I’m a Nikonian. It’s sort of like “Trekkkie” but with a camera. I speak fluent Nikonian, which is a cross between English and Klingon. I don’t “beam-up”. Instead, I “light up”.
My tricorder is referred to as a Sekonic L358, my phaser is a D3, DSLR, FX format with 12.1 mega pixels and an ISO of 6400.
In “Nikonian”, the D3 has a 14-bit A/D conversion and 16-bit image-processing pipeline with lateral chromatic aberration reduction with a high dynamic range and shoots 9 fps in FX format and 11 in DX includes 51 AF points with Scene Recognition System producing a 1005-pixel RGB sensor. Add to this a sophisticated 3D color-matrix metering system and auto white balance and you have one hell of a weapon.
To top it off it’s not my only one. I’m also the proud owner of a D300 and D200.
Now you don’t become a Nikonian overnight. I have over 30 years of exploring and photographing images from under the world’s oceans in the Far East and a few local weddings or two. Today my photography is a little more mundane -- portraits, boudoir, glamour -- with an occasional shark dive.
Even with all this experience it’s still important to keep pace with new technologies and have a total understanding the capabilities of your camera. There are numerous books, on-line videos and DVDs available, which all help. But there’s nothing like hands-on, real time training. Especially from someone who speaks fluent “Nikonian”.
That’s where Mike Hagen comes in. He’s the “Scotty” of all things Nikon. I met Mike shortly after converting to digital from film, which is like going from prop to warp speed.
I understood photography, lighting, shutter speeds and F-stops. But now I had to work it out on a computer that shape shifted into the familiar look and feel of a camera. I needed to get a handle on this new technology, and Hagen was the one to get me started. I contacted the Federation of Nikonians and was beamed over to their workshop personnel section. According to the schedule, Mike was to be transported to a Hilton in New Jersey the following month. The purpose of his visit was training fellow Nikonians in understanding the operation of the Nikon D200 camera in detail. I wanted in on this mission and proceeded to sign on. I cut my teeth on digital when Nikon introduced the D100 back in 2003. I was hooked. Digital was the future of photography. From here there was no place else to go but up. When the D200 made its debut in 2005, I was impressed with its technological advances and wanted a faster way to gain control over the new features. When Mike arrived the following month, I set a course for New Jersey with camera in hand. In the span of two days Mike covered everything the D200 had to offer and then some. Several other Nikonians and I hung on his every word and followed along, working the console array on the camera’s back.
Love the analogy!
ReplyDeleteRegards from Bern, Switzerland
Ruedi (a fellow Nikonian)