dSLR e Book User’s Guides Available in New Formats + iBooks

I’ve recently added two of my e books, Canon T3i Experience and Nikon D7000 Experience to the e book super-site Smashwords. If you purchase them from that site, you have access to a variety of e book formats so that you can read the guides on all of your devices. You can download copies of any or all of the formats for one price. There is PDF format for general computer reading and printing or for transferring to the iPad, MOBI format for Kindle, ePUB format which is becoming the industry standard for a variety of e-readers including the Nook and Sony Reader, or else LRF or PDB for Sony or Palm.

Click here to see and purchase Nikon D7000 Experience on Smashwords, or

Click here to see and purchase Canon T3i Experience on Smashwords.

These two e books are now also available at the Apple iBooks store. Download the free iBooks App to purchase these versions for your iPad or iPhone. Although you can’t access iBooks from your computer, you can have a look at my available books here.

Black and White Challenge Addendum

The Nikon P300 has been released, and since it joins the same class of cameras as the ones I used in the Grainy Black and White Challenge, I’ll add an image from the Nikon P300 using its High-Contrast Monochrome setting.

The previous cameras that I used to compare their grainy black and white settings included the Olympus XZ-1, the Canon S95, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.

Here is the entry from the P300.  To get to this setting, you set the mode dial to Scene Mode, go to Special Effects, and set it for High-Contrast Monochrome.

Nikon P300 – High-Contrast Monochrome

See the the Grainy Black and White Challenge post for more info, and have a look at a larger version of the image on Flickr.

Canon 60D Firmware Update

Canon has released updated firmware for the Canon 60D, version 1.0.9.  According to Canon, this update:

1. Changes the name of the feature called “Art Filters” to “Creative Filters” (which is used in markets other than Japan) in the Japanese version to make the terms consistent. (This change only applies to the Japanese version and does not apply to other language versions.)
2. Fixes a phenomenon where the camera may operate abnormally when it is set to Quick Mode AF during Live View shooting immediately after capturing an image with the C.Fn II-1 Long exposure noise reduction setting set to [2: On] and a shutter speed setting of 5 seconds or more.
3. Fixes a phenomenon where the camera may operate abnormally when after Live View shooting, the remote switch on the EOS Utility screen is pressed to immediately start movie-shooting. This phenomenon only occurs when the camera is connected to a compatible personal computer and the Remote Live View function of EOS Utility software is being used.

Head over to the Canon website to download and install the new firmware.

The Canon 70-300mm DO Travel Companion

In some of my posts, such as the one about the Best Lenses for Travel and Humanitarian Photography,  I venture to suggest a good single lens for travel.  My recommendations have typically been the Canon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 or the more expensive Canon 24-105 f/4L.  Both offer a useful focal length range for travel, image stabilization, and excellent image quality (relative to their price, of course – the professional L lens is of much higher quality).  The 24-104mm also boasts the fast and quiet USM focusing motor.

One lens that I have previously failed to mention is the unique Canon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens.  Its broad focal length range, image stabilization, and USM focusing motor with full-time manual focus* are all appealing features.  (*you can over-ride or tweak the autofocus with a twist of the focus ring without switching to MF.)  But what makes it a potentially great travel companion is its size and appearance.  Due to its use of Diffractive Optics (the DO in its name) the lens is relatively small and light.  And in addition, its exterior is black rather than the white of the L lenses.  Thus it becomes a much more portable and much less obtrusive lens than the big, white 70-200mm and 70-300mm L lenses.

The unique green band of the Canon 70-33mm DO lens

The 70-300mm DO declares its uniqueness with a green band around the front of the barrel, where the red band of the L lenses sits.  Diffractive Optics is a technology developed by Canon to reduce lens size while maintaining image quality and eliminating chromatic aberrations, and currently only two Canon lenses use DO.   This lens has been around since 2004, and has overall received excellent reviews.  For a professional photographer it will never quite replace a 70-200mm or 70-300mm L lens due to its slightly lower image quality and sharpness, and lack of the f/2.8 or f/4 maximum aperture throughout its full range, but for those just a little less demanding it could be the perfect travel companion for photographers not wishing to carry around a larger and more noticeable white lens.

There are mixed reviews on its sharpness.  Some users claim it is sharp as can be, some say it loses sharpness at certain focal lengths and apertures, and other say with standard post-process sharpening there is virtually no difference between it and an L lens.  One complaint that can’t be denied is its propensity for lens creep.  Due to the weight of the lens elements and the fact that it zooms externally (unlike the internal zoom of the 24-105mm or the 70-200mm lenses) the zooming barrel will move on its own when pointed up or down.  The lens has a locking switch for storage or for walking around, but otherwise it is going to creep.  This DO lens also does not have a rubber weather-sealing ring at its mounting base, which is disappointing for a lens in this price range.

Optically the 70-300mm DO displays a couple unique characteristics as well.  At certain apertures a hazy, often described as dreamy, outline will appear around bright out-of-focus areas.  And due to the concentric circles of the DO optics (visible in the lens just by looking at the glass at an angle) out-of-focus spots of light also contain concentric circles, or “targets,” as shown in the image below.  These rings also appear in areas of flare, so it is best not to use this lens if you are a fan of shooting into the sun to achieve purposeful lens flare.

The interesting bullseye/ target bokeh of the 70-300mm DO lens, pronounced when at narrow apertures (f/16 here) – click image to view larger on Flickr.

The above image is a crop from the one below.  Notice that in addition to the concentric circles, the bokeh of bright light spots becomes hexagonal at narrower apertures (like f/10 or f/16) as shown below, but it is nice and circular starting at f/8, without the targets being so pronounced at wider apertures (like f/5.6).

Canon 70-300mm DO lens – hexagonal bokeh with bullseye targets seen at f/16 – click image to view larger on Flickr.

So if you are looking for a high quality lens for travel with an exceptional telephoto zoom range, you may wish to consider the 70-300mm DO.  It is not everyone’s ideal single lens for travel because its focal length starts at 70mm and thus lacks the wide angle range, but for those who like to zoom in close and capture faces and details, it could be a lens that stays on your camera much of the time. And even for those who already have a big, white 70-200mm lens, this could come in handy in many situations which you wish to be a little more discreet or even appear less intimidating to your subjects.  Go to the store and play with one, and I think you may find that you love the size and feel of this lens, and can envision its great travel potential.

See and purchase the 70-300mm DO lens at Amazon.com

Have a look at some other reviewers’ posts to learn more about this lens, its technical specs, and its performance, as well as see images comparing its size to other lenses:

Review and description with size/ weight comparisons at The-Digital-Picture.com

Review focusing on image quality at Photo.net

Field test and very technical review at Luminous-Landscape.com

Canon’s explanation of Diffractive Optics

Grainy Black and White Challenge: XZ-1, LX5, S95, P300

I’m not usually a big fan of the “creative fun filters” that are included as in-camera processing options for many of the current dSLR and compact point-and-shoot cameras.  I prefer to do my processing in Photoshop, where I can see the full quality version of the image, and have more control over the editing.  However, I was playing around with the “Grainy Film” mode of the new Olympus XZ-1, and I was quite impressed with how cool, fun, and easy it is.  Perhaps I should reevaluate their usefulness!

Olympus XZ-1 – Grainy Film

So I decided to have a look at some of the other cameras’ black and white grainy film options and see how they all compare.  This is a pretty informal comparison without too much strict effort put into the “test” other than putting the subject camera in about the same place, zooming in all the way and using the maximum aperture if possible, and loosely trying to frame the images all about the same.

Since the Olympus XZ-1 inspired this experiment, I will cover that one first.  The Olympus XZ-1 is a new competitor to the high end compact point-and-shoot class of cameras which includes the Canon S95 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 – as well as the upcoming newly released Nikon P300.  They are all roughly about the same size, and have excellent image quality and low light performance.  Their features and maximum apertures vary, and there are other site, such as DPReview, that do full reviews of these models if you are more interested in learning about them.

For the Olympus XZ-1, you turn the Mode Dial to “Art.”  How cool is that?!  All you have to do is turn the dial and you can make art!  Other cameras merely have “Scene Modes,” while the Olympus offers “Art!”  In Art Mode choose Art 3, which is Grainy Film. While in Art Mode, as in most of its other modes, you can easily change the exposure compensation by pressing up on the rear dial and dialing in a (+) or (-) compensation amount, and immediately see what you will get.  I kept it at 0 for this test.

The image from the Olympus, seen at the top of this post, is nice and contrasty.  It has a bit of grain, but actually isn’t really very grainy.  The large aperture does blur out the background nicely.  Have a look at the larger version on Flickr to see it better.

Next up is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5, another one of the high end point-and-shoots.  For this camera you go into the My Color Mode and choose Film Grain.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 – Film Grain

Compared to the Olympus, it appears to have created more of a dark monochrome image, without the high amount of dramatic contrast.  There is a bit of grain, perhaps a little more than the Olympus, but I really wouldn’t call it grainy.  The background blurring isn’t nearly as dramatic as the Olympus.   See larger image on Flickr.

The Canon S95 is quite a popular camera for those seeking great image quality in a compact point-and-shoot.  After David Pogue wrote an ode to it in the New York Times, they really started to move off the shelves.  For the S95, you use one of the Scene Modes called the Nostalgic Mode.  You have a few degrees of  exposure to choose from as you turn the front lens dial, which first start to affect image color, then go to sepia, and then to contrasty black and white.  I choose the highest setting to get the grainy black and white look.

Canon S95 – Nostalgic Scene Mode

The contrast of the S95 image is between the other two – more than the Panasonic but less that the highly contrasty Olympus.  The background really shows the grain, but is not very dramatically blurred out.  Have a look at the larger version on Flickr to see it better.

Here is the entry from the Nikon P300. To get to this setting, you set the mode dial to Scene Mode, go to Special Effects, and set it for High-Contrast Monochrome.

Nikon P300 – High-Contrast Monochrome

Like the Panasonic, the contrast isn’t actually that dramatic.  And I did not find any way to adjust the aperture setting while in this mode so as to take advantage of its fast lens (including the inability to change the ISO in this mode), so it used f/5.5 and thus the background blurring really isn’t very dramatic either.  And this setting does not introduce any grain into the image.  Have a look at a larger version of the image on Flickr.

The final camera is the Canon 60D, used here with its 18-135mm kit lens.  This is a digital SLR, not a compact point-and-shoot like the others, but I knew it offers a grainy black and white option in its Creative Filters, so I added it to the mix.  To use this feature, you take an image in color, then access the Creative Filters to apply the affect, and then save the new copy along with the original image.  You can quickly access the Creative Filters during playback by pressing the Q Button.  This one is called Grainy B/W, and is offered in three levels of contrast: Low, Standard, and Strong.  I chose Standard to demonstrate the middle ground.  Standard appears to be pretty contrasty, and is closer to the highly contrasty Strong setting than it is to the not-as-contrasty Low setting.

Canon 60D – Grainy B/W Creative Filter

As you can see, even on the Standard level of contrast it is quite contrasty.  And you can definitely see the grain in the background of this image, which is nicely out of focus because I was able to use a long lens and a wide aperture.  The Strong setting increases the contrast to a level very similar to the Olympus.  See larger image on Flickr.

With the compact cameras, you can see on the rear LCD screen what you are going to get in advance, while with the Canon 60D, you can see how your original color image will be affected by the different levels of contrast.

So there you have it – the grainy black and white in-camera processing of these camera.  Of the compacts, my favorite is the very dramatic look of the Olympus XZ-1, due to both its contrast and its more out-of-focus background.  Thanks to my patient subject, the classic Nikon F3 with the stunning 50mm f/1.2 lens.  Have a look at some real black and white grain on some of my earliest SLR photos from Rome, 1991.