Why dSLRs (and not pocket cameras)? [The entry kit dSLR Part 2]

Bigger in photography means, faster, better, stronger (and more expensive).

Many people will say the only advantage of a digital SLR is that it gives you the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.

I think that’s bullshit.

If it was true, then the days of the dSLR are surely numbered—EVIL has arrived. EVIL, for those of you who don’t know, is an acronym so new, it doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet. EVIL stands for “electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens” and they are a new class of camera I’ll talk about another time. Suffice it to say, EVIL will not replace SLR photography—in the same manner that APS-C has not yet dethroned 35mm (much to my surprise). Besides, a lesser-performing EVIL camera costs nearly twice as much as the kits in this article.

I believe the biggest advantage can be found in its name: Single-Lens Reflex.

In order to have a single-lens design, in order to house a reflex mirror, the dSLR has to be big—and bigger, in this case, means faster, better, stronger (and more expensive).

Marie the shooter
Elite Cafe, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California

Leica M8, Carl-Zeiss Biogon 2,8/25 ZM T*
1/45sec @ ƒ2.8, ISO160, 25mm (34mm)

This portrait of Marie and her new Nikon D5000 entry dSLR kit was taken by an APS-H camera, which sits between APS-C and “full frame” in size. Even though this is taken with a wide-angle lens (25mm), you can easily see she really pops from the background.

From your art classes, you may have learned that perspective helps a 2D image show the 3D dimensionality. In photography, another tool, in addition to perspective, is focus via depth-of-field. Focus helps draw the eye, through the visual clutter, to the subject. This tool is nearly non-existent in a pocket digital.

By the way, the lens used in this photo is the highest resolution lens in its class ever produced—the parts that are in focus are really quite sharp. Computed depth-of-field is about half a foot (20cm).

Continue reading about Sometimes bigger is better after the jump

Posted on January 28, 2010 by tychay 7

All hail the entry kit! [The entry kit dSLR Part 1]

Yesterday, a friend was interested in purchasing a dSLR at Costco and asked me which he should buy: a Nikon or a Canon. I get asked that a lot.

Costco dSLRs
Costco, South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, Lumix G Vario HD 1:4.0-5.8/14-140 ASPH. Mega O.I.S.
1/60sec @ ƒ4, ISO250, 14mm (28mm)

From left to right: The Nikon D3000, the Nikon D5000, and the Canon 500D (called the Rebel T1i in the U.S.).

The higher pricing is because Costco usually sells supersets in order to be above the manufacturer minimum advertised price but still yield a decent value to the consumer. For instance, the Nikon D5000 kit contains not only the 18-55mm VR lens, but also the 55-200mm VR lens, a camera bag, two Nikon school DVDs, a book, and an SD card.

The Canon 500D is the most expensive of the trio because Canon and Nikon avoid competing head-to-head by interleaving price and features in models. The 500D sits between the Nikon D5000 and the enthusiast Nikon D90. The 1000D (a.k.a. Rebel XS) was introduced to compete between the Nikon D3000 and Nikon D5000 price points and wasn’t for sale the day I took this photo. (Update: Last time I was at Costco, the Canon 1000D, Nikon D5000, and Canon 500D were for sale. During the writing of this series, Canon introduced the 550D)

“Uhh, the Nikon D3000.”

…

“Well that’s because they stopped selling the other dSLRs there.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Why was that?”

“Partly because the Canon 1000D is old. Everyone expects it to be updated.”

“It’ll be updated?”

“Most likely if Canon wants to sell any cameras. It’s been a year and a half, which is a long time to have a camera in that category. The D3000 just came out.”

…

“You know what camera I really like? The Nikon D5000. In fact, I ordered one the other day. It’s arriving this evening.”

Nikon D5000 kit
South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6
1/60sec @ ƒ3.5, iso 12500, 14mm (28mm)

Actually, this was purchased for Marie, not myself.

It sounds strange that someone who owns a Nikon D70IR, Nikon D200, and a Nikon D3 would purchase an entry level Nikon dSLR. Over the next week, I’ll explain why by going over the Why, What, How, Where and When of a good first dSLR purchase.

And don’t worry. While my experience is with Nikon, I won’t give the short shrift to the other brands.

Why dSLR?: Why a dSLR produces better images than a pocket digital
What dSLR?: Don’t buy a dSLR that is too much dSLR for you
What dSLR? (2): The Pentax, Sony, and Olympus dSLRs and about entry dSLRs compact size
How DSLR?: The Canon and Nikon dSLRs, a big spreadsheet, return policies, and what I bought
Where dSLR?: About first lenses and things to buy with your first dSLR purchase
When dSLR?: About books, videos, and classes

(Article continued in part 2)

Posted on January 27, 2010 by tychay 11

Camera replacement batteries

There was a time, a camera, even professional ones, needed no batteries at all. In fact, you could buy a new one until as recently as 2006.

I have such a habit of purchasing a spare battery for any camera that might become my primary that I once purchased an EN-EL4a for my Nikon D3.

Normally I only buy the manufacturers approved batteries, because there are a lot of stories floating on the internet about exploding Li-Ion batteries, and because ever since Sony introduced the infoLithium, many manufacturers introduce an extra “smart” feature with circuitry where the lithium battery informs the camera about its age and charge, and I figure why risk it?

Nowadays, 3rd parties have done a good job of figuring it out, so I decided to take a dip.

Olympus replacement battery
South of Market, San Francisco, California

Sony DSC-WX1
1/30sec @ f/2.4, 240, 4.3mm (24mm)

I purchased an Olympus PS-BLS-1 3rd party from Amazon. I haven’t used it yet. Olympus, unlike Nikon, has been using the same battery design across most of their Four-Thirds and Micro Four-Thirds camera line.

Another reason for this purchase is the Olympus PS-BLS-1 holds 1080 mAH of charge, while this replacement is rated at 1800 mAH—almost twice as much!

Continue reading about the what, where and why of spare camera batteries after the jump

Posted on January 22, 2010 by tychay 5

Guns, Germ(ane), and Steal

A commenter on my last article jokes:

I thought : “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” was Robbie Wiliams stuff!

I should issue a couple of corrections to improper attributions in that article.

Continue reading about Corrections after the jump

Posted on January 5, 2010 by tychay 0

Lolcats can never be FAIL'd

Last month, my friend and fellow kimchee-eater, M.J., had three books sent to me. FailNation, How to Take over Teh Wurld, and Graph Out Loud. That’s important that I have friends like her because I’m usually the last to know about the latest memes.

Three new books and their respective websites: FailBlog, ICanHasCheezburger, and GraphJam.

I mention this because if you happen to be in San Francisco today at 6:30pm you really need to go to the book launch party. I came to get their last book signed:

I’ll certainly be there in order to get the books signed (and then give them away later, like I did last time).

Ben Huh signing their first book.

See you at the party!

(Full disclaimer, I now work for Automattic—though I didn’t at the time M.J. sent me the books. ICanHasCheezburger, GraphJam, and Failblog are VIP customers of WordPress.com.)

Posted on October 28, 2009 by tychay 1

Champagne Starbucks

Shared a morning with two friends who are leaving Facebook after four years. Then I noticed I was the only one with ratty shoes.

I’m the only one without the cool shoes
Starbucks, South of Market, San Francisco, California

Leica M8, Cosina-Voigtländer NOKTON Classic 40mm f1.4 S.C., B+W 486 IR Cut
1/125sec, iso160, 40mm (53mm)

Even Cyan was sporting the Kitteh.

Oh well, one of the nice things about living here is other people have taste.

Posted on October 27, 2009 by tychay 2

Kindle words: 2009-08-21

Flackette called Amazon and got my Kindle fixed. Back up and running after months…

Here are some interesting vocabulary words I ran across…
Continue reading about SAT words in context after the jump

Posted on September 21, 2009 by tychay 2

Klein takedown

“He’s not a public intellectual—he’s a fucking wind sock. And he knows it.”

Beware the Man has a nice summary of a Joe Klein takedown.
Continue reading about Missing setup if you don’t know the players after the jump.

Posted on September 2, 2009 by tychay 0

Fail-safe never is

“He reassured me by telling me that when he looked back on his career, all the work he was most proud of was done under circumstances just like that, where it seemed impossible, where there wasn’t enough time, there wasn’t enough money, and everyone had set the bar really high for themselves.”

From a Variety article on Pixar (via Flackette).

Posted on August 27, 2009 by tychay 0

Below red

A package came in the mail when I was on vacation, I went into work to pick it up. It was my Nikon D70 back from LifePixel. Of course, I had to take some photos on the bus ride back.