Seb Rogers: mountain bike photography

Service? What's that?

I picked up my trusty old 17-35mm f/2.8 from the camera repair shop the other week. Although it had languished unused in a bag under my desk for the best part of three years (it used to be my mainstay lens in the days of film, but it's a rather odd focal length range on a DX dSLR), when I picked it up around Christmas time last year the AF motor had inexplicably died.

Normally I make use of Nikon's NPS scheme for working pros, which promises a normal repair turnaround of a week or less. But I'd heard good things about a local repair shop, I didn't really need the lens in a hurry, and I thought I'd give them a try. So, around mid February, I left the lens with them.

They took the lens apart, established that it was a job they couldn't do themselves and sent it to Nikon. Nikon didn't have the right spares in stock (turned out it needed a new PCB as well as a motor), so put in an order with Japan.

Meanwhile, I was left waiting with no updates and no idea of what was going on. After a couple of months I rang the shop, who rang Nikon and then called me back to tell me that they were still waiting for the spares. A month later I was on the phone again... no change. Finally, in May, I got the call I'd been waiting for from the shop - my lens was back, and working.

Except it wasn't. The AF was fine, but the lens had been reassembled with a nasty stiff feel and ominous-sounding squeak in the zoom ring. I took it back to the shop. They took it apart, ordered a spare part from Nikon, fitted it and discovered it didn't solve the problem... but didn't think to call me to tell me. When I next rang for an update they told me what had happened and asked if I wanted them to send it back to Nikon. Well, duh...

I phoned Nikon and explained the situation. The NPS manager was sympathetic, but explained that there was nothing he could do to speed things along because NPS service can only be applied to individuals, not shop repairs. I had no option but to wait. Again.

Finally, more than a month after taking the lens back to the shop, I have it back in my hands. It works. The zoom's smooth. And I'm feeling - not for the first time - as though I've been hung out to dry.

I mean... nearly 6 months to repair a lens? I can understand waiting for spares, but two aspects of the experience stick in my throat. First, the shop's almost total lack of communication with me - at every stage I had to chase them. And second, the fact that Nikon returned the lens in such a poor state. It's not the first time that's happened to me - a fact that makes me wary of sending gear in for a regular check, lube and clean in case it comes back in a worse state than the one which it left me.

Nikon has had trouble with their professional service in the UK over the past few years. To be fair, I know that they've put a lot of effort into making it better. But over a decade of service experience has left me with very mixed feelings about the quality of work they're turning out. Half the time it's excellent. The other half it's just downright shoddy. And that just isn't good enough for a brand that's out to steal the pro crown from under its competitor's nose.

Cover star

Well, almost.

After writing recently about the fact that pictures of me are scarcer than, erm, a very scarce thing indeed, I had to laugh when this month's free MBUK DVD fell out of the mag... with a picture of me on the cover, hauling ass through a loose berm aboard my long-term loaner Stumpy.*

No, really. And here it is:

Thanks to Rob Kitchin for the shot. And don't worry, the advice dished out on the DVD is from pro riders who really do know what they're doing...

* One of my other hats is bike tester for UK mags What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK. It's not a big part of my income, but it keeps me supplied with a steady stream of new bikes and gives me the perfect excuse to grab an hour during the day to go for a ride.

Back to basics

Nikon D40X, 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR, 1/500sec f/8 @ ISO200

One of the downsides of shooting professionally is that it's easy to get stuck in a bit of a visual rut, particularly if the subject matter in front of your lens is more or less the same, most of the time.

I love bikes, I love riding and I love shooting bikes and riding. But sometimes I miss just being able to take pictures for no particular reason other than the joy of slicing a split second of time and converting some photons into ones and zeroes.

So when I had the opportunity to sail on a classic 1930s Thames barge for two days last week, I took along my trusty D40X and a couple of lenses and spent some time being a happily oblivious amateur snapper. In situations like this I still like to be able to tell a story with my pictures (maybe it's a habit that's too deeply ingrained, after years of shooting editorial, to step away from), but there's absolutely no pressure of any kind. No client, no deadline, no competition. No prizes for originality, either... but who cares?

Click, chimp, smile. Bliss.

Nikon D40X, 10.5mm f/2.8, 0.8sec f/2.8 @ ISO1600, handheld

Nikon D40X, 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR, 1/1600sec f/8 @ ISO400

What tyre for...

...a magazine cover shoot?

Always ask the locals...

Naaaaah, mate. Racing Ralphs on wet Peak gritstone? You want some Nobbly Nicks...

Photo course 2008: one place available

A single place has become available on my one remaining 2008 mountain bike photo course in the Quantocks. Dates are Friday October 3rd to Sunday October 5th and full details are here (please note that booking arrangements have changed slightly from those advertised in the original post - I'll let you know the changes if you want to book).

The courses have been hugely popular and completely oversubscribed this year - so if you missed out, this is a rare opportunity to jump the queue. Interested? Drop me a line. First come, first served!

Nikon D3, 14-24mm f/2.8, 1/320sec f/8 @ ISO200, two radio slaves

This week I have mostly been...

... chasing invoices, catching up on some overdue writing, sorting images for a German magazine, making wheels look sexy, organising four days' shooting next week, catching up on some much-needed sleep...

But in between all that, I also found some interesting bits on the web:

- Mike Johnston at theonlinephotographer has some interesting views on how legacy issues are driving current camera designs.

- Top Nikon pro Joe McNally has had hands-on experience with Nikon's new D700 and SB900 flash, and writes about both in his inimitable style on his blog. Joe is that rarest of photographer breeds: not only is he vastly experienced and talented, but he writes extremely well and with a wry sense of humour.

- Nikon commentator Thom Hogan has several updates on his site worth reading, including an analysis of where the D700 leaves Nikon in the scheme of things and some excellent advice for any photographer thinking of making the leap to pro.

Shopping list update

I've written about yet-to-be-released gear in a 'hmmm, that looks promising' kind of a way several times over the past year or so, so I thought it'd be interesting to do a quick round-up of which bits have persuaded me to dip into my wallet. And, er, which ones didn't...

Sigma DP-1
Oh my word, Sigma took their time getting this out. I can't remember how long it was between announcement and delivery... over a year? Anyhoo, by the time this little APS-C sensored compact made it to the shops earlier this year, pent-up demand was huge. I wanted one to take riding, until I saw the price (which made me wince) and, worse, read the reviews. Whilst I don't normally rely on reviews to make my buying decisions, there was a noticeable consensus that the Sigma suffers from noticeable shutter lag and slow write speeds.

So I've saved myself £550... but there's still a compact-sized hole in my Camelbak for something that'll do the job. Canon G9? Lens isn't wide enough; camera's too bulky. Ricoh GX100? Definite maybe, but I really want a bigger sensor. Maybe Nikon has something around the corner? But wait, 13mp in a teenytiny sensor...? When will the madness end?

Fstop gear bags
I've been tinkering with different ways of carrying my gear since the very first time I took my F801 and a couple of lenses out for a ride stuffed in a couple of pouches in a Karrimor climbing rucksack. Last year I finally got my hands on the bag that north American bike photographers have been relying on for a while - the Dakine Sequence. And very good it is, too. But I think I might have found something better.

The Fstopgear Satori and Lotus have been keeping my kit safe for a few months. I'll be writing about them both in more detail soon, but the fact that I have no intention of pulling my Sequence out of semi-retirement should give you some idea of where I'm at.

Radiopopper triggers
My cameras and flashguns are stuffed full of clever technology. They can talk to each other, nudge lighting ratios one way or the other, and so on. But only if there's line-of-sight between each of the individual bits in the system, and only over a very limited range.

So, like many photographers, I choose to ignore all that clever stuff and rely on third-party radio triggers instead. Without the limitations of line-of-sight I can hide flashguns behind rocks and trees, but in technology terms it's a step back to the dark ages, and I can only change lighting ratios by tweaking each flash manually, then schlepping back to my shot position to check the outcome.

Radiopoppers provide a radio bridge between the camera's proprietary infrared system and the flashguns, ostensibly combining the advantages of both. They've been available for a while in the US, and there are even some reviews out there on the interweb. Hallelujah! Except that, in Europe, we're still waiting...

If I had a penny...

Aaron Johnson's What the Duck strip rarely fails to raise a chuckle, particularly when it so closely mirrors the reality of earning a living from photography...

Nikon D700: the cat's out of the bag

Update: Nikon UK has officially announced the D700, and DPReview has a hands-on preview...

No official announcement at the time of writing, but a German photo magazine has hit the newsstands with details of Nikon's new compact D700 'full frame' dSLR. There's a scan of the mag with pictures here, for anyone interested in testing their linguistic skills.

Salient points are:

- sensor appears to be the same 12.1mp unit as the D3
- sensor cleaning has been added
- frame rate is 5fps in standard form; 8fps with the MB-D10 grip (which also fits the D300)
- smaller and lighter than the D3 (though heavier than the D300)
- viewfinder is 95% view (against the D3's 100%)

The price doesn't appear to be confirmed yet, though it's likely to be around the £2000 mark.

For what it's worth, here are some initial thoughts:

- the 12mp sensor will be raising some eyebrows, if only because Canon's upcoming replacement for their (12mp) 5D is likely to cram in more pixels. But it actually makes sense, for several reasons. First, 12mp seems to have established itself as a sweet spot that suits most users' needs without compromising noise levels or diffraction limits. Second, using the same sensor as the D3 will presumably allow Nikon to drive down the per-unit sensor cost, which will translate into better margins and more price flexibility in the longer term. And third, keeping the pixel count down has enabled Nikon to keep the frame rate up; the D700 will be snapped up by landscape shooters, I'm sure, but it'll be no slouch on the football field either.

- there's some discussion on the forums about whether or not the D700 will shoot 14 bit raw files at 5fps. I think it's unlikely; the D300 only manages 14 bits at 2.5fps, but this fact is buried deep in the spec tables. One of the contributing factors to the price differential between the D3 and D300 is processor bandwidth; there may have been some improvement since the D300's launch, but we'll have to wait and see. 14 bits at 5fps for a camera at this price would be a seriously impressive achievement. Update: looks like 14 bit capture doesn't slow down the D700 after all. I'm suitably impressed...

- why the increased weight over the D300? Seems likely to me that it's caused by the bigger optical components necessitated by the larger sensor: bigger mirror box, mirror, pentaprism and housing. That's all going to add weight but, in fact, the D700 weighs almost exactly the same as the similarly sized (and, er, 'full frame') F6 (the weights in the mag link above include battery; Nikon specs don't). In fact, in just about every respect the D700 is a digital F6, albeit with updated AF and a built-in flash.

- the 'info' feature (which displays all the current shooting info on the rear LCD) finally has its own dedicated button on the right of the camera's back, close to the AF mode selector switch. It bugs me that Nikon keeps moving the buttons (even the D300 and D3 buttons don't work in exactly the same way - go figure), but this is where it should have been to start with.

Whatever the detail, it's an interesting move by Nikon that's sure to have any remaining well-heeled fence-sitters ditching their film SLRs and switching to digi.

It may look, on the face of it, as though all the reasons to buy a D3 just went away, but Nikon has a long history of launching slightly stripped-down versions of its range-toppers going right back to the Nikon F / Nikkormat. In 1989 I bought an F801 for precisely this reason; it offered most of the F4's features at around half the price and in a smaller body. The D3's higher speed, tougher build, dual card slots, 100% viewfinder and a few other wrinkles will be enough to persuade those photographers that need these features to keep buying. For the rest of the world, the D700 looks like finally making the FX format a little more accessible for Nikon owners.

In fact it looks good enough that, had it been available when I decided to take the FX plunge, I almost certainly would have bought it over the D3...

Vive le backflip x-up

One of the things I've always enjoyed about shooting for MBUK is that it's such a broad church. No other bike mag in the world, as far as I'm aware, gives page space to cross-country, downhill, freeride, dirt, street, trials, touring and just about any other variety of riding you care to come up with... in almost every single issue. It means there's never a dull moment and I get to work with world-class riders from every side of the sport.

The August 2008 issue of the mag features seven pages of my photos of top French slopestyle rider Cris Hatton's recent visit to the UK. Cris is a fearless innovator in competition and has built his reputation on the back of seemingly impossible trick combos. Shooting aerial manouevres like these makes a refreshing change from wheels-on-the-ground shoots, and forces me to think in different ways. Vive la difference!

Nikon D3, 16mm f/2.8, 1/250sec f/5 @ ISO200, two radio slaves