Carol Freeman

Nikon F5, Fujia Provia

stop: 5.6

exposure: 1/60
Okay, did you catch that reference to the band The Fixx in the title? You did? Great. That means that youre at least in your mid-thirties to early forties. (I myself am only in my mid- to early twenties, but I listen to oldies
digital camera image problems
stations just to keep in touch with baby boomers and other people who at one time or another tried to break-dance.) Well, the Fixx had a big hit in the early 80s (around the time I was born) called One Thing Leads to Another, and thats a totally appropriate title for this chapter because one thing (using a digital camera) leads to another (having to deal with things like digital noise, color aliasing, and other nasties that pop up when youve finally kicked the film habit and gone totally digital). Admittedly, some of the problems we bring upon ourselves (like leaving the lens cap on; or forgetting to bring our camera to the shoot, where the shoot is, who hired us, or what day it is; or we immersed our flash into a tub of Jell-O, you knowthe standard stuff). And other things are problems caused by the hardware itself (the slave wont fire when its submerged in Jell-O, you got some Camembert on the lens, etc.). Whatever the problem, and regardless of whose fault it is, problems are going to happen, and youre going to need to fix them in Photoshop. Some of the fixes are easy, like running the Remove Camembert filter, and then changing the Blend Mode to Fromage. Others will have you jumping through some major Photoshop hoops, but fear not, the problems youll most likely run into are all covered here in a step-by-step format that will have you wiping cold congealed water off your flash unit faster than you can say, How can Scott possibly be in his mid-twenties?.
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The Big Fixx

The Photoshop Book
for Digital Photographers
Compensating for Too Much Flash
Dont ya hate it when you open a photo and realize that either (a) the flash fired when it shouldnt have; (b) you were too close to the subject to use the flash and theyre totally blown out; or (c) youre simply not qualified to use a flash at all, and your flash unit should be forcibly taken from you, even if that means ripping it from the camera body? Heres a quick fix to get your photo back from the flash graveyard while keeping your reputation, and camera parts, intact.

Step One:

Open the photo that is suffering from flashaphobia. In the example shown here, the flash, mounted on the camera body, washed out the entire subject.

Step Two:

Make a copy of the photo by pressing Command-J (PC: Control-J). This will create a layer titled Layer 1.

Chapter 3

Digital Camera Image Problems

Step Three:

Next, change the Blend Mode of Layer 1 from Normal to Multiply from the popup menu at the top of the Layers palette. This Blend Mode has a multiplier effect, and brings back a lot of the original detail the flash blew out.

Step Four:

If the photo still looks washed out, you may need to make a duplicate of Layer 1. Just press Command-J (PC: Control-J), and this layer will be duplicated; this duplicate will already be in Multiply mode. Incidentally, because of the immutable laws of life, chances are that creating one layer with its Blend Mode set to Multiply wont be enough, but adding another layer (in Multiply mode) will be too much. If thats the case, just go to the Layers palette and lower the Opacity setting of the top layer to 50% or lessthis way, you can dial in just the right amount, and get the amount of flash looking right.

Dealing with Digital Noise
Open a photo that contains visible digital noise (in this case, its a shot taken in low light, and those red, green, and blue dots appear throughout the photo).
If you shoot in low-light situations, youre bound to encounter digital noise. Is there anything worse than these large red, green, and blue dots that appear all over your photo? Okay, besides that crazy music those teenagers play, like Limp Bizkit orwellLimp Bizkit, is there anything worse? This digital noise (often called Blue channel noise, high ISO noise, color aliasing, or just those annoying red, green, and blue dots) can be reduced. Heres how:
Go under the Image menu, under Mode, and choose Lab Color. Switching to Lab Color is a non-destructive mode change, and wont damage your RGB photo in any way you can switch back and forth between RGB and Lab Color any time. You wont see any visible difference in your image onscreen, but if you look up in the title bar for your document, youll see Lab in parentheses, to let you know youre in Lab Color mode.
When youre in RGB mode, your image is made up of three channels: a Red, a Green, and a Blue channel. When these three are combined, they create a full-color photo. When you convert to Lab Color, Photoshop composes your photo differentlyalthough it looks the same, its now made up of a Lightness channel (the luminosity of the photo, where the detail is held) and two color channels, named a and b. Go to the Channels palette and youll see these channels. Click on the a channel (as shown).
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Now that youre affecting only the a channel (which consists of color data), go under the Filter menu, under Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. When the Gaussian Blur dialog appears (shown at left), increase the Radius (amount of blur) until you see the dots pretty much disappear, and then click OK. In this case, I increased the Radius to 2 pixels.

Step Five:

Now, in the Channels palette, click on the b channel (as shown at left). Press Command-F (PC: Control-F) to apply the Gaussian Blur filter to this b channel with the exact same setting we used on the a channel. Because youre using the re-apply shortcut, you wont see the Gaussian Blur dialog boxit will just automatically apply the filter for you.

Step Six:

Go back under the Image menu, under Mode, and choose RGB to return to RGB mode. Youll notice that the spots are much less pronounced because they no longer appear in red, green, and blue. You blurred the color channels, and by doing so, you eliminated those colors that are distracting to the eye. The effect appears much more muted, and in some cases (depending on the photo) will nearly disappear.

Removing Color Aliasing

Heres another quick trick Jim DiVitale and Kevin Ames use for reducing the color aliasing (digital noise) that often appears in digital photos shot in lowlighting situations.

Open the photo that has visible color aliasing. Go under the Filter menu, under Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. Drag the Radius slider all the way to the left, then start dragging to the right until the color aliasing is blurred enough that you cant see it. Click OK to apply the blur.
Go under the Edit menu and choose Fade Gaussian Blur. When the Fade dialog appears, change the Fade Mode to Color (as shown) and the color aliasing will disappear. Its quick, its easy, and it works. Its also an ideal candidate for becoming an action, so you can remove color aliasing with just one click.
Theres a natural tendency for some photographers to react to their immediate surroundings, rather than what they see through the lens. For example, if youre shooting an indoor concert, there are often hundreds of lights illuminating the stage. However, some photographers think its one light shorttheir flash, because where theyre sitting, its dark. When you look at your photos later, you see that your flash lit everyone in front of you (which wasnt the way it really lookedthe crowd is usually in the dark), which ruins an otherwise great shot. Heres a quick fix to make it look as if your flash never fired at all.
Fixing Photos Where You Wish You Hadnt Used Flash
Open a photo where shooting with the flash has ruined part of the image (like the image shown here taken during a seminar presentation, where the back ten rows are lit by the flash, when they should be dark. Just the stage lit by the stage lighting should appear out of the darkness).
Press the letter L to get the Lasso tool, and draw a loose selection over the area where the flash affected the shot. In the image shown here, the lasso encompasses a number of rows in the back of the theater.

Continued

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In the next step, were going to adjust the tonal range of this selected area, but we dont want that adjustment to appear obvious. Well need to soften the edges of our selection quite a bit so our adjustment blends in smoothly with the rest of the photo. To do this, go under the Select menu and choose Feather. When the Feather Selection dialog box appears, enter 25 pixels to soften the selection edge. (By the way, 25 pixels is just my guess for how much this particular selection might need. The rule of thumb is the higher the resolution of the image, the more feathering youll need, so dont be afraid to use more than 25 if your edge is visible when you finish.)
It will help you make a better adjustment if you hide the selection border (we call it the marching ants) from view. Note: We don't want to Deselectwe want our selection to remain intact but we dont want to see the annoying border, so press Command-H (PC: Control-H) to hide the selection border. Now, press Command-L (PC: Control-L) to bring up the Levels dialog. At the bottom of the dialog, drag the right Output Levels slider to the left to darken your selected area. Because youve hidden the selection border, it should be very easy to match the surroundings of your photo by just dragging this slider to your left.

When the photo looks about right, click OK to apply your Levels adjustment. Then, press Command-H (PC: Control-H) to make your selection visible again (this trips up a lot of people who, since they dont see the selection anymore, forget its there, and then nothing reacts as it should from that point on).
Last, press Command-D (PC: Control-D) to Deselect and view your repaired flash-free photo.
Fixing Underexposed Photos
This is a tonal correction for people who dont like making tonal corrections (over 60 million Americans suffer from the paralyzing fear of MTC [Making Tonal Corrections]). Since this technique requires no knowledge of Levels or Curves, its very popular, and even though its incredibly simple to perform, it does a pretty incredible job of fixing underexposed photos.
Open an underexposed photo. The photo shown here, shot indoors without a flash, couldve used either a fill flash or a better exposure setting.
Press Command-J (PC: Control-J) to duplicate your Background layer (this duplicate will be named Layer 1 by default). On this new layer, change the Blend Mode in the Layers palette from Normal to Screen to lighten the entire photo.
If the photo still isnt properly exposed, just press Command-J (PC: Control-J) and duplicate this Screen layer until the exposure looks about right (this may take a few layers, but dont be shy about itkeep copying layers until it looks right).
Theres a good chance that at some point your photo will still look a bit underexposed, so youll duplicate the layer again, but now it looks overexposed. What you need is half a layer. Half as much lightening. Heres what to do: Lower the Opacity of your top layer to dial in the perfect amount of light, giving you something between the full intensity of the layer (at 100%) and no layer at all (at 0%). For half the intensity, try 50% (did I really even have to say that last line? Didnt think so). Once the photo looks properly exposed, choose Flatten Image from the Layers palettes popdown menu.
When You Forget to Use Fill Flash
Open a photo where the subject or focus of the image appears in shadows. Go under the Image menu, under Adjustments, and choose Levels.
Wouldnt it be great if Photoshop had a fill flash brush, so when you forgot to use your fill flash, you could just paint it in? Well, although its not technically called the fill flash brush, you can create your own brush and get the same effect. Heres how:
Drag the middle Input Levels slider (the gray one) to the left until your subject looks properly exposed. (Note: Dont worry about how the background looksit will probably become completely blown out, but youll fix that later; for now, just focus on making your subject look right.) If the midtone slider doesnt bring out the subject enough, you may have to increase the highlights as well, so drag the far-right Input Levels slider to the left to increase the highlights. When your subject looks properly exposed, click OK.

Go under the Window menu and choose History to bring up the History palette. This palette keeps a running history of the last 20 adjustments youve made to your photo. In this instance, there should be only two entries (called History States). Open should be the first State, followed by Levels, showing that you opened the photo and then made a Levels adjustment.
In the History palette, click on the State named Open. This will return your photo to how it looked when you originally opened the image (in other words, it will look the way it did before you adjusted the Levels).
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In the History palette, click in the first column next to the grayed-out State named Levels. An icon that looks like Photoshops History Brush will appear in the column, showing that youre going to be painting from what your image looked like after you used Levels.
Choose the History Brush tool from the Toolbox (as shown at right), and choose a soft-edged brush from the Brush Picker in the Options Bar.

Step Seven:

Begin painting with the History Brush over your subject, avoiding the background area entirely. (Here, Im painting over the left side of the subjects face.) As you paint, youll notice that youre actually painting in the lightened version of the subject you adjusted earlier with Levels.

Step Eight:

Continue painting with the History Brush until your subject looks as if you used a fill flash. When youre painting, if it appears too intense, just lower the Opacity of the History Brush up in the Options Bar. That way, when you paint, the effect will appear less intense. You can see the final repair here at left, with the background unchanged, but the subject in shadows is brought out.

Instant Red Eye Removal

When I see a digital camera with the flash mounted directly above the lens, I think, Hey, theres an automated red-eye machine. If youre a pro, you probably dont have to deal with this as much, because your flash probably isnt mounted directly above your lensyoure using bounce flash, holding the flash separately, youve got studio lights, or one of a dozen other techniques. But even when the pros pick up a point-and-shoot, red eye can find them. Heres the quick I-just-want-it-gone technique for getting rid of red eye fast.
Open a photo where the subject has red eye. Zoom in on the eyes by dragging a rectangle around them with the Zoom tool (the Magnifying Glass tool).
Switch to the Brush tool, and choose a soft-edged brush thats nearly the same size as the part of the eye you want to correct. Press the letter d to set your Foreground color to black. Then, in the Options Bar, change the Blend Mode of the Brush tool from Normal to Color, as shown at right.
Use the Brush tool and paint directly over the red eye (you can even dab if youd like). As you paint, the red disappears because with the Brush tools Blend Mode set to Color, it desaturates (removing the color from) anywhere you paint.

Paint over all the other eyes in the photo, and youre doneand best of all, the entire process takes just seconds.
Removing Red Eye and Recoloring the Eye
Open a photo where the subject has red eye.
This technique is a little more complicated (not hard; it just has a few more steps), but the result is more professional because youre not just going to remove the red eye (like in the previous instant red-eye removal trick) and replace it with the more pleasing gray eye. Instead, were going to restore the eye to its original color.
Zoom in close on one of the eyes using the Zoom tool (the Magnifying Glass tool). Note: You might not want to do this late at night if youre home alone, because seeing a huge scary eye on your screen can really give you the willies.
Press the w key to switch to the Magic Wand tool, and click within the red area of one of the eyes. One click may select all the red in the eye, but if it doesnt, hold the Shift key and click the Magic Wand again in an area of red that wasnt selected (holding the Shift key lets you add to your current selection). If the Magic Wand selects too much, go up to the Options Bar, lower the Threshold number, and try again. After one eyes red area is selected, scroll over to the other eye, hold the Shift key, and select it the same way so that both red-eye areas are selected.
Now, press Shift-Command-U (PC: Shift-Control-U) to desaturate all the color from these selected red areas, leaving the eyes looking pretty gray. Its better than red, but you might want to touch it up a bit, and make it a bit darker, which well do in the next step.
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Press the d key to set your Foreground color to black. Get the Brush tool and choose a small, soft-edged brush; then, up in the Options Bar, lower the Opacity setting to 20%.
Zoom out a bit by pressing Command- (the minus sign) (PC: Control-) until you can see both eyes onscreen. Paint just a couple of quick strokes over the selected areas of the eye to darken them, but stop before they turn completely black you just want a good dark gray. You dont have to worry about painting into other areas of the eye, because your selection should still be in place while youre painting.

Once the eyes look dark gray, you can Deselect by pressing CommandD (PC: Control-D). Press the L key to switch to the Lasso tool, and draw a loose selection around the entire iris of the left eye (as shown). The keyword here is loosestay well outside the iris itself, and dont try to make a precise selection. Selecting the eyelids, eyelashes, etc. will not create a problem. Hold the Shift key and select the right eye in the same fashion.
After you have a loose selection around both irises, press Command-J (PC: Control-J) to put a copy of the eyes up on their own layer above the Background, as Layer 1.
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Step Nine:

While youre on this eyes layer, go under the Image menu, under Adjustments, and choose Hue/Saturation. In the dialog, click on the Colorize checkbox (in the bottom-right corner). Now you can choose the color youd like for the eye by moving the Hue slider. The area you removed earlier will remain the dark gray color, and only the iris will be affected by your colorization. In this case, were going to colorize the iris blue. Dont worry about the color being too intense at this pointwe can totally control that laterso if you want blue eyes, choose a deep blue and well dial in the exact blue later. Click OK to apply the blue to the irises and the area around them as well. (Dont let this freak you out that other areas right around the iris appear blue. Well fix that in the next step.)

Step Ten:

Press the e key to switch to the Eraser tool, make sure that in the Options Bar the Mode is set to Brush, choose a hard-edged brush, and then erase the extra areas around the iris from your loose selection. This sounds much harder than it isits actually very easyjust erase everything but the blue iris. Dont forget to erase over the whites of the persons eyes. Remember, the eyes are on their own layer, so you cant accidentally damage any other parts of the photo.

Step Eleven:

If the eye color seems too intense (and chances are, it does), we can lower the intensity in the Layers palette by simply lowering the Opacity slider until the eyes look natural.

Step Twelve:

To finish the red-eye correction and recolor, press Command-E (PC: Control-E) to merge the colored eye layer with the Background layer, completing the repair.
Repairing Keystoning Without the Crop Tool
Open an image that has a lens distortion problem (such as the photo shown at right, where the building seems to be leaning away from the viewer).
Keystoning is often found in photos with buildings or tall objects, where the buildings look as if theyre falling away from the viewer (giving the impression that the tops of these buildings are narrower than their bases). The Crop tool has a Perspective function that can be used to fix these distortions, but actually Im going to recommend that you dont use it, because it doesnt offer a preview of any kindyoure just guessing, so use this technique instead.

Grab the bottom-right corner of your image window and drag outward to reveal the gray canvas background. Press Command-A (PC: Control-A) to Select All and then press Command-T (PC: Control-T) to bring up the Free Transform function. Grab the center point of the bounding box and drag it straight downward until it touches the bottom-center Free Transform point (as shown at right at the cursor location near the bottom of the photo).
Press Command-R (PC: Control-R) to make Photoshops rulers visible. Click-and-drag a guide out from the left ruler into your photo (well use this straight guide to help us line up our building). In the example shown at left, I placed the guide where I thought the top corner of the building should be aligned.
Once your guide is in place, hold the Command key (PC: Control key) and adjust the top left and right corner points of the bounding box until the corner of the building aligns with your guide. Making this correction can sometimes make your building look a bit smushed and squatty (my official technical terms), so you can release the Command/Control key, grab the top-center point, and drag upward to stretch the photo back out and fix the squattyness (again, technically speaking).
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When the photo looks right, press Return (PC: Enter) to lock in your transformation. (Note: By repairing this problem with Free Transform, you got to see an onscreen preview of what you were doing, which the Crop tools Perspective feature doesnt offer.) Now you can drag your guide back to the rulers, and hide the rulers again by pressing Command-R (PC: Control-R). Theres still one more thing youll probably have to do to complete this repair job.
If, after making this adjustment, the building looks round and bloated, you can repair that problem by going under the Filter menu, under Distort, and choosing Pinch. Drag the Amount slider to 0%, and then slowly drag it to the right (increasing the amount of Pinch), while looking at the preview in the filter dialog, until you see the roundness and bloating go away. (In the example shown here, I used 5% for my Amount setting.)
When it looks right, click OK to complete your keystoning repair. A before and after are shown here.

In the original photo, the building appears to be falling away.
The same photo after repairing the distortion and bloating.
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Removing Moir Patterns from Coats, Shirts, Etc.
There are certain fabrics or garments, usually hideously ugly ones (kidding), that create a visible pattern when photographed with a digital camera. Perhaps the most common of these patterns, called moir pattern, is one that shows up in garments and appears as a rainbow of colors. Its very hard to repairthat is, unless you know this great trick. (Thanks to David Cuerdon who showed it to me.)
Open a photo with a visible moir pattern (like the one shown here).
Press the letter L to switch to the Lasso tool, and draw a selection around the areas of the image that have a visible moir pattern (as shown at right).
To hide our tracks a bit, well soften the edges of our selection. This will help the correction were about to apply blend in better with the rest of the image. Go under the Select menu and choose Feather. When the Feather Selection dialog appears, enter 1 or 2 pixels and click OK to soften the edge of your selection.
Press Command-J (PC: Control-J) to copy the selected area onto its own layer above the Background layer.
Go under the Filter menu, under Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. When the Gaussian Blur dialog appears, drag the Radius slider all the way to the left and then slowly drag it to the right until you see the moir pattern disappear (youre basically blurring it away). Click OK. The photo will still look pretty bad because theres one more step we have to perform before it all comes together.
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Go to the Layers palette and change the Blend Mode of this layer from Normal to Color. When you do this, the moir pattern will be hidden by the blur and the object will look normal again, yet you didnt destroy any of its detail. How cool is that?

Before

Battle of the Titans: NIKON F6 vs. CANON EOS-1v vs. LEICA R9
Shutter Release, April 2005

Revised March 2007

Canon got the better of Nikon and Leica on Internet forums in 2004 with regard to film cameras. If ad hoc quips about the worlds leading 35mm SLR cameras were to be believed, Canon had pulled ahead in optics and overall speed of operation. As to Leica, well, the legendary mark had already had its day and is a stodgy if reliable instrument years behind Canon and Nikon. The stereotypes were flat-out wrong, even before the introduction of the new Nikon F6 in late 2004. The reality is that each manufacturer has selectively invested in features for different users. Canon has led in technology to steady hand-held telephoto lenses. The Leica R9 provides ultimate finessing of manual with automatic controls to a precision of 0.1 f-stop (in multi-pattern metering), and is arguably the most user-friendly of the three cameras. The Nikon F6 is a more versatile and lighter redesign of the F5 that pioneered the most advanced autoexposure system available, engineered for accuracy in extreme or peculiar lighting conditions where other cameras would fall short. Features in Common The three flagship models are equipped to enable excellence in most photographic situations. Together with their abundant selections of optics and all manner of gadgetry, the top-of-line Nikon, Canon and Leica cameras have been widely considered the best in 35mm film photography. The Nikon F6, Canon EOS-1v and Leica R9 offer: Evaluative autoexposure: The microcomputer in the camera assesses a scene through an array of sensors, and applies an ideal aperture and/or shutter speed as fast as 1/8000 sec. or as long as a half hour. For example, the autoexposure systems will recognize a backlit portrait and provide optimal exposure of the subject despite the brighter background for which average metering would overcompensate and result in too dark an image. Spot metering: The photographer can set exposure according to readings of one or multiple small areas in the composition. Focus tracking (Canon and Nikon): The predictive autofocus systems of the Canon EOS-1v and Nikon F6 lock on to and follow a designated subject if it or
the photographer are moving. Focus is maintained through a single or series of rapid-action exposures. Leica 35mm SLR cameras do not have autofocus, the absence of which however allows for some benefit as elaborated below. An extensive selection of lenses including macro optics for close-up photography, and shift lenses for architectural photography. Advanced flash synchronized up to 1/8000 sec. Viewfinder showing 99-100% of the image captured on film (Nikon F6 and Canon EOS-1v). The Leica R9 viewfinder shows 97% of the horizontal field and 96% of the vertical. High reliability: durable, maximally shockproof bodies and shutters, usable in virtually all weather conditions. If the batteries fail, the cameras can operate either without battery power (with limited functionality) or alternatively (Canon) may be equipped with a back-up battery source. Price ranges of $1650-2000 for the Canon EOS-1v, $2000 for the Nikon F6 and $3000 for the Leica R9 (as of March 2007). Approach to Camera Selection In considering a camera purchase, photographers should first learn which models offer features most important to their needs, then examine and handle the final contenders to assess the controls and ensure the feel and weight are satisfactory. In the past, photographers attracted by leading features but not wishing to invest in a premium model could easily consider more modest equipment of the same product line. At present, however, this alternative applies almost exclusively to Canon, since Nikon and Leica have limited film camera options below flagship models. Nevertheless, recently discontinued second-line cameras tended to share similar design approaches and technology, as well as interchangeable optics and accessories. Premium used models of Canon and Nikon film cameras are widely available. Potential advantages and disadvantages of the three leading Nikon, Leica and Canon film cameras are largely subjective depending on user priorities.

Nikon F6

For photographers desiring total freedom to compose and shoot instantly, with autoexposure for virtually every imaginable situation, the Nikon F6 offers an advantage in its evaluative 3D Color Matrix Metering II system, an enhancement of the superbly competent metering of the F5. This technology does considerably more than measure illumination and equate the image with a particular composition and lighting pattern to figure proper exposure.
When a Nikon F5 or F6 lock into focus, its 3D Color Matrix metering senses the colors as well as the framework of the composition. Information on depth of field, from the lens, is also imputed. The microcomputer in the camera then identifies and matches the scene, its lighting and color conditions with an archetypical image among a database of upwards of 30,000 photos. (The F5 featured roughly that many reference images; the improved Color Matrix metering in the F6 has several times more, according to unofficial sources.) The cameras will not only sense when a photograph is taken in a snowscape, but will further adjust exposure for the shade of blue or gray of the sky. Blues tend to produce mild underexposure as normally metered by the gray scale that has long been the basis for camera metering of reflected light. Improving on this, contemporary Nikon film and digital cameras allow slightly more exposure for blues compared to other evaluative systems. Bright yellow also tends to produce underexposure using the gray scale; green tends to produce overexposure; in either case, current Nikon cameras will compensate. The system also detects fluorescent and tungsten lighting, and makes appropriate adjustments to exposure (but film cameras cannot correct for the different lighting, which is a function of film, filters and processing). The Red-Coated Man on the White Horse A veteran camera dealer advises that Nikon 3D Color Matrix metering is the only autoexposure system that will finely expose an image of a red-coated man on a white horse. Other systems will expose primarily on the basis of the white of the horse. The Nikon F6 will identify the image as of a person on an animal, and expose primarily on the basis of the person and their clothing. A seasoned photographer could of course manage the situation of a red-coated person on a white horse with an incident light meter (i.e., measuring the light falling on the subject, rather than the light reflected off it). Or use spot metering, or standard center-weighted metering together with basic knowledge of the reflective qualities of the primary colors. Or, a photographer could simply bracket the image (i.e., take various exposures at different speeds or apertures to assure at least one or two finely exposed images). The compelling advantage of advanced Nikon metering is instant photography of complex lighting situations that could otherwise take significant time to master with a light meter, back-of-mind calculations or bracketing. For candid people photography and other potentially unique situations never to come again, the 3D Color Matrix system can be a valued asset. User comments on Internet forums on the earlier Nikon F5 indicate owners believe the system adds value, with the most difficult conditions managed well and typically exposed about f-stop more accurately than conventional evaluative metering in other advanced camerasa difference that can make or break a transparency.

Improvements in the Nikon F6 The F6 is more compact than the F5; camera weight has been reduced by about half a pound to just over 2 lbs. While not a small camera, the redesign brings it more in line with the less bulky Canon EOS-1v. Controls are reportedly friendlier but the range of options remains daunting. Grip has been improved. As to performance assists, the F6 adds dynamic autofocus for closest-subject, selective area and single-point focusing, which are also available on Nikons more advanced digital cameras but were not offered with the dated F5. Also, the F6 flash control system takes account of subject distance as well as brightness in determining an optimal mix of flash and existing light. Photographers not needing 100% viewfinder coverage (92-95% can be advantageous in providing a margin of safety from film fringing or simply for cropping) or ultra-rapid motor drive but desiring the advanced Nikon metering may want to consider a lighter, used Nikon SLR. The 3D Color Matrix system was available for some years on a number of quality Nikon film cameras with essentially the same metering capabilities included on the flagship F5.
Canon EOS-1v Canon is renowned for its innovations in optical technology. The most advanced telephoto system and the only tilt-and-shift optics in 35mm photography are Canon hallmarks. Together with the predictive autofocus and high-speed operation (up to 10 frames per second) of the EOS-1v, its not difficult to understand how a gaggle of rapid-action photographers came to chat up the Internet with talk of Canon superiority. Canon Image Stabilization Technology Ten Canon high-power and moderate telephoto lenses are equipped with gyroscopic sensors feeding into a microcomputer controlling focal-plane alignment to counteract vibration. Recently, Canon adopted its Image Stabilization (IS) technology to a multi-purpose 28-135mm zoom lens. Tests by leading photographic magazines have indicated the IS technology allows hand-held photography at speeds 1.5-2 f-stops slower than normal. In situations such as low-light photography, IS can sufficiently steady a hand-held image at 1/8 1/15 secthe equivalent of 1/30 sec. unassisted. IS technology will similarly improve photography from a moving vehicle. As a rule, shutter speed should be no slower than the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens (e.g., a 200mm telephoto lens requires a 1/200 sec. or faster shutter speed hand-held. With Canon IS technology, minimum safe speed would be reduced to 1/601/100 sec.)
Canon Fluorite Glass Canon offers telephoto optics of fluorite crystal, which minimizes color fringing (chromatic aberration) in its high-magnification 500-1200mm(!) lenses, and in several telephoto zoom and fixed lenses of lesser focal length. Canon Tilt-and-Shift Lenses Canon, Leica and Nikon offer shift lenses to assist architectural and (to a limited extent) landscape photography. Canons shift lenses go a step further, offering front tilt similar to large-format cameras. By tilting the lens downward in relation to the film plane, the foreground will come into sharper focus together with the background, in most picture-taking situations. Tilt and shift are offered by Canon on three lenses: 24mm, 45mm and 90mm. Tilt is normally not required for wide-angle architectural photographystopping the lens down moderately is usually sufficient to bring both foreground and background into focusstill, tilt may be helpful on the very wide 24mm lens in landscape and commercial product photography. Tilt-and-shift optics (and the shift lenses of other manufacturers) have to be manually stopped down and cannot be used in automatic exposure mode, although meter readings may be made through the lenses.

Leica R9

Leica 35mm SLR cameras are designed for the reflective photographer who prefers deliberative precision to automatic operation. As such, the Leica R9 does not have autofocus, though it has an evaluative autoexposure and bracketing system that will serve the photographer well in most picture-taking situationssimilar to Canon in this respect. The Nikon F6, Canon EOS-1v and Leica R9 allow for manual override of autoexposure, as well as a selection of metering modes. Yet for the hands-on photographer desiring full control, the Leica R9 advantage is its metering system allowing for exposure adjustments as fine as 0.1 f-stop in automatic multi-pattern metering mode. For users not needing autofocus, its absence from Leica SLR models means lenses with less glass, less complexity, less weight, a bit more light reaching the film which a purist may appreciate. Three Leica R lenses in particular offer sterling performance. The 90mm f/2 Apo-Summicron-R aspherical lens provides superb resolution at all apertures, even wide-open. The 15mm f/2.8 Super-Elmarit-R offers incredible, Biogon-like performancenegligible distortion, excellent contrast and minimal light falloff (about.3 f-stop)wide-open as wellwith a diagonal field of view of 111. Extreme-wide medium and large-format optics of this caliber usually require a centre filter and lack the portability and rapid-reaction/real-time capability of this 35mm lens. Third, in the telephoto range, the Leica 280mm Apo-Telyt-R also produces images
of extraordinary quality, unmatched in contrast rendition and absence of chromatic aberration at wide apertures, and is fairly portable for a lens of such focal length. Subtle Leica features add up. Reviewers have opined that the Leica viewfinder provides the brightest, clearest view of the three leading cameras. The R9, while solidly built and by no means a lightweight, is the most compact. A Leica with lens will often weigh 1-2 lb. less than its competitors. The controls of the Leica R9 are appealingly uncomplicated and user-friendly. A plus, to some, is the absence of numerous options for automatic operations they would rarely or never use. The LCD panel is located on the back of the Leica; Canon and Nikon have it on top. Leica does not offer image-stabilization technology for its telephoto lenses. However the need for such technology may be obviated to an extent by the lesser weight of the R9 and its telephoto lenses of shorter and medium-range focal length up to 280mm. The Leica Cachet Leica is the most collected and historically admired camera in the world. An aura has developed around the marqueLeica magazines, photo competitions and an independent Leica historical society. Leica has made an art of melding evolutionary technical innovation with graceful design. The contemporary Leica R9 reflects this pedigree. Summary of Camera Strengths The three leading 35mm camerasthe Nikon F6, Canon EOS-1v and Leica R9 are multipurpose, robust instruments that will serve the photographer well in most situations. Ultimate finessing of manual with automatic controls together with exceptional optics in an easy-to-handle instrument of distinguished marque make the Leica R9. The recently updated version of the most accurate and versatile autoexposure system, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, is available with the Nikon F6, which also features unsurpassed autofocus technologies and ultra high-speed operation. Canon stands out with its highly refined telephoto and shift-and-tilt optics, and also excels in ultra high-speed operation. Bill Katzenstein