The Photocrati Blog

Q & A: What is your view of firmware updates for digital cameras?

From Erick: Today, we’re introducing a new feature at Photocrati, Q&A with Peter Burian. Peter has joined Photocrati as a contributor and will be writing detailed field reviews for digital SLR cameras as well as other gear-related articles. Once a week, he’ll also be choosing one question from our readers to answer. So if you have a gear question that’s been bothering or eluding you, send it to [email protected].

Question

What is your view of firmware updates for digital cameras? I often see that some manufacturer has posted yet another firmware update. Why do the companies release cameras before they are ready and then fix problems with new firmware? J.C.

Answer

As you indicate J.C., new firmware — the operating system for an electronic camera — is often issued. An update is simply a new binary file that will change the processing parameters or add certain functions. Modifications of this type could be made to a high-tech 35mm auto-focus SLR camera as well, but the installation process required a trained technician. While some firmware is designed to fix a technical problem, others actually enhance a camera with even better speed, accuracy, versatility or image quality. (It’s easy to find firmware updates with a Google search; use the keywords Support Firmware and the name of the manufacturer and the camera model.)

In any event, I decided to pose your question to one of the camera companies, and here’s their reply. (more…)

Are You Doing Audio Slideshows Yet?

I’m a fervent believer, a virtual “evangelist” if you will, in combining multimedia along with still photography. I can only speak to travel and documentary photography, but multimedia obviously lends itself to all visual disciplines such as wedding, landscape and other photography styles and directions.

I teach emerging photographers and photojournalists classes that shows them how to make quick work of slide show production, using their own images and audio generated in the field, to produce a cogent photo story under the simulation of publishing deadlines. Most of the class time is spent photographing in the field, while indoors time is devoted to weaving the material into photo stories, and the storytelling; the core of all multimedia productions. I will be teaching such a class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in the Himalayan foothills of India in July 2009. (more…)

Selecting a Lightroom desktop for performance and budget

In my post a few days back, I walked through my own process of setting some specifications for a new desktop machine to run Lightroom, but having gotten my intentions in order it was time to actually go out and buy something, somewhere. But what did I buy, and why? (more…)

A few simple tricks for taking better pictures – Part 2

In our last installment of the award winning series “A few simple tricks” I talked about composition. This time I’m going to talk about “angle of attack,” which sounds like something a fighter pilot would say but can be roughly translated to mean “where do I stand.” (more…)

A few simple tricks for taking better pictures…

Today I want to talk about some basics of good photography. I mean basic. We’re going to talk about composition because most people would be amazed at how much their photographs would improve if they just paid a little more attention to composition. It doesn’t matter if you are using an expensive DSLR, a moderate Point-and-Shoot or a camera phone…. composition has nothing to do with technology. If you want to take better pictures, start with a few simple techniques… (more…)

Big Changes on Photocrati

Dear readers, we just wanted to update you on a few great recent additions at Photocrati, and alert you to a few more upcoming changes. We've added 300+ Gear Reviews.…

NIKON D90 Review: Field Test Report

Similar in many respects to the 10.2 megapixel D80, the Nikon D90 is even more desirable since it benefits from technology developed for the semi-professional DSLRs. The primary improvements include a 12.3 megapixel CMOS (not CCD) sensor and upgraded processor, larger 3-inch LCD with ultra-high 920,000 point resolution and Live View with three distinct autofocus modes. Other benefits include faster 4.5fps continuous drive speed (vs. 3fps) an automatic sensor cleaner, plus some valuable new features in capture mode and in Playback mode (for image retouching.)

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NIKON D300 Review: Field Test Report

When it was first announced, the Nikon D300 received a lot of media attention because it appeared to be similar to the more expensive, professional D3. And it’s true that these 12 megapixel cameras share some technology and features but the D3 uses a much larger full-frame sensor. There are other differences too, so it makes more sense to compare the D300 to its predecessor, the highly-rated 10 megapixel D200. Aside from higher resolution, the primary benefits of the more recent model include a CMOS (not CCD sensor) that can provide Live View, a larger viewfinder and LCD screen, a more sophisticated Autofocus system, greater speed plus extra options for image capture and quality.

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Canon EOS 40D Review: Field Test Report

Canon’s enthusiast-level series has included the EOS 10D, 20D and 30D, each boasting some improvement over its predecessor. The most recent DSLR in this range — prior to the EOS 50D — the 10 megapixel EOS 40D definitely qualified as a substantial upgrade over the 8 megapixel EOS 30D. Aside from higher resolution, the EOS 40D benefits from a great deal of new technology, such as an improved CMOS sensor, a faster DIGIC III processor plus a huge buffer (temporary storage bank) that allows for taking numerous shots at a blazing 6.5 frames per second. Several other amenities also make the EOS 40D more desirable than the earlier EOS 30D, including an automatic sensor cleaner, an Auto ISO option, a larger/brighter viewfinder, a 3″ LCD screen, and Live View. (more…)

Spec’ing a Lightroom desktop for performance and budget

In the past month or two I became aware of how I was losing a lot of time and personal sanity editing images on my primary work desktop, the performance of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 on my old system was both poor and erratic, so I’m replacing it. In this article I’ll share with you my limited investigations into Lightroom performance and configuring a Lightroom-centric photography computer on a budget. (more…)