This theme changes WordPress so that it only displays the featured images on the main page and displays just the featured image with title and description below when clicked.

Download the Simplest Photo Gallery Theme for WordPress

See it in action at BanffPhotos.com

On my Olympus E-3 I can comfortably get 400~500 shots from one battery pack. Shooting like crazy, I struggle to reach 600 shots in a day. Even for all day events like weddings, I’m finding that there’s often a break in between with plenty of time to switch batteries. I always carry an extra in my slingbag.

On a few cameras, the battery grip will allow for faster FPS when shooting bursts. For most people it’s little more than a great big battery holder.

• airbag and brake dash lights are on intermittently
• battery dash light is on
• strange sulphur smell coming from the battery
• high voltage >14V when car is on
• no voltage at car battery (dead from overcharging)

Tools for Changing the Alternator

• 10mm, 12mm, 14mm shallow and deep sockets
• 3/8″ ratchets
• 3/8″ extension
• 14mm wrench

Estimated Time to Remove and Install Alternator

3.5 hours (at least that’s how long it took me doing this casually)
Air tools are not required and quite possibly impossible to use due to clearance for this fix.

Where is the Alternator in a B15 Nissan Sentra

It is located passenger side above the A/C compressor. It is clearly visible from the top of the engine bay. It’s about the size of a coconut and there are visible electrical coils.

Remove Negative Battery Terminal

Disconnect the terminal closer to the driver side using a 10mm deep socket.

Remove Alternator Bracket and Engine Ground

Remove 14mm bolt for engine ground near alternator bracket.
Remove two 12mm bolts attaching alternator to bracket to engine block. Note that the longer bolt attaches to alternator and shorter bolt attaches to engine block. These bolts are easiest removed with a socket. Unplug the plastic electrical plug on engine block found behind the alternator bracket.
This creates space to remove and install the alternator from the top later.

Disconnect Electrical Connection to Alternator

Remove the 12mm nut underneath the rubber red dome cover and unplug the plastic plug facing front of car located directly on the alternator itself. The 12mm nut is easiest removed with a socket and extension.

Remove A/C Compressor Bolts

Although the alternator is clearly visible and close to the top of the engine bay, there are two 14mm bolts holding the bottom of the alternator in place. One facing driver side, one facing passenger side. The lower 14mm bolt facing driver side is the biggest problem due to clearance. There’s a little more than 1 inch of space between it and the exhaust header. It is visible from the top, but you’ll need a REALLY long wrench and A LOT of patience to try and reach it through this space. So we’ll unbolt the A/C compressor and make some space for underneath the car. There are four 14mm bolts holding the A/C compressor in place, 2 on the top and 2 on bottom. The 2 bolts on top are visible through spaces from the top of the engine bay and reachable using a 3/8″ shallow socket. Anything bigger will bump into the fan. Loosen these long bolts and just leave it hanging inside the A/C compressor housing.

Now it’s time to get underneath the car. The 2 remain bolts holding the A/C compressor in place is easily reachable from beneath the car with a socket. Once the A/C compressor is unbolted, shift it around and unhook the belt from the pulley. You can now move the A/C compressor towards the front of the car and reach the driver side 14mm bolt on the lower part of the alternator. I ended up double wrenching this bolt from underneath. A snipe will work as well.

Remove Alternator

There is now just one 14mm bolt on the lower portion of the alternator holding it in place. The lower 14mm bolt facing passenger side is not visible, but easily accessible with a shallow socket. So use the force and feel for it. The alternator is now freed and you should be able to lift it out from the top fairly easily.

Install Alternator

Installation is the reverse of removal haha. Do pay attention as to which bolt goes where, they’re not all that interchangeable. These instructions are for the QG18DE with air conditioning, Sentras with the SR20DE or QR25DE will have slightly different specifics. No need to remove splash guards, heat shield or fan in case.

This second image marks this year as my switch to the Olympus E-3 and HG glass for rugged all-terrain all-weather shooting no matter where I am. This combo really tested my dedication to carrying a camera and sling around. Now I pocket the E-PL1 like a phone no matter where I go.

The third and last image will always remind me of my encounter with the one I call “Minolta Man” who turned my view of strangers and photography upside down and led me to weird and wonderful events around Calgary like the Chestermere Water Festival, Langdon Days, and Tsuu Tina Rodeo Pow Wow this summer. I keep 3 photos on my memory card at all times (this is one of them) in the event that I should run into the Minolta Man again some day.

Night light photography can be a very challenging endeavor and requires a bit of patience, but no specialized equipment is required. You basically just need a camera, a tripod is nice, but not required.

Night Light Photography Equipment

Below is what I use for night light photography:

• Olympus E-3 DSLR body
• Olympus 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 zoom lense
• Maybe a Gorilla SLR-Zoom tripod

Choosing a Lens for Night Light Photography

I like to use a wider lens for night light photos, because it’s usually a larger scene where the lights are mounted to buildings and you won’t get the full effect with a telephoto lense. That can be a nice shot too, but that’s for a different post. A wider local length also has an added benefit of allowing slower shutter speeds while handholding the camera. This is one situation where image stabilization comes handy, nothing is moving and the shutter speeds are slow. If you have it, use it! It’ll do in a pinch if you don’t have a tripod with you.

Focusing on Night Light Photography

Manual focus works best for night light photography, the Olympus E-3 is luckily good enough that auto focus does still work most of the time. DSLR’s and cameras in general have a tough time focusing in indoor low light never mind full on dark night light. Save yourself some frustration and go manual focus if your camera isn’t behaving after trying 2~3 shots. A lot of auto-focus issues has to do with the lens as well, so you’ll need to try out the AF autofocus with each lens on your camera body. E.g., my Sigma 105mm has no chance in autofocusing in anything but bright light, but all the Olympus high grade lenses work just fine even in dark street light.

Lighting for Night Light Photography

I just use ambient light if I’m taking pictures of night lights. Night portraits are a different beast and does require more lighting, but for night lights just turn that flash off and let the night lights shine through. It’s usually still buildings, so no need to use a flash to capture “action” either.

ISO Settings for Night Light Photography

I try to keep it ISO400 and below for low noise. In low light situations, a lot of your scene will be underexposed causing noise to show up.

Aperature Settings for Night Light Photography

Unless I’m going for the star burst effect, I stick with widest aperature possible. In my case f2.8. Since the subject is basically the size of buildings, you’ll be fairly far away. Depth of field shouldn’t be a concern even at f2.8

Shutter Speed Settings for Night Light Photography

I’m a bit shaky, so when just handholding the camera, I’d use 1/15 with image stabilization turned on along with 14mm focal length. That should be plenty for sharp pictures.

Popular Photography
http://www.popphoto.com/contests

PhotoLife
http://www.photolife.com/contests.php

Photography Competitions
http://www.photographycompetitions.net/contest/eligibility/canada/

Vistek
http://www.vistek.ca/marketing/contests/photo-contest/

The Camera Store
http://www.thecamerastore.com/photocontest

• Olympus E-3
• Olympus E-PL1
• Olympus High Grade 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 MK I
• Olympus High Grade 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 MK I
• Olympus m.zuiko 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 MK I
• B+W #110 ND Filter 67mm
• B+W Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Filter 67mm
• Joby Gorilla SLR Zoom
• Joby Gorilla Ballhead

I love the Olympus E-3 to bits, really enjoy the weather sealing and general toughness. The full metal body feels like a real camera of the days past. It’s quick when focusing and shooting action. This thing came out way back in 2007, but still has features like live-view and a flip out screen, even remote flash. SWD lenses are tempting, but not enough for me to re-buy a lens. The Mark I versions of these lenses are pretty cheap and still focuses quite fast. I can comfortably shoot outside in the pouring rain and not worry about wetness protection with this combo. There’s just some shots that are cooler in the rain.

The Olympus E-PL1 goes in my jacket pocket A LOT these days when I’m out and about and don’t feel like carrying the E-3 sling. The 14-42mm is surprisingly good, still WAY ahead of any point and shoots I’ve seen. The in body image stabilization is nice and indoor portraits are great. Excellent little camera to take to restaurants for food shots.

I also carry around a couple knickknacks like extra battery pack, lens pen, lens cloth and IR remote. Clean lenses are very important and you never know when you might need that extra battery.

Why are you using that Lens?

I chose to go with the 14-54mm and 50-200mm combo, because they share the same filter size of 67mm and it gives me pretty good coverage across the 28-400mm EFL range without much overlap. Sure the 12-60mm SWD is nicer, faster and sharper, but it’s not THAT much better than the 14-54mm. Besides, the 14-54mm might actually be brighter on the long end. Plus, the 14-54mm MK I can be had used for about $300, a real bargain for this quality of lens!

What Lenses Should I Buy?

For people who want to travel light and perhaps on a budget, I would recommend two lenses. One in the “normal” focal ranges something like 24-70mm in 35mm terms and a telephoto lens in the 70-200mm range. That’s quite a lot of coverage with just two zoom lenses. I used to only shoot with primes when shooting 35mm film, but zoom lenses these days are plenty sharp enough for what I do. So just two zoom lenses will allow you to shoot basically anything minus maybe macro shots. If you can have three lenses in your arsenal, add a dedicated macro lens, zooms can get close, but not quite.

What is Best Between Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony?

Depends what you’re talking about. All the major manufacturers do make good quality camera bodies and lenses, let’s just start with that. They will all take nice photos. For non-professional photographers, any one of them will do. For people making a living from taking pictures, they’ll probably go with Canon and Nikon. There’s simply no larger support base than those two. They make tons of bodies and lenses, and have support centres throughout the world. Plus, with such a large user base, it’s really easy to find a place to rent an expensive lens to try out or buy on the new / used market. I would encourage all newcomers to start with Canon / Nikon if you don’t know if photography is for you. Their resale value remains relatively high. Their entry level bodies are very capable.

Why are you Shooting Olympus?

Completely terrible resale value which is great for me buying used. But once the price hits bottom, it doesn’t really go down much, I can probably resell all my stuff close to what I paid for it if I decide to upgrade. The quality of lenses and body you get for the money just can’t be beat. I’m not a full-time professional photographer by any means, perhaps just an enthusiastic amateur. Cost matters! I don’t get cameras and lenses for free like some of the pros do. There’s only a handful lenses in the world from any manufacturer that’s sharper and nicer than the 14-54mm and 50-200mm. All of which is more than twice what I paid for these guys used. No, it’s not a constant max aperture of f2.8, but f3.5 on the long end is still quite nice, a whole lot better than f5.6 max.

What Filters Should I Buy?

In the digital age, I would skip all the colour filters, and since I’m pretty careful with my cameras, I’ll skip all the clear filters like UV as well. The only few worth buying now include ND or Neutral Density and Circular Polarizer. Those affect photos in ways not easily reproduced in post processing. Only buy the highest quality of filter that you can afford. Stick with B+W, Heliopan, and Hoya. You don’t want nasty low quality filters in front of your nice lens.

Four Thirds 4/3 Sensor is Too Small

Maybe. For me it’s fine, you can still shoot in relatively dark areas, your Olympus body should have IS Image Stabilization. I can comfortably shoot ISO 800 with the Olympus E-3. The 2X crop factor helps with the telephotoness of my longer lens. Compared to APS-C crop factors of 1.6X and 1.5X there really isn’t too much difference at all. I can still comfortably make prints at 8 x 10, for web use I have the camera set to 1280 x 960 for RAW+JPEG, that’s basically 1 Megapixel haha. If you’re wanting to do gigantic prints like 36″ x 24″, full frame is still not really enough to get 300dpi. If I need stuff that big, I’d use 645 medium format or stitch a whole bunch of smaller pictures together.

Is Canon or Nikon Better?

If I was to ever switch away from Olympus or add to my arsenal, I would go Canon. They’ve got a 65mm 1-5X Macro lens. That’s 5X magnification, completely insane! The highly touted Canon 5D would be my full frame camera of choice with the 24-70mm f2.8 lens. Large sensor cameras are absolutely terrible for telephoto use, you’ll need a massive MASSIVE lens. But for normal everyday use, that would be the full frame digital camera that I would currently consider. Canon L series lenses are very nice and easily accessible. The X0D offerings like 40D, 50D, and 60D are quite interesting 1.6X crop bodies as well. Featuring metal bodies and weather sealing too. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t like the backwardness of the Nikon lens mount.

Top 4 Micro Stock Agencies

• Dreamstime
• Fotolia
• iStockPhoto
• Shutterstock

Smaller Micro Stock Agencies

• 123RF
• Alamy
• BigStockPhoto
• CanStockPhoto
• Crestock

I’m just starting, so please do let me know if I’m way off on what micro stock sites are out there.

Insect macro photography is a very challenging endeavor and requires plenty of patience and a bit of specialized equipment. This is much more demanding than still macro photography where the subject is not moving.

First, you’ll need a lens with high enough magnification that the bug isn’t just a speck on the screen.
Second, you’ll need LOTS of light. Either use a lamp, bright sun, or a flash.

You need WAY more light, because the insect will likely be moving and you’ll need a rather fast shutter speed to capture the action and also to avoid blurring from camera shake.

Insect Macro Photography Equipment

Below is what I use for insect macro photography:

• Olympus E-3 DSLR body
• Olympus 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 zoom lense
• Olympus FL-36r remote flash
• Sigma 105mm 1:1 Macro Lens

Choosing a Lens for Insect Macro Photography

Any macro lens capable of 1:1 or even 1:2 reproduction should do from the big brands like Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax. Even third party lenses like Sigma and Tamron are worthy of consideration in the macro lens category.

For insect macro photography, I would not want a macro lens less than 50mm. There’s just simply not enough working distance to not frighten off the bugs. Plus, I don’t REALLY want to be THAT close to a bug either. The Sigma 105mm f2.8 is probably the best bargin out there for a 1:1 macro lens.

Focusing on Insect Macro Photography

Use manual focus only for macro photography as autofocus in almost all cases of macro photography is completely useless.
Set the lens to the magnification that you want and move the camera back and forth until the image is sharp.
Since this is live insect macro photography, you’re probably not using a tripod and the camera is just handheld.

Lighting for Insect Macro Photography

Light is always a problem in macro photography, there’s never enough. Try to point your flash unit down enough to light bugs in front of you or if you’re lucky enough to have a remote flash put it off to the side or above. Take some test shots as always with flash and hopefully things will work out. The sun is always a good source of light, even starting out try going out on a bright sunny day and away from the shade for the best insect macro pictures.

ISO Settings for Insect Macro Photography

Bugs are fast enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to go to ISO 800 on the Olympus E-3. Canon and Nikon users shouldn’t have much problems going to ISO 1600. Although camera are spec’ed to some ridiculous ISO numbers, they look horrible and way too noisy. Use only as a last resort.

Aperature Settings for Insect Macro Photography

You’ll want to get more in focus by using a small aperature like f11 or f16. Most lenses hit their diffraction limit by about f16 and starts to get softer in sharpness as you increase to f22 which defeats the whole purposes of trying to get more in focus. Since you’ll be wanting to use small aperatures, you’ll NEED LIGHT!

Shutter Speed Settings for Insect Macro Photography

You might be able to get away with not using a flash if it’s bright and sunny, but a flash helps makes things A LOT easier. Shutter speed depend a lot on the insects you’re trying to capture, I’d go no slower than 1/250 for the slow moving bugs and about 1/2000 for the crazy fast ones. For the fast bugs you’re going to need more light!

Take the picture! Keep your camera on burst and hope for the best, especially if the bugs you’re trying to photograph are running around like crazy.