Nikon D7000's ISO levels

With the Nikon D7000, I rarely shoot at higher than ISO 800, but there are the odd times when you just need to push the limits of the camera.  I was in Ottawa this past weekend and ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 was the norm at night.  There was only one place I visited at night--Parliament Hill.  If I could, I would have visited Occupy Ottawa, I was told just east of Parliament Hill.

I did bring my tripod but the night I used it, it was so cold so I did not spend much time on the Hill.  The second night was warmer and was cloudy--great for photography by the way--but I forgot the bring the tripod along so it was all hand-held.  I also had my not-so-fast 18-200mm walkaround lens on.  With a not so great setup, I had to resort to pulling as much juice from the D7000 as possible.

So, hand held, these were some of the pictures I took with the D7000:

50mm, ISO 3200, f/4.8, 1/15 seconds:

18mm, ISO 1600, f/4.0, 1/6 seconds:

18mm, ISO 1600, f/4.5, 1/5 seconds:

18mm, ISO 1600, f/4.5, 1/4 seconds:

Dust bunnies

Oh my goodness!  The bunnies are back with a vengeance!  I don't remember when I last operated my camera with multiple lenses outdoors--it might have been during the hike up around the Forks of the Credit--but my sensor is full of dust bunnies.  I had no need to take my camera out but since I will be heading to Ottawa next weekend, I thought I'd bring my D7000 along and thought I'd check the sensor now.  I got the Tamron 17-50mm lens on, set the aperture to f/32, and shot away at my bright notebook screen.  Two test shots confirmed it--btw, the blur was intentional.  No fewer than 40 bunnies have made my sensor their home.  They are concentrated in the right side of the photo for some reason.  Well, it's time to clear the field of the invaders.



So, it took me six attempts to clean the sensor to remove most of the bunnies.  I started with a blower.  I knew it was not going to do much if anything.  I then proceeded with the Artic Butterfly.  Sure enough, it looks like these bunnies have burrowed themselves deep into the sensor.  I then tried the wet cleaning method.  My first attempt with a used swab left some bunnies behind.  My second attempt with the used swab made it worse.  I threw away the swab and got another one, new this time.  I applied the swab across the sensor and it looked like it was perfectly clean--except that when I did my test shot there were these funny artifacts and I thought there were residues of the cleaning solution on the sensor.  So I did two more wet cleaning only to realize the funny artifacts are flares from the lens.  The sensor is not 100% clean but good enough for normal shooting.

Having the tools at home is a heck lot faster and more convenient than sending the camera in to Nikon for cleaning.  Did I tell you their service centre in Mississauga does not open late on weeknights and is closed on weekends.

Epson Stylus Photo 1280 woes, final

Success!  All the yellow nozzles are firing and I made my three prints, after one week.

Epson Stylus Photo 1280 woes, part 3

The saga is about to end.  I got the printer to print yellow, finally!

Searching on Google for unclogging Epson print nozzles will point to a number of solutions, including that damp paper towel method.  Today, I used the Windex and distilled water approach.  The approach calls for a solution of ammonia and water, so while I had my car serviced at Canadian Tire today, I went over to the PC Superstore (at Mavis and Dundas) and bought Windex ("Original" with Ammonia-D), a 4L bottle of distilled water, and a PeeDee Doe OralMed dispenser syringe for babies.  With everything I needed, it was hard to contain my excitement--will it work??!!!!  Like boys with toys, I prepared the simple solution, got the printer ready for a deep cleaning.

Applying some pressure on the syringe to force the solution through the yellow needle, I ran it through five times followed by rinsing with just distilled water (to remove any Windex in the needle and cavity.)  I turned on the printer, connected my notebook to it, and ran a print test.  Nothing, no yellow printed.  Back to deep cleaning a couple more times.  Another print test.  Nothing.  Yellow was not coming out!  Did the yellow piezoelectric element burn out or something got shorted because I injected the Windex solution into the ink cavity?  Maybe the nozzle was still clogged up?  But, I could see the Windex solution coming through the yellow nozzle as the paper towel I placed under the print head got wet.  Something was not right though.  I used the syringe to blow out any air bubble or ink that might be left inside the yellow needle and cavity.  I also used the syringe to draw any air bubble or ink out of the needle.  Surprisingly, no yellow ink came out.  There was no yellow ink on the paper towel.  Yellow ink did not get drawn from the cartridge!

I replaced the colour cartridge with a brand new one.  One print test and bingo, the world turned once again.  I did the yellow square print test.  The square came out very yellow.  That was good.  There are still a few clogged yellow nozzles though.  From the pattern test, I could see a couple of missing lines.  Not 100% but much better than before!

P.S.  For those interested in the design of the Epson print head, there are a couple of diagrams here:  http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/178

P.P.S.  Windex Original is blue with Ammonia-D.  I am not sure if Ammonia-D is ammonia but it seems to work for some people.

Epson Stylus Photo 1280 woes, part 2

The saga continues.  This is frustrating.  The yellow ink is not coming out.  Once or twice, I was able to print an image of a full yellow square but every other time I tried, lines of reddish colour would appear instead.  I have tried the wet paper towel trick to clean the print head many many times and could see yellow ink transferred onto the paper towel but the darn thing is still clogged!  This is a real pain.  Only if I could remove the print head and soak it in hot water to dissolve everything!

Epson Stylus Photo 1280 woes

I spent nearly three hours yesterday trying to fix a problem with my Epson Stylus Photo 1280 printer.  What was the problem?  As everyone that owns an Epson knows, you should never leave your printer to collect dust for too long.  In my case, I left it on my computer desk alone for a few months.  When I first ran a pattern test yesterday, I knew right away I had a nightmare on my hands.  The print nozzles have clogged up!  So, I did what everyone does with their Epson--ran the head cleaning routine and reprinted the pattern test page.  The first cleaning did little to the print head.  Many of the lines in the pattern test were missing and the yellow was totally absent.  Well, twenty head cleaning and pattern test printing later, some pattern lines were still missing and the yellow still absent.  I gave up for the night but around midnight, I had to try something I read from somewhere.

I used a paper towel and folded it many times into a thick strip of half an inch wide (so it looks like a long rectangle), dampened it with hot water (I do not have distilled water), and placed the strip in the groove where the printer head assembly slides over.  I then manually moved the print head assembly over the strip and allow the damp paper towel to dissolve and clean whatever was clogging the nozzles.  After a dozen or so attempts, I started to see some yellow patches on the paper towel.

I was quite excited that I wanted to do a print test right away, but only to find out I was then out of ink.  I have a stash of colour cartridges but none of the black cartridge left.  So, I ordered twelve new black cartridges.  I hope they will arrive in a couple of days so I can see if the cleaning worked!  I am counting down the days now.

I have three photos to print on 11"x17" paper.  I could take them to Kinko's with all the time I have wasted so far, but printing at home is more fun, somehow.