Olle

As I long for freedom, I ditched Nikon's SC-28 flash cord and went wireless with GadgetInfinity's cheapo V2s Trigger set . I modified the trigger board a bit to increase its open-air range and here's a shot when cover is open: And here are sample shots I took last week: Can you make a guess on the location of the flash in each image?

I was able to find time last night to perform this investigation. Throughout this test, onboard Noise Reduction (NR) is off. Image @200 Model = NIKON D40 Exposure Time = 2" F Number = F5.6 Exposure Program = Manual ISO Speed Ratings = 200 Focal Length In 35mm Film = 82mm Image @1600 Model = NIKON D40 Exposure Time = 1/4" F Number = F5.6 Exposure Program = Manual ISO Speed Ratings = 1600 Focal Length In 35mm Film = 82mm Image @3200 Model = NIKON D40 Exposure Time = 1/8" F Number = F5.6 Exposure Program = Manual ISO Speed Ratings = 3200 Focal Length In 35mm Film = 82mm More here.

Last week, I sold my Nikon SB-400 Speedlight, Sto-fen OM-400 Diffuser, & Nikon SC-28 Cord and upgraded to Nikon SB-600.

Finally, my photography kit now includes a decent bag. Previously, I was just using a generic all-purpose bag - it's not padded and stuff inside easily gets tangled. I used it because it doesn't look like a camera bag. Yesterday, I bought a black Tamrac Velocity 8x . It looks cool and still doesn't look like a camera bag. I tried stuffing my whole kit (save the tripod) and there's still room left for a souvenir or two.

Finally, I have now the impossible-to-find ( in Cebu, anyway ) Nikon SC-28 TTL Flash Cord. I quickly assembled a rough setup for rim lighting ( one of the many possibilities with off-camera flash photography ): A 3' x 3' illustration board ( black side is facing the camera ) was center-clipped to a large 4' x 4' translucent plastic ( that came with the uncut illustration board ). The plastic serves as a diffuser. The flash was then put behind the plastic/illustration board with a distance of about 2'. Subjects were positioned about 1' from the illustration board and here are some sample shots: SB-400 attached to D40 by SC-28 flash cord:

_DSC2940.jpg (Shot 1) _DSC2941.jpg (Shot 2) These 2 shots were taken 20 seconds apart and shot in an empty road so as to eliminate any bounce flash. No post-processing was performed to these JPEG files. Shot 1 was shot with a straight-on flash from SB-400. Shot 2 was taken with a Sto-Fen Omnibounce 400 put on SB-400 and flash adjusted to the recommended 60 degree angle. I need to make more comparisons (using different subjects & situations) to have a conclusive statement but for the sake of this quick test, I think this Sto-Fen model works as advertised. Camera Settings: Exposure Program = Manual Exposure Time = 1/60" F Number = F4.5 ISO Speed Ratings = 400 Focal Length In 35mm Film = 112mm My Amateur's Kit: As of April 21, 2007 - Nikon D40 with Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX, HB-34 Hood and C-PL filter attached - Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX with UV filter attached - Nikon ML-L3 Infrared Remote Control - Nikon SB-400 with Sto-Fen Omnibounce 400 attached

Just after 107 days since its launching, Nikon D40 is now being replaced by Nikon D40x . Wow, I'm stunned! It's a pretty quick model replacement! In fact, I'm still learning how to use all its features... Also, Nikon released a new 55-200 VR lens! Now, I'm a bit mad because I have the old 55-200 now... I can hear now the groanings of D40 users out there... Well, it's "buy now or never"...

Test shots over the weekend:

The re-flashing went smoothly. Now, it's time to put more hours on actual shooting & experimenting. I think I'm only 60% familiar with its operation when I'm in the field. Gotta know my D40 more.

Nikon released firmware update v1.1 for D40. I downloaded the firmware and printed out the procedure. I'll be doing the re-flashing tonight. Wish me luck, people!