In this article, I will show feature differences between the new Nikon D5200 the previous generation D5100 (see our Nikon D5100 Review). What does the updated D5200 bring to the table and what are the key differences? Let’s take a look! Please keep in mind that this Nikon D5200 vs D5100 comparison is purely based on specifications. A detailed comparison with image samples and ISO comparisons will be provided in the upcoming Nikon D5200 review.
This is a quick review of the Think Tank Airport Security v2.0 rolling bag, one of the most popular and premium bags by Think Tank Photo. Targeted for busy photographers that have to travel on assignments with their gear, the Airport Security line is specifically designed to meet US domestic flight carry on size requirements. The bag also comes with TSA-approved combination locks and has an extra security cable to attach it to a fixed object. Best of all, it is a fairly large bag that can accommodate plenty of photo gear – whether you are storing a single DSLR with a 600mm lens or multiple DSLRs with smaller lenses. I have been personally using the bag to store my DSLRs, lenses and flash equipment and the bag has seen plenty of abuse this past summer during the wedding season.
Internal Dimensions: 13” W x 21” H x 7–8” D (33 x 53.3 x 17.8–20.3 cm)
External Dimensions: 14” W x 22” H x 9” D (35.6 x 55.9 x 22.9 cm)
Weight: 12-14 lbs / 5.4-6.4 kg (weight depends on accessories used)
Here is a partially loaded Think Tank Airport Security v2.0 roller bag (click the image to enlarge):
While we are still waiting for the final pricing and availability information on the upcoming Nikon D5200, I decided to post some sample photos from the camera. Nikon imaging only made a 5 images available by Douglas Menuez, but other images have also been posted by Nikon France on Flickr. The below images are all copyright of Nikon and all EXIF data is retained in photographs.
The sensor performance of the D5200 looks pretty impressive. It is hard to say whether the camera will yield better images than the D3200, since the number of megapixels is about the same. I will have to test high ISO performance between the two when I receive a sample unit.
Please keep in mind that the images are taken in RAW and simply converted to JPEG via Capture NX 2. No other editing has been done, including sharpening.
Link to download the image | Shutter Speed: 1/2000, Aperture: f/6.3, ISO: 400
Nikon has just announced the D5200 DSLR, an update to the Nikon D5100 that we reviewed last year. The Nikon D5200 is an upper entry-level DSLR that comes with a similar 24MP CMOS sensor as on the D3200, but with a more improved Multi-CAM 4800DX AF system and metering system from the D7000. This is a surprising move by Nikon, since it seems like it is pushing more advanced features to basic DSLRs. This could also mean that the upcoming Nikon D7100 might have a better AF system, perhaps the same 51-point AF system used on the D800/D4 cameas (or somewhere in between). The feature gap between different DSLRs seems to be shrinking, probably due to the pressure from the mirrorless market. Next year will be interesting – will we see a D7100, a D400, or both?
Today’s guest post is by Mikhail Bezruchko on using the Nikon D600 for Sports Photography. Mikhail was kind enough to send his observations on the autofocus performance of the D600 for low-light and daytime sports photography. He photographed a local football game at night and then a local soccer game, using fast telephoto lenses. Although not a pro, Mikhail has had a long history with photography, starting out with Russian-made “Zenit” film cameras a while ago. But his interest in photography spiked up during the last few years and he has been shooting with Nikon D90, D700 and other high-end DSLRs, mostly freelancing. Enjoy!
When the D600 was finally announced, most of us got very excited about the new camera. Nasim’s review of the D600 and Bird Photography follow-up answered a lot of my questions, but I was still curious about the D600′s autofocus performance with sports. There are some similarities between sports and wildlife photography, but there are also many differences.
While I mainly focus on portraiture and functions, I absolutely love shooting games, especially local, non-professional events. Anyone who has photographed a sports match knows that it’s a very challenging venture. Not only does it take experience, preparation and knowledge of the particular game you want to shoot, but it also requires decent equipment.
Lightroom has always had a lot of interesting features on offer. With the introduction of the latest version, Lightroom 4, Adobe has added two more modules to the already existing five – Map and Book. In this short and simple Mastering Lightroom series tutorial I will show you how to geotag your photographs in Lightroom using the map module.
Simply put, geotagging images allows you to input location information within your image EXIF data so that you can know precisely where that particular image was taken. Ever felt like you were at an amazingly beautiful place for landscape photography but missed peak colors by a couple of weeks? Geotagging will let you remember your physical location, so that you can come back to the same spots next year. Many modern smartphones and cameras with GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity make geotagging a very simple and automated process. If you own a camera without such a feature, geotagging can be made possible with an external GPS unit, such as GP-1 unit for Nikon DSLR cameras (see our Nikon GP-1 Review).
No need if you have a camera with built-in geotagging feature. However, if you don’t find yourself needing the feature more often than occasionally, Lightroom 4 is about to save you a couple of hundred dollars. It is also a very quick and simple process, so why not? In a year or two you may be glad you geotagged your photographs to know where to look for those locations.
Every photographer knows that a background can make or break a photo and for that reason a clean, non-busy background is desirable for many photos. Having a light, portable and inexpensive system is helpful for both portraits as well as product photography and the Impact Background System Kit with 10′x12′ Black and White Muslins may fill that need for you. The kit for this quick review of how it handles has been kindly provided by B&H Photo.
What’s Included:
a.Impact Background Support System – 12′Wide
The Impact 12′ Background Support System will support seamless paper up to 11′ in width, as well as accommodate the 12′ width of any brand of muslin background. Total weight distributed across the length of the crossbar should not exceed 20 lb.
It seems that the continuous increase of megapixels in our digital cameras is inevitable. Year after year, camera sensors are getting better, image resolution is increasing and file sizes are getting bigger. If just several years ago 10 megapixels was plenty for a DSLR, that number has grown way higher lately, thanks to such fine tools as the Nikon D800. This increase of resolution and file sizes clearly puts a load on our quickly aging computers as well. Larger files require more storage and post-processing images in Lightroom and Photoshop is taking longer due to insufficient computing power and resources, dramatically slowing down our photography workflow process. While upgrading your computer could speed things up quite a bit, it is often a costly proposition. Instead of spending money on more gear, revisiting your workflow process and perhaps even revising it might significantly reduce the amount of time you spend editing images. In this article, I will show you a very efficient Lightroom workflow for high resolution images, which my wife and I adopted after acquiring the Nikon D800.
On average, my wife Lola and I shoot about 20-30 thousand images a year. It sure sounds like a lot, but if you factor in all wedding and portrait work we do, where a single wedding day could yield over a thousand images, it is actually not that big of a number. Since it was extremely slow and inefficient to keep all images in a single Lightroom catalog, I started organizing catalogs by year about 3 years ago. Since then, I was quite happy with my Lightroom workflow. At the beginning of each year, I would move my primary catalog for the previous year to slower archival storage and create a new one. Everything was working well, although towards the end of the year Lightroom would get a little sluggish. But it was tolerable…Until Lola and I bought the Nikon D800.
While tripods aren’t glamorous, are a hassle to carry and despite gains in vibration reduction/image stabilization, it is still almost essential to have one in every photographer’s tool bag. When looking to photograph landscapes or wildlife, many times the difference between a nice photo and a great photo can be whether a tripod was used or not. Long exposures and long lenses both benefit from camera stability. So if you haven’t got a tripod and you are looking to improve some of your photos I would suggest you consider adding one. A quick search for a tripod will reveal to you that there’s a wide range of styles and materials with equally wide ranging pricing. So if you are new to this and somewhat confused on what to buy, check out Nasim’s article, How to Choose and Buy a Tripod. With that said, here is a review of a good, affordable carbon fiber tripod and ball head, the Oben CT-2320 with BB-2 ball head kit which has been kindly provided by B&H Photo.
1.1) CT-2320 Tripod:
Load Capacity: 26.4 lb (12Kg)
Maximum Height: 67.2” (170.1 cm)
Maximum Height w/o Column Extended: 57.7” (144.7 cm)
Minimum Height: 12.6” (30.4 cm)
Folded Length: 25.2” (63.5 cm)
Weight: 2.95 lb (1.330 kg)
Material: 6x carbon fiber
Head Attachment Fitting: ¼”–20 & 3/8”–16 (reversible screw)
Leg Stages/Sections: 2/3
Leg Lock Type: Twist lock
Independent Leg Spread: Yes
Spiked/Retractable Feet: Yes/Yes
Center Brace: No
Center Column Type: Rapid
Center Column Sections: 1
Bubble Level: Yes
Lightroom 4 is a great tool for post-processing your work, especially if you tend to shoot RAW most of the time. It’s quick, easy to manage and offers an extremely wide range of color adjustment, as well as other kinds of processing. But what if you need to retouch your photographs? Does that mean Photoshop is the only way to go? While I certainly use Photoshop CS5 for more complicated retouching, I’m glad that Lightroom 4 offers options that are sufficient at least 90% of the time. In this short and simple tutorial I will teach you how to use the Spot Removal tool in Lightroom. This simple yet powerful tool will then let you remove small objects out of your photographs or fix flaws, such as skin blemishes or sensor dust spots. You will be able to perform these actions very easily and quickly and, more importantly, all within Lightroom 4 environment.
Lightroom is a very photography-centered piece of software. Unlike Photoshop, which, from the very start, had a very broad range of applications, Lightroom doesn’t need many tools. Luckily, this makes finding them that much more simple – all the tools, including Spot Removal, are located under the Histogram tab. You can, alternatively, press “Q” to pick it up for use.
I will be working on a photograph a friend of mine snapped while enjoying a walk in a park, and you can see it shown above. Nothing is really wrong with it per se – I think it’s a great, fun street shot. However, since Spot Removal is so simple to use, I would like to get rid of a small white spot right between the dog’s front legs. Take a look:
Most of the time, Spot Removal works with just a single click. In order to remove the white spot (which may have been a chewing gum once, but let’s not think about that), first select the tool by pressing “Q” on the keyboard. You will notice your mouse pointer has been replaced by a circle, which defines how big is the area to be affected. My settings are currently at 75 (Size) and 100 (Opacity). Lets go ahead and just click on the white spot we dislike so much. Here’s what happened:
