Last month we sent out an appeal for more submission staff for Everything-Nikon. After some picking through messages, these great deviants have been chosen to help our group along:
ForReal-Photos
therealjonathan
KuroDot
Please visit their pages and welcome them to our team!
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The very popular Nikon D3100 has had its replacement announced this month in the shape on the D3200. Physically looking quite similar as most Nikon DSLR's do it is all internal changes for Nikon's entry level DSLR.
After the giant leaps into the new world of video with last years DSLR's you would expect some quite small changes this year but there are still some big changes to be found. For a start you will find a Nikon DX-format CMOS image sensor, developed by Nikon with an effective pixel count of 24.2-million pixels with its significant increase in pixel count and support for standard sensitivities of ISO 100–6400 and a Hi 1 setting equivalent to ISO 12800. That's an mp jump of near double of what the D3100 offered and the ISO range has been significantly increased. All of this is controlled by the EXPEED 3 image-processing engine that has been seen on the top end D4 and D800 DSLR's.
In addition to this the guide mode as seen some updates to help new photographers get to grips with their new found hobby. The video making experience has been improved with support for Full-time-servo AF (AF-F) allowing the camera to auto focus whilst recording as well as now supporting an external microphone (so you don't get the auto focus noise as well as higher quality audio).
If you wish to know more then take a look at the Nikon D3200 on the Nikon blog.
in-my-viewfinder


Nikon has just announced a new wide angle lens to fill the gap between their 24mm and 35mm NIKKOR lenses in the shape of the Nikkor 28mm f1.8 af-s. This lens, designed for FX DSLR's, boasts a wide aperture for low light photography as well as fantastic bokeh.  Another nice thing to see is the weather proof seal added to the mount. Something that they have missed on a fair few lenses. You also get the silent wave auto focus for fast and quiet focusing and so if you really wanted to, you could mount this to a DX camera and still auto focus for a 42 mm (equivalent) focal length .
Have a look at the announcement on the Nikon blog for additional information as well as some test shots.
in-my-viewfinder


Nikon has just announced the relies of a small plug in box that when plugged into the D3200 (the only compatable DSLR so far) will communicate wirelessley with an an Android smart phone or tablet to transfer photographs or control your camera. To learn more take a look at the Nikon WU-1a on the Nikon blog.
This product is going to get a real love hate thing from the photographic community on here and I'd love to hear your feedback.
in-my-viewfinder

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Last month we spoke about the various things you can do with your built in flash. Although allot of you do seem to use your built in flash as your main back up light source when ambient light isn't enough, there is a large number of Nikon users who have taken the plunge and bought one of Nikon's great speed lights.
This month we will look at some of the things that your speed light can do over the built in flash and ways you can optimise its use.
There are many speed lights out there that are compatible with your Nikon camera and if you don't have one already it can be difficult to chose between them. Here is a little information about those that are best compatible with DSLR's.

• Nikon SB-800, SB-900 & SB-910

  
  Sitting at the top of the Nikon range these speed lights offer everything possible from the Nikon creative lighting system. There isn't allot of difference between any of these models bar a restyle, slightly longer zoom and hard filters on the SB900 and an improved safety on the SB910. View the latest model the SB910 on the Nikon website for more details

• SB-600 & SB-700

  
  These mid range speed lights are a great way of getting into flash photography but will have the longevity to stay a part of your kit bag for years. The SB700 especially only lacks a few features of the pro speed lights  and its smaller size can be seen as an advantage also. View the latest model the SB700 on the Nikon website for more details

• SB-400

  
  This is the entry level flash offered by Nikon. It makes up for its simplicity by being very compact and extremely cheep. The main advantages over your built in flash is the increase in power it offers, ability to use off camera and will give you r camera a better battery life. View the latest model the SB400 on the Nikon website for more details

• Older Nikon speed lights

  
  Still want the flexibility of a  full size speed light without the cost? Well you may have some joy with older speed lights. If you own a D100 or D1X your camera will support d-ttl  so the last generation of DX suffixed speed lights will fully work on your camera. The thing is d-ttl sucked so you are better of using your speed light on ttl mode. This just means that the camera changed the way it meters the flash. In that case if you are happy to have a less accurate metering than the latest speed lights you can use one of the older less popular speed lights on your camera. Even better if you are on film as that is what these speed lights were designed for so you will get all the features for a bargain on the second hand market! I have to be honest though with DSLR cameras the i-ttle systems found in the SB-400 and higher are well worth the extra few pounds. Read this review of the SB28DX on Ken Rockwells website for further details.

• After market speed lights

  
  Many camera manufacturers didn't even make speed lights for there SLR cameras so the market is full of after market speed lights. Finding out what is good and what isn't can be a bit hit and miss but the big companies like Nissin and Sunpak are a safe bet for the price concious photographer. In general you will end up with a speed light that will do pretty much everything that the equivalent Nikon speed light will do +/- a few features at a generally reduced cost.

• SU-800, SB-R200/ R1C1 kit

  
  Finally we have these offerings from Nikon. I have left them to last as they are a speciality piece of kit and probably not what a budding strobist will be looking for initially.
  The R1C1 kit comprises of the SU-800 commander and as many SB-R200s and you can fit round your lens. This kit is aimed at macro photographer looking to shoot things at close range, avoiding that looming lens shadow at the bottom of every photograph that a mounted traditional flash can give.
  These individual units have their separate uses though as the SU-800 can command other speedlights like the SB-600 just as the SB-R200 can be used in a CLS with SB910s. In fact you can use your built in flash (on most moders DSLR's) to command any of these (not the SU-800). Have a look at the R1C1 kit for yourself for more information

So in general what can a hot shoe speed light do over the built in flash you already have? Well the improvements are numerous and to list a few:

1. More powerful light source
2. Faster recycle time (you can shoot faster)
3. Less power drain on camera batteries
4. Light source head direction can be more easily changed
5. Light source can be moved off camera entirely
6. more accessories to manipulate light available

I won't go into everything that you can do with a speed light. It would take hundreds of pages and you would either get bored or I would just left wondering why I didn't just make this into a book! I will give you some useful tips and hopefully set you off in the rite direction to become avid strobists!
First off if you haven't already, read last months journal tutorial on using the built in flash as well as the month before for its light tricks tutorial to get a good grounding on how to use a speed light.
Now what can we do that is different? Well the increase in versatility and power will be your first big step up and that is something that you don't need much instruction for. If you are indoors and want a more natural light then try tilting the head of your speed light up to bounce the light off of the sealing. Has this caused long shadows on the face of your subject? Then pop out the bounce card (or stick a bit of white card to the back of your speed light head) to reflect a little more light directly at your subject. If you are by a white wall you could try tilting your flash head diagonally towards the wall to bounce it off giving your subject a ¾ studio lighting effect. A trick you cannot pull off with a built in flash that you now can with your speed light is this exposure trick. You can lower your camera to under expose by say 3 stops so making the backgroud very dark, then setting your speedlight to over expose on its controls by the same amount so making your subject really stand out! This can look very dramatic and puts any photoshop effort to shame
The real fun begins when you take the speed light off of your camera. The traditional way of doing this is to use a cable like the Nikon SC-28. This is basically an extension of your hot shoe allowing you to position your speedlight up to 3m away you like or use multiple cables to go even further.
This gives you the possibility to have light coming from anywhere you want allowing you to be far more creative with your light.
If you own an SB-R200, SB600, SB700, SB800, SB900 or SB910 you will be able to use your speed light wirelessly using the Nikon creative lighting system (CLS) This enables you to do the same as with the SC-28 cable but without any wires to bother about. To do this you will need a command flash. You can use the built in flash on your camera. Camera models like D40, D3100, D5100, do not include a commander, but models like D90, D300, D7000 do (in the internal flash.). A quick google search or look at your user manual will tell you if your camera can. Once you have the cameras built in flash set as a commander (on D700 Menu,Custom settings, e bracketing/flash, e3 flash cntrl for built in flash, commander mode) and your speed light set as a slave (SB800 press and hold SEL for 3 seconds till screen changes select top right box, slave) you are ready to wirelessly shoot. You can add more speed lights to different groups (A,B&C) setting them to shoot highter/lower exposures etc. The only limitation to this is your own imagination (erm well and your bank account). Try adding coloured jells to a group, firing the strobe from behind your subject or reflect off of a near by wall. So long as the speed light is line of sight from the commander it will work.
If your subject is a person or animal you might find one problem with i-ttl and even more so when commanding that the pre flash's may cause your subject to blink. A trick you can try is to use the FV lock button. If you don't have one then on some DSLR's you can change your DOF preview button to FV lock (D700 info, info, pv (assign pv button), preview button press, FV lock). This button locks the exposure and in doing so fires off all the pre flashes so getting that all out of the way so your subject can settle.
If you have found this interesting and wish to know more then there are lots of books and online tutorials out there that can help you out. I strongly recommend  Hot shoe diaries by Joe McNally. Its an easy read the book is recent so all the kit is relevant and this man is very well informed.
Please feel free to comment here and on our Poll to share what you know and ask any questions you may have
in-my-viewfinder