Nikon Seminar, Nikon Suckinar...

Two things were exciting about this seminar:
1. I got schwagged. two Nikon lens cloths, one Nikon notepad, & one Nikon Pen.
2. The 5 minutes of anticipation before the presentation when this is what we saw...From this point on I was utterly challenged to remain part of the non drooling world. They should have given us free Nikon Epi-pens to jam in our thighs to help us stay concious for the duration. The seminar was pretty much an hour and a half of use this mode for this and that mode for that.
That being said I was totally bewildered the next day when I went to the cat show and could not find a Cat icon on my dial to tell me what mode to use for taking pictures of cats. Hmmm.Maybe the "P" stands for Pussy cat or
I should maybe consider Canon, they
might have a kitty mode.

Lens-Zooka!

I had been sitting a store credit at Castle Photo for a while, ever since I returned the Powershot G7. That credit had been burning a giant hole in my pocket and causing all kinds of confusion in my over active imagination. I had thought at one point that I must have the Nikon 80-200 f/2.8. Then I was totally convinced that I needed a Nikon D200 Camera because the price had been sliding slowly downward. In a swift moment of clarity I decided to hop on the VR bandwagon and grab this not so little fellow.
The Nikon 70-300 VR is the newest in a 3 part line of zoom in this range. This one has been upgraded/ redesigned to include not only a new optical formula but the VR (Vibration Reduction) System. This system allows solid hand held performance at the full 300mm by giving you a claimed 4 stop improvement in (virtual) shutter speed by compensating for hand shake.
When you hit the shutter to initiate autofocus you hear the VR kick into action or more accurately hiss into action. The VR engine makes a noise like quiet static that you can faintly hear and feel through the camera body. It is plainy evident that the VR is amazing if you reach out to the 300mm mark with it turned off then flip the switch to turn it on. That telephoto shimmy shake gone. The optics then take on a unique thick fluid feel and your image kind of gloops around out there like its suspended in molasses. Well maybe.
The official verdict will come along as time passes initial impressions are that this lens is a solid choice if you didn't want to wait for the $900 18-200 VR to get in stock or get into a heavy as heck pro level 80-200 f2.8 or its newer and even heavier big brother the 70-200 f/2.8 VR.

I Got a new camera.

It's 2007.
Do you know what that means?
It means that Kohne Photography, this super cool camera shop in Toledo, has started handing out entry packets to the annual "Get your camera on" local amateur competition.
Who cares?
You do.
Why?
Because you don't have to have some $$$$ camera. They give you a camera!
Okay, the catch is that it's a point and shoot disposable camera, but that is part of the beauty of it. All those guys with lenses and camera that cost as much as cars have to leave em at home if they want in. No digital preview, no matrix metering, no Aperture priority modes, just point and shoot.

The categories are...

People
Nature
Local Business
Open (could also be called "miscellaneous" -- any decent subject matter allowed)
Pets
Black & White

...and you have until March to get that winning shot.

You can read more about it Kohne's website. Stop by the shop and get your camera on!

I still haven't figured out what number three was in the post prior to this, so I guess it is to write down your thoughts so you can put them on your blog later.

3 Lessons learned.

Last night was a visit to the lights before Christmas Display at the Toledo Zoo. I generally try to come away from these types of things with some tangible knowledge, last night there were three.

1. The "Delete from camera after import" function is not that cool.
I didn't realize that the images you leave behind on your camera can serve as a handy backup if something goes wrong in the transfer process. I learned this the most effective way, by losing images in the transfer and not having a backup. Just format the card after you transfer successfully.

2. "Raw" is not all its cracked up to be.
I love taking pictures. I do not love spending time in Photoshop to make every image look right. You may or may not know that when you cmaera turns that Raw image into a Jpeg that it applies certain "tune-ups" to the final image such as additional saturation and contrast depending on how you set it. Raw is just that. I know you can adjust more from Raw, but for me the fact that you have to is kind of a waste of my time. I will settle back into my quest to take solid captures with good light and color on the first run and not fret about the ability to correct for massive error after the fact. If you are making major errors then you may have things to focus on other than Photoshop.

3. Okay so I got interrupted and forgot what the third was. It was important and when I remember I will post it.

The journey has begun, you can jump on here.

I have fully immersed myself in photography as of late. I started with about as much knowledge as the average Joe who owns a point and shoot. I have a learned a ton. I plan on sharing some of that, with no small amount of help from some good friends. Here we go.