When scene contrast is high there may be a danger of overexposure, particularly when you do not take care to read the highlight values to keep them well within the dynamic range capability of the sensor. When overexposure is extreme you lose detail in the subject, cause the image to look harsh, and may eliminate the possibility of making a good print from the photo, despite your best processing...

The Nikon D700 is the latest in what is clearly a continuing trend in so-called “full-frame” D-SLRs. Unless a radical departure from the classic 35mm form factor takes place, this class of camera cannot accommodate a larger sensor, at least in terms of area. The D700 does offer an (effective) 12.1-megapixel resolution, modest in terms of some of the competition, but also priced to...

Those who spend most of their time working in natural light have come to appreciate the difficulties of making the best exposure reading, working the point of view, and maintaining tonal value and detail in the scene. One of the reasons for the increasing interest in HDR (so-called High Dynamic Range imaging) is that it seems to be a digital way to overcome the curse of the ancient...

There's no doubt that digital allows you to blithely shoot away without concern for film and processing expense and to record every possible angle and compositional permutation, with bracketing to boot. In that, it has freed the image from the implied cost of every snap of the shutter--not to worry, you paid for most of that up front. Now what you get to spend is time...