Welcome to Workshop at the Ranch. Each month I will be writing an instructional article about photography. It might cater to sports coverage, new cameras and gear, techniques with Off Camera Speedlights or Large Strobe Systems, Lightpainting and more. These articles began in 2003. They are archived and available for you to revisit as often as you like. A broad pallet of my images with all camera data, equipment I use, special tricks of the trade, and my personal commentary will drive the content of each article. So, be my guest, settle back and “click” on any image you want to enlarge, and enjoy learning each month here on Workshop at the Ranch. Adios, Dave

Workshop at the Ranch - December 2003 - Product Review - The Nikon D2H

Workshop at the Ranch
December, 2003 Edition

Hi and welcome to the December issue of Workshop at the Ranch. This month's edition will be devoted to a NEW product that I am very excited about. Nikon's D2H Digital Camera is FANTASTIC! Although the images that accompany this article are small, I would like you all to know that each of them and some 20 additional images have been enlarged and printed at 24in X 16in on an Epson Stylus PRO 7600 printer with gallery quality Premium Luster Paper for my own analysis. While the computer gives me some information, I believe the print will reveal more details, color, and quality. Also note that I, as do many photographers, use Genuine Fractals when enlarging images for both publishing and print making.

First, let me say that there are many features that the Nikon D2H has that will be a great help to my business of sports photography. Placement of the controls, buttons and dials are wonderful and easy to master. The larger LCD screen is a great addition, especially for my ever aging eyes. The shutter release is FAST and has the feel of a Nikon F5 film camera as there is no lag time. The multiple focus zones are terrific and well placed. The Auto Focus, Wow.....no one mentioned to me that the auto focus would be even faster and more accurate, The battery, I love it. I shot the Denver/Chicago football game in 10 degree temperatures and used less than 20% of the battery to fill two 1G Lexar flash cards with raw files AND I was set on auto image review ("auto chimp"). File size and image quality, in a word, AMAZING. All images were shot as compressed RAW/NEF files. Now, lets look at some images and see why I am so enthusiastic about this camera........


NFL Football; Lightpainting with long exposures using the Nikon D2H will be easy. This lightpainting is a good example of a 1 minute, 45 second exposure using the noise reduction mode, ISO 200, a Nikon 70-200VR lens f22 and small penlight to illuminate the background, laces and NFL logo. NO NOISE at all. Perfectly clean image. This kind of freedom to have exposures of more than 1 minute will help me take my Lightpainting to another level. In fact,... I may get radical and try 2 or 3 minutes or more !

Monday Night Football, Denver Vs New England; Chris Cole,Denver, beats Tyrone Poole for a mid field catch. Nikon D2H Camera, ISO800, 1/1000sec at f2.8 , Cloudy White Balance. The fast ( no lag ) shutter release combined with the 8 frames/second is a tremendous advantage when trying to capture this kind of action. This style of shooting reminds me of the Nikon F5 film camera, FAST, FASTER, FASTEST !

Monday Night Football, Denver Vs New England; Tom Brady has his eye on victory. Nikon D2H Camera, ISO400, 1/500sec at f2.8 Nikon 400mm f2.8 lens. I used cloudy White Balance ( WB ) during the post game ABC interview to get this close up. ( ABC Monday Night Football used softbox lighting for this interview.)

NFL Sunday, Denver Vs Chicago; Remember that all images in this article and over 20 others have been enlarged and printed 24 X 16 in order to see color, edges, and sharpness so as to accurately make my comments. This Denver cheerleader is a perfect subject for studying fine detail and image quality in the D2H file. The Nikon D2H has an 11.7 mg file size when opened into Photoshop. Although a smaller file than its teammate the D1X, I wanted to know if its image quality would measure up. Yes,.....YES INDEED ! The detail is amazing. Clean edges and sharp, well defined details are what I need in the images I distribute to magazines, books and advertisers in the sports marketplace. From the weave in this cheerleaders stocking cap to her eyelashes, the quality of the Nikon D2H file is excellent and rivals the Nikon D1X as is evident in the 24 X 16 print. The D2H handles the color and skin tones perfectly as Auto WB was used. Nikon D2H Camera, ISO200, Nikon 400mm 2.8 lens with Nikon TC-14E 1.4X Teleconverter, Auto WB, Aperture Priority,

NFL Sunday, Denver Vs Chicago; This time of year, players tend to run in and out of sunlight and deep shadows for the 1st quarter or more. So.....I decided to put Aperture Priority and AUTO WB to the test. A+ for sure! Not only did these modes handle the changing light conditions instantly and accurately but I also used the Dynamic Area AF mode. This mode allows me to focus on QB Jake Plummer's face/helmet as he stands over the center and the focus is held on him even if other players get between the camera and my subject for a moment. When the line of sight opened again the camera was still on Jake for this frame. Nikon D2H Camera, ISO500, Nikon 400mm f2.8 lens with Nikon TC-20E 2X Teleconverter, Auto WB, Aperture Priority. (Note: this image was taken with a 2X converter. It follow focused easily and had good sharpness and quality.)
NFL Sunday, Denver Vs Chicago; Here again the Nikon TC-20E 2X Teleconverter was used along with my Nikon 400mm f2.8 lens and the Nikon D2H, Auto WB. Aperture Priority, ISO640. With the higher ISO of 640 some noise is visible in the deep shadow areas, but it is minimal and easily taken care of with NIK Define or Band Aide( these are 3rd party filters for Photoshop and are commonly used in the industry).

NFL Sunday, Denver Vs Chicago; Completely under the stadium lights now and the Auto WB and Aperture Priority modes are still perfect. So lets take a CLOSE look at the quality of this 11.7mg image/file. Chicago quarterback Kordell Stewart has come into the game for an injured Chris Chandler. Image #7 is the full frame image captured as a compressed RAW/NEF file while Image #8 is a 1/3 cropped section of that image. I enlarged the 1/3 cropped image to a 24in X 16in print using Genuine Fractals, and it looks terrific. Some noise is visible in the shadows as ISO800 was used but easily illuminated with Band Aide or NIK Define. Who would have thought an 11.7mg file could do this? ( I guess Nikon thought it would). Clean edges and detail right down to the NFL logo and the mesh jersey. An editor likes to have the ability to crop, and I think this example of 1/3 of an image enlarged beyond a 2 page spread is proof the D2H can handle it with quality, detail and clean edges. Nikon D2H,ISO800, 400mm f2.8 lens, Auto WB, Aperture Priority.

NFL Sunday, Denver Vs Chicago; Well,...I did not need to go to ISO1600 as the Aperture Priority setting at ISO800 gave me a 1/1000sec at f2.8 exposure..........but, sometimes I like to use a Nikon TC-14E 1.4X Teleconverter even under the lights. With the D2H's high ISO noise level well within reason I felt this would work just fine. And it did! Rod Smith catches a pass and runs for extra yardage in the 4th quarter. Nikon D2H Camera, ISO1600, 400mm f2.8 lens with Nikon TC-14E 2X Teleconverter, AutoWB, Aperture Priority EV-0.3. A high ISO of 1600 has always been troublesome for the photographer. With 1600 speed film or push processing too much grain was produced, and ISO1600 digital sensitivity used to create too much noise. The D2H is a significant improvement and I will certainly use ISO1600 with confidence.

Well.........There you have it. There are many new features the Nikon's D2H Digital Camera offers including wireless transmitting of images directly to the computer or the Voice memo and Cleaning mode WOW !, but perhaps we will discuss those at another time. Lets review and get to the bottom line with the Nikon D2H............Built for speed with up to 8 frames/second and a shutter release that reminds one of the Nikon F5. Auto WB and Exposure Priority modes that produce perfect color and perfect exposure even in difficult situations. Less noise at high ISO settings and long exposures, extended battery life, along with faster/accurate auto focus even with 1.4 and 2X teleconverters the Nikon D2H is a great success and a must for the photojournalist and sports photographer today. Finally, the bullseye of the target for me,..........the image. Fantastic in all respects. I am confident that my clients will agree with me when it comes to the published and printed image whether it is a cover or a 2-page spread, the quality is clearly there and there is license to crop with the D2H file. While this article is not meant to draw comparisons between cameras, the Nikon D2H clearly surpasses the D1H. As far as the D2H and the D1X cameras go one has to keep in mind that these are two VERY different cameras. The D2H is built for speed with accuracy and the D1X is optimized for the larger file size, evident in its 60mg file with 10 mega pixel interpolation when using Nikon Capture 3.5 or higher. A D1X has the capability of 1/500second sync speed and Fire Wire connectivity, while the D2H has the new iTTL flash system and the capability to transmit images to your computer wirelessly. With all these options within my grasp I believe I will find myself using both on a regular basis depending on the client. My congratulations to Nikon for a great camera that is sure to be a great asset to all of us in the industry.

Thanks so much for being with me for this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Join me next time. Adios, Dave

Each month I will be teaching techniques and sharing information about photography. I hope to address not only how images are made, but also aspects of business and the industry. I hope you find the time to log on each month here at "Workshop at the Ranch" If you have a question or comment about an area of photography not covered yet in Workshop at the Ranch, contact me to suggest a topic for a future issue.

*For additional examples of photographs using various lighting techniques see the Sports Scene

For another truly unique lighting style with instructions on it's implementation, check out LightPainting Techniques in the January edition of Workshop at the Ranch or for more on artificial arena lighting techniques, see Arena Lighting, February's Workshop at the Ranch.