At last someone has realised

That in-lens image stabilisation (or Vibration Reduction as Nikon calls it) is useful beyond digital compact cameras too small to hold or telephoto lenses too big to hold. Nikon are introducing a macro (or micro as Nikon calls it) lens for SLRs that has their VRII system to stop shakey-cam blurry pictures. The AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED also has ultra-sonic focusing (or Silent Wave Motor as Nikon calls it) so you don't scare off the bug you are photographing and internal focusing so you don't splat the bug when the front element flies out whilst hunting for focus. As I take a lot of close-up pictures hand held - well the camera still moves on the tripod in portrait orientation - whilst out treking this looks like a better option than the equivalent Sigma lenses. Oh well, something to add to my on-order list of Nikon kit.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, macro, macro-photography, Micro-Nikkor, Nikon, photography, Nikkor, image stabilisation

iPhoto'06 Effects Pallet

I've been trying out iPhoto '06 (part of the iLife suite for Mac OS X 10.4 only) and testing the new matrix of effects available. Certainly the range of what can be done is nothing like Photoshop and the plethora of plug-ins available, however it is possible to combine the effects to vary the final image from the default look. iPhoto '06 effects are in a floating semi-translucent panel of 9 thumbnails of the main image. In the centre of the panel is the original image with: B & W, Sepia, Antique as colour effects; matte, vignette, edge blur for edge effect; and fade colour and boost colour. Selecting, for example Sepia, it is possible to alter the effect with the fade and boost buttons (these do affect the contrast as well) by clicking a few times in either direction. There does seem to be a limit of clicks available, in total, and when the image appears to stop altering then it is best to return to the original image and try again. It appears that it is not possible to mix the colour effects, however the Adjust panel can be used in conjunction with the effects to subtly adjust the toned effect required. I've yet to test printing an image with an applied effect, but as iPhoto does not appear to throw away colour information, as can happen if the wrong options are chosen in Photoshop when creating a B & W image, the outcome should be good. I now have Apple's iPhoto '06 & Aperture and Adobe's LightRoom on my PowerBook so I will be doing some comparisons soon, from a photographer's point of view rather than a computer geek, although some would class me as the latter.

Technorati Tags: Aperture, Apple, B & W, Black and White, digital photography, iPhoto, photography

Happy Valentine's Day?

I can't help thinking that there is a mixed message here. On the other hand, if he is rich, elderly and you are the sole beneficiary of his last Will and Testament then perhaps the marketing campaign is spot on for you! [update] The UK parliament gave everyone in England a healthy Valentine's present. In a free vote, the House of Commons decided to ban smoking in all enclosed public spaces (this is already going to happen in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Technorati Tags: Valentine

The Future of Web Apps Summit

There will be many blogged reviews about this excellent conference organised by Carson Workshops (a big thanks to Ryan and Gillian for bringing to the UK such a great group of speakers and for the smooth organisation), but what interested me was the level and methods of audience participation. A free WiFi Internet connection was provided and Ryan Carson asked the attendees to use a standard tag of futureofwebapps and everyone was off and running. With so many laptops around the conference hall, and at least 50% displaying a glowing Apple logo, connectivity was bound to get slow at time. On opening up my PowerBook, before the event started and the room filled up, and checking out iChat the list of buddies showing up on Bonjour was massive and growing. Group chats were starting up as were IRC chats. This was the kind of thing you'd expect with this sort of audience, but more interesting was a Bonjour shared SubEthaEdit document that popped up for collaborative note taking. Amongst many others I joined and added only one or two notes during the conference (a little difficult for me as I was typing with one hand whilst making an audio recording on my iPod). Many were adding to the notes, including some off-topic stuff and funnies, simultaneously whilst others fixing typos and layout, although at times there was one person typing hard.

In addition to the co-operative document there were others blogging hard such as Robert Sharl (tapping at the keyboard ferociously next to me) and Rachel Clarke, and with all these sources created at the event it is possible to get an excellent feel of the day and the talks. In near real-time it was possible to follow the conference online as some did, even communicating to the bloggers present. I even noticed someone at the conference cutting and pasting from Robert's blog into an e-mail. Obviously this makes a great resource those who attended but didn't take notes. One interesting and useful record of the summit is from Lars Plougmann in the form of mind maps.

I (along with one or two others) was uploading pictures to Flickr on the day, but the mass of posters after the event along with the interest in the images has made the futureofwebapps tag the hotest on Flickr this week.

It almost seems pointless for Carson to add to this mass of media, but they do create really good follow-ups to their conferences and I'm looking forward to the podcasts which will be better recorded than my efforts. If you were one of the unlucky 200 on the waiting list, or just couldn't make it Kensington Town on Feburary 8th, then it's all out there in many forms, it'll just take you longer to view everything than being there!

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Conferences, Design, Flickr, Future, futureofwebapps, Futurilla, Networks, London, Carson, Social Networks, technology, Web

Sometimes it's better to wait for some other shmuck to do the testing

Nikon have finally admitted, via an FAQ, to some banding problems with some cameras in early batches of their new D200 under certain conditions. With so many caveats this may be a bit of a non-problem as few users have found it and as ever the issue is blown out of proportion on the message boards. There were back focus problems with some early D70 models and these problems were ironed out quickly as well. It sometimes feels like respected hardware companies are beta testing products on the paying public, but there is always going to be glitches when a product goes into full production. Nikon will get off lightly compared to the media furore surrounding the "scratching" issues with the iPod nano. And the morale of the day is - don't get caught up with the nerd frenzy around a new product that is going to seriously dent your bank balance. I'm still waiting for my D200 and happy to do so!