In August, I ordered a brand new HP Z3200 Designjet printer. I had spent a considerable amount of time researching this purchase (and comparing it with other options such as the Epson 7900) so I was very excited to receive the printer and take advantage of its many features. The printer didn't take long to set up and I immediately started making color prints. At first, I didn't notice anything amiss, but about a week later I noticed some odd defects occuring in the light blues and earthy midtones. ...
Archives for September 2009
Selling Photography Gear on eBay
Eventually, the time will come when you want to sell your photography gear. This may be because you don't use that lens anymore, you're upgrading your digital camera to latest version, or you would rather just have the cash. In my experience, eBay is an incredible marketplace for selling your photography gear and is simply the best place to sell where you will get the top dollar for your goods. The most important thing about selling on eBay is having an established account with excellent feedback. ...
Photography Resources
This is my personal list of photography resources. I have made no attempt to to create a comprehensive list of everything on the net. The sites listed here are those that I have found useful for my own work. General Discussion forums photo.net - one of the oldest photography forums on the net. fredmiranda.com - the site sells a number of plugins for photoshop (which I've never used) but also has a few good discussion forums. Digital Photography Review - probably the most active photo forum ...
Where to Buy Photography Equipment
Note: I get no referral fees and these are places I've used to purchase my own equipment. Another place to look for recommendations is Photo.net's neighbor to neighbor section. B&H is simply the best place to purchase equipment online. They have a large selection, excellent prices, and good service (i.e., excellent return policy). This is the first place I check when I need to buy something, and I recommend them without reservation. Another good store is Calumet, but they are usually a little more ...
Publishing a Photography Book
In 2005, I began working on a book of Los Angeles photographs. This article describes my experience with the project and I'll discuss everything I did to complete the book, from finding a publisher to checking the proofs. I hope this article will be useful to those considering embarking on a similar project, whether for personal enjoyment, publication, or both. I've written this as a diary, but in reality I've pieced this together from my notes, emails, and memory. Note that both the book and this ...
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens Review
The Canon 24-105L lens is a wide angle to telephoto zoom lens with a fixed maximum aperture of f/4. Canon designated it as an "L" lens which indicates that it is one of their professional grade lenses. I originally bought this lens to serve as a general purpose zoom for travel photography. In addition to having a very nice focal range, the lens has image stabilization which comes in handy when setting up a tripod is simply not feasible. If you are used to shooting primes or variable aperture zooms, the ...
Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens Review
The Canon 17-40L lens is a wide angle zoom lens with a fixed f/4 maximum aperture. In the context of L lenses, which are typically very expensive, this is one of the most affordable and retails for about $700 USD. I purchased this lens to have an ultra-wide angle travel zoom and have shot with it for over a year. Physically, the lens is medium sized and weighs about 1 lb (Figure 1). The barrel is approximately 3.8" x 3.3" inches in length and diameter. With the hood, the lens is quite large and ...
Canon 5D and Nikon D700 Resolution Comparison
I read several claims on photography forums that the Canon 5D camera produced slightly more detailed files than the Nikon D700. Forum posters gave various explanations as to why this might occur such as the presence of a stronger AA filter on D700 or a slightly larger file size for the 5D. Since I had both cameras, I decided to test if in fact the 5D had noticeably better resolution. Testing Procedure I took a series of shots of two architectural subjects using the Nikon 105 micro AF lens on the 5D ...
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Lens Review
I've had this lens for several years and it performed admirably on Nikon's DX digital camera bodies where it had an equivalent focal length of 105-300mm. However, with the introduction of the D3 and D700 cameras I wanted to re-examine this lens considering its performance on a full-frame digital sensor. The 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens is quite large (Figure 1). It weighs 3.2 lbs (1.5kg) and is roughly 8.5" x 3.4" in length and diameter. With the hood, the lens is huge and will certainly attract attention ...
Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-D Lens Review
Nikon's 85mm f/1.4 lens has long had a great reputation as a classic lens. With its wide open aperture at f/1.4, you can achieve razor thin depth of field and render backgrounds as a smooth creamy blur. I was very excited to get my hands on this lens and I was especially curious to see how it would perform on a full frame camera such as the D700 given that it was first released in 1995. Physically, the lens is not very large and is about 3 inches in both diameter and length. However, because of the ...