Focus ST: Riding Shotgun in Ford’s Next Shogun

Focus ST: Riding Shotgun in Ford’s Next Shogun:

“You see how you can play with the back end going on or off the throttle?” asks Jost Capito, who is clearly having fun. Inside Ford’s European proving ground near Lommel, Belgium, the director of Global Performance Vehicles is drifting through the corners of the handling track in his latest ­project, the Focus ST, adjusting the car’s angle of attack with the right pedal. We notice that when Capito gets back on the gas, the rear of the car comes back into line. In most front-wheel-drive cars, this move would provoke understeer. But the Focus ST is unlike most front-wheel-drive cars.

Keep Reading: 2013 Ford Focus ST – First Ride

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Compatibility issues with NIK Color Efex Pro after installing Nikon Capture NX2 v2.3.0

Compatibility issues with NIK Color Efex Pro after installing Nikon Capture NX2 v2.3.0:

Several readers reported issues with their NIK Color Efex Pro software after installing the latest version 2.3.0 of Nikon Capture NX. The new Color Efex Pro 4 will not work with Capture NX v2.3.0 (source):

Does Color Efex Pro 4 work in Capture NX 2?

The Capture NX 2 software from Nikon does not support Nik Software's new Color Efex Pro 4 plug-in. Color Efex Pro 4 is built on an entirely new and powerful framework and thus requires certain functions of the plug-in architecture of the host application that are not currently present in Captures NX 2.

If you are a current Color Efex Pro 3.0 customer, you can of course continue to enjoy the benefits of that software with Capture NX 2.

Regarding plans to make the two products work together, the effort to update Color Efex Pro 4 to function within Capture NX 2 relies on Nikon's future plans and development for their photo editing software. Nik Software is not privy to those plans.

NIK Software is working on a solution to fix the compatibility issue with older Color Efex Pro 3 version. Here is an email sent from Nik Software support team to a reader (Google translation):

Color Efex Pro 3 is fully compatible with Nikon Capture NX 2 up to version 2.2.8. Capture NX 2, version 2.3, is a native 64-bit / 32-bit application, the Color Efex Pro 3 in 32-bit compatible mode.

Nik Software's development team checked with the highest priority requirements regarding the development of an appropriate technical adjustment of Color Efex Pro 3.0.

There are no plans to modify Color Efex Pro 4 to be compatible with Nikon Capture NX2 because the software architecture of these applications are too different.

On Mac OS, it is possible to install NX 2 2.3 in either 32 - or use 64-bit mode. If Color Efex Pro 3.0 for Capture NX 2 is installed, it will be in 32-bitmode from Capture NX 2 to be visible and usable, while Color Efex Pro 3.0 for Capture NX 2 in 64-bit mode is not displayed.

For switching the mode exit Capture NX 2, go to the Finder on the Capture NX 2 program icon, select "information" in the Finder menu"File" or cmd + "i" and then put the check mark from "In the 32 - open-bitmode. "With the next start Capture NX 2 will start in 32-bit mode and Color Efex Pro 3.0 for Capture NX 2 is available again.

Here is the original email in German language:

Color Efex Pro 3 für Nikon Capture NX 2 ist voll kompatibel bis zur Version Capture NX 2 2.2.8.

Capture NX 2, Version 2.3, ist eine native 64-Bit / 32-Bit Anwendung, mit der Color Efex Pro 3 nur im 32-Bit Modus kompatibel ist.

Das Entwicklungsteam von Nik Software prüft mit höchster Priorität die Anforderungen an die Entwicklung hinsichtlich einer entsprechenden technischen Anpassung von Color Efex Pro 3.0 Complete.

Eine Anpassung von Color Efex Pro 4 hinsichtlich einer Kompatibilität mit Nikon Capture NX2 ist derzeit aus Gründen der zu unterschiedlichen Software-Architektur nicht vorgesehen.

Unter Mac OS ist es möglich, nach der Installation von NX 2 2.3 wahlweise im 32- oder 64-Bit Modus zu nutzen.

Wenn Color Efex Pro 3.0 für Capture NX 2 installiert ist, wird es im 32-Bit Modus von Capture NX 2 sicht- und nutzbar sein, während Color Efex Pro 3.0 für Capture NX 2 im 64-Bit Modus nicht angezeigt wird.

Zur Umschaltung des Modus beenden Sie Capture NX 2, gehen Sie im Finder auf das Capture NX 2 Programmsymbol, wählen Sie »Informationen« im Finder-Menü »Ablage« oder cmd + "i" und setzen Sie dann das Häkchen bei »Im 32-Bit-Modus öffnen«. Mit dem nächsten Start startet Capture NX 2 im 32-Bit Modus und Color Efex Pro 3.0 für Capture NX2 ist wieder verfügbar.

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Nikon 1 V1 vs. Olympus PEN EP-3: Image and video comparison

Nikon 1 V1 vs. Olympus PEN EP-3: Image and video comparison:

Nikon 1 V1 Vs. Olympus PEN EP-3

This is a follow up to the Nikon 1 V1 review. In this post we will show comparison images and video taken with the Nikon V1 w/ 10mm f/2.8 (two lens kit price: $996.95) and Olympus PEN EP-3 w/ 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens (one lens kit price: $899.99).

Still Image Comparisons

In the first half of the article, we discussed still image quality and compared the Nikon V1 and Olympus PEN EP-3 on paper. DR, SnR and Color Sensitivity numbers only tell half the story. How did the Nikon V1 fare against the Olympus PEN EP-3 with its larger µ 4/3rd sensor in real-life shooting?

NOTE: There is a difference in resolution between the Nikon V1 and the Olympus PEN EP-3. The Nikon V1 is 10.1 MP vs. Olympus EP-3's 12.3 MP. There is also a difference in focal lengths in this test. The Nikon 1-Nikkor 10mm f/2.8 pancake is mounted on the V1 (35mm equivalent: 27mm) and the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 pancake is mounted on the EP-3 (35mm equivalent: 34mm). I could have used a zoom lens on the V1 for this test to obtain the same equivalent focal length, but I didn't want to stop the cameras down in this low-light shooting environment. This would of meant longer exposure times, which would introduce more noise into each shot and Long Exposure NR would of tainted the test results even more. So, I opted to deal with the differences in focal lengths in favor of a more "true" test.

All images were shot @ f/2.8, in Aperture Priority mode. This was to insure each camera properly metered each shot itself; shooting in any other exposure mode would of tainted the results. These are JPEG images straight from the cameras - NO editing was performed on any of the images, just opened in Photoshop to re-size the images (bicubic) for web publication. The full-resolution images can be examined on Flickr.

Again, we are comparing JPEG test shots from each camera in Aperture Priority mode. The Olympus PEN EP-3 is under-exposing each shot. It's important to remember we are comparing each camera's ability to shoot this scene properly and are analyzing the results (i.e. noise, DR, proper exposure..etc). We did not "help" the EP-3 or the Nikon V1 in any way, the output you're seeing in these tests are exactly how they came out of the cameras. With that said, the loss of detail at higher ISOs in the EP-3 shots suggests more aggressive noise reduction. The under-exposure from the EP-3 would not effect the smearing of detail at high-ISO. Again, this is due to aggressive noise reduction.

High-ISO Noise

Full image comparison at different ISO settings (click on image for larger view):

Olympus PEN EP-3	Nikon 1 V1
EP-3 ISO-200 Full Image	Nikon V1 ISO-200 Full Image
EP-3 ISO-400 Full Image	Nikon V1 ISO-400 Full Image
EP-3 ISO-800 Full Image	Nikon V1 ISO-800 Full Image
EP-3 ISO-1600 Full Image	Nikon V1 ISO-1600 Full Image
EP-3 ISO-3200 Full Image	Nikon V1 ISO-3200 Full Image
EP-3 ISO-6400 Full Image	Nikon V1 ISO-6400 Full Image

100% center crop image comparison at different ISO settings (click on image for larger view):

Olympus PEN EP-3	Nikon 1 V1
EP-3 ISO-200 100% Center Crop	Nikon V1 ISO-200 100% Center Crop
EP-3 ISO-400 100% Center Crop	Nikon V1 ISO-400 100% Center Crop
EP-3 ISO-800 100% Center Crop	Nikon V1 ISO-800 100% Center Crop
EP-3 ISO-1600 100% Center Crop	Nikon V1 ISO-1600 100% Center Crop
EP-3 ISO-3200 100% Center Crop	Nikon V1 ISO-3200 100% Center Crop
EP-3 ISO-6400 100% Center Crop	Nikon V1 ISO-6400 100% Center Crop

Even though the Nikon V1 has a wider focal length, the V1 still retains more detail at high-ISOs and has much better Dynamic Range.

Video Comparisons | Rolling Shutter example

Posted by NikonRumors.com

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