PShizzy: The Blog

1/1000th, f/4, ISO 4000, D3s and 200-400 f/4.

Just a quick post. I received my D3s yesterday.  Merry Thanksgiving!

Today I shot the ASU vs U of A game, and it was the perfect storm of circumstances that let me shoot the D3s under several scenarios. The game was in full daylight, then got cloudy, then it started to rain, then hail. Lights were on (even in daytime) and as the clouds and rain and darkness took over, I ran the gamut from Auto everything (ISO, WB, etc) to full manual. I full expected it to outdo the D3 as far as high ISO capability, and it did. Handily.

ISO auto worked as well as it did on the D3. I rarely if ever use Auto WB, but the mix of stadium lighting, mottled sunlight, direct lit to overshadowed field, let’s just say I was hoping Auto WB would do ok. And it did. But just ok.

Oh and weather sealing was excellent. Once it started to rain and hail, I figured I’d test that out. Just in case I asked another long time Nikon user if their weather sealing was any good. He affirmed, and I held steady and shot in the rain. The D3s didn’t skip a beat, but I also had a D3 on my shoulder and that took the rain well also.

I loved the new histogram. You can zoom into a part of an image and it will give you the histogram for that area only.

My full take on the camera and its features will come later on. I’m hoping to shoot at the fringe of available light (12,800 to 25,600 and beyond!), and perhaps shoot a video interview with it. While I can say with confidence that I’m happy with the D3s, I really want to test it out more for a full write up.

Tags: equipment by PShizzy
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So in quick response (not even a week later) to the Nikon D3s, Canon reveals their 1D IV. Much like Nikon, the big news is the ISO range (100-12,800, with 50-102,400 extended). The body and frame rate stay about the same. They do up the megapixels to 16 (not a bad move but not a great move either), add in 1080p (love that, but wish the camera were full frame), and other refinements.

It sounds good. But so did the 1D III, which hasn’t faired so well for Canon.

Continue after the jump, and you’ll get some links to more info and specs, including some videos on the 1D (boring, except for the fact that you might recognize the host if you were at all interesting in throwing a Microsoft Windows 7 party. That’s right. . . a party for an operating system), and more importantly a video made with the 1D.

And of course you can find all this on the net. Most likely you will find them before you find me. But if you found me, you’ll also get my take on both camera systems. Of course, all this is speculative since I don’t own either of the new cameras, just a few of the older 1D III’s and D3′s.

More after the jump (and I mean a lot more. I wrote way too much). [Read more →]

Tags: equipment, photography by PShizzy
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So here’s what I wrote when the 5D II came out:

We laugh now, but wait til we hit 2011 or so, and ISO 102,400. At some point the ads will just start saying that we can shoot under any lighting circumstance. Like during a power outage with no moonlight. Or black holes. Ok, I’m getting silly (until 2011).

Ya, so apparently Nikon decided that we couldn’t wait for the new decade, and just released this in time to put it on your Christmas list.

I would love to say that this is the perfect camera, but I can’t. Damn close though. More after the jump, including links and my take on it. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment, general by PShizzy
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Raise your hand if you were excited about Snow Leopard coming out last Friday? I admit, I was intrigued, and went ahead and picked up a copy at my local Apple Store. But before I even got to open the package, I started reading reports that people had problems with older applications not being compatible, and even newer applications needing updates and patches just to be compatible. A personal computer having problems isn’t that big a deal. Maybe you’re inconvenienced because you can’t sync the latest songs to your iPhone, or can’t use Tweetdeck or who know’s what else.

But what if this is your work computer? What if your entire business depends on this computer? What if Snow Leopard creates incompatibilities that wouldn’t just inconvenience you, it would prevent you from working? Think I’m kidding? Adobe CS3 application users have already expressed concerns, and you would think CS4 users are safer. Maybe not.

If only there was a way to test out Snow Leopard on your system, without jeopardizing your current setup. Well, there is, and it’s not very complicated. So if you’re an expert level user, I won’t be sharing anything too mind blowing. However, for the novice to intermediate user, this may just make your day. Read on for more. [Read more →]

Tags: business, equipment by PShizzy
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AdoramaPix is at it again with their big print sale. Running through March, 4.95 gets you a 16×20 Kodak Endura Matte or Lustre print, and 7.95 for a Kodak Metallic. And like last time, you can purchase prepaid prints at these prices, and use them after the sale ends. This is great for anyone who prepurchased the metallics last time, as they’re still paying 4.95 for those.

Not only that, but if you’re signing up for the first time, you get 25 4×6 prints free.  And if you happen to do that, please consider dropping my name as a referral (my email address for this is msimbron at gmail dot com). I’ve accrued a bunch of 4×6 prints and plan to do something (don’t know yet) with them.

If you read my previous article on this, “Big Print Giveth,” there are comments from users who purchased large prints from AdoramaPix and were quite happy with the quality.

Feel free to add any thoughts or queries in the comments.

Tags: business by PShizzy
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After the huge success of the Lynda.com seven day trial, which was on again off again, I received an interesting email from another e-learning source, the Virtual Training Company, or VTC for short. I was interested for two reasons.

First, VTC has been around a while. They offered training cd’s over a decade ago, when the concept was still new. So VTC definitely has a solid background in application training. But the second reason is what caught me: The email was from Mark Vernon,  the founder of VTC.

vtc.com is an online learning library similar to lynda.com, but with 80,000 tutorial videos. We started in 1994, delivering online in 1997, so we’ve been around a bit longer than most.
Check out the library using a 7 day free pass, using promo code “twitter”, at vtc.com/promo
cheers

Mark Vernon

The Virtual Training Company

So please, feel free to sign up and give it a whirl. Read on for a short review of the material as well as my overall opinion. [Read more →]

Tags: business, general, photoshop by PShizzy
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UPDATE 2/17/09: The trial is back on. I believe it will alternate on and off, so try it. if you’re in a rush, try the day pass in my other post. Remember, each one requires an email address.

The week long pass that I posted about last week expired. It was a very popular post on this blog, so I contacted Lynda.com to see if there were any other trials available or coming up. It took a few days, but they responded.

As I mentioned in my other post, Lynda.com is a good resource for training, and the monthly or yearly cost is a boon to anyone who has an interest in learning more than one application. For my review of the service, read last weeks blog post

Click more to read on about my response from Lynda.com customer service, and the link to the 24 hour pass. [Read more →]

Tags: business, general, photoshop by PShizzy
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Canon announced that they are offering a free repair for anyone with a 5D that may be suffering from a loose mirror box due to a weakening of the adhesive that holds the mirror in. More on that over at

PDNGearGuide article on 5D Mirror Detachment

The notice is also available on Canon’s website. The repair is free, as is shipping, from user comments on other forums. I will be calling them tomorrow to send in my 5D.

Canon 5D Notice: Main Mirror Detachment

If I send it in and get any paperwork, I’ll scan it and do an update thread.

Tags: equipment, lighting by PShizzy
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