New Season of D-town TV out, now for all DSLR users!
The second season of D-town TV recently kicked off, with Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski discussing everything DSLR and accessories, studio equipment and photo techniques. The first season however, was only targeted towards Nikon users, but the second season has instantly broadened the audience by not being quite as specific regarding the camera settings, but instead focusing on the core functions common to all cameras.
That said, even if you are not a Nikon shooter, there is still plenty of information in the first season for you to enjoy. Especially if you are a newcomer to the SLR scene, there are episodes discussing lenses and many other basic, yet important things to know.
The latest episode to date covers:
- Matt shows a workaround for bracketing if your camera doesn’t have Auto Exposure Bracketing
- David Ziser drops by with a tip on custom settings for shooting in a variety of situations with the same camera
- Larry Becker talks about using the Gorillapod with a small ball head on the latest Cheap Shots
- Dave Cross shows how to take full advantage of the OnOne DSLR Camera Remote software
- Moose Peterson is back with another helpful tip for photographing “critters.”
- This week’s suggested photographer is Erik Almas!
- Check out previous episodes for all sorts of information on lenses
With one episode per week, there is plenty of entertainment and information for everyone.
My new Sigma 70-200/2.8 lens
I just bought a used Sigma 70-200/2.8 lens, which I got a good deal on. Even though I would like having the Nikon 70-200/2.8 with Vibration Reduction, I just can’t justify the cost right now.
The build quality is just fine, with nothing special to complain about. Except the lens hood that is. Maybe it’s just this sample, but it doesn’t seem to line up properly. (perhaps I got the wrong hood for the lens?)
I wanted to see how how the bokeh looked, so the first images taken are just a quick check of the bokeh quality. More will come later, as soon as I have time to do a photowalk in Stockholm again.
Issues with the MB-D80 battery grip for Nikon D90
I have the battery grip called MB-D80 for my Nikon D90, but I have been having some problems with it. When I plug the battery grip in the camera and insert a battery, the camera dies from time to time, and the camera reports bogus battery charge information.
It seems that the batteries in the grip are not inserted all the way, so adding a piece of cardboard or other type of paper behind the hatch made all the difference! Now it works perfectly and the battery charge information is correctly displayed all the time.
Strange dust in the Nikon 85mm/1.8 lens
Last Saturday I bought a Nikon 85mm/1.8 lens to use for portraits and for general photography. A strange thing happened though — after trying out the lens for a few minutes, I became aware of a small dust particle on the inside of the glass! It actually looked like a black piece of plastic had been dislodged from the barrel somehow and ended up on the lens.
These things happen I guess, so I returned it and got another one. At home, I once again unpacked it and inspected it thoroughly as usual. Lo and behold, this lens had the same problem as the other one — dust inside the glass! They had no more 85mm lenses in stock either, but I am glad for the refund.
It looks like I am not supposed to have a fast 85 mm lens, but I am looking for alternatives.
My new Nikon D90
I recently took the plunge and bought the Nikon D90 after a lengthy research. It is a very good camera with lots of features, including a 720p video mode. You can read the specifications on the dpreview website.
I got the Nikkor 16-85/3.5 lens to go with it, and I am more than happy with it.
I started up a new category called Photography here where I will post some pictures later on when I have time to go out and take some.