DR KOH KHO KING

The cheapest Nikon lens that you can get for your D3s…

While not a bit down grading the quality of your D3s.

Sharp, sharp, SHARP!

This lens by no mean is of cheapo built. For me it is solid, with metal rear mount. Of course, the use of plastic, but that makes the lens light and of course cut down the production cost hence consumer is able to enjoy such great lens at great price!

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Autofocus Lens

Used to be made in Japan during the old days…the one mounted on my D3s is the Made in Japan version, but is the AF none-D version. What is D? It is actually an extra technology Nikon embedded in the lens, to be able to give the Distance information to your camera, hence able to do 3D-Matrix Metering, and is said to be able to give more accurate result in exposure to your photo.

Nikon has recently released a new version of the 50mm F1.8 Lens, the AF-S version, which built in silent wave motor, making it compatible with entry entry level DSLRs (D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100…etc.).

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens

Price? Almost double of the AFD version, what a pity. Reviews said that the AFS version is able to produce a better bokeh quality. Built quality does feel better than the AFD version.

If you don’t have any 50mm lens yet, go ahead and get one! Get and USE it!

Searched up and down…in and out…some said can use, some said cannot.

I gave up…reading.

Went and took out a  Jobo SD/SDHC/SDxC to CF card Type II Adapter to try for myself on the D3s. No, cannot fit. The Type II adapter is just half a mm too thick. There is no way you are going to be able to insert a Type II card into a Type I slot.

Piled open the  Jobo SD/SDHC/SDxC to CF card Type II Adapter, figured out if I can throw away the casing, there might be chance that I will still be able to insert the adapter into the D3s Type I slot.

After some careful surgery on the Jobo, it is now naked. I slot in a Sandisk SDHC memory card into the Jobo adapter, then carefully insert it into my D3s. It is a try an error process, as without the CF rails at the side, you can’t really tell if you have inserted the card correctly into the PINSsssss of the CF slot in the camera. Warning! If you accidentally bent or broken the CF pins inside the camera, it is going to cost you $$$ to get it repaired! I figured out that since D3s has TWO CF slots, so I can just risk one slot for my experiment.

After some effort, I was able to insert the Jobo adapter into the D3s. Yes, it works! D3s can immediately detect and read the SDHC card in the Jobo adapter. Shooting is fine as well, all photos are recorded perfectly onto the card.

Now it comes to the main purpose of the experiment. Getting Eye-Fi to work on my D3s!

This is actually the easier part, as there is no modification required on the Eye-Fi. Just slot in the Eye-Fi to the Jobo naked adapter, then carefully insert it to the D3s, and done.

But…before that, you need to actually setup the Eye-Fi on your computer. It is an easy process as well. Just plug in the Eye-Fi card to your computer with a supplied USB adapter, and the software inside the Eye-Fi will prompt you for installation. Just follow the screen instructions and you are done.

Now…does Eye-Fi works? Yes, it does! In fact is works like wonders!

This is how the Eye-Fi Center software looks like. No, you don’t need it as a photo sorter or whatever, just use it to configure the setting of your Eye-Fi.

The Eye-Fi card that I used is the best version from Eye-Fi:  Eye-Fi 8GB Pro X2 SDHC Memory Card

With the capability of transferring RAW file, and some other advanced features. (read comparison at Eye-Fi website: http://www.eye.fi/products/compare-cards)

In short, as a summary, Eye-Fi + Naked Jobu SD/CF Adapter, works like wonders! Transfer speed is amazingly fast via home wireless network! A 3-4MB Jpeg file is transferred within 5 seconds. RAW file is less than 10 seconds. I am impressed! I saved lots of my time for product shots, without having to pull out the memory card, plug into my card reader, then computer, then copy to my computer, then only I can edit. See how many steps and time it saves!

For those who do studio works, I can imagine Eye-Fi being a real helper in your studio work!

A note on D3 / D3s user. Make sure you set your D3s “Auto Meter Off Delay” to 1 minute or longer. Default is 6s. The reason is because after shooting, Eye-Fi needs the camera to provide it powers to transmit the files via home wireless network to your computer.

For Android or iPhone user, you can download Eye-Fi app from the market. Installed to your phone, configure it and you can then have Eye-Fi sending images to your phone while shooting! (You need to enable WiFi on your phone to connect to Eye-Fi wireless network).

It works! It works like wonders! Amazing product, amazing technology. I am impressed.

Have the chance to try out a Nikon D3s recently. I have been a Nikon user for over 10 years, since the film era. My thought is that Nikon always put the best in their flagship model, and in this case, the Nikon D3s is the Nikon current flagship model available in the market.

Many has said that Nikon D700 is the little brother to Nikon D3s (or D3), and many said that Nikon D700 is same as Nikon D3 in terms of performance, with the advantage of a smaller body. I own a Nikon D700, and I thought the same as well (that I don’t need a D3s).

How wrong I was…until I tried out the Nikon D3s…

(Update: I am now the owner of the D3s…)

With my new toy…I got excited and mood to shoot again…

The shot was taken on a D3s + Nikkor AF 24mm F/2.8D lens.

1/30s, f/2.8, ISO 1250

A full frame view

Very sharp and clean image even at 100% view. No color shift and all detail retains. The above is original shot without any editing or sharpening.

A bit of processing and you will have an attractive color, contrast and sharpness.

More shots in the same series…(Sorry for the yellowish downlight)

Going to try with WB correction later.

If I took the D3s now…I won’t be able to afford the upgrade when D4 comes out (rumors said summer 2011). I am using D200 now, which I use it very roughly and sparingly.

Hmm…should I wait?

There is a D3s sitting on the rack waiving me to take it out…do I need higher megapixel? 1080i HD video? Hmm…