Review: MacBook Pro (unibody) & 24" LED Cinema Display

I sold my 1st gen MacBook Pro on Craigslist last week and picked up a new facelifted MacBook Pro and a new 24" LED Cinema Display to go with it.

I just want to say that I have been pretty impressed so far and I was surprised that they both calibrated very well. The laptop, of course, doesn't have nearly the color gamut as the Cinema Display but it matches very well considering. It is surely usable enough to get relatively accurate results and the glass over the display isn't as bad as I thought it might be. I don't have any issues at all with glare or reflections in my office (mileage may vary...).

I have noticed a couple issues with the new laptop:

1. My display color profile is sometimes reset to nothing after waking the computer while showing the screensaver. Once I open System Preferences and go into Displays, the color profile comes back. This isn't a consistent problem though.

2. I get jittery 1080p playback in Quicktime. I haven't diagnosed this much and tried the integrated video card but I have heard that playback is smooth with the 9400M and the problem only shows up when you are using the 9600 card. Hopefully, there will be a driver update soon to address this.

Other than that, it has been a really good machine. The trackpad is taking some time to get used to and my only complaint is that the click is really hard and loud. I wish it was a bit softer and quieter.



I also wanted to point out that I posted a follow up regarding my color clipping woes with my D3 raw files and Apple's Aperture 2.0 (currently 2.1.2). Either in the recent raw update or during the computer switch, my files are no longer being rendered in the less-than-favorable manner. No more color clipping in the shadows. All is well... and just in time for the new year. What a great Christmas gift!

Review: Nikon D3 and 14-24mm f/2.8

So, I have been using the D3 and 14-24 since December and have been really impressed.

There are already 9k other sites out there doing D3 reviews so I am going to keep it short. I just wanted to touch on a couple things I really find helpful after using the camera for a few months.

First off, I primarily use the camera in a studio environment and on location with either a Profoto Acute pack or my SB800's. I tend to stay in the 200-800 ISO range for 90% of my shooting so I am not going to regurgitate the D3's high ISO capabilities. Besides, we have all heard them repeatedly praised so many times we are sick of it.

Now on to the review! I have outlined my thoughts into a few key categories to make for easier reading.

"Cool features I thought I wouldn't really use or care about but did"
Live View for fine focusing - This has come in SO handy MANY a time. Being able to zoom in on the screen and fine tune the focus to the exact point you desire is something I could have used earlier. This is something I didn't really comprehend until I used it for the first time.

Auto ISO - Auto ISO isn't something I was very fond of before. My D200 was so noisy above 800 ISO that I was afraid to get anywhere near it. I would almost rather not take the picture. Now I am fairly comfortable shooting up to 3200 ISO and use it frequently when I am taking snaps at family events and situations where faster flash recycle times helps. (3200 ISO might be a little extreme for the latter scenario...)

HD 3" screen - This is awesome. I have become accustomed to its higher resolution and am disappointed when using other cameras.

Focus Fine Tune - Had to use this with my 50/1.4 so it did come in handy. Now if the lens was working well to begin with...


Features that are still lame
Horizon level - Still don't use this. I think I prefer using my eyes. Or maybe I need to shoot more landscape stuff and use it more before I bash on it. Hmm.


Issues I have had
Issues with focusing 50mm f/1.4 - Mine backfocuses about 3" consistently at 5'+ from the camera. Anything up close is fine. Really frustrating to find out in the middle of testing lighting for a shoot. I guess it could have been worse and I could have found out AFTER the shoot while downloading the images.

Sensor Dust - I just had it cleaned last Friday. Let's see if I can keep it cleaner this time. Maybe I am a sloppy lens changer.


Why I bought it
14-24/2.8 - When the D3 was first announced, I said, "WOW. This is what I have been waiting for. I think I might buy one someday." Then I saw the 14-24 that was announced at the same time and my thoughts quickly changed to: "My dream has just come true. What do I need to do to pick up a D3 and the 14-24?" After a week of reading and pondering, I finally called Pictureline here in SLC and got on the list for the D3.

Perspective of lenses/"Full" 35mm frame - Being able to shoot with an 85mm lens and move closer to my subject (almost minimum focus distance) is awesome. The depth of field and perspective is very pleasing to me and something I strive for with my more recent style of portraits.

ISO capabilities - I will do a wedding during blue moons and like to shoot higher ISO's for faster strobe recycle times (when using my speedlights). The ability to shoot at 800 ISO almost noise free is a big plus. I get higher quality images which makes me happy.

Battery Life - Admit it. The D200 had horrid battery life. I hated carrying all those spare batteries and constantly charging and swapping them out. The D2/3 ENEL4 is one less thing to worry about during a shoot.

9 FPS - One of my passions is road racing. Fast action sports photography? 9 FPS might come in handy.

Lower Pixel density - Less demanding on lenses. More pixels than my D200. Manageable file sizes.


Now a little about the legendary lens:

14-24 f/2.8
Wow. Awesome. Sharp. Crisp. Fast. Quality.

All words to describe this lens. What a great lens! But I always say, take the good with the bad so... here is the bad:

I have only encountered 2 issues with this lens.

- About 1px of green/red chromatic abberation at 14mm in any high contrast situation at any aperture. Easily fixable but I have to take the effort to fix it every time. Capture NX automatically removes MOST of this but I have found ACR/ Photoshop CS3 to be better. With ACR I am able to completely remove ALL of the CA in the lens correction tab in the RAW dialog.

- Small amount of barrel distortion. Easily fixable but again, something I usually have to correct for if noticeable.

If you need a wide or ultra wide angle lens, this thing is incredible. If you MUST use filters, you are out of luck because Nikon has done a superb job in creating a ZOOM lens that outperforms everything else on the market. Technology is great, isn't it?

Maybe Nikon will release a FF D3x ~24MP to satisfy our need/desire for resolution this year. I am hoping for something more studio oriented with a base 50 ISO (maybe a boost 25 ISO just for kicks) up to 1600 ISO as the native range. This would compliment their line perfectly (and create an excuse for another camera...)

Oh well. They are just tools. ;-)