How I nearly won £1000

I mentioned in my earlier review of the Nikon D4 about how amazing its continuous focus and tracking of a moving object can be. There are many accounts online and in magazines telling of how the D4 tracked fast moving objects in low light and managed to capture tack sharp images. There have also been reports regarding the malfunction that the D4 sometimes seemed to develop when shooting in this mode. Andy Rouse (www.andyrouse.co.uk) talks about how the camera would lock up on certain occasions, a result that could be disastrous if it meant missing the shot. The latest Nikon firmware update A:1.05/B:1.03, has addressed this issue and has resulted in a camera that is now truly astonishing, and one that could have netted me £1000 in a bet. Let me explain.  

Last year I visited Woodside Falconry (www.woodsidefalconry.com) in Lincolnshire, a lovely little wildlife park, suitable for all the family and a great day out. During the course of the day, the staff put on a spectacular falconry display which can include Eagles, Owls and a super speedy Peregrine Falcon. It was during this visit that a friend of mine bet me that I couldn't get a tack sharp image of the Peregrine Falcon as it was being put through its paces. If I could he would hand over £1000. I had with me my Nikon D3s and Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 lens. The Peregrine started its display, swooping down among the thrilled audience and sometimes flying towards me at upwards of 80 mph. Quite pedestrian for this species, but very fast when it’s coming right towards you. I was shooting at 200mm, F5.6 and was achieving very fast shutter speeds because of the bright conditions, but the bird was that agile that it was extremely difficult to get it in my sights, and when I did the D3s just couldn't quite lock on and track it, especially when it was flying directly at me. After several passes I got very close to capturing a sharp shot but not quite. I tried to convince my friend that I had indeed nailed the one image that he was after, but alas, he just wasn't buying it. To be honest, neither was I. 

Roll on nine months and back I went, not really thinking about the flying display in particular, but just fancying a nice day out looking at all the animals that Woodside has to offer. They have a Sloth you know! We took our seats as the flying display started, with similar weather conditions and a similar flying display. Two things had changed however. This time I had a Nikon D4 paired with the Nikkor 70-200mm, and this time, stupidly, I had forgotten to remind my friend about the bet we had made the year previous. Looking back at the images that I managed to get from the day, I reckon he might be quite relieved. I set the camera to 200mm, F5.6 and to auto focus continuous, 21-point area selection. The first few runs were complete failures simply because I, not the camera, couldn't follow the Peregrine. On the fifth run I managed to spot the Falcon through the lens and as it made its final turn I fired off six shots. I didn't even know whether the bird was all or only partially in frame until I reviewed the images on the back of the camera. Checking on the LCD screen confirmed that I had managed to capture the entire bird, but it was only when I got home that evening I realised what an incredible job the D4 had done. Four out of the six shots were pin sharp at 100% and I was completely blown away by the performance of the Nikon. I haven’t mentioned the results of the shoot to my friend as of yet on the off chance he would like to visit the park again and have another bet… In fact, I wonder what the weather’s doing this weekend.....           

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8. 

A crop of image 4

Nikon D4 Review



Nikon D4 with Sigma 50mm F1.4

I’ve been putting off my review of the Nikon D4 until now because I really wanted to put it through its paces and use it on some of my latest photographic assignments before I gave my verdict. Initially I wasn’t looking at buying a new camera body as I was already using the Nikon D3s and Nikon D200. It was while I was on a Wedding shoot in February that my Nikon D200 developed a fault. This in itself wasn’t a major problem at the time as I had the D3s, but I couldn’t afford to be shooting with only one body on any subsequent assignments, so a new camera was needed. I looked at the D800E and was very tempted, but after working with the ‘big’ Nikons and becoming familiar with their rugged construction and lightning reflexes, I was becoming more interested in the D4. Many people on forums were saying that if you already owned a D3s, a D4 wasn’t really worth the upgrade, but others were talking about the many small improvements that added up to make the new Nikon that little bit special. I also thought the files produced by the D800/E would possibly be just that little bit too big and I didn’t fancy buying a new computer just yet. I now shoot with the D4 and D3s on most shoots and these are my findings:

Nikon D4 rear view

Ergonomics. The D4 has a slightly more rounded shape and is arguably more aesthetically pleasing. The designers changed the shutter button/s position slightly on the D4, saying they would be easier to press and cause less fatigue on the trigger finger than previous models, especially on long shoots. But switching between the two cameras quickly hasn’t resulted in any discernible  difference on my part. The grip has changed slightly, and two little joysticks can now be found on the back of the D4, but again, switching between the two cameras hasn’t caused any problems and I don’t prefer one to the other. The new Nikon is slightly lighter than the D3s, but when attached to a lens like the Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8, you really wouldn’t notice. Having buttons that light up on the back of the camera is a really neat touch. In particularly, I recall a wedding last April where I was shooting late in to the evening. I had to manoeuvre the D3s under any light source I could find to see what I was doing. I know my way around the back of these cameras pretty well but having buttons that illuminated at the flick of a switch would have made the job so much easier.

Top: Buttons illuminated. Left: One of the two joysticks on the back of the D4. Right: New AF/M switch 



  

Picture Quality. The sensor is now 16 Mega Pixels (MP) on the D4 as opposed to 12MP on the D3s. As I have mentioned in previous posts, having more MP doesn’t necessarily make the camera better. I think Nikon have been wise here, as the MP count hasn’t increased by a great deal and they seem to have concentrated instead on quality, not quantity. The images are very sharp straight out the camera and they have a 3D quality to them. Viewed at 100% on a monitor, they look absolutely stunning. The auto white balance is spot on, and I haven’t noticed the green tint issue that some users have mentioned on the LCD screen; perhaps this was a problem on early production units or was addressed in firmware updates.

ISO and Dynamic Range. These two points in my opinion are probably the most important when comparing the cameras. Early suggestions put the D4 sensor as a stop better than the D3s in the high ISO stakes. DXO mark (www.dxomark.com) shows that the D3s has the slight edge. The latest forum searches and expert analysis show the two cameras to be performing very similarly. So, what’s my opinion? Looking closely at the images from both cameras at the same high ISO values, I would say that there is nothing between the two, both cameras exhibiting similar amounts of luminous noise from ISO 3200. However, I do feel the D4 retains slightly more detail at ISO 6400 and above, and it’s certainly able to capture more dynamic range than the D3s at these high settings. That’s one of the D4’s major selling points in my opinion, it really comes in to it’s own in low light situations where a scene contains large dimly lit areas punctuated by small pockets of bright light. It can capture detail throughout the image without introducing any colour or luminous noise. The dynamic range when shooting at low ISO values is equally impressive. It’s able to pull out so much detail from the shadowy areas of an image while holding on to the highlights, something that most other cameras just couldn’t do. It’s in another league in this regard to the D3s, but even the D4 lags behind the D800/E in this department, who’s dynamic range is nothing short of stellar and is class leading.       

Focus. The Auto Focus/Manual (AF/M) switch on the side of the D4 is greatly improved over the D3s. It allows for quicker selection between the two settings and offers far easier access to AF/Continuous and auto focus points. When selected, continuous auto focus is simply astonishing on the D4; it seems noticeably more sensitive than the D3s. My next blog post will delve into this in more detail. Auto ISO is also far easier to set on the D4. Even when selecting a custom function button on the D3s to handle this operation, the new Nikon is just slicker.

Storage. The Nikon D4 contains two memory card slots, one for the Compact Flash format and another for the new XQD system. I have yet to try the new format but have read that it is an excellent, fast storage system that should be adopted by more cameras in the future. The buffer on the D4 is much bigger than on the D3s and the write speeds to the card are much faster, resulting in a camera that has the ability to record 14 bit Raw files at 10 frames per second for 10 seconds, enough to cover the men’s Olympic 100m sprint final from start to finish. 

Summary

There are so many little things that add up to make the Nikon D4 such a remarkable bit of kit. So, Is it worth the upgrade? The Nikon D3s is an amazing camera and will continue to deliver stunning results for many years to come, it’s high ISO performance remains class leading, (rivalling the D4) but if you can afford the Nikon D4, and want the very best camera money can buy, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Ergonomics. Feels good in the hand and the controls are well laid out. Not much difference in feel to the Nikon D3s but the little touches like redesigned auto focus and ISO switches make a big difference in reality.

Performance. Exceptional image quality, dynamic range, responsiveness and clean high ISO results make this the camera of choice for Wildlife, Sports and Photojournalistic photographers, along with Canon’s 1DX. Its continuous auto focus capability is simply extraordinary as too is its proficiency at writing large quantities of data to a storage card without slowing down, especially when coupled with the XQD format.  

Value. Expensive, but built like a tank and with a shutter rating of 400,000 actuations, this camera should last a very long time.


Thank you very much for spending the time to look at my blog. I'm passionate about all things camera related and would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to look at some of the ads on my page. They're related to the stuff I blog about and you may find some great deals. I use a number of companies which advertise on my site when purchasing gear, and find them all to be fantastic, reliable with quick delivery.

Big Moon...?

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8. ISO 400, 1.6sec @ F8. Tripod and timer.

There had been much talk about the big moon that all parts of the U.K. would be fortunate to see in late June. 'Super moon', 'biggest moon for over a year', 'not another one like it until August 2014' people were saying. Well, let's not forget where we live. The British Isles. Whenever you want to do something outside in this Country, a walk in the park, a picnic in the country maybe, a visit to the zoo perhaps, the U.K.'s weather will always try its best to ruin it for you. Hence the final outcome to the picture above. I was stood in the field, camera on tripod, composition carefully arranged, Google sky app displayed on my phone. I knew where the moon was rising exactly, to the leaf. But no. The cloud rolled in. I'm sure the moon did rise, just like it normally does, but unless you were 10000 feet up, you just weren't going to be lucky enough to see it. I stood there, in the middle of the field for about 30 minutes, and I have to admit that it was a lovely place to be, moon or no moon. The problem was that with such an uninspiring sky and me stood in the middle of said field, I was probably starting to look a tad suspicious. Cue the farmer turning up and asking if I was having a nice evening. I replied that apart from being eaten alive, I'd been having a somewhat enjoyable time, and if he was wondering why I was stood in the middle of a field, possibly his field, as it was getting dark, it was because I was trying to photograph the big moon. He seemed happy with my story, wished me luck and said his goodbyes. As he strolled off, he turned to me and said, 'should have been here Saturday night, the moon was an absolute corker'..... Bugger.

Building a portfolio

I started my business with Julian Clune in the summer of 2011 and we had the same problem many people face when starting a new Wedding and Portrait website. We needed images. I had already photographed at my girlfriend's mum's wedding and some of the finished images made our portfolio, but we needed more. We needed images from different venues featuring different people. This was proving tricky as no one knew us, and our website was somewhat lacking because of this, the proverbial vicious circle. We decided to enrol on a 2 day wedding photography course in Norfolk, where we were taught how to pose the bride and groom and understand the mechanics of the day, from bridal preparation, detail shots and formal portraits of the loving couple. We both learnt a great deal from the two day course, became more confident at directing the models, and really started to understand when and how to use flash, not to mention how amazing and powerful reflectors can be. I believe that in the majority of cases, it is the bride who will pick the photographer that she wants to capture her big day, so images of brides on the website are of vital importance. We concentrated a great deal of our time in capturing beautiful images of the model in a gorgeous wedding dress, utilising the beautiful architecture and gardens of Norwich Cathedral. These were amongst the first images that graced our homepage of C&G Photography's website and undoubtedly drove traffic to our site which in turn has allowed the business to flourish and grow.

Nikon D90 with Sigma 50mm F1.4. ISO 200,  F1.4 @ 1/400, -0.7 E.V

The image above was underexposed by 0.7 E.v to control the highlights on the dress, which was very reflective and tried to blow out at every given opportunity.

Nikon D300 with Sigma 24-70mm F2.8. ISO 1000,  F2.8 @ 1/40, -0.3 E.V 

This classic image by Julian Clune was quite a tricky exposure to nail. Exposing for the model's skin tones blew the background and resulted in a dreamy, ethereal capture.

Where the Fairies live

A place I'm very fond of and a place close to my heart. I've spent many an hour wandering along it's serpentine paths, not knowing who or what I may bump in to next. Someone walking their dog, an adder basking at the side of the trail, or a fox cub playing in the dappled sunlight with not a care in the World. This is Roughton Moor wood on the outskirts of Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. It's small, little more than 13 acres, but full of life, from the tiniest insect to large mammals like Muntjac deer. I've been the reserve manager of this site for many years, and it's my job to make sure the paths are clear and there are no hazards for people to encounter whilst visiting. The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust who own this wood ask me to record certain flora and fauna numbers each year and to report back with my findings. It's heartening to know that less common fauna like Slow worm and Adder aren't just surviving, but seem to be increasing in number.

The wood takes on an otherworldly feel during the short Winter months, as the deciduous trees shed their leaves and the mist hangs heavy amongst the skeletal branches. It's during this time of year that my mind races as I imagine what else may be hiding away amongst the thick brambles and many cold deep dykes that criss cross through the wood. I just wonder.....

Nikon D3s with Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8. ISO 200, F13 @ 1/25sec. Tripod and cable release.

A room with a view

For a couple of years I was lucky enough to live in a small house at the bottom of steep hill, Lincoln, with my girlfriend Emma. This was the view that greeted me every time I stepped out from the front door, and something that just needed to be captured on camera. In 2012 Steep Hill was crowned Britain's best street, an award that acknowledged the rich history, beautiful scenery, and quirky little independent shops that can be found scattered along the entire length of this gravity defying hill. I say gravity defying for a very good reason as at it's steepest, it's a lung busting 27% and it takes a stiff set of legs to traverse it's cobbled face. During the day many tourists can be seen ambling around, sampling the fine, varied cuisine and ales on offer. At night stag and hen parties roll down the hill in search of the next drinking establishment, decked out in flamboyant costumes and impossibly high heels. It's a very busy, often loud, area of Lincoln. For this reason it can be quite difficult to capture an image of the street without anyone being in it. Sunday evenings and filthy weather provide the best opportunity, and when the weather is bad and the clouds low, dramatic lighting can occur. This photograph has sold as a framed fine art print and been used on the Lincoln tourist board's website. I just love the bright orange glow and the way the lights cause dark shadows to form from the tips of the spires that penetrate deep into the night sky.

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8. ISO 100, F11 @ 5sec. Tripod and self timer.

Macro Photography

One of my favourite avenues of photography is close up and macro. For many years I had marvelled at amazing images of butterflies, insects and flowers published in wildlife magazines and nature books, and thought I would have a go myself. At first I used a Sigma 70-300mm lens which was okay, but lacked true 1:1 magnification capability. Over the next year or so I tried several different macro lenses before settling on the Nikkor 105mm F2.8. This is an amazing lens. Fast, sharp, with the added bonus of a vibration reduction function just in case a tripod is out of the question. I started practising the art of macro photography and studied the books of Robert Thompson, www.robertthompsonphotography.com , and used his images as a benchmark for my own. It took many months before I felt my images were of a high enough quality to enter competitions. I have had the most success with indoor flower photography where I have set up small studios and used reflectors or flash to add supplementary light. There are two very important lessons I have learned that particularly apply to macro photography. The first is making sure a small enough aperture is selected as depth of field is almost non existent when shooting so close to the subject. The second, and one which is often overlooked by many photographers, is making sure the camera is on the same focal plane as the subject. Failure to do this can easily result in parts of the image becoming soft or out of focus, something that is crucial to avoid when shooting subjects for identification purposes. I try to use a tripod where possible, only switching to a monopod where necessary, ( this is where vibration reduction becomes so handy ) and I will always try to use a cable release or failing that, the camera's self timer.



Blue Thistle. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro. ISO 100, F5.6 @ 1/2sec, -1.7 E.V. with off camera flash. Tripod and cable release. 



Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro. ISO 200, F7.1 @ 1/250sec. Tripod and cable release. 



Marsh Fritillary - Euphydryas aurinia. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro ISO 200, F9 @ 1/20sec. Tripod and cable release.

Off camera flash test shoot

Most of my Portrait and Wedding work utilises natural light with the aid of reflectors. Sometimes however, it's necessary to introduce a splash of flash to the scene which can add a touch of sparkle and a third dimension to the image, especially when the ambient light is flat and dull. I use Nikon speedlights for this purpose and C&G Photography have SB700 and SB900 units. When fired off camera, these are triggered by a Pixel King transmitter and receiver set which allow shutter speeds of 1/8000 sec to be used. This can be very handy when shooting in bright conditions with fast lenses, as you're not forced to select a smaller aperture to control the shutter speed which can be the case with some other transceiver sets. Most of the time I like to shoot wide open or stopped down no further than F4. Having a high speed sync facility on the Pixel Kings allows me to shoot with large apertures and high shutter speeds and a great deal of creative fun can be had as a result. The image below was from a test shoot a couple of weeks ago. The setup and technique was fairly simple and I have included a diagram to illustrate where the flashes were positioned in relation to the model Emma. The first thing I did was to take an image of Emma without the speedlights in place and work out the pose I wanted her to adopt, and the exposure of the ambient light I wanted to record. I decided that underexposing the image by -1.3 E.V. would result in a darker, moodier image with a brooding sky, and once the flashes were introduced, result in Emma really standing out from the background, a real pop effect. Once happy with the pose and ambient light settings, the key light was placed to the right of the model, approximately 6 feet away. The light source was the SB900 with softbox fitted to a light stand. I tested different power settings to achieve a nice bright even light across Emma's face and clothes, and i found that 1/4 power worked best. The fill light was then added to the left of Emma, this time a SB700 with softbox, attached to a Manfrotto tripod approximately 8 feet away. This was used to fill shadows and even the light from the SB900, and a setting of 1/8th power seemed to work well. I was shooting with the Nikon D4 and 70-200mm F2.8 at F4, 1/2000th of a sec, ISO 200 to achieve the desired exposure for the background.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I don't use off camera flash a great deal and I have a lot to learn. But I'm very happy with my first results, and having the knowledge and ability to use flash when the light is flat, or when you just want to be a bit more creative, can allow for some amazing results and really take your photography to a whole new level.

Simple diagram of the setup.

Nikon SB700 to left of model, 1/8th power through softbox.

Nikon SB900 to right of model, 1/4 power through softbox.

If you want to learn more about strobist setups then check out www.ricknunn.com .You will find a lot of excellent information there.

Brayford Buoy

It's good practice to carry a camera with you at all times, whether your phone, a compact, or a DSLR. A pretty uninspiring early November day with no real opportunity for street candid photography ended on a high with this simple capture at Brayford Pool in Lincoln. The water was very bright, caused by the reflection of the low sun, so an E.V. of +1.7 was applied to compensate for the camera underexposing the image and to reveal detail in the little yellow buoy.

Nikon D3s with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 @ F4, 1/2000sec, I.S.O. 200 , +1.7 E.V.

Nocton Hall

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8



Nocton Hall is an old abandoned manor house not far from Lincoln. Not much remains of the building after a couple of arson attacks several years ago, but deep down in the basement remains this old room which receives very little light. Catch it at just the right time and you can capture the light streaming in through the window hitting this old stone fireplace that is still standing proud in the middle of the room. There is so much fine detail in this image which the D4 has managed to capture that reducing the size to fit the blog page slightly softens it. This Nikon can capture great detail in the shadow areas whilst controlling the highlights and the dynamic range really is superb.

Nikon D4 loose door issue

I've been shooting with the Nikon D4 for three months now, and use it alongside my D3s on Wedding shoots. I will write a comparison article on these two cameras soon, but for now I want to talk about the loose XQD/compact flash card issue a number of people have been reporting on forums and social media sites. The first thing you notice when picking up one of the big Nikon or Canon pro bodies is just how well built and bullet proof they are. They're built like miniature tanks and can take a great deal of abuse. The D4 is no exception in this regard, apart from what appears to be a slightly loose card door. It isn't enough to concern yourself with at first, as the weatherproof seals aren't affected, but it is slightly disconcerting that the door moves a tiny bit under the right thumb when holding the camera, especially with a longer, heavy lens attached. It doesn't help either that the more you become aware of the issue, the more it annoys you, especially on a £4500 pro body. Many people have commented online about the loose door, and how Nikon seem to be ignoring the problem. The D3s has no such issue, nor does my older D200, so it must be a slight design flaw unique to the D4. Nikon claim that there will always be slight movement around the door area of a camera, and sure, I would agree with that. After all, It's a hinged mechanism and is meant to open and shut regularly, so Nikon don't believe there is any difference with the D4's design compared to other models. In my opinion though, there is, and one that needs a fix, especially when you're photographing a fifteen hour Wedding shoot. I require equipment that inspires confidence, and this door just didn't do that. Realising that Nikon probably wouldn't look at the camera under warranty, I decided to do something about it myself... and what a simple fix it was. I realised that the door itself just needed to shut against some sort of foam and compress on to the CF card, the compression between the two would stop the door from moving. Being foam, the pressure wasn't great enough to cause any damage to either the compact flash card or door and it's worked an absolute treat.


Foam pad sticks to the inside of the XQD/CF card door and ensures a snug fit.

Sticky pads should be available from all good hobby stores. This little lot cost £1.49, and should last a while.