jpg version

I was going through and deleting some photos from last summer when I came upon the photo above. I almost hit delete, but I was curious what the photo was even of so I decided to take a peek at the RAW file before deleting.

This was the same photo in RAW format:

RAW version of same photo

At first I thought I had opened the wrong photo, but then I checked the file name and sure enough they were the same.

I took this while walking through the Okunoin Cemetery just after sunset. I didn’t have a tripod so I just set my camera on rocks or headstones to take long exposures. Obviously, this one @ 30 seconds wasn’t long enough for a jpg photo, but in RAW it almost looks properly exposed.

Posted on June 5th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: cemetery, koyasan 高野山, night photography, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, okunoin japanese cemetery 奥の院, photography, photoshop, RAW vs Jpg jpeg, torii. Comments: 1

Yosemite’s Bridalveil Fall base

For today’s photo I didn’t use a filter. Instead, I sat my camera down on a bridge post, changed the f stop to 25 and left the shutter open for half a second. I brought my tripod with me to Yosemite, but I never had the chance to use it. I would have liked to have taken some photos after dark, but out hotel was an hour away, and we left the park every day before sunset and arrived after sunrise. This is probably the only photo I took with a somewhat long exposure.

Posted on March 30th, 2013 under Other. Tags: Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600, photography, waterfalls, yosemite national park. Comments Off on Silky water

I tried to resist buying a Nikon D600 for as long as possible, but when Amazon starting throwing in almost $250 worth of freebies and rebates (not including lens rebates up to $200 which I didn’t take advantage of) and with thoughts of shooting at 3200 or 6400 ISO with better results than my normal maximums of 1600-2000 on my D7000, I took the plunge. Some users reported spots (oil and/or dust) on the sensor right out of the box so my first photos were of white walls and pieces of paper at f/22. No dust or oil. I proceeded to take a few dozen photos at more normal apertures (f/2.8 – f/8) and didn’t notice any dust or oil. In this photo, taken at f/16 to see what kind of sun star I could achieve, there were three small dots in the upper-left corner (the usual portion of images which are affected with the D600 problem). I took the dust or oil spots out in Photoshop, but it looks like I will be afflicted with the issue like most other D600 users. If the problem gets worse (especially if it begins showing up in photos in the f/2 – f/8 range), I will be sending my D600 back.

I am, however, looking forward to trying the D600 out at an indoor sporting event and in a low-light, concert setting. Today’s photo was taken with a Nikkor 24-70mm lens, a lens which was rarely wide enough for me on my D7000 (crop sensor). I think it will get a lot more use on my D600 (full frame).

Posted on November 17th, 2012 under Oregon. Tags: ashland oregon, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, Nikon D600, photography. Comments Off on Nikon D600, first impressions

I said before that I wanted one of the new, Nikon D600 cameras. However, I’m glad I waited. It seems all of them have a problem with attracting dust and/or oil on the sensor. At a price more than 2X that of the D7000, the D600 simply isn’t worth the money. Hopefully Nikon will get their problems fixed, and at some point in the serial numbers the dust and oil problems on the sensor will disappear or at least decrease. Until then, I will wait for a lower price and a fix in the design which is causing this oil and dust problem. If it were only happening above f/14 or something I could live with it, but to be visible in shots taken below f/8 just a dozen or so shutter usages after cleaning in basically all samples is unacceptable.

Here are some of the stories and accounts on the D600 problems:
Spots on D600
Nikon D600 has sensor dust issues

Posted on October 22nd, 2012 under Other. Tags: Nikon D600, photography. Comments Off on Nikon D600 oil spots and dust problems

I want one of these. Amazon is selling them for about $2,000.

Posted on September 12th, 2012 under Other. Tags: Nikon D600, photography. Comments: 2