BIRDS AS ART NOTES 10/18/2011

• THE NEW CANON EOS-1D X DIGITAL SLR CAMERA
• HOMER & BOSQUE IPT UPDATES
• Nikon DSLR User’s Guide for the D300s/D700/D3S/d3x

THE NEW CANON EOS-1D X DIGITAL SLR CAMERA

Yesterday Canon announced the introduction of its new flagship professional digital camera body, the full frame EOS-1D X. Click here for all the details.

HOMER & BOSQUE IPT UPDATES

Two folks took advantage of the huge late registration discounts and will be joining Robert O’Toole and me on the Homer Bald Eagle IPTs next week.

This just in at 1:00pm on Tuesday, 10/18: both slots on the upcoming Bosque IPT have been filled.

Nikon DSLR User’s Guide for the D300s/D700/D3S/d3x

Well, it took long enough–at least two years from concept to the final PDF–but Robert O’Toole has out-done himself by creating a masterpiece user’s guide for using Nikon gear. I just had my first look at the finished document and all that I can say is “Wow! Many Nikon folks show up on IPTs knowing little about properly setting up their cameras. “How do you see the histogram?’ “Don’t know….” “Can you set your camera so that we see the RGB histogram and blinkies in the same frame? “I once saw it done but don’t know how….” For me, it has long seemed that operating a Nikon camera required degrees in Physics, Language, and Logic. With Robert’s new guide those days are over.

You will learn when, how, and why to work in Manual mode and when, why, and how to work in one of the auto-modes (by setting exposure compensation). You will learn the various camera control options and custom settings so that you can fine-tune your camera to suit your shooting style. You will learn how and why many top pros works at higher ISOs than the regular Joes. And you will learn how Robert uses both Auto-ISO Control and Exposure Compensation while working in Manual Mode to routinely create perfectly exposed action photographs. He explains exactly how he sets the important camera controls. And why. Those include Release Mode, Focus Mode, and Rear Button Focus. You will learn how to set your camera and your flash to create flash blurs. You will learn which AF Mode Robert uses 90% of the time and how he sets it up using Menu/Custom Settings Menu.

He will teach you how and why to set all buttons and dials. How and why to use Live View. About the only metering mode he uses. How, why, and when to switch AF points with the Multi-Selector. How and why to use the often-overlooked Info Button and the often over-looked My Menu feature. Then he takes you through the Camera Menus while dealing with the hows and whys of how he sets up the important items.

If you use Nikon gear then you simply cannot live without Robert’s great new guide. You owe it to yourself to make your life easier, to learn to make better images, and to learn exactly how a top professional does things. The Nikon DSLR User’s Guide is a comprehensive 45-page PDF that is sent by e-mail. There are dozens and dozens of diagrams and screen captures and even a few photos to illustrate key points. You can purchase your copy (no sharing digital files please :)) for only $32 by calling BIRDS AS ART at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand, by sending a PayPal to us at birdsasart@att.net, or by sending a check for $32 made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL. If by check be sure to include your e-mail address. You can save $2.00 by ordering your Nikon Guide through the BAA On-Line Store by clicking here for only $30.