The Mansurovs

AjRichard – Beware of buying gear from unauthorized sellers

Jun

2011

June 14, 2011

I recently witnessed how a friend of mine got robbed by an online camera store called AjRichard based out of New York, USA when he purchased a Canon 5D Mark II. The camera was out of stock for a few weeks in every single local and online store he trusted and he could not wait any longer. That’s when he decided to expand his search and see if he could find an Internet store that had the 5D MKII in stock. He eventually ended up on Nextag.com looking at a list of merchants with “in stock” indicators. The top sellers all had very high ratings and he noticed that some of the sellers were advertising the 5D MKII at lower than the $2,500 “normal” rate that everybody else sells for. The top result was AjRichard.com and with over 1,000 reviews, 5 star rating and a “Trusted Seller” status, he decided to take the plunge and order the camera at just $2,350 – a really good deal he thought he was getting. The sad part is, he felt something was not right while making the purchase and still did it, thinking that his credit card company would protect him in case something went wrong. Next day, he got a call from AjRichard sales rep, who told him that camera battery and charger were not included in the $2,350 price and convinced him to buy those, along with some accessories he did not need. The order went up to $2,629 and he was promised free three day shipping. He needed the camera ASAP, so he agreed to complete the transaction and paid in full. Here is what his order looked like:

What To Do With Dust Inside Lens

Apr

2011

April 14, 2011

By Nasim Mansurov 16 Comments

One of the most frequently asked questions that I get from our readers, is what to do with dust inside a lens and whether it is something to worry about. I decided to write an article on this subject, because lens dust and flecks are a very common issue not only for camera sensors, but also for lenses. When I first discovered dust inside my brand new lens that I only used for a couple of days, I was very disappointed and I remember how I started searching for a solution online in panic mode. If you are frustrated with a similar issue and do not know what to do, keep on reading.

1) How to Inspect Lens for Dust

So, how can you find out if you have dust inside your lens? Actually, let me rephrase this question – how can you find out how much dust you have inside your lens? Because even brand new lenses normally do have some foreign particles in between lens elements. A quick visual inspection of the lens front will often reveal large dust particles behind the first lens element, if there are any. Just make sure that the front is thoroughly cleaned beforehand and any protective filters are removed. Look straight and then inspect the lens at an angle and you might see some dust behind the front glass element. Now if you really want to see dust, and I promise you will, here is the best way to do it. First, find a very bright LED flashlight. You can find those pretty much anywhere nowadays, even in a grocery store. Next, you will need to open up the lens aperture (the lens obviously needs to be dismounted from the camera, rear lens cap should be removed). If you have an older lens with an aperture ring, you just need to set the aperture ring to the smallest value (which is the largest aperture) like f/1.4 or f/2.8 and you are ready to go. If you have a modern lens like Nikon “G” type AF-S lenses, then you will need to push up a small metal lever to open the lens aperture as seen below. To keep the lens aperture open, you will need to keep pushing it with one finger:

Nikon G Lens Aperture Open

Nikon vs Canon vs Sony

Oct

2010

October 30, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov 104 Comments

I have been getting a lot of questions from our readers about whether they should pick a particular camera from Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax or some other manufacturer. These inquiries are only increasing over time, so I decided to post an article on what I think about different camera systems and why you should go with a particular brand versus others. Many of the questions are something like “should I go for Nikon D5000 or Canon 1000D” or similar, with readers asking me to tell them why I would recommend or pick a certain brand/type of a camera over another. When it comes to the question of Nikon vs Canon vs Sony, there are lots of heated debates over the Internet, so I wanted to share my personal thought on this subject matter as well.

As you know, I have been mainly writing about Nikon – simply because pretty much all of my gear is from Nikon and it is the system of choice for me. Why don’t I shoot Canon or Sony? Is Nikon superior than these brands? No, not really. Read on to understand why.

How to Find Total Shutter Actuations on Nikon and Canon DSLRs

Aug

2010

August 25, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov 18 Comments

During the last several weeks, I have received several requests from our readers about finding the total number of shutter actuations on their DSLRs. I decided to write a short article on how you can find the total shutter actuations on both Nikon and Canon DSLRs, in case you are interested in seeing how much you have been using your camera or how close your shutter speed is to the manufacturers’ rated shutter life of 150,000 (on most entry and mid-level cameras) or 300,000 (professional cameras).

1) EXIF Data

The information on the total shutter actuations on your camera is preserved in file headers, known as “metadata” or “EXIF”. If you do not know what EXIF is and what it is used for, check out my “What is EXIF” article that I wrote a while ago. Basically, your camera writes all exposure-related information such as date, time, shutter speed, aperture, ISO and a bunch of other important information into the header of each file. Some camera manufacturers like Nikon and Canon also add unique shutter actuations data fields that are used for seeing the total number of exposures or “shutter actuations” cameras have.

2) Switch to JPEG format

If you are shooting RAW, it is best to switch to JPEG format just for getting the required information from your camera. While the camera native RAW format preserves all of the EXIF information that is coming out of the camera, third party conversion software like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom can strip out some of the proprietary EXIF data, including the number of shutter actuations. Therefore, switching to JPEG will allow you to view EXIF data straight, without having to import the image into Lightroom or Photoshop first. It doesn’t matter what size of JPEG files you choose – even JPEG BASIC works fine. Once selected, take a picture of anything you want.

3) Download EXIF viewer

In order to view the proprietary EXIF information from files, you need to use an image EXIF viewer that does not strip out anything from the file. Unfortunately, almost all current image viewers only display generic EXIF data that most people use and ignore the rest. Instead of properly reading EXIF data from files and then parsing the results, they typically just look for generic EXIF tags within the file and display them when they are available. If something is not available, it stays blank. To reduce the number of blank items to the minimum, they only provide generic information that is more or less standardized across most camera manufacturers.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cameras, Digital Photography, Gear, Photography Articles Tagged With: Canon, DSLR Camera, Howto, Nikon, Photography Tips

Nikon D300s vs Canon 50D High ISO Noise Comparison

Mar

2010

March 18, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov 8 Comments

This article is to primarily show the key differences between the Nikon D300/D300s and Canon 50D and provide information on high ISO performance above ISO 800. While there is a significant difference in both features and price between these cameras, in this Nikon D300s vs Canon 50D comparison, I will primarily focus on low-light performance between these two cameras.

Major differences between the two cameras

Sensor Resolution – Nikon D300/D300s is 12.3 Megapixels (4288 x 2848) while Canon 50D is 15.1 Megapixels (4752 x 3168).
Pixel Pitch – Nikon D300s is 5.49 microns and Canon 50D is 4.7 microns.
Crop factor – All Nikon APS-C (DX) sensors have a crop factor of 1.5x, while all Canon APS-C sensors have a crop factor of 1.6x.
Autofocus focus points – Nikon D300/D300s has the same professional autofocus system as in Nikon D3/D3s/D3x with a total of 51 focus points, while the Canon 50D has a much inferior 9 focus point system.
ISO – Both cameras can handle up to ISO 3200 in native mode. Nikon D300/D300s can be boosted to ISO 6,400, while Canon 50D can go up to ISO 12,800.
Wireless flash master – Nikon D300/D300s has a built-in flash that can be used as a master flash to control other Nikon flashes, while Canon 50D does not have such feature.
Exposure compensation – Most Nikon cameras can handle -5 to +5 EV, while Canon 50D can only handle -2 to +2 EV.
Frames per second – very similar performance between the cameras. Nikon D300 is 6 FPS, Nikon D300s is 7 FPS and Canon 50D is 6.3 FPS. With the MB-D10 battery pack both Nikon D300 and D300s can shoot 8 frames per second.
Movie mode – Nikon D300s can handle 720p video and Canon 50D has no video support.
Viewfinder coverage – 100% on Nikon D300/D300s and 95% on Canon 50D (pentaprism on both).
Weight – Canon 50D is lighter (730g) than Nikon D300/D300s (840g).
Custom Functions – 25 on Canon 50D and 48 on Nikon D300/D300s.
Price – Canon 50D is currently selling for $925 at B&H and Nikon D300s is $1,519.

High ISO Comparison

Let’s move on to high ISO tests for both Nikon D300s and Canon 50D. Here is what I photographed for this test:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cameras, Digital Photography, Gear Tagged With: Canon, Canon 50D, DSLR Camera, Nikon, Nikon D300, Nikon D300s

Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0G VR vs Canon 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

Mar

2010

March 10, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov Leave a Comment

I will be honest – doing a comparison between the Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0G VR and the Canon 17-40mm f/4.0L USM was somewhat painful. First of all, the DSLR bodies that I was using did not have the same megapixel count (Nikon D300 is 12 Mp and Canon 50D is 15 Mp) and crop factor (Nikon D300 is 1.5x and Canon 50D is 1.6x). Achieving the same field of view and having similarly sized 100% crops for accurate testing and comparison was extremely difficult and I had to move my setup back and forth to get to a similar size. Even then, I was not able to get the results I wanted in the corners, so I will be focusing more on center performance rather than corners.

The image on the left is Nikon 16-35mm and the image on the right is Canon 17-35mm. Both were shot in RAW with no post-processing in Lightroom besides adjusting white balance.

Let’s take a look at the far corners @ 17mm f/4.0:

The Nikon 16-35mm clearly has both sharper image and better contrast in the corners.

Let’s now take a look at the center @ 17mm f/4.0 where I was able to match the view:

As can be clearly seen, Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 VR is significantly sharper than Canon 17-40mm f/4.0. When compared at f/8.0 both lenses are very similar in terms of sharpness and contrast. Now let’s see the performance @ 24mm f/4.0:

Again, Nikon 16-35mm is the clear winner, delivering more sharpness wide open.

The final test is both lenses at 35mm:

As expected, there is no change – the Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 is sharper than Canon 17-40mm f/4.0 @ f/4.0 across all focal lengths.

I did not bother uploading the images at other apertures, because both lenses perform very similarly at f/5.6 and higher and at f/8.0 there is practically no difference between them. The above test is to show that the Nikon 16-35mm is sharper than its counterpart Canon 17-40mm when shot wide open both in the center and in the corners.

The above has been posted to the Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 Review on the fifth page.

Filed Under: Digital Photography, Gear, Lenses, Reviews Tagged With: Canon, Lens, Lens Reviews, Nikon, Wide Angle Lens

How to Photograph Corporate Portraits

Mar

2010

March 8, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov 22 Comments

I have been getting many requests lately to write an article on corporate portrait photography, after my last corporate event photography tips article that I wrote a few weeks ago. Photographing employees for corporate websites and magazine articles is very different from corporate event photography – it is similar to photographing a portrait in a professional studio. Obviously, the atmosphere is different, lighting is different and the gear you use is also very different. You must be equipped with portable lighting equipment that you can assemble and disassemble in minutes. In this article, I will go through the different types of corporate portrait photography and what you can do to get the best possible results with the least amount of money spent on gear and lighting equipment.

Corporate Portrait

Must-Have DSLR Accessories

Feb

2010

February 20, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov 56 Comments

Every photographer has a toolbox of camera accessories that are heavily used for photography. While some photographers have a large array of accessories for every type of situation and need, others only buy what they feel is necessity for their photography work. In this article, I will provide some detailed information about what accessories should be in every photographer’s bag – I call it a “must-have” list.

1) A good camera bag

As soon as you buy a camera, you buy a camera bag, because you want to protect your investment and easily transport it between locations. But choosing the right camera bag is not always easy – there are so many different bags out there, that it gets frustratingly difficult to make the right decision. Often times, people end up buying a small camera bag, only to replace it in a couple of months with a different one, realizing that they need more room for their camera and lenses. This happens all the time and it also happened to me! I got my first Nikon D80 DSLR, thinking that I wouldn’t spend a penny more on an already expensive camera. I bought a compact camera bag that fits the camera and a couple of lenses and thought that I was good to go. Eventually, I ended up buying another lens and extra accessories and my bag was too small to accommodate everything. So I had to go and buy another camera bag with more room. Instead of wasting your money like this, you should buy a good camera bag from the get-go. I personally prefer a backpack, but some people like the convenience of using sling-bags and shoulder bags. It is a personal preference and you should definitely try before you buy…a local camera store is a great place to start. My personal favorites are LowePro and Kata bags, specifically LowePro Pro Runner 300 AW and Kata 3 in 1 Sling Backpack.

Kata 3 in 1 Sling Backpack

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cameras, Digital Photography, Gear Tagged With: Canon, DSLR Camera, DSLR Tips for Beginners, Nikon, Photography Tips

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Autofocus vs Nikon D3s

Feb

2010

February 15, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov 16 Comments

Rob Galbraith, a well-known and respected photographer from Canada, has recently posted an article on autofocus performance of the new Canon EOS-1D Mark IV after using the camera for a while photographing various athletes that were preparing for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. After weeks of shooting the camera, he compared the autofocus performance of the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV with the new Nikon D3s.

Here is a quick excerpt from his article:

It’s worth noting one other fundamental difference between the AF system in the D3S and that of the EOS-1D Mark IV. When Nikon focus is out, it doesn’t tend to be way out. More often than not, peak action frames that are not perfectly focused aren’t that blurry, making some of them still viable. That is, if you’re of a mind that it’s better to have a slightly soft frame of a great peak moment than a totally blurry one. The EOS-1D Mark IV, on the other hand, produces many more frames that are too soft to use for anything, no matter how sweet the moment.
To sum up, our experience with the D3S’ AF system is that it’s trustworthy and dependable enough for us to be confident using it for peak action sports. Not perfect: it needs to be a bit faster off the line, in addition to the other quibbles we’ve mentioned. But it does work as needed most of the time, which is in stark contrast to the experience of the EOS-1D Mark IV in the last month.

The above review is pretty much in line with what many other sports and action photographers have said after doing comparisons between the two cameras – the Nikon D3s is currently, without a doubt, a leader in both autofocus and low-light photography (high ISO performance).

When I looked at some sample pictures of the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, I got a little worried about Nikon D3s future. However, after seeing some high ISO comparisons and hearing from pros on autofocus performance of both cameras, it turned out that D3s is the leader and it looks like it will stay that way for at least another two years! Sure, it is unfair to compare Nikon’s full frame sensor with a 1.3x cropped sensor, but poor autofocus performance has been Canon’s biggest weakness (especially in 1D Mark III) and despite the fact that Canon re-engineered their autofocus system from scratch in 1D Mark IV, it is still worse than Nikon’s legendary 51 point autofocus system.

Nikon D3s wins, end of story.

Filed Under: Digital Photography, Site News Tagged With: Canon, Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, Nikon, Nikon D3s

Business Card Photo Contest

Feb

2010

February 11, 2010

By Nasim Mansurov Leave a Comment

One of our readers was kind enough to send us a link to a free photo contest that is open for everyone. They have a grand cash prize of 1000£ British Pounds (equivalent to approximately $1,560 USD) or a Canon EOS 500D Digital SLR Camera!

Here are the prizes:

Grand Prize wins £1000 or a Canon EOS digital SLR camera and 500 free business cards
Second Place wins £100 and 250 free business cards
The first 15 contestants to submit their photos will get 200 free business cards
For our UK entrants: The town that submits the most photos will be featured on our web site. We will include local sites, facts and a showcase of the photos you submit.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Site News Tagged With: Canon, Photo Contest

AjRichard – Beware of buying gear from unauthorized sellers