Newer Nikon DSLR cameras seem to choose unnecessarily high ISO values when using a flash in combination with auto-ISO – specifically in “P”, “A” and “S” modes. I have verified this issue for the Nikon D7000 and the D3100, and from forums, I deduce that it also goes for the D5000, D3000, D5100, and D300s. Auto ISO is a very … Read more
Today I am comparing two “premium” third-party standard zoom lenses: the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 VC ($650, B&H), and Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 OS ($594, B&H). Both offer a useful 17-50mm with a fast F2.8 max aperture (at all focal lengths). Both feature optical stabilization. Both are available for multiple camera mounts (including Canon, Nikon, and Sony). Interestingly the price … Read more
You know that to get the most out of your DSLR, you should be shooting in RAW, right? But these days, Nikon cameras give you even more options: 12-bit or 14-bit, compressed or uncompressed RAW (NEF) files. Which should you choose? Short question: Does it matter? Will you see any difference between compressed (lossy) and uncompressed (lossless) … Read more
In this post, I’ll show you two ways in which you can automatically split a (collection of) scanned pages, each containing several photos, into individual image files. My experience is that for this, GIMP works better than Photoshop, and as an added bonus, it’s free! Just like you, I also have old photo albums at home. … Read more
Photozone.de just published their review of Sony’s new stabilized 50mm f/1.8 lens, available for their NEX mirrorless system. The thing that makes this lens special is the fact that it combines a big aperture with optical stabilization. In fact, to my knowledge, this is the fastest (lowest f-number) stabilized system lens (of any focal length) ever built! Large apertures are … Read more
Microsoft added “raw” image support to Windows 7 in the form of the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack. This 8MB download will enable Windows users to decode vendor-specific “raw” files (a.k.a. digital negatives) directly from Windows Explorer, or from any application using Windows Imaging Codecs (WIC). The problem is just that the raw files are large and clunky, … Read more