Category Archives: Gear

Add a splash

Posted on by
Reply

I recommended recently that you might want to add a  splash of colour every now and then. So here’s an example.

Our Christmas “tree”, lit with just a bounce flash. The background is exposed properly (I used -1.3 stops exposure compensation in Av mode). But still: kinda bland, no?

So let’s add a dash of colour. A pocketwizard connected to the camera, and one behind the tree connected via a hotshoe cable to a 430EX flash. The flash was on manual at 1/16th power, and on the flash I had a Honl Photo speed strap with a Honl Bright Red gel conveniently velcro’d on. Now we’re talking!

If I had had more cables (I am awaiting a shipment of hotshoe cables…) I would have added a green one as well. But this is already much better thwanwhat I had before.

Oh and just to show what the flash alone would have done: if I disable the bounce flash, here’s what that same shot would look like:

Bit overly dramatic, but add some more light and it has potential!

Here’s the setup:

(Small note: I have, I must admit, found the X-sync to Pocketwizard contact unreliable and I am not entirely sure why: Maybe the connector itself? But the hotshoe contact is flawless.)

And finally. I wanted red and green, but had only one working flash I could drive with a pocketwizard.

Solution?

Which, after a bit of back and forth with manual exposure, flash compensation, and remote flash power, gives me this:

Or, if you prefer a brighter room, this:

You see how much fun playing with colour and light can be?

Next year again

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s the setup I described earlier, that I used to shoot the Santa pics. My tripod-mounted (and cable-fired) Canon 1Ds MkIII and twin Bowens Gemini 400 Ws strobes into umbrellas, fired with Pocketwizards. The camera is powered with the mains adapter so it never turns off.

And here for good measure is pone ore shot I took there, showing Santa and an admirer:

Ho Ho Ho!

What memory cards do I need?

Posted on by
Reply

This is a frequently asked question. Like many such questions, it has some suggestions rather than one definitive answer. And those suggestions are:

  1. Buy brand name cards. Lexar and Sandisk are the main brands, and they are very good electronically. They have anti-aging mechanisms built in that some cheaper cards do not.
  2. Get a lot of them. Often, I would rather have two 8GB cards or even four 4GB cards than one 16GB card. This spreads your risk. Memory cards die, get lost, get stolen, and so on.
  3. Speed is less important unless you shoot sports (many repeated shots) or video. For video, the sustained throughput (the small 1-9 number surrounded by a circle) is very important. But if you do not shoot video or constant shutter mode shots such as in sports, speed only affects the read/write time from buffer to card and from card to computer, (not the quality) and you may well prefer a $30 “slow” card ran a $150 “Super Generation 6 Extra Extreme Screaming Speed Pus Pro” card.
  4. That said, I think everyone should have one very fast card – for when you shoot repeated large images.
  5. Do not open the camera when the LED at the back, that indicates “wait, I am writing to the card” turns off.
  6. Format your card every time you re-insert it into the camera – but only after you have copied all you images to the computer and made a backup.
  7. Use a CF/SD card reader for connecting to the computer. Many people find this more convenient than connecting the camera. The choice is yours, though.

I hope that is useful – and remember, shoot a lot and fill those cards, especially this season.

Question du jour

Posted on by
Reply

Reader bkkphotographer ask this:

A friend in Bangkok is replacing his 5D Mark 1 with a newer body. He offered to sell me the 5D.

1. I think the 5D would be a step-up from my 30D in terms of quality, even if it is the original model.
2. BUT I don’t have the L lenses that would use its capabilities and I might be disappointed. True?
3. Would you ever consider a second-hand body? If so what checks should I do before buying?

My take:

Yes, the 5D is great. I used to own one – great camera. Just because there is a 5D MkII and soon a MkIII, MkIV and MkV, no reason that the 5D will not do what it always does. And it is full frame.

Grab it if it is good. You will not be disappointed. Even without “L” lenses. For instance, the 50mm f/1.8 lens is what I used today all day to do pro shots. This is the cheapest lens Canon sells. It is brilliant. And this is a full frame camera, so 50 would be 50.

What to watch for? The 5D had a service recall – the mirror can let go. Free fix by Canon. Has this been done. And the 5Dis a bit of a dust magnet. Is the sensor clear? And do you have a new battery?

Take some test shots, check accurate focus etc; find out above the above, have Canon do the fix if needed; buy a new battery if needed; and go for it. Great camera.

Vision

Posted on by
Reply

I have pointed out before that camera makers have no vision. There is irony in that.

One example of this lack of vision is their software. Because I am shooting kids with Santa tomorrow, I am looking for a good tethering solution, so I can attach my 1Ds MkIII to the Macbook Air and see the shots immediately – so the parents can choose.

So I download install Canon EOS utility, which allows tethering my camera to my computer, and doing settings, shooting remote, and so on.

Except I can’t. You can download the software, but to install you need to have a prior version installed first.

Why on earth is that a requirement? This software is only useful if you have a Canon camera. Why would they want to prevent a non-camera owner from installing? It won’t do them any good.

Now I need to go find my DVD drive (the Macbook Air does not have one built in), I need to go find the CD that came with the camera (wish me luck). Canon, why do you insist on making my life more difficult with these idiotic and unnecessary restrictions?

Outdoors Tip

Posted on by
4

You should definitely get one of these:

A Hoodman Hood Loupe. With it, you can see your LCD even in bright outdoors daylight. It adjusts to your eyes and it magnifies, as well. Invaluable, and I would not go anywhere without mine.

I am so glad I had mine in Arizona last week. Otherwise I would not have seen what I was getting in bright “creative light” like this:

Or this:

Without a Hood Loupe, you are guessing. A sin “I think they’re OK, and when I get indoors I’ll see for sure” – if you can even see the display at all.

This is what I like

Posted on by
Reply

But instead, this is what I get:

Snow and local blowing snow changing to rain showers in the morning then to flurries late in the day. Snowfall amount 5 cm. Wind southeast 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming southwest 30 gusting to 50 late in the morning then increasing to 50 gusting to 70 late in the day.

Grrr.  Why am I here again?

Good thing my cameras are waterproof. Except the “Toe Cap” for my Canon 1Ds MkIII is missing – fell off. Canon “is unable to” (meaning: refuses to. How I hate euphemisms!) sell me one; I have to go to a third party. No doubt $100 for a tiny piece of plastic. But a necessary one.

ADDED:

(It is the “Extension System Terminal” cover.

One tip for you this morning. When you go from a cold area into a warm one (airconditioned hotel to tropical outside – or Ontario day to warm indoors!) wrap your camera into a tightly wrapped plastic bag before going through that transition.  Take it out after 15 minuts when it has warmed up. Else, you get condensation.

Filter tips

Posted on by
Reply

A quick tip, today. All about filters.

  • Yes you need them. When it starts raining, or in the snow, or in a sandstorm, you want your filter to be ruined, not your lens.
  • But they cause flare, so you do not need them on all the time. I never use my filters except in rain etc. That’s right –  normally, I use no filters.
  • And polarizing filter (“Circular Polarizers”) are great to darken the sky: so you need them. But do not leave them on. They cut the light by a couple of stops! Only put them on when using them, then remove. This is a very common error: I see it all the time.

Oh and do use your lens hoods all the time.

Here’s a polariser picture:

In other words, I slightly darkened the sky by using a polarizer. This brings back the scene to the impressive one that I felt I saw.

Have fun!

What did I use?

Posted on by
Reply

So on my trip to Arizona, what was I using?

  • Canon 1Ds MkIII with the wide lens (16-35 2.8L, though on day one, 24-70)
  • Canon 7D with the 70-200 2.8L
  • Flash: 580EX
  • Honl Bounce card
  • Hoodman Hood Loup
  • Tripod
  • Small Brush (dust that is not on your camera will generally not get into your camera)

That’s what I carried all day, every time I exited my rental car. The rest stayed in the bag.

Here’s a wide sample from yesterday:

And a long sample:

And 9am I fly back to Toronto via Calgary.

AdobeRGB or sRGB?

Posted on by
Reply

Reader Yannick asks:

My friend and I have a lot of conversation about cameras and there’s something I wanted to bring up. He said you’d be the perfect person to answer this question. My friend shoots using adobe RBG colour space and I was telling him how sRBG has a slight advantage cause it’s the most commonly used settings and I believe you require some programs to make full use of adobe RBG. I’m not sure if I’m making any sense. But some clarification from your part would be greatly appreciated.

OK, thanks for the trust. Here’s my take on this important question.

If you shoot JPG, you need to decide what colour space to use: you set it in the camera.

  • The good: AdobeRGB is best for high-end print publications, while sRGB looks best on low- and medium-end printers and especially on computer screens.
  • The downsides: sRGB has fewer colours; Adobe looks very dull on computers.

So you decide based on your purpose. What is the colour space of the device or publication you are making the pictures for.

adobeRGB

If you do not know, then my recommendation is: shoot sRBG for general purpose use. That way your pictures look great on computers, in emails and on web sites, and printed at home. The very slight loss of colour space is not a problem there. Shooting in AdobeRGB and getting horrible flat colour on web browsers etc that do not handle that colour space well is much worse.

But the best thing to do by far is to shoot in RAW. That way you need only decide later, on your computer, when you produce your JPG. Until that time you keep all colours – and freedom.