Update: Nikon has issued a firmware update to address this situation. See the "D200" row on this page.

Today was "Sports Day" at Anthony's preschool, which is a fun event full of play, silliness, and dance. Like last year's Sports Day, it was very hot -- 90s in the shade, but the entire event was in the sun -- but this year I think the heat was worse for my camera than for me.

I was using my big 70-200/2.8 zoom and Nikon D200 on my monopod. After taking about 830 pictures, I was surprised to see the "battery [...]
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My previous post contained a superficial listing of considerations for building a tripod, and left off wondering how to test the effect of various ways to use a tripod. For example, how detrimental is it to add a center column? How beneficial is mirror lock up? Since getting my really nice tripod, I find myself wanting to learn how to use it properly, and these questions are a big part of that.

I tend to dive into things looking for answers, as evidenced by the posts in my photography-tech category, such as my auto-focus test chart, my analysis of NEF [...]

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I recently wrote about the really nice tripod that I put together, but I didn't talk much about how I arrived at the mix of components I got, nor about how I'll use them.

What to Buy?

Deciding on components is a balance among a lot of things, including:

Size (how easy is it to schlep, pack in luggage, etc.) Size (is it tall enough that you can use it comfortably?) Size (can you get low enough to the ground with it?) Price (isn't it always?) Ease of Use (how easy is it to adjust the tripod's height, where [...]
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I recently wrote about the pro-caliber tripod I put together with components from Gitzo and Really Right Stuff. This time I'm writing about a monopod that I put together at the same time. However, unlike the tripod, it took two tries to get a good monopod solution, and at that, I'm still not 100% happy with it.

Update: I made some changes, described in updates below, and now I'm happy with it.

I had no problem with the monopod leg itself, a Gitzo GM3550 6X Carbon Fiber 5 Section G-Lock Monopod. It's got the G-Lock section logs that [...]

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Continuing in the series on the camera toys I've picked up on this trip to The States (other entries: GPS unit, tripod), this post is about the Katz Eye Focusing Screen that I picked up for my Nikon D200.

An SLR's focusing screen is a frosted piece of glass that you're actually looking at when you look through the viewfinder, upon which the lens projects the scene being viewed by the camera.

Katz Eye Optics is a company that makes replacement focusing screens for all kinds of cameras. (They're owned by a family whose last name is "Katz," so I [...]

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