========================================================== THE NIKONIAN http://www.nikonians.com Regular Newsletter #15 19-NOV-2001 =========================================================== 1. Editors Note 2. Nikonians Remember Mike Graham 3. Looking For Software Editors 4. Female Photographers Invited 5. So What Are Your Holiday Plans? 6. Nikonos Discontinued - Quantities Too Small 7. Over 30 Million Nikkors 8. Adobe: What Are "Channels" Really Good For? 9. The Best, Classic Nikon Investment 10.Is It Worth 100 Bucks to Attend the Nikon School? 11.Upgrading to an F100 - or F5 12.Stardust - The Leonids 13.Does Nikon have Quality Assurance Problems? 14.Assignment 7: Back to The 50's 15.Upcoming Events From Our Calendar Coordinator 16.Contest Duration Extended and 2002 Finals Delayed 1. Editors Note =========================================================== Thank you for your interest in our non-profit community, a home on the internet for over 6.000 Nikon users. It's post September 11th, though we try to live our lives as normal as possible, eventhough the world has changed indeed. If you have the chance to visit the National Building Museum in Washington DC, you should take a peek at the "Twin Towers Remembered" exhibition held there. For more info, see "Upcoming Events" below. After an attack of the "Nimda worm" at our ISP (Nikonians site was only indirectly affected), we have been growing strongly. August alone, we've had over 2 million hits and our small server is still sweating *a lot*. Many of you have experienced strange things with the site recently, such as white pages displaying "Server error 500" and other irregularities. We appologize for the problems this may have caused you. We have now gotten ourselves a new, "dedicated" server. This nice piece of machinery is still idleing its way through a pilot phase, but the form of the next release already starts to take shape. Soon, we'll be able to provide you with a number of new services, such as gallery web-space which you can manage by yourself, a Nikon product and reference database coming with a smart "assistance guide" plus the world- wide Nikonians "friend-finder". And, stay tuned for an article on the first Nikonians Photo Trip which took place in NC and TN/USA October 7th, where Nikonians from around the world met having a good time while shooting away with their Nikon gear. The article will be published shortly. While you wait, check out some of the participants pics from the trip: http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID30/31.html Thank you all for making Nikonians the number one place to be at for Nikon photographers! Bo & JRP 19-Nov-2001 bo@nikonians.com jrpalacios@nikonians.com 2. Nikonians Remember Mike Graham =========================================================== Our dear friend and member, Mike Graham (aka Merlin) passed away October 17th 2001. We will remember him as the witty, generous and sharing soul he has been to all of us. http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID38/232.html 3. Looking For Software Editors =========================================================== Nikonians are looking for software editors. If you: 1) Are a Nikonian 2) Are used to deal with PC and/or Mac software 3) Want to try out new photo/image related software and 4) Write reviews about this 5) Then you're the right gal/boy to give the Software Editor position a chance. If you're interested, say so here: http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID4/108.html or send editorial@nikonians.com an email 4. Female Photographers Invited =========================================================== Female photographers of all levels are invited to join in the lively discussions over in the Ladies Forum. Stop by and say hello, we would love to hear from you. We are currently discussing issues pertaining to safety when shooting alone, theme and why it matters, archiving old photos, and many others. Wendy Folse/Moderator 5. So What Are Your Holiday Plans? =========================================================== No matter where you decide to go or what your plans are for the holidays, one of those hot, cute Coolpixes could be something to give away (or wish for). Give other Nikonians a hint on what Santa Nikonian should bring: http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID38/247.html For example, the new Coolpix 5000 sure looks good - or as the brochure says: "Dare - Defy - Digital". Though, the downside may be delivery time... The Coolpix 5000 should be available in the USA "in December" and in Europe it looks like we'll have to wait until January. So, to be on the safe side, you should maybe ask for a money gift of 1,100 USD (which is the street price of the Coolpix 5000) instead. This magnesium-alloy beauty comes with quite a number of interesting features: CCD: 5.24 million pixel Image size: Up to 2,560 x 1,920 pixels Optical Zoom: 3x: 7.1...21.4 (=28mm...85mm for 35mm film) Digital Zoom: 4x FPS: 3...30 frames per second Shutter: 8s...1/4000 s AF: 5 Area Multi AF or Spot AF LCD: 1.8" color Diopter Adjustment and the possibility to capture up to 40 seconds of QuickTime(TM) movies are other nice features. http://www.nikon-image.com/eng/news_release/2001/e5000.htm http://www.nikon-image.com/eng/PDF/index5000.htm http://www.nikonusa.com/usa_product/product.jsp?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25501 6. Nikonos Discontinued - Quantities Too Small =========================================================== Nikon has decided to discontinue the production of their world famous underwater cameras: http://www.nikon-image.com/eng/news_release/2001/nikonos-v.htm JRP's nice article on submarine photography and Nikonos V is though still available: http://www.nikonians.com/html/resources/nikon_articles/underwater/nikonos1.html 7. Over 30 Million Nikkors =========================================================== In May 2001, Nikon produced its 30 millionth F-mount Nikkor lens, making history: http://www.nikon-image.com/eng/news_release/2001/30million-nikkor.htm 8. Adobe: What Are "Channels" Really Good For? =========================================================== Nikonians Moderator Alan Clifton gives us some background info on "The Channels" in Nikonians Adobe Photoshop Forum: "The colour channels are what you’re really working with when you’re editing an image in Photoshop. They break your image into its component colours according to the mode you’re in, so RGB has three (Red, Green, Blue), CMYK has four, greyscale has one and so forth." http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID36/36.html 9. The Best, Classic Nikon Investment =========================================================== What is the finest collectible classic Nikon Amateur body and why? Give us your very personal take on this! http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID5/485.html 10. Is It Worth 100 Bucks to Attend the Nikon School? =========================================================== Is it a "Death-by-Powerpoint" including lunch or does the Nikon School come with more to it? http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID4/20.html 11. Upgrading to an F100 - or F5 =========================================================== "I currently have an N80 and love it but I'm going to get two bodies, and I am trying to decide between getting the F100 or F5". Oh boy, do we recognize this one? When there is so much good out there and just as many options as opinions. http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID62/184.html 12. Stardust - The Leonids =========================================================== How did "your Leonids" turn out? http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID58/571.html ...For those of us who didn't got a chance to get a glimpse of them, we may look at older pics at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast08nov_1.htm 13. Does Nikon have Quality Assurance Problems? =========================================================== Nikon is now outsourcing more than in former times and some think that Nikons quality management and standards have become more lax. Have you noticed any quality problems lately? What is your take on this? http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/515.html 14. Assignment 7: Back to The 50's =========================================================== Back to the 50's, back to basics: Use your 50mm. In case you don't have a 50mm lens, use your zoom at 50mm, try out the "normal" look. Hone your skills with a minimalist approach to lenses. Get back to zooming with your feet, get closer to your subjects, talk to them instead of shouting. Bring back your imagination from the times when a "kit" was the camera and a 50mm lens. Maybe this is also a good excuse for getting back to B&W. This is your chance to "see" differently and to shoot using available light. Let's give those 50mm f/1.8 and f/1.4 a good try! http://www.nikonians.com/dcforum/DCForumID29/31.html 15. Upcoming Events From Our Calendar Coordinator =========================================================== EXHIBITS "Twin Towers Remembered" A 30-year photographic tribute to the World Trade Center, recalling New York's skyline at its finest and most vibrant. National Building Museum Washington, DC November 10, 2001 to March 10, 2002 Info at www.nbm.org/Exhibits/index.html "Ansel Adams at 100" To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ansel Adams, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art presents an exhibit of over 100 images by the beloved photographer and naturalist. This accompanies the release of a new book featuring photographs rarely seen in the popular press. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art San Francisco, CA August 4, 2001 to January 13, 2002 Info at www.sfmoma.org "In Response to Place: Photographs from the Nature Conservancy's Last Great Places" Exhibition of 130 photographs of biologically rich lands and waters around the world by 12 of the world's most acclaimed photographers - including Annie Leibovitz, William Wegman and Sally Mann. Corcoran Gallery of Art Washington, DC September 15 to December 31, 2001 Info at www.nature.org "Migrations: Sebastiao Salgado" Traveling exhibit of the famous photojournalist's documentation of the plight of the millions displaced by war, drought, and famine. Museum of History Berlin, Germany October 10 to November 27, 2001 Info at www.terra.com.br/sebastiaosalgado/index.htm EVENTS Mystic Seaport Field Days - Mystic, CT Thanksgiving weekend festivities in America's historic seaport. November 23-24, 2001 Info at www.mysticseaport.org There is always additional informating pertaining to events and exhibitions in the calendar: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/calendar/calendar.pl 16. Contest Duration Extended and 2002 Finals Delayed =========================================================== As you may have noticed, the montly contest have been postponed due to technical problems. We will extend the contest duration accordingly, running a total of 12 months. This means that the 2002 finals, originally scheduled for February 2002 will be delayed accordingly. We're truly sorry about this delay, though we will do our best to keep you up to date. The main page at Nikonians will contain the latest information. =========================================================== If you have any questions regarding this newsletter, please send an email to editorial@nikonians.com You receive THE NIKONIAN because you have requested it. We hope you find it useful, however, if you'd like your name to be removed from the newsletter, you can simply do so at any time from the main page at our community: http://www.nikonians.com nikonia.com, nikonia.net, nikonian.com, nikonian.net, nikonians.com, nikonians.net, nikonians.org and THE NIKONIAN are not associated with Nikon Corporation nor with any of its subsidiaries or affiliates in any way. All registered trademarks mentioned in this newsletter are owned by their respective owners.