Nikon D7100

I recently received my Nikon D7100 DSLR with its kit lens, an AF-S Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6. Right out of the box, I noticed that the lens did not come with a lens hood (Nikon NIHB32, $11.95 at B&H). In comparison, my D600 kit lens came with a lens hood. Bummer.

The 18-140mm lens is said to be sharper than its predecessor the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. It seems like a fine lens, given that its a consumer-type zoom lens. I can't say that it is better or worse.

Overall, I like the camera. The color rendition is very good. With a bit of study, the manual clearly reveals how to set the autofocus to smaller groups than all 51 points, and to a single point. Setting AF to a single, selectable point is necessary for well-focused images.

The Nikon D7000 has been well received, and the D7100 is very similar with some new features:
    - 24MP instead of 16MP
    - 51 focus points instead of 39

Two myths I've heard about the camera:

Myth #1: The D7100 has a GPS unit. GPS=Global Positioning System. The D7100 does not have a GPS unit, although you can buy one separately and plug it into camera's accessory terminal. The software supports the device and adds GPS data to your image's metadata. Not interesting to me.

Myth #2: The D7100 can wirelessly download its images to another device.  The standard D7100 does not include the Wireless Mobile Adapter, but it can be purchased separately and connected to the camera's accessory terminal. I see this as the wave of the future.

Since I've owned several Nikon digital cameras (D40, D50, D200, D600) the controls were mostly familiar. Two things caused me minor problems, however.

1. An entry in the copious menu system allows you to choose Auto ISO. This is NOT a good idea, since it applies to Manual mode as well as the programmed modes. Under the menu entry ISO Sensitivity Settings, you can turn this off. It still turns on when shooting in Automatic mode, as it should, but goes back to manual ISO in Manual mode.

2. By pushing the ISO button repeatedly while the screen is showing an image, my image playback screen switches to a calendar with a very tiny version of the last photo taken. I mean VERY tiny, such that perhaps 100 tiny images would fit on the back LCD! This is called thumbnail playback, and in my opinion it is worthless. Nevertheless, pushing the OK button on the multi-selector returns it to normal. Whew! Why anyone would want their DSLR to show them a calendar is beyond me, but the manual says it allows you to review or delete photos taken on a specific date. Odd.

Most annoying is the fact that the ISO setting is not shown in the viewfinder display. It is shown on the LCD screen on top of the camera, but without LCD backlighting it is impossible to view in a low-light situation. Hey, Nikon engineers: heads up!

Overall, I like the Nikon D7100 camera and highly recommend it. 

Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Wheeler Photography

f/8.0, 1/3200, ISO 25600

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Photography in a Night Club

The photograph below is one of about 600 that I took in a local club last weekend. It was my first attempt at photographing a band in a low-light situation. Aside from the expected problems like maneuvering through the crowd and overpaying for refreshments, I learned a lot.

My first impulse was: high ISO. I cranked it up to maximum: 2 EV over 6400. Bad idea. Consider the photo below. 1/400 second shutter speed is great, but the noise from the high ISO is such that a quality, large print would be almost impossible. Maybe an 8 x 10 print would look good.

The Nikon D7100, which is a great camera, does not show the ISO in the viewfinder. The LCD window on top of the camera shows the ISO, but it is not backlit and thus is invisible in low light. So I had to walk over to a lighted area each time I wanted to change the ISO. That sucked.

After I took over 300 photos, I realized that the high ISO was a big problem. How? By previewing the images already captured. I would typically take a dozen or so photos, then sit down for a bit.

I finally set the camera to ISO 6400. Still noisy, but not as bad as before. I also opened the aperture to maximum. That lets in more light, but also produces a very narrow depth of field. That means if you accidentally focus on a microphone stand instead of the singer, the photo is no good.

Next time, in the ideal world, I would want to use a faster zoom lens and lower ISO. Still, I am pleased with the results and encourage everyone to try it, with permission of the band, of course.

Happy Holidays!

f/5.6, 1/400 second, ISO 2EV over 6400

http://pnwheeler.smugmug.com/Galleries/Dark-Matter

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Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Using a Light Meter

Your DSLR camera has a built-in reflected light meter. On most DSLRs, you can choose one of several modes, such as center-weighted, spot metering, etc. Spot metering usually gives you the most control. A camera can only measure reflected light. Incident light cannot be measured by any camera.

An incident light meter reads the light that reaches the subject. You can either hold the meter near the subject, pointing it at the camera, or in the case of outdoors photography in daylight you can take an equivalent reading without physically going to the subject -- very handy when photographing far-off subjects! If your subject is a barn in full sunlight, for example, simply hold your meter in direct sunlight between the barn and the camera, pointing the meter at the camera. Your meter reading sill be the same as it would be if you were standing by the barn.

You need to purchase a light meter that is separate from your camera to accomplish incident light measurement. A good light meter will perform reflected, incident and flash metering. Some also include a radio remote control that can be used to trigger flash/strobe units with compatible controls. The best meters will have a small telescope-like viewer that you can use to read reflected light at specific points in the scene.

In the studio, when photographing still life I place my meter on the surface by the subject, facing the camera. Then I trigger the flash/strobes and the meter takes a reading (see your exposure meter manual on how to do this). I then change the meter dials to alter the f stop to my liking, and the meter will calculate the necessary exposure. More information can be found in my Measures of Exposure article. Once you know the exposure settings, set the camera accordingly (in manual mode) and take the shot!

Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Wheeler Photography

f/11, 1/125 sec., ISO 800, 10mm

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Nikon's 10-24mm Wide Angle Lens

I recently purchased Nikon's Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Lens. I considered several other wide angle lenses and ultimately choose this one as a trade-off between price and the Nikon name.

My Nikon D7100 came with an 18-140mm lens. When I still had my Nikon D200, I also had a Nikkor 12-24mm wide angle lens, and I like having the wide angle capability. Unfortunately, both the D200 and lenses were stolen, and thus a new wide angle lens was needed.

It is worth noting that a wide angle lens is essentially a specialty lens. It is good for photographing landscapes, interiors, and architecture. It tends to emphasize the size of objects, making closer objects seem larger and far off objects seem rather small. A wide angle lens can often focus much closer to the subject than a typical medium zoom lens. If you need it, it's a must-have. But it is not what most people would normally want to keep on their camera body for everyday shooting.

In the following example, the photographs have not been corrected for lens aberration or perspective. Both are as-shot, straight from the camera's RAW images, to demonstrate the wide angle lens.

The photo below shows a Buddhist Temple. Note how close the flagpoles are to the steps. I really did not want the flagpoles in my photograph. So...

Out came the wide angle lens. The photograph below was taken with the camera on a tripod, positioned between the flagpoles and the Temple. Presto, no flagpoles! This was a perfect situation for a wide angle lens. (You can order a print here or here.)

Here are the wide angle lenses I considered and some notes on each.

Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED DX. This is one of the oldest DX-specific lens designs. As you may recall, DX refers to the cropped sensor, or APC sensor. FX refers to a full-frame sensor as large as a frame of 35mm film. The 12-24mm is a fine lens, and the price is about $1,100.

Nikkor AF-S 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED DX. This is a newer design priced at about $800. One reviewer said that the extra 2 mm at the short end can make a big difference in your field of view as compared with the 12-24mm lens.

Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8 G ED N. This is an FX lens, although it can be used on a DX camera. It has received great reviews and is highly recommended by many photographers. The price is about $2,000.

Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC. It has received mixed reviews, with some buyers enthusiastic about it. When it was introduced, Nikon did not yet have their 10-24mm lens on the market. MRSP is $740. 

Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX. At only $550, its the least expensive option. It has received many good reviews by verified purchasers.

Ultimately I selected the Nikkor 10-24mm. It has the Nikon brand, which should help resale value should I decide to sell it someday. And it is not too much more expensive than the Tokina and just over the price of the Sigma.

So far I've taken a few dozen test photographs, and I am pleased with the results. The extra 2mm on the low end is noticeable. It would have been very handy when I was photographing the interior of Swannanoa.

Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Wheeler Photography

DxO Optics Pro 9

DxO Labs has released version 9 of their DxO Optics Pro software. Version 8 was impressive, and I'm even more impressed by version 9.0.1. The package now supports about 15,400 camera and lens combinations. I recently bought a Nikon D7100 with the 18-140mm lens. DxO Optics immediately downloaded and installed the correct camera/lens combination based on the metadata captured in the RAW images.

There are two screens in DxO Optics that you switch between. The first is called Organize, and this is where you browse through your folders to find the one containing the images you wish to process. Once you select a folder, the images it contains are loaded into a filmstrip-type display at the bottom of the window. This is similar to the way Lightroom displays images in a folder or collection.

Click on Customize and the list of folders becomes a small version of the image selected along with its metadata. To the right a tools palette appears, from which you can adjust exposure, contrast, color temperature, noise reduction, and much more. Once you are satisfied with the image, click Export to disk as a JPEG, TIFF, DNG file, etc. DNG is a lossless "digital negative" image format.

I've been using DxO Optics Pro 9 on their generous 30-day free trial, and my photographs often scream to be processed with lens correction software such as DxO Optics. Here is an example. This image is from the unprocessed RAW file, originally 6000 x 4000 pixels. You can see a curvature in the marble at the top of the image. Not as obvious is curvature in the ceiling beams. Nikon D7100, ISO 1600, Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 lens set at 18.0 mm and f/4.0, Nikon SB-910 flash on-camera.

The following version was processed with DxO Optics Pro 9 software using the default settings and saved as a DNG. Now the marble at the top is straight as it should be. The size is the same.

I've found that post processing with DxO Optics is sometimes all that I need to prepare an image for other uses. If an image needs more work, I use Photoshop CC to load and process the DNG file from DxO Optics.

I highly recommend that you visit the DxO Labs Web site and download the free trial of DxO Optics Pro 9.0.1.

Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Wheeler Photography

f/22, 5 exposures (tripod mounted), ISO 100, 42mm

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Nikon's CLS: Part 3

CLS=Nikon's Creative Lighting System. Part 3 in a series.

In my last article I conducted Experiment 1: a simple setup using a Nikon D7100, the SU-800 commander and one SB-910 speedlight. Very simple. 

Note: I used a Photogenic TALS 8 light stand (Mfr. 921990, $48.95 at B&H) with the Impact Umbrella Bracket and Adjustable Shoe (Mfr. 9101880, $24.95 at B&H). The bracket screws onto the light stand and it can hold one speedlight and one umbrella. I did not use an umbrella in the experiment.

Experiment 2: This is exactly the same as Experiment 1, except that I have substituted the Yongnuo YN467-II speedlight for the Nikon SB-910. Right out of the box, the YN467-II is set to TTL and the experiment failed. I pushed the Mode button once and it moved from TTL to M. One more push and it was on S1 (blue LED on). That worked, with pre-flashes. I pushed mode again (S2, red LED on), and it emitted a single flash. 

The YN467-II manual says it uses radio signals, but the CLS uses infrared and the YN467-II works with CLS hardware, so that must be an error in the manual. I don't see any reference to channels or groups in the manual. It feels like a sturdy flash. Included is a small table-top stand. No snap-on filters are included. The Nikon SB-910 includes a snap-on diffuser, an incandescent filter, and a fluorescent filter.  

The SU-800 owner's manual is bound together with the manuals for the R1C1, R1 and SB-R200. This is logical since the R1, the SB-R200 and the SU-800 are all a part of the R1C1 macro lighting system. However, there is precious little information included on the SU-800 itself, which I am using here without the rest of the R1C1 system.


The SU-800 can be used in Close-up or in Commander mode. I am interested only in Commander mode at this time. You can only switch between Close-up and Commander by removing the battery cover and flipping a switch. The display is very different in these two modes.

Page 58 of the manual has a cryptic 6-bullet list of items that pertain to Commander mode. The list may be easier to understand as a 3-bullet list with sub-bullets: 

        • Channel Number
                1, 2, 3 or 4
        • Group Name
                A, B or C
        • Mode of Remote Flash Units
                TTL  (Through The Lens metering)
                        Set the flash output compensation value
                AA  (Auto-Aperture flash)
                        Set the flash output compensation value
                M  (Manual)
                        Set the manual flash output level
                --  (flash cancelled)
                RPT  (Repeating)
                        Set the manual flash output level
                        Set the flash frequency
                        Set the number of repeating flashes per frame

Channel Number is easy: set all your flashes and the controller to the same channel. This can help prevent accidental flash triggering if a nearby photographer is also using the Nikon CLS. Simply ask them to use a different channel.

The Nikon remote flash unit(s) have 5 modes. You set the mode on each remote flash unit as part of your setup, and you also set the group name on each individual flash unit. Next time I'll look at the modes and groups in more detail.

Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Wheeler Photography

f/11, 1/8 sec. (tripod mounted), ISO 100, 18mm

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Nikon's CLS: Part 2

CLS=Nikon's Creative Lighting System. Part 2 in a series.

Let's take a look at some of the available CLS-compatible equipment. Recall from my last article that my focus, for now, is on using CLS with the Nikon D7100/D7000 cameras. 

Since the CLS uses infrared (IR) remote control and that is not built into the D7100, a controller must be added. Nikon offers the SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander for about $240. The SU-800 attaches to the hot shoe of the D7100, exactly where you could attach a speedlight. The SU-800 has no flash, it simply emits flash commands via its infrared communications interface.

This was written in October of 2013, and at this time Nikon produces only three speedlights that work with the CLS IR control:

SB-910       Nikon's top-of-the line speedlight, with a price of about $500. It can be attached to the camera's hot shoe or used as a remote flash.

SB-700       Another Nikon speedlight, priced at about $300. It can be attached to the camera's hot shoe or used as a remote flash.

SB-R200    This is the speedlight that is used in a dual configuration on the R1 Speedlight Remote Kit. The "R" in SB-R200 emphasizes remote, since the SB-R200 cannot be attached to the camera's hot shoe. The R1 (or R1C1, same as the R1 but it includes the SU-800 Commander) is typically used in macro photography. I find it strange, however, that amazon.com only lists used SB-R200 units, and both Adorama and B&H have them back ordered. Is Nikon about to discontinue this model?

Several discontinued Nikon flashes work with CLS: SB-900, SB-800, and SB-600. Neither the SB-400 nor the new SB-300 will work with CLS IR control. Likewise the new N1 speedlights won't work with IR control.

Yongnuo offers a number of speedlights: their YN-467 II is compatible with the Nikon CLS. At about $80 on amazon.com, it is a low cost option. It can be attached to the camera's hot shoe or used as a remote flash.

The SB-800 controller has 4 control channels (1 through 4) and three Groups (A, B and C). 

Experiment 1. Equipment: Nikon D7100 camera, SU-800 controller, SB-910 speedlight. The controller is mounted on the camera. The speedlight is mounted on a light stand about 4 feet to the left side of the camera. All three units are powered on. All settings are factory default. With the camera set to Auto, I took the shot. The remote speedlight fired. This tells me that out-of-the-box, the IR control channel and group defaults of the controller and SB-910 are the same, and the basic system works.

Now, the trick is to figure out what happens with non-default settings, and the purpose of the channels and groups.

Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Wheeler Photography

f/14, 1/10 sec. (tripod mounted), ISO 100, 26mm

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