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.