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May 1, 2012
review: Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT
Summary: Right off the bat, let me say it – this speedlite, the Canon 600EX-RT (B&H), is going to change the industry. Nothing is going to be the same again.
A speedlite that has radio transmitters built in, has been anticipated for quite some time now. It just makes sense. So it was just a matter of time before one of the big camera manufacturers did this … and Canon is the first. And they didn’t drop the ball on the rest of the speedlite’s features, or with the functionality of this piece of gear. It’s easy to use, with an obvious menu – even for a complex flashgun like this.
Before the Canon 600EX-RT, we had various options how we could trigger our Canon Speedlites, but right now our option is clear – it’s the the Canon 600EX-RT (B&H)
About the photo at the top …
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April 22, 2012
Nikon D4 / Nikon D800 time-lapse photography – review
The highly anticipated Nikon D4 (B&H) and Nikon D800 (B&H) are loaded with features, and both cameras offer exceptional image quality. Hidden in the list of camera specs, is an item which is of specialized interest – Time-Lapse Photography. So if a photographer doesn’t have a specific interest in this, they are most likely just going to gloss over this – but this is quite a powerful feature.
With Time-Lapse photography, as with video, it just looks much more interesting if the camera moves as well. With movies too, the cinematography and how the camera moves, make all the difference. Last year some time, I stumbled on the Time-Lapse photography by MindRelic. The movement of the camera as the city scenes unfolded, blew my mind. This was done via a motorized dolly – specifically, the Dynamic Perception Stage Zero dolly. So of course, with no prior interest in Time-Lapse photography, I immediately bought a Stage Zero dolly. It all just looked that cool.
But then the winter approached and it was just too cold to venture outside at night to try out Time-Lapse photography. So the dolly lay dormant, still boxed, in my office. Until my Nikon D4 cameras arrived a few days ago!
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April 19, 2012
review: Canon PowerShot G1 X
A good all-around walk-about camera is something I’ve been looking for, for a while now. The Fuji X100 is arguably the most desirable of the compact cameras on the market right now, but only has a fixed lens … and some auto-focus issues in low light. But there are a number of other serious compact cameras on the market now.
As I mentioned in my recent review of the Fuji X10, this year is going to be an exciting year with all the major D-SLR releases from Canon and Nikon, as well as some high-spec mirror-less cameras. The Canon G1 X (B&H) and the Fuji X-Pro-1 (B&H) and Sony’s two cameras, the Sony NEX-5N (B&H) and Sony NEX-7 (B&H), all looks really good options for photographers who are serious about their photography, but want more compact options.
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I’ve had a loaner Canon G1 X (B&H) for the past few weeks, to see how I like it. What interested me most about the G1X is that the sensor size is just smaller than the Canon’s APS-C sensor. The larger sensor promises better image quality.
But a camera is quite often more than the sum of the parts – it should have a feel that appeals to the photographer.
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March 29, 2012
initial impressions: Canon EOS 5D Mark III – high-ISO noise performance
I have to confess something first – whenever an important camera is announced, I have just a cursory interest in the specification sheet. The difference between 40 AF sensors and 70 AF sensors … you know, that’s just a number on the paper. It never really tells you how the camera performs. And with the announcement of the details of the Canon 5D Mark III (B&H), there were a number of websites eager to list the detailed specs. Yay! Well, not really.
There might be some interest in the nomenclature, but what does it really mean that the 5D Mark II has the DIGIC 4 processor, but there’s a new DIGIC 5+ on the 5D Mark III. Those are just names to me. I can’t get excited about it, or even feign interest in the actual name. I’m much more interested in how the camera will actually perform. You can name it anything you want … but does the camera deliver?
Details for the photo at the top:
camera settings: 1/160 @ f2.8 @ 6400 ISO
Canon 5D Mark III (B&H); Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II (B&H) at 170mm
There is real excitement about the Canon 5D Mark III (B&H), since everyone is curious if it is that much of an improvement over the 5D Mark II. I have to say, I really think it is. It’s a massive improvement. The AF is more responsive. The camera *feels* better in my hands. The controls are better laid out … although the right forefinger still does too much work, stretching here and there, all over the top plate.
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February 17, 2012
exciting new cameras for photographers
This photo was taken at a recent workshop where I was one of the instructors. I used the new Fuji X10 camera (B&H) and when I zoomed in to check the image sharpness on the camera’s display, I was a little surprised at just how good it looked. Crisp! There wasn’t anything immediately obvious there that would reveal the photo wasn’t taken with A Big Camera.
This article was originally going to be a review of the Fuji X10 camera (B&H). However, with my workload, compiling material for a comparative review between the Fuji X10 and several other Point & Shoot cameras, took longer than I intended. And now we’re at a point where there’s a range of other truly impressive cameras to about to hit the market. With such a fast-paced release of new tantalizing cameras, it felt to me like a single review might’ve become a little redundant a few month later.
Of course, various cameras are aimed at different sectors of the market, so they are not all equal. But if we have a look at the results from this small-sensor Point & Shoot camera, then it’s a real surprise how good the image quality is … and then we have to wonder what the cameras coming up in the next year or so, will deliver.
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November 4, 2011
LensSkins
Wildlife photographers have had camouflage for their equipment for years now, but now photographers have the option of prettying up their photo gear as well. Lens Skins (B&H) are vinyl cut-outs that fit the shape and contours of a wide variety of lenses, and come in a huge variety of designs. The Lens Skins easily attach, and are easy to peel off again.
I was curious about getting one for my one lens – wondering whether people would react differently to a pretty camera rather than the menacing bulk of a big camera and lens. The Lens Skins are spendy, but my curiosity was piqued enough to get one.
Sometimes I feel like the photo-geek version of The Terminator when I arrive at a client’s home with two Nikon D3 bodies slung over my shoulders, each with an f2.8 zoom lens and flash. Maybe this psychedelic flowery pattern would be an ice breaker. And true enough, this lens is a conversation starter – kids to older folks ask me about it and strike up conversations. So perhaps it makes me look less intimidating. Really, who can be afraid of this big bad wolf if his camera looks pretty …
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October 10, 2011
Canon wireless e-TTL flash triggers / radio transmitters
A bridal portrait (taken during one of the photo sessions arranged by the Hudson Valley Click), where it is easy to see the advantage of using off-camera lighting.
The strong back-lighting is used as a way to highlight the background and have the rim-lighting etch our model against the background. Of course, having her turn her back to the sun also helps with not having our model squinting in the bright light. We immediately avoid unflattering hard light on her face. But we then do need to add off-camera lighting of some kind to cross-light her.
I used TTL flash here, since I often find this is the fastest and easiest way to get good flash exposure. The flash was diffused with a white shoot-through umbrella, and I used wireless TTL triggers to control my flash.
Let’s have a look at our current options that we have to trigger the off-camera TTL flash …
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September 9, 2011
Lea – moving portrait – Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II
Canon just released the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II (B&H), an update to an already highly-regarded lens, and I was able to get a review copy courtesy of B&H. I tried this lens out during a photo session with a model, Lea. Instead of just photographs, I decided to shoot video and create a “moving portrait” of her.
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September 1, 2011
lens review: Nikon 50mm f/1.4G vs Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
The 50mm lens in general is an interesting optic. Not necessarily for what it does, but how it seems to have fallen out and back in favor over the years. For example, in the 1970′s pretty much all 35mm film cameras shipped with a 50mm lens. Zooms weren’t something that just came with the camera as a kit lens. It was the 50mm lens that was the “kit lens”. So the first thing the serious amateur would do, is dump the 50mm lens and get a zoom lens to get some variety in their photographs.
Then over the years, more compact and slower aperture zooms became the norm. Even more so during the digital era.
Now, as more of the newer photographers are realizing that a 50mm lens is an inexpensive way of getting super-shallow depth-of-field, the 50mm lens is seeing something of a resurgence in popularity. That super-shallow DoF is a look that your f5.6 kit zoom lenses just can’t give you.
With that, a 50mm lens deserves a place in your camera bag. It takes up little space, and is (usually) inexpensive. (Well, until you step up to something like the Canon 50mm f1.2L … but that’s another story.)
Nikon just released the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G (B&H) as an update to the popular Nikon 50mm f1.8D (B&H), and as a more affordable option than the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (B&H) … so let’s look at how it performs.
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August 15, 2011
shooting in bright sunlight with flash
One of the most challenging lighting scenarios we’ll most likely encounter, is bright harsh sunlight. There are a couple of steps we can take to make things a lot easier for ourselves …
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