
I’m pleased to offer my recent Nikon birding class as a Quicktime movie presentation with printable PDF Notes.
I’m pleased to offer my recent Nikon birding class as a Quicktime movie presentation with printable PDF Notes.
Nikon has released updated firmware version C 2.10 for the Z6 and Z7 mirrorless digital cameras. In addition to bug fixes, this firmware update also adds support for the two new DX format Z-mount lenses, the 16-50mm and 50-250mm zooms released with the Nikon Z50 mirrorless camera.
Updating the firmware on a Nikon Z mirrorless camera is fairly straightforward. To do so, you’ll need:
After downloading the firmware update, copy the binary (.bin) file to the ROOT (main) directory of the XQD card. Put the card in your camera and navigate to the Firmware Version option in the Z6 or Z7’s SETUP (wrench icon) menu. Follow the on-screen prompts to update your firmware to the current version (currently 2.10).
I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom (Lightroom Classic) in earnest for about five years now, and my image library contains over 80,000 photos. Every now and then, I like to streamline my catalog to reduce clutter. A great way to do this is by using the “Refine Photos” command in Lightroom Classic:
Photographic filters modify the light coming into your camera, thereby creating effects during image capture. Filters are used to increase contrast, change color balance, and compress the dynamic range of a scene. In traditional film photography,the use of filters was commonplace, as film offered limited color choices and modest dynamic range. If you were shooting slide film (transparencies), what you captured on the film was pretty much what you’d get. Even the masters of black and white photography often used filters to improve contrast in a scene.
Photographic filters can be made of glass or resin, and are attached to the front of your camera lens either by a screw-in (ring) mount, or via a filter holder (square/rectangular filters). No matter what kind of filter you use, when you put a filter in front of your lens, you’re adding another glass/air interface for light to pass through. Low-quality filters can potentially degrade image quality by reducing sharpness, creating unwanted color casts, or introducing reflections or other artifacts into your photos. Your camera lens is designed to precise optical specifications; don’t ruin an image by using a cheap filter!
Filters have long been a major photographic accessory, and one question I’m frequently asked is, “what filter should I buy?” A lot has changed in the last 20 years, and digital cameras are much more forgiving than their film ancestors. When you couple the extreme dynamic range of modern digital cameras with the ability to post-process RAW images, a lot of “go-to filters” are no longer needed for most digital photography. Let’s take a quick look at the primary kinds of filters you can get, and whether they should take up space in your bag.
Continue reading The filters you really need for digital photography