Tech Talk

I don’t usually post techy camera stuff on the blog (hey, it is all about me!) but a couple of things caught my eye this week.

There seems to be a bit of a clamor on the forums at the moment about the lack of a (possibly) overdue Nikon D700 upgrade or replacement. How Canon is kicking Nikon’s butt with the 5DMkII, ‘I’m moving to Canon’, ‘Nikon doesn’t love me’, blah, blah.

As a D700 user myself (and a very happy one) I’ve been tracking this a bit out of interest.  I love the way people get so stirred up about the technology of cameras.

So enter this post which gives a credible and tangible background to something that seems to be coming out of a number of the more trusted and independent lens review sites: that the latest sensor resolutions in SLR cameras is starting to outperform the resolving ability of even best lenses (which most people aren’t using) and challenging the engineering of the small SLR sized bodies they are put into.  The comparison to the cost of the cheapest cinema lenses is most telling.  It is a simple question of engineering tolerances verses costs.

Then Thom Hogan hit the nail on the head (as usual) with his prioritised list of where to spend your money on upgrading: basically photographer first, camera last.  I like Thom’s posts a lot.  Although obviously a good techie, he is only interested in technology if it helps him take better pictures and he only moans about something if it prevents him taking better pictures – and he takes some pretty good ones!

So before you spend a few €1000 on a 18MP camera consider what you’re capable of with your current equipment.  Consider what it is that is limiting your photography: odds on it’s not the equipment.  For most photographers, the best investment you can make is time taking more pictures and critically reviewing them.

Now a new lens, that’s another story…

Offline

My phone line went down yesterday and took my broadband connection with it.

Wow!  It is only when you’re disconnected do you realise how many times a day you check something on-line.

Being ‘always-on’ makes you ‘always-on’.

But how much more productive was I yesterday because I wasn’t able to periodically check e-mail, news feeds, photo sites, magazine sites and all that?  And what exactly did I miss out on yesterday because I wasn’t on-line?  Well, not very much actually: a lot more e-mails and links to Crystal thingy.

In the days of continuous news feeds and 24-hour news channels it is easy to forget that (real) news doesn’t really happen 24 hours a day.

So thanks to Eric for a loan of his WLAN this morning.  I really do need to be on-line for my business but probably not quite as much as I think I do!

And finally if anyone needs to contact me urgently please call.  If I don’t answer, please leave a message.  I’m not on regular e-mail until this is sorted.  In fact given the nature of what I do, this is usually the case.

087 683 8511

Families Wanted for Spring Photo Shoots

Get a Free Session and Framed 8″x12″ Photograph

I am looking to get new, fresh images of kids having fun outdoors this Spring.  I’m thinking kids playing in bluebell woods, kids with daffodils, cherry blossom – all that kind of thing.  I want to use these pictures on the web site and in promotional literature to publicise the outdoor sessions going forward.

So I’m looking for a number of families in the Cork area who are interested in getting involved in an outdoor photo session this Spring.  In return for your involvement, you get a framed 8”x12” picture the shoot.

We’ll have some fun outdoors with the kids, I get some great photos to use for my own publicity and you get the artwork as a thank you.

Families of any size with kids of toddler age upwards can apply – just as long as you’re up for it rain or shine!

Just e-mail me your contact details, number and ages of children and rough geographical area.  If you have a favourite park or forest (or a big garden) that would suit the session then I’m happy to take suggestions for locations as well.

Sessions will take place from mid March to the end of April, depending on the weather and when exactly spring actually ‘springs’.  Weekends are fine if that’s the only time that suits your family.

I want to do as many of these sessions as I can before First Communions start in May so you only have a short time to book your session.  Contact me now to set a date:

e-mail: rob@roblambphoto.com

call or text: 087 683 8511