Commentary by business blog and social media consultant Josh Hallett on the use of blogs for public relations, marketing, media, communication & branding and from time-to-time the unsolicited opinion.
Some have noticed that I upgraded to a Nikon D3 this past week. I'll write up a full review in a few weeks, but the quick view is the camera is amazing. Here's a quick shot of the Bay Bridge I took on Sunday. Zoom in to see the detail.
I have a number of shots from Sunday to process, as well as the night shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.
BlogHer 08 has come to a close. It was my third BlogHer and as always, I had a blast. Here are some photo highlights. The entire set is here.
During BlogHer I snuck down to the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday night to take a few shots. Here's the first of many more to come:
Yes I will admit that carrying around a big DSLR camera is a bit of a drag sometimes, and there are other times I really don't want to take my camera to a certain environment, say the beach. For all the 'other' times I want a camera, which is almost all the time, I picked up a small Nikon Coolpix S600.
Why a Coolpix? Well I'm a Nikon fan, duh, but my interest in photography started with my original Coolpix 2100. I could take some pretty decent shots with that.
After using a DSLR for a while you do become a bit of a picture snob, that is you look at shots from a point & shoot and start to pick out the small little issues, i.e. quality, clarity, etc. But you soon get over that and realize that the smaller cameras can take some good shots. Scott Beale played around with the Fuji FinePix and discovered the same thing.
However I wanted to get as good a point and shoot as I could, while still keeping the form-factor small. The S600 has a glass Nikkor lens and uses the same VR technology that many of the high-end Nikon lenses use. The sensor is 10.0 MP and can shoot as high has 3200 ISO. Toting around the S600 for the past few weeks has shown me that the camera can take some great shots in the right situations.
Ultimately it's about knowing the camera's limitations. One of which is speed, as in a fast shutter. Using a DSLR like the D300 for too long you expect things to be fast, and there isn't really a fast point-and-shoot on the market. Trying to take 'action' shots of my son never quite works out. Shooting still-life, landscapes and a variety of other stable subjects works great. Here are a selection of shots from the S600 this past weekend.
If you look at the large version of this photo, the sharpness of the whiskers on my face is amazing, although somewhat disturbing on another level :-)
Shooting at night it's always good to have a stable platform. Yes a tripod can be overkill for a point-and-shoot, but what else can you prop the camera on? For this shot I just set the camera on a sign. Not bad.
The Macro function is easy to use, but I haven't tested it too much, the same goes for the high ISO. I'll play a bit more and post a follow-up.
So far I've been very happy with the Coolpix S600. I planed to turn it over to my wife so she could always have a camera, but I don't want to give it up. I might need to buy another.
Heading out in a little bit for a beach weekend in Hilton Head, but next week I'm off to California, specifically Palo Alto and San Francisco. Next weekend brings BlogHer and my third visit to this great event. Looking forward to catching up with plenty of friends.
Registration is now open for the 2008 edition of BlogOrlando. So go do your thing:
My first 'big boy' camera was the Nikon D80. I purchased it in September of 2006 and never looked back. While the D80 has been a great camera I was putting some serious miles on it. In August of last year Nikon announced the D3 and the D300. The D300 seemed to be the next logical step. It was a notch-up in just about every aspect and was a bit more rugged than the D80. In March of this year I upgraded :-)
Upon first impression you see that the D300 is a bit bigger and heavier than the D80 (Paul Stamatiou also noted this). The difference is more in the width of the camera than the height. I always mount the external battery grip so a big and heavy camera is nothing new to me. Below are some comparison shots of my D80 and D300 rigs.
I was able to take the D300 with me to London and was amazed at some of the shots I got, some of which are highlighted below.
The things that drew me to the D300 were:
More Rugged: Have I mentioned this before? The D300 is a descendant of the D200 and the D100, so it's sometimes referred to as a pro photographer's second camera. The thought is most serious pros own a D2x/D2h (or the D3 now) and the DXXX serves as a backup. Often the DXXX has the same internal workings as the pricier sibling, just a smaller body. While the D80 is great, all the trips and conditions were starting to show on the camera body.
On the D300 the subframe is magnesium and you can feel it. The entire camera is almost a grip and feels great. The strap hinges are also more robust than the D300. Back when I was deciding between the D80 and the Canon Rebels one of the issues I noted was that the lower-end Canons felt too-plasticy while the D80 felt sturdier. The D300 is a step above this, you 'feel' that value/quality. Yes it's a minor point compared to other aspects of the camera's performance, but it is an issue.
D3 in a Small Body: Not entirely true, but much of the D3 lineage is in the D300. Yes it's still a DX sensor rather than the new full-frame FX, but did I really need that? There are an increased number of focus points as well as a nice 12.3 MP sensor (not going into the megapixel myth here though). On the back-side there is the nice 3" LCD. It's one of those small things, you think well that's slightly larger than the D80, but once you use it, you look at the D80 and say, boy that looks small. Combined with decent glass I am amazed at the clarity and color I can get (see below)
Higher ISO: Both the D3 and D300 have stepped things up in the sensitivity range allowing you to shoot at even lower light conditions. You can max things out at 6400 ISO, but I mostly shoot at 1600 in low light. Many times I'm shooting at conferences with low-light and the D300 has been great for this.
The photos below are a great example of the all-around package of increased sensitivity and speed of the camera. These were taken with the D300 and the 70-200mm lens at night in a hand-held position (as in no tripod). Could they be a bit sharper? Perhaps, but without a tripod I don't think so.
Speed: This thing shoots fast which is great for action photography or as parents call it, every day :-) Setting the camera to Continuous-High and pressing the shutter button is a good parlor trick, people are amazed at the speed. The photo below would be good if it wasn't for the poor framing on my part, i.e. the guy standing in the background with the point and shoot, but it shows the action you can grab. The cyclist was taking part in a local criterium, i.e. riding rather fast :-)
Liveview: Honestly I rarely use this feature. Liveview mimics the standard LCD as viewfinder format that most point and shoot cameras have. I know some people have raved about it for setting up shots on a tripod, but I rarely use one. Perhaps one day I'll start doing more landscape with a tripod.
What are the drawbacks?
Weight: Yes it is heavier and bigger, but I think that just comes with the territory. However it is interesting to compare the D300 to the D40 or even the Nikon Coolpix S600.
Controls/Settings: Yes I am that guy that picks something up and tries to use it without using the manual. I did the same thing with the D300 and noticed quickly there was no green 'Auto' setting. At first I thought, wow this thing doesn't have an auto setting. Actually it's there. It's P for 'Programmed Automatic' :-)
What took me a week or two to adjust to was the minor tweaks. What I mean by this is rarely now do I just point and shoot. I think about what I'm shooting then dial-in the settings I want, take a few test shots then adjust. Yes it's a few more steps in the routine, but doesn't really slow me down.
Cost: This is a variable depending on your budget. The D300 retails for around $1800 so it is an investment, however it is a natural upgrade path for enthusiasts that have been using the D80 for a while and want to take the next step. With the more rugged build I would also assume the D300 would hold up better over time than the D80.
Of course the camera is only one part of the equation, I am fortunate to have some good lenses. With the D300 I carry around: 17-55mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 10.5mm f/2.8 and a 50mm f/1.4. Those lenses will always stay with me even if I upgrade cameras again. I also use the MB-D10 battery pack/grip. With the battery pack I rarely (as in never) run out of juice. I can shoot for a few weeks at a time without worrying about chargine. As of yet, I still have no external flash.
Going back to my post: Which Camera? D80, D40, D40x or D60? There is now a new model in the mix, the D300.
How does the D300 weave in? Well if you're serious about the hobby then it's a tough call between the D80 and the D300. If you're lucky, you have a friend that's looking to upgrade from a point and shoot...sell them your D40/D60/D80 and go for the D300 :-)
What's next? Well the D700 was just announced and there is always the big-daddy D3. The D700 brings the full-frame FX sensor to the D300 body for a cool $3000.00.
Cross posted to BlogOrlando.com
The dates for the 2008 edition of BlogOrlando have been set, Sept 25-27th. Of course the big change is the main event is moving to a Saturday.
In the past I always debated about the Friday/Saturday thing, but this year we have some external forces....mainly the venue....we're just too big :-) In order to accommodate close to 300 people (like we had last year) we need to hold the event on Saturday.
Registration will be open shortly and we'll start to fill in the session leaders and schedule as well.
As I referenced in my previous post there will an invite only event on Thursday the 25th. The main event will kick-off Friday night with a reception and the full un-con and happy hour on Saturday.
If you're traveling in, then you can look to arrive on Friday and head back out on Sunday.
Of course we're always looking for sponsors to keep the event FREE. If you're interested let me know.
More to come....
I'm a fan, Tom's a fan, so is Anil. But the big question now is how much will the rate increase be?
In an e-mail to members, CLEAR CEO Steve Brill broke the news that a price increase will be coming:
This fall, Clear's price will increase. It's a price that reflects the rapidly expanding value (and cost to us) of the Clear network.
However, we do not want current Clear members like you, who supported us from the beginning, to have to bear the brunt of these costs.
Renew now for up to three additional years of Clear at the current price of $128, which is significantly less than we will be charging this fall.
The key line in that snippet is: significantly less than we will be charging this fall.
How much is significant? Double, triple? The service is worth what I pay now and sure it's great that I can lock in three years at a reduced rate, but......how much?
P.S. I also get a bit squirrelly when a service offers the option to pay for large amount of time upfront, i.e. how's your cash-flow?
Late last week I was able to take a brief vacation. Good times, but always too short. Back to work.
Last weekend (or was it the one before that.....) I was in Washington DC for BlogPotomac, here are a few highlight shots from the event. The entire photoset is here.
Of course while in town for BlogPotomac I spent some time snapping some shots of the DC-usuals during my time there. You know the drill....photoset is here.
I was in Washington DC on Friday for BlogPotomac and word spread quickly at the end of the conference that Tim Russert had passed away. Scott Monty was at Reagan National and said everybody was glued to the TVs. Tim Russert was one of my favorite TV news anchors. He'll be missed.
This past October I saw Tim speak at the PRSA International Conference and was able to get quite a few shots of him.
As usual I'm taking some photos at BlogPotomac. My photoset is here, the group pool is here.
On Friday I'll be attending/MC'ing BlogPotomac in the DC area. This latest un-conference is being organized by Geoff Livingston with some assistance from Debbie Weil. I'm glad to say many of the session leaders are longtime friends and colleagues and I look forward to the discussions.
I feel flattered that the event has followed the BlogOrlando model I started a few years ago. If I have my facts right I think Geoff returned from BlogOrlando this past year and said, "Let's do this in DC!"
A number of other locations/events have sprung up in the past few years: BlogSavannah, SoCon, BlogPhiladelphia and BlogCarolinas to name a few. I'm glad the BlogOrlando concept has spread as it has. However, my original inspiration for BlogOrlando was BlogNashville which took place in 2005...seems like so long ago.
I hope to post some photos from the event and perhaps a recap, but I imagine most of the comments will come on Twitter.
Speaking of BlogOrlando, we're holding our first planning meeting on June 26th.
I promised a bit more on this topic (and Rex asked for it) so here we go....
First off, read Rex Hammock's comment on that last post. Rex was referencing a project his firm did for a client.....a client, not his on firm. Yes there is a great deal of 'learn by doing' going on in agencies everywhere and it's something I've always advocated. Rex's team benefited from their knowledge of not only how to use the tools, but to 'use' them for a client.
That client experience now gives Rex a leg-up on competitors. For the next job that requires those services, Rex can say, "here's what we did for client x". Why is that important? Well first off somebody paid you to do it. Second, as we all know, things can sometimes get sticky in the heat of battle, and that experience always pays off.
Like I said before, referencing your own internal or personal blog is not the standard anymore. Sure it shows you can work with the medium....but can you use the medium to achieve objectives for a client? Can you measure those achievements and then build/evolve the program for the client?
It's a similar adoption/business curve to the early days of the web. At first the teams that could 'do' the work were getting the jobs (remember those awesome web designs from the IT guy). As more firms became savvy with the tools, the work began to go to those that could do the best work.
Got to catch a flight...still a bit more coming....
I've flown Delta almost 80,000 miles so far this year...and all I got was this lousy letter.
Just kidding :-)
Actually since reaching Platinum a few weeks ago it's already paid off big-time. The big question is how many miles will I end up with at the end of the year? That million-mile club isn't looking to far off :-)
At a PR conference a few weeks ago I think I heard the term 'Walking the Walk' a bit too many times. The reference is about PR firms and their social media chops. You know the drill, you have to use the tools yourself to know how to implement them for clients. Tom Foremski recently brought this subject up and there are some good comments on that post.
Let's talk about this a bit more.
Sure it's nice that some agencies and 'consultants' are 'walking the walk' but if your only example of social media experience is your own agency/personal blog, well then...er, sorry.
Let's try running instead of walking, as in what programs have you 'run' for clients?
As Annie pointed out in the comments of Tom's post, most smart folks I know have cut back on blogging, or talk more about personal interests. Longtime colleagues like Phil Gomes, Constantin Basturea and Tom Biro to name a few. My colleague Mike Manuel made a similar observation a few weeks ago. Hell, look at this blog...it's mostly pictures :-)
People can talk all they want at conferences and theorize and strategize, it's the real work that I'm looking for.
An old local friend that's a pretty well-known architect always laments about architecture professors, he says, 'They can talk all they want about theory and design, but most of them have never built anything in their lives....so I just can't trust what they're saying.'
More on this in a bit.
I'll be heading to the DC area on Thursday for BlogPotomac on Friday. Anybody up for a photowalk on Thursday afternoon in DC or at the Air & Space Museum near Dulles?
Last year I wondered what Toyota and Red Bull would mean to NASCAR. Maybe 2007 wasn't the year....but 2008 looks good so far. Toyota has won a few races and Red Bull is doing pretty well for a new team with Brian Vickers 17th in the points and finishing second at Pocono.
That leaves one thing....when will Honda join NASCAR?
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