Nikon D3X Leak Puppy Catches Own Tail

UPDATE: Nikon Rumors has published the entire article, with jpegs big enough to read the text.
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Long plagued with continual leaks, today Nikon decided to scoop all of the leakers by (accidentally) leaking their own announcement themselves. That is to say, a Euro version of Nikon Pro magazine (seen above) apparently went out early, en masse, before they could launch the "official announcement."

This being a lighting blog, our preference is to send you elsewhere for the whole D3X coverage orgy thing. I mean, sure, I want one and all. But sheesh, I am still digesting my turkey today.

(Thanks to Tom for the heads-up.)

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T-Day Speedlinks

If you are a turkey, today is a good day get out of town. Horrible, unspeakable things are happening to your kind on Thanksgiving Day here in the US.

But otherwise, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. And after you are done feeding your face, don't forget about the big plate of speedlinks for dessert, after the jump...
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• Pixsylated has been on a tear lately, with this high-speed sync tute, and an in-depth field test of the RadioPopper RP-1's.

• If you have a teenage daughter, you probably know about Twilight, the juggernaut book series and new teen flick. Wanna guess who shot the movie posters? (We interviewed him a ways back, here.)

• How much work does it take to be a success in microstock? Way more than you probably think.

• As a result of user feedback, MPEX's Strobist Kits have been updated. Out: Batteries and chargers (which you can get just about anywhere.) In: White shoot-thru's and kit cases.

• Guinness Book of World Records, white courtesy phone please: Peter Emmett tests out the entire Rosco sample pack. Words fail me.

• From Malaysia, a new modular speedlight modifier kit.

• Not lighting, but the best reminder in a long time to always buckle up: A Nikon D3 sequence of a speedboat drag racing 200 MPH crash sequence, courtesy Mark Rebilas. (Scroll down for the good stuff.)

Colin Firth: CYA PDQ

UK Photographer Greg Funnell shot actor Colin Firth for Time Out London, and knew he would only get a few minutes. Thus the "PDQ."

He wanted a lighting scheme that was safe over a range of subject orientation. Thus, the "CYA."

Hit the jump for a video, links and an alternate way to think about the light that can allow you to have your CYA-PDQ cake and eat it, too.




Greg was working in a hotel basement (ahh, the glamorous life of a photographer) and lighting with a pair of Elinchrom D-Light 2s in soft boxes. His solution was to run the boxes at 45-degree angles from each side of the subject. The idea was to get light that wraps and worked for either direction Firth might have been looking.

At this point, I should note that I am typing very quietly because the mere mention of Colin Firth in my household sends my wife into a dizzying tailspin of knee-buckling ecstasy. Something about a "pond scene" from Pride and Prejudice.

Me, I just don't see it. But my strategy during a Colin Firth Movie is always to focus on preserving that momentum, while being very careful not to do or say anything that might actually invite comparison between me and Mr. Wonderful.

I digress.

There is certainly nothing wrong with lighting Mr. Firth on the 45's. But if you are working with two soft boxes you can keep your safety while adding some directionality to the light.

The key is to recognize that the part of the photo that makes it sing is also your danger zone if you are trying to play it safe. That part would be the shadow area, obviously. So the idea is to balance the shadows so that they are there, but also legible if something interesting happens inside them.


You Knew This was Coming...

This is where off-axis key vs. on-axis fill can let you have it both ways. Let's work this one using Greg's exact gear used for the shoot: Two medium soft boxes and monobloc flashes.

Start out with one of your two soft boxes in the vertical orientation. Place it 45 degrees, give or take, to one side, and elevate it a little for good shape and form on the face. This, of course would happen before Mr. Why-Can't-You-Be-More -Like-Him arrives. You would test on the assistant or anyone else who happened to be standing around.

Remember to use whatever means necessary to get your stand-in to the right height, too. This is something you already know because you (a) Googled it, (b) asked an assistant, etc. Also find out of your subject will be wearing glasses, as that dictates lighting style to some degree.



Your fill light will come from directly behind the photographer's head, with the box in the horizontal orientation. This light is not so much going to shape the face as to fill and wrap the light. I would elevate it just a little, because your shoulders are gonna knock some of the bottom out, anyway. Maybe place the bottom horizontal edge of the box even with your shoulders.

Given that the D-Lite 2's have a built-in slave eye in the rear, I would radio (or PC cord) sync the fill unit behind me and slave the key light.

For ratios, start out testing the light with only the fill light firing. Adjust the light and/or aperture until your test subject has a good exposure. Now, back off the fill light (either by cranking the aperture down or dialing down the power of the light) until your subject is underexposed but still holds legible detail. This is the darkest your shadows will get in the final photo. And there will be no shadows you cannot see into, because your fill is coming from on axis.

Now, the balance is between safety and tonal depth. There is no set rule, other than how much of a weenie you happen to be on any given day.

Ten years ago, I would have set the ratio pretty tight. Stop-and-a-half, maybe. Because at that point I was all about the fear of failure. But now, I'd let it drop past two stops -- heading toward three, actually. Chuck Norris might take it down even further.

After you have completed this little exercise in self-examination, bring in your key light and dial it up so the subject looks great at your working aperture. For the shutter speed, you'll want to keep that up at max sync speed to nuke the ambient. Maybe warm up that key a tad with a 1/8 CTO.

Oh, wait, he is British -- better make it a 1/4 CTO.

As for direction of the key, you might want to work your angle so the subject's shadow falls far enough away on the background so you get some light on the background in the area directly behind the shadow side of your subject. You can vary this by either changing the key light location or moving the background further away from the subject.

There are side effects to consider. Changing the key location will alter the quality of light on the subject. Moving the background will alter the tonality of the background. Use the choice that works best for you. A combination of the two moves might work even better.

So now, when Mr. OhmyGodHeIsRightHereInFrontOfMe shows up, you know exactly how your ratios are going to look, no meter needed, and you are ready to roll from Frame One. Plus, you'll get shape and details no matter which way he looks.

And if you need an assistant, Missus Strobist is available -- at absolutely no charge whatsoever.


(Thanks to Greg for making and posting the video of the shoot!)


RELATED:

:: Greg Funnell: Website ::
:: Greg Funnell Blog Post (Includes Time Out Tearsheet) ::
:: Video: That Pride and Prejudice Pond Scene ::

Nikon CLS Video: We'd Tell You, But We'd Have to Kill You

Good news and bad news on the new Nikon CLS video.

Good news is that they are now in stock. The bad news is that Nikon Mall is only listing it on the US site, and they are not shipping it out of the country.

What, are they worried that the Taliban will get ahold of this stuff or something? Seriously, Nikon, this is nuts. Tear down that wall.

You have a worldwide distribution network, for Pete's sake. You could even move the video online and sell it that way.

Why make non-US Nikon shooters have to pay an arm and a leg for shipping? Or worse yet, smuggle it out while traveling to the US and pray they don't get chosen by our lovely TSA for a cavity search?

Honestly, I am at a loss. It is on Amazon now, at least, and MPEX has it, among others. Probably just a matter of seeing who can get it to you for just an arm, rather than an arm-and-a-leg.

C'mon, Nikon. You just ran the ball 99 yards. Don't fumble it in the red zone. If I were Canon, I would do a small-flash video like this and put it up online for free, right here.

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Orbis: First Look / Ray Flash Comparison

Just received one of the first Orbis ring flash adapters to make into this part of the world. Since I will not have time to shoot with it for a couple of weeks I am putting up a quick unboxing vid (and Ray Flash comparison) video for those of you thinking about taking the plunge.

(If you are watching this via RSS or Email feed, you may have to click through on the title of this post to watch the vids.)

My schedule is such that I will not get to really work with it until after Thanksgiving, which has me feeling like the kid in A Christmas Story pining after the Red Rider BB gun. Argh.

Oh well. After the jump, an additional (Orbis-produced) video.




From the "Episode 001" title on the Orbis video, it looks as if they are going to be uploading more stuff (tutorials?) in the future, too. Glad to see it.

Thanks for the Nomination!

Muchas gracias to whoever nominated Strobist for a 2008 Weblog award in the Photo category. (Apparently, they didn't have a DIY black-straw snoot category.)

The gesture is much appreciated. If you want to second (or third) the nomination, you can do so by clicking the little green "+" button on this comment right here.

This is a call for nominations. If we make it to the finals, voting for that will begin on December 8th. And to everyone who added their vote to the nomination, a big thank you.

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Cheap Bouncy Fun

A couple of weeks ago, when we ran the post on the DIY bounce reflector thingie, I got several "Do Not Publish" comments that basically said:

"Are you brain dead? Do you realize you are pointing people to instructions to DIY a product made by one of your advertisers?"

To that, I say:

"Geez, ma, why do you always leave DNP comments on my blog? Can't you just phone me like all of the other bloggers' moms do?"

Kidding -- I love Mother Strobist to bits, which is why I always take advantage of any excuse to run her photo on the blog. (Click it for a corner headshot tute.) And I certainly hope you did not get the wrong idea from that headline.

But while I'll grant you that the brain-dead thing may be debatable, there are actually some gear manufacturers who genuinely want to teach people to light -- whether they buy the gear or not.

Don't believe me? Check out this video from Lighting Academy, after the jump.
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I know lots of questions are popping into your mind right now. Questions like:


• Why would a lighting gear manufacturer publish DIY tips using Home Depot stuff?

• Forget the lighting tips, where can I get that fly outfit?

• And, how come German mannequins got nipples and ours don't?


Actually, turns out that the low-budget themed Lighting Academy is run by the very same folks who were being DIY-hacked by the blogger in the post mentioned above. It is the pet project of Peter Geller, the head honcho at California Sunbounce.

And while CSB's pro gear may not be for the faint of wallet, what he really wants is to teach the world how to shape light. Lighting Academy may have an ad for CSB on it, but it is also chock full of videos (with English versions coming on line soon) to show you just how simple it is to shape light with cheap, DIY gear.

I do not have to tell you how cool I think that is, and how happy I am to be associated with CSB as a result of that compass point. They have produced a ton of videos (link below) on how to light using the CSB line. But even if you can't afford the good stuff right now, you at least can afford the good light.

My only question: Why doesn't every company do this? Seriously, if you are a lighting gear company, how can you not be doing this?

It costs very little. And CSB is not giving away the store, either. Quite the contrary, they are minting photographers who want to better shape their light -- even if they currently are dirt broke.

And if there is any justice in the world, some of that good karma will come back later when the DIY-type photographers want to pony up for the good stuff later.

You can watch more cheap, bouncy fun at Lighting Academy. And you can see CSB's ever-expanding library of lighting videos here.