Archive for March, 2010

UPDATE: (05.19.2010): New website is now published at: www.naturfokus.com Follow me on my assignmets and expeditions!!

UPDATE: (03.26.2010): I understand some of your frustration about redirecting this site, so I will listen to you and just leave it like it is now. I will instead make a link to the new nikonfieldreviews.com site. Sorry for making many of you upset and angry.

UPDATE (03.24.2010): I have removed the reasons why I left Canon, due to many negative feedbacks. I don´t want to say anything bad about Canon.

There has been less activity on this field review site in 2010. This is due in part to hard work with my Svalbard book project, photo workshops and expeditions. I have also tested some Nikon equipment in the last weeks, and here is my first report.

I had never used Nikon D3 cameras before, but after only one day I got very satisfying results (this sentence has been modified). Especially the D3S; it was extremely fast and precise, and the image quality even at ISO 2500 at sunset really shocked me.

Hawk owl in Norway. Nikon D3S with 400/2.8, 1/2500 sec, f/4 and ISO 2500.

Hawk owl in Norway. Nikon D3S with 400/2.8, 1/2500 sec, f/4 and ISO 2500.

Hawk owl in Norway. Nikon D3S with 400/2.8, 1/2500 sec, f/4 and ISO 2500.

The following weeks I did more field tests with fast moving birds, high ISO shooting and difficult light conditions. After 5000 exposures I was so happy with the image quality, sharpness and colors of my pictures from Nikon D3S and Nikon D3X, that I decided to sell all my Canon gear. This was a shocking decision for me, Canon and my photo colleagues. I´m 100% sure that this was the right decision.

Old church in Norway at midnight. Nikon D3X (exposure # 0002) with 14-24/2.8, 3 sec, f/11 and ISO 800.

Golden eagle in Norway. Nikon D3S with 600/4, 1/1250 sec, f/6,3 and ISO 500.

Golden eagle in Norway. Nikon D3X with 600/4, 1/1000 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 800.

White-tailed sea eagle in Norway. Nikon D3S with 300/2.8, 1/80 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 200.

White-tailed sea eagle in Norway. Nikon D3S with 300/2.8, 1/160 sec, f/9 and ISO 200.

Common eider in Norway. Nikon D3S with 300/2.8, 1/1250 sec, f/8 and ISO 800.

Common eider in Norway. Nikon D3S with 300/2.8, 1/4000 sec, f/8 and ISO 800.

A week ago I accepted an offer from Nikon to become a Nikon Ambassador. It is strange to shift so fast from Canon to Nikon, but when I decided to sell my Canon gear it was normal to partner with Nikon. I´m now very happy to be on the Nikon team, and with in my opinion the best camera equipment on the market.

So what happens now?
First of all, I will do no more Canon field reviews and  I will also soon make a link to a new site: nikonfieldreviews.com where I will do both Nikon field tests and articles about photography (not only gear). The focus will still be on image quality and how equipment functions and handles in the field.

Secondly, I will cooperate with my good friend and photographer Roy Mangersnes when building up the new nikonfieldreviews.com. I will also focus more on getting support from sponsors etc. so it’s possible to publish field reviews more often.

Finally, I want to thank all of you loyal readers for your interest in my field tests, and I hope at least that some of you will follow me over to the new site.

All the best!
OJL

Thanks to Bob Baillargeon for copy-editing!

Cover of the new Svalbard book

Today my new photo book about Svalbard is finished. I´ve worked hard these last few weeks to get the images, layout and text to what I wanted. The end result is: I´m very satisfied!

I´m very thankful for the help received from some CFR blog readers, with translating, proofreading and copy-editing the book’s 4 languages. Special thanks to:

Dan Crawford (English) – http://www.dancrawford.com/

Bob Baillargeon (English)

Claudia Becher (German) – www.close2nature.de

Luca Viola (Italian) – http://www.photoreport.biz/

Angelo Maggio (Italian)

Here are some screenshots of my book.

This book will be published in Norway at the end of April. I´m not yet sure how you can order this book outside Norway, but I think Amazon might be a good solution. Let me know if you have good information about how to get it on Amazon or other retailers, so it will be easy for you to order the book.

My next book project is an English version of my Norwegian how-to book about Digital Nature Photography, which is very popular in Norway these days. So stay tuned!

OJL