Small Business Computing has a great article on why a small business would be smart to look at Nikon’s D50 D-SLR camera. This 6 megapixel camera allows one to use different lens to capture what you need, and the quality of the images is beyond compare.

From Small Business Computing:

Sharper Images Choosing the D50 over competing D-SLRs comes down ultimately to personal preference and business need. However, D50 is very slightly bigger and heavier than is its main rival, Canon’s hugely popular Digital Rebel XT, but it’s easier to hold and feels better balanced and more solidly built. Although the Rebel has a higher-resolution, 8 megapixel sensor, the D50’s sensor is bigger and, to our eyes, produces cleaner, clearer images.

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The Photography Blog has news of a defect in some of the Nikon D70 Cameras.

Nikon has posted the following notice on its Support page for the D70 / D2H / F55 cameras.

It has come to our attention that electronic components related to exposure control in some D70 cameras may, on rare occasions, fail.

Should you experience this problem with your D70 camera, Nikon will replace the associated components free of charge even if the camera’s warranty has already expired. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have suffered because of this problem.

To check if your camera has failed due this reason, please read the symptom description, below

Nikon Technical Support

With the digital market growing significantly, and the use of film based photography shrinking, the future of the local camera store has been in jeopardy. Fortunately, there death has been premature. It seems the public is still willing to have their prints made professionally, but instead of the roll of film, they are bringing in their compact flash card.

A new study shows that “retail digital photofinishing is becoming an increasingly important segment of the consumer digital printing market. According to an August Internet survey conducted by in 2004, 33% of digital camera owners who print photos had obtained prints at a retail location, up from 14% in 2003. The two major product categories of the retail digital photofinishing market are digital minilabs and photo kiosks. This report looks at these two product segments and accesses their growth over the next five years. “

The full report costs approximately 5,000 USD, so I will not be purchasing it, however, if you so desire, it is over at Research and Markets.

So you want to be a movie maker? Well, if you want to create a stop action film, like the new Tim Burton Corpse Bride, you could have done so with the Digital SLR you own. This film, was shot in 1/3 less time than normal stop action films because it used digital cameras as opposed to a traditional film camera. This allowed the staff to move faster as they set up the next shot.

The rest of the processing was done on Apple computers and using Final Cut Pro.

The Editors Guild has an excellent article on the process and Jonathan Lucas the editor of the film.

Corpse Bride is Jonathan Lucas’ first feature as a full-fledged editor. A Guild member since 1993, Lucas has worked as an assistant on more than 20 live action movies, including Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 101 Dalmatians and Sommersby. It was his work as first assistant editor on last years’ Troy for Warners that brought Lucas to the attention of Corpse Bride producer Allison Abbate. At press time, he was still editing the film at Three Mills Studios in the Bromley by Bow section of London, England, where the production also took place.

“ A lot of folks think our footage is CGI,” says Lucas. “It’s so smooth it looks computer-generated. The Canon still cameras are amazing; the quality is pretty unbelievable. If I have to, I can blow it up by 30 to 40 percent without showing degradation.” The immediacy of digital technology speeds the editing process. “I’m editing new footage three hours later, maybe quicker,” says Lucas. “It’s almost instant gratification.” As footage is edited, it replaces storyboard images and slowly the movie gets built.

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