June Update

I will be participating in the NAPP world wide photo walk here in Lakeland, FL on July 18th. My group is going to be led by the editor in chief of Photoshop magazine...pretty cool So far, there are 41 registered photographers-limit is 50. It is a two hour trek around downtown Lakeland followed by lunch and comparison of pics..etc. Wish me luck and I will keep ya bored...I mean, informed.

In other news, contracted then expanded my collection of glass with the selling off of my Sigma 50mm 1.4 and the acquistion (in process) of two Tamron lenses: 90mm Di macro and the 17-35mm 2.8-4 lens. The purpose behind this move is to more closely align my equipment with the photography I am planning going forward.

"Valor" Memorial Bridge

"Valor" Memorial Bridge, originally uploaded by Joe Duquette.

This is one of my favorite pictures from my photo trek around the national memorials. "Valor" is one of several imposing and powerful statutes at and near the Memorial Bridge, entering DC from Maryland.

Flckr Picture Downloads

The size I have posted to Flick produce an image good for use on computer screens and cellular phones. For larger sizes, contact me! I am have put limited rights on the images so you can have for personal usage.

Starting June with a New Platform for Work

After evaluating the time and effort of maintaining my SensorFx website I have decided to take it down and am now in the process of doing that. Choosing Flickr allows my pictures to reach a far greater audience, and, enables better access to them!



In other news, shipping out P90 tomorrow, received my 20D battery charger in mail today, t mount on mirror lens seems to be functioning incorrectly.



Up next, a decision on whether to expand system with another lens. Given my penchant for something other than run of the mill, I am seriously considering Lensbaby or a 15mm lens.



Stay tuned.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Filckr Bound!

Setting up a Flickr account to better share my photographs. This account will replace my website, which I am in the process of taking down.

I will need to determine the optimum size to enable good quality prints of posted images and/or downloads of them.

Questions/Comments?

Thanks and see you there, and here.

Joe

Lakeland, FL

It's eBay for the P90

Follow a few uses and producing some pretty clean images in good lighting, I have placed the P90 on eBay. The good news is that it has already met reserve and there is a day to go, so, I will recover most of my investment. Next up? Deciding what I will do to help SensorFx website have more, and possibly better, content.

Canon 20D 8.2 Megapixel Gets New Life!

My lovely daughter has graciously returned the 20D I gifted her a few years back. It was state of the art (SOTA) or a top end 'prosumer' camera when I purchased it and has had very light usage. When familiarizing myself with it once again I determined it was still in great shape, or 'as new' if you will. I went back to Digital Photography Review and read the review of the camera and ran it through its paces. Now reacquainted, I am going to marry this body to my ProOptic 500mm mirror lens. With the 20D having a cropped sensor there is a multiplication factor of 1.6. This translates to 800mm lens! In short, tripod required to get best images because the 20D doesn't have the image quality of the Mark II at higher ISOs. I most probably will give it a go with an 800 ISO setting on a bright day just to see what I can get handheld. Stay tuned.

One Last Word on Nikon Coolpix P90

The true sweet spot for this super zoom Coolpix is daylight, center-weighted exposures with full auto ISO setting. The auto focus was always on point but did serve its function about 90% of shots. The strength of this iteration is in the video. No, it is not HD, then again, I have 1080 HD on my Mark II and have yet to put that into action. So, for me, the video was cool option and it worked well in various lighting conditions. It recorded 30 minutes alongside about 130 pictures I shot. Played it back on the computer and it ran seamlessly.

Since I abandoned video tape just after VHS C tape format was released, in favor of photography, I am uncertain whether this Coolpix will stay in my hands long.

Pitiful Pixels for P90 and the Pity Party

Okay, this confirms that there is no end to the bad decisions than can be made if you haven't done some level of research. The P90 for me was a no brainer because, after all, it was a Nikon Coolpix, I owned a Coolpix 5700 5 megapixel several years ago, and, generally speaking, Nikon rocks the photography world with its cameras. Now comes the reality; viewed the JPEGs after running the camera at various settings. The results? Nothing short of disappointing. The highlights of the low points: chromatic aberrations, lots of noise, lack of sharpness in many shots.

Sure, maybe the learning curve plays a part here, that is, trying to find the optimum settings to get the most the P90 can offer. But frankly, the disappointment is huge. So much so that I am already thinking of ways to convert the camera to a mediocre lens or other useful accessory for my Canon 5D Mark II. The take away here...there is no going back folks. Once you have moved up the food chain of technology and been wooed by the capabilities of the highest end devices, the journey backward leaves you hungry and dissatisfied.

I close with the assumption that the P90 may well be a dream to use for many point and shoot folks. Lesson learned. Next please!!

Compact Digital P90...early report

While early on in my use of the recently intro'd Nikon Coolpix P90(Feb 09) I am losing optimism that this will work as an adequate walk around camera. My comparison to the user experience with the Canon 5D Mark II has created this disappointment as it is far more intuitive and lightning fast, allowing focusing and shooting that gets the shot you want. By contrast, the P90 is very likely to not get the shot when movement is involved. This level of performance is disappointing. Moreover, the camera seems to struggle with lower light situations...at least when hand held, and that is my preferred slacker style!

As to the quality of the images, no verdict yet as I continue to fill the 4GB card with the highest quality JPEG setting that the P90 offers. As seen from the viewfinder, I am uncertain as to whether the images are tack sharp. Hey, I have missed my fair share of sharp photos with the 5D as well...but we will see when I load'em up this week.

More to come.

SensorFX off and Blogging...

SensorFX Photography Blog...off and clicking!

Welcome to the new home for my photography blogging! Starting things off, if you haven't been there yet, stop in to www.SensorFx.com to check out some of my photography. Comments are always welcome. Now, on with the discourse.

A few months back I stepped up to the Canon 5D Mark II 21.1 megapixel camera and entered the world of the highest level full-frame (35mm equivalent) technology available. Though debate is to the ultimate digicam picture quality is the subject of much debate, rest assured that the Mark II is in the conversation, and for some time to come. I also recently converted a 12mp Canon Rebel xsi to enhance color infrared-to the tune of just over $1,000. After a few months of use of both I am pleased to say the 5D does not disappoint, though it does challenge one's skills. The infrared converted Rebel lost my interest after a few uses and I eBayed it, at a loss. Fast forward to the present.

Nikon Collpix P90

I decided to buy this compact camera as opposed to a mediocre lens for my 5D. The rationale was I could leave it in the car and use for a walk around when my intent was merely to take a few shots of the unexpected, amusing or just to fulfill my insatiable need to be involved in photography. That said, and against a backdrop of using the top flight Canon model, using the p90 is a bit of frustrating in terms of its limiting technology. The upside of this may well be a challenge to get picture that rivals the 5D, and that would be a good thing for advancing my photographic skills. Future posts will chronicle my adventure.