Disaster Averted

I just took off my 70-200 mm lens. And Oh Dear… what did I almost miss?

All the screws holding the base on were loose, ready to fall out. All four of them!

Solution is simple: a screwdriver.

Disaster averted. It was ready to fall off!

I recommend you all feel your lenses for looseness at the base, and if they are a little loose, check the screws. In fact – check the screws anyway. Especially on the 70-200, but I shall now go check all my 7 lenses.

PS: photos taken with 1Dx at 32,000 ISO. Yes, 32000!

 

1Dx New Function

One function I have had on Nikon bodies, and which Canon has now added to the 1Dx body, and very well indeed, is the “multiple exposure” function.

I can take several functions and put them together. I get to choose how; here I chose “two shots” and “additive”. I then put the camera on a tripod, told it to shoot one stop too dark (because I will be adding two shots!), and shot this:

Then without moving the camera I shot this:

Then the camera put them together for me:

Fun.

But why not do it in Photoshop?

Well… first, you would have to do it in Photoshop, which is work. More importantly, the camera actually makes a new RAW file, not just a JPG, so if I need, I get to adjust it the way I can adjust any other image.

I can see that I can have fun with this. The “how to add” options include bright, dark, additive, and average. The number of exposures can be set also. I can decide whether or not to keep the originals as well. And to do this in the 1Dx brings me back to film days, but better.

And of course if you do not have a camera that can do this, you can do it in Photoshop. Have you ever done this? Can you find cool uses for it?

Here’s another one, a ghost.

Have fun making your own.

 

Speedlighter

I call this column speedlighter for a reason. Many, many of my shots are made with small flashes, “speedlights”.

Like this one, of the model by a door at an abandoned house;

To get the moody look, I used

  1. The Canon 1Dx with a 24-70 f/2.8 lens
  2. The camera set to manual, 200 ISO, f/5.6, 1/200th second.
  3. A 600EX speedlight on the Camera, used only as a master (flash disabled other than that)
  4. A 580EX speedlight on a lightstand, fired into an umbrella; used as slave
  5. Simple automatic TTL flash metering!

A pre-shoot setup test shot shows the light dropoff, and you can just about see the flash/stand on the right:

This was daylight, but the flash allows me to make the daylight basically disappear.

That’s the power of light, the power of added light, the power of flash: I do not like to think of what life was like before this. And a single speedlight, light stand, mounting bracket, and umbrella is all you need – and this is really speedy. They are called speedlights for a reason!

 

Fear ISO? Or not?

Here’s the 1Dx, a photo I shot yesterday at, wait for it, 12800 ISO:

Looks good. Now of course when you look at it real size, you see some grain at this high ISO. You can click through twice in order to see “original size”, that is real pixel size.

But with Lightroom noise cancellation you get this:

Either way, completely usable!

Now your camera may not do QUITE as well, but nevertheless I urge you to try. Go to your highest ISO setting, then back off a stop or two, and now try the same.  You will be surprised at how high a modern camera can go without awful noise. And.. grain is always preferable to motion blur.

 

 

 

New: 1Dx, first impressions

I picked up my new Canon 1Dx camera a few hours ago, and here are my very first impressions. There will be more review posts later on – but first impressions are very important. So in random order:

First the physical. I love the feel. Very good, better than any previous 1-body. And the shutter sound is better, too. The viewfinder is a marvel: bright. wonderful full frame-ness. Love.

The buttons are much better also: they stick out more and are differentiated. There is a new button to set image quality. A Quick button. The buttons next to the top LCD have only one function each, now. All perfect! Many new additions, like an Ethernet port (and options to connect WiFi and GPS equipment) make this a whole new camera.

There is now a separate joystick to move focus point etc. when you hold the camera in portrait (vertical) orientation, and other buttons are duplicated as well, even the DOF preview and function button. Niiice.

This camera now uses two CF cards, no longer a CF plus an SD. I like this – retrograde step perhaps in some views, but CF cards are more solid, faster, and better, and now I just need to worry about one type of card, not two.

I am less pleased with the “zoom in” function, but no doubt I shall get used to that also. Instead of a separate “+” and “-” zoom button, there is just ONE zoom button, and then you use the small command dial at the front to zoom in and out. Like on a point and shoot. Perhaps it is better – we’ll see what I think after a few weeks.

And then the menus.

They are clear as Canon menus always are. I am less pleased that the menu tabs are now divided into less intuitive “sub-tabs”, but that is minor and I am already used to it. The “Info for HELP text” function is cool.

I am delighted that AF functions have now all been grouped into one large tab, and am very happy with the presets (above), that take the thinking out of what I need to do to set up the little tuning paramaters to meet specific situational needs.

A few default setup options are wrong. For example, you really need to set the custom controls to allow the joystick to move the single focus point you have selected, without first having to press other buttons. That should have been the default. And you probably want to turn off rotating the image on playback so you get maximum benefit from that large, crisp, sharp LCD. And if you shoot RAW, turn off ALO (Auto Lighting Optimizer), so you don’t fool yourself into thinking your images are good when they are not. More about changes from default in a later post.

Now for how it works. First, as said, it is quick, responsive, and it sounds good. First: wow, I see no noise at 1600 ISO and acceptable noise up to very high ISO settings. 6400 ISO and a large print? Surely not? Yes, that is what I am seeing. This is a game-changer. That is why this camera has fewer pixels than the 1Ds Mark 3 – fewer, but still plenty, and much less noisy.  Roll on, next weddings!

12800 ISO, SOOC

51200 ISO, Noise Cancellation applied in Lightroom

Colour: Not that it matters for me as  RAW shooter, but auto white balance is spot on, much better than in previous 1-series bodies. Which means less post work for me! The improvements of the 7D and 5D Mark 3 have obviously been incorporated here, and I am delighted.

My greatest source of delight, however, is that – wait for it – this is a Canon SLR whose autofocus appears to me to be entirely reliable. I have so far shot around 100 images at wide apertures (up to f/1.2), and guess what: 99 out of those 100 are tack sharp, exactly where I want them to be.  Which is amazing – I have been jealous of Nikon shooters who have been able to take this for granted. I am still just getting to know my 1Dx, but so far it seems like its autofocus ability is truly amazing.

I think that as first impressions go, this is the best I have ever written. Canon has a winner here, it seems to me, and I look forward to shooting, and sharing, and reviewing as we go along.


PS: I do not need four cameras, so my 1Ds Mark III and my 1D Mark IV are both for sale. Perfect working order, low actuations, normal external wear, all complete. Interested? Let me know!

POSTSCRIPT: The 1D Mark 4 is sold; now just the 1Ds Mark 3 remaining.


 

Why fast wide?

A wide-angle lens is simple to use, as you have amply read here. Easy to focus (“zero to infinity at f/5.6”), and easy to shoot at slow shutter speeds.

So why splash out on an f/2.8 lens instead of, say, a 3.5-5.6 lens, or an f/4 lens?

Precisely because it is so easy to get “sharpness all over”. What if I want blurred backgrounds? Like in this shot?

For that shot I held the iPhone as close at the 16-35mm f/2.8 lens would focus (namely, at 28cm from the camera). I used f/2.8, wide open, and that plus the close proximity to the phone gives me acceptable blur in the background. f/4 or f/5.6 would be a whole lot sharper in the background; in this case, that would be undesirable.

 

Interacting….

And now…. these important messages from… me.

Since this is a free teaching blog, I feel justified in occasionally pointing out how you can hire me. That’s the price you pay (that, and tell all your friends to follow this blog too).

So. If you want to interact with me to learn in person, or to hire me to shoot, here’s how you can do it.

Learning:

  • Do private coaching with me. September and October dates available.
  • If you are in the Toronto area, come join me at The Distillery, where I am doing my exhibit. This week only: two hours coaching right there in The Distillery  for a reduced price of $150 (normally $190).
  • If you are in The Netherlands, come see me at my seminar there on September 1st – sign up now, there is space!
  • Come to the Niagara School of Imaging starting Sunday – there is still space.
  • Join me at my series of Seminars at Vistek Mississauga: Sep/Oct/Nov dates about to be published soon.
  • Sign up at Sheridan College for one of my 12-week courses there.

Book:

  • Buy my book – “Camera Cookbook” eBook will be out very soon, final edit is now being done. It will be for sale right here.

Shooting:

  • Hire me to shoot your engagement, family shoots, or wedding – see www.tolivetolove.com. Because Kristof B and I just set up this endeavour, we have dates available even in the next few months!
  • Hire me to do headshots, events, or corporate photography: see www.mvwphoto.com
  • You can buy my artwork. At my current exhibit until early September – see www.michaelsmuse.com – or direct from me, see here.

Now copy all that, and continue reading the blog. You have read older posts as well, yes? It’s all very useful!

And now, back to regular programming!

Michael


Snapping Away…

…at The Distillery. Today, on the short walk from my car to the gallery, I used my wide angle lens, the 16-35 mm lens, set to 16mm.

Close to a car, that leads to distortion:

When faced with a large area, when not close to anything, you do not get that, but you can get it all in. I preferred the Distillery without that huge new skyscraper next to it, by the way.

And “wide” allows you to get “into” a scene. Like in this shot: if it had a coffee on this table, I would imagine myself sitting there:

And when I aim close to the ground, and shoot from close to the ground, the ground seems to come up at me:

…and you can see the depth in a street (and the “rule of thirds” in the composition):

…and get an appreciation of the high gallery ceilings:

(yes, my works are still for sale at The Kodiak Gallery – I shall be there noon-6pm every day this week).

None of those shots could have been done in quite the same way without that wide a wide angle lens. 16mm on a full-frame camera means 10mm on a “crop” camera, which you are most likely to have.  So a 10mm lens will give you the ability to:

  1. Get it all in
  2. Show depth
  3. Show people or items “surrounded by their environment”
  4. Shoot at slow shutter speeds (lke 1/10th sec) without blur
  5. Get great depth of field (“sharp-o-matic” even at f/5.6 or f/4!)

That is why if you do not yet have a wide angle lens, a 10-20 (or if you have a full-frame camera a 16-35),  you might consider adding one. I shall not stop saying it!

 

Trixie….

Okay, here’s a simple trick shot for you.

How did I get the bulb to light up without it being connected?

Simple. Like this:

I used an LED flashlight behind the (frosted) bulb. That makes it look like the bulb itself is lit. 6 second exposure, 200 ISO, f/5.6.

Sometimes “simple” is all it takes.

 

Lightroom and Products

Can you keep product shots simple?

Sure. When I shoot products, I might, for instance, use a simple setup not unlike this:

That is a simple table with a white sheet for the product; then a reflector behind. The product is lit by, in this case, one light with a softbox; while the background is lit by a single light aimed straight at it. (To keep it simple, the lights are both fired by their slave cell; I fire a speedlight on the camera, set to manual 1/128th power, at the ceiling for this.) I use manual on the camera; f/8 at 1/200th sec (ambient light is completely dark with this setting).

In order to remove any wrinkles from my background, and in order for it to disappear, let’s assume that (as often is the case) I want it to be completely blown out. Featureless. Like this, if I turn on the highlight warning in Lightroom:

Alas, by default Lightroom 4 protects me against myself. It stops me from blowing out the background and if there is any detail left in the background, I get it back, whether I like it or not! So the red areas will not show.

Silly choice, Adobe. I’ll be the judge of what adjustments I want, thank you.

But there is a way to get back my overexposure: turn up “whites” in the Develop Module’s Basic pane:

In this case I had to turn up the “Whites” setting to +75 to get back the picture above (which corresponds to the way I saw it on the camera’s back).

I turned on the line surrounding the picture, else it would vanish into the page (which is why I overexpose it in the first place).

Another simple product option: I used a light table with a curved back, another option, today during the class I taught at Vistek:

Again, a simple solution: a speedlight connected to the camera via a cable, and a Honl Traveler 8 softbox on the speedlight. Everything handheld.

So yes, youcan keep product shots simple.