Nikon D300 vs Nikon D90

2010-06-07T04:31:00.000-07:00

Comparing two of Nikons current Digital SLRs is like comparing two BMWs they both are reliable, tough and work extremely well in all conditions.
From low light situations to high speed sports photography. The D90 has some fantastic little features over the D300 including High Definition video recording with its large CCD it is able to record in high quality suitable to be viewed on your LCD television and all this is done while controlling noise or picture quality extremely well even in low light conditions. The D90 also ads and extra high sensitive setting to the Active D Lighting system. The pre-programmed scene modes are fantastic for those that are just learning the ins and outs of DLR but are working their way into the fantastic world of photography. Also the D90 offers some great on board image re-touching software for those who do not have any image editing software on their computer. Size, portability and function of the D90 lends this all-n-one camera to be suited for beginner, intermediate and professional photographer.
The D300, although substantially more expensive if does focus faster, buffer images faster and has a faster frame rate of photos per second, is it worth it to you, will you notice this, truthfully probably NOT!
Built for more professional use, with the added vertical grip the D300 can virtually shoot 8 Frames Per Second in comparison to the 4.5 frames per second of the D90 as well it is constructed to withstand professional use and abuse. The D300 also boosts a bigger brighter LCD viewfinder and 51 point focusing system in comparison to it's 11 point focusing system, meaning crisper images.
All in all for the daily photographer, the price, the D300 is a fantastic camera but you can virtually purchase two D90s for the price of one D300

To Print or Not to Print, that is the question (at home anyway)

2008-10-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

To print or not to print that is the question

When it comes to the expense of driving to the local photo lab, retail outlet it is cheaper to print your photos at home but.............. the cost per photo printing at home isn't what is going to save you the money it is the cost of all the other items you pick up when you are in town waiting for your photos to be printed or if you have them printed instantly you really are not saving any money anyway.

There are some fantastic quality printers available at most large department stores and retail outlets but buyer beware, do not fall for the price. Often printers are "on sale" because they are being replaced with another new model which a few months from now will be "on sale" because it will be replaced by a newer model. The on-going, never ending downfall to technology is you can not keep up.

While shopping for a printer first decide what you want your printer to do.

Is it just to print text, stories, newsletters at home
Is it for photocopying documents on a regular basis or would it be cheaper to have them copied at a local copy center
Will you be needing a fax machine
Will you be needing to scan documents, photos, etc...

If you are going to do a little bit of everything get what is called an All in One printer. Most are a 3-in-1 which copy, print and scan. Also available are 4-in-1 which are a little bit more money but for the average small home business well worth it they can include a fax machine. When it comes to a home office, space is usually at premium and the less you take up the better.

If you are primarily going to be using it for photos of friends and finally spend the few extra dollars and get a Photo Printer. Some of the most common and higher rated printers are made by names you can trust such as Canon, HP, Kodak, Epson.

There are a lot of differences between the "good" printers and those of lesser quality but primarily look for the DPI rating. The DPI is Dots Per Square Inch, the higher the rating, the higher the numbers, ( 9600 x 2400, 4800 x 1200) the better. Also check the PPM. Page per minute is the number of pages which the appliance can reproduce usually rated from or compared to an average text document, photo, graph documents take longer to print due to their complexity.

As well, usually a lot of the photo printers come with individual ink tanks which don't just include a tri-color cartridge and a black cartridge they include Cyan, Magenta, Black and Yellow, some event include different versions of these colors. Standard printers are two ink tanks, a few years ago the good inkjet photo printers had 4 cartridges and I have even seen some at department stores today with up to 8-9 cartridges. The average consumers knows the difference and in order to keep up with the leaders in the ink jet printing industry most manufacturers are now following suit and creating better, less expensive printers which are capable of doing more.

Check back often as we will be reviewing printers as they are intruduced to the market.

In short, watch the DPI