Arcurs Distribution Network does keywording as well as uploading for very good stock photographers joining microstock. Good Luck in microstock!

What Should I Shoot and What Sells Well?

Branding Microstock is filled with loads of imagery and literally millions of images so if you don't stand out you will be "lost in the crowd" completely. Branding yourself by having a unique style that is recognizable and consistent is probably the most important aspect in microstock and also something that makes it so hard for traditional shooters to enter micro.

You cannot underestimate the importance of branding yourself! If you do, you will wonder, "why am I not selling anything?" The reason is that you have not made enough of an impression on buyers so that they go directly for your images when searching for material to buy.

So here is the breakdown: Step by step plan for getting started

1. Find something you can shoot effortlessly. Your hobby, the sports you do, your friends, family and their life. Shoot the things you know something about, so you can make it look real, natural and genuine. Write down the things you should be able to shoot quite effortlessly.
2. Decide on a style and a limited range of subject matter and stick to it. Microstock is getting competitive so specialize yourself in your field so you can become very good at shooting it. A shoot never goes quite as planned and you often have to "play the hand you are dealt" to get some good shots out of it. You can do this with the things you know about from before but not very well with things you have little or no experience with. Write down the style and subject matter that you want to go with. Brainstorm!
3. Shoot something new and find your spot instead of duplicating successful images. Duplicating is probably the fastest way to be unpopular in microstock and because microstock agencies have forums (unlike traditional agencies), this can be highly damaging for your branding. Don't do it!

There are a few overall categories of subject matter that are neglected in microstock:

• Travel photography, special places and extreme nature
• Really, really old people
• Contemporary fashion
• Policemen, military and state officials from all over the world
• Pictures of currency other than Euros and Dollars
• Aerial pictures
• Stylistic still-life in soft and low contrast colors
• Fantastic panorama shots in high quality
• Motion-blurred and lively pictures
• Artistically executed lifestyle, edgy
• Natural looking people, that don't look like microstock models

There are a few over-represented categories where you really have to know what you are doing to compete efficiently.

• Businesspeople (too easy to put a group of people in suits around a table)
• Isolated people on white (too easy to duplicate and too many shooting it)
• Anything with a laptop
• Nudes
• Spa (requires so little set-up and every model in the world wants a spa shoot)
• Medical (Too easy: a scrub and a model)
• Backgrounds and "lonely tree" kind of pictures
• Beach pictures (Really too easy)

Jacob Yuri Wackerhausen writes articles for selling your photos online, buy photos, buy images, buy stock, best stock photography and stock photography sites.

Fujifilm FinePix A303 Digital Camera

Two years ago I purchased my first digital camera. At that time, prices for a 3.0 and higher mega pixel camera were around $350. Since then, as with all electronic gadgets, prices have dropped significantly while the mega pixels have gone up. I chose the Fujifilm's A303 digital camera, which has fared well for me, so permit me the opportunity to tell you why.

I desperately needed a digital camera when my web business took off. On many different occasions I found myself wanting to take a picture of a person, place or thing and having to rely on a 35mm camera. Trouble was I wasn't very good at taking pictures. Usually my subject came out blurry or the picture needed cropping. Yes, getting pictures developed on disk would have resolved the latter problem, but it was the former problem -- blurry pictures -- that was causing me the most grief. If only I could see "on the spot" how my picture turned out. If it turned out poorly, I could reshoot. Naturally, a digital camera presented to me something that no 35mm camera could offer; I made the purchase of a 3.2 mega pixel camera by Fujifilm after considerable shopping around and reading product reviews online.

Packed within a tough grey shell, the A303 is lightweight and can fit easily into your pant pockets. The camera's controls are simple to figure out and include a Menu/OK button, Back button, viewfinder, viewfinder lamp, a display buttion and LCD monitor to preview pictures without looking through the viewfinder or to review pictures already taken. A round dial in the back of the camera features a self timer mode where you can set the camera and ten seconds later have the picture go off. Great for when you want to get the entire family's picture and no one is around to take it. There are also close up modes, still image, playback and movie modes. The movie mode results in a fairly choppy and short film, but it is a neat feature to have nevertheless.

The standard camera comes equipped with a 16mb picture card. Most people will find that inadequate, so I paid a little bit extra and bought the 64mb upgrade. I also purchased rechargeable AA batteries -- it takes two -- and a recharger. You will sap your batteries quickly if you take 30-40 or more pictures at a time, so the recharger makes sense. I purchased the accompanying Fujifilm carrying case to house my other supplies.

Pictures come out clear and in two years of picture taking I have not experienced a single problem with the camera. At 3.2 mega pixels the pictures are more than adequate as virtually everything I do gets posted to the internet. Supposedly you do not need more mega pixels when posting/viewing pictures online. With the included USB cable and HP software, you will be uploading pictures to the internet in no time.

If there are any drawbacks with the A303 there is just one and it is a glaring problem: the time between shots can seem endless! I suppose the elapsed time is only about ten seconds, but it seems like an eternity especially compared to 35mm cameras. Technological improvements have closed the gap considerably with newer models, but if you need this camera to take a group of shots quickly you will be disappointed.

All in all, the A303 is a very good camera. I give it a 4-star rating for ease of use, price, and dependability.

Matt manages the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and http://www.cabinmanagers.com in addition to the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.net

Canon 24-105mm IS

One of the most-requested lenses, the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L is one lens that easily justifies its price. Optically, this lens produces sharp and contrasty images, and the IS performs extremely well. I feel that it does exceptionally well at capturing people and weddings, as well as concerts. The bokeh produced by it's 8-blade diaphragm is extremely pleasing.

Features

• 24-105mm standard zoom lens with f/4 maximum aperture for Canon EOS SLR cameras
• 1 Super UD glass element and 3 aspherical lenses minimize chromatic aberration and distortion
• Ring-type USM system delivers silent but quick autofocus (AF); full-time manual focus
• Image Stabilizer technology steadies camera shake at up to 3 stops; weighs 23.6 ounces
• Dust- and moisture-resistant; measures 3.3 inches in diameter and 4.2 inches long; 1-year warranty

Technical Details

• Brand Name: Canon
• Model: 0344B006
• Lens Type: Zoom lens
• Mounting Type: Canon EF
• Minimum focal length: 24 millimeters
• Maximum focal length: 105 millimeters
• Minimum Focal Range: 17.7 inches
• Maximum Aperture Range: F/4.0
• Camera Magnify Power: 0.23
• Lens System Special Functions: Zoom
• Focus Type: auto-focus, manual-focus
• Real Angle Of View: 84
• Weight: 23.6 Ounces
• Item Display Diameter: 3.3 inches
• Length: 4 inches

Nikon 70-300mm VR Zoom Lens

The 70-300mm range is a popular one for telephoto zoom lenses, and often represents one of the first lenses new SLR owners will purchase after the "kit" lens that came with their camera. On sub-frame digital SLRs, a 70-300mm covers a range from moderate to dramatic telephoto, the equivalent of roughly a 105-450mm zoom on a 35mm film camera. Out at the 300mm end, it can be a challenge to hand-hold a lens like this in anything other than bright sunlight, hence the value of the Vibration Reduction Nikon has added to this model. Combine that feature with low street prices hovering around $500, and you're looking at a real bargain.

I also just bought one of these lenses. My wife and I are stocking up on lenses before our trip to the east coast. Expect lots of photos ;)

Tokina 12-24mm

The Tokina AT-X 124 AF PRO DX II lens is Tokina's first lens with a DC motor added for Nikon AF mount, which allows autofocus with the motorless Nikon D40, D40x and D60 digital SLRs. (The Canon version has always had a built-in AF motor.) Tokina plans on adding motors to all their Nikon mount AF lenses over time. Version II also features an improved multi-coating, for reduced flare and ghosting when shooting in backlit conditions.

I just bought one of these myself and will post photos from it shortly.