Category Archives: technical
Problems with Triggers
As mentioned yesterday, the example self-portrait I took had some misleading EXIF data. The thrust of the post was that EXIF data isn’t always right, and if you read through the comments, you’ll find out most of what was wrong (this is one sharp reading audience – y’all don’t miss a beat! ). What was most glaring though was that the radio trigger didn’t report itself to the EXIF data. I’d noticed this in the past from the Cactus triggers when I first purchased them. It could be due to the economical nature of the cirtuitry (i.e. they weren’t very … Continue reading
Canon Rebates Announced
With the economy being in the belt tightening times, the time for Canon rebates could not have come sooner. They announced them on Sunday, and you have until July 10th to cash in. The full page of rebates is available here, but of specific note are the lens discounts that you can get at reduced prices include two that I have had my eye on for a while:
Hardware Review: Sigma 4.5mm Fisheye (Circular)
As things start to settle down again, I’ve got a pile of reviews pending work, so this past weekend, while in bachelor status temporarily, I really knocked out a few projects, including getting caught up on some overdue reviews and blog writing. Today, the first of these projects is the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye lens review. This is a super cool lens, and has a lot of opportunities for creative exploration. I took the typical test shots indoors to get a feel for where it’s strengths and weaknesses are, how it focuses, and then took to the streets.
Creating a Monthly Desktop Calendar
I alluded to it yesterday, and have already had several people inquire about the procedure to create this desktop calendar. It’s really quite clever, and kudos go out to Jeffrey Friedl over on his site for the script: http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/calendar He does a decent job at the basic explanation, but since we are a visual world, here are some step-by-step instructions on how to run things from beginning to end! Fair warning – this does require Photoshop as the script (I don’t believe anyway) will run in Lightroom because it uses layers… 1. Download the script from the link above (I … Continue reading
The Perils of Polarizers
Happy Monday all! My apologies at the absence on Friday – it seems some gremlins absconded with all my time on Thursday, so in the absence of any halfway decent content, decided to make it a legitimate “no blog” day heading into the weekend. But, a new week is here, and I’ve got a cool topic to cover briefly with you…that being: Polarizing Filters Polarizing filters can be a godsend – they can really bring out blues in a sky, or minimize reflections in windows, and can really help to improve the quality of your work. At the same time, … Continue reading
Building the Perfect Camera, Pt. 1
One of the more recent episodes from the guys over at This Week in Photography had them wrapping up their coverage of PMA, where they talked tech about all the latest cameras to come out from the various vendors. Canon was noticeably absent from the show, but it didn’t detract from an interesting comment I think Ron Brinkmann said where he wished he could pull all his favorite features from each of the cameras and basically make his own. To me, the idea screamed “blog post”! So, I decided to go for it. I went through every major SLR on … Continue reading
The long-awaited Drobo review
I’d been waiting for the time to put together all the videos, audio, and pictures for this review for a while and I’ve finally caught up on other projects so am getting this out for the listening and reading audiences to enjoy! For those that subscribe and read via RSS, sorry because this is a video-heavy post and you’re just going to have to visit the blog to get the content today! Trust me though, it’s worth it as I take a look at how the Drobo performs in a real world environment with hot swapping drives, and the perils … Continue reading
Software Review: PrintKey2000
Many times I have been asked what kinds of software I use to do various things for the blog, especially things like videos, screen captures, audio recording, and all that sort of stuff. One thing that I’ve never really talked about is screen captures…not the videos but actual still shots of things as seen directly on my screen. There are many programs available to do this, some paid for, and some open-sourced, with some being Mac or Windows specific, and a few scattering that cross both platforms. Well, today, I am going to give a little nod to a Windows-only … Continue reading
Flickr Plugin for Lightroom
While recently participating in a Photowalk group outing to Rocky Mountain National Park, with the fellow local photogs, I learned about this great little plugin for Lightroom that allows you to export your photos directly to Flickr…all within Lightroom! It’s a pretty cool little plugin, and as you know, when I learn something new – so do you! This plugin comes courtesy of Jeffrey Friedl, and one of the greatest features of it is the cost – absolutely free! Well, that’s not exactly true, you do need to spend one cent via Paypal, but for a penny, check out what … Continue reading
Hardware Review: Western Digital Passport Drive
For those of you on Twitter (and following me), you know that over the weekend, my iPhoto library on the Mac was either corrupted, or somehow compromised in its integrity, because when I went to add in a few snapshots to it for sharing with the Twitter-verse, it crashed on me. Believe it or not, I was not worried, because I had a back-up copy of all my snapshots on my Western Digital Hard Drive. I blogged about this puppy before, in showing you how to add a second drive to your laptop in 10 easy steps. Well, not only … Continue reading
Guest Blogger – Kevin Mulllins
What’s in my Camera bag? by Kevin Mullins Firstly, I’d like to thanks Jason, not only for offering me a “spot” here today, but also generally, for this great blog and the Learning Digital Photography podcast – they are both great resources and Jason, I applaud you for keeping them both going so strong.
Reviews, Contests, and Blog Notes
Lots to cover today on the blog so I am going to get right to it. First up, I’m trying to maintain the schedule of hardware reviews, so rather than go into detailed analysis, I am just sharing an abbreviated review here today on the Canon 28-135mm lens. Also up on todays blog, the OnOne Software giveaway finalists have been announced! Last up, a few administrative things to address. So, without further ado, let’s get started: The 28-135mm Review The luck of this review is due to the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. I had been hearing good things about this … Continue reading
Canon 550EX Review/Eulogy
Hardware Review/Eulogy – The Canon 550 EX Ah, how I loved thee, the Canon 550 EX, with your 3 flash modes, ETTL, Manual and Multi mode. You were especially wonderful because of how well the ETTL worked in conjunction with the Canon bodies. Your typical standard hotshoe fit every Canon SLR from the first days of DSLR’s (I think)), and you worked beautifully both as a slave and as a master via the toggle just below the button panel. Another especially nice feature you had was the variable power settings when in manual, where I was able to adjust you … Continue reading
Charge!
The time has come to say goodbye – that’s right, the time has come. You knew this day would happen – we all did. It was inevitable. It was a good run while it lasted, but there is no avoiding it. No tears please… No cries, no weeping, no condolences, regrets, or farewell parties are needed. As the old saying goes – all good things must come to an end. For better or for worse, it was a tough decision to come to, but I have decided that it is time to say goodbye – there’s just not enough time … Continue reading
Wacom Bamboo Fun: Hardware Review
The good folks at Wacom were kind enough to donate a Bamboo Fun to me for review on the blog a while back. In order to really get a full handle on it though, I wanted to use it within the context of my at-home work flow. You see, I’m not a newcomer to tablets, as at work and through previous experience, I’ve grown quite accustomed to their usage. I’ve had to instruct people on how to use, configure the basics, and such on their computers. as well as used them in many of their varying sizes (most recently being … Continue reading
Software Review – Genuine Fractals 6.0
Don’t get too excited – no software giveaway on this one folks, as I’ve not had a chance to call OnOne yet and see if they’d be interested in participating in a contest. Instead, I am working off a trial version of one of the premiere up-sizing software programs on the market – Genuine Fractals from the good folks over at OnOne software. Available for both Mac and Windows, this product really has developed a good name for itself in the industry. While reputation may precede it, I have been wanting to give this product a try for some time … Continue reading
Rocket Man!
Cleaning your gear is a maintenance ritual each of us must develop that suits our own style and behaviors. For me it’s lists…logical lists that I formulate after thinking about what makes sense to me, so I can do things the same way every time. For me it’s all about consistency and repeatability. While this same technique is something I recommend for others, it may not always be the best course of action if you don’t like that kind of rigidity. However, regardless of what styles or approaches you use to clean your gear (and I’ve talked about my approach … Continue reading
The Un-review Software
This week I am going to talk about the lack of software in the weekly software review. That’s right – the lack of it! You may be sitting there wondering which software item I am going to talk about, promote, or diss in some way shape or form, but instead of that, I actually want to talk about the general trending of software, hardware, and system resources. Why? Because we demand a lot from our computers these days. Think about it – we want our computers to do many things from surfing the internet, to designing graphics, office functions, building … Continue reading
Finally some good news – it’s Friday!
Well, there’s some other good news too. Wacom delivered the something to me door yesterday to review here on the blog. I’ll be doing a more detailed write-up for both Windows and Mac in the near future, but thought y’all might be interested in the unboxing – seeing what you get from the good folks at Wacom when you order a: BAMBOO FUN! So, here’s a little teaser video for those that are interested: This might be fodder for an upcoming contest or giveaway, but only time will tell, so keep your fingers crossed. In the meantime, here’s the rest … Continue reading
Hardware Review: Sigma 18-250
// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ google_ad_client = "pub-3565134799530909"; /* 468x60, created 2/25/10 */ google_ad_slot = "7247311792"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; // ]]> First off, my apologies at the sudden absence on Friday – it was a day off, but not so much as a podcast recording that should have taken 30-45 minutes took 2 hours so my plans for the day were pretty much canned after that. But anyway, on to the subject of today’s post: The Sigma 18-250mm lens review! You read that right – Sigma has a lens that covers the range … Continue reading
Sigma Lightstand – Hardware Review
This week’s hardware review is the Sigma Lightstand. Specifically, the Impact 8 foot Air Cushion Lightstand. While you may think that this is something that wouldn’t garner much discussion – I actually have found this to be a very handy tool. “Tool?”, you ask. Yes, a tool. Sure, it’s primary function is to hold lights, but look at the variety even there – I’ve used it for small flashes (like my 550 EX II), studio strobes from Smith Victor, and water bags. Lest you do a double take, that’s right, I used it along with a makeshift boom (arm that … Continue reading
The 70-200L f4.0
In keeping with the last few weeks of hardware reviews, I am taking a look in my own bag one more time to bring you this weeks’ hardware review: the 70-200mm L lens from Canon. Canon has several variants on this lens, with different minimal apertures both with and without Image Stabilization (IS). So, in the interests of full disclosure, this is a non-IS lens, and the aperture range is the standard one, 4.0 to 5.6. So, with that distinction being made, we’re off and running: The “L” distinction is one that bears discussion right off – Canon only gives … Continue reading
