My First iBook

Last summer I put together a book using Apple's Aperture professional photo software to show off the result of spending five days shooting the 2011 Indianapolis 500 practices and qualifying. I ordered a hardcover medium sized book to be able to show friends, family, and prospective clients. It cost $75 plus shipping and tax. I'm very proud of the book, yet there are several photos I wish I would have presented a little differently.

Jump forward to last Thursday and Apple's iBooks Author software release. The process of creating a book in Author isn't that much different from doing the same in iPhoto or Aperture. The templates aren't quite as handy for creating a photography book, as Author is trying to make it easy to create text books for schools initially. It doesn't take too much work to modify them and work around some of the shortcomings, which I'm sure will be addressed in future updates. Some of those include not being able to change the page color (you have to add a shape, send it to the background, and lock it), shapes and graphics cannot be used as links, there's no way to add author information unless publishing to the iBookstore, and the formatting of the including widgets are limited.

I set out to transform the printed book I created into an iBook. Staying up late a couple of nights was all the time it took me to create a pretty much 1-to-1 copy of the printed book. After downloading and looking through a couple sample textbooks from the iBookstore, I realized I could do a lot better. Electronic books have much more potential than sitting statically on the page. A couple more late nights provided all the time that was needed to make the majority of the photos tappable, which opens them full screen. That's how a photograph book should be. I filled out a glossary for the drivers that have their name in the book (there's no way to link a glossary "term" to a photo in the book unfortunately) with an unique photo I had taken. I added a short video shot with my iPhone trackside showing the cars zipping by at 225 miles per hour - getting to the speed and movement first hand and hear them is something a traditional book cannot offer. I also used one of the included widgets to create a multiple choice quiz that challenges readers to name the owner of the helmet shown. This was incredibly easy to build and should pull readers into the book even more. There's also a page of links to the internet for Indianapolis 500 based links - buy your tickets, see the track map, and read the latest news, as well as links to their Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages.

My time the past half week spent using iBooks Author was one of much more fun than frustration. This is a tool most anyone should be able to learn and use fairly quickly. The possibilities are endless - think of interactive manuals, company handbooks, text books for schools, photogrpahy books, and behind-the-scenes movie books.

Download my 2011 Indianapolis 500 photo book, take a look, and let me know what you think, either in the comments here or via email. I'd love to hear your feedback, not only on the photography, the book experience as well.

The link will download a zip file. Unzip it (it should automatically if you're on a Mac) and drag the .ibooks file to iTunes. Make sure you have the newest version of iBooks on your iPad - you can get it here if you haven't already. The drag the book from the Books section of your iTunes library to your iPad (the books only work on iPads, not iPhones, for now).

If you don't have an iPad, I exported a PDF version from iBooks Author for you. I'm not crazy about it, for several reasons. I'll make a PDF version of my original printed photo book available here soon.

Another Media Revolution?

Last Thusday Apple held a small press event in New York City focused on some education initiatives. They had several announcements, including a new digital textbook format, a revamped iTunes U, and an updated iBooks app for the iPad. The part of the announcement that I'm most excited about, and want to focus on here, is iBooks Author, Apple's new tool for creating interactive ebooks.

Like most Apple software, Author makes what was once a difficult, frustrating process and makes it so easy to create a polished ebook with interactive elements, it's fun! Author is right at home with Apple's iWork offering, especially Pages and Keynote, and can in fact use existing Pages and Keynote files so you can incoporate them in to a book via drag and drop. There are a few shortcomings, but they are minor, especially for a first release version of software, and do not stop you from completing the task at hand.

A completed book can be previewed on an iPad, exported as a PDF file, or published to the iBookstore, where, similar to the App Store, Apple takes a 30% cut of your sales for hosting the files, handling the money exchange, and the downlaod bandwidth. There has been a lot of talk about the licensing agreement, as books finished in Author cannot be sold anywhere except in the iBookstore.

So what does all of this mean? I believe this is the first shot in yet another media revolution. The video and music industries have been totally upheaved over the course of the last decade. Somehow the print and publishing industries managed to keep their lock-in intact. With iBooks Author and the iBookstore, anyone can be an author and publisher. Ever want to create and sell a book of your photography? You can now, practically for free.

Media creators should be jumping for joy, as these interactive books aren't just PDF files that you slide across your mobile device screen. No, they include video, audio, HTML5 code, slideshows that can have interactivity and feedback built in, quizzes, and an open toolset so you can build your own widgets.

I agree completely with Alex Lindsay and his take on all of this. This is an exciting time - an individual, with very little money (did I mention iBooks Author is free?!) can create stellar books (or apps, or music), have them on the iTunes Store or iBookstore, and be making money. That means more individual voices are heard, which provides us with rich views of the world as even more people can share theirs.

I'll be sharing the start of mine tomorrow.

The New Nikon D4 [updated]

Nikon finally got in to the HDSLR (DSLR cameras that shoot HD video) market in a serious way with the announcement of their new flagship model, the D4.Of course, Nikon was first to market with a video shooting DSLR camera in the D90, and while the effort was a good start from a company without professional video product background, Canon soon after released the 5D Mark II. Canon's full frame sensored camera and it's video features essentially created a new market over night, pushing aisde Nikon and it's APS-C sized sensor camera that had video in what seemed to be an after thought.

Nikon released two more cameras soon after - the D300S and the D3S, but both were limited to 720p video. There were also lots of complaints but the usual artifacting from these types of cameras - rolling shutter (the jello effect) and aliasing issues. Meanwhile, Canon continually rolled out new models, making the video in each model successively better. In September of 2010 Nikon introduced the D7000, an affordable HDSLR that was capable of 1080p, and was one of the first to implement auo-focus during video capture, as well as face-detection focus. Unfortunately, there were still several limitations in using the D7000. Changing focus modes and exposure are a pain, at best. I've shot several times with the D7000, each time being impressed and totally fustrated.

As a Nikon shooter that captures both still and video for a living, I've been anxiously waiting for a pro body that was at the top of the line for shooting stills, but also could be a great video camera, not just in terms of output, but in functionality too. I've been wanting to replace my aging Panasonic HVX200 for a few years now, just waiting for the right camera to come along. Is the D4 it?

It's too early to tell for sure - once I get a chance to shoot with it on a production I'll know more. On paper though, and from some of the early samples that have been released, it definitely looks like a winner on all fronts. On the still side it appears that Nikon has taken what was already the best still camera in the world, the Nikon D3S, and made several changes that should bring performance and quality improvements. A new 16.2MP sensor, increased ISO capabilities (now at 100-12,800, and can be extended out to 50-204,800!), a revised AF system, a brand new flash/metering system, a new image processor, in-camera HDR, and in-camera timelapse creation. The insides aren't the only thing that saw improvement - they re-thought the placement of controls on the back of the camera that make shooting in portrait mode identical to landscape mode. Wheels, joysticks, and buttons are now easier and quicker to use and much more ergonomic.

On the video side there is also a lot to be excited about. The D4 can shoot 1920 x 1080p at 24, 25, and 30 frames per second, and at 1280 x 720p can capture up to 60 frames per second. The most exciting feature though is a clean uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 signal out the HDMI port. This means that an uncompressed signal can be captured with an external recording device, like the AJA Ki Pro mini, for the highest quality possible. Uncompressed output allows you to bypass the relatively restrictive 24Mbps H.264 recording the camera does when recording to the compact flash card. It also bypasses the restricted maximum length recording time of 30 minutes. The D4 is currently the only DSLR camera with uncompressed out HDMI.

The D4 also has a few other tricks up it's sleeve. While recording you can change the ISO, shutter speed or aperture, and the aperture adjusts smoothly, Nikon calls it Power Aperture, producing a much less jarring change in exposure. There is a headphone jack for monitoring audio, which can be viewed on screen with a levels graphic and those levels can be adjusted during recording in 20 increments. The main buttons can be illuminated when shooting in a dark environment, which is very likely with the ISO range of this camera!

One final really cool feature is the ability to control the camera wired or wirelessly using any device with a web browser. Using either an ethernet cable from the camera to a laptop, or the new optional wireless transmitter to any wi-fi device (think iOS device here), you have direct control of all the camera functions, can see a live preview when the camera is switched in to LiveView mode, trigger recording, set focus points (by touching the screen of an iPad, for instance), or transfer images or video that reside on the camera. There is no special app that is needed, as the software is built in to the D4. Genius!

If you'd like to read or see more abou tthe Nikon D4, I'm including several links to articles and videos that I've found informational so far. I'm really loklin gforward to shooting with this ground-breaking camera.... and I'll be sure to let you know when I do!

Nikon USA's D4 page

Rob Galbraith D4 Overview

DPReview D4 Overview

DSLR News Shooter D4 Video Run Through Video

Nikon Rumors Article with links to several videos, including wireless control, menus, and 11fps burst

Corey Rich's Why Video, shot exclusively with the D4

Joe McNally Blog Post on his experience shooting with the D4

Bill Frake's Straw Hat Visuals D4 video from Istanbul

Update on Monday, January 16, 2012 at 11:59PM by Rob

A few new tidbits on the D4 that I learned today:

- When shooting video, a live histogram (among other options) can be displayed on the LCD

- There can be no cards in the camera when recording uncompressed out the HDMI port. Can't think of any good reason for this, but it was reported by someone who spoke to Nikon at ImagingUSA.

- The D4 can be kept in LiveView mode for 60 minutes before the camera forces the mirror to go back down.

More will be posted as I hear it!