Fotography

Nikon to include Capture NX with D3, D300

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 05:01:00 +0000

Nikon UK has announced that for the first time it is to bundle Capture NX with initial shipments of its D3 and D300 DSLRs. The very first cameras to arrive will include a product key to unlock the trial version which may be downloaded from the Nikon UK website whilst shipments from December will include a CD in the box. Whilst this offer will be available for a limited time only, it does partially answer one of the fundamental criticisms of Nikon's DSLR policy thus far. We shall update this story with further details as we receive them.

Press release:
Capture NX with D3 and D300
London, United Kingdom - Nikon UK is pleased to announce that for the first time its new professional Digital SLR cameras, the D3 and D300, will be accompanied by Capture NX, Nikon’s award winning software package.
The latest version of the software, Capture NX v1.3 will give professional photographers the creative freedom to develop and enhance shots, particularly when shooting in RAW format. Initial shipments of the new cameras will come with a product key that will unlock a downloaded trial version of NX available from the web site. A CD ROM version will be bundled with D300 and D3 from December.

The D300 digital single lens reflex (D-SLR) sets new standards of compact professional performance. The easy-to-use DX-format D300 offers outstanding image quality, multi-functional technologies and fast response. With class-leading 12.3 megapixel resolution, speedy 6 fps frame advance, self-cleaning sensor unit and high definition 3” VGA LCD display, combined with Nikon’s legendary durability, the D300 is a breakthrough solution for photographers searching for an advanced compact SLR.

The D3, the result of years of development and feedback from professional photographers, combines many innovative Nikon technologies. These include an exclusive 12.1 effective megapixel FX format (36.0x23.9mm) image sensor with 12-channel read out, a blazing-fast 9 fps frame rate, expandable ISO settings from 200-6400, a completely new 51-Point autofocus system, a 3-inch VGA LCD screen with Live View and a cutting-edge image processing system.

The D300 and the D3 will be available at the end of November 2007.
For more information about Nikon’s D3, D300 and Capture NX, please visit: www.nikon.co.uk
More information about how to download Capture NX version 1.3 will be available shortly at: http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com

this article taken from: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0711/07111604capturenx.asp

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Review, November 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:30:00 +0000

Barely half a year after the introduction of the DMC-FZ8, Panasonic added another model to its popular range of compact 'super zoom' Lumix cameras in the shape of the FZ18. Although obviously based on the FZ8 (they are externally almost identical), the FZ18 doesn't replace it; it's a sort of 'big brother' with a bigger zoom, more pixels and a smattering of new features.

The biggest news is the optically stabilized lens, which has 'grown' at both ends and now sports a whopping 18x (28-504mm equiv.) zoom, putting the FZ18 into direct competition with Olympus' SP-550UZ (now updated to the SP-560UZ) and Fujifilm's recently announced FinePix S8000fd.

Almost inevitably the FZ18 squeezes even more pixels onto its 1/2.5-inch sensor, although the increase has been fairly moderate from 7.3 to 8.3 megapixels. Other new features include a dedicated AF/AE button, Face Detection and a new Intelligent Auto mode which integrates Image Stabilization, Intelligent ISO, Face Detection and Scene Detection into a 'Super' Auto
Mode.

Despite the usual noise issues you would expect from a tiny sensor/big zoom camera (and our dislike of Panasonic's approach to noise reduction), overall we were pretty impressed with the FZ8 when we reviewed it a few months ago. This was to a large degree due to the superb LEICA lens. So let's find out how Panasonic have tackled the noise challenge - and if the new lens, with it's much more ambitious zoom range, can match its predecessor, starting with a look at what's changed:

Major differences to DMC-FZ8

18x optical zoom (28-504mm equiv.) - FZ8 has 12x (36-432mm) zoom
Smaller maximum aperture at long end of zoom (F4.2 vs F3.1)
8.3 megapixel sensor (vs 7.2 megapixel)
Face Detection
Intelligent Auto mode
Manually selectable ISO 1600
ISO 6400 High Sensitivity mode
AF/AE lock button and dedicated AF/MF button
1cm macro (was 5cm)
Custom mode and extra scene modes (plus 'advanced scene modes')
Five level Noise reduction (was three level)
Slower continuous shooting (burst)
Heavier and slightly larger

View Detail

Cameras zoom in for less

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:55:00 +0000

This season, you’ll see small digital cameras not only in sober black and silver but also in hues such as wasabi green and sunset orange.

In a recent study, Consumer Reports found that even modestly priced models are offering more and more features, such as image stabilization, which can compensate for camera shake and minimize blurring and face detection, which aids in portrait shots. The touch-screen technology found on the iPhone and other smart phones is showing up on more digital cameras’ LCD screens, and those screens are getting bigger.

Prices have dropped, too, especially for compacts and SLRs. In recent ratings, CR rated two compacts priced at or near $200 among its Best Buys. And you now can find respectable compacts with familiar brand names for less than $200.

According to CR, the best budget choices overall are the Canon PowerShot A550, with 7 megapixels, at $150 and the Canon PowerShot A460, with 5 megapixels, at $130. Several models proved competent though slower than most, including the Kodak EasyShare C653 (6 megapixels) at $140, the Nikon Coolpix L10 (5 megapixels) at $120, the Pentax Optio M30 (7 megapixels) at $190 and the Olympus FE-210 (7 megapixels) at $140.

The Polaroid T737 (7 megapixels), at $180, proved too slow for action-packed scenes. It has the biggest LCD of the group, at 3 inches, but its image quality is fair to middling. Next-shot delay is a full five seconds, longer than any rated model. Shutter lag also is on the slow side, at 1 1/2 seconds.

How to choose

Here’s what you need to know to choose the camera that’s right for you:

• Don’t buy too big or too small. Almost all the cameras that CR rated took decent pictures. Your choice will depend a lot on whether you favor small size or extra photographic power and flexibility. Compact cameras, too big for a pocket but small enough to fit easily in a bag, remain the best choice for most people, especially if your budget is tight.

• Don’t overspend on the specs. While some 5-megapixel models might linger in stores, most new cameras now offer at least 6 or 7 megapixels. A growing number of point-and-shoots, or cameras with built-in lenses, offer 10 and 12. Six megapixels provide all the resolution most people need. If you often crop or dramatically enlarge your images, get at least 7 megapixels.

• Weigh zoom trade-offs. Another feature to consider carefully is an optical zoom range that’s greater than the 3x found on most cameras. (A zoom lens’ range is the ratio of its highest telephoto focal length to its lower wise-angle length. For example, a zoom lens that’s considered equivalent to a film camera’s 35mm to 105mm lens has a range of 3x.) Greater zoom means greater weight and bulk, though a few pricey compacts manage to squeeze 10x into a package just a few ounces heavier than many basic compacts and slightly larger than many subcompacts.

• Forgo the extended warranty. CR has found digital cameras to be among the most reliable products in its subscriber surveys. About 5 percent of those purchased between 2004 and 2007 have ever been repaired or had a serious problem. Yet in its latest electronics buying survey, CR found that more than 70 percent of digital-camera buyers were pitched an extended warranty in stores.

Visit the Consumer Reports Web site at www.consumerreports.org

Variety Camera

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:52:00 +0000

Digital Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:18:00 +0000

Traditional photography burdened photographers working at remote locations without easy access to processing facilities, and competition from television pressured photographers to deliver images to newspapers with greater speed. Photo journalists at remote locations often carried miniature photo labs and a means of transmitting images through telephone lines. In 1981, Sony unveiled the first consumer camera to use a charge-coupled device for imaging, eliminating the need for film: the Sony Mavica. While the Mavica saved images to disk, the images were displayed on television, and the camera was not fully digital. In 1990, Kodak unveiled the DCS 100, the first commercially available digital camera. Although its high cost precluded uses other than photojournalism and professional photography, commercial digital photography was born.

Digital imaging uses an electronic image sensor to record the image as a set of electronic data rather than as chemical changes on film. The primary difference between digital and chemical photography is that analog photography resists manipulation because it involves film, optics and photographic paper, while digital imaging is a highly manipulative medium. This difference allows for a degree of image post-processing that is comparatively difficult in film-based photography, permitting different communicative potentials and applications.

Digital imaging is rapidly replacing film photography in consumer and professional markets. Digital point-and-shoot cameras have become widespread consumer products, outselling film cameras, and including new features such as video and audio recording. Kodak announced in January 2004 that it would no longer produce reloadable 35 mm cameras after the end of that year. This was interpreted as a sign of the end of film photography. However, Kodak was at that time a minor player in the reloadable film cameras market. In January 2006, Nikon followed suit and announced that they will stop the production of all but two models of their film cameras: the low-end Nikon FM10, and the high-end Nikon F6. On May 25, 2006, Canon announced they will stop developing new film SLR cameras.^[2]

Because photography is popularly synonymous with truth ("The camera doesn't lie."), digital imaging has raised many ethical concerns. Many photojournalists have declared they will not crop their pictures, or are forbidden from combining elements of multiple photos to make "illustrations," passing them as real photographs. Many courts will not accept digital images as evidence because of their inherently manipulative nature. Today's technology has made picture editing relatively easy for even the novice photographer.

History of Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:09:00 +0000

Photography is the result of combining several technical discoveries. Long before the first photographs were made, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1040) invented the camera obscura and pinhole camera,^[1] Albertus Magnus (1139-1238) discovered silver nitrate, and Georges Fabricius (1516-1571) discovered silver chloride. Daniel Barbaro described a diaphragm in 1568. Wilhelm Homberg described how light darkened some chemicals (photochemical effect) in 1694. The fiction book Giphantie (by the French Thiphaigne de La Roche, 1729-1774) described what can be interpreted as photography.

Photography as a useable process goes back to the 1820s with the development of chemical photography. The first permanent photograph was an image produced in 1826 by the French Nicéphore Niépce. However, the picture took eight hours to expose, so he went about trying to find a new process. Working in conjunction with Louis Daguerre, they experimented with silver compounds based on a Johann Heinrich Schultz discovery in 1724 that a silver and chalk mixture darkens when exposed to light. Niépce died in 1833, but Daguerre continued the work, eventually culminating with the development of the daguerreotype in 1839.

Meanwhile, Hercules Florence had already created a very similar process in 1832, naming it Photographie, and William Fox Talbot had earlier discovered another means to fix a silver process image but had kept it secret. After reading about Daguerre's invention, Talbot refined his process so that it might be fast enough to take photographs of people. By 1840, Talbot had invented the calotype process, which creates negative images. John Herschel made many contributions to the new methods. He invented the cyanotype process, now familiar as the "blueprint". He was the first to use the terms "photography", "negative" and "positive". He discovered sodium thiosulphate solution to be a solvent of silver halides in 1819, and informed Talbot and Daguerre of his discovery in 1839 that it could be used to "fix" pictures and make them permanent. He made the first glass negative in late 1839.

Many advances in photographic glass plates and printing were made in through the nineteenth century. In 1884, George Eastman developed the technology of film to replace photographic plates, leading to the technology used by film cameras today.

Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Lilih Prilian Ari Pranowo) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:54:00 +0000

Photography [fә'tɑgrәfi:],[foʊ'tɑgrәfi:] is the process of recording pictures by means of capturing light on a light-sensitive medium, such as a film or electronic sensor. Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects expose a sensitive silver halide based chemical or electronic medium during a timed exposure, usually through a photographic lens in a device known as a camera that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically.

Lens and mounting of a large-format camera

A student using a handheld camera.

The word "photography" comes from the French photographie which is based on the Greek wordsphos ("light"), and γραφίς graphis ("stylus", "paintbrush") or γραφή graphê ("representation by means of lines" or "drawing"), together meaning "drawing with light." Traditionally, the product of photography has been called a photograph, commonly shortened to photo. φως