TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR

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A few days ago I arrived home from filming a television documentary on the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra. We stayed for a week in Caracas, Venezuela, going to different neighborhoods doing interviews and photo sessions with the youth. 

Traveling to dangerous cities such as Caracas can be a challenge due to the high possibility of camera theft. I remember on past trips, especially to Japan, I would take a pro body such as the Nikon D2x, with a Nikon D70 as a back-up, with a 70-200 f2.8 pro lens, an 85mm, 50mm, and 12-24mm zoom. This made for a massive backpack, extremely heavy and uncomfortable.

Lately I have been traveling professionally with the least gear possible. I am not well versed with Canon equipment, but a Nikon D90 with an 18-200mm zoom has served me very well when on the road. I have always relied on the excellent quality of prime lenses, but zooms seem to be getting better each year. The D90 and 18-200 combination is adequate for almost all magazine work, and most stock agencies will except images from this equipment. And if it does get stolen or lost, it is a much easier pill to swallow than replacing a $10,000 professional Nikon body and lens!

While I haven't tried the new Nikon D5000, it might be an even better option for frequent travelers. It is small, light, can do decent travel videos, and is priced very well for its excellent image quality (based on my knowledge of the similar D90 CMOS sensor).

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

NIKON D90 VIDEO REVIEW

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

From time to time I will be giving my thoughts on Nikon and their foray into video. Despite the technical limitations of the camera, I have been able to get some really dynamic footage from three different countries so far. When it is finished, I will include on this blog a short film that I did in Japan, solely using the D90.

This blog entry is simply a reminder to check your footage for any potentially interesting still images! Even though HD video is not a great resolution for making prints, it is certainly fine for web viewing. This evocative still image is of my assistant Jon, as he was standing in while getting the manual focus right. I find the D90 has a nice "cinematic" look to it, and I am looking forward to the next offering from Nikon.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

NIKON D90 REVIEW

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

Awhile back I did a review of the Nikon D300, and concluded that for professionals it was an ideal back-up camera, but also a very acceptable option for professional and amateur travel photography. In the past I would take a very large camera while traveling (such as the D2x), which increased the weight I had to carry, and made me quite conspicuous on the streets. With the advent of the Nikon D300 I had a smaller camera body, but with a great 14-bit chip to record images that had challenging lighting.

The Nikon D90 is my new travel companion for a number of reasons. Here are a few:
1. It is inexpensive compared to similar 12 MP DSLR's
2. It is very lightweight, and small, which is great for traveling
3. It takes SD cards which are more readily available than CF, and are cheaper
4. While not 14-bit, the 12-bit sensor creates imagery almost as good as the Pro D3
5. It records manual focus HD video, great for travel locations

The video has some issues that would keep it from being used professionally, however it is excellent for creating fine art short films, travel videos, and family films. I have had great success using a 50mm lens shooting video at f1.4, which gives the final product a more film-like appearance as opposed to the plasticky look of video.

The less than $1200 price tag makes this a great camera for all levels. Professionals will find it helpful as a back-up in case of emergencies, travel photographers will like it because of the quality and because it is a "safer" camera to have on the streets, and amateurs will like it because it is simple to use and very effective. To sum up: It is cheap enough to not be a disaster if it was broken or stolen, and good enough for many professional applications. That mix makes the camera ideal for travel, as you need both elements (quality and expendability) for a successful trip.

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 Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com