This is a brand new image made field testing D800E macro flash set up yesterday. The results were very surprising, just take a look at the full frame Calandrinia image above, then look at the same image below, a 100% view actual pixel level crop. I don’t know about you but I have never seen detail like this in my life. Over the next few days I will share more images, tips, field notes, and cover all of the equipment I used to make the images.

What do you think?

Nikon D800E actual pixel crop at 100% view of the Calandrinia image above

Handheld Macro Flash with the Nikon D800E

Over the next 2 weeks I will cover how to set up and fine tune a handheld flash set up with the Nikon D800E. If you enjoy macro and close up photography you should find it interesting as I will be covering how to use a single wireless flash with the new Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS macro lens, my favorite macro lens the Sigma 180mm f/3.5, and the new D800E, without a doubt the most amazing DSLR I have every owned. I think it will be the ultimate handheld macro flash rig.

What you need to know about Apple’s MBA SSDs

The Apple MacBook Air is a seriously good laptop and is almost the perfect back up or travel computer for a photographer. In 2011 Apple finally refreshed their MacBook Air lineup with new SSDs using new form factor Called mSATA SSDs (also known as blade SSDs). Although Apple does offer two choices on the 13 inch MacBook Air, 128 and 256 GB (on the 11 inch you can choose 64 or 128 GB), this is one area where the MBA disappoints.

Apple uses both Toshiba SSDs and Samsung SSDs on the current 2011 MBA. This doesn’t sound like anything to worry and really its not but you should know that the Samsung SSDs are much faster than the Toshiba units and there is no way of knowing which one you get before booting up the machine for the first time. This just takes a second. Go to the Apple menu > About this mac > more info > System Report.. > Serial – ATA.

You can tell what SSD type you have by looking at the model string in a System Report from your machine. The SM prefix indicates a Samsung drive while the TS indicates Toshiba. A Samsung 256 GB drive will show up as – Apple SSD SM256C.

The problem is that the performance difference between the two Apple 3G drives is pretty significant, the Samsung is about 2X or more faster than the Toshiba SSD, see the Anantech’s MBA review -

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4528/the-2011-macbook-air-11-13inch-review

Upgrading the MBA with the 480 GB SSD

The OWC 6G SSDs are about 3x faster than the Apple Samsung factory SSDs. The 480 GB SSD upgrade costs right around $1000. The Apple 256 GB upgrade for the 13 inch MBA is $300 or $2.34 per GB, the OWC upgrade is $2.14 per GB and 3X faster and you get to keep the factory SSD for back up or other tasks. This is a great value for someone like me that needs the additional HDD space.

OWC’s Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD should guarantee a significant boost in speed and with the 480 GB model, almost twice the disk space as Apple’s largest SSD. There are no other SSDs suitable for 2010-2011 MBAs, unless you find an original Apple unit on the used parts market.

Installation notes

Because OS X Lion is preinstalled on the removable Apple factory SSD, you cannot simply remove that drive and replace it with a new SSD. There are two methods to prepare using a new SSD, I used two USB HDDs to back up and restore the OS. Remember to format the new SSD with the disk utility before you restore the OS. For more details -

OWC Mercury Aura OS X Lion installation instructions
http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/format_2011_air/

Installing the OWC SSD

The installation is quick and easy only taking about 15 minutes or so. All the necessary tools for the job such as Torx and Pentalobe drivers are supplied by OWC with the SSD purchase. Make sure you use a proper container or at least a strip of tape sticky side up to hold onto the tiny Pentalobe screws that secure the MBA bottom cover.

OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express installation videos
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_air_2011_ssd/

Important links

Information on OWC MacBook Air SSD upgrades -

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Express

OWC SSD review at Anandtech.com -

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5076/owc-mercury-aura-pro-express-6g-review-a-fast-macbook-air-ssd-upgrade

What it takes to achieve 6 frames per second

The D800 EN-EL15 battery will only allow 4 fps in FX mode and 5 fps in DX mode with or without the MB-D12 battery grip. With the MB-D12 installed the D800 will shoot at 6 fps in DX mode (5 fps maximum in FX) with AA size batteries or the optional EN-EL18 battery + BL-5 battery chamber cover.

To enable DX mode automatically just mount a DX lens or to enable DX mode manually when using an FX or full frame lens go to Menu > Shooting Menu > Image Area > Choose image area > DX.

The MB-D12

This grip adds a vertical shutter release and front / rear command dials. Another  important advantage for me is that the MB-D12 allows the use the D4’s EN-EL18 battery with the BL-5 battery chamber cover. I prefer EN-EL18 + BL-5 combination in place of the MS-D12 AA Battery Holder for a weight savings and almost twice the capacity of AA size batteries. Since I also shoot with a D4 using the EN-EL18 + BL-5 combination allows me to travel with a single Nikon battery charger.

Why doesnt the D800 achieve 6 fps with the EN-EL15 camera battery?

The EN-EL15 output is only 7 volts, while the EN-EL18 battery puts out 10.8 volts, and the standard alkaline or lithium AA battery is rated at 1.5 volts, or 12 volts for a set of 8.

What are the different battery capacities?

From Nikon:

The number of shots that can be taken with fully-charged batteries varies with the condition of the battery, temperature, and how the
camera is used. In the case of AA batteries, capacity also varies with make and storage conditions; some batteries can not be used.
Sample figures for the camera and optional MB-D12 multi-power battery pack are given below.

• CIPA standard 1 test results

One EN-EL15 battery (camera): Approximately 900 shots
One EN-EL15 battery (MB-D12): Approximately 900 shots
One EN-EL18 battery (MB-D12): Approximately 1,400 shots
Eight AA alkaline batteries (MB-D12): Approximately 1,000 shots

• Nikon standard 2 test results

One EN-EL15 battery (camera): Approximately 2,400 shots
One EN-EL15 battery (MB-D12): Approximately 2,400 shots
One EN-EL18 battery (MB-D12): Approximately 3,800 shots
Eight AA alkaline batteries (MB-D12): Approximately 2,400 shots

Note:  according to Nikon you can reach 6 fps without the MB-D12 by using the EH05b AC adapter and EP-5B power connector.

Traveling with your gear the right way

Crowded cabins and more and more people boarding with carry on bags means there there is more pressure than ever on photographers trying to keep their gear safe and sound. The very best way protect your camera and computer equipment is to keep it with you at all times and never check or gate check any camera, lens or computer.

Earlier this week I flew RT from Los Angeles to Phoenix on a Delta CRJ700 regional jet. This jet is small but far from being the smallest out there but Delta/SkyWest tells everyone that roller bags will not fit on this flight and they will try to gate check every bag they see (this is okay since this means you will have more room for your gear on the plane).

On the flight to Phoenix I approached multiple times by Delta staff trying to gate check my gear. Each time they told me my gear would not fit on the plane I told them that I appreciated the offer but I refused and explained quietly that I am a professional photographer and I have experience storing my gear on the type of plane I was booked on. The ground staff did not have any experience at all flying on this type of plane but they were confident that they were right.

On the return flight I was able to satisfy the gate management staff by showing them images of my bags in the same overhead bin they are telling is too small for my roller. I like to photograph my roller and laptop bag stowed in various types of aircraft for future reference. Make sure you know ahead of time what type of plane you will be flying on.

Contrary to what the airlines tell you gate checking is not safe so never give up and hand over your gear to airline staff at the gate. It can sometimes be difficult to avoid but over the last decade I have a perfect record.

The Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise laptop bag and International roller combination has worked very well for me but there are a lot of good gear configurations out there that work well. See the links at the bottom of the post for more info on the Think Tank gear that I use and recommend.

Over the next few weeks I will being posting a few more articles with tips and techniques to make life easier for you when you travel.

Think Tank equipment links (workshop affiliate links):

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/urban-disguise-60-v2.aspx

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/airport-international-v2-roller-camera-bag.aspx

The MacBook Air display panel lottery

The Apple MacBook Air is seriously one of,  if not the best laptop I have ever owned. I think it makes the perfect back up or travel computer for a photographer. The top of the line MBA offers you a 1.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor (2677M), 4 GB of DDR3 SDRAM, and a 256 GB SSD (that can be upgraded to 480GB), all packed in a razor thin 2.96 pound aluminum case with a 13.3″ widescreen TFT LED backlit active-matrix “glossy” display with 1440×900 px resolution.

If you already own one or are looking at buying one you should be aware of a few issues. Over the next weeks I will be talking about display and SSD issues and upgrading a MBA with a new 480GB OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G Solid State Drive to replace the puny factory 256GB SSD.

The first issue you need to look at is the display panel type Macs are supplied with. There is one to avoid and another that is preferred so this is important if you are looking into buying one in the future. Apple sources computer parts from different vendors with display panels (and SSD drives).  Every MBA model, 11 & 13-inch, ship with one of two available panels. One is made by LG and the other by Samsung.

How to ID a MacBook Air display panel

To find out what panel a certain MBA is equipped with you simply open terminal and run a string. Terminal is an Apple OS X operating system app that allows the user to  interact with the computer through a command line interface.

To run the Terminal application go to Applications/Utilities/Terminal

Type or better yet cut and past this string into Terminal:

ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed “/[^<]*</s///” | xxd -p -r | strings -6

This is a screen capture of what I see in terminal after I execute the string on my MBA.  The long code: LTH133BT01A03 is the panel model number.

There are two prefix possibilities, LP means that the panel is made by LG Philips or the LT prefix that tells you that it is a Samsung panel. My understanding is that the LG panels are not as good as the Samsung panels. The LG panel is dimmer, have a smaller gamut and more narrow viewing angle. You can read more on this including test results on the always superb Anandtech site and another link below.

For the record I have a Mid 2011 A1369 model 13 inch MBA with 1.8GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7.

Important links

For more info and display testing see the links below.

Anandtech’s original MBA review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4528/the-2011-macbook-air-11-13inch-review

Anandtech’s MBA update: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4554/apples-11inch-macbook-air-core-i7-18ghz-review-update

Notebook review on the display issue:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/apple-mac-os-x/606276-2011-13-macbook-air-inconsistent-screen-quality.html

Is the Samsung Note the perfect phone for the photographer?

Years ago when I first started using an iPhone people would asked me how I could use such a large phone. Now years later the iPhone seems downright small compared to other modern devices. If you are like me you own a tablet but do not seem to be able to bring yourself to take the thing out of the living room. Tablets are just too large and inconvenient to have with you all the time and without a real keyboard just too limited in usefulness. You might be the kind of person that just hates tablets. If I am going to carry something that needs a case I will just take my MacBook Air. As a photographer I need a device that will my show images at their best and at the same time it needs to be small enough that I can take it everywhere. The 3.5 inch iPhone is just too small for me. The iPad is just too large and inconvenient to carrying all day. The 5.3 inch Samsung Note seems to be the perfect solution.

So what is so good about a Note?

Take a look at the image above with my 5.3 inch Samsung Note under a 3.5 inch iPhone 4. The iPhone fits completely inside the Note’s display. The Note features a 1280×800 px 15.3 in WXGA HD Super AMOLED screen (the iPhone measures in at 3.5-inch and 960×640 px). The AMOLED screen is crisp and bright with deep blacks and bright colors (note that they are not the most accurate) and show my 2560 x 1600 px images very well. Best of all the Note plugs into a laptop with supplied standard Micro USB 2.0 cable and appears as a disk drive making adding images a totally painless super quick and iTunes free process. The Note also uses a removable microSD card for storage and easy memory upgrades.

The Note is large but easily fits inside my pockets comfortably and using the phone for calls is also very comfortable. Browsing the internet with the Note and it’s 1280 x 800 display is so good that you will not want to go back to a smaller device. Overall the note does everyday tasks very well without any issues.

Battery life compared to an iPhone is no contest. On a busy day my iPhone is done before lunch time and has to be charged constantly to last the entire day. The Note has a much larger battery capacity of  2500 mAh vs. 1420 mAh for the iPhone and is easily removable if needed. Charging on the Note takes a standard Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable.

One of the more interesting features of the Note it the ability to grab any screenshots with the touch of a single button while holding the stylus on the screen. Then you can add notes or draw on then using the stylus and email, save or share. The Note stylus uses a Wacom digitiser system which results in accurate pressure-sensitive input. So far I don’t have much use for this feature but it is nice to have the capability or note taking or being able to draw on any screen.

Currently the Note is available through AT&T in the US but rumors are that T-Mobile, Spring and others will carry the phone later this year. Samsung has sold more than 5 million notes already this year.

Important links

Galaxy Note on Samsung’s US site: http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-I717RWAATT

Note’s international site: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note/index.html?type=find

Samsung note on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Note

Note forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1346

Note forums on Android Forums.com: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-note/

D800E notes

This weekend I took delivery of a Nikon D800E and I was even able to make a few images even though Sunday was the last day of my photography workshop at the St Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida. Big thanks to Eric Arnold at Hunt’s Photo for getting to camera to me via FedEx on Saturday.

Image Quality

Even though I have had only a limited amount of time with the camera I am very impressed. Sharpness and resolution are really amazing and high ISO noise performance seems to be very very good. So far with limited use I prefer the D800E files over my D4. The D4 was only a small upgrade in resolution over D3S but the D800E is a huge upgrade. I am looking forward to using the D800E in low light photography to see how the files compare to my high ISO D4, D3S and D700 files.

Handling and Ergonomics

The viewfinder is large and bright. Ergonomics seem to be okay other than I really miss the old AF area switch. I am really disappointed that Nikon went with the AF area switch from the D7000 on the D4 and D800/D800E. One big handling improvement with the D800E (also on the D4) is the new Auto-ISO shortcut, hold the ISO button and rotate the command dial with your index finger. This is much faster than anything on previous bodies.

Set Up Notes

The camera was very easy to set up without any major surprises but you should know that you have to use the MB-D12 Multi Power Battery Pack with AAs or the EN-EL18 (from the D4) Rechargeable Li-ion Battery and then only in DX mode to get the maximum 6 frames per second (FPS) rate. Otherwise you are in 5 FPS in DX mode no matter the battery source (this is disappointing since you can achieve 6FPS on the D7000 with the standard battery).

To manually set DX mode go to Menu>Shooting Menu>Image area>Manual Setting>DX Mode.

These are the accessories you need for 6 FPS shooting in DX mode.

MB-D12 Multi Power Battery Pack

This unit is very expensive ($499) and is only out there in very limited supplies (I was told this item is available for much less in Canada but I don’t have any confirmation on this). You can use AAs or the camera battery EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery or even better the EN-EL18 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery from the D4.

To use the D4 EN-EL18 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery you will need:

EN-EL18 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery.
The EN-EL 18 is a rechargeable Li-ion battery that is used to power the D4 Nikon D-SLR camera.

BL-5 Battery Chamber Cover.
This item is needed when using the  EN-EL 18 with the D800/D800E D-SLR with the MB-D12 Battery Pack.

AF Fine Tune
Make sure you check and fine tune AF for accuracy. My D800E definitely needed it as did my D4 (all 3 D4s that I have used needed some AF fine tune).

I will soon post a more in depth D800E review once I am able to spend more time with the camera.

What is the Flashback Trojan?

This is a new version of malicious software called Flashback that exploits a security flaw in Java in order to install itself on Mac OS and has made news headlines all over the world over the last couple of weeks.

First thing you want to do it update your Mac. Apple released a Java update on April 3, 2012 that fixes the Java security flaw for systems running OS X v10.7 and Mac OS X v10.6. Now your Mac automatically checks for software updates every week, but you can run Software Update at any time to manually check for the latest updates – go to the Apple menu and choose Software Update.

Mac users have been almost in a panic over this in the last couple of weeks thanks to the media. Even though I still have yet to hear of someone from people in the computer industry that actually knows someone that was infected by it I would recommend checking your Macs just in case.

How to check if your Mac is infected

Checking your Mac is easy and only takes a few seconds.

You can find instructions to check your Mac and complete instructions on how to remove it on the F-secure site:

http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan-downloader_osx_flashback_i.shtml

To check for the Flashback Trojan go to the Manual Removal Instructions and follow them carefully. This will tell you if you have it in a few keystrokes and how to remove it in a few seconds if you do.

You will be doing is opening the Terminal app and entering some instructions (commands).

If you don’t want to run a Terminal command you can also download a free app to check your Mac:

https://github.com/jils/FlashbackChecker/wiki

To run the Terminal application go to Applications/Utilities/Terminal

Type or better yet cut and past from the F-secure site into Terminal:

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

You should see:

“The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist”

This means the Mac you are on is not infected but you are not done yet.

Next type in the command:

defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

If you see the following then your system is clean.

“The domain/default pair of (/Users/…/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist”

If you see anything other than the above the F-secure link will give you all the info you need to know how to remove the virus.

Important Flashback Trojan Links

Apple’s support page:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5244

Apple’s support page for manual software update:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1338

F-secure site:

http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan-downloader_osx_flashback_i.shtml

Free Flashback Checker App:

https://github.com/jils/FlashbackChecker/wiki

Update April 12, 2012

Apple has released a security update to take of the Java vulnerability and remove the Flashback Trojan variants. To download just  run Software Update manually by going to the Apple menu and choose Software Update.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5242

This update disables the automatic execution of Java applets.

Be sure to click on the image for the larger version and hit the expand button in the top right corner once the larger image window opens for an even larger view. The image above is a crop made in Photoshop CS5 at 60% magnification to show the level of detail the 120-300 is capable of. Image was converted in ACR 6.7 with light NR and 50-.8-1-0 sharpness settings, then after curves was applied it was cropped and PS CS5.

I am in the process of creating a review and field note post for my blog and the Sigma blog but I wanted to share one of the images. During my last eagle tour series in Alaska I was able to spent time in the field with the lens alone, with 1.4x and with a 2x and I was pleasantly surprised at the sharpness and speed of this lens. Of course this lens is not perfect (which lens is anyway?) but I will cover all the positives and negatives in my upcoming reviews.

What do you think of the above? Not bad at all for a large aperture telephoto Sigma zoom lens that retails for just over $3000!

Spaces are available for my November tour so contact me now if you would like to join me don’t hesitate, you won’t be disappointed. More info: http://www.robertotoole.com/workshop/bald-eagles/

2013 tour details should be available in a few days. If you are interested email me to be place on an interest list.