I AM – The Nikon D800

That’s right, Nikon have now just released their next DSLR camera the Nikon D800.

The styling of this camera looks very similar to the D4 in terms of the way Nikon have made the angle of the shutter button feel more comfortable in your hand, whether it does feel any different I’ll have to wait and see. One thing that Nikon seem to be doing now is increasing the megapixel count as the D800 now has a massive 36.3 FX sensor (that’s 3x times more resolution than the D700)

In addition to a new Nikon FX-format CMOS image sensor and the new EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, specifically optimized for Nikon digital SLR cameras, the D800 is equipped with a new 91K-pixel (approximately 91,000 pixels) RGB sensor that supports the Advanced Scene Recognition System with its noteworthy advances in scene recognition performance. The camera is also equipped with a number of new functions, including Multi-area mode Full HD D-Movie that enables movie recording using either the FX-based movie format or the DX-based movie format.

One thing that has got me a bit confused is although it now has a massive sensor, so the file sizes are going to be a lot larger, the main reason why I went for the D700 was for the high fps this camera could cope with. However now it seems that the D800 can only fire at 4 fps consecutive shooting in FX/5:4 crop modes. 5 fps in 1.2x/DX crop modes. (Almost the same as what the older D3x can shoot at, although it’s still a little bit quicker than the Canon 5D MKII) So now what happens for those people who can’t afford the D4 but still want FX and a high burst mode?! We shall have to wait and see…..

The Nikon D800 is also compact and lightweight which is ideal for the production environment. Its features are very practical and functional usable by both filmmakers in the field and in the studio or filmmakers. Filmmakers have the option of multiple resolutions and frame ranges, including Full HD 1080 and HD 720 30/24p to 60p. By using the method of data compression B-Frame, the user can record video in H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC up to 29:59 minutes per clip. The optimized CMOS sensor reads the image data on rates incredibly quick results almost instantly.

The D800 also allows videographers to keep the resolution high-definition (1080p) regardless of the selected scene mode. Users can also compose and easily check critical focus for HD LCD monitor 3.2 “and 921 000 pixels with reinforced fabric, automatic control of brightness and wide viewing angle.

Check below for the video that was shot 100% with the new D800, make sure to watch it in HD!!

So overall this camera seems like a big advancement in technology but takes this camera more into the specialized field that the D3x was went it was first brought out. Yes having more mega pixels is nice but do we really need them unless you’re doing massive prints or professional studio work?! We shall have to wait and see.

One last video showing you a quick overview of the camera

Equipment Page Now LIVE!

I was a bit fed up of having that little pop up box on the About page for a list of the equipment I own. Therefore I thought I’d make a page listing all the stuff on as well as having a photo. Much nicer to look at and now no more pop ups.

Take a look here at the new equipment page by clicking here, otherwise hover over the About link on the site and there it is.

iPhoneography and Mobile Photography Apps

As photography keeps advancing into smaller, quicker and fast processing cameras, the same can be said with mobile technology and the cameras within them. Also with the next generation of smart phones, photography has seen a big improvements. Higher megapixel count, focus control the list goes on. However the one thing that makes todays smartphones even more clever are with the help of apps. This was the main reason why I went for an iPhone, due to the vast amounts of apps you can downloaded. Some are just a tad bit silly but some actaully are very useful and powerful tools. Therefore I’d thought I’d share with you some of the photographic Apps I’ve got installed on my iPhone and the reason behind them.

Flickr – This isn’t actually the Flickr app, just the mobile version of the site as I found the mobile app to be a bit too basic for what I was after. The Flickr web app is pretty much the same as the normal desktop version but just geared towards mobile devices. I think it’s just a nice way to see whats going on without having to fire up a desktop/laptop and still have the same power in my pocket! See who’s been commenting on my photos, see what others have been uploading, everything you get from the normal desktop site.

Instagram – App Store Link -  One of the fastest growing photo sharing apps to date! Basically you take a photo of whatever you like, apply some effects (different film styles, add some “creative blur”) upload and hopefully some of your followers (similar to Twitter) will comment or like your photo. I’ve only just recently downloaded this app, mainly due to the fact I had an app which was similar but found that sharing the photos to Twitter to be very long-winded. Therefore changed to this one. Enough different effects to keep everyone happy and you’ll also be very surprised who you can find to follow on Instagram as well! If you guys fancy following my images my Isntagram profile is here – mattthomasphoto

Strobox – App Store Link – I did a quick review back in 2009 about this app and still have it installed on my iPhone since then. Haven’t really used it much but should defiantly be using it a bit more now for lighting diagrams to coincide with my book I’m doing. If you fancy reading the review take look now, although the app and everything has changed a little bit since then!!

Snapseed – App Store Link – One of the best editing apps out there!! Made by Nik software, who also make a load of software plugin’s for Lightroom and Photoshop. This app just does everything you’d every want. Change white balance, creative HDR style photos, crop, tilt/shift, selective adjust and you can even sharpen a photo. If you’ve got an iPhone, into photography and have always wanted to improve your iPhone photos…………download this app now. Below is a little video showing you the features of Snapseed on the iPad (although very much the same on iPhone)

Dev Chart – App Store Link – Haven’t really shot B/W film in quite a while, due to the fact I went on the cruise ship for a year and all my developer went off!! I’ll be getting back into it very soon though. This app is very much just a working model of the online site by Digitaltruth. You can select the developer you have, film, ISO you shot at, mixture you’re using to develop and away you go. It then tells you the time to develop for, when to use your stop bath and everything else a film buff needs to make sure his B/W comes out just right. There are soo many different settings you can play about with as well, it’s an app worth getting if you have no time for CF cards and more at home with 120 Tri-x 400 @ 800.

LightMeter – App Store Link – Surprising this app is actually pretty correct in giving exposure information. Yes I know today’s SLR cameras have the meters built-in etc etc however camera like my Bronica SQ-A don’t. With this app you basically pick whether you want to know the shutter or aperture value, take a picture and then feedbacks the correct settings. I’ve actually tested this against my D700 and was presently surprised at the outcome. extremely useful if you own an old film camera and don’t have access to a light meter.

NDCalc – App Store Link – If you own a 10 Stop ND filter (like me) having to guess the correct exposure or without having do some in head maths to work out the correct shutter speed can be a pain. However with this app you just say what the shutter speed is and it then tells you the correct one with the filter added. Also has a handy little timer to say when the time is up as well.

Photosynth – App Store Link – Quick and easy way to make pano images. Tap the screen to start and then to move the camera around the scene and the app snaps the images together. Once you’ve finished you just let the app render the completed pano and it’s done. Worth having if you just want to stitch two photos or even twenty-two. You can also be very creative with the app and have people three or four times within the same photo.

Well all in all that’s the overview of the photo apps I have installed on my iPhone and why. Some were free, some you had to pay for, but all of them give me an extra tool in my pocket to enhance my photography in some way.

Lexar Telling You How It Is

Maybe it’s a tad geeky, but if everyone knew how memory cards worked my job at work would be soo much easier. Quite good knowing how each part plays it’s own role in capturing that file…..

Progression Video Teaser

Well it’s only been 18 days since I came up with the idea of doing this book, and I must say I’ve had a lot of positive feedback about it. At the moment just waiting for these cold winter nights/days to stop so I’m not freezing my fingers off when I’m shooting photos! Well below is a quick teaser of what to look out for, (well it’s mainly just one video from a photo I shot the other day, but still)

 

Churchdown Skatepark Take II

It’s not every day I let someone else hold my D700, or infact any part of my photography stuff. However today I was feeling a little bit on the kind side………plus I wanted to try and get this trick caught on camera. James Greenshields (who’s normally feeling the force of my flashes) was lucky enough to hold and snap and quick little photo down at Churchdown of me.

Makes a change from never having photos of me I guess!! Also Maverick, the people who built Churchdown, were kind enough to post it on their site here.

I AM – The Nikon D4

Well not myself but the new Nikon DSLR camera that was launched today – Nikon D4

After many rumours of when it’s going to be released, specs and photos, it’s finally been made official. So much active on Twitter today it was very hard to keep up with it all, therefore I thought I’d just give a quick summary of what I’ve watched, read and listened to.

First off the new specs -

• 16.2 effective megapixel, full-frame sensor (16.6MP total)
• 10fps shooting with AF and AE, 11fps with focus and exposure locked, 24fps 2.5MP grabs
• 91,000 pixel sensor for metering, white balance, flash exposure, face detection and active d-lighting
• ISO Range 100-12,800 (extendable from 50 – 204,800) – crazy high end ISO
• MultiCAM 3500FX Autofocus sensor works in lower light and with smaller apertures
• Two sub-selector joystick/buttons for shooting orientation
• 1080p30 HD video at up to 24Mbps with uncompressed video output
• New EN-EL18 battery (21.6Wh capacity, CIPA-rated at 2600 shots)
• Twin card slots – one Compact Flash and one XQD

On the new D4 the buffer on this thing is HUGE, 100 RAW files and 200 JPEG files can be shot before the buffer fills up. I thought the 100 JPEG’s on my D700 was big enough!!

The video side of the camera (which Nikon have never really been known for gets a big overhaul as well). Now in Full HD (1080p) movies can be recorded in 30p, 25p and 24p, with 60p, 50p, 30p and 25p options at 720p. Movie clips can be close to 30 minutes long (approx. 29.59 min).

Multi-area mode: Full HD (1080p) recording is possible in both FX and DX based formats as well as in native Full HD (1920×1080) crop.

High-fidelity audio control: responding to feedback from the industry, the D4 introduces new possibilities for D-SLR audio recording that enable your movies to sound as good as they look. Aside from the external stereo microphone input, an audio out for external headphones lets you fine tune audio in isolation.

Uncompressed HDMI output: for those who need the purest video output for professional quality editing, the D4 offers the possibility to output the uncompressed live view to external recorders and monitors. The first time this has been possible in an SLR camera, data is output at 1080i (Full HD) at the designated image size and frame rate. Data output can be scaled down if necessary and is clean of the information overlay that can be simultaneously displayed on the camera’s TFT monitor.

Convenient custom controls: live view operation is enhanced thanks to convenient custom controls. Instead of rotating the command dial, power aperture enables smoother aperture control via assigned buttons on the front of the camera. Index marking enables important frames to be tagged in the timeline during movie recording, which makes for easy location during editing.

Having the Advanced Multi-CAM3500FX AF Sensor Module in the D4 also means now that all 51 focus type sensors are fully responsive with any AF NIKKOR lens f/5.6 and—for the first time—this superb performance does not end at f/5.6 apertures.

Powerful AF sensors compatible up to f/8: the D4 maintains the power of the eleven central AF sensors, including one cross-type even if the combined open aperture value is f/8. A big plus for shooting sports and wildlife, this delivers a new level of detection potential when combining, for example, a 600mm f/4 AF-NIKKOR lens with a NIKKOR 2.0x teleconverter. If the combined aperture value is between f/5.6 and f/8, you even have the power of fifteen central AF sensors available, of which nine are cross type sensors.

Flash sync stays the same at 1/250th which has been the norm for quite a well now, however the newly developed Kevlar/carbon fiber-composite shutter unit: the new, highly durable shutter unit offers a standard life cycle rating of 400,000 releases (30% more than the older D3s).

With the increase and popularity of HDR photography today in the Nikon D4 you now have a HDR (High Dynamic Range) option within the menu. Basically what happens now is that it shoots one overexposed and one underexposed frame in a single shutter release. The range can be widened by up to 3 EV for different looks, full of saturation and tonal gradation. The smoothness of the edge where the two exposures meet can be adjusted for a more natural look. (Have to wait and see how effective this is as I’ve never really been a big fan of HDR myself but you never know)

…………..and the list goes on and on with features and connectivity for the updated DSLR. For now I think I’ll leave it at that to be fair!! Therefore I’ll leave you with a short little video giving you a  quick overview of the camera and what to look out for

2 Days Till the “Big” Nikon Event

Well for Nikon fans and photographers it’s only another 2 days till the event that everyone has been waiting, happening over in Thailand.

Word on the street is that it’s going to be about the new D4 and the updated 85mm f/1.8. Maybe some other stuff will be announced before the big PMA 2012 trade show to showcase. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll be checking Twitter like a hawk come Friday!!

New Book – Progression

Finally thought of a name for my new book I’m doing, focusing more on a documentary style look on skateboarding. The new is going to be called Progression.

Like I said yesterday it’s going to have the normal style of skate photos but with the added behind the scenes stuff of interviews and profiles which the public normally don’t hear or read about. The reason for this is due society overlooking skateboarding and always classing it as “antisocial” not knowing the true idea why some people choose skating over other sports such as football or other mainstream well published activities.

This is what I’m mainly going to be focusing on during 2012, so look out for loads more shooting from me and updates on how it’s all going.

2012 and Already Snapping Photos…..

…..well might as well start off as we mean to go on. So by calling up Adam Hutchinson and telling him that it’s now the New Year and time to start shooting more photos. Needless to say Adam was up for it, below is the outcome from a quick 30min session .

Not a bad way to start off the New Year.

Also now it’s 2012 it’s time to think of new ideas and projects to get started on. One of the things that I’m doing this year is geotagging all my photos I’m taking using my new Nikon GP-1 on my D700. Therefore you’ll be able to see where all my photos are taken, which is quite a handy thing knowing how much I’m going to be shooting this year! So on the photo above here’s the location this was taken, allowing you to find out where a lot of these skate spots are!

Also another idea I’ve got in mind is to create a new book, however this one is going to more like a documentary style looking at the skate scene in and around Gloucestershire. It’ll be more like a behind the scenes look to what happens within skateboarding and how it’s changing and progressing in Gloucester. So it’s going to have some normal skate photos but also some interview style pages and profiles. Hopefully it’ll work out ok, plus it’ll give me something to work for during 2012, so watch this space!!

Thats all for now