/dev/random

I received my production model Eye-Fi Pro card today, after beta testing it for a few months.
Unlike earlier Eye-Fi cards, the Eye-Fi Pro supports RAW files as well as JPEGs and movies, which is great for anyone using a DSLR who likes to shoot RAW. Since it’ a 4GB card, it will hold 256 [...]

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If you have a DSLR, you can easily spend more on lenses than the camera itself cost. Luckily there are a few great lenses you can buy for under $200. I will highlight two of my favorites here.
Everyone should own Nikon’s wonderful 50mm f/1.8D AF, which sells for under $140. This is one of the [...]

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I really love the D90, but sometimes it’s just too big to carry. For those times it’s nice to have a compact point & shoot camera that will fit in my pocket. As much as I love Nikon DSLRs, I don’t care much for their Coolpix point & shoot cameras, since the image quality isn’t [...]

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Earlier this week, Nikon introduced the D5000, which shares several features of the D90, but in a smaller & lighter camera that costs several hundred dollars less. It adds several compelling new features, most notably a 180-degree tilt/swivel screen and several new scene modes.
The D5000 uses the same sensor as the D90, so the image [...]

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I recorded a lot of hi-def video on my D90 at Oakland Park Youth Day. Here’s an unedited video straight from the camera. This is the only one that was small enough to upload to Flickr.
I find that it’s hard to keep the video in focus when the subject is moving, and it’s very difficult [...]

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Today I got my first wide angle lens, a Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6D EX DC HSM. I’ve been very impressed with the quality of Sigma lenses since I got the 70-300mm and this lens didn’t disappoint me. The 10-20mm is very sharp and the auto focus is extremely fast and quiet.

Since most of my lenses are [...]

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Taken with my Sigma 70-30mm lens using spot metering at shutter priority of 1/320, without a tripod.

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When I attempt to take a photo of the moon, it usually comes out as a featureless white blob, due to being overexposed. Thanks to a tip on Flickr, I discovered that the secret to taking a photo of the moon that doesn’t suck is to use spot metering rather than matrix.
With matrix metering, the [...]

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After using the lens for a few days, I’m very happy with it. For the price, it’s a great lens and a good addition for anyone who wants a higher zoom and macro capabilities. It does take some getting used to, but it’s possible to get some excellent results from it. In macro mode, you [...]

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I received my Sigma 70-300mm AF Macro lens today. It was $147 from Overstock.com. For the price, it’s a good choice if you need a macro lens or an extremely long zoom. I got the non-motorized model, so AF won’t work on low-end cameras like the D40 or D60. The motorized version sells for about [...]

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Until now I’ve never considered a non-Nikon lens, but after seeing some of Jonathan Johnson’s sample photos, I’m considering getting this Sigma 70-300mm lens. The price is very appealing (around $150), it has a good zoom range & macro ability, and the reviews are fairly good.

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Nikon has released development kits for many of their newest cameras, including the D90, as well as a NEF (RAW) file decoding library. The SDK lets you write applications that control the camera directly via USB (like Aperture’s tethered mode).
To get any of their SDKs, fill out this form at Nikon’s site.

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When you’re shooting in mixed light, most camera’s automatic white balance can give incorrect or inconsistent results. The most accurate way to get the correct white balance is by measuring it. Most photographers carry a gray card for measuring & setting white balance, but Photojojo has something a lot more convenient: the white balance lens [...]

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This is why I love the D90. I simply used ‘P’ mode with ISO 3200 to shoot our tree trimming party last night. I really love the lighting, sharpness, and clarity in this shot.

Many more photos here.

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D90 Video I captured at last night’s tree trimming party, with music added in iMovie.

Lots more photos here.

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The people in my condo really go all out for Christmas, so I walked around and took some photos of the decorations. The D90 still continues to impress and amaze me with its performance at high ISO settings. I simply used Aperture priority with the widest aperture and auto ISO with a maximum of 3200 [...]

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I haven’t had much of a chance to blog in the last week, since life & work got in the way. I had an awesome time Monday night when my friends took me out to dinner at 101 Ocean for my birthday.
People are already starting to put up their Christmas decorations – they don’t even [...]

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With all of the focus on the election, there was one very welcome bit of non-election news yesterday. Apple released Digital Camera Raw Compatibility 2.3, which finally adds RAW support for the Nikon D90 to Aperture, iPhoto, and other applications.

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Bee Ng has created a music video shot entirely with a Nikon D90. The quality really looks great.
As this demonstrates, the time & size limit for D90 video isn’t really a problem if you’re going to be doing any editing. You can shoot separate scenes, which will fit easily in the time limit, and join [...]

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I like to check Flickr’s camera finder page every few days to see how popular the D90 is. As I write this, the D90 is ranked 15 of 102 Nikon models. Less than a week ago, it wasn’t even listed. Yesterday it was #19, a jump of 4 places in one day.
Here’s a shot I [...]

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