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Review: Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash

July 23, 2018 Neil vN 8 Comments

Review: Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash

Before we get into this review of the Canon 470EX-AI speedlite (B&H / Amazon), I need to mention that I wanted this review video to be more than just a listing of the features of this flash. We therefore also delve into bounce flash technique. So there is something here even for those photographers who don't shoot Canon, or have no real interest in getting this flash. So please do check the video out. I was really curious to get to play with the Canon 470EX-AI speedlite (B&H / Amazon) for a review,  Read more inside...

Review: Canon 135mm f/2L vs. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

June 26, 2016 Neil vN 47 Comments

Review: comparison Canon 135mm f/2L vs. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

One lens that has a huge loyal fanbase, is the Canon 135mm f/2L USM lens  (B&H / Amazon). It has a wide aperture for a medium telephoto lens, and the lens is small and compact. Unassuming. Easy to love. Then the inevitable question comes up from photographers stepping into getting their first telephoto lens - which is the better choice?  How does the Canon 135mm f/2L compare to the  Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II zoom? The advantages to the  Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II  (B&H / Amazon) is  Read more inside...

review: Best Canon 50mm lenses – lens sharpness

April 1, 2016 Neil vN 10 Comments

review: Best Canon 50mm lenses - lens sharpness

Continuing on from the review of the bokeh of Canon 50mm lenses, let's have a look at image sharpness. Clearly, there is more to deciding on a lens than just sharpness, and we discussed one of those aspects in that article on bokeh. Often it comes down to a balance between your budget, and what you expect from the lens - but usually, image sharpness is the key factor. It could be argued that 50mm is a less thrilling focal length - not wide enough for scenic views, nor long enough to compress perspective. Still, a 50mm lens is often  Read more inside...

review: Canon 50mm lenses – bokeh

November 26, 2015 Neil vN 21 Comments

review: Canon 50mm lenses - bokeh

This photo of a street performer in New York was shot with a 50mm lens. That should be fairly obvious from a quick scrutiny - the perspective (which is not wide, and neither tight); and the shallow depth of field. That sort of gives away that a 50mm lens was most likely used for this loosely composed candid portrait. Now, I have to admit that I have this strange love-disinterest relationship with the 50mm focal length. Not quite love-hate, but more a frustration at times with the 50mm as the main lens to use. It feels like it is either not wide  Read more inside...

review: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS

July 22, 2014 Neil vN 22 Comments

review: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS

With this wide-angle zoom, I felt like Canon redeemed itself. And you may well wonder why I have such a strong opinion about this. Well, my experience with Canon over the years has been a clouded one. A number of years back I moved back to Nikon again when I couldn't handle the Canon 24-70mm f2.8L going out of calibration every so often. Then, there was the untrustworthy AF performance of the Canon 1D mark III. In fact, I'm still waiting for Canon to send me an apology note for that camera. In fact, for all three bodies that I owned. But I digress  Read more inside...

Photo session: Urban ballerina – Viktoria

September 9, 2013 Neil vN 5 Comments

Photo session: Urban ballerina - Viktoria

Late afternoon in New York, with the sun-light glinting off the glass buildings - dramatic light for a ballerina in an urban setting. However, the sunlight that was reflecting off the buildings wasn't consistent, and did not necessarily fall in a place where we could use it. So I created my own with an off-camera speedlight just out of the frame - but positioned so that it intentionally flared, and also gave beautiful rim-light on Viktoria. The pull-back shot shows how the speedlight was set up, and my own position, low down on the ground,  Read more inside...

ISO comparison – various Canon and Nikon cameras

July 6, 2013 Neil vN 21 Comments

ISO comparison - various Canon and Nikon cameras

I had a number of people ask about more details about the Canon 6D and whether I would recommend the Canon 6D (affiliate), or Canon 5D mark III (affiliate). It's tough enough to give advice at best of times, since the decision to buy a top-notch camera is a nuanced one. There are so many factors that come into play - your budget, weight of the camera; ergonomics; features & specification. Everyone has a different requirement of their camera gear. So when I was able now to get my hands on a broad enough  Read more inside...

Using the Canon EOS 6D in movie mode

March 4, 2013 Neil vN 15 Comments

 

Using the Canon EOS 6D in movie mode

To test the Canon EOS 6D camera (B&H / Amazon), and the Canon 24-70mm f4.0L IS lens (affiliate), I met up with Anastasia Z in New York. She had such presence and confidence, that while shooting stills of her earlier in the day, I had an idea of a video sequence we could do. And with that, here is an overview of how well the Canon 6D fares as a video camera. So when the light levels starting falling this afternoon, we went to Times Square, which is always insanely lit up by the numerous billboards. An ever-changing  Read more inside...

review: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

November 25, 2012 Neil vN 27 Comments

review: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

It was with great excitement that I received a review copy of the new Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II (B&H / Amazon) lens. There were several reasons that this highly-anticipated lens interested me. My experience with Canon gear has been ... let's just say it's been an uneven experience at times. There are specifically two lenses that got my ire - the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II and the (original) Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 The older Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 has a bit of a reputation. While some people love it, others hate it for being an inconsistent lens.  Read more inside...

Canon vs Nikon

November 23, 2012 Neil vN 41 Comments

Canon vs Nikon: my experience using both the Canon and Nikon systems

It seems that whenever I post here about using either Canon or Nikon gear, or when I'm seen with either, that some people are surprised that I'm using the other brand. Just to mess with everyone, here is a snap of me carrying a Nikon D4 and a Canon 1Dx, each with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. If I look a little gung-ho there, I most certainly do look happy with all those toys ... appropriately enough, in front of Toys'R'Us in Times Square. The gleeful smile is mostly because I still have the same enthusiasm and  Read more inside...

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