Rumors

I discussed the Sony Nex 3 and 5 earlier.  Rumor has it Nikon is coming out with some new models one will probably be the Nikon D8000 to replace the D90  there are also Rumors of a D4000 and a D3100.  Major photo shows happen this fall.   We will know soon.  I suspect we will hear more definitive info by the end of August.  Just rumors...Mp?  between 14 and 18 mp is the rumor I am hearing.  More to come

New Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens

The Sony Nex 3 and Nex 5 is hitting the market.  I checked out the reviews and actually have been to check them out.  This is the first Sony and the 3rd camera of this type to be released.  Olympus has one, as does Pentax, I am not a fan of either of those camera companies thus far and have paid little attention to them.  However Sony is one of the 3 camera companies I do track.  The pros and cons are discussed at length in a review by dp review at.   http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/SonyNex5Nex3/  It is a good read and I would suggest you do so before you purchase this camera.  So far it appears the nex 3 and nex 5 are similar.  The Nex 5 has a magnesium alloy body,  I have held the Nex 3 and it seemed plenty strong even in a plastic case.  At the photo store the guy tried to tell me the Magnesium body was water proof, when I questioned him he quickly backed down.  It is not water proof... The Nex 3 and 5 are essentially the same, the Nex 5 has a slightly smaller body and an infra red reciever, and 1080i AVCHD moving recording mode.

The review points out the manual modes are difficult to operate.  You can read more at dp.
Thinking about buying one of these cameras here is my pros and cons bullet point style.

Pro

• Has micro 4/3rds sensor.... larger gathers more info than standard point and shoot
• small light and easy to handle
• few buttons to get confused with
• interchangeable lenses with image stabilization in the lens
• Has in camera stitching for panorama shooting 
• Does HDR in camera
• Image Stabilization is in the lens

Cons

• adjusting the camera to manual is difficult and limited. 
• The buttons on the camera are not specific (except shutter) and change depending on the mode. 
• The camera comes with 1 lens with the option to purchase additional lenses. So far the price on the additonal lenses is from 600 dollars up.  The Kit for the camera and 1 lens is suggest retail at 699.  You could easily have 1800 in the camera before you are through
• Sony add on flash is proprietary.  You can only add Sony Flashes.
• The camera does not accept other Sony lens with out an adapter and then many of the functions of the lenses do not work and since the other Sony lenses do not have image stabilization the lens so the of other Alph lenses is more limited

I will write more as I have more experience with the camera.  For now I would say UNLESS you are planning on enlarging your pictures beyond 16x20 or need some specific feature of the Nex 3 or 5 you can accomplish just as much with more zoom, with a high end point and shoot.  A point and shoot with a 20x zoom is in Nikon, Sony or Canon, will give you a wider range of shooting and zoom with out removing lenses, or having to carry a large amount of equipment, for far less money.  

A good camera for a segment of the population, just not necessary for most.   

Jack 

Went to Best Buy

Thinking o buying a camera, I don't sell them but can help you pick one out.  Need to know how to use your camera better I can help.  

Keep in mind.  For the most part the guys in Best Buy are not strong at either.  So when you go to buy a camera be informed.  Again today I saw that reinforced. 

There is Shooting and then there is Shooting

Digital cameras are reasonable versatile and almost everyone has one.  I am seeing more and more great shots by people as they use their camera's more.   Not that many years ago if you shot a picture you would have to complete the roll of film, take it to be developed and then see your results.  In many cases it might be years before you take your film for processing.  I recall when I had a dark room processing as many as 30 rolls at a time.  Not that I took that many pictures at a time, it was I had let them build up over a year or so.  Then there is the expense.  It was at least 3-6 dollars to get a roll of film developed and even the dark room had expense.  Now we shoot see the results and adjust and keep moving.

I spoke with a person who went on vacation to Europe and had taken over 1000 photos in only 7 days.  This isn't necessarily bad if you have tons of time to review them and edit them.  In this case the individual ended up with about 140 shots they liked and kept.   I define this a "Persistence" photography.  You just keep shooting hoping you get a good shot.
Then there is "Lucky" photography.  I have some of these.  You see a shot at the right time and right place, there is no particular planning it is just there.  You grab it and  you got lucky.  You wont take as many shots this way and you will always have to be prepared with your camera to get these shots.  Certainly this is still photography and you can capture some great shots and photography can be more challenging....
Then there is the "intentional photographer'.  This is where you fully integrate the understanding of your camera, photography, and lighting to take the picture you choose when you want it.  You understand terms like f-stop, apeture, shutter speed, white balance, and more.    And know how to use your equipment to achieve your desired results.
Many people are happy to stay in the Persistence mode and that is fine, as is staying lucky.  I find the biggest challenge is to move into intentional photography.   I am finding more time is spent studying, my equipment, lighting, and sun location at different seasons and times of day.  The photograph becomes the result of a reasoned disciplined approach.   It is the ultimate photographic challenge.

Artrageous July 2010

One of the more unique galleries in the Mid West Pure Gallery is dedicated to art photography

only. Currently 11 artist are presenting with Todd Shelly and Piet Van Waarde as the guest artist... The opening was attended by over 200 people (lost count around there).

I is worth the ride and worth the time to check it out. Pure Gallery 504 E Broadway Columbia, MO I enjoyed it immensley

Editing your photos, Storing your photos

I am finding more and more folks who are wanting to share their photos, store their photos, and edit their photos and are lacking good basic software to do so.
If you store your photos on your hard drive it can crash as mine did the other day.  Fortunately I had my 33,000 pictures backed up in multiple places.  I use Mozy as well as two external hard drives.  I was disappointed with Mozy for  a couple of reasons.  First they had a list of files I could up load by name, I had to request a down loadable copy which took about 2 days.  Then it was a long list of files with no specific name a down load number each took hours to down load then more time to unzip,  very arduous.  Second they wanted amost 100 dollars to put my files on a DVD and send it to me.  
Originally I tried backing up my files to CD's or DVD's , this works well but even the best Cd's and DVD's stop working over time.  The basic CD life is about 5 years the high quality can be longer.  Archival can be even longer and can be expensive.  And they are on site, so if  you have a fire or lose them you are burned.
In the mean time, I am finding more and more folks that are wanting to do more with their photos, and Light Room or Adobe CS5 is out of their budget.  Simply put they are looking for basic help with storing, editing and maintaining their pictures.  
I have a possible Solution.  First let me be clear this is for the average person not a photographer.  For the professional the answers will be different.
Mozy is nice but not my favorite,  I will use them until my contract is up and move on.  I understand, but have not checked out Carbonite, they have a new live on line view of your files this may bee cool.   I have found that Google offers some good help here.  In two areas under the same name.

Picasa,  photo editing software, can be down loaded into your computer for free, it gives you almost any editing you might want to do to your family pictures,  for free.  Google has provided up dates and it is respectable.

Picasa Web albums.  Google offers 1 gb free space to place your pictures on the web, actually in the Google Cloud, you can buy 20 additional gb for 5 dollars per year, this will hold a lot of pictures.  You can keep your pictures private, or you can make them public or you can share them with only those you want to share them, by invitation.  A really reasonable service and great way to share pictures.

One trick.  When you up load your pictures for Picassa, it will default to a smaller sized picture for the up load.  This can limit the size you can print or enlarge the  picture.  When you check to upload choose keep original size and it will do so.  I have some rather large pictures uploaded to Picasa.

I am sure there are others.  I know HP has a site, as does many other groups.  I personally trust Google to do a good job.  Check it out.

Got out my Tokina 100 mm 2.8 macro today

Haven't used the macro in a while.  Thought I would give it a try.  It was like finding a long lost friend or a new gem. I cleaned the lens and went out to shoot some dandelions.  The lens allowed me to get close up to focus on sections of the dandelion.  The center or the outer edges with the stems give two very differnt looks a the flower.  This is one of the quick shots there is no cropping the actual shot size.  I had forgotten how versitile this lens is.  While I prefer Nikon lens for my work occasionally a third party makes a cool lens.  The Tokina 100mm would fall into that category.

Dandelions have several layers.  First the outer center, like you see  at top and then with a slight change of focus the stems and outer edges.  I only had a few minutes to shoot. I will see what to do with these later.  Getting my old friend made it fun...

Jack.