Photoessayist the Blog

All is not what it seems. It appears that this house sits alone high atop a bluff. Probably with a great view (Yes it is.) But is it alone, and private? Not really. Photography can distort the truth to suit the photographer or the organization they work for. Think celebrities and the paparazzi. But even us lonely, and mostly ignored, photographers will edit the scene in the camera using our zoom (Really a variable focal length lens.) to fit our requirements. Real Estate photographers do this all the time. Ever see an ad that shows a great view, like the beach, while ignoring the house altogether. Think crappy house for sale for one million dollars. Great view though. The photo at the end of this post is another view of the same house.

The second reason I have for showing both photos has to do with my camera body and lens and their bad habit of getting particles all over the sensor. For the first two years I used my digital camera I couldn’t keep it clean. Everything I tried failed. And I tried some pretty kooky methods. The first two years I had the camera in 4 times to be cleaned. For the last 7 months I haven’t had any problems at all. Ok I had two dust spots show up on the sensor but my cleaning method removed them. And for the last 4 months I have zero dirt problems with the camera.

How is it possible to go from constant problems to none? First let me tell you why the sensor was always getting dirty. The lens, a Nikkor 18mm – 700mm zoom, is not sealed for moisture or dust particles. The camera body itself, a Nikon D40X, is OK. It’s the lens that sucks. I mean really sucks moisture and dust particles into the lens and then into camera body whenever you adjust the focal length. I’m outdoors and at the beach almost everyday. So moisture is an added problem. Every time I had to take the camera in to be cleaned it was because particles of moisture got on the sensor. So what was the solution? Simple: The vacuum cleaner.

I know what you’re thinking, you vacuum the camera? Yes, and I do it almost everyday. Mainly around the lens barrel. I think I get the particles out of the lens before they migrate to the camera body and the sensor.

Additionally I never take the lens off the camera. It’s a zoom lens after all and should meet most of my requirements. It does. And if I have to take the lens off I NEVER do it outside. NEVER!

So that’s it: Vacuum the camera often and never remove the lens.

Next time I’m buying a Pentax. They have a very good reputation for well sealed cameras and lenses.

But I really like my D40X and the 18-70mm zoom. It’s light-weight and reasonably small. I carry it around my neck for hours at a time without getting tired. Check out lagunabeat.com to see what this camera can do.

Both photos shows a really clean sky. No spots. I think?

I’ve had a great time using my Nikon D40X. Except. It. Eats. Batteries. Let me explain.

Whenever I transfer my photos in the camera to the computer I connect via USB port and wammo it’s done. Now you must turn off the camera immediately. If you don’t then Nikon will eat your battery.

Twice now I have forgotten to turn off the camera and the battery completely drained itself with the help of Nikon of course. These fancy new types of batteries cannot be completely discharged because if they are they will never get a charge again. $30 dollars up in smoke. Twice = $60. I don’t like to use profanity in my writing but I’m pissed. At. Nikon.

They have an option in their camera setup for automatic shut-off. But not for low battery charge. They disable mirror lock-up if the battery is low. This means they can measure battery charge. They even show you battery charge on the info screen. But they don’t have an option for shutting down the camera when the battery is low. Why not Nikon?

Nikon can easily add the option to shut down the camera on low battery to it’s menu. It could even give you the option of beeping on low battery.

This request is not an option for Nikon. Just make the fix. Like. Right. Now.

Nikon please contact Photoessayist for the name and address where you can send the check for $60.