There have been a number of questions posted on the blog this week, and I thought I’d over a few of them here today. Here we go:

  • Q. Why did you use HSC [High Speed Crop] for more reach, rather than cropping later in Lightroom or Photoshop? Is it just the desire to get it right in camera and save time later, or is there more too it than that?
    A. I really like to compose in camera, rather than later in Photoshop or Lightroom, so it is that desire to get it right in the camera. I know—it’s a sickness.
  • Q. Recently you shot the college football game and used a 1.4 teleconverter with your Nikon camera and lens. Could you give more insight into how it worked for you and any drawbacks that there with it? My local camera store strongly discourages using one.
    A. The only downside to the 1.4 teleconverter is that you lose 1-stop of light (so an f/2.8 becomes an f/4). As long as you use a decent teleconverter (I bought a Nikon brand converter), it works just great. As for why your local camera store strongly discouraged it—-I have no idea. Well, I have some idea. ;-)
  • Q. I am surprised you didn’t rent the 200-400mm f/4 or the 500mm f/4 from LensProtogo.com for the big game! NAPP members get a 10% discount on rentals.
    A. I ran out of time. I only found out I was going to shoot the game the day before, so I didn’t have time to get it overnighted. This cost me a bundle, because this week I went ahead and bought the 200-400 f/4 from B&H Photo because I’ve got a NFL shoot coming up next week and figured I should finally go ahead and make the plunge. Ouch!!!! That one hurt. My kid’s won’t get to go to college now, but by golly I’ll have a swell lens. ;-)
  • Q. Nice shots, and as has been mentioned… great hat!
    A. You can buy that classic black Zildjian ballcap direct from Zildjian for $13. Here’s the link.
  • Q. I was wondering… could you recommend a tripod head that lets you switch from horizontal to vertical FAST in a situation like this [shooting sports]?
    A. Actually, most long lenses these days come with a collar which attaches to your monopod, and you can turn one little knob and the whole camera rotates from horizontal to vertical shooting in two seconds. I totally love it.
  • Q. I assume you set up the picture [the framed print shown yesterday] in Photoshop to get the ”gallery” print look?
    A. Yup, I sure did. I just left a lot more Canvas Space below the image, than I did on the top to make room for the text (it’s hard to see the text in the image, but there’s a title set in text, with my name below it, and some info at the very bottom). Also, although they offer a matting option, I didn’t use it; the white area is white canvas space added in Photoshop.
  • Q. Have you had a chance to order any of their “Standouts” yet?
    A. It was one of the first things I ever ordered from MPIX. I saw one in person, and I had to have one (OK, I bought more than one). They’re way cooler in person than they look on the web. Everybody remarks about them.
  • Q. I like the new option of framing by MPIX. Just curious as to what paper and finishing technique did you specify or recommend for showing under glass?
    A. I actually didn’t order anything special. In fact, I don’t like non-glare glass (which they do offer), so I went with regular paper and regular glass. Pretty simple stuff, but it looked just great.
  • Q. By the way, if you’re thinking of a guest blogger for the weeks to come, I think Chase Jarvis can be a very good one. I really love his work.
    A. I totally agree. I’ve been a fan of his work, and his blog, for quite a while. There’s just one problem. I don’t know Chase personally, and I’d feel weird about just dropping him a line and saying, “Hey, why don’t you be my guest blogger?” because there’s a good chance he’s respond with something like, “I’m sorry, who are you?”
  • Q. I haven’t seen you post anything about your Lightroom2 Book on sale at Barnes & Noble yet. I was browsing around in the local store tonight and there it was.
    A. Thanks for reminding me; I just checked Barnes & Noble online and they have it in-stock and ready to ship. Here’s the link.
  • Q. Also, on the lens rental front, you may want to look at:
    http://www.borrowlenses.com/ Their prices are a bit cheaper, and I’ve had great experience with there service.
    A. Thanks man, I’ll give ‘em a try (and hopefully now so will some of my readers).
  • Q. On a [Nikon] D3 or D700, is there any noticeable quality difference between ISO 200 and 800 (or even 1600?).
    A. In most cases, I don’t see any noticeable noise shooting at ISO 800 on a D3 or D700. Even if I see a little noise on screen, when I’m zoomed in close, that noise tends to disappear in the final print. Although you will see a little noise at 1600 ISO, it’s just that—a little noise. Little enough, that I would shoot at 1600 ISO without hesitation.
  • Q. So if you want a fast shutter would you constrain the ISO to be at that level or above? (At what ISO does the D300 start degrading?)
    A. In my opinion, on a D300 you start seeing some noise at ISO 800. It’s not terrible, but I don’t generally like to go above 8oo on my D300, but I will if I have to, but then I’ll usually run some noise reduction software on it. You really can’t compare the low noise of a D3/D700 with a D300. The D3/D700 is head and shoulders above it (when it comes to noise).

That’s it for today gang. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see next week (should be an interesting week, with Adobe’s big announcement and all, eh?).