Photography

The key challenge in viewing and displaying digital photos in color management. Color management is the process by which different digital devices can alter a digital image for display on that device. The CCD in a digital camera converts light into a binary image. This binary image can be RAW (exactly what the senSors see) or compressed into a format like JPEG. Most people output JPEG format from their digital cameras. Not all devices render the binary values in a JPEG as the image as seen through the lens of the digital camera. Different printer papers (glossy, matte, luster, flat) combined with ink produce different variations of color. Color management provides a mapping mechanism between the device and the digital image. On Windows these are called ICC profiles.

I print most of my “keepsake” images using Adobe Photoshop. I use Adobe’s RGB (1998) working space for manipulating my images. Often I have to convert the image’s color space to my “working color space” within Adobe Photoshop. I turn off color management on the printers and use Epson’s ICC profiles for the different papers I’m printing on. I use the “SP2200 Premium Glossy_PK” profile when I’m printing on Epson’s Premium Glossy photo paper. Adobe Photoshop 7.0 has a Print with Preview option that allows me to scale pictures to fit the paper and set the “Print Space” to be the “SP2200 Premium Glossy_PK” profile. When Printing Adobe will map the image from the Adobe RGB 1998 working space to the printer’s ICC profile (“SP2200 Premium Glossy_PK”).

If you have Adobe Photoshop, I recommend downloading the P.I.M. II plug-in from the Epson web site. It automatically installs the Epson 2200 ICC profiles for their most common paper types. The P.I.M. plug-in also supports EXIF image header information. This gives Adobe additional clues as to what image was captured by your digital camera.

Switching to Digital

I consider myself a serious 35mm amateur photographer. Christine and I lugged a whole bunch of Nikon gear to Africa and shot nearly 80 roles of slide film. I had always preferred film or slide photography because I could reproduce my favorite photos, frame them or give them to relatives. My early digital camera didn’t have the color saturation and variations in tone that could be produced with the chemical development process used for film.

A couple of months ago, I purchased the Nikon D100 digital camera. This is an SLR camera that basically is a digital version of Nikon’s F100 camera but with a plastic body instead of metal. The D100 takes amazing pictures and I’m very happy with it’s color reproduction for everyday pictures. I will continue to use my Nikon F100 for portraits, special events, and some travel photography. For everything else, I’m switching to digital. It was just too much of a pain to scan in negatives and slides to display them on my web site. By shooting digital, I can post the photos directly to my web site.

I didn’t feel like I could switch primarily to digital until I could find a reasonably priced photo printer that produced near photo lab quality results. I purchased the Epson 2200 photo printer and I’m completely happy with the results. If I print on Epson premium glossy photo paper and look at the print from a distance (framed photo distance) I cannot tell it from a photo lab print. With the Epson 2200, I’m able to make enlargements and copies of my digital photos for framing and for giving to relatives. Each print costs more than a photo lab equivalent but I find that I print only the photos that I want to give away. Most of my digital photos end up hosted on my web site. My web site is now the primary tool for me to communicate and share photos with family and friends.

Epson 2200

The best feature about the Epson 2200 is the roll paper and cutter option. Using the Windows XP printer wizard (I had to configure everything first), Christine can select a digital image from a file share and print a 4×5 photo using the wizard. A roll of 4″ paper is feed through the printer and the printer automatically cuts the photo to size.

The inks and color matching software in the Epson 2200 are much improved. From B&H Photo: “By using Epson’s seven-color UltraChrome inks, the Stylus Photo 2200 is able to print images at fast speeds with a larger color gamut than the previous generation. These unique pigment-based archival inks reproduce the color range, density and saturation of dye-based inks more than ever before, making this printer the best in its class with its photo and color quality, and superior fade-resistance.” When using Epson paper, prints are expected to last 80 years or more.

I’m a happy digital photographer.

Nikon Cameras

In response to Rich’s blog on which camera to buy. I own both the Nikon N90 and F100. The N80 is newer so I don’t know exactly how it compares to the F100. Christine and I took both the N90 and F100 to Africa. The F100 took better pictures hands down. It performed faster and better than the N90 in awkward lighting and focusing situations. It’s a bit heavier than the N90 (metal vs plastic body) but definitely worth the extra weight.

I own both the SB-28 and SB-80DX flashes. I had to buy the SB-80DX flash to work with my Nikon D100 digital camer which I love. I can reuse all of my 35mm lens and accessories with my D100.

Advice on buying a 35mm camera:

• Invest the most money in quality lens. The quality of the lens is your best investment as it determines the clarity, distortion, and amount of light your camera has to work with. All of the features of your camera body are designed to adjust focus and determine the right exposure (amount of light ) for your picture. You can do these tasks manually with some experience but you cannot compensate for a poor quality lens.
• Flashes are cheap. Buy a good flash. I like the SB-80DX myself. The flashes that come with the camera work only OK for “fill-in” flash situations. Often the best lighting is achieved by bouncing the flash off of the ceiling. The D100 has a built-in flash that I use for snapshots but when I want to take the “only happens once” pictures, I use the SB-80DX.
• Film matters. In most cases, the slower the film speed, the less grain you will see in the prints which results in better pictures. Most professional films are better than their consumer cousins. You first must decide whether you want to shoot slides or pictures. In general slides have better color saturation but the photo lab cannot correct over or under exposed slides. Prints are better for passing out to friends and family and negative film is much more forgiving of over/under exposed images. I invest in professional film because it makes a noticeable difference in the quality of the images. I shoot Fuji Velvia 64 and Kodak E200 for slides. I shoot Kodak Porta for print. Porta comes in two flavors: natural and vivid color. Natural is better for portraits of fair-skinned people. I use mostly Kodak Porta 100 and 400 vivid color. I use 100 for outdoors and 400 for indoors.
• Buy a quality clear or UV filter for all of your lens. You often clean your lens and it’s much cheaper to buy a new filter than a new lens when scratched. Remember, that expensive lens is worthy unless you also buy a quality filter. Also buy a blower bulb.
• Replace your camera strap with a neoprene strap. It distributes the weight better and makes carrying the camera more comfortable. I own an optech pro strap.
• Buy a plastic mini-tripod with a Velcro strap. They’re a little taller than my hand and are great for taking timer portraits. They easily fit into a camera bag. I own an Ultrapod II and use it all of the time.
• Buy your photo gear from B&H Photo. They tell you explicitly when you’re buying import vs usa components. Most advertised “cheap” prices are for “gray” or import versions of Nikon products that don’t have the USA warranty. B&H Photo has the best prices for the quality of products and service they offer. Glazers is the best local camera shop.
• Choose your camera vendor wisely. In a amateur/pro camera category, the market leaders are Canon and Nikon. You need to essentially commit to one product line unless you want to repurchase your lens and accessories. The grass always looks greener on the other side. My only regret with Nikon is that Canon has a wider selection of image stabilization lens.

Rich, good luck on your camera purchase. Let me know if I can help in any way.

On a recent trip to Portland, I purchased a Nikon D100 digital SLR camera from CameraWorld. Over the holidays, Christine had dropped and broken my Nikon 990 so I got permission to purchase a replacement high end digital camera. I bought Christine a Canon Elph 230 for Christine so she could carry around a digital camera in her purse. The Elph takes great pictures given it’s form factor, about wallet size. I was looking for something that had better optics and results at the expense of portability.

I researched the high end offerings from both Canon and Nikon. Our digital video camera is Canon but all of my film SLR gear is Nikon. For Nikon it came down to form factor versus the ability to reuse my Nikon lens and accessories. The form factor choice (small without sacrificing optics or results) was the Nikon CoolPix 5700. It was small enough to fit in my North Face jacket pocket (barely) and offered excellent optics and result. The flexibility choice was the Nikon D100. The D100 is a digital SLR camera that takes all of my Nikon lens and accessories (I did have to upgrade my flash to a SB-80DX). After much angst and a call to my camera buddy Raman, I decided to go with the Nikon D100. I’m very pleased with the decision and it produces excellent digital photos.

Now that I’m producing high quality digital images, I need a high quality photo printer. My next purchase is the Epson 2200 Photo Printer. This is latest and best consumer photo printer from Epson.