Smart Phone Apps that Calculate DOF For Your Nikon D90!

Simple DoF Calculator

Let's see a show of hands - how many of you miss the colored lines that used to be printed on the barrel of the old manual focus lenses showing Depth Of Field? Hmm, not many. Well, I miss them (of course, maybe I am the only one old enough to remember them!)

Back in the days of manual 35mm SLR cameras, the lens manufacturers printed various colored lines on the barrel of the lens that matched up with similar lines on the focus ring. On each particular focal length lens, you could instantly see, based on the distance to the subject and the f/stop you selected, the distances where everything would be in focus. Say you were shooting a close-up of a flower you could see if the leaves in front or behind would be in or out of focus and, depending on what you wanted to achieve in the picture, either change the f/stop or to go to a shorter or longer focal length lens. Similarly, if you were shooting a landscape and wanted everything from almost at your feet out to infinity to be in focus, the lines on the lens barrel would tell you what f/stop adjustments you had to make to achieve the depth of field that you wanted.

Honestly, I shoot probably 25% of my pictures off of a tripod or a "bean bag" filled with foam peanuts. And, I Manual focus my D90 almost all of the times when it is on a support. I was going crazy trying to calculate depth of field to see what would be sharp (for me the Depth of Field preview button is worthless for finding precise DOF). I would shoot a picture and zoom it larger on the screen to try to see what was in focus; if I needed to change something I would have to recompose the picture with the new settings. That was until I discovered Depth of Field apps for my smartphone!

Depth of Field apps are available for Droid and iPhones - they sure make life easier. And they are usually free so you can try several and see which you like best. How they work is: you select your D90 from a list of cameras and select the focal length of the lens you are using. Then you select your f/stop and distance to the subject and the app tells you the closest and farthest distance that will be in sharp focus. And you can then make any changes to the camera/lens settings to achieve your desired results.

One more thing - like I said, these apps are almost all free. So, if you don't really understand Depth of Field, go ahead and get an app and just play with it. You don't have to pay for film or pay for the app, so shoot a bunch of pictures and switch lenses, f/stops, focus distances, shutter speeds and ISO and use the DOF app on your phone - before long it will all begin to make sense how all of these things work together and you'll begin to see your photographs moving to a whole new level.

Written By BayDogs

New Lightning, Sound, Laser Trigger for the Nikon D90!

This is one cool new product for the D90. A multi-trigger for capturing lighting, waterdrops, and more!

NERO is a versatile device for photographers to take special photographs by triggering their SLRs or external flashes. The device has been designed based on microcontroller technology. It is equipped with built-in light, laser and sound sensors, also incorporates a timer for flexible control of timelapse photography.

Lightning Trigger

Sound Trigger

Sound Trigger with Lock

Time Lapse (1-10 secs)

Time Lapse (1-10 mins)

Laser Trigger with Delay

Laser Trigger with MultiShot

Long Exposure

Super Bulb

Manuel Trigger

Read More Here at there Website

The Best Item on the D90 Menu (That you probably don't even know about)

I'm sure that you've closely examined all of the Main Menus on the back of the D90. They are all laid out there in sequence top to bottom: Playback Menu, Shooting Menu, Custom Setting Menu, Setup Menu, Retouch Menu and toward the bottom is the Recent Settings Menu. But there are sub-menus buried under sub-menus (some I am sure I have never found) so if you haven't discovered the My Menu, don't feel like you are The Lone Ranger.

My Menu is where you can save other menu settings that you use and might need to change frequently. By saving them in My Menu, you don't have to click and scroll from one main menu to another and then to a sub-menu and another sub-menu - and on and on.

Go to the Recent Settings/My Menu on the left (the bottom main menu above the question mark). When you click it will show all of your recent changes to all of the menus. Hidden at the bottom of the list is Choose Tab. If you select Choose Tab and click OK, you will see My Menu and click on it. Now you have your own personal menu where you can add the settings that you need to access or change most often. At this point, you can click on Add Items which will bring up the five main menus and allow you to go to the sub-menus and add your settings to your list. Once you add a few items you can change the order in which they are listed or remove something if you decide in the future that it isn't as important as you once thought.

Now, just when you think life with your D90 couldn't get any better - if you find yourself using your My Menu often, try reassigning a designated button on your D90 to take you directly to My Menu so you can access your selected settings quickly. I reassigned my FN button which I wasn't using (found on the right front under the autofocus assist light) so that when I push the FN button, the first item on My Menu list pops up on the screen. You can reassign the FN button or one of several other buttons by going to the Custom Settings menu / Controls sub-menu and find Assign FUNC button (or one of the other buttons you don't use) and find Access Top Item on My Menu and click OK. Now every time you push your designated button, My Menu will pop up and you can scroll backwards through My Menu to other items you have saved as important.

I have AF-Area Mode as my first assigned item so I can change it quickly without searching. Among other selections, I also have Assign AE-L/AF-L button, Focus Point Wrap Around and Battery Info on My Menu.

Take a look and give My Menu a try and tell us what you put on your My Menu. I think once you use it you will be glad you found out about it.

 

Witten by BayDogs

New Nikon D90 Book - Everything You Need to Know!

Nikon D90: Everything You Need to Know About the Camera Including Features, Optional Accessories, Reception and More [Paperback]

No reviews yet on this new book but I thought I'd post it since it is about the Nikon D90.

This is the perfect guide for everyone, especially those who are interested in learning about Nikon D90 which is a 12.3 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera model by Nikon. Read about features, optional accessories, reception and more. This book will provide you with substantial information about the camera and allow you to keep up with photography enthusiasts.

Project Webster represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Project Webster continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge.

Paperback: 174 pages
Publisher: Webster's Digital Services (February 28, 2012)
Language: English

Check it out Here

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Nikon D90 Cinema Kit Pro - Videoing Made Easy!

For the D90 owner who uses the videoing capability's of this great camera.

I found this great little product after doing some more research on making better videos with my D90. Seems to be built really well and attaches easily to the hot shoe flash mount.Videoing with my D90 is definitely not a strong point for me so any help I can get is wonderful. Has anyone tried this? The reviews seem to be good!

• Manufactured to the Highest Quality Available.
• With True Enhanced Performance.
• Latest Technical Development.

The Cinema Kit Pro # HCKP gives you all you need for improved outdoor video capture on your DLSR camera. With the HoodLoupe pressed up against your eye, you will have a glare free LCD screen to pull focus from, German glass to view through and 3 points of contact for steady hand held shots. The Cinema Kit Pro mounts in just seconds and fits all DSLR camera bodies.

Just the Facts:
Kit includes HoodLoupe 3.0
HoodMag 3.0
HoodCrane
Mounts to hot shoe
For DSLR Video Capture

Check out the Reviews Here

Check out the Website Here

"All in one" Walk around Lenses for the Nikon D90!

Do you own an all in one lens? That’s one lens that does it all! A lens that covers everything from wide landscapes to zoomed in close-ups of wildlife and sports. I’ve never even tried one on my D90 yet but I’m thinking about getting one soon…I guess the true term of these lenses is a walk around lens. Not having to constantly change lenses in certain situations might be nice at times…

I know specific individual lens take better images for what they are made for so I’ll always keep them available. But some days just walking around it might be nice to just have one lens that can do it all. We all know about or heard of the Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF DX VR. This seemed to be the one everyone gets. I believe there is a newer version that came out also. So the price might have come down a bit on the original. I’ve always read great reviews on this lens but for me I was hoping for something a little longer then 200mm. I’ve been reading a lot about the New Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens. This lens won the EISA 2011-2012 best product award and seems to be what I’m looking for! Actually Tamron makes two of these lenses, the Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC is a little older but still gets good reviews…..

Do any of you have or shoot either of these lenses? Or any suggestions for me?

New SB910 Speedlight for your D90!

Just in time for Christmas. Please Santa bring me one or two!

Engineered for both FX and DX-format D-SLRs, the SB-910 offers unparalleled lighting performance in the field and in the studio. Featuring Nikon’s versatile i-TTL (intelligent through-the-lens) metering for on camera or wireless flash control, the SB-910 can operate as a hot shoe mounted Speedlight, remote unit or wireless Commander. And with refined operability including illuminated buttons for use in low light and improved thermal cut out protection, the SB-910 is the perfect partner to your Nikon camera.

Unparalleled lighting performance
Seamless integration with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System

The SB-910 Speedlight operates as a hot shoe mounted Speedlight, remote unit or wireless Commander (with up to four channel options) capable of controlling as many as three remote groups (A,B and C) and an unlimited number of SB-910, SB-900, SB-700 or SB-R200 units. With a host of pro flash features, including precision i-TTL flash control, Manual with Power Ratio, three illumination patterns for specific shooting environments, wide zoom range from 17–200mm and streamlined controls and menus, it’s no wonder that Nikon is the overwhelming choice when it comes to flash photography.

Read More Here!

Click Here for all the D90 Speedlight Options on this Blog!

HDR from a Single Raw Photo – Nikon D90 Blog

I get asked a lot if you can make an HDR photo from a single raw file. My answer is sure you can! I've created some pretty nice HDR photos from a single Raw (NEF) file. I know a lot of HDR purest out there will disagree and say that’s not real HDR but that's OK, it still works and looks great…So I’m going to try to show you how to accomplish this. It's really easy!

Some might say why would you need to just use one raw file anyway? Well real HDR is done using your cameras bracketing. That’s 3 photos of the same subject bracketed, one underexposed, one overexposed, and one perfectly exposed. Like -150, +150, and 000 exposure values. The D90 can only do 3 shot bracketing but some other cameras can do 5 shoot bracketing. That’s all fine and dandy when your subject isn’t moving and you can set up your tripod and take 3 quick burst shots bracketed, but what if you want to HDR a moving subject or didn’t plan on doing a HDR photo and only have one raw image to use. That’s were this how to tutorial comes in handy. HDR (High Dynamic Range) from a single raw file.

This tutorial is my personal work flow to accomplish this technique. I’ll be using Photoshop Elements 10 with Adobe Raw and Dynamic HDR software. That’s all you’ll need. Adobe Raw is the main factor in this how to tutorial. Basically when you download your raw photos and go to full edit them in Elements, Adobe Raw opens first with your raw image. And this is where we will need to use the exposure slider to set your over and under exposures. So you will be opening the same image 3 times in adobe raw and saving each one as a different exposure. Each time you open your photo you’ll need to adjust the exposure slider and save as to your desktop. Once this has all been done it’s time for the fun stuff, using your HDR software. So lets get started.

Click on Images to see at full Size

#1 Open Elements Organizer, highlight your raw image and click Full Photo Edit. opening Adobe Raw.

So find your Raw image in the organizer and select Full Edit. This will open it in adobe Raw. This first image is going to be my perfect exposure so the exposure slider should be at 0.00.

#2 Adobe Raw is now open, Exposure slider is at 0.00 just were we want it. Click Open Image.

Next, click open and your image should appear in the elements editor. In the editor just simply click file > Save as. File type PSD and name it 000 to your desk top (Very important that you save it as a .PSD file so it retains its correct exposure data for the HDR software) Note: Make sure you don’t change anything to do with the image size or other editing. You can do all that after the HDR image is done.

#3 This is what you should see after opening the image from adobe raw.

#4 click file > Save as. File type PSD and name it 000 to your desk top

Now you have created your first of 3 of the same images to your desk top for later use. Now we need to repeat step #1 again to get back to step #2. This time we are going to use the exposure slider and set it to -150 which makes the image darker. Once you have done this hit open image to go back to Elements editor to save this image as -150.

#5 Once back open in Adobe Raw slide the exposure down to -150 and open image

Now we are going to save this second image as -150 to our desk top.

#6 click file > Save as. File type PSD and name it -150 to your desk top

Repeat step#1 to get to step# 2. This time we are going to use the exposure slider and set it to +150 which makes the image brighter. Once you have done this hit open image to go back to Elements editor to save this image as +150.

#7 Once back open in Adobe Raw slide the exposure up to +150 and open image.

Now we are going to save this third image as +150 to our desk top.

#8 click file > Save as. File type PSD and name it +150 to your desk top

So that should do it! You should have 3 of the same images on your desk top saved with 3 different exposure values….Now on to the fun part.

Now it’s time to open your HDR software. I’m using Dynamic HDR but I’m sure any HDR software will do like the very popular Photomatix Pro. So open your HDR software and click, Create HDR File. You will be prompted to select your 3 images you saved to your desk top earlier. Select File 000,-150, and +150.

#9 Open HDR software, Click Create HDR file, and click add images.

#10 Select your 3 images on your desk top. 000,-150,+150 and hit OK.

The next window (below) will open and we need to do a few things here before we proceed. You should notice first that all three images are showing the same exposure value. So the first thing you need to do in this window is hit the Guess Exposure button. This will read the raw image data in display the correct exposures. Note: they might not read exactly 000, -150, and +150 but they should be close. Make sure the “Align Files in Next Step” is unchecked. We would only use this option if we used our camera to bracket 3 shoots and might need to align something like clouds. But since we are only using one image we don’t need to align anything. Once you have this all done go ahead and hit OK.

#11 Click Guess EV (exposure value), uncheck Align files in next step, Hit Ok.

Your HDR software will begin making your HDR file that you are going to Tone Map in the final steps.


#12 Time to Tone Map your just created HDR file. Click Tone Map HDR file.

Once you hit Tone Map it will take a few seconds for the next window to come up. Once it has been tone mapped your HDR image is done, But to get that HDR look your probably looking for you need to play with the Sliders first. The most important sliders to use for that cool HDR look is the:

1. Dramatic Light Radius
2. Dramatic Light Strength
3. Surface Smoothness

#13 Use your 3 most important sliders to get the look you want. Then hit Process and save….Your done you did it! My personal next step is to open the new finished image in my editor and make all my normal edits….

For this image I used in this tutorial I only did the following to get this finished look. Dramatic Light Radius slider to 12.02, Dramatic Light Strength to 1.00, and Surface Smoothness to 0.28 and that’s it…Once you play around and get comfortable start playing with other buttons like, filters, gamma, and all the others...

I hope you'll give this a try! please let me know if I forgot something or you have a general question! I'm no english scholar so I hope my grammar wasn't too bad. lol

Books on HDR Photography you might be interested in:

Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography
HDR Photography Photo Workshop
Practical HDR
A World in HDR
High Dynamic Range Digital Photography For Dummies

Happy Halloween Nikon D90 followers!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

I found this link on general tips to taking great Halloween photos!....Send me you best Halloween photos and I'll post the best here for all to see!

Five Great Budget Lenses for the Nikon D90!

With today's economy it seems we are all on some kind of crazy budget just so we can pay our bills each month. The cost of gas, food and everything else has really cut into all my hobbies and especially my photography hobby. I don't see any $600 plus dollar lenses in my immediate future but maybe, just maybe a new budget lens could satisfy my photography urges in the mean time, all 5 under $300 dollars each.

Here is a list of my top five great budget lenses, and when I say great I mean all 5 of these lenses get great user reviews. So don't even hesitate to pick one up thinking it's to cheap to be good!

1. Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens $180 - User Reviews

2. Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR $194 - User Review

3. Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF $125 - User Reviews

4. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX - $199 - User Reviews

5. Nikon 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro $280 - User Reviews

Let us know if you have a favorite budget lens!