October 2005

October 2, 2005 09:28 - Busy, busy, busy

Wow! What a busy few weeks with more to come. I haven't done much with the site or blog in the last few weeks as I have had a rather hectic time of late.

In a recent 8 day period I have shot 3 weddings and a 2-day commercial shoot 4 hours drive away up the coast of Spain. On top of all this I am still waiting for the arrival of my second child who is now 8 days late.

A further 3-4 full days were spent Photoshopping over 2,000 images and then came all of the admin duties. I am half way through another commercial shoot and have another BIG and expensive wedding in 6 days time.

No matter how stressful it all becomes, and having barely anytime to think of my impending "arrival", I would not change it for the world.

Just when you think things are quietening down, leaving time for other things (such as writing, reading up and taking stock images), along comes a new batch of work!

It is only when I took time out to reed my own RSS feeds that I realised just how much is going on in the digital photography world, and how little of it actually means anything to me.

Sure, if I was a storefront owner, manufacturer or serious online retailer I would pay heed and wade my way through the mountains of new releases, upgrades and "minor" changes in technology.

I can only feel for the newbie to this hobby who is bombarded with all of this information when all they really want is a decent set up to get them started in the digital world.

I also nipped over to Gibraltar, which is the closest place to Spain that I can buy English magazines, to get the latest issues. I was amazed by the sheer amount of adverts, reviews and new releases that filled out the pages, as well as the great articles and images that always adorn my favourite mags such as "Practical Photography".

I always keep my eyes open for new cameras that move just that bit further forward, and skip past all the hundreds of "5MP, 3X optical Zoom…." cameras that are flooding the market. One that hit my eye was the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1.

Whilst my only gripes are that the ISO settings only start at 160 (although go up to 3200) and the 5x optical zoom lens only reaches 120mm, the camera is a beauty, in my opinion.

With its new, large 10.3MP, APS-sized sensor (only slightly smaller than Nikon's pro D2X DSLR) and beautiful F2.8 Carl Zeiss lens, this is a camera that I am seriously considering as a back-up point and shoot.

You can read up more on this at Dpreview

Whilst this ranting is basically to keep my blog "alive" while I get on with everything else, it does have a point somewhere in it.

My advice to newbies, amateurs and even professionals, is to stay focussed on what you wish to achieve and not become too "entwined" in the advertising hype that is so abundant both online and in most photography magazines.

I have said it before, get yourself some nice photography kit that you feel comfortable with and which also has some kind of learning curve for you to stay on, and do what you love to do…take photographs.

The industry will always throw out new cameras, lenses, Speedlights and accessories, so you can always "pop back" to see what is going on. Use your time more efficiently and get out and about and take pictures, enter competitions, submit to stock libraries and enjoy yourself.

It is all too easy to spend time wondering if you should upgrade to the latest model just released….mostly it isn't worth it! A new camera won't improve your photography, you will, and you will only do that by practising and "playing".

I may in the future, add a "critique your images" section on the site with maybe a competition or two as I love to see new, aspiring and "up and coming" photographers´ work. But for now, I must plod on and "pace around a bit" waiting for my daughter to arrive!

Cheers,

Nick
All Things Photography

---

October 14, 2005 07:47 - Advisory notice, advisory notice, Rah! Rah! Rah!

Well!….maybe my previous post going on about so many new releases wasn't as unfounded as I thought!

The following excerpts are just a few "issues" and advisory notices that have been released lately and brought to my attention. It just goes to show that whilst manufacturers are trying their hardest to beat the competition by upgrading mostly minor points, it could be the consumer that suffers rather than benefits.

Take the release of the Canon EOS 1D MKII N for example. Were the minor changes "really" necessary so quickly, or could they have waited until the camera had some other serious overhaul updates?

Again, my advice is to get the best kit you can afford, stick with it and learn the "art" of photography, and try not to get caught up in the Megapixel race!

If anyone has any of the cameras mentioned and are experiencing any problems, I suggest that you either return it to the place where you bought it, or visit their website to receive further instructions…….tut! tut! tut!

CANON

"Canon has today announced a service advisory for a number of Canon Powershot compact digital cameras, among them the Powershot A60, Powershot A70 and Powershot A75.

Canon has discovered a problem in some of the CCD´s used in Canon digital camera and digital video camera products that causes images to appear distorted or not to appear at all. Among the CCD´s used in the affected products, it has been confirmed that, especially under high-temperature/high-humidity environments, the internal wiring may come undone in some places."

RICOH

"Ricoh have joined in the "fun" by issuing a notice to Ricoh digital camera owners about the CCD issue that has recently afflicted most of the major camera manufacturers.

"Notice to Owners of Ricoh Digital Camera October 11, 2005

Thank you for your support and patronage of Ricoh products. With an investigation on the image sensor device, or CCD, it has recently come to our attention that a limited number of the products below (Applicable Products) that incorporate CCD of specific production lots may exhibit certain conditions outlined on our website.""

NIKON

"Another day, another advisory notice about the CCD issue that has affected most of the major manufacturers over the last week. This time it's Nikons turn to warn their customers who have bought the COOLPIX SQ, COOLPIX 3100 and COOLPIX 5700 cameras.

"It has come to our attention that electronic components related to imaging in some COOLPIX cameras may, on rare occasions, fail. Should you experience this problem with your COOLPIX SQ, COOLPIX 3100 or COOLPIX 5700 camera, Nikon will replace the associated components free of charge even if the camera's warranty has already expired. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have suffered because of this problem. To check if your camera has failed due this reason, please read the symptom description on our website.""

Canon Acknowledges CCD Malfunction Problem

Canon Asia and Canon USA have announced that a problem exists with the CCD in 25 of its digital still and video cameras.

CANON ASIA

A problem has been discovered in some of the CCD´s used in Canon Digital Cameras and digital video camera products that causes images to appear distorted or not to appear at all. We apologize for the considerable inconvenience this represents for our customers. Along with our respectful apology, we would like to advise our customers of the details of this issue and our policy for handling it, which are as follows.

Affected Models;

The CCD´s in question are used in the following models.

Digital Cameras: PowerShot A60, PowerShot A70, PowerShot A75, PowerShot A300, PowerShot A310, Digital IXUS V3, Digital IXUS II, Digital IXUS IIs

Digital Video Cameras: MV600i, MV630i, MV650i, MV700i, MV730i, MV750i, MV5i, MV5i MC, MV6i MC, ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, Elura 40 MC, Elura 50.

....sigh....

Nick
All Things Photography

---