Photography Equipment History for Tom Dempsey 1978-2009

Last updated August 12, 2010 by Tom Dempsey, photographer. Email: tom@photoseek.com | About Photoseek.com: My Biography

For my travel & nature photo subjects, I look for compact, lightweight, high-quality imaging equipment on a moderate budget. I am an independent photographer who loves travel, and this web site is my labor of love. Since 1978, I have updated cameras and film with the advance of technology as shown on this page, most recent equipment shown first. Despite all the talk about equipment, your creative photographic skills are more important than camera choice. Images can be published from all types of cameras. Most high-end cameras today can capture good images. How to choose a good camera.

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• The Nikon D5000 plus 18-200mm VR lens (below) is one of the best photo systems yet invented for active travelers, sufficiently lightweight to carry all day in a chest bag. Carol uses a Canon PowerShot G9, which is a backup for me.
• 23 ounce camera body including battery & strap. Mount with a 22-ounce Nikkor 18-200mm VR II lens (including cap and hood) with up to 4 stops image-stabilization (up to 8 times slower hand-held shutter speed).
• 12 megapixels 4288 by 2848 pixels, makes good prints to 23 by 30 inches or larger (see "Maximum Print Size" discussion). Excellent quality to ISO 1600, and ISO 3200 is usable for smaller prints. Image quality is similar to the higher priced Nikon D300. CCD sensor size is Nikon DX format 23.6 x 15.8 mm.
• 2.7 inch tilt and swivel LCD (new, unusual for a DSLR) with live view. Captures movies with monophonic sound.
  

• Nikkor AF-S DX VR II 18-200mm 3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (buy at B&H) (20 ounces / 560 grams without cap and hood; new in 2006)
  
• 18-200mm focal length has the equivalent in field of view of a 27-300mm lens in 35mm film terminology, perfect for travel. Minimizing lens swapping saves time, reduces dust spots falling on the sensor and promotes creativity.
• Lens reviews: many agree that the Nikkor VR 18-200mm lens is one of the best ever invented for travel (external links): 1) Ken Rockwell's review, 2) Thom Hogan's review, 3) Cameralabs.
  
• Hand hold shots in up to 4-stops dimmer light using Vibration Reduction (VR). Reduced tripod setup now cuts my shooting time in half, which makes more time for other shots, thereby increasing my creativity. On backpacking trips where I leave behind the tripod, I now save 32 ounces in travel tripod weight. I do carry a tripod when I anticipate blurred water & evening shots. Using the image-stabilized lens combined with good image quality on the Nikon D5000 up to ISO 1600 (even ISO 3200 is useful now) means that I can improve hand-held photography by about 1-2 stops compare to the 2008 Nikon D60 and 6-8 f/stops compared to the 2004 Canon Powershot Pro1 (which shot noisy images above ISO 100).
  
• Focuses as closely as 18 inches (0.5 meters) throughout the zoom range.The largest magnification at full 200mm telephoto makes a decent closeup of subjects 3.5 inches wide (or an area of 93 x 62 mm). 
• Filters for Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens:
• 72mm Hoya UV filter both sides coated, in purple box; for important lens protection. "Both sides coated" is cheaper than MultiCoated (Hoya SMC), and should be fine for 95% of your shooting. To avoid flare risk, take off filter if shooting into the sun or indoors under spot lights. (My last filter saved my lens by breaking the fall of the lens, camera & tripod which tipped over onto concrete in Luray Caverns!)
• 72mm B+W brand Circular Polarizing filter. Only polarize to remove reflections or haze. In the sky, maximum polarization is a 90 degree angle from the sun, but be careful not to over darken the blue sky. (A cheaper polarizer may throw off your white balance or warp light oddly.)
  
• Tiffen P ND 0.6 Gradual Soft Edge filter for balancing bright sky with foreground subjects. For speed, I hold this "neutral density graduated filter" up to the lens manually without a holder.
  
• How to optimize lens quality: By being so versatile, this Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens does suffer from some quality compromises, so I sharpen results from 70mm to 200mm by shooting from f/8 to f/16.
  
• At 135mm, its fuzziest zoom setting, use f/11 to f/16 for sharper results.
  
• When shooting flash with this 3.9" lens, shoot wider than 24mm and remove the lens hood, or else a lens shadow will appear in the bottom of the image. Or mount a high flash on the hotshoe such as Nikon Speedlight SB-600 (buy at B&H).
  
• With VR set ON, I can sharply hand hold shots as slow as 1/8 to 1/30th second for respectively 18mm to 200mm.
• dpreview.com notes the following caveats for the Nikkor VR 18-200mm lens: Architectural photographers (who need straight lines) won't like the barrel distortion at 18mm wideangle (hard to correct for this lens), or the pincushion distortion between 35mm and 70mm (easily correctable using Adobe Photoshop>Filter>Distort>Lens Correction). Macro photographers should get a sharper dedicated macro lens or use a compact camera which focuses closely with great depth of field.
• Alternative lens: Tamron 18-270mm VC Di II (buy through my site), new in Fall 2008, zooms impressively to 15x, while stabilizing hand-held sharpness close to the image quality of 18-200mm 11x lenses from brands Nikon VR and Canon IS. Tamron 18-270mm costs less than the Nikon 18-200mm lens. But I didn't like Tamron's long slippery lens creep when you point the camera up or down, and focus appeared inconsistent in my tests versus the Nikon 18-200mm on a tripod in indoor light. Tamron's 15x doesn't help much versus Nikon's 11x because you can slightly crop Nikon's sharper 200mm shots for the same results. Nikon's focus ring has instant manual focus override, whereas you must inconveniently flip a switch on the Tamron.
• 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor (buy at B&H) lens (26 ounces; 5.6" length; 4.9 foot minimum focus; also compatible with full frame Nikon D3 DSLR)
• For sports, wildlife and birder photographers. According to testing by www.photozone.de, the Nikon 70-300mm captures about 5 to 20% sharper resolution than the Nikon 18-200mm VR.
• This lens proved its worth on a wildlife trip to Galapagos Islands and Ecuador (2009).
  
• Unfortunately this 70-300mm lens cannot focus closer than 4.9 feet. For travel, consider carrying the Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens together with kit lens Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G DX AF-S VR (external dpreview) (with good closest macro area 63 x 42 mm), or with the 18-200mm VR II lens (93 x 62mm closest macro area).
  
• Accessories:
• Sima CapKeeper 2: Never lose your lens cap again! An elastic band slips securely around lens and extends a strong string which is adhered to your lens cap. When you uncap lens and drop the lens cap, the cap hangs from the lens string.
• Hoodskins (800-818-3946): Protect your LCD from scratches by applying this clear plastic film, and preserve the resale value of your camera. Hoodskins Model HSK-4 for 3.5- to 4-inch LCD screens can be cut with scissors to fit smaller LCDs.
• Wireless remote control transmitter for shutter release: Nikon ML-L3 ($18) is important for any tripod photography (city lights, fireworks).

• Main camera for my wife and backup camera for me. 35-200mm equivalent lens, image stabilized.
  
• Disadvantages: Grainy at ISO 400 and too noisy at ISO 800+. Workaround: Upgrade to Canon PowerShot G11 (buy at B&H) for two stops ISO improvement, flip out LCD, 28-140mm lens, and DIGIC IV.
  
• One of the best 13-ounce cameras, with quality similar to an 8-megapixel DSLR at ISO 80. The 28-140mm Canon PowerShot G10 has similar sharpness. Good 5x7 prints at ISO 400. DIGIC III. To save money for similar JPEG quality, try the Canon A650 IS (which adds a flip-out LCD but no RAW).
  

• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom version 2.x (for Windows or Macintosh) is my favorite photo work flow solution. 
• Lightroom elegantly organizes images, and cuts my editing time in half. Lightroom cost $300 in 2008, worth every penny! (Adobe also offers academic discounts.)
  
• Lightroom smartly stores its non-destructive editing commands & labels in a powerful database (and in .XMP sidecar files for RAW), compatible with JPG, TIF, most RAW & .XMP files.
  
• Easily & automatically exports image files to attractive web pages, or to files of any size, such as for e-mail or Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (automatically converting from its internal Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB color space, to sRGB and so forth). I like the optional copyright watermark placement on exported images.
  
• A great upgrade from 1.4 to 2.0 added graduated filters, localized editing brushes and a quicker interface to Adobe Photoshop such as for Photomerge (stitching panoramas). If you buy a new camera that captures RAW files, check if the latest Lightroom update has added support for it. For example, Adobe Lightroom version 1.1 introduced support for the Nikon D40X camera, version 1.4 added support for the Nikon D60, and 2.4 added the Nikon D5000.
• Want to save money and still improve your photo workflow?
• FastStone Image Viewer 3.6 Freeware, www.faststone.org [external link] FREE. Fast and capable, especially if you use RAW files. Downloads, views, edits and exports still images, including most camera RAW files. As with Lightroom, FastStone does not view (nor download) movies or sound files.
  
• Canon Zoombrowser included with your Canon camera.  FREE. Handily downloads, views, edits and exports Canon still images, movies and recorded sound files. (Simpler than FastStone.)
• Apple Aperture features are similar to Adobe Lightroom. Version 3 of both products thankfully support cataloging of movie files.
  
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 adds support for 16-bit Adjustment Layers. CS3 greatly improves Photomerge, to now seamlessly stitch 16-bit panoramas from multiple 16-bit images, automatically! Most people don't need Photoshop, since Lightroom 2.x now covers most needs. While Adobe Lightroom 2.x can handle 95% of my editing needs, the remaining 5% of my very best images and printing still require Photoshop CS3. Adobe upgraded to CS4 in Fall 2008.
  
• Microsoft Windows tips:
  
• By default, you cannot view RAW file thumbnails in Windows Vista Explorer, unless you download the RAW Codecs from your camera manufacturer at: www.microsoft.com/prophoto/downloads/codecs.aspx (external link) The Canon and Nikon Codecs also support Windows XP.
• Good explanation: www.impulseadventure.com/photo/win-xp-raw-thumbnail.html (external link)
  
• Earlier version fom 2005: By default, you cannot view RAW file thumbnails from various cameras in Windows XP Explorer, unless you download this free program: www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d48e808e-b10d-4ce4-a141-5866fd4a3286&DisplayLang=en (external link)
  
• Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 makes flexible photo shows combining images, music, videos, labels & charts for display on a computer or digital projector. Weakness: doesn't do cross-fades slow enough. Great alternative with flexible output formats at all resolutions: Proshow Producer.
• Computer speed tips:
  
• Photoshop sped up when I added a very fast internal hard drive (10,000 rpm) to host the swap file of Adobe Photoshop CS3. Adobe Lightroom versions 1.3 and 1.4 also sped up significantly when I moved the "Lightroom Catalog.lrcat" image database onto the fast 10,000 rpm drive.
• Despite having 4 gigabytes RAM memory on your computer, Photoshop CS3 only takes advantage of one gigabyte of memory before it must begin slowly swapping memory to disk. Workaround: Upgrade to the faster CS4, a 64 bit application.
  
• I am very happy with my Dell XPS 420 Workstation (2.4 GHz Quad-Core processor) with 4 gigabytes RAM memory, running Windows Vista operating system, using the handsome 24 inch Dell 2407WFP-HC Ultrasharp widescreen Flat Panel LCD monitor, 1920 x 1200 pixels, and 1000:1 Contrast Ratio. My main image storage is on a 2 terabyte RAID 0 internal hard-drive pair (manually backed up to 1 TB or 500-megabyte external USB drives).
• For external backup or storage, get an external 1 Terabyte (TB) drive with eSATA connection (a newer feature on computers and drives). eSATA is as fast as your internal hard drive connection, much faster than Firewire or USB 2.0.
• On your laptop, for more reliable mouse control on your touchpad, disable the annoying Tap feature, which often mistakes your mouse finger movements for a click or double click. Disable Tap in Windows XP or Vista > Control Panel > Mouse > Touchpad.Instead of the Tap feature, rely on the Left and Right buttons.
• To write to CD/DVDs on my Dell Workstation and Laptop, for some reason I must use the provided Roxio program, instead of Windows XP or Vista (which poorly handleCD/DVD disk writing).
  

• Displays fantastic multimedia presentations using Microsoft Powerpoint run on a notebook computer, dynamically brighter & better than slide film. Very well optimized to show images in sRGB mode, as the camera captured them. For projecting motion picture DVD's from a Progressive Scan DVD player, the Canon SX50 creates a spectacular movie theatre experience, especially if you have a 6-speaker Surround Sound system.
• Features: SXGA+; 1400 by 1050 pixels; great 1000 to 1 contrast; 2000 actual lumens; true 720p HD broadcast for movies. $4000 in December 2005, then price dropped to $3500 in October 2006.
• This digital Canon SX50 projector has keystone correction, a great dynamic range (from highlights to shadows), and sharper focus than slide film projectors such as the Kodak Carousel 4600. On my old Kodak Carousel 4600 film projector, the contrast ratio is smaller, requiring a darker room than the SX50; and you must wait for the curved film in each slide mount to warm up and pop into focus, which still annoyingly leaves the edges or center out of focus, even with the compensating lens and autofocus. In contrast, digital projectors focus crisply & brightly across the entire image!
• You can also upgrade to the newer Canon Realis SX60 SXGA (1400 x 1050) LCD Multimedia Projector, 2500 ANSI Lumens, 10.1 lb (4.6 kg).
  

• NOTE: Konica Minolta no longer sells or supports scanners or cameras, so you should now buy another brand, such as: 
1. See Ken Rockwell (external link) for advice on shopping for a scanner.
2. Epson Perfection V700 Photo with Digital ICE™ technology for dust spot removal, scans 12 slides at once in 8x10 inch area. 6400 dpi. Optical density 4.0 Dmax. Compatible with Windows XP and various Macintosh versions.
3. Earlier excellent scanner: Epson Perfection 4990 Photo Scanner with Digital ICE™: This flatbed scans up to 8x10 inches, many images at once automatically. 4800 x 9600 dpi resolution, 48-bit color depth, and 4.0 Dmax (dynamic range). Compatible up to Windows XP, and various Macintosh versions.
   
• My "Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV" makes much better scans than my former Nikon LS-2000 (below), requiring little extra Photoshop adjustment [except for laborious manual dust removal required on 12/16-bit mode scans -- where a workaround is to use Photoshop's Filter>Dust & Scratches feature, but that often reduces image detail]. If you will be making lots of scans, get a different scanner that supports automatic dust removal using ICE or a similar infrared technology.
• Features: $240 in 2006; 3200dpi, or about 4284 by 2892 pixels from a scanned slide. Dynamic range higher than film, so it captures all shadow & highlight detail. This 3200 dpi resolution sufficiently captures all the clarity in 99% of my images taken on a tripod with consumer-quality SLR lenses. Photoshop can effectively enlarge using a bicubic algorithm. (I feel that 4000 dpi on a different scanner wouldn't get any more useful information out of 99% of my film slide images). Universal USB connection. Unattended batch scan of 4 slides, each with custom settings. Requires Windows XP (which I run on a Notebook computer). I could not get this scanner to work with Windows Vista.
• Selling my old Nikon LS-2000 scanner (below) more than paid for buying this superior new Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV scanner.

• 2700 ppi, makes ~2400x3600 pixels from slides, dynamic range=3.6, $1330 plus $430 stack loader; SCSI interface; can automatically batch scan 30 slides, all at the same setting.
  
• Using Nikon LS-2000 scanner, I have made prints 28x42 inches at 240dpi, which look great at a viewing distance of about 36 inches, scanned from Fujichrome Velvia slides (digitally enlarged from 2400x3600 pixels in two stages in Photoshop). 
• By 2003, this Nikon LS-2000 workhorse was antiquated by cheaper & better scanners, but instead of upgrading to the Nikon LS-4000, I chose to invest that money into new digital cameras, which offer more flexibility, higher quality, much faster work flow, and "scan" subjects directly. The SCSI connection on the Nikon LS-2000 was incompatible with my new Dell 9300 Notebook computer I sold the LS-2000 scanner with stack loader (for $405 on e-Bay) , and purchased the above superior Minolta scanner for only $240 .

• Makes wonderful prints (equal to or better than the typical chemical photographic process) up to 13x44 inches, rated at 80-year longevity on special Epson papers (when mounted behind glass).
• Features: 7-color Ultrachrome inks, high quality ink jet printer. Combination of Photo Black (or Matte Black) and Light Black improves neutral and Black & White tones, and extends the dynamic range of prints. [I upgraded to the 2200 from the earlier but excellent Epson Stylus Photo 1270, for which ink costs about 25% less.]
• Better printers of this size have since been released:
• The 8-color Epson Stylus Photo 2400 prints on paper up to 13 x 44 inches and improves gray scale and dynamic range for blacks & shadows (essential for Black & White prints), using long lasting K3 inks, superior to the Epson 2200 or 1270/1280.
• The 8-color Epson Stylus Photo 3800 Printer (released 2007) prints on paper 17x22 inches using long lasting K3 inks. The 3800 takes up a surprisingly small footprint on your office desktop.

• Weighs only 33 ounces (or 30 ounces without the center column) and is great for travel, superior to other travel tripods that I've evaluated (including Velbon MAXi343E, Manfrotto, or even Gitzo tripods costing three times more). To handle the weight of an SLR with lens weighing heavier than a pound, some photographers may prefer a more substantial change plate. Carry a penny or quarter to tightly screw lock the quick release plate securely to camera.
• Features: The stiff magnesium alloy legs are sufficiently stable for cameras up to 3 or 4 pounds (especially if you don't extend the bottom leg section; or if you hang on extra weight) and have very fast locking levers (of sturdy plastic). This tripod rises to eye level (64 inches), collapses to 18 inches (or 16 inches if you remove the quick-release ball head). The metal ball head swings 90 degrees each way, to two vertical positions, and turns freely around, all tightened with one effective lever. Legs can optionally splay out independently in 3 locking positions down to 6.4 inches off the ground. For macro, the center column can be reversed underneath for great shooting flexibility at ground level, and unscrews into a short section (saving 3.3 ounces). (The convertible spike leg tips which I never used are now just rubber in the Pro II, saving a little weight and collecting less soil.)
  
• The earlier model "Pro" which I used for 2005-2008 was 3 ounces heavier than the Pro II after adding the superior quick change plate: Slik "Sprint Pro GM" Tripod ($90), with Manfrotto 3299 Quick Change Plate Adapter ($35, quick release), 36 ounces total. Stiff aluminum legs. Leg tips convert from spike (outdoor) to rubber (indoor use) with a simple lockable twist.

Support Tom's photography by buying photo equipment at B&H of New York (external link) for consistently good service & price value, using this special link:

• The Nikon D60 (or D40X) plus all-in-one 18-200mm VR lens is a great system for active travelers, sufficiently lightweight to carry all day in my chest bag (like the Canon Rebel XSi with Canon 18-200mm IS). My wife uses a shirt-pocket sized Canon SD700 IS, which serves as my backup that adds movies & sound recording. The D60 thankfully introduces a good sensor dust-removal system, plus VR kit lenses. (The previous Nikon D40X model, which I used from May 2007 to August 2008, required tedious dust spot corrections, but nowhere near as bad as slide film). The D60 introduces Active D-Lighting to attractively lighten shadow detail in JPEG shots, but Active D-Lighting doesn't affect RAW shots -- RAW still gives superior editing leeway.
• Nikon D60/D40X features: 18 ounce camera body including battery & strap, plus 22 ounce Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens (including cap and hood), up to 4-stops-image-stabilized!
• 10 megapixels = 3872 x 2592, makes good prints to 23 by 30 inches or larger (see "Maximum Print Size" discussion). Excellent quality to ISO 800, and ISO 1600 is usable for smaller prints. Same image quality as the higher priced Nikon D200. CCD sensor size is 23.6 x 15.8 mm (six times the light gathering area of the sensor in my earlier compact Canon Pro1).
• The Nikon D60/D40X has a bright 2.5 inch LCD and shoots a generous 300 to 420 images per charge (using a Digital Concepts 1200 mAh battery, at 40 to 70 degrees F, using the LCD briefly on most shots; most shots using VR and 10% using flash). The batteries last 2.5 times longer than Canon Pro1 batteries and weigh an ounce less per battery. Long battery life is important for trekking away from electricity such as in Nepal, where six batteries lasted for two weeks shooting 2800 images without recharging on my D40X.
• I mount the D60/D40X with the Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-200mm 3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (20 ounces / 560 grams without cap and hood; new in 2006)
• See my "What's New" blog for more details why I chose the Nikon D40X (and similar D60) system versus a compact camera.
• Adobe Lightroom version 1.1 introduced support for the Nikon D40X camera, and 1.4 added support for the Nikon D60.

• This amazingly tiny and lightweight camera can be carried in your pocket, takes still shots with publication quality up to 12 by 16  inches (see "Maximum Print Size" discussion), and serves as a main camera for my wife and backup camera for me.
  
• Features: 6 megapixels (2816 x 2112 pixels). Image-stabilized zoom lens 5.8-23.2 mm, f/2.8-5.5 (or 35-140 mm lens in 35mm-film-camera terms); 0.79-inch macro focus. Movies can be 15, 30 or 60 frames per second, with dynamic exposure and digital zoom as you shoot, which is better than the Pro1.Great DIGIC II processor. We bought the optional housing for shooting underwater.
• Disadvantages: No RAW file mode. It has good exposure +/- compensation, but cannot set or view the F/stop aperture or shutter speed (except shutter speed thankfully displays live when the camera shake warning also displays).
• The SD700 was succeded by the SD850 (buy from my site). Excellent alternatives to the SD700 IS: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2; or Canon SD800 IS ELPH. Slightly larger, higher quality alternatives in 2007: Canon PowerShot A710 IS, or PowerShot G7. Upgrades released in 2008: G9, G10.