In the mean time I’ve been shooting (Gasp!) jpegs. That’s right, jpegs straight out of the camera. I like the “Natural” art filter a lot. In fact, I struggled to try and copy that look with .ORF files in Lightroom with little success. When I am shooting the Olympus PEN E-P3 I know that I am compromising shadow detail a LOT when shooting jpegs, and I assumed the E-M5 would have similar issues. That has not been the case. For the image below I increased the exposure in LR4 almost a whole stop and there is good detail in the shadows no significant increase in noise. And that’s a jpeg! Quick tip- if your photos routinely look darker on your computer than they do on your camera’s LCD you should reduce the brightness on the camera LCD. I’m on my way to do that now…

So I guess I figure that if I’m shooting for a client I should be shooting RAW. That doesn’t make much sense if I am getting great image quality out of the E-M5 jpegs. It’s not as though I’m delivering RAW files to clients. They don’t care about the format as long as the images look good.

The other Olympus tool I used for these shots is the Olympus FL-600r Wireless Flash. When I saw how small this flash is I had to have one. It’s like a tiny travel studio. It’s a little bit smaller than a Nikon SB-28 Speedlight and you can control them wirelessly from the E-M5 (and the E-P3 for that matter). These shots are both made with the flash in an Ezybox Softbox in TTL mode. From my experience the Olympus TTL flash metering is ALMOST as good as the Nikon’s, and quite a bit more useful than Canon’s. To be fair, I haven’t wrestled with Canon TTL flash in about four years.

If you’d like to try the Olympus E-M5 you can use one for free during my Costa Rica photo workshop in September. You can bring your current gear and compare, or leave your gear at home and use the Olympus kit all week. Click HERE to get more info and register.

Nikon D800E. 1/1250sec f/5.6 ISO 500

I spent the day last Sunday at the NHRA Southern Nationals drag race in Commerce, GA. If you haven’t been to a Top Fuel drag race, you should definitely check it out! There is nothing like two cars going 0-320 mph in less than FOUR SECONDS. The Southern Nationals is a great event for photographers. Of course there are fast cars, smoking tires and flaming headers, but there’s also a lot going on in the pit area. You can get up-close and personal with the crews while they repair and rebuild the huge motors between runs.

Nikon D800E. 1/2500sec f/5.6 ISO 400

I showed up at the race loaded for bear. I would normally only bring one camera and maybe a couple of lenses to an event like this, but I have two new camera bodies that I’m still trying to evaluate. By “evaluate” I mean use the cameras in different situations and determine their respective strengths and weaknesses. In short, they both produce great images. Are there any times I might reach for one system over the other and why? Here are my thoughts.

The Nikon D800Elives up to the hype. It is currently the highest resolution DSLR camera on the market. The 36mp sensor takes advantage of much of the same technology found in the 16mp top-of-the-line Nikon D4 that costs $3k MORE. Nikon’s excellent 51-point AF and surprisingly good metering perform as expected in the D800E. The biggest surprise for me has been the performance at higher ISO settings. There are plenty of websites that offer side-by-side comparisons at different settings, but I’ll simply say that I have no problem with the D800E files at settings up to ISO 3200 or even a bit higher.

Nikon D800E. 1/1250sec f/8 ISO500

Even if you need to reduce noise in post processing, there is so much information in the files that you can easily sharpen the details back to life after blurring them with NR. Speaking of post processing… The dynamic range captured by the D800E is remarkable. I have yet to find a clipped highlight or blocked-up shadow that I couldn’t bring back in Lightroom4. When I first got the D800E I was marveling at how easily and beautifully I brought back a totally clipped blue sky in a landscape image… then I realized I was working on the small jpeg instead of the RAW file!

It’s easy to forget the extreme resolution of the D800E because the controls, AF and ISO performance. I would definitely recommend using Nikon’s best lenses for maximizing the potential of this monster sensor. Although the images in this post were all made with the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens. You would be hard pressed to find a camera and lens combo that would offer this combination of image quality and versatility in such a small package.

Nikon D800E 100% crop of the track shot above

And speaking of hype… The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is a hot little number. Unless you pre-ordered an E-M5 when it was first announced you probably don’t have one yet. From what I have read even the preorders have not all been filled. The E-M5 is the latest Micro Four Thirds camera from Olympus, and it is the first in the OM-D series. Their are TONS of reviews of the E-M5 online that all have one thing in common… they all love this camera. I am in complete agreement.

Olympus E-M5. 1/2000sec f/5.6 ISO 400. Diorama Art Filter

The Olympus PEN E-P3 was my first M4/3 camera. I enjoy it very much, but it is definitely not the camera for every situation. It is OK up to ISO 800, but 1600 gets pretty grainy. The main problem I have with the E-P3 is the dynamic range. Specifically, the underexposed areas in an image (i.e. shadows) lose detail and become quite “mushy”. Much like a point-and-shoot digital camera. Both of these issues make the E-P3 not good for shooting in less than good light.

Olympus E-M5. 1/800sec f/5.6 ISO 200. Continuous AF caught this one

I have not seen these problems with the E-M5. The high ISO performance is killer, especially for such a relatively small sensor. ISO 1600 is no problem at all for the E-M5. From my experience the dynamic range is greatly improved over the E-P3 as well. I have noticed much more detail in the shadow areas and it seems like there is more highlight headroom as well. There IS noticeably more grain in underexposed parts of an image. These are normally background areas and don’t really pose a problem. The dynamic range is NOT on par with the D800E, but for most shooting situations it is more than adequate. The higher resolution (16mp vs 12mp) shows noticeably more detail than it’s predecessor. With good lenses you could easily use the E-M5 as your only camera, not just as a small “backup” or travel camera. Before last week I had been happiest with Olympus lenses. The Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0 and the Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.8 are no brainer lenses for any m4/3 kit. The Olympus 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 kit lens with the E-M5 has been a pleasant surprise for me as well. Even though it has a fairly slow maximum aperture, it focuses FAST and makes a nice sharp image. I owned the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens for a while, but the dog-slow AF drove me nuts and I sold it. I recently purchased a Panasonic 45-200mm f/4.0-5.6 zoom and it feels much snappier than the 20mm. This telephoto is a bargain at under $200. The lens is small and sharp and a nice long lens for your m4/3 kit.

So both cameras make great images… what did I learn at the drag strip?

First, the D800E… I have yet to see any moire effects in my D800E files. I was a little bit worried about that when I ordered the specialty “E” version, but I wanted the best possible image quality. I thought for sure that one of the cars, motors, etc at the race would give me moire problems. I didn’t see any trouble at all. The resolution of the D800E is truly remarkable. I liken it to the first time you saw an HD television. It feels more like looking through a window than looking at an image. The high resolution makes it easy to crop if you have to when you’re shooting a race from the cheap seats. The 51point AF had no problem tracking 300mph top fuel dragsters. The only negative that stood out was the speed, or I should say LACK of speed. At 4 frames per second the D800E is not exactly a sports shooting machine. After shooting the D3s the 800 feels like shooting in slow motion.

Olympus E-M5. 1/1250sec f/8 ISO 200. Rokinon fisheye lens. Dramatic Tone art filter

I have enjoyed shooting the E-M5 since I got it. Excellent image quality, fast AF, small size, etc. There were several times at the drag strip when I looked at my friends and wondered out loud, “why did I bring another camera?”. The E-M5 with two lenses is so light weight you don’t notice the camera bag around your neck. When you get sharp images and that nice “Olympus color” it’s easy to think about leaving the “Pro” gear at home.

The AF tracking in the E-M5 is not in the same league as the Nikon’s. In fact, when you shoot at the maximum 9 frames per second the focus doesn’t track at all. You can shoot in continuous low frame advance and the tracking is OK, but top fuel dragsters were a little bit too fast for it. I got a couple of keepers of the cars screaming by, but the D800E was my go-to body for most of the speedy stuff. I’m going to work with it some more and see if there are some settings I can change to improve the tracking.

I find myself reaching for the Olympus more often than I reach for the Nikon these days when I’m shooting for fun. On the other hand, I always grab the Nikon when I’m shooting for a paying client. If I end up shooting one system all of the time I will consider selling out of the other, but right now I’m very happy with both.

If you’d like to try the Olympus E-M5 you can use one for free during my Costa Rica photo workshop in September. You can bring your current gear and compare, or leave your gear at home and use the Olympus kit all week. Click HERE to get more info and register.

1/10 @ f/8, ISO 200

I’m still putting my new Olympus OM-D E-M5 through the paces with the “kit” 12-50mm lens. I love the idea of a weather-proof lens with an extremely versatile 24-100mm effective focal length. It’s not the fastest glass (f/3.5-6.3), but it’s still OK for a general purpose lens. If it had a constant f/2.8 aperture it would be a much bigger, heavier and more expensive lens.

I wanted to try out the macro mode on the 12-50mm lens. The specs list the focusing distance in macro mode as 8″-20″. There is a button on the lens barrel that you press and move the zoom ring to switch the lens into macro mode. In this mode the lens is locked at 43mm, and the maximum aperture is f/6.0.

As a macro package it’s hard to argue with the E-M5. First of all, the size of the gear. The E-M5 and most m4/3 lenses are SMALL. I can carry a m4/3 kit with a few lenses and a small Benro tripod for hours without sore shoulders. The 16mp sensor in the E-M5 captures a great deal of detail and seems to have quite a bit wider dynamic range than the previous Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras. The large, tilting touch-screen LCD makes for easy viewing at any angle. The pop-up flash that comes with the E-M5 can act as a commander for Olympus speedlights. I got an Olympus FL-300R flash free after rebate when I purchased my E-M5. This tiny flash seems kind of silly at first glance, but it is just right as a hand-held wireless macro light. I have been using it with the built-in wide angle diffuser for close-up work.

For the shot above I set the release mode for a 2-second delay and used the touch screen to focus and fire the shutter. The E-M5 focuses almost instantly with the 12-50mm lens, and the touch screen makes it easy to easily focus exactly where you want to. I held the flash above and slightly behind the plant to give a sunlit feel to the shot. I closed down the aperture to f/8 for maximum sharpness. While the m4/3 format can’t match the shallow depth of field of a full-frame sensor, you can definitely get a nice background blur with this set-up.

For my eyes this lens does a great job in macro mode. When you factor in the weather sealing and versatile zoom I think this lens makes a great companion to the E-M5. If you are more serious about macro shooting you may want to hold out for the Olympus 60mm macro lens for m4/3 that should be released sometime this summer.

If you have been thinking about a rolling camera bag you may want to take the plunge this month. Think Tank Photo is offering a $59 Artificial Intelligence v.2 laptop sleeve with the purchase of any of their current “Airport” series rolling camera bags. These bags all have a handy front pocket to hold your laptop, or you can use the low divider set and stash your laptop case inside the roller.

It’s a great deal! Get ‘em HERE while they’re hot.

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I was excited to put my new Nikon D800e to work and make some family portraits with my wife, our 1-month old son and myself. I set up two Elinchrom Ranger Quadra battery packs to run an Elinchrom 39″ deep octa as the main light and the Quadra Ringflash ECO as the fill light.
Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to shoot it was too late. I got a couple of shots of my wife and son, but the boy was not in the mood to have his photo made. The family photos will have to wait for a day or two.
The D800e is proving to be everything I hoped it would be, and nothing I was afraid of. I have yet to see any moire problems in my shots. That doesn’t mean that the D800e is not prone to moire problems, it just means that it’s not an issue with the type of subjects I shoot.
The detail and dynamic range that the D800e sensor captures are stunning. The detail in the hair in these portraits is really intense. When I’m looking at the images on the computer I have the same wow factor that I had when I first saw an HDTV. The files are more like looking through a window than viewing a digital image.
Hopefully I’ll have some great family portraits to show you this week!

Click here to be notified when the bag is available to order.

Santa Rosa, Calif. –  Think Tank Photo announces that in May it will release its first four-wheeled rolling camera bag, the Airport 4-Sight™.  The Airport 4-Sight meets international airline carry-on standards. The roller’s weight has been reduced dramatically through innovative design and by a strict focus on the features that photographers find most beneficial.

With professional photography gear not getting any lighter, Think Tank set out to design a more ergonomic roller to reduce fatigue and strain on traveling photographers.  Walking a four-wheeler alongside one’s self is easier than pulling it behind or carrying it over a shoulder. Putting the bags weight on four-wheels eliminates arm strain and makes rolling effortless.

Four-wheelers are superior on many smooth surfaces. On thick carpet, the Airport 4-Sight leans over to perform as a traditional two-wheel roller. It has the added benefit of rolling sideways on two wheels to easily navigate tight spaces, such as airline aisles.

Features Include:

• High capacity.  Holds Pro DSLRs with four to five lenses.
• Integrated removable Think Tank Cable Management organizer.
• Side hinged lid opens bag completely for quick and unencumbered access to gear.
• Two-position locking handle for comfort and ergonomics.
• Zippered top pocket for boarding pass.
• Lockable zipper sliders on main compartment.
• Reinforced bottom panel for increased durability.
• User replaceable handle and wheels.
• Seam sealed rain cover included.
• YKK RC-fused™ zippers.

“The Airport 4-Sight is in a class by itself,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s co-founder and lead designer.  “It appeals to frequent flyers or anyone who seeks ease in transporting gear. Smart design features like reduced overall weight and increased maneuverability, ergonomics and capacity make this rolling camera bag a breakthrough in the industry.”

Specifications

Internal Dimensions: 12.3” W x 16” H x 5–6.7” D (31.2 x 40.6 x 12.7–17 cm)

External Dimensions: 14” W x 19.5” H x 8” D (35.6 x 49.5 x 20.3 cm)

Weight: 7–8.9 lbs (3.2–4 kg)

About Think Tank Photo
Headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, Think Tank Photo is a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work and developing inventive new carrying solutions that meet their needs. They are dedicated to using only the highest quality materials and design principles, and employing materials that are environmentally benign.

Overall the D800e is about what I expected, and I expected a lot! The files out of the camera look like most raw files AFTER capture sharpening. It really does capture an amazing amount of detail. The dynamic range is really something as well. I was marveling at the amount of detail I was able to pull out of the highlights in one image when I realized that I was working on a SMALL JPEG out of the camera! When I pulled up one of the NEF raw files I was blown away.

I have found that good technique is no more or less important with the D800e than any other camera. Without a fast enough shutter speed or a sturdy tripod your shots will be soft… just like any camera I don’t feel like I have to employ any special technique in order get good results with the D800e. I was shooting with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens today, but I have also gotten good results with the D800e and the less expensive 28-300mm Nikon lens.

My biggest surprise has been the D800e’s image quality at higher ISO settings. If you have to use noise reduction, the high resolution allows you to sharpen the image and bring back tons of detail. It may not be on par with the D4, but the files look freakin great to me. The flower images below were shot at ISO 100, 400 and 800. The ISO 100 shot is 2/3 stop darker because that’s how I shot it. All of the images look great and have tons of detail.

More to come in better light…

 

I LOVE my Think Tank Photo Retrospective camera bags. I use the Retrospective 20 and Retrospective 30 regularly, but there is not a great place to put an iPad in either bag. The gang at Think Tank Photo just answered my shoulder bag prayers with the new Retrospective 7.

CLICK HERE for more info or HERE to be notified when the bag is available

Think Tank Photo to Release the Retrospective 7

The Perfect Photography Shooter’s Bag holds an iPad or MacBook Air

Santa Rosa, Calif. – Think Tank Photo announces that in May it will release its new Retrospective® 7 shoulder camera bag in three color options.  Designed for standard DSLR systems, its classic design along with modern improvements create the perfect shooter’s bag.  This lightweight shoulder bag comes in fabrics that offer a sense of “retro” style that appeals to many. A rear pocket has been designed to hold an iPad or an 11” MacBook Air.

Ergonomically designed to conform to the body, the bags are comfortable to walk with, provide quick access, and are inconspicuous to avoid unwanted attention. With broad appeal, the Retrospective series has quickly become one of the leading bag collections in the industry.

“Working pros to vacationers all will find the Retrospective 7 to be the most useful and functional bag for a day’s outing,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s co-founder and lead designer.  “It combines the broad appeal of the Retrospective design with the perfect size for carrying camera gear and your laptop or iPad.”

Along with the current fabric option of black polyspun or Pinestone canvas, Think Tank is introducing a new canvas color to the Retrospective line: Slate Blue.

Retrospective 7 features include:

• iPad/MacBook pocket
• Cushioned and padded nonslip shoulder strap for all day comfort.
• Sound Silencers™ to turn off the front flap hook and loop for silent operation.
• Organizational and zippered pockets for accessories.
• Removable divider set for custom layouts.
• Convenient carrying handle for grab and go.
• Seam sealed rain cover.
• Expandable front pocket for DSLR body or accessories.
• Business card slot under the front flap for identification.
• High quality YKK zippers.

Specifications

Exterior Dimensions: 13” W x 9” H x 7” D (33 x 22.9 x 17.8 cm)

Interior Dimensions: 12” W x 8.5” H x 5” D (30.5 x 21.6 x 17.8 cm)

Laptop: 11.8” W x 8.2” H x 0.7” D (30 x 20.8 x 1.8 cm)

Weight: 2.3-2.75 lbs (1-1.2 kg)

1105 N. Dutton Avenue, Suite C, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Phone #: 1.707.527.0101 FAX #:

About Think Tank Photo
Headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, Think Tank Photo is a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work and developing inventive new carrying solutions that meet their needs. They are dedicated to using only the highest quality materials and design principles, and employing materials that are environmentally benign.

It will be a while before my teaching schedule gets as busy as it has been for the last couple of years, but I do have a few things coming up. I will be teaching with Juan Pons at the BlueRidge Photo Fest again this year. The event is May 18-20 in Boone, NC. You can get tickets and more info at blueridgephotofest.info.

There are also still cabins available for the third annual Arenal Eco Adventure Photo Workshop in Costa Rica. My friend and gear guru Bob Fitzgibbons will be joining me this year. The event will be bigger than ever this year and feature two different “base camp” resorts. You’re sure to get all of the wildlife, street scenes and landscape photos you are shooting for. The workshop is open to photographers of all skill levels. We’ve had beginners to professionals in the past, and everyone learns a lot and has a great time. We’ll go through a lot of camera technique and fieldcraft, as well as post processing using Adobe Lightroom and Nik software plugins. Learn more and sign up at DphotoA.com.

I will be teaching some Lightroom classes at my studio this summer. I am planning to do one-day classes on specific parts of the LR workflow so I don’t cook your brain by throwing the whole application down your throat at once. I will post when I have more specifics and a schedule together.

I am not one to upgrade my camera bodies very often, but I have new bodies for both of the systems I use. I have a Nikon D800E (actually I will pick it up today) and an Olympus E-M5 micro 4/3 camera. I will be putting these cameras through the paces this summer and I will be reporting on my experience. The Oly E-P3 has become my go-to vacation camera, and I think the E-M5 will be everything I like about the E-P3 and more. I’m really excited about the D800E! The phrase “ultimate image quality” comes to mind. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for reading, see you soon…

Sounds simple, right? In this age of higher and higher ISO and cameras that can shoot in the dark I think it’s easy to forget that. My Nikon D3S can shoot in relative darkness with ease and make beautiful files. The Olympus PEN E-P3, not so much. The Oly makes a decent image in lowlight, but it is not the camera’s strong suit for sure. For me this is not all together bad news…

I am still learning the strengths and weaknesses of the Pen. Like any tool, it works better if you understand it and don’t ask it to do things it’s not good at. I took the E-P3 to eastern Tennessee recently and I am becoming more familiar with the workflow and what to expect from the files. I am saving a RAW and a jpeg from each frame at this point, but I will probably stop saving the jpegs soon. Some of them look great out of the camera. The color and contrast are pretty darn good. I would advise turning the noise reduction down or off if you are only shooting jpegs with the Pen. The default noise reduction tends to smear fine details.

Since Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 doesn’t ship with RAW profiles to match the camera settings on the E-P3, it has taken me a while to get my default RAW settings the way I want them. I used the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport to create a base profile and I have been tweaking color and contrast settings to try and fine tune it. In fact, I have been trying to match the “look” of the in-camera jpegs. So why not just shoot jpegs? The dynamic range in the Pen’s RAW files is considerably wider than the jpegs. Shadow detail and (especially) highlight detail is preserved much better in the RAW files.

Back to my original point… In good light the Pen gives me nothing to complain about. Proper exposure at the base (200) ISO gives me sharp images with good color and contrast. Even long exposures are no trouble as long as the exposure is right on. Even up to ISO 1600 the Pen makes a nice image. Of course there is more noise at higher ISO, but there is also a lot of detail. If the exposure is right the high ISO shots are great. The underexposed areas of an image show more grain, even at ISO 200, but that is to be expected. Is my D3s better in this regard? Absolutely. Is it usually a problem with the Pen? Nope.

Shooting with the Pen has helped me slow down my shooting and be more deliberate with my exposures. I know that I can get a great image as long as my exposure is right on. The Pen has handy tools like a live histogram to help make the right exposure decisions. It has also helped me concentrate on seeing the light. I know that this camera does great in great light, so I look for that and don’t really bother with those shots that MIGHT turn out to be something. As silly as it sounds, I feel like a photographer when I’m shooting with the Pen. I wait for the right conditions, make specific decisions about exposure and come away with nice images.

Jpeg straight out of the camera