The Image Doctors #204

Tips for photographing fall colors

This week, there’s a hint of autumn in the air, and the leaves are starting to turn. We’ll offer our tips for photographing fall colors, from composition to our recommended filters.

New release: Nikon 135mm f1/.8 “Plena” portrait lens.

Jason’s final thoughts on the Nikon 180-600mm Z Nikkor lens

The Image Doctors #203

Is it time to upgrade your iPhone?

This week, we saw the announcement of the Nikon Zf, a retro-styled camera similar (but with better features) than the Nikon Z6ii. We’ll also discuss a new lossy image format, HEIF, which can be significantly better than JPEG if your editing tools support it.

This week saw the release of the iPhone 15 series from Apple. As iPhone users, we’ll discuss whether or not upgrading to the latest iPhone makes sense.

The Image Doctors #202

Photography on a Cruise

Cruises are a great way to travel, but we often don’t consider the kinds of photographic opportunities you can get during the adventure. Jason is back from leading a photo tour on an Alaskan cruise, and we’ll talk about the experience and ways to get creative on your next vacation. We’ll also have a special bonus show this week where we’ll share images from the trip.

Salmon attempting the rapids, Ketchikan, AK (© Jason P. Odell)

Honey, I Shrunk My Kit!

Going small with an Olympus Micro 4/3rds System

Grizzly bear, Denali National Park | OM-1 with Olympus 100-400mm lens

Many of you know that I purchased an OM Systems OM-1 body and lenses in April of this year. Now that I’ve had some time with the system, I wanted to share my experience using this camera. I’ve now used my OM System kit for travel, portraits, and wildlife photography, and I’ve been astonished by the results. Many of the concerns I had about this small format sensor are simply not issues when using today’s gear and software.

I recently presented a webinar on my personal experience with the Olympus OM-1 kit, and you can watch the replay below.

Here are some of my recommended kits for OM Systems/Olympus Users

Nikon 180-600mm Tests: Wildlife Images

Backyard wildlife images with the Nikon Z9

I got my hands on a Nikon Z9 to do more testing with the Nikon 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR Z Nikkor lens. With the Z9, autofocus is very fast and accurate (much faster than my old Z6). More importantly, animal eye-detection makes focusing on wildlife a breeze. You can get my wildlife and bird photography settings for the Z9 and Z8 cameras here.

I chose to leave these images un-cropped so you could get an idea of the framing. All of these subjects were within 5-10m from me. I shot all of them at 600mm and wide-open at f/6.3. Click any image to enlarge it.

One thing I will say about this combo, the Z9 and the 180-600mm have a combined weight of over 7lbs (3,300g). If you’re not using a monopod, hand-holding this lens will get tiresome after awhile. With a the Nikon Z8, you’re still dealing with a 6.3lb kit. (I certainly noticed it, although I was also at 9000′ (2743m) elevation…

Check availability of the Nikon 180-600mm Z Nikkor lens here (doing so helps support this site)

Least chipmunk (Tamias minimus) having a snack. 1/2500s f/6.3 ISO 640 (auto) @600mm Nikon Z9
Chickadee waiting its turn for the feeder. 1/2500s f/6.3 ISO 4500 (Auto) @600mm Nikon Z9
Up close with the Least chipmunk (probably about 4m away). 1/2500s f/6.3 ISO 800 (Auto) @600mm Nikon Z9