Nikon D600 spots diminish over time

LensRentals was one of the first to document that the Nikon D600 is more dust-prone than other cameras. Now, they have confirmed that new spots stop appearing after around 3000 shots. See this post. That is very consistent with my own experience (actually it's funny but I just said that in a comment the other day).

I also want to take this opportunity to emphasize again that even though it's very clear the D600 is dust-prone, it's just as clear that there is NO evidence of OIL spots.

NONE of these characteristics "prove" it's oil.

- Shows up mostly in one corner. LensRentals showed that the spots are mostly in the upper left corner. But still concludes they are dust. My spots were mostly in one corner but they were blown off by a blower, i.e. they are just dust.

- Spots increase even though lens isn't changed. That's what Kyle Clements' video showed but still he said they're dust not oil http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/21/a-time-lapse-showing-how-quickly-dust-accumulates-on-nikon-d600-sensors/

- Translucent. My spots were translucent but they were blown off by a blower, i.e. they are just dust.

- Round. My spots were round but they were blown off by a blower, i.e. they are just dust.

- Visible at wider apertures. My spots were visible at f/8 but they were blown off by a blower, i.e. they are just dust.

LensRentals original article: no oil found. http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/10/d600-sensor-dust-issues

DPReview of D600: notes dust but doesn't mention anything about oil.

2nd LensRentals article: no oil mentioned, only dust. http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/11/not-surprisingly-d600-dust-issue-gets-better-over-time

OK, maybe the spots are oil but of a type that can be blown away with a blower. :)

RELATED POSTS:

1. Nikon D600 Oil/Dust Spots http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/10/nikon-d600-oil-spots.html

2. Update on Nikon D600 Sensor Oil/Dust Issue http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/11/update-on-nikon-d600-sensor-oildust.html
3. Sensor Cleaning for the First Time with Sensor Swab, LensPen and Blower http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/12/sensor-cleaning-with-sensor-swab.html

12/3/12 UPDATE:
Here is an update in response to the links in the comments below.  First of all, thank you very much for the links. It is very helpful to get all information when we're trying to pin down the truth. I have no ties to Nikon and nothing to gain or lose financially either way, so my interest is in finding the truth.

What these links show is that for some people the D600 continues to "create" dust (despite having no lens changes) even after 5000 shots or 7000 shots.

In my opinion, these don't negate Roger's article for two reasons. First, Roger's article shows the result of an essentially random sample of 20 D600 cameras. These other cameras are not random - they are people who are finding issues with the D600 (people who don't find issues aren't as likely to mention it).  I don't think we can conclude from these links alone that they are representative of the general D600 population (although it is possible).

As another data point to supplement the links above, let's consider Kyle Clements, the guy who did one of the first, if not the first time lapses of dust accumulation.  He did a couple more time lapses and noted that the problem does go away (very few new spots, if any, show up between 2680 and 3680 shots).  http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/27/nikon-d600-speck-issue-may-be-limited-to-first-few-thousand-shots/  Kyle's second (and third) tests are useful because I think it is close to a random sample from the initial group that have documented issues re dust accumulation.  Before doing the tests he didn't know if the problem was continuing or not.  He just did the tests.  (Note: Kyle believes the spots are oil because he couldn't blow them away.  I personally don't think that's a clear enough indicator of oil.  I still haven't seen unmistakable evidence of oil e.g. smearing, drips, or donut rings that are dark outside light inside).

With the links in the comments, it appears the guys noticed a problem and then did tests.  So, the sample is a bit skewed.

Second, the other thing is that I think we can say from Roger's article that the problem at least diminishes over time. That is something that is not necessarily addressed by the links (because we don't know how easily their cameras accumulated dust when they were new).

As for me, I think my camera has around 4000 or 5000 shots. I haven't noticed spots on my shots (but they may be there at narrow apertures - I haven't looked).  I *MIGHT* consider doing a time lapse experiment.  Let me think about it.

RELATED POSTS:
Nikon D600 Resource Page (see under "Dust Spots")

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Cheap Battery Grip for Nikon D600 - First Impressions

UPDATE: As of 12/29/12 my grip stopped working!  See below.  As of 1/6/13 it's working again.

I finally received the cheap battery grip that I ordered for my Nikon D600.  Here are my first impressions.

UPDATES: See under command dial -- missed clicks and direction of rotation.




ORDERING AND DELIVERY
I ordered this grip from eBay seller ukpartsdeal on November 7, 2012.  I hadn't gotten it and inquired with the seller who said he shipped it on November 15, 2012.  Coincidentally, I received it the day after I sent my inquiry, on November 26, 2012.

BOX
When I received the box, it was a little squished from handling.  There is no brand.  Most distressing was that the photo of the grip on the box shows a completely different grip, with the older-style protrusion that goes into the battery compartment.  However, there was a sticker saying "For Nik D600."

Inside was a bubble wrap with the grip -- no protrusion. Whew.  Contents:

• Battery grip
• Plastic cover for terminal contact (covering the terminal of course)
• Battery holder for the EN-EL15
• Battery holder for AA batteries
• Manual in English and Simplified Chinese.  (Interestingly, from perusing the manual, the English seems perfect, not the usual English that looks like a machine translation.)

PLASTIC VS. MAGNESIUM
On eBay, there are two price points for a D600 aftermarket grip.  There is one that is around $50 and another that is around $130.  I ordered the $50 one, thinking the $130 was a rough deal.  However, I found out from the manual that there are two models of this grip: BG-2K (plastic) and BG-2M (magnesium alloy).  I am supposing that the more expensive grip is made of magnesium alloy.  If you're ordering that, you should check with the seller before completing your purchase.

PRODUCT VIEWS
Here is what the grip looks like

Here is how it looks when mounted on the D600.

BUILD QUALITY
My overall impression of the grip was that it felt cheap and light.  I would compare the build quality to one of those generic digital cameras sold at department stores for less than $100.  It doesn't look like it would fall apart but you can easily notice that it feels different from the D600.  The plastic used appears to be similar to some of the better Chinese flash triggers that I've used (e.g. Aokatec AK-TTL).  My impression is that it's suitable for normal use, but would probably suffer small cracks with rugged use over time.

INSTALLATION
The grip fits the D600 just fine.  On the bottom of the D600, I just removed the rubber cap covering the terminal (no tools needed).  I positioned the tripod insert on the tripod mount then turned the wheel.  The wheel can be held from both front and back of the grip making it easier to turn it.  There are a couple of short protrusions on the grip for corresponding holes on the D600 to ensure the grip is correctly oriented and positioned.

When the wheel is fully tightened the grip feels like it is securely mounted on the camera.  I don't feel worried about it suddenly falling off (knock on wood).  However, there is a slight but perceptible flex if you try to twist the grip away from the camera.

The grip follows the contours of the D600 fairly well.  I haven't handled the original MB-D14 battery grip but as far as I can tell from photos of the MB-D14, this grip seems to conform to the D600 just as well.

On a scale of 5, I would say the fit is 4 (because of the slight flexing).  I don't have any prior experience with battery grips, so I don't know how well original grips fit their respective cameras.

BATTERY HOLDERS
As noted above, the grip includes two battery holders.

Top

bottom

EN-EL15 holder with EN-EL15 battery

The holders have a latch that you lift up and twist to lock and release the holder from the grip.

Release position

Locked position

The AA battery holder fit the grip well while my EN-EL15 holder first needed a little persuasion before the latch would lock.  The EN-EL15 holder now locks and releases fine.

DOES IT WORK?
Yup. I tested these configurations:
D600 with EN-EL15 + Grip with AA batteries
D600 without EN-EL15 + Grip with EN-EL15
D600 without EN-EL15 + Grip with AA batteries
D600 with EN-EL15 + Grip with no battery --> camera works, grip doesn't.  I am supposing this is normal.

Note: I don't have a spare EN-EL15 battery to test the D600 with EN-EL15 plus the grip with EN-EL15.  I also haven't run down the EN-EL15 to see if it would transition to the AA batteries with no problems.  I'll update this post when I get to do that.

Vertical shutter.  The button has a smooth rather than matte finish (like that of the D600's shutter) and seems very slightly more elevated.  The travel from not pressed to half-pressed is about the same as the D600's shutter (other than the difference from the slight elevation) as is the travel from half-pressed to fully depressed .  The amount of pressure is also about the same.

Lock for the vertical shutter.  It's not a physical lock that prevents the shutter from being depressed.  Rather it appears to be some sort of electronic lock that disables the vertical shutter.

Front and rear command dials.  They feel like they are slightly less thick than the D600's dials but otherwise they work just fine.  The detents feel about the same as that of the D600, perhaps with slightly less resistance to turning.  One difference is that the D600's dials have a slightly rubbery texture that makes them less slippery.  The dials on the grip are just plain plastic.

UPDATE 1 - MISSED CLICKS: I found out that if you rotate the dials very quickly, one or more inputs can fail to register.  For example, if you rapidly rotate the dial 3 clicks (as quickly as you normally do 1 click), the change might only show 2 clicks.  By contrast, with the D600's dials, I can rotate them however fast I want and they will always show the correct number of clicks.

UPDATE 2 - DIRECTION OF ROTATION: Apparently some third party grips do not rotate in the same direction (see Bill's comment below).  On mine, they do turn in the same direction. I also tried the option to reverse the rotation and the dials reversed just the same way as the D600's own dials.


Joystick.  Works in all directions.  Feels a little squishy.  Pushing in the joystick works just like pressing the OK button on the D600 directional pad.

AF-ON Button.  Functions perfectly (function can be changed via option f9.  Texture feels the same as that of the AE-L button on the D600.  As with the vertical shutter, it feels slightly elevated compared to the D600's AE-L button but otherwise feels similar.  It feels more squishy than the D600's AE-L button but the overall amount of pressure required is about the same.

Rubber Grip.  The rubber on the grip has a different texture from that of the rubber grip on the D600.  However, it doesn't feel worse and may even feel slightly more grippy.

AC Adapter pass-through.  The EN-EL15 battery holder includes a rubber cover to allow an EH-5 and EP-5B AC adapter cord to pass through.

CONCLUSION
Overall my impression is that this grip works well for anyone who wants a battery grip either for the vertical controls, the extra battery capacity or the option to use AA batteries in an emergency, as long as you don't use it in rugged conditions and you're fine with missed clicks.  (For pros those issues are probably not acceptable.)  In my case I like the D600's compact size but most of the time I don't always need it to be so compact in which case I will probably keep the grip attached for extra protection for the D600.  I will update this review after I've had more time to use it.

12/29/12 UPDATE: Grip had been working fine then I removed it.  When I put it back, it stopped working!
http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/12/warning-fake-d600-grip-stopped-working.html 
1/6/13 UPDATE: Tried the grip again and it's now working again.

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The Final Chapter: Canon 40mm f/2.8 Pancake STM

Al Montazah Palace - Alexandria, Canon 40 STM

I travelled to Alexandria a short time ago, and I only took my 5D3 with a couple of lenses, the Canon 50 1.4 and - as you must have guessed by now - the Canon 40 pancake. How did This setup work out? Click through to find out.
 
I enjoy using a 50mm lens on a full frame camera (just like I enjoyed the 35mm on my crop sensor camera), I get lots of uses from this focal length, I can get a semi wide-angle shot, a full length portrait, a head and shoulders shot, or even some close-ups and detail shots.
 

Lamp, Canon 40 @ f/2.8

 
I previously tried my old 35mm f/2 on the 5D2, and it was too wide for my tastes, I don't shoot streets, and 90% of my shooting are close portraits, so I decided to sell it at the end.
 
When I saw the Canon 40 Pancake announcement, the price ($200) and Roger Cicala's first impressions, I was intrigued, and when I saw the nice sharpness and bokeh, I was sold, so I bought one. Mine shipped with the older firmware version, and I successfully updated it on the 5D3. First impressions showed a very sharp lens, a very weird focus-by-wire system and severe vignetting wide-open.
 
Anyway, I kept the lens for a while more and decided to do some more testing, in better conditions. I used the lens a couple of times, one in daylight and another indoors, and finally, I took it with me to Alexandria, along with the 50 1.4. I mostly used it when I visited Al Montazah palace in Alexandria (this was one of the places King Farouk lived when he ruled Egypt, see picture below), and took some shots inside my hotel room and shots outside the window.
 

Al Montazah Palace

 
Before I mention my experience with the lens, I was trying out a couple of new things on this trip, full auto-area auto-focus (all 61 points active, cross types and non cross types) in one shot mode, while the focus was linked to the shutter button (I didn't use my usual back button focusing), and the other new thing was a new B&W processing method, I'm not sure I fully appreciate it, but I'd like to hear your opinions, there are more darks and near-crushed blacks than I usually like.
 
The 5D3 performed admirably in auto-area AF with the 40mm wide-open, whenever I fully pressed the shutter button, the shot was instantly taken, and in focus, it was like magic, eerily instant and accurate, but I have yet to try it in more critical situations like a headshot with a 200mm @ f/2.8, I'm not sure if it will be able to pick the near eye, but that's what single AF is for. One more thing, the 5D3 seems to give me much better battery life than the 5D2 which uses the same battery (60D, 7D as well), the 5D2 gave me ~ 900 shots on average with my usage, with the 5D3, I am now on 611 shots with 60% battery remaining, and I am shooting RAW to dual memory cards, unlike the 5D2, kudos to Canon.
 

Out of the hotel room window, this is a crop from a larger image, it needed severe horizon leveling

 

100% crop from the image above,

 
Back to the 40mm, I have to say I was really enjoying the lens this time, it is very suitable for shooting .. stuff, you know, just general street, scene, whatever shooting, not portraits nor landscapes, just stuff, which is where this lens shines. It is very suitable for street shooting (did a little bit, but nothing worth posting here), and I understand why many street shooters prefer 35mm lenses, it is nice to get street shots with descriptive backgrounds. However, if you want to shoot heads and shoulders shots, it just isn't good. Such a focal length is not suitable for getting close to people without distorting their faces, and it doesn't blur backgrounds well because of the wide-angle and the not-so-fast aperture.
 
The 40mm is significantly wider than the 50mm, I'd say it is closer to the 35mm than it is to the 50mm in terms of viewing angle, and for that reason, the 40mm didn't get it's deserved attention from me. And for that reason alone, it goes to a new proud owner tomorrow.
 
Yes, I'm selling it, not because of any imperfection in the lens, but rather because each time I try to pick a lens I hesitate between the 40mm and the 50mm, they're very different lenses, the 50 is my favorite and goes to 1.4, while the 40 is tiny and has really nice smooth bokeh, but in the end I usually pick up the 50. The times I pick up the 40 so that I don't leave it collecting dust, I regret not taking the 50, and I don't like any lens to take the place of my 50 (unless it is an accurate focusing Sigma 50 1.4).
 

 

100% crop, sharp!

 
I have prime lenses at reasonably spaced focal lengths, I have the 50 1.4, 100L 2.8 Macro and the 200L 2.8, and I take them in turns for each of my outings. The 40 disrupted this balance, and in order to get back my peace of mind I'm selling it. On a crop sensor, that lens would be something else, I believe it would be a very useful lens, and I would take it over the 50 1.8 any day, which I don't trust to get correct focus until f/2.8 anyway.
 

The 50 1.4 this time, hotel corridor

 
Here's my quick evaluation summary of the 40mm over the couple of months that I happily owned it:
 

• Really tiny, I love how it feels and looks on the 5D3, it certainly is a conversation initiator (worth $200 just for this?).
• Reasonably cheap and well built, with a metal mount.
• Wickedly sharp wide-open and gets better stopped down.
• Heavy vignetting wide-open on full frame, can be auto corrected in camera or in RAW processors (DPP and LR).
• Very smooth bokeh, not that you'd get a lot of it at such a wide angle.
• Excellent flare resistance, I shot directly into the sun, and it refused to misbehave.
• Good contrast and colors, but not as good as my 200L (it just happened I shot both back to back - same subject - and noticed the difference).
• Reasonably fast and silent focusing, however it's not as fast as USM lenses, and it doesn't have hard stops at the end, nor a distance scale.
• When the camera's meters are not active, the focusing ring won't do anything, you have to half-press the shutter button to get it to work. And it doesn't work of course when you've turned the camera off.
• Did I mention tiny?

 

Handheld at 1/25 sec, ISO 3200

 
I enjoyed owning this lens, but since I don't usually shoot "stuff", I don't see a great benefit of owning this lens when I already have and love using the 50mm. If you're a full-frame street shooter, you have to try it, it is tiny, discreet and wide enough. If you're a crop sensor shooter and use a 50mm, give it a try, you'll be able to breath better with the wider viewing angle.
 

The Stanley Bridge, Alexandria, 40mm wide-open, ISO 3200, hand held

 
And just to give you a shock after all this black and white, here's an eye-jarring colored picture.
 

Sea view, hotel room window, 40mm @ f/8 I think

 
 
RELATED POSTS
 
Canon 40mm Hands-On
That's Why I Love my 5D
Canon 50mm f/1.4 Review
 

Posted with Blogsy

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Carbon Fiber Tripod for $79 at Costco

Costco is offering a Dolica 60-inch carbon fiber tripod with ballhead for just $79.99 (Item # 661166 - regularly $99.99).  Model ZX600B103.  Offer good only until 11/26/12.  I've never had a carbon fiber tripod before and I ordered one.  Will post a review.

UPDATE: Just received the tripod last night.  Heavier than I expected.  Weighs just the same as the Targus TG-P60T.  I disassembled the legs and was able to examine a cross-section of them.  The legs appear to be solid carbon fiber (not plated).

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Lighting Puzzle

Hi everyone.  Hope you're having a great weekend.  I was taking sample shots for the upcoming review of the Tamron 70-300 VC and happened upon this scene.  There's something unusual about the lighting of this photo.  What do you think is so unusual about it, and how do you explain it?

In terms of editing, I just cloned out power lines, altered the crop and adjusted the contrast. Other than that, this is pretty much SOOC.  Note: I did screw up the exposure.  I had been doing experiments last night and forgot that my camera was in shutter priority at 1/200, with ISO at 3200.  As a result the camera did what it could to get that exposure by using an aperture of f/40. :-p  So that's my mistake but that's not what I'm talking about.

Will post the answer in a couple of days. :)

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My favorite Black Friday deals

Added: Canon 5d3 ($2939), Dell Inspiron 15R ($479)

Here are the best photo-related Black Friday deals that I've seen.

Nikon D600 $1997 ($100 off, 2% reward) plus 32GB SDHC Transcend card (I believe it's like this one that I got) and Lowepro holster-style bag

As you know I love my D600.  Reviewed here.  This is the best deal I've seen so far.
http://www.adorama.com/INKD600KA.html

I also saw deals for the Nikon D3100, D3200, D5100, D5200, and D7000.

Canon 5d3 - looks like an amazing deal.

Canon 5dIII on eBay for $2939  Related post here. 

 

Adorama also has the 5d2 and 5d3 on sale:

Canon 5d Mark III $3299.  --> see above ebay sale instead

Canon 5D Mark II $1799. Reviewed here.

Laptop for photo editing:
Dell Inspiron 15R with intel i5-3210M 8GB RAM / 1TB HDD $479
Note that the processor is a 3rd generation Ivy Bridge intel processor.  I just don't know how many USB ports it has, or if any are USB 3.0.
https://secure.newegg.com/FeedBack/EmailAFriend.aspx?Item=N82E16834200522
I upgraded my laptop to a Dell 14z not too long ago.  Here's the post about it.

 

Fisheye lenses: both of these are identical (just different brands).  I don't have a Samyang/Rokinon/ProOptic fisheye but I do know that it has among the most even distortion for fisheyes.  Note that these are manual only.  FYI there is a version that includes a chip (for focus confirmation, and auto exposure) -- see this eBay search.  I don't think these particular items have it.  You may want to check.  To get an idea for the kinds of images you can get with this kind of lens check out our review of the Tokina 10-17 Fisheye

a) Pro optic 8mm fisheye Nikon mount $229
http://www.adorama.com/PRO835NK.html

b) Rokinon 8mm fisheye Nikon mount $229
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769466-REG/Rokinon_FE8M_N_8mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle.html

Canon 40mm 2.8 pancake lens $149 ($50 off)

Reviewed here
http://www.adorama.com/CA4028.html

Colorright / Flashright - 80% off

I use a Flashright Pro as a DIY version of the 360 Spinlight

Website: www.colorright.com 

Coupon code: BlackFriday80

Contemporary wooden frame for six 4x6" photos

http://www.adorama.com/MA2012664.html

DISCLAIMER: I'm not affiliated with any of these sellers.  I'm not receiving any compensation for any of these.

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Neil van Niekerk's puzzle

Neil van Niekerk, one of our favorite photographers, posted a puzzle yesterday. Here is the post. He showed two photos with somewhat similar composition. He also tells us that he used the same exposure for both. However, in one shot, the background is darker than the other. If you can guess why this is so, you have a chance to win a 1-hour tutorial from him. Neil will also select one winner from all entries, whether or not their response is correct. Check it out!

My take is that the difference is due to falloff of the flash, as described by the inverse square law. Check out these related posts.

RELATED POSTS:

TTL Flash Tutorial Part 2 - see Lesson 10
http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2010/07/ttl-flash-tutorial-in-10-lessons-part-2.html

How to get a black background without a backdrop
http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-get-black-background-without.html

Right Brained Guide to Combining Guide Numbers
http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2011/05/right-brained-guide-to-combining-guide.html

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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  I will be busy the next few evenings so I won't have time to post, but I will have new posts by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, here are a few Thanksgiving shots that I took 4 years ago.  I underexposed the ambient then illuminated the subjects with bare flash.  If I recall correctly I used them off-camera, triggered and controlled wirelessly via Nikon CLS Advanced Wireless Lighting.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Wii U First Impressions

First of all this is a photography blog.  Nonetheless, I'm sure a portion of our readers are interested in tech-related news, so I hope you don't mind if I share some comments on Nintendo's Wii U.

UPDATE 11/22/12:  My son and I have played with the Wii U a couple more times since I last wrote this post, and that was enough to change our opinion of it -- this is a FUN system.  See update below.



When Nintendo announced the Wii U, I thought it was a strange idea.  I did not "get" the concept.  What was the big deal with a touchscreen?  Why couldn't they just find a way to connect an Android or iPad or even iPhone to the console instead of developing their own touchscreen device?  I wasn't interested in getting one.  However, we wanted another game console for the living room (our Xbox 360 and PS3 have died, and the Wii is in my son's room). We thought about getting another Xbox 360 or PS3 but I figured we may as well get a newer system for almost same price.  I was astonished that all pre-orders for the Wii U were already filled at all the stores I inquired.  I'm sure at least some of the buyers are just trying to flip it on eBay.

Anyway, I got lucky and scored a black Wii U this morning after lining up at 6am in the cold weather.  It was the last one at the store and it just so happened that someone ahead of me in the line inexplicably ordered a white Wii U instead (8GB $299 vs. 32GB $349 with NintendoLand).  Thank goodness I didn't wait for nothing.

The box was much heavier than I expected.  I later found out that this was in part due to the very large and heavy AC adapter for the console.  The touchpad on the other hand is quite light, which is great considering that many games expect you to hold up the screen during gameplay.

Setting up was reasonably easy but not as user-friendly as it could be.  There is a quick start guide but it's rather verbose.  The short answer is you plug the console to the TV via HDMI (other cables such as component are purchased separate), connect the sensor bar, and connect the AC Adapter.  You also plug the touchpad to its own AC adapter.  When you turn the Wii U on, you need to wait a few seconds for the HDMI connection to work.  Then you sync the Wii U and the touchpad (the sync process requires entering some codes.  It's not a one-button deal).

Although the basic setup was easy, connecting the Wii U to the internet was difficult:

• The Wi-Fi is just 802.11b.  You should configure your router to broadcast in both b and g (assuming your other devices are g).  There is nothing in the setup screens that warns you about this.
• I had a very hard time connecting the Wii U to my Wi-Fi network.  Although it found our Wi-Fi network, I couldn't just enter our password.  Instead, I had to configure the IP Address and DNS manually, using settings that I found here: http://techforums.nintendo.com/message/77869/  And even though I followed the instructions to the letter, it took several tries before I was able to connect successfully (even though I was doing the exact same thing each time.  Very strange).
• There is a LAN Adapter accessory for the Wii U but it will take up a USB port (the Wii U has two four USB ports).  If you're planning to use one of the other ports for an external hard drive, then you won't have any USB ports left for games such as Skylanders Giants (which uses a portal that connects via USB).
• The first time you're able to connect the Wii U to the Internet, you'll be asked if you want to update the firmware.  I later found out that updating the firmware is the only way to make it backwards-compatible with Wii games.  Anyway, I naturally said yes.  Then I saw the download bar didn't seem to be moving...
• I found out that the update was 5GB.  No warning about this.  Lord have mercy on you if you only have DSL or less.
• One more issue: if the firmware download is interrupted (accidentally or intentionally) the Wii U will be bricked.  Once more, no warning about this.
• Some menu items take a very long time to load.

We tried NintendoLand very briefly.  It was a little bit challenging for our 5 year old, even though he often plays video games.  He had a little bit of difficulty understanding the instructions, and was still getting used to the controls.  He has only tried a couple of the mini-games (Ninja Castle and Metroid Blast).  So far he seems interested but not totally blown away.  But I didn't have high expectations for the launch games anyway, at least for his age group.  Hopefully they will have more interesting games in the future (especially for casual gamers).

Games we got:

• NintendoLand
• Skylanders Giants - the selling point is being able to play Skylanders on the gamepad.
• Super Mario Bros. U - Haven't opened it yet.  I heard it's difficult, which would be unfortunate.  My son and I have enough trouble with Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Games I am looking forward to:

• Bayonetta 2 - a Wii U exclusive.  If you haven't played Bayonetta, it's crazy over the top action.  But this is not for the kids :)
• Rayman Legends
• Super Smash Bros. Next - announced but don't hold your breath.
• Street Fighter - I hope they make some version of it for the Wii U.  Even just a version of SF4 with simplified controls for kids would be great (similar to SF4 for the 3DS).
• Hawken - I really wish they make a port of this amazing PC game.  I'm not into FPS games in general but the graphics on this one are just breath-taking.

Games I might consider:

• Trine 2
• Nano Assault Neo
• Ninja Gaiden 3 (if I can find it used and cheap).  I loved Ninja Gaiden 2 (back when I was a hardcore gamer).  I expect this will also be murderously difficult but it would still be fun.
• Batman Arkham City Armored Edition (if I can find it used and cheap)

UPDATE: According to some folks on the r/wiiu reddit subgroup, it's possible to download the firmware and any other downloads (such as games) in the background.  When it asks you if you want to download, just press cancel.  Then you'll get a message saying it will download in the background.  Meanwhile you can play a game or something.  When the download is ready for installation the home button on the gamepad will light up.

11/22/12 UPDATE: After my son and I played briefly with the Wii U, we didn't think much of it and the system sat idle.  However, yesterday I left my son alone to play with the system and I was surprised that he was enjoying most of the games.  At the same time, I had ordered Wii Remote Plus controllers (the Wii Remote with built-in Motion Plus for greater sensitivity, required for some of the NintendoLand games).  I decided to join him for some of the games.

What I discovered was that the gamepad really did add value in a couple of ways.  First, in multiplayer games, the gamepad allows two players to have a full-screen instead of split-screen view.  That's one reason to get the Wii U version of a game instead of a port for another console.  Example: Black Ops II.

Second, many games allow you to play the game on the gamepad, freeing up the TV for someone else to use. Again, that's another reason to choose the Wii U port of a game that's otherwise available for other consoles.  Example: Skylanders Giants.

Third, and in my opinion the most important benefit of the gamepad, is that it enables a new kind of playing style that has been called "asymmetric gameplay," which means that in a multiplayer game, the one with the gamepad can have a very different experience than the other players.  Here are some examples:

• In the NintendoLand mini-game called Mario Chase, one player plays "It," while the other players try to find and chase the one who's It.  The player who's It has the gamepad and has the benefit of seeing the overall map.  The other players ideally work together to systematically ferret out the It.
• In the ZombiU game, there is a multiplayer Capture the Flag mode where the player with the gamepad plays 'tower defense' and protects the flag by spawning zombies.  The other players try to fight the zombies to reach the flag.

To me, this kind of experience is reminiscent of the games I used to play when I was a kid before video games were common.  Simple games like tag, cops and robbers, that sort of stuff.  All those were asymmetric.  The Wii U strongly reminds me of those kinds of games.  It was a different kind of fun, being able to take turns playing different roles.  So, I think that if developers do spend the time to design games around this feature, the Wii U can offer a unique experience that could not be available on other consoles. Unless of course the Xbox 720 or PS4 copy the Wii U's gamepad, which is not entirely a bad thing in my opinion because it would make those kinds of games more common, and with the Wii U's install base headstart, the Wii U's game library could only increase.

I have to admit - I underestimated the significance of the gamepad.  The first time I heard about it, I thought it was Nintendo's desperate and pathetic attempt to fend off the iPad's growing clout as a game machine by copying it.  But the Wii U's gamepad creates a completely different experience particularly for multiplayer games.  I can almost say the touchscreen aspect of it is not essential (although it is of course logical).

(Note: currently there are no Wii U games that support more than one gamepad, and the maximum the Wii U can support is two gamepads.  However, I think that because it is so useful, I suspect that there will be some sort of peripheral in the future that would allow the Wii U to use 4 gamepads for specific games intended for hardcore gamers.)

The other thing that I discovered is that the Wii Remote Plus could actually make FPS games fun.  I'm not a fan of FPS.  Part of the reason is that I find the controls frustrating.  I want to shoot at a particular target but I find it a little cumbersome to do that with the traditional gamepad controls. 

However, I used the Wii Remote Plus in a Nintendoland FPS minigame called Metroid Blast and found that it worked very well for me.  It still wasn't perfect, but the controller was accurate enough for me to shoot my intended target with usable precision.  For the first time in an FPS, I felt that the controls didn't get in the way.  My son and I had so much fun that I decided to get Call of Duty Black Ops II (which wasn't even on my original list).  Note: Black Ops doesn't support the Wii Remote Plus or the MotionPlus but I'm hoping it will have decent controls.

UPDATE 11/25/12: We tried more of the Nintendoland games:

Multiplayer games:
Metroid Blast - FPS. One person uses the gamepad and controls the ship.  The other characters are on the ground.  Still our favorite.  5/5.
Zelda Battle Quest - an on-rails shooter where one character uses a bow and arrow while the other players use swords.  Fun as well, though I prefer Metroid Blast. 4/5.  Hint: As the swordsman, use the shield often.  Pretty much whenever you're not striking.  Also observe which direction the enemy is vulnerable.  If he is holding his shield on camera left, strike him from above or camera right.  And you can bring your sword fully to the left, right or up long enough, it will charge up for a super attack.
Pikmin Adventure - I was never interested in the Pikmin games, thinking that they looked too boring.  Nonetheless I forced myself to try out this game, and was surprised that it was actually fun.  In 1-player mode, you control the astronaut Olimar, who commands small aliens called Pikmin to attack enemies and obstacles.  In multi-player mode, the other players control giant Pikmin.  Encourages coordination between the players.  My son likes this game as well. 4.5/5.  Hint: when pikmin jump on to the monsters, they can't get hurt and they can keep attacking the monster.
Mario Chase - 1 player hides, other players seek.  I find it fun but my son finds it too hard to be the one seeking. 3.5/5.
Animal Crossing - I never played any of the Animal Crossing games so I wasn't interested.  But when I tried this minigame out, I found it very fun.  Candies are scattered across a map.  Players collect the candies and put them inside a bin.  The gamepad player however will try to catch the other players and prevent them from collecting the candies.  The gamepad player can control 2 characters simultaneously.  My son enjoyed this too. The only thing is that it's harder to be the one catching the other players.  4/5.
Luigi's Mansion - Somewhat similar to Mario Chase, except that the gamepad player plays a ghost who is invisible and can attack other players.  The other players try to catch the ghost by shining a flashlight on him.  This was fun except that the other players have a strange control scheme, similar to the 1st generation of PS2 games (e.g. Onimusha), or some older Playstation games, where the controls are relative to the character's position.  It would have been much more fun if the controls were more conventional. 3/5.

1-player games:
Ninja Castle - On-rails shooter with a shuriken.  You flick the screen to throw shurikens at ninjas.  Cute graphics and more importantly, I found it fun.  However my son doesn't like it because he finds it too hard.  4/5.
Balloon Trip Breeze - Somewhat based on the NES game Balloon Fight, except that you use the gamepad to blow wind at the character, to navigate obstacles.  Easy at first then suddenly becomes challenging.  OK but requires me to keep changing views between TV and gamepad, so it's a little confusing. 3/5.  Hint: blow up the spikes by tapping on the gamepad.  Another player can also assist by using the wiimote to blow up obstacles.
Twister Race - a racer where you steer from a bird's eye view by tilting the gamepad.  I haven't played this, but my son liked it. ?/5.
Donkey Kong Crash - You tilt the gamepad to use gravity to maneuver a small car across an obstacle course. OK fun but quite hard. 2/5.
Yoshi's Fruit Cart - vaguely like pin the donkey, with a pen.  Your objective is to draw a path that will collect all the fruits on the screen.  The challenge is that you can only see the fruits on the TV.  They don't show up on the gamepad screen where you draw with your stylus.  At higher levels the fruits start moving, so timing is introduced as another element.  So-so fun but my son didn't like it.  1.5/5.
Octopus Dance - Like Simon Says, with a rhythm.  (Similar to Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast, or Parappa the Rapper on Playstation 1).  You use the joysticks on the gamepad to copy the arm directions.  The concept is ok but I found it too unforgiving and difficult.  1/5.

[UPDATE: Apparently it is possible for one of the other players to participate in these 1-player games to help the player.  For example, in Donkey Kong Crash, the other player can create a zone of slow motion bullet time to slow down the cart to avoid crashing.  So perhaps the difficulty is intentional, to encourage getting help from other players.  See this video ]

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U: We finally played this game over the weekend.  It is ok, but I wasn't that impressed.  To me it is very similar to Super Mario Wii with better graphics and a few new elements here and there.  The gamepad wasn't a big deal but can be used to help the other players by creating blocks.  I find it somewhat challenging for casual gamers, and we haven't gotten past world 1 2.

FREEZING: It's been reported by some users that occasionally, the Wii U will suddenly freeze with a buzzing/siren sound (sounds like the 8-bit NES/Famicom when that one froze).  This happened to us once, while we set down the controller to do something else.  It suddenly froze.  The Wii U wasn't hot or anything.  I don't know why it froze.  When it freezes, it needs to be unplugged and replugged.  [UPDATE: According to the WiiU reddit subgroup it is some sort of bug with NintendoLand.  I infer that it hasn't happened with other games.]

SHOPPING TIP: Are you looking for more remotes, or the Wii Remote Plus?  ToysRUs is selling the game FlingSmash.  The game is boring shovelware but it includes a Wii Remote Plus, and the package costs less than buying a Wii Remote Plus by itself.  Plus, ToysRUs is currently running a discount on games.

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That's Why I Love My Canon 5D

Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 50mm f/1.4 @ f/1.4 - mix of florescent, tungsten, other playground colors and my flash

One of the greatest benefits of my switch to full frame was the colors and skin tones, for some reason both the 5D Mark II and Mark III gave me better skin tones and colors than I was able to get from the 550D or the 60D. They have more tolerance and are more forgiving with mixtures of different light sources.


Take the example above, this was shot at a children playground which is mainly lit with florescent, and there are various yellow/red/green rotating lights, and some tungsten to make things more challenging, I was shooting at ISO 3200 with the Canon 50 1.4 wide open, I metered for the background, and used on-camera bounce flash (with no gels) to light my subject. I was bouncing from a wooden ceiling. I always have my 5D set to auto white balance, it is that good, and I got the picture you see above, no tweaks apart from a hint of black and contrast. Really Cool.

Same as above, but shot at f/2 this time

The shot above is from the same swinging chair, but from the other side as you can see from the trees in the background, the fiery color on his head is from a tungsten lamp just above (the swing spins, and moves up and down, this was up, near the tungsten light source). I admire the resultant colors and white balance once more, no tweaks from my side. This is what I saw at the time.

Did you notice the octagon shaped OOF light above his knees? This is my only gripe with the Canon 50 1.4 (after figuring out the correct MFA value of course), I love the OOF highlights to be rounded, even at f/2 if there are several light sources in the background, it will look like that, and it looks more pronounced as you stop down. I will try out a couple of brand new 50 1.4 Sigmas in a couple of weeks, if I find one that focuses accurately with my 5D3, out goes the Canon and in comes the Sigma.

Same lighting scenario, 50 f/1.4 @ f/1.4, this time you can see the lights and the bounce surface

One more example from the same location, shot wide open at f/1.4 (the 5D3 focusing system is a bless, that bull was moving and bucking around trying to throw off its rider on the ground), this time you can see the lights and the wooden ceiling from which I was bouncing my flash. .

See the different light sources? Why do they do this? Canon 40 STM Pancake, wide open @ f/2.8

Another location, this time we were indoors, for some reason I can't quite understand, they were using both tungsten and CFL lights hand in hand, in the same row (look above the kid's head), both have totally different color temperatures, once more, the 5D3 with auto white balance got everything just as I saw it, bravo. This was shot with the Canon 40mm Pancake wide open, I have mixed feelings about this lens, but I decided to keep it a while longer before deciding whether to keep it or sell it. It has nice bokeh, and is very sharp wide open, checkout the 100% crop below.

100% crop, Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake, wide open

RELATED POSTS

Canon 5D Mark II: First Impressions
Story & Review: Canon 5D Mark II vs Canon 60D & Canon 6D
Canon EF Lenses Chat: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Review
Hands On: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake

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Sophia's Birthday

We recently celebrated our daughter's 2nd birthday.  For events I typically use a combination of a standard zoom (24-70 equivalent) and a telephoto zoom (70-200 equivalent).  On this occasion, her birthday was being held at a play center, which to me is a nice place but nothing distinctive from a photographic perspective.  Since the place wasn't of particular significance, and because it would have enough space for me to maneuver, I decided to use the Sigma 50 1.4 instead of the Nikon 24-70 on a Nikon D600.  For  telephoto, I used the Sigma 50-150 2.8 (non-OS) with the Nikon D90.  I used a flash with both cameras.

Here are a few shots from the party, and how I mixed ambient and flash.

MIXING FLASH AND AMBIENT WITH THE D600

The light levels were not too low, so I decided to make the ambient light dominant.  

ISO: With the D600, I used Auto ISO and allowed it to go as high as 12,800 ISO.  Although a higher ISO has more noise, using a high ISO has several benefits: first, it is easier to get enough ambient in the shot and the greater the proportion of ambient vs. flash in the shot, the more the shot looks natural to me.  Second, a higher ISO allows me to use a higher shutter speed.  When flash is the only thing that's lighting a scene, a high shutter speed is not necessary because the flash duration will freeze the action.  However, when ambient is dominant or when I'm mixing flash and ambient and the ambient is not completely gone, a high shutter speed helps increase the chance of a sharper shot (by minimizing camera shake and subject movement).  Third, a high ISO gives me greater latitude in deciding where to bounce the flash (I can choose to bounce from a far wall if needed).  Finally, a high ISO makes the flash work less, and recycle faster.

Shutter speed:  Because I knew the ISO would go as high as 12,800 ISO, I was able to choose a high shutter speed while still allowing ambient to be dominant.  I chose 1/200 (which is incidentally the sync speed), which is 2 stops above the 1/focal length rule (for camera shake) and fast enough for action shots of these kids (to minimize blur from subject movement).  I didn't want to go higher than sync speed because that would have reduced the power of the flash by at least 2 stops.

MIXING FLASH AND AMBIENT WITH THE NIKON D90

As with the D600, I decided the ambient would be dominant.  

Exposure mode: I shot in aperture priority and adjusted the exposure as needed using exposure compensation.  

ISO: I selected the highest ISO that I am comfortable with on the D90, which was 1600 ISO.

Shutter speed:  Like many DSLRs, the D90 allows me to specify the slowest shutter speed when using flash. I chose 1/60, which isn't fast at all, but would be ok for stationary shots.  I didn't want to select a higher shutter speed because doing so would have reduced the amount of ambient in the shot, making the light look more artificial.

Flash exposure compensation:  I reduced the flash exposure compensation as needed in order to achieve the exposure I wanted.  For most of the shots I reduced the FEC to around -0.7 FEC to -2.3 FEC because the flash was acting as fill, and I wanted the ambient to be dominant.

Here are some shots from the D90 and Sigma 50-150.  I found that the combination worked well in terms of focal length, but my D90 and Sigma 50-150 tended to backfocus.  I've noticed that my D90 and Nikon 24-70 also tends to backfocus, so I may have to send my D90 for adjustment (it doesn't have AF fine-tuning).

POSTPROCESSING

In post, I tweaked the exposures and adjusted the white balance.  I took the shots in raw and I could have completely neutralized the color temperature.  However, the actual light was quite yellowish, and I wanted to preserve some of that warmth, so I intentionally increased the color temperature slightly above neutral.

One issue I encountered was that on the D600, the reds tended to be exaggerated.  The tricky part was that in the shadows, the reds looked ok.  But with highlights or brighter midtones the reds looked wildly saturated.  

Default colors - reds too saturated

I first tried to reduce the red saturation in the HSL panel of Lightroom but found that the reds in the shadows and darker midtones suffered.  I tried adjusting the camera profile, and got a similar result.  

Brighter reds look better but darker reds such as the lips look too dark/purplish

In the end, what I did was to desaturate the images then increase the vibrance.  What vibrance does is to increase the 'saturation' but only of colors that are less saturated.  Vibrance also has a decreased effect on skin colors.

Here are some more shots from the party.

Blow the candle, Sophia!

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