.. will be the one where the camera manufacturers allow me some input into the matter.  If only Nikon and Canon (and Pentax and Fuji and everyone else) would just gather around a table and listen to me.  If only …

When I get to handle a new camera, I often wonder why the manufacturers designed a camera the specific way they did.  It might be the strange placement of a button or control; or the omission of a feature, or even the deliberate hampering of features in the non-pro bodies.  Sometimes I just wish they would bring in a feature that I love on another camera. 

Here are the gear-head musings on what I would insist the Best Camera in the World would be like, if I had any say in it.  (Sorry, but that means this posting will have a lot of words and no images this time around.)

Firstly, the Best Camera in the World would have to be a modern full-frame digital SLR camera (D-SLR)  for the combination of accessibility, versatility and image quality.  

I recently moved from using Canon 1D mkIII bodies to using Nikon D3 bodies.  Personally, I think the Nikon D3 is the best camera that has ever been made to date.   But there are a number of pros and cons, and not everything falls in favour of the Nikon D3.  Therefore most of this post is a comparison between these two cameras, and which things from either camera I would want to see in the Best Camera in the World.

But before we even get there, I have to touch on something - Exposure Modes.  Both these cameras fall down sorely when it comes to how the exposure modes are accessed.  Pentax’s ingenuity here towers over them in this regard.

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One of the frequent topics on the various forums is the Canon vs Nikon debate … and one of the usual replies is that Nikon is better in certain ways, and Canon is better in other ways.  And the common wisdom that Nikon’s flash system is superior to Canon.  And this seems to be accepted as one of those general truths.

Now, having shot primarily Nikon for a few years (D100 / D2H / D2x), and then Canon (mk2 / mk2N / 5D / mk3), and now Nikon again (D3) … I have this observation about Canon’s flash system vs Nikon’s flash system … they are different. 

Disregarding wireless TTL flash, where Nikon is ahead in simplicity of operation and how much control you have – if we just look at TTL flash in various situations – I honestly can’t say the one is better than the other.  Just that they are different.  So I have to go against the common wisdom there.

But they are different in ways that aren’t easy to quantify.  Where I’m used to Canon’s TTL flash responding in a certain way during different situations, the Nikon flash needs different flash exposure compensation.  So it responds differently, and I have to get used to it again.

This is going to be a long post and I’m afraid the point of what I am trying to say might get lost along the way.  So here it is right at the start already:  When it comes to any particular TTL flash system, just become familiar with it.  You can then make it work. 
As simple a point as this … get used to how your particular camera and flash respond, and adjust your technique accordingly.

So, down to business …

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In blending flash with available light, I am often after that delicate balance where the flash is just barely perceptible.  This can be with flash as an equal partner to the available light, or with flash as a subtle fill-flash.

But what I’ve found with my Nikon D3 bodies, when used with the SB-900,  that the fill-flash flash is still too much, even when turned down -3EV on the flash exposure compensation.  I’ve found similar with the various Nikon D300 and Nikon D700 bodies that attendees to my workshops use.  In other words, this isn’t just my cameras – this is repeatable with other cameras too.

Here’s the set-up:

With the model close to a window, and positioning her so that we have the typical window-lit portrait, our light is great. No flash needed.

[ Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S; no flash ]

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Now, the moment our subject looks at the camera, we have strong contrast, with one side of her face being much darker.  If the room was less bright and reflected less light on her, the difference would be more stark.  The image here isn’t too contrasty, so it will still work .. but I would still prefer a touch less contrast and more light on the shadow side.

[ Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S; no flash ]

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I can now control the contrast with flash …

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I recently allowed myself a vanity purchase … the Nikon 200mm f2 AF-S VR lens.

Last year some time, after seeing another photographer’s results with the Canon 200mm f2 IS, I was curious enough to rent one, check it out, and then lust after one. I posted a write-up and some images at the time. What got to me was how insanely sharp the lens was at f2 .. and of course the incredible dream-like bokeh at f2 imparting an impressionistic appearance to the background.

With me reverting to Nikon recently, I picked up a used copy of Nikon 200mm f2 VR instead. But it’s been too cold outside to try this lens out .. until yesterday when there was a slight thaw in the temperatures. Since I really liked the results when I photographed Jackie with the Canon 200mm f2 IS, using only the lights in Times Square … I decided to meet up with a new model in Times Square last night to try out the Nikon 200mm f2 VR.

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The Nikon D3 brought incredible image quality to the usual reliability of their cameras and unbeatable optical quality of their lenses.  The multitude of settings make the D3 a high-precision camera that can be configured in a personal way, depending on shooting style.

When my D3 first arrived, it was with huge excitement that I unpacked it, fired off a few frames just for the thrill of hearing the shutter whir by in continuous high-speed drive … and then proceeded to change the settings to my preferences with Nikon cameras.  So here is an overview of my preferences for the D3, and the settings that I changed immediately upon getting the camera out of the box:

(And here’s the link if you’d like to order the Nikon D3 from B&H.)
Oh, go on, you know you want one!

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The Nikon D700 has the same remarkable image quality that the Nikon D3 has, but in a smaller more affordable camera.  This makes sit an excellent alternative to the top-rated Nikon D3.  And of course the multitude of camera settings and custom settings make the D700 a camera which can be configured in a highly personal way, depending on your shooting style and needs.

Here is an overview of my preferences for the D700, and the settings that I changed immediately upon getting the camera out of the box:

(And here’s the link if you’d like to order the D700 from B&H.)

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[ ** updated: Dec 24, 2008 ]

One of the features of the new Nikon SB-900 speedlight is the thermal cut-out.  This feature allows the speedlight to stop firing (ie, stop working), when there is danger of it over-heating from shooting too fast. The temperature guage can clearly be seen on the right-hand side of the SB-900 LCD display.

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I’ve shown in an earlier posting here what a speedlight can look like when it over-heats and starts cooking.  Here is what my one SB-800 looks like:

I have to stress that this is through no fault of the equipment or the equipment manfucaturer’s design. *I* am using the speedlight outside of the recommendations. Purposely, as explained in the other posting.

With the SB-900 the Nikon engineers cleverly built in a thermal cut-out to stop someone from doing this by accident.  It will let the speedlight cut out when a certain termperature is reached inside the unit.  This is a good thing.  It protects your speedlight from possible damage.  Fortunately, the engineers also allows you to bypass this in case you do need to shoot faster than the speedlight is designed for.  This is easily set via the menu on the speedlight. (One of the many plusses in favour of the SB-900 is the self-apparant menu.)

Some people don’t seem to be aware of this feature, which is strange considering they just spent $400+ on a top-of-the-range speedlight and didn’t bother to flip through the manual or figure out all the controls. 

Others seem to think that this feature is a negative.  They seem to think that this feature implies the SB-900 is prone to over-heating.  Now, without doing destructive testing on my SB-900, I would say that I would be hugely surprised if the SB-900 is more prone to over-heating than any other speedlight, whether it be the SB-800 or any of the Canon speedlights.  Having this feature does NOT make the SB-900 prone to this problem.  It allows you to side-step the over-heating problem.  In other words, it’s not a negative … it’s a positive, because the speedlight now warns you, and if need be, cuts out.

Therefore my take on the thermal cut-out feature of the SB-900 is that it is one of the advantages that the SB-900 has over other speedlights, and even more of an advantage that you can over-ride it.  The best of both worlds.

Now, a few months of using the Nikon SB-900, I still think it is the god of all speedlights.

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**  edited to add: Dec 24, 2008

With a bit more experience now of how the SB-900 thermal protection cuts in, I do believe Nikon over-engingeered this feature, because when the SB-900 goes into thermal protection, it also disables the camera’s PC terminal!

I photographed an event this past weekend, and when the on-camera SB-900 cut out, the PC terminal of the D3 was also disabled .. and this meant that none of my off-camera flashes worked.  The off-camera flashguns would’ve saved me here, but in this instance the SB-900 over-rode the D3.  There really is no reason for this to be designed this way, and is an unfortunate implementation of what really is a good option to have on the speedlight.

Similarly, if the batteries of the SB-900 become depleted, the camera’s PC terminal is once again disabled.  And that’s just silly.

With the SB-900 Speedlight, Nikon’s flagship flashgun, it is clear that they did their homework.  The SB-800 was a great flashgun, but there were certain things about it that were very frustrating, but the Nikon SB-900 gets all of this right.

• A huge improvement is that the SB-900 rotates 180′ to either side!

Right there in this image is the main reason to get the SB-900 … it now rotates 180′ to the right, instead of stopping short at the 90′ mark like the SB-800. This is a huge benefit in bouncing flash with specific effect in mind.

That the SB-800 stopped short at the 90′ mark when you rotated the flash-head to the right, was a huge downside for me in comparing the SB-800 to the Canon 580EX.  (Although there is the compromise of turning your SB-800 into an SB-850 and forcing it to rotate further to the right than just 90′)

But there are more reasons to love the SB-900 …

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One of my major frustrations with the Nikon SB-800 flashgun (other than the clumsy controls to get into the master/slave settings), is that it doesn’t twist 180′ in either direction like the Canon 580EX speedlites do.  The SB-800 rotates 180′ to the left, but only 90′ to the right.  This difference is huge!

If for example you wanted to photograph a vertical portrait and bounce the light from your SB-800 over your left shoulder, you wouldn’t be able to. Instead you’d have to accept that the flashgun only rotates 90′ and you’d have to accept the paltry compromise that you’d have to bounce the light from your flashgun upwards into the ceiling from where you are.

Here’s an example of where it is essential to throw the light from the flash in a direction which is limited by the SB-800 ..

On the left, just the ambient light. On the right, light from a Canon 580EXII that was gelled for tungsten with a 1/2 CTS filter. In getting the correct angle that I needed the light from the flash to bounce back from, I had to bounce over my left shoulder .. NOT into the ceiling.

As I said, this limitation of the SB-800 has been a real frustration .. until now.

A while back Peter Gregg (of the ‘A Better Bounce Card‘ fame), sent me this You Tube link ..

… to show how he had forced the flashhead of the Nikon SB-800 past the natural stop point.  Yes, he had managed to twist the SB-800 an additional 45′ which is perfect for what I had always wanted from this flashgun.

Well, when Peter told me about this on the phone originally, and later on showed me the clip, I was sceptical. Well, to be honest, I wasn’t so much sceptical as that I just didn’t have the balls to do it. Until now. I tried it …. and well … seriously, as Peter advises, don’t do this!  He can’t, and I certainly can’t take responsibility for this.  But here it is …. my Nikon SB-800 now rotates 135′ to the right.  Just enough for what I have always wanted it to achieve .. it’s now an SB-850.

Now here’s the irony – I finally managed to pull together the guts to do this … on the eve of the release of the Nikon SB-900 which will rotate a cool 180′ to either side. That alone would make the SB-900 an automatic upgrade over the SB-800.

The Nikon D300 (which superceded the highly-regarded D200), offers great image quality and offering many of the same features of the Nikon D3, but at a more affordable price - all of which will make the D300 a camera that many professional photographers will chose as their main camera.  

Many of the custom settings of the D300 are the same as for the D200, but there are a few differences.  (eg, Auto ISO is now set in the Shooting Menu.)

Here are my preferences for the Custom Settings .. and why.

(And here’s the link if you’d like to order the D300 from B&H.)

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