DigitalPro Shooter Volume 3, Issue 5, April 23, 2005

California Poppies Nikon D2X w 24-120VR ISO 400

Welcome to DPS 3-5: Survival Guide to the Nikon D2X. Possibly one of the best cameras ever made, the Nikon D2X is an amazing display of photographic technology. But like any new camera it has plenty of wrinkles and a few warts. After a month of shooting with the D2X we've assembled an issue of DPS chock full of tips on how to get the most out of your new camera, including everything from settings to debunking "urban legends" that have already arisen around the D2X. We also provide a detailed review of shooting wireless with Nikon's new WT-2 and the D2X. This week also saw the introduction of the D70s, the D50 and a Nikon D70 firmware upgrade which we also cover. Plus Moose provides a great workflow tip for D70 and now D70s shooters.

 

Upcoming Events: We've still got openings on the added Grizzly Bear week, our Monterey Bird & Marine Mammal trip (great for couples) and our Botswana/Namibia trips (which will feature large mammals, birds & scenics, so something for everyone--couples welcome with special programs for non-shooting spouses), so now's the time to get out and put into use all those great skills you've been working on--or to make time to come on out and learn those skills you wish you'd been working on! All Cardinal Photo events now feature hands-on Photoshop training using images that we shoot during the safari.

The Nikon D2X: A Survival Guide

Images: The Proof is in the Pudding

While I've been very happy with the image performance of all of my Nikon D-SLRs and the overall image quality I've been able to get on large prints, the D2X is the first one that really lets me feel my large prints can go toe to toe with prints from medium format cameras and hold their own from a technical perspective. Obviously I can't show you that here on the web, but Nikon is certainly making it a point to show example large prints where ever they show the D2X which will give you some idea. Perhaps most exciting is that it is less work than with earlier cameras to generate those prints. The native resolution reduces the need to fiddle with careful rescaling and I've found I also need to do much less work on selective sharpening. In addition, the native color is already rich & quite accurate as well as being complemented by the most accurate flash & flash-lit color I've ever seen with a digital camera.

 

The very high resolution does require a little more care. Reports on the web of un-sharp images are probably in some cases related to the very small pixel size and corresponding need for increased shutter speed to keep the image sharp. Remember that almost any perceptible motion of the camera is going to blur the image when you each sensor measures something like 1/6000 of an inch on each side.

Light, by definition, is the most important element of photography (creating with light). We spend thousands on fast lenses, speedlights and studio lights and often wait hours or even days to get the right light in an outdoor setting. So what if you could spend money to buy another stop of light? What would it be worth? Based on my experience over the last 18 months, first with the D2H and even more so now with the D2X that is exactly what Nikon has let us do. With first generation "D1" Pro D-SLRs (I include the D1, D1X and D1H in that group), using any ISO setting over 200 was a compromise in noise and color fidelity. With the latest cameras ISO 400 is increasingly a no-compromise solution and even ISO 800 is remarkably better than with earlier models.

Not entirely content to just believe my eyes and my clients' eyes on this, I loaded up the excellent Imatest image analysis package and compared the color fidelity and noise on a series of ColorChecker test shots ranging from ISO 200 to ISO 3200. Since interpreting Raw files is a matter of preference, I used in camera JPEGs with the camera set to Auto white balance, under an even sunlight with slight haze. What I found was a surprise even to me. There was virtually no loss of any meaningful image quality at ISO 400 and nearly none even at ISO 800. Even ISO 1600, which I tend to only use for indoor sports, tested very well and visually was almost identical. Only at ISO 3200 was there really visible (and very visible in the test image) increase in contrast and decrease in color fidelity. Another big difference this test showed from prior D-SLRs was the sophisticated in camera noise reduction. Some noise actually decreases as the ISO increases. That's a great thing for color charts, where we're interested in optimizing the evenness of color, but of course will cost you in edge detail. The best way to see for yourself exactly what the noise reduction does for and to your images is to shoot some Raw images and then tweak the Noise Reduction settings in Capture and notice the results. Note that by default Capture will turn on Noise Reduction for high ISO images because Nikon realizes it is necessary to combat the inherent sensor noise in a 12+MP sensor.

 

Speaking of Buying Light: Flash with the D2X

Endangered GKR Nikon D2X 200-400VR SB-800 & SB-600

The D2X has the best digital flash system I've ever used. When used with the SB-800 or SB-600 (or both) it is at least as good as the one on my D2H and possibly even a little better. The accompanying image of an endangered and very nocturnal Giant Kangaroo Rat (okay, so they're only two inches long and not really rats, but they are endangered and quite cute) was made using my D2X, an SB-800 with the new Nikon SC-29 connection cord for the SB-800, and a wireless SB-600. The combination was faster and more accurate than any I've been able to use over the years and finally did away with cabling intricacies and the settings voo-doo that have accompanied previous attempts. I'm looking forward to my next trip to Asia to re-capture images of some of the nocturnal animals there that I struggled to photograph with a D1 and SB-28.

High-speed Crop mode

I still really enjoy HSC (high speed crop) mode, but it does come with a couple caveats. First, you've got to remember that you're shooting at twice the normal focal length of the lens--about 1.5x for the "digital multiplier" and about 1.5x for the crop mode. This gives you a very small effective Depth of Focus and a very small tolerance for camera shake. So you'll need to have plenty of shutter speed. Remember the old rule about 1/FocalLength for your minimum shutter speed? It's not a bad idea to keep that in mind--except that your focal length is twice that of your lens. Second, the crop marks on the viewfinder, while well implemented, are a little tricky to use. Your eye doesn't do as well noticing whether your entire subject is inside the crop marks as it does keeping track of whether it is in the viewfinder. The result is likely to be some "chopped" limbs until you get used to allowing enough room. When in doubt remember you can always use the "full sensor" mode and crop later.

Raw files & Software Support

Obviously shooting Raw files is a major reason that many photographers have purchased the D2X. Many have been surprised by how excellent the JPEGs are--given the camera's state of the art Auto white balance, low impact JPEG compression and staggering native resolution--but Raw files are still "the main event." Unfortunately the D2X Raw files have several obvious and some not so obvious differences from previous raw files which have made support from non-Nikon raw converters difficult.

 

In particular Nikon has begun encrypting (or "encoding" if you prefer) the "as shot" white balance information, which has resulted in Adobe first delaying support for the D2X until ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) 3.1 in late May and then stating that even then it will not use the "as shot" data. The upshot will be that photographers using ACR with D2X images (when it is available) will need to manually adjust the white balance for all of their images. Personally I like the color rendition of Nikon Capture and the workflow of using Photoshop so I really wish that Nikon would just make Capture a plug-in to Photoshop and make it externally scriptable by image management applications (like Photoshop is) and side-step the issue, at least for now.

 

We asked our 2500 forum regulars, almost all of whom own either Nikon or Canon D-SLRs (mostly Nikon and mostly more than 1 each) what they thought. Out of those who've responded, so far 89% think Nikon should document the NEF file format, 7% think they should at least not encrypt it, and 4% figure they should be allowed to do what they want with it. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts. The good news is that D2X Raw files do have a nice large preview in them so there is less need to process the NEF. And of course JPEG+Raw mode provides some of the best of both worlds.

 

Wide-area wireless: For many years I've thought that the "right" way to sell digital cameras would be with some type of always on connection that could wirelessly be sending images to "the net" as you shot them, so they would be instantly available to you for processing, sharing and printing. Ironically, except for a few demos by Philippe Kahn and LightSurf the industry was very slow to address this issue from the camera side--while in the meantime the cellphone industry has leapt into the camera+phone business in a big way. One result is that Nokia and Motorola now produce far more cameras than either Nikon or Canon. The camera makers have suffered from the lack of a good way to send images. Only recently has the widespread availability of wireless hot spots started to make interconnection feasible.

Now the mind blowing part (at least to me): With the WT-2, once I set the camera to connect to a particular network, it painlessly and seamlessly sends my images off as they are shot. And the destination no longer has to be local. It can be any computer connected to the internet. With Internet hot spots popping up all over, this means that I can be at any "un-wired" venue and have my images whisked away to my studio as I take them--from anywhere in the world. Obviously large publications and news organizations have been setting up this capability for a long time using first generation wireless devices and portable access points, normally with local editors on laptops, but with the WT-2 the process has become simple enough and effective enough that it is truly within the reach of any photographer who has a need.

Of course the WT-2 (and a D2X) are still very expensive tools and the capabilities are still limited. But they show a very promising start into the world of wide-area imaging for Nikon. Over time, if we are going to continue to think of Nikon & Canon as imaging leaders they will need to adapt to this new market aggressively and take a leadership position. I'd look for point and shoot that can send image wirelessly to photo sharing sites or via the cellphone network before too long. All the pieces are already there for cameraphone owners or gadget savvy gurus, but have yet to be packaged for the volume digicam owner.

The Bottom Line

As you've no doubt guessed by now, I really like my D2X and am very happy I bought it. But something you may not have guessed is that it has also helped me appreciate my D2H even more. On the one hand I can compare the "dripping" detail on my large D2X prints favorably with those from a medium format film camera while on the other hand when I look at my computer screen or 8"x10" prints, those from the D2H measure up head to head with those from the D2X. And the big bright pixels on the D2H still give me a nice solid feeling about my images and their quality. I haven't shot with the D2Hs yet, so I can't speculate on how much of an improvement over the now much cheaper D2H it is.

Full Disclosure: As with my D2X, I bought my WT-2 and antenna, although it is a lot of money for an accessory. In my case the business justification has to do with the dynamics of remote wildlife photography. With a radio remote I can fire the camera perfectly well, but have to return to the site--possibly disturbing the animals I'm trying to photograph--to retrieve the film card and review my images. With the WT-2, my laptop and the D-Link pocket router I purchased to use with them I can review the images as I shoot and even control the camera settings live. This greatly increases my productivity in those situations as well as decreasing the amount of stress on the animals.

Cardinal Photo 2005 Events San Francisco Bay Area Bird sign-ups, May 16-19, 2005 (maximum 7 shooters, 2 slots open) Alaska Grizzly Bear & Puffin Trip sign-up ADDITIONAL SESSION: July 11-18, 2005 (maximum 6, 2 openings). See images from our 2004 trip. The July 17-24, 2005 is SOLD OUT. Monterey Bay Photo Safari sign-up October 23-27, 2005 --  (maximum 7 shooters, 6 slots open) Southern Africa! (Botswana & Namibia), November 20-December 2 (max 12, 5 openings)

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