PhotographyBanzai.com

I’ve been doing research to figure out what type of process I will need to use when I change camera systems. Sadly, Nikon and others like Canon are fixated on using their own proprietary RAW formats, so that means any new cameras that use a special format will not work with my current post processing steps. Even to the point in the past where some of the companies encrypted parts of the data in their RAW file formats. Talk about not being consumer/user orientated… Youtube Video Link : Adobe’s policy is to only support the current version of Photoshop when it comes to proprietary RAW formats, so that means my license of Photoshop CS5 will be useless when it comes to RAW files from something like a Nikon D600 that I am considering. I haven’t had that problem since the Pentax K-7 days because they offered DNG RAW output. I don’t think I’ve ever (intentionally) used PEF in my K-7/K-5 cameras. My potential idea is to use the free Adobe DNG RAW conversion application once that is updated,...

I went to a convention in Indiana called Ramencon. I was planning on staying two nights, but decided to check out on Saturday morning instead. I was still able to get a good deal of images on Saturday afternoon, which was nice. Facebook (“like” the main page so you can tag yourself): General Photos Lollipop Chainsaw Photos Magi Photos A few highlight photos:  You can see my related cvfta.blogspot.com article here for a different discussion about Ramencon and convention photography in general. As I’m trying to sell of my equipment, I only took a minimal kit. I brought the K-5 and K-01 with the 31mm and 24mm lenses along with my Sigma flash. I ended up only using the K-5, 31mm lens, and flash for the whole convention. Using that combination isn’t new to me, but I feel that I was able to get a lot more variety than I’ve normally been able to achieve with it. I first started off with just the camera and lens, but eventually decided that flash would be safer from a quality standp...

Canon announced their new 6D full-frame camera body. You can see all of the detailed specifications here . You can see my article on the Nikon D600 here where I basically gave it a very positive outlook. While compromises were made with the D600, it still has enough from a value standpoint to be really appealing. The Canon 6D on the other hand has a suggested retail price of $2099 US, which is the same as the Nikon, however… Viewfinder coverage of 97% (D600 = 100%) Shutter speed maximum of 1/4000th (D600 is the same) Flash sync maximum of 1/180th (D600 = 1/200th max) While not an issue in practice, the 6D sensor has around 4 mega-pixels less than the D600. The 6D has a single SD card slot and the D600 has two. The 6D has wifi and GPS internally (nice, but this is a camera. I’d rather see the money go into a better viewfinder or something) AF system: 11 points Center: cross-type at f/5.6; vertical line-sensitive at f/2.8. Upper and lower AF points: vertical line-sensitive AF at f/5.6...

As I’m sure most of the people who read this site know, the Nikon D600 was announced recently. The simple fact you need to know is that it is an enthusiast level full-frame camera. Not only that, but the starting price of $2099 in the USA is the lowest a full-frame (FF) camera has been offered for from release (technically, the Sony A850 that bombed was $2000?). This camera is interesting enough to me that I felt compelled to write an opinion article on it. (stock image from nikonusa.com) What can we expect from a low cost full frame? We can expect a change in the entire game. The other companies will most likely follow suit and that should really change the landscape of digital photography. While there are, of course, used full-frame DSLR cameras below that price point, it still doesn’t open the gate like a new product can. I think 2013 will be the year that we see a wider audience have access to FF sized imaging sensor cameras, which I think is a great step. We are moving ba...

The decision to use JPEG format or RAW is a never ending debate and there truly isn’t a right answer. However, I thought I’d add my 2 cents to the topic. There are situations where one format works better, which I go into a bit in the linked Youtube video. I’ll also include a summary below. Here is my video discussion the two photograph formats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3uLvdkcS9w RAW: Lossless format (all data from the sensor is stored in the file. Ability to store 16-bits per channel (usually 12 or 14 bits of actual sensor data) for around 280 trillion colors. White balance is easily modified in post processing. (of course, if there are multiple light sources with different color temperatures neither format can easily be “fixed”) General level of post control is high, and in turn some features in the camera are not available in RAW. That means for photos you intend to send directly to a final place, JPEG might be better. Larger files than JPEGs. Dynamic range due to more b...

Pentax USA just recently offered a few rebates on their cameras and lenses. While I won’t go into the issues regarding fluctuating lens prices here (making the rebates utterly pointless), I will say a few of the camera bodies did see some decent price reductions. The Pentax 645D is only $8,799.95 now, a $1200 price reduction (It just so happens the 55mm f2.8 lens is $1200…). My guess is that they will be announcing a replacement this month at Photokina. 645D I had the pleasure of using one for a short time a few years ago. I was generally impressed with the camera, but even at that time saw a few issues that should have been better considering the level that camera is at. The thing was slow and didn’t have all of the features a normal 35mm SLR would have. Keep in mind the 645D was more targeted to this side of the market than it was to those ludicrously expensive medium format back and systems. While I’m not currently financially capable of owning one of these, it would be a gre...