richorn

Greg, I am not sure how to answer this except by example. Did you feel that the highlights in the surf shot I posted above were blown out? I am sure I pushed the histogram to the limit as I wouldn't want any detail in the foaming edge of the wave, and the reflections on the wetsuit are just reflections of the sun. How about another example. This shot had the setting sun directly behind the model, as I was looking for a very bright halo effect, I exposed for the bright background and use a strobe for balance. Doesn't the sun burst still seem to have enough detail to be a bit yellow/gold? I personally don't consider this blown out. Does this help any? BTW, I looked at the D200 long and hard before I got the D2Xs, and to date am still quite pleased with the decision. I also always felt the AF on the Xs was superior my yards to the D200. IMHO.

I have an Aquatica S2 setup for sale. Housing, Flat port, extensions, and gears for the 60mm and 105mm, with the extra extension for a 2X T/C; Dome port, extensions and gears for the 12-24mm. I also have the S2 body for sale with a variety of lenses, (2) Inon Z220 strobes and arms, etc.etc. Drop me an email if you are interested. richorn at negative-altitude dot com I will respond with a phone number!

no real need! once you hit 30 frames it is video!

another WOW for the sub.... damn that is a fine piece of work!! glad I didn't have to post AFTER it!

I am not Luiz, but I play him... never mind! I shoot both the 70-200 f2.8 VR and the 200-400 f4 VR. OK, you already said the 200-400 was out, so I won't bother telling you how freakin' amazing it is... The 70-200 is a remarkable piece of glass. If it is too short for you, it works so well with the 2x T/C as to still be called "amazing". Surprisingly, the autofocus and the VR still work great, and it is still sharp as a tack! The first image attached is a shot at the 200mm end of the lens, taken last week at Lovers Point in Monterey. In studying the shot I think focus on the face was a bit soft, but that could be my eyes... The hands and water around him are REALLY sharp. The second shot is a 100% crop of the face. Pretty sure he just saw the rock he is heading towards... I am not sure if jpegs on the web are a good way to show off this lens, but these are incredibly sharp on the screen as well as when printed at 11x17. YMMV, but I think this lens ROCKS! BTW, killer shots Luiz!!

shouldn't we be bringing up the fact that in general, underwater with a strobe, that the shutter speed controls the exposure of the ambient background, and the aperture controls the light to the foreground from the strobes. I know, simplistic... but a good starting point to understanding the underwater speed/aperture relationship, no?

Luis hit the basics on the head! There is a bit more to the wide angle issue... There are very few (if any) zooms that get to the width of a 10.5 FishEye. Also, any "mid range" zoom will not get to a width that most of us consider "wide". There ARE wide angle zooms, such as the 10-22 and 12-24 mm lenses. These are however wide throughout their range. Mid Range zooms exist in ranges that are "almost" wide, and get to "almost" macro. That said, if you want Wide, you need a wide lens. If you want true macro, you need a macro lens. I (and many others) use a combination of zooms and primes to cover all of the shots we want to take. There is no one lens solution with an SLR.

I had an "interesting" 2006, to say the least, resulting in only one dive trip for 2006. This was my first trip with the D2Xs. I had a shot in mind and spent a couple of days working on getting it. Seen the behavior many times, but this was my first successful attempt at recording it.

Thanks for the report! Since moving to Phoenix from LA, this will be my ONLY local diving... Looks like I am going to have to find a few other divers to join me for weekend runaways! James, sorry I missed your earlier post. Yes, I am in Phoenix now. Director of Engineering for Arizona Film Studios. I left Warner Bros. to try things out here... That said, my photo biz has taken off lately, and I am doing a lot of above water shoots. Looks like I may be here for a while!

on the PC, using the ALT 0169 method, you MUST use the number pad keys, NOT the ones on top of the keyboard. If you are using a laptop, then you have to switch on numlock and use the keys hidden within the "letter" section. HTH.

Photography is what YOU represent your work to be. If you are charged with taking shots for an album cover, there are no constraints on what the graphic artist will do to your shot in post to get the image THEY want. No rules. If you are a photojournalist, then your work is expected to "show reality". This does not imply that an image cannot be severely worked over in post, just that it must not present a false reality. Cropping and color adjustments in general would still be acceptable. For most, the shots taken would be called art. Once again,no rules. Now that photography is my primary "job", I find I have to back off a bit and do more cropping in post. Most "prints" don't match the camera's native resolution, and getting in tight has caused major problems on many "standard size" prints. Sure, custom mattes are a solution, but many situations call for sizes that demand backing up and cropping after the fact. Yes, cropping with your fins is great advice, but as has been pointed out, the image in the viewfinder is not always an accurate representation of what is on the sensor. Another excellent example is the cover that Todd had recently. Compare the original image to the cover... In each case, you have to shoot for the situation, the job, and the expected result or use. If you are only concerned with photographic competitions, then you are expected to do a minimal amount of "post" to create an even playing field. In all other cases, crop away!

I am using the current MBP 17" with my D2Xs files, converting with both Lightroom and the Adobe Creative Suite 2. In all cases it has been fast enough, and as fast as any PC I had previously. I just finished both a Pro shoot of 1200 images and a dive trip of 1800. Speed has rarely been an issue.

What he said... 7mm Semi-Dry. 62 is darn cold. I get cold easily, so I would probably take my dry suit! Those temps are similar to Southern California. I am interested in what others have to say about Rocky Point, as it is now my closest local diving, and I am going to be looking into it myself in a few weeks when I return from La Paz.

I guess as you say, I won't know what it "would have" looked like, so I may not be able to tell. That said, I will try and be aware of it so as to try and help confirm my Xs having (or not) the same issue. Hopefully someone on my upcoming trip will have an X and we can compare.

Congrats! Hey Todd, I thought you got that one also??!!