DSLR ready, now where is my memory card?!

   You have recently bought a brand new Dslr/camera, charged the battery to max but you notice something missing in the package. Where is the memory card?! One of the important aspects of shooting photo digitally is having a media (card) to record photos.
  Compared to the era where photos were originally shot on film, nowadays most cameras use a new type of media, flash memory to store hundreds/thousands of photos. These "Flash memory" include the most frequently used SD/SDHC/SDXC cards (secure digital) majority of digital cameras use this type of storage, along with Compact Flash which is the older ancestor still being used in the higher professional Dslr cameras.
   Before jumping into the scene it is important to know card speed. It actually means the speed the memory card can perform in terms such as writing into the card, and transferring. I posted the small graph below showing the various speed. There is 4 standard rating, the numbers respectively guarantee that the card will perform the minimum performance point.
Broad picture
class 2 alright for point and shoot
class 4-6 good for point shoot HD-Full HD video
classs 10+ high end point shoot/DSLR full HD video (highly recommended)

   But unfortunately this table is becoming outdated, since faster capacity/speed SD cards arriving to the market (as of 2013 point). The majority are dominated by Class 10 SD cards, because there is no rating above class 10, and prominent manufactures try to differentiate themselves by writing the speed on top of them for example 30mb/sec on Sandisk Ultra SDHC and the higher ends can reach 120mb/sec (both being on same scale class 10) the speed wont affect that much on digital camera users, but heavily affect Dslr users.
     
 For manufactures, the most dominant company selling high reliable SD cards in Japan with highest share is most notably Sandisk headquartered in the US. They provide one of the top quality SD cards around in terms cost performance, and other company worth mentioning is Transcend from Taiwan famous for memory cards. I personally use Sandisk SD cards and Transcend CF cards for my D800 since the CF coming from Sandisk seems to be really expensive. Others would be Lexar, Kingston, Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic etc. Although I am Japanese, I preferably use Sandisk, and Transcend over the Japanese manufacturers. (although the quality might be good, I cannot pay the high premium).
      I cannot say which brand is the best but It seems to me that its worth investing in the mid range capacity cards rather than buying only one in the extreme high end (64-128GB SD). Before you know it the price of the higher end will drop drastically thus be waste of money. I currently use a 16GB-32GB range SD/CF which is around 20-30USD compared to 60-70$. I believe its Quantity>Quality since you never know when One will fail so instead of having one 32GB SD its wiser to have 2 16GB SD so you can keep shooting if one fails.
       

Second Thoughts on Nikon D800

  About 2 weeks have past since I bought the D800, I started noticing the pros and cons of this camera even more (limitations/strengths). Might as well write what I found out so far. In terms of handling yes it is actually heavy if you consider the total weight of lens and body. I currently use the Nikon 50mm 1.4G lens with the D800 and it weighs about 1.2kg and if I add an external flash (SB700) about 1.5kg.

   Another area that stood out for me was the 2 card slot function not found in the entry level APS-C sized camera I used (D5100) Compared to Nikon's entry level FX camera the D600, uses 2 SD card slots. I must say the D800 loses at this match. The D800 uses 1 compact flash slot and 1 SD card slot, for me it gives me a headache since the two medias are different in size and price.

     What I did not like the most was the Compact flash is at the brink of extinction. Although Compact flash came out earlier than SD cards, manufactures are almost halting the production of CF cards since it is already substituted by the SD cards due to the low cost high production rate along with the higher capacity being produced to the market. As of 2013 (Tokyo) 16GB Sandisk CF is about $70 vs same 16GB Sandisk SD for $20-30 for same speed (Class10 30mb/s)

     But the pros (good) to having two card slots is the ability to separate the files (RAW and JPEG) for example writing Raw files to my SD card and JPEG to my CF card. this helps me alot when transferring files to my notebook pc to view on Photoshop and post process.

     The 36.3megapixel should NOT be underestimated lightly. In order to support the full megapixels I realized, it is essential to have a very large capacity hard drive to store your photos. Raw files are about 50mgb and Jpeg 20mgb (total 70megabyte) and I have taken about 500 photos which is about 35GB already in 2 weeks. In a year that is equivalent of somewhere about 420GB. In order to support the data it is worth to consider having the enough storage, And horsepower (laptop computing power) to efficiently transfer the data and post process the files. Honesty it takes 2-3x more time to read a raw file on my computer!!! than my D5100 photos.

I might have rambled too much but that was my 2nd impression of what I have thought about this camera, there is more to say, but Im still happy that I got this camera instead of the D600 although its popular among enthusiast.
  

First FX Camera the Nikon D800! (First Impression)

    Its summer vacation here in Japan, and to celebrate myself for surviving the first semester at photography school. I was able to buy my first FX camera the Nikon D800. This is actually a big step up for me, not only because I have been using a cropped sensor DSLR, the D5100 for the past year, but also realizing the physical limitation of having a smaller sensor in the camera compared to a full sized 35mm sensor.
  
   Opening up the D800, I was really surprised by the weight of this monster. It weighs nearly 1kg, about twice as much as my D5100, and it felt really solid. Lots of people complain by the weight saying its too heavy. But lots of people don't realize the fact that this is not a typical dslr you see most of the time. With 36.3 megapixels this is almost the equivalent to a medium size format camera. With that mindset, it is actually about one-third lighter which is revolutionary.
  
   When I entered school in Tokyo, the majority of students in first year either purchased a Nikon D600 followed by D7000-7100 or a Canon 5D Mark 3, 6D,(7D). The main reason why I bought this camera instead of a D600 (newer) was the D800 will be used longer compared to the D600. After I graduate from school, most professionals using Nikon tend to use D4, D800-D800E (D7100 might be option) Canon aside, a  1DX, 5D Mark 3 or 6D,  putting the D600 as a sub camera category. I did not want to invest in one entry level FX camera then another better camera for later.

<Please note, other cameras one generation old are still being used by professionals such as>
     Nikon: D3s, D3x, D700 -out of production though its a really good camera-, F6 (film camera) etc..
     Canon: 1D(series before X), 5D Mark 2 etc..

    Another reason why I chose this camera instead of a D600, is megapixels needed for my type of work. Compared to fashion/portrait photographer who need the extra burst rate to shoot continuous with flash, my work which is mostly commercial work (advertising shooting products mainly) tends to be done in a studio with sometimes the use of a tripod and resolution matters the most.

   I am still reading the instruction manual for the D800 and probably do a part 2 for this after I understand the functions of the buttons. Maybe a review on the camera. hopefully by end of the week I am good to go. (^_^)



 

Around Kichijoji Station (JR line and Keio Inokashira line)

 Yes a break at last! I was able to walk around Kichijoji station this weekend. Located on JR Chuo line and on Keio Inokashira line. Lots of Japanese people choose Kichijoji as one of the best place to live due to the popularity of shopping street and how well organized the city itself is. Also Kichijoji is well known for the highly energetic shopping streets in Tokyo!

Kichijoji station (still under construction of 2013)

  

  One of the reasons they say its energetic is due to the huge amount of people visiting in a day. According to statistic I saw on a television program in Japan, it is about 80,000 people in a day which is higher than the amount of people visiting Tokyo Disney land o.0!

Harmonika Yokocho, small shopping street from the existing from showa era

          There are lots of reasons why so many people come here to shop. From what I saw, the city is well organized even though there are famous department shops like Parco, Tokyu, Atre, and Yodobashi Camera (electronic giant shop) and also small unique shops like as if they are coexisting well. I actually took some photos there that I found interesting.

耳をすませば (Whisper of the Heart) Visiting Seiseki Sakuragaoka station

First thing I see, a guide to seeing the actual location in film

    I am one of the many Japanese people who love Studio Ghibli's animations and recently found out the anime "Whisper of the Heart" (Mimi wo sumase ba) 1995 was made from an existing location in Tokyo. During the movie, the station that appeared is called "Sugi no miya" station, however it is actually portrayed after Seiseki Sakuragaoka Station (one of station on Keio Line). Last weekend I was able to take some photo of the locations to show the settings in the anime shown is really similar to right now.




                                                          

I am actually surprised, finding many couples visiting this site. After all, this movie was actually about a young love story. =)








 Chikyu-Ya, an antique shop that stood on top of the hill at the rotary road (in anime). Although it didnt exist in real, the mayor of this town actually built one as a memorial. It is said that if you insert your message, there is high chance of getting it granted, its a post box and you can insert msg inside.

Barron on left and Louise on right

The rotary road on top of the hill

rotary road in the anime

inside a shop i found this ^^

Kappa Bashi - Home of kitchen goods & Food Samples!

 I have been in a hectic situation because school started in Japan and was unable to update my blog. My overall goal is to become a professional photographer one day so while I continue going to photography school,  I will try to update my blog with contents on specific locations in Tokyo/Japan with photos, hopefully giving you guys info and also continue reviews on Camera goods for those who are interested. ^^

   Ok so over the weekend, I visited a downtown street called "Kappa Bashi" located near Tawara Machi Station (Ginza Line), Tokyo. This street has been long known for selling goods such as kitchen goods/crafts/glassware etc. and also...FOOD SAMPLES!?.

For some people this may be new info but this street has been famous for creating the 元祖(Ganso)-Original food samples. The food samples are actually made out of polymer material and the majority of restaurants in Japan typically have a showcase of food samples, replicating what they serve in restaurants.

A cold sweet desert sample :P

 
   Although its plastic, they are actually really well built, high chance to mistake for the real one. I have added some photos during my trip to show you guys what they are.
      These are actually one of famous souvenirs many people buy as a gift just because they looks soO real! I actually bought a salmon sushi key chain to attach to my camera bag and it looks good.

Old fashioned Coffee shop selling kettles

     
     The town feels being time slipped in the past by the way the streets are formed. Like traditional Japanese stores, these stores are actually small and you never know what kind of store is beside each other.
   So if your interested on visiting, Kappa Bashi is located on the next station to the Asakusa station (Ginza line) so for people visiting Asakusa it might be a good idea to visit this place as sort of an adventure.

 I actually favored the less rowdiness  during the weekend compared to Asakusa temple.

UV Filters: Are They Essential?

Kenko Zeta Protector (W) 52mm

  So what are these "UV filters and what are these for?" lots of people ask this question when they first step into the world of photography and I have to admit I really didnt know about it. Simply put, a "UV filter" is a filter/glass you put in front of your dslr lens to prevent it from scratches and dirt coming into the lens. It can also block UV light coming to the camera itself, but nowadays UV light doesnt affect much in terms of optics of lens. 

  People who argue against using this point out an extra piece of glass will cripple the photo quality, while people support the use say its better to scratch the filter then scratching a $1,000 lens. 

 I actually support the latter, since once the lens is scratched once, there is a possibility of it being unusable in future. I always ask myself, "would you want to walk bare naked in a bush?" NO! Same thing applies to taking photo's in wild, higher chances you might scratch the expensive lens outside. 

For those who are considering a new lens, it might be a worth to consider buying a UV filter. Not just for protection but for investing for the future. The higher end lens tend to be used relatively long period so it would be wise to know there is some form of protection. As always, these UV filters range from cheap to expensive, (in my experience about 15-100USD) and I wont advise buying the most expensive ones. I have been using a 20-30$ for my Nikon 35mm  1.8G and 55-200mm 4-5.6G lens and it has actually held up quite well. 

I hope this clears up some questions for many of you. 

55mm-200mm 4-5.6G ED (Nikon) lens

Shot using 55-200mm outside found a cute Mejiro bird 

   Lots of people online criticize this lens as `cheapo lens` (cheaply built) since its mostly accompanied when buying a W kit zoom lens (dslr+ 18-55mm and this 55-200mm) It is true that its a lens meant for beginner in terms of quality, but I think lots of people neglect the true fact of how this is a zoom lens should be used.The aperture is 4-5.6G meaning that compared to prime lens like the 35mm 1.8G, this lens cannot open wide as much as the 35mm. Thus not making it a indoor lens. 

  

Also used 35mm lens to compare the difference with 55-200mm lens

  I actually never bought this in w zoom lens kit because it wasnt worth an extra $200USD (the price difference between dslr+18-55mm+ 55-200mm and normal kit lens was about 2万円 in Japan=200USD). So I bought this in a used new shop for about 7,000yen=70 dollars and I would really say this lens is worth that price range 50-100 dollars at max. 
  
     




         In terms of speed in focusing, Yes it is slow but as a startup photographer patience is essential to taking good photo the Mejiro bird I took above took me 1hr to find one, not to mention it MOVES sooo darn fast! Overall I am happy I bought this lens since now I have one prime and one zoom lens so it gives me an idea of what each type of lens are for and what they are mainly used for, and I believe from this point on it is the photographer`s choice of whether to take close still shots or far-away pictures. It boils down to the photographer`s preference so good luck!
   

Jindaiji & Jindai Botanical Garden

I recently visited Jindaiji a famous temple located in Chofu prefecture (Tokyo). According to historical facts the temple itself was created in AD733 by a monk who studied buddhism in India. It is also said to be the next oldest temple to the Asakusa Temple that I visited earlier this year. Besides the Jindaiji, there is a Jindai Botonical Garden located right next to the temple itself and I looked to see if any cherry blossom blossomed.

Unfortunately I wasnt able to get good macro shots. I might consider buying a Nikon Micro/Macro lens. 

Nikon Photo Contest International

   Forgot to mention there is a Nikon Photo contest International 2012-2013 going on (http://www.nikon-photocontest.com/en/) From 2012, Dec 1st -2013 Feb 28. This contest has been going on for a lonnng time ever since 1969 and the prizes are will shock most photography enthusiast such as grand prize of 100 thousand yen worth of goodies along with    participation in photo gallery a chance to become a professional photographer. 

Asakusa Revisited!

Photo using Lightroom 4 "Kamen" (Mask)

    Today I visited my grandfather, and I also revisited Asakusa, in Taito Ku (District) in Tokyo a really well known sightseeing location for both the locals and tourists. In the early 20th century Asakusa was known for entertainments, along with the most famous buddhist temple Sensouji. 

   It was a nice day-weekday, I took some nice photo's of the alley and shops nearby but was shocked with soo many people walking around.

Soo many people >.<

   I also forgot I am starting to get used to Lightroom 4 by Adobe when editing photos. Its becoming a nice program, adding finishing touches + "watermarks" effect/method of adding a copyright to your photographs A MUST for aspiring photographers. 

Lots of cute gifts  

New Camera Strap

Walked around Asakusa for the entire day, using the Nikon Camera strap on my D5100,(came with kit lens) I felt really disappointed in the quality of the strap. By looks its a 10/10 but in terms of functionality, it did not exceed my expectation. 
When using the kit lens-18-55mm which becomes about total  800g  the 3cm wide strap gives pain in neck after wearing it for a long time. I actually wondered what would happen if I used a telephoto lens...not to mention Japanese people look at you when you take photos-they get lured to the yellow NIKON letters. woot fancy photographer....
  
So..I went to a local camera shop called Yodobashi Camera (Japanese version of Best Buy/ Canada Futureshop) and bought a new camera strap by Swimmingfly & Gevaert not sure if they sell these in the US but it caught my eye. With 4cm width slightly wider than the Nikon's, I got lured by the words on the box  "Material from Belgium, Made in Japan" :P. I actually threw away my top choices, OP/Tech USA, and another by Outdoors inc. I will highly do a review on this soon after using this for a while And update my photos at Asakusa Raimon, One of the top places foreigners should check when visiting Japan. Neat cool place with shops and foooood. 

Renewal Tokyo Station 東京駅（新）

Tokyo Station Marunouchi Exit

 After I heard about the renewal of Tokyo Station (2012) I actually wanted to see the building with my own eyes since it was restored to Pre-War conditions. The Station itself started in 1914, ever since the station suffered greatly after bombing of Tokyo and it took years to restore.










   The building itself is well known for using red bricks (Aka Renga) and it symbolized Recovery and Prosperity-recovering from after war, surviving great Kantou Earthquake, and supporting during high economic  development era. Not to mention, privatizing railway.

おいしい！(yum delicious-Oishii)

Look! They even made a bread that looks like the Red Brick (Aka-Renga). Exact same size as the ones used in Tokyo Station. Definitely going to be a famous treat for sightseeing. Sooo popular it is limited to only 4 per customer (250yen each)



 







                                                                                                                                            

Omoide Yokocho-Nishi Shinjuku

 After buying my DSLR (D5100), I realized in order to manage my photo library, I needed to buy a photo editing software to organize. So I went to Nishi Shinjuku (West Exit Shinjuku Station) to buy Lightroom 4 by Adobe. At the same time, I visited Omoide Yokocho, an old Izakaya street located in heart of Shinjuku. Izakaya-is a Japanese pub style/bar serving small dishes like Yakitori, Ramen, and other goodies.
 
   The first 3 photos I took a raw photo and uploaded accordingly (not to mention I used a PL filter on my dslr to give it a nice contrast)
The last photo, instead of uploading the exact photo, i tested using Lightroom 4. Im still new to photo editing software like Adobe photoshop, wasnt sure I used them correctly but I am satisfied with how it looked old fashioned. (last photo with old lady cooking Yakitori umm delicious) 

First photo using Adobe lightroom 4.

Test Photo's Nikon 35mm F1.8G lens

Had some time and I took some photos near my house. Wanted to test how well these lens work in low light situation and quite surprised on how well it took. It was my first time using the tripod on my camera and I still need to practice using it because lots of camera shake appeared before getting these photos. For these photos I actually used slow shutter speed for the first photo (about 5" sec) and 1/15sec for the trees.

ISO 100, 5sec F10

ISO 100 1/15 F2.5