Digital Photography Tips and Techniques - Latest Comments

Re: Precise Crop in Nikon Capture NX2

Inis — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 17:25:17 -0000

Thanks a lot for this hint! Very useful!

Re: Add Date Time Stamp to JPEG Photos Using Free Software – Mac & Linux & *nix Edition

Krizbleen — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 09:54:36 -0000

Spectacular! Thanks for this - I had to timestamp some photos for an unusual project and this was just the script I needed. Thanks!

Re: Contrast Enhancement in Nikon Capture NX

Dan — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 04:41:37 -0000

Thank you!!

Re: Another Mac Option for Tethered Shooting with Nikon DSLR Cameras

jbeattie — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 19:23:00 -0000

Icarus Camera control worked great with my new nikon D3200. Some settings are vague, but it works like a charm. Thanks for posting.

Re: Add Date Time Stamp to JPEG Photos Using Free Software – Mac & Linux & *nix Edition

Benjamin Schran — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 03:39:40 -0000

I was wondering if you all could help me i got this to work and work well... however some of the photos i have lack an exif timestamp... if you could help me enter the file creation time instead of exif i would appriciate it

Re: Retouching Portraits with Capture NX

Jimmy Ducks — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 09:19:19 -0000

Yeah, I don't like the look of the "after" lips either, but the bag-away effect is great.

Re: Nikon Flash Interface

Todd — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 12:21:27 -0000

If you still read this, thanks for the info. I am wondering if you found any data present "pre-flash" that could be parsed by a processor that happens to be precisely at a point in time prior to the flash. In other words, are there any data bytes that occur at X time prior to the flash contact closure on the hotshoe? I would like to capture that event and make use of it prior to the flash event. If you did see something, did you happen to make note of the time between the data byte for preflash and the actual flash trigger event?

Re: Nikon CLS Advanced Wireless Lighting, Part I

Light — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:17:38 -0000

I love these technical blogs! Keep it up please!

Re: Create Photo Montage with ImageMagick

Tabea — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 04:37:14 -0000

Hey, this is a really great example of some easy ImageMagick work, if you are sick of seeing their example "rose" all the time ;)
Thanks :)

Re: Add Date Time Stamp to JPEG Photos Using Free Software – Mac & Linux & *nix Edition

JohnW — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:33:12 -0000

Thanks for this - it was very useful to me as it showed me the syntax for the convert command. (I didn't even know it could do this.) I have an IP security camera which snaps away when there is any activity and I use a script to convert the still images into a video. I create the videos at 20fps for easier reviewing (unfortunately I get a lot of false alarms). Now, I have added the addition of a time stamp to each frame before the video is created so if there is something I need to look more closely at I can easily locate the original stills (whose file base names are the date and time).

Re: iShoot Wireless Flash Trigger PT-04 CN Review

cornerplotter — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:23:53 -0000

Mis-firing/not firing appears to be a contact issue within the hot shoe contacts of the trigger unit. If I had a 3rd hand to apply downward pressure on the trigger unit, it would fire. I have made temporary improvements, but the design is poor. Also, the soldering is weak, which means that the red & black cables within the trigger just fall off the pcb, though to be fair, the manufacturer wouldn't expect the housing to be opened and the pcb moved about. A wiring diagram would really help, and an inprovement of the pressure arrangement in the hot-shoe contact terminals.

Re: How to Add Date Time Stamp to JPEG Photos Using Free Software, II

Olli Männistö — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 11:06:20 -0000

I immediately modified this with portrait support and added a black outline to the date. I see I'm not the only one to come up with that. Also a rather elegant use of "for" to process the command output there. I was wondering for a bit how to do that but just went with the temp file method of the original.

Adding black outline to the text works like this:

convert %_inname% -gravity SouthEast -font "Digital-7-Italic" -pointsize %pointsize% -stroke black -strokewidth 3 -fill white -annotate +%pointsize%+%pointsize% %DTString% %_outname%

For some reason the example below does the annotation twice..

Re: How to Find Out the Total Shutter Actuations of your DSLR

Onecanucl — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:36:51 -0000

With Olympus it is built into the camera, a few buttons pressed and all that info is available.

Re: How To Create a Soft Fade Vignette Effect in Nikon Capture NX

Jon Wood — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:37:13 -0000

I can get all the way up to the Feather step and it won't let me choose feather..I have no luck with this site to get my Capture NX software to make a vignette on my photographs. I've gone through this at least 50 times with no success..This lesson isn't showing me something..I've spent lots of time with your lesson and still nothing.

Re: Reversed Lens Macro Photography

Uncle Dave — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:39:03 -0000

I've rediscovered this technique after years, it's great! I use some extension tubes with a reversed 50mm to capture an area about 11mm wide. It's sharp, but you need to be patient, and add lots of light to get a decent DOF (no surprises there).

Re: Flash Extender and Diffuser for Built-in Flash

Ricardo Calvo — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:00:00 -0000

Whats that array of lenses?

Re: Cross Processing in Capture NX2

yimi — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:41:56 -0000

thank you

Re: Nikon CLS Advanced Wireless Lighting, Part V

Chudak — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:40:06 -0000

Hi, I found your post while looking for information to implement a DIY focust assist light that can plug into the hot shoe of a nikon dslr.

Have you been able to figure out the commands camera uses to trigger a focus assist light on a flash unit?

Thank you!

Re: What Causes the Sparkles in Night Photos

NobleScarlet — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:15:48 -0000

Very useful information. I also wondered the cause of those rays and sparkles when taking pictures at night. So the answer is aperture. I noticed that when I squint my eyes at night, I can see a lot of rays from light sources compared to when I open my eyes fully where there are little to no rays around light sources. Never thought it also applies to cameras as well. I learned a lot from this, thanks! :D

Re: Nikon Flash Interface

Judoruss2003 — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:16:49 -0000

Hi, not sure if this thread is dead, but here goes...

I am interested in adjusting some cheap triggers I own in to keeping flashes out of standby mode. Can I do this simply with a positive voltage between the clock and ground pins?

Re: Find Out the Total Shutter Actuations of your DSLR the Easy Way

Kissu — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:44:26 -0000

I tried .jpg, directly from camera (450D) and it didn't work:(

Re: Early Adopters of Nikon D800: Guinea Pigs?

MGR — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:39:30 -0000

The green hue is a real issue. it's not the LCD but the WB which is too 'cool'. This is a real problem on portrait. Otherwise, the camera is very good but it must be fixed urgently because otherwise you have to fix all your images manually in lightroom to adjust correct WB.

Re: How to Add Date Time Stamp to JPEG Photos Using Free Software

Madmak2005 — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:10:49 -0000

Look 1 above. It's my and the code do what you want.

Re: How to Add Date Time Stamp to JPEG Photos Using Free Software

iggy — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:33:48 -0000

Does anyone know what is the the name of the font used by old film
cameras for date stamp? Or at least a font that looks like that? Because
these LCD fonts looks too fake and unrealistic.

Re: Nikon D800 Image Sizes

Jonathan Brownlee, MFA, MPh — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:11:31 -0000

I tend to agree with Scott Thomas, but I must say that these improvements are certainly worth it. The images from the D3x and D800 are nothing less than breathtaking. I Print 20x30 and larger on a regular basis, and the resolution and clarity of the finished print is fabulous. aside from the resolution, the tonal graduations, the absolute accuracy of the colors and the contrast speaks volumes.
I say make the sacrifice and get one of theses tools and create you best, it is true, a better camera WILL make you a better photographer...