And for the more detail-oriented, here’s the extended version…

Just one of the many considerations here is how you are saving your images.  There are also many facets in the “how you save your images” too.  For instance, RAW as a file format will always have more data in it than its more lightweight sRaw counterpart. Even further, jpg does a certain degree of compression in camera to help save on file storage space, so it will also decrease your file size usage.

2.  Quantity of Light

Another consideration to factor in is whether you are shooting in low light or bright light.  With digital photography, the more light you have in a scene, the more data there is to the image.  Conversely, darker images will have less data and take up less storage space on both your media card and your computer. Take, for example, this series of images I took of “Dino” outside on Sunday.  The exposure is set to under-exposed by 2 stops, neutral exposure, and over-exposure by two stops, as defined by my shutter speed.  The amount of storage space that was consumed on both the media card and my computer is indicated beneath each image.

3.  Varying degrees of color

The amount and types of color can also factor into how much storage space an image takes up.  I’ve actually addressed the issue of color in these exact terms before, so for a more thorough explanation of that, check out this article here.  Here, the summary is really the only relevant part, where green encompasses the largest amount of data, blue comes in second, and red encompasses the least.  Other color hues will fall somewhere between these three primary colors, so storage space will be a function of colors in your images as well.

4.  Bit Depth

Another factor that will enter into play (mostly in post production though) is that of bit depth, which is basically how you are saving your file out from processing.  Most cameras will capture in 16 bit depth, and will be imported in Photoshop or Lightroom at their native bit depth, unless you manually change it from 18 bit to 8 bit (which a lot of people do when using the full version of Photoshop, because that enables tools that are not available in 16 bit mode).  You can also output to24 bit or 32 bit mode, but these are mostly used for offset printing (think CMYK) and HDR imaging, which while popular does not speak to standard storage space for images captured natively in camera.  So, the bit depth is really beyond the scope here, but if you’d like to learn more about various bit depths and their usage, feel free to get started at the Wikipedia article here.

5.  Megapixel Count (Resolution)

The final element to consider in how much storage space an image will take up on either a card or a computer is the megapixel count.  Now, unfortunately there is no direct correlation from megapixel to megabyte as one is defined by the resolution of the image and the other is defined by a byte in computer terms.  While the former is mealleable depending on sensor type (CMOS vs CCD vs Foveon, etc.), the latter is pretty well delimited as a byte is a single unit of data.  So

Having said all of the above – raw versus jpg, light versus dark, one color versus another, bit depth, and megapixel count…there are some general rules of thumb we can draw based on significant research that has been done in this area (and by significant, I mean me hitting Google, Wikipedia, and various communities, asking if anyone knows of any authoritative resources I could check out).  The upshot is that images will largely be a function of their megapixel count.  Now, because of the variances in the other factors here, there is no hard and fast rule that is set in stone for image file size relative to MP count, but on a very rough scale, each megapixel of data will typically contain about a megabyte of data.  So the conversion is almost a 1:1 ratio.  Keep in mind of course that this is very rough, because I have seen with my 10MP camera that I have raw file sizes in excess of 17 MB!  It’s always better to work within an expected range, rather than using hard and fast rules anyway, so for that reason, here’s a chart:

Keep in mind that these formulas are very generic in nature as the methodology is not completely scientific, but can help you determine the expected capacity of your media cards for photos!

So, the natural extension of this takes us back to the original question:  How many images you can store on a media card given a certain pixel count?  Extrapolating things out is just a simple matter of math and Excel!

Coming up next, another factor to consider in your media cards:  speed transfers!  (See the theme forming for the week?)  Until then, keep on shooting!

One of the most surprising things I learned about during our recent trip to Brainerd, MN was that many photographers are tethering their cameras to their computers for transferring photos over for processing.  While tethering via cable is always an option, there are many risks to doing so, and during our talk, we took a few minutes to share some reasons why it’s better to use a card reader than to import from your camera.  Since there were so many people that seemed to appreciate the insights, I thought I’d take some time to share some of those insights here:

1. Speed – Card readers have nothing else to do other than transfer data onto and off of a card to a computer.  No camera firmware is required, no menus need to be loaded, and no power is needed.  It’s a simple plug-and-play process for practically any computer and you can increase your transfer speeds significantly by taking this route over camera direct transfers.  Seriously…with the super fast UDMA cards out there today, you can really see a decrease in transfer times, which gets you on with other things even that much quicker.
2. Reliability – Because cameras are such advanced devices that have so many working parts and components, the process of connecting them to a computer does take a certain toll and if the cable is frayed, or a connection is lost, or even power is lost, you can risk losing and/or corrupting your images during the transfer process.  Eliminate the risk of losing those precious memories you’ve created and use a card reader!
3. Conserving Battery drain – In Minnesota it was cold!  We were in negative temperatures for a good portion of our stay, and with lower temps comes decreased battery time.  If we had to deal with draining our camera batteries to transfer images to a laptop or desktop computer, they likely would not have lasted.  It’s important here to remember that plugging a camera into a USB port isn’t like plugging in a phone or other devices.  Plugging in doesn’t charge the batter, it discharges the battery!  Something to keep in mind when conserving your battery life.

So, what kind should you get?  The answer here (as always) starts with “It depends…”  What kind of camera and card are you using? Do you have multiple cameras and multiple card format types?  Cards range in size and format from SD, CF, to Memory Sticks, and other proprietary sizes and shares.  Formats also include the new UDMA which increases write/read transfer rates, and varying capacities from extended capacity (XC) and other older ones which may require specific types of readers.  Check these considerations before making a purchase.  My suggestion though is to get a reader that can read both standard capacity cards as well as the XC formatted ones.  These can be found for as little as $5 through sites like Newegg.com and Amazon, but the better quality ones are available through camera retailers like B&H Photo, Adorama, and Sammy’s.

There are, of course, other reasons to use a card reader over a camera for data – and I could go on with a quite extensive list here, but would really like to hear from others:  what are your reasons for using a particular transfer setup?  Do you have a reader preference?  Or are you using the camera to tether?  Sound off in the comments with your own ideas and suggestions!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

The G12 is a compelling camera.  The features I am liking are the LCD resolution, the f2.8 on the lens, and the manual controls over the exposure triangle (shutter, aperture and ISO).  It helps that I can also shoot in RAW which would fit my existing work flow.  The biggest cons for me are the proprietary battery, the MP count (I’d rather have 8 than 10 for this size sensor – makes for better noise handling in my opinion), and the price tag.  (Really?  $500 for a P&S Canon?  I can get an entry level SLR for that price…take it down $100 and you’d have a lot more buyers!)

The Powershot SX130 IS  is equally compelling.  With the larger 3″  LCD, acceptance of regular AA batteries, and manual controls, it’s tempting to go with this option.  The problem is that the Megapixel count is so high.  I wasn’t thrilled with the 10MP count above, so 12 here makes me very nervous.  After all, let’s face it that Canon’s handling of noise is not at the standard of the Nikonian crowd.  Here it’s also not the budget-buster that the G12 is either – a very enticing element to consider.

The Powershot SX 120 IS is no slouch either.  Saving a little more coin is always a good thing (it retails $20 cheaper), and is back down to 10MP for the sensor.  The problem here?  Saving $20 also compromises the ability to control things manually.  Frame rate is also noticeably slower too.  That’s a lot to lose to save a few pennies.  I likely will not go this route as it’s just too much being sacrificed for a minimal short term savings.

So, it’s really between the G12 and the PowerShot SX130 IS.  I think I am leaning toward the latter simply because I am not going to sacrifice as much in functionality.  Still have to check out some reviews and DXOMark ratings though.  A final answer should be forthcoming soon, but that is the upshot of where the Christmas Cash is gonna ching!  Of course, new gear is always coming out and Spring time is no exception.  That will lower the cost of entry on these current generations considerably, so I might hold off for a month – see what happens in the market to these three!

Some, of course, will ask why I didn’t consider the new SX30 or the A12000.  Truth be told, in Canon’s line-up, the A series is a notch below the SX series for a reason…it’s just as beefy!  As for the SX30, I read several reviews on it and the noise level at even ISO 400 seems high to what people were expecting.  I’m just not willing to throw money at a P&S for no reason other than “because it’s new”.

Let’s turn the perspective outward…anyone out there get any Yuletide Yen they’ll be using for new gear items?  What are you getting and why?

Sigma 8-16mm

As I understand it, this is a rather unique lens in that it is the widest non-fisheye lens on the market, even wider than the previous widest one I own, the Canon 10-22.  It was quite interesting to compare these two lenses side by side.

What I Liked

1.  Optical Quality

The optical quality of this lens really is amazing given it’s wide angle nature.  I say this because wide angle lenses are typically prone to distortion, particularly around the edge of the lens, and especially at their widest points.  Now, shooting this on a Canon 40D, it is mounted for the APS-C sensor size, so am not sure this would work too well on a full frame camera.  The end range after you consider the 1.6 crop factor brings it up to 12.8-25mm.  With that in mind, I tried shooting wide open and was happily surprised at the minimal distortion on the edges:

Tree at sunset

Horizon Test

On the first shot, here I didn’t see any distortion actually from the branches of the trees, and the second shot the horizon didn’t really seem off-kilter much either.  However, these were a fair distance away from the lens itself, and while wide angle lenses aren’t intended for portrait work, I was curious as to what the results would be like if I pushed it to those ends:

Portrait Test

So, portrait work should probably not be done with this lens, but then again, as mentioned above, wide angle lenses really aren’t meant for that sort of work anyway.

2.  Weight - This weighed in at just a touch over a pound at 19 ounces.  Pretty light but also heavy enough to know you’ve got some nice balance to it, and it balanced well on the body of the 40D too, so I suspect it would also balance well on the rest of the Canon X0D lineup (e.g. 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, etc.)

3.  Finish – Like the rest of the Sigma line-up, the rubberized-metallic finish they apply to their lenses is present and it just speaks to the professionalism of the line-up as a whole.

4.  Range – The extra ten mm of range I got from the Sigma was more than I would have thought in a scene.  While I was shooting rather sloppily in terms of exact comparisons, when I had both lenses with me, I did get similarly composed scene for both teh 16mm end of teh Sigma and the 22mm end of the Canon, as was surprised how much of a difference 10mm was.  Take a look:

Canon Lens at 22

Sigma Lens at 18

Like I said, it was a bit of sloppy photography on my part for not making the scenes truly identical in terms of exposure values, but the underlying scene is rather telling.  First, though, it would probably help to explain why I I chose to compare at the longest end of the zoom range.  The way I understand the physics, there is less distortion at the longest point of a zoom, and I wanted to just compare scenic differences, so by using the long end, was able to effectively eliminate that as a comparison point (both lenses have that, and it’s to be expected).

Here, rather the 8-16mm shows a significantly wider scene than the 10-22.  This can be a point both in its favor and against it depending on your purpose.  In it’s favor, if you need to capture at the long end of the zoom, it’s still going to require fewer shots than the 10-22 counterpart from Canon for panorama images.  As a downside, it does mean you can’t get as close to the scene that the 10-22 can.

Now granted, when using a wide angle lens, you probably are not wanting to get all that close to begin with, but here I thought the images made for a good juxtaposition with one another, and it’s where the real differences lie in the range of the two lenses, because the different between 8 and 10 is not as significant as the one between 16 and 22.  At the long end, the Sigma still keeps you very wide at 25mm when counting for the crop factor, while the Canon lens takes you a bit past the 35mm range.  In wide angle photography, 10mm of “wideness” can be a difference-maker.

5.  Price – The Sigma retails at $700.  The Canon, $770.  So, it’s $70 cheaper, and has a wider end than Canon, and dare I say less distortion at that end.  Hmmm, not much of a decision here.  Had this lens been available when I was I was in the market, I suspect it would have gotten the nod.  Now I realize that some subscribe to the theory that a body works best when mirrored with a lens from the same manufacturer, and while that may have been true in the days of yesteryear, the differences have dropped significantly in recent years.  Today, I would submit that the difference is negligible, and sometimes even non-existent.  Of course, that’s something that will be subjective depending on your shooting needs and preferences.

For me though, the answer is a resounding yes!

***

It definitely a high quality lens, and I would even venture to say there is relatively less distortion at the short end of the Sigma than the Canon at its shortest, but did not get out enough to test things to that level of minutia.  While it’s not something I can justify for myself at this point, that is only because I already own a similarly ranged lens, if I was in the market and did not own a lens, the Sigma would be a tempting lens to consider.  For the nature photographer who is looking for a super wide – this lens will not disappoint.

For those looking to purchase the lens – you can get it direct from B&H here.

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 expensive).  Or it could be due to the very nature of the devices themselves.  I’m not sure as I’ve not had a chance yet to test the heftier devices like Radio Poppers, Cybersyncs, and of course, the mecca Pocketwizards!

Here’s the part where the reading audience is more than welcome to chime in!  Do you own any of the above devices?  If so, which ones?  And of course, do they report to the EXIF data in your photos?  Last, but not least – how regularly do they report?  Because one of the things that is very useful in reproducing images (the very mark of a professional) is looking at flash data from one shot so you can repeat those settings again if needed.  So, in this vein, I am not happy with the Cactus Infinity triggers.  Yes, I got what I paid for, and they work well enough for their purpose…but I feel I am starting to outgrow them even more.  Guess it’s time to pony up, eh?  Only question is – to what?

Already, some questions are coming in about what kind of lighting was used, what the lighting EXIF was, and several have also asked about the background – some things I had a feeling would come up, so thanks to all sending in email asking for more details…much more is coming!  I promise!

In the meantime, take a break (or a photo) and enjoy the weekend.  For those of us in the U.S., remember, Memorial Day isn’t just a day of baseball, hot dogs and beer – it’s also a day to remember the fallen heroes that died defending our country…

In honor of Memorial Day

For those that need a refresher, here’s what’s included so far (click the title to go the blog post where each item is explained in detail):

• Part 1
  1. Full Frame Sensor
  2. EF-S support
  3. Low Light Performance
  4. ISO handling
  5. Multi-card compatibility
• Part 2
  1. Megapixels
  2. Video
  3. Frame Rate
  4. HDMI support
  5. Internal wireless/Bluetooth
• Part 3
  1. Bracketing
  2. Shutter rating
  3. Re-designed pop-up
  4. Flash Focus points
  5. In-camera IS

Here you go, the grand finale…rounding out my top twenty requests for features to include in a dream camera are:

1.  Inter-vendor lens compatibility

So many times I’ve seen a Nikon lens or a Pentax lens where I’ve thought it would be so cool to use that on a Canon body (imagine the Nikon 8-400f4.5 on a 1Ds Mark III!), and with the Red Camera and its interoperability (you basically built it to spec) the idea is not too far-fetched.

2.  Firmware Add-ons

Just like with Photoshop and Lightroom, when you open up the firmware for your cameras to 3rd parties for additional feature development – the long run result is that cameras just become more adept.  Using the Chkdk “hack” on Canon is ok, but imagine if Canon (and others) just opened it up and said – “Buy it from us if you want support but here’s the firmware if you want to develop your own apps and features”  How awesome would that be?

3.  An upgrade Program

Some vendors have it, others don’t, and others do, but don’t tell you about it.  Imagine you are starting out and you pick up an economical 70-300 f4 lens.  It’s nice, but it doesn’t have IS, nor fast optics, and after a while, you notice that the optics aren’t as sharp as the 70-300L lens (or whatever).  Wouldn’t it be cool if the vendor then had a trade-up program for you where you send in your lens in exchange for a lower price on the new lens?  Then the vendor could refurbish the lens, and let the next newcomer in at a lower price?  There’s money to be made there and I don’t think vendors have really seized the day on this one yet.  And it’s a shame because with the economy grade glass, I fear too much is just getting thrown out and is not recycled.  The same goes for flashes, bodies, etc.! (Think the 430EX to the 550, to the 580…)  Computer vendors have upgrade cycles, why not camera vendors?

4.  Universal plugs for accessories

Proprietary adaptors for things like flashes, batteries, and other peripherals are right now the bread and butter of camera vendors in my estimation, because many people believe that only the camera vendor parts are able to perform adequately.  This is no longer true, and vendors perpetuating this myth only is a disservice to the advancement of photography as a field.  Third party vendors have figured it out, so surely getting Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and the others to agree on a format is worthwhile isn’t it?  We’re halfway there, just look at media compatibility (CF and SD are pretty much the industry standards, and it’s rapidly moving to only SD…)!

5.  Keep prices reasonable

Now I realize that I’ve just run off a list of 19 features that are pretty pricey – but odds are, if I want all these, I am willing to pay a price for it.  If you look at the math, the average price for a decent SLR these days is in the $1200-$1500 range.  When you figure that the average enthusiast will upgrade every 18-24 months – I’d rather spent $5000 once rather than $1500 three times in that same cycle.  Fewer upgrade hassles, more focus on the work less on the gear – and the vendor could make more!

Customer retention should be coming from your service and support, not from leap-frogging others in the industry every 18 months.  It distracts from the larger purpose of actually taking great photos.  The gear is only a tool…and forcing these upgrades every 18 months is just silly.

There you have it – 20 features of a dream camera!  That’s not too much to ask, is it?  What about everyone else?  Any must have features you’d rather see?  Anything I missed?  Sound off in the comments, I’d love to hear others thoughts!  I’ll be back tomorrow with more from the White Pocket trip!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you then!

Enjoy!

Whenever I get these kinds of messages, it’s a sign to me that things need to be cleaned up.  I’ve installed too many trial programs for testing – my working drive is getting cluttered.  I’ve not re-booted in a few days.  We all know the drill, and we all have our own work flow on how we do this kind of maintenance and optimization.  That’s a funny word “optimize”.  It’s kind of like the CSI word “enhance” that they use for zooming in and adding detail on grainy satellite images.  It just sounds kind of corny.  I think Windows even used it when it was doing an update after I cleaned out a few things.

So, today, I thought I’d share a weekly suggested work flow for doing these kinds of optimizations on your computer.  This is not set in stone, and if you miss something, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s a starting point:

Monday

Operating System and Application Updates – Are all your applications up to date?  Most have a “Check for updates” feature built into the menu system, and many can be set to automatically check periodically, but it never hurts to check on your own – you may find bug fix updates that aren’t part of the regular ones.  The same holds true for your cameras – check vendor websites for possible firmware updates, because cameras can’t check on their own (at least not yet)!

Tuesday

Virus/spyware scans – Your computer does have some kind of security measures in place, right?  Well, it can help to use them periodically just to make sure nothing slipped past you unwittingly.  Trial software can often include spammy things and who knows what gets added in those!  Run the deepest scan (you can run quick scans from really intensive scans with some software like McAfee and Symantec) on Tuesday, and start it just before you go to bed – it will run over the course of the night and when you get up in the morning, it should be done.

Wednesday

Here we go, it’s time to “optimize” things.  Pick a day (mine is Wednesday) to run the optimization tasks.  Things like defragmenting your hard drive and removing trial versions of software are part of this.  I also use this day to go through my bookmarks and favorites and re-organize everything (I add stuff all the time).  I’ll remove stuff I’ve not visited in a while, or drag shortcuts into folders within the bookmarks.  I also take the few minutes after this is done to export a copy of the bookmarks and shortcuts to a backup copy in case disaster strikes.

Thursday

Don’t forget your online presence.  Most people have an online presence these days.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even your own website are just a few examples of our online “footprint”.  Pick a day and go through each of these accounts, taking the time to update things.  Reply to followers comments and questions on Twitter (although you really should do this one more often).  Post an update or two on Facebook of what you’ve been doing for the last week.  Update your LinkedIn connections.  You are adding new contacts to your network more often than you think, and it just makes sense to tap all these resources together.  Plus, people like to stay in touch, and giving updates lets people know about what is new with you, and ways they can connect with you.  Don’t neglect your website either.  Out taking pictures?  Upload a new gallery of photos.  Even if there’s nothing of “show quality”, it can help to keep people engaged with you.

Friday

I saved the most important one for last, and that is the weekly BACKUP!  I’ve talked about this a lot, and cannot reiterate enough the importance of regular backups.  You may not have much change over the course of a week, which is why things like incremental and differential backups (if you are really into the geek factor) can be useful.  But still, even without the geek factor – are you prepared to lose the entire week of projects and work?  Make a backup somehow, somewhere.  The peace of mind alone is worth the 10-20 minutes it takes to do this.

So, there you have it, a weekly optimization schedule for you to try.  It can seem insurmountable to tackle all these things at once, because for most of us, it is!  If you break it down though into smaller tasks, each can be done with minimal impact on your other activities, and can save you many headaches down the road.

Since we’re on the subject of optimizing things – the blog also has gone through some updates as well.  I’ve cleaned things up a little here (part of my Thursday routine), and the pages should load a lot faster now.  You will also notice in the far right sidebar a list of “related posts”.  This will bring up a selection of related content that may be of interest to you.  Check it out and feel free to peruse the Archives as well.

There’s also the Online Photography Test, which remains a popular page – have you taken the test recently?  Stop over and give it a whirl!  There’s lots of content on the blog now (3 years worth anyway) and many people have found it useful!  I’ve also introduced some sponsors from Google and Amazon that show up as related material on various pages and most archives, so if you see something useful, follow the white rabbit – the cost is the same to you, but it helps support the blog!

To wrap things up for this week – don’t forget the February contest closes tonight at midnight, so be sure you get your pictures in.  Only about 18 hours left (as of the writing of this post), so don’t delay, enter today!  Happy shooting everyone, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here again on Monday!

Well, today, I am going to give a little nod to a Windows-only program, called Printkey.  Specifically titled PrintKey2000, and under specific note that this is a freeware program (meaning it is not supported – to use at your own risk.)  While I have never had problems with it, the mentality of “let the buyer beware” should always be a consideration when downloading applications, especially freeware.

Those in Apple-land know that there are keyboard shortcuts to do a screen capture of either your entire viewing area, or a specific window, and these can either be copied to the clipboard memory for inserting in an application like Photoshop, or saved outright to your desktop.  While in Windows you can always use the Printscreen and ALT+Printscreen to copy either a full screen or active window to your clipboard, the ability to save directly to your desktop does not exist natively.  Instead, you have to capture the screen to memory, paste into an image editor, and save out as a JPG if you want to use it.  What PrintKey does is fill that void of directly saving to the desktop.  This is especially handy if capturing things for posting in a blog, in creating documentation, and other useful learning resource outlets.

To use Printkey, simply download the free application from here, run the executable, and let the program start in your system tray.  The entire packaged zip file is half a megabyte, so the footprint is super for those that are space conscious.  Here’s a capture of the software itself in action (don’t ask me how I got it – that took a few minutes to figure out!  LOL):

While there are many features wrapped up in this handy little application, the ones I use most often are the Save, Rectangle, Print, and then the dialog screen at the bottom of the screen (click the image above to see a larger view).  These should be pretty straightforward to those who are familiar with the concepts, but here we go regardless:

• Save – saves the current capture to an image file…you can specify whatever format you prefer (jpg gif, etc.)
• Rectangle – gives you a + sign that you can drag and drop around a custom area for capturing only part of your desktop
• Print – sends the captured image to your printer…(hope that was explanatory enough)

The last one is the bottm details area…I am talking about this little section here:

It’s very handy because it will tell you the dimensions of the image, how large the file is in terms of storage space on your computer, and how much free memory is left out of the total memory.  While some many not need all this info, the geek in me likes to have this!

So, there you have it, Printkey2000 in action.  I feel that I should also mention another really good counterpart and that is the program, SnagIt from the folks over at TechSmith.  With that handy application, you can not only capture images on both Windows and Mac, but you can edit them on the fly, including inserting text, arrows to call out an area, and other fun stuff.  Alas, it’s not free though – 30 day trial is allowed before you gotta cough up the $50! (Which for me is not worth it for something like this.  I have some friends that use other applications too, especially for video screen captures on both Mac and Windows platforms which include names like IShowU, Camtasia, and much more.  Here though, was just a little scoop on a little known application for the Windows crowd out there.

Got your own favorite little unknown program?  Have you used PrintKey?  Like it, love it or hate it?  Sound off in the comments as new little handy utilities are always welcome.  Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

One last thing all – don’t forget the Height themed contest for the month of February – get your photos in while the gettin’ is good!  Deadline is a week from Friday!

In all things technology-related, there is a principle called Moore’s Law which states that technology will advance at a rate of re-doubling roughly every two years.  While this principle was developed primarily for computers, we can draw similar analogies for digital photography too, with the sensor being analogous to the transistor.  The rate of increase has not quite been on par with re-doubling every 2 years, but the increases can be noted pretty impressively going from a mere 4 in 2001 to a current rate of  21 MP per frame for DSLR cameras (I am only looking at the Canon line-up here:

• Canon 1Ds Mark III = 21MP (2007), Retail
• Canon 1Ds Mark II = 16 MP (2004)
• Canon 1Ds = 11MP (2002)
• Canon 1D = 4 (2001)

Lenses aren’t like that though – focal lengths don’t change that much.  Instead, technology has allowed lenses to become faster at the longer end of the given focal lengths.  We’ve also seen the introduction of image-stabilization technologies.  The addition of new technologies in lenses does not necessarily deprecate previous generations – it merely antiquates them!  This means your lens may not have the bells and whistles of future generations, but it should work indefinitely if treated properly.

Keep in mind though that there is a distinction between full frame and crop sensor cameras here though, because Canon has two lens lines, the EF line and the EF-S line.  The EF-S line is intended for the crop sensor cameras and cannot be used on the full frame mounts – if you try to use an EF-S lens on a full frame body, the mirror could slap down and shatter the back element of the glass, so avoid this scenario if at all possible!  (There are some converters on the market that will extend the gap between the mirror and the element to avoid this, but I’ve not used them.)

Lenses are also different from camera bodies because there are no moving parts that can fail.  Well, that’s not entirely true because zooms do have moving parts when you rotate the lens, and these can fail. * However, because the lens is always a closed item, the susceptibility of a lens to parts failure is not as high as it is for camera components.  Shutters, for instance, have a certain lifespan for which they are rated, (usually somewhere between 50,000-150,000 actuations).  Lenses don’t fail after a certain number of focal adjustments (assuming you are handling the lens correctly), and in the case of fixed focal length lenses (primes), this is even less the case.

So, a lens can literally last for as long as the vendor makes a body that will accept the mounting mechanism, and in the case of most vendors, I don’t see that changing any time soon.  I’ve had my kit lens from Canon when I got my first Rebel XT back in 2004 and it still works great on my 40D – it may not be in the lineup anymore (neither is my 40D either, but I digress…), but any EOS body will accept this lens and the image quality has not deteriorated at all over time!  Lenses can last forever!

How long have you kept your lenses?  Do you have any “go-to” lenses in your bag that you anticipate will always be there?  Let me know your favorites!

On a blog administrative note, don’t forget that there’s still a little time left in the Flickr Giveaway thread for December, so if you have any shots (the holidays are good times to capture those “Giving” themed photos), make sure to get one in for a chance to win that $400= prize package!  Happy Shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

*ETA:  Special thanks to Marco for pointing out in the comments that there are quite a few moving parts in even fixed focal length lenses.  In addition to the focusing ring, there is also the diaphragm that moves which closes down the aperture to the correct setting for every actuation of the shutter, so there are moving parts in any lens, including fixed focal lengths.)

YouTube:

Thoughts

Price: It’s free! Nothing beats free in my book, and with the competitive landscape of technology, this is pretty hard to beat.

Quality: The thumbnail does not look right, but that’s a minor nit…on playback it seems pretty good.

Ease of use: Another pro here as well…it was easy (and quick) to upload. It took less than a minute to upload, and adding the video details was also easy. You do need a Google account to do this though, but since that is also free, the downside here is hard to find.

Accessibility: It was VERY easy to find the embed code to copy/paste into the blog. And YouTube/Google is pretty recognizable as far as things go, so it’s going to be hard to compete here. But, let’s look at the other services…

Limitations: The only one I can find is that you are limited to videos under 10 minutes. You can do HD quality, up to 2GB per video (so no data size limit), with no waiting in line for video conversion or anything like that. At first I thought 10 minute limit was, well…limiting, but after looking at the other two services, not as much.

Vimeo:

Review of Video Hosting from Jason Anderson on Vimeo.

Price: It’s free…kind of. You can go the free route, but there are downsides which I will go into shortly.

Quality: It seems on par with YouTube in terms of video quality,

Ease of use: Also on par with YouTube, and the dialogs are very similar, so kind of a 6 of one, half dozen of the other sort of comparison here.

Accessibility: Vimeo videos are just as accessible as YouTube ones are, anyone can see them if you set them up the same, so kind of an interesting dichotomy here…

Limitations: Your limitations with Vimeo are that you can only upload 500MB of data per week.  This may sound like a lot, but when it comes to video, that could get eaten up pretty quick. I didn’t see a length limit on Vimeo, but could be wrong here. Another limitation on the free account is that you have to wait in line for your videos to get uploaded. I uploaded the video 20 minutes ago, and still have another 40 minutes to wait before it will start the conversion for me. If you upgrade your free account to the Vimeo Plus one, you can get 5 GB of content, HD quality, no ads, and for $60/year or $10/month. Not too pricey, but again, in a competitive economy, it’s something to consider…

Animoto:

Not reviewable – as it turns out, Animoto only allows 30 second videos for free – everything else is a paid service. The price is cheaper than Vimeo for the service at $30 per year, and it does seem to have no limitations on video length or things of that nature, but the fact that you can only do a 30 second video on their free service seems rather lame. I realize that we need to be quick and to the point with our content, but 30 seconds? Really? This one gets a major thumbs down from me for this and on that basis would not recommend it.

Self-Hosting

In the interests of being as broad in the review process as possible, I thought it would help to also include the self-hosted option as one worth considering. There are some caveats to this though, as services and limitations would vary from one hosting service to another. I use Dreamhost, and I like their hosting, so figured it would be worth showing that here.(You can sign up from the link or from using the promo code CBPROMO to save 50% on sign-up!)

[podcast format="video"]http://www.canonblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/vids/VidReview.mov[/podcast]

Price: Free…kind of. You do have to pay the hosting company for hosting your website, but as far as I know ISP’s typically do not charge additional fees for specific types of content.

Quality: Perfect! Since you are uploading the original video, there is no degradation in video quality – but that being the case, you are solely responsible for quality control…fair warning.

Ease of Use: Again, it depends on your host. For me and the blog, it’s pretty straightforward as I am using a self-installed version of WordPress and I am familiar enough with the functions and formats to handle it, but if you don’t want to be bothered with uploading a video via FTP, then referencing that source URL in your WordPress or website with HTML and all that, it could be challenging.

Accessibility: I hate to beat a dead horse, but it also will be a function of your host, and what format you choose to upload your videos. I uploaded the raw Quicktime video, so it will be dependent on people having Quicktime on their computer. There should be a conversion utility (I think it’s called jwplayer) that converts the .mov format to flash for easier viewing on the web, but this may need to be installed in your version. It is free, but could be a limitation as Flash viewers are more common.

Limitations: You are only limited by your own comfort level here – if you don’t want to deal with all the nitty gritty details, then this could be problematic. For those that enjoy managing all their own content, this could be ideal though, it really just depends where on the spectrum you are. For me, I am okay dealing with it, but if I had my choice between fussing over the details and using a service like YouTube to host it for me so I can go back out and shoot more, record more, and research more content, I’d choose the latter.

*****

So, that’s the top three reviewed for your consideration. If I had to vote on one, I would say YouTube gets the nod. Ease of use, lack of expense, and visibility is just unbeatable. But, keep in mind, that’s just my thoughts. What are yours? Anyone have any particular favorites or preferences for video hosting? Any I missed? Benefits and downsides? Sound off in the comments!

In other blog news, don’t forget, the post from Saturday (yes, I made a Saturday post!) allows you to embed your own photos to the comments! Share your own thoughts on the best photos of 2009 – they do have to be online (embedded via URL) but it’s a great way to share your favorites with the community at large.

Finally, time is ticking away on the December Giveaway. Over $400 in prizes including books, prints, paper, and software are up for grabs so make sure you get your “Giving” themed photo to the Flickr thread before the end of the year!

Being the eternal geek, I jumped right in (figured the water was warm), and suggested that it shouldn’t matter because they are using a card reader…right?  As it turns out, they were not, instead tethering the camera to the computer to transfer files.  While this method is needed for instant viewing (see the tethering via Lightroom post using Canon here and Nikon here), it’s not recommended for transferring of your photos and video off a card that is in your camera.  I tried to find a post on this to point the person to and realized that, son-of-a-gun, I had never really discussed this in detail.  So… here we go!

There are a number of reasons why it is a good idea to use a card reader and not connect your camera to your computer for transferring images and video:

1. Data loss/corruption – The chances for losing data is so much higher because you are relying on the computer detecting the camera, and the proprietary interface between that and the computer (with drivers and software and all that jazz).
2. Battery drain – Unless you have an AC adapter, using your camera to transfer pictures to your computer can be a serious drain on batteries…even with rechargeable batteries.  And, if you are transferring images to your computer and your camera batteries happen to die, guess what can happen…(see #1 above)!
3. Software installation – When connecting your camera to your computer, often times you will need to install software in order for the computer to recognize the camera.  Easy enough sure, but do you really want to bog down your computer with unnecessary software?  What if that software is written to preload whenever the computer turns on?  Now computer performance is decreased, you have less space for other things.  Sure, hard drives are increasing in size and decreasing in cost all the time, but consider whether you will ever use the software for anything other than image transfer.  If yes, then absolutely, use it.  But if not – why bother?  From an IT perspective, if there is a way to do something without installing software, that is always preferred to adding another layer because adding that layer adds a breaking point (or point of failure), and it’s just another item that needs maintenance and updates.  After all, let’s face it.  Software is not as cleanly written as it used to be…
4. Transfer speeds – Seriously.  Many don’t realize it, but data transfers happen a lot faster when you don’t have a camera sitting between you and the computer.  What may taken upwards of 3-5 minutes with a camera acting as the medium can often take less than 2 minutes with a straight connection to the media card.

So, there you have it, 4 reasons to use a card reader!  Need any more?  Got any of your own?  Think I’m wrong?  Please feel free to contribute your own experiences and share your own thoughts in the comments.  Until tomorrow, happy shooting all!

1. Battery Caddy – this is probably my most appreciated item.  Ranging in price from $5 to $14, I absolutely love mine and have been meaning to get more.  (Thanks go out to Scott over at Weekly Photo Tips who sent me mine as a prize for a photo contest last year – I literally love this item!)
2. Eneloop Batteries – Since you have a battery caddy now, you may as well stock it with batteries.  Yeah yeah, I know, batteries for flashes are so mundane, but get yourself a set of Eneloops and you may re-think this.  These guys are not only super powerful but they retain their charge much longer than traditional rechargeables.  Plus, they really do seem to have the staying power of traditional alkalines.  A set of 4 of these can be had from any store, whether it’s B&H, Radioshack, or Newegg.  The link above takes you to Sanyo’s page (the folks who make them), and it includes a whole laundry list, which includes Costco!
3. Stickey Filters – Okay, I am cheating here for two reasons.  First, because I discovered these from another list (Scott Kelby’s Gonzo Gear Guide), and second, because the price is actually $49.95.  But here’s how I justify it – you get two sets of these stickey filters, so it’s really like they are $25 each.  Lame?  Kinda, but these are so cool, you’re gonna want a set anyway.  These guys are basically gels that have a sticky side that slaps to the front of your flash and act as a filter.  Boom.  Done.  Stickey Filters look to be so cool!  No more cutting and using Velcro on your flash, no more buying sheets of gels and finding a place to store them.  Stickey Filters seem to be the answer to what the gellin’ photog needs in their gear bag.  Plus, they offer a lifetime replacement!  That’s impressive…
4. Camera Bubble Level – These little doohickeys are awesome.  My bubble level on my tripod cracked about two years ago and the liquid drained out, rendering it useless.  I’ve been meaning to replace it until someone (I forget who) pointed these guys out to me.  It slides in your hot shoe mount too, so you know the camera is level.  Amazon is the linked place, but these can be found many places for $10 or less!
5. Remote cable release – Okay, okay, I also stole this from Scott Kelby’s list, but truth be told, I also love mine (got it at the local camera store for like $39, but that was only because I didn’t want to wait the week for Amazon to ship me one.  YOu can get them for any brand, but I have to go with Canon given the blog name.  It’s linked above, and can be had for $24.95 at the time of this post.
6. Joby Gorillapod – I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve found myself out and about with my P&S only to wish I had my tripod with me for some stability just for a few seconds.  I’d heard about the Gorilla pod but never really thought about it for my P&S because I didn’t have a small portable until fairly recently.  When my brother showed up for the holidays with the Gorilla Pod and his P&S, not only was he more portable, but also more stable.  (Don’t you hate it when your brother beats you at your own hobby!)  I had to get one, and you should too!  For the P&S original, it’s $21.95!
7. Earbud Microphone set – When I first got my iPod Touch, it was disappointing to learn that the included headphones did not include a microphone.  The tech in me should have known, but I rushed back out to get the Apple-compatible headset.  When I didn’t have it with me one day, I tried the set for my Blackberry and sure enough, it worked just fine.  (Why wouldn’t it, it’s the same technology in headsets – all with the same adapter.)  Now that my “Apple-certified” headset has developed a short, the replacement set will be the one from Plantronics for $5 from Amazon.  Shoulda gone there first!  For those out there without iPhones, Touches, or Blackberries – most phones these days come with a headset plug, and the mini-RCA should work in all of them.  If not, you’re only out $5.  Small price to pay for the ease with which these operate (and I think they sound better too!)
8. Microfiber Cloths – I know, it sounds crazy, but these do get dirty themselves and you must throw them out.  No biggie though when a10-pack costs a mere $17.99 you can’t go wrong!  You can get different sized cloths from camera vendors like B&H, and I think even Wal-Mart Visioncare has a 3-pack for like $10 bucks, but I like the ones from Simply Good Stuff (linked) simply because the price is right, they are designed for lenses, and it’s just a cool name for a website.
9. Gaffers Tape – anyone who’s been around photography for any amount of time has heard of gaffers tape.  It’s low tack so the sticky stuff won’t adhere to your gear, but man can it save your $%^& in a pinch.  For a mere $5 you can get 12 yards of the stuff from B&H, so the question isn’t “Why?”, it’s “Why not?”
10. Flickr Pro – there’s so much more you can do with a Flickr Pro account over the standard free account.  At only $24.95, it meets the criteria, and the photog will fully enjoy the added features, including statistics, unlimited uploads, and so much more.  Plus, you can give it to them online, so it saves all that added expense of tape and wrapping paper!

There you have it, 1o things under $25 (well, 9 since I kinda cheated on one).  Have any ideas of your own?  Products or items you prefer?  Something blatant I missed?  I’m sure there are lots of other ideas out there, so sound off in the comments and let others know about your “gotta have it gadgets”.!  Just in time for the holidays too!  Happy shooting all, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

You knew it was gonna happen.  A new camera body has hit the market from Canon.  It was only a matter of  time.  The latest?  The Canon 1D Mark IV!  (That’s four in Roman numerals…)  What’s it got going for it?  Lots of features and functions.  Everything is being discussed ad infinitum from Megapixels to frame rates, to video, to shutter speeds to ISO’s, and everything in between.  In the end, I’ve come to one conclusion:  the camera market is always changing, always advancing, and new gear is coming out all the time – from all the vendors.  Want some proof?  The Canon line-up of Digital SLR’s in its entirety is little more than 2 years old – with the oldest being the 1D Mark III which was introduced in early 2007.  Take a look at the current active line-up of Canon DSLR’s and their dates of introduction (from Wikipedia):

• EOS 1Ds mark III – Mid 2007
• EOS 1D Mark IV – Two days ago
• EOS 1D Mark III – Early 2007
• EOS 5D Mark II – Mid 2008
• EOS 7D – 2009
• EOS 50D – Mid 2008
• EOS Rebel T1i – 2009
• EOS Rebel XSi – 2008
• EOS Rebel XS – 2008

That’s a lot of cameras!  And that’s only their active lineup!  Others that have been “deprecated” (taken out of production) include the 40D, 30D, 20D, 10D, Rebel XT and probably more.  It’s funny actually that the two SLR’s I have owned are the XT and the 40D – neither of which is in production anymore.  And both of these cameras were absolute cutting edge on their release roughly 2 years ago and 5 years ago respectively.  The XT marked a new era of consumer grade SLR’s and the 40D marked a significant advancement to the 20D which was the most popular camera for serious enthusiast shooters for many years.  (Apparently, the 30D was only an incremental upgrade…)

A lot of people have been asking me:  “Are you going to upgrade?” What does the new MP count mean?  What about the video?  Do we need to be concerned about this?  Is it priced fairly?  What about this?  What about that?”  Lots of techno-babble is going around, and to be honest, I can’t keep up anymore.  For me it’s about one thing and one thing only:  Does it take good pictures?  In both the active and the deprecated line-up, the answer is a solid yes!

For what it’s worth, for me, I will continue to use my current camera until one of two things happens:

1. It breaks
2. My needs exceed its ability

Having said that, I am always interested in hearing what others think about the latest developments in the camera and photography industry.  It’s always fun to talk gear talk, and prognosticate, and “oooh” and “ahhh” over the latest gagedtry.  If I had a million bucks, then sure, I might look at all the stuff and buy every time a new one comes out, but until then…the above criteria fit the bill for me just fine.  What about everyone else though?  Does this make sense?  Am I being curmudgeonly?  Am I burying my head in the sand?  Is there something I am missing?  What are your thoughts on the “latest and greatest” in the camera world?  I’d love to hear, so sound off in the comments and via email – who knows, you may get your name featured on a podcast!  LOL

In the meantime, as always, Happy Shooting!   (We’ll see you back here on Friday with hopefully the latest podcast and some weekend nuggets (like a winner for the Flickr Monthly Giveaway!)

Photo.Net Review

Photo Notes

So, why talk about the lens if it’s already been covered so well? For two reasons…first because the lens really offers a great range of focus and image quality for its size and cost (it’s light and cheap), and because it really has become more of an historical note as it’s been replaced.  It’s new cousin is the 18-55mm IS lens with improved optics and the Image Stabilization feature that has become popular among photographers and aficionados.  So, since this is a lens that will probably not be around much longer, other than auction sites like eBay, not only is this a review post, consider it also a eulogy.

This really is a great lens given it’s relatively low cost.  It allows you to go fairly wide, yet also zoom in nice and tight for close-ups.  Granted it’s not going to zoom very far as it’s not intended to be more than a standard range lens.  On a crop sensor camera (it won’t fit on a full-frame due to design) the range adjusts from the design range of 18-55 to a broader 29-88.  This actually means this lens is good for anything from architecture to portraiture and landscape subjects.  Sure, there are other lenses that will produce better results, primarily because their optics are more refined and the “sweet spot” is wider, but if you want to go light and mobile, the 18-55mm is definitely one to consider if you can still find it.  Lucky me, I kept mine from the XT days when I first entered into Digital Photography!

Here are some sample shots from this lens that I took recently for this review/eulogy:

Wide Open

Zomed to 55mm

An Abstract Perspective (at 18mm)

The same abstract from 55mm

A few sunflowers

And if you like the sunflower shot, then take a look at the small gallery I put together here (all with the 18-55)!  Sure, I had some lighting help and it was a controlled indoor environment, but it just goes to show that just because it’s dated, doesn’t mean it’s bad.  Coming up next week, another product review/eulogy from the Canon arsenal that is no longer made:  The Canon 550EX  (the light used in the gallery above). In the meantime, don’t forget that this is the last week fr contributing shots to the OnOne Software Plugin Suite 4.5 Giveaway.  The Flickr thread is here and links to all the contest details.   Good luck, and until tomorrow, happy shooting everyone!

Truth be told, the economics of photography sales are just as much a mystery to me, and I don’t have all the answers.  But I know a few things about where to start, and how to research.  First and foremost, is to know your market.  Are you working in NYC, or in Duluth MN?  Have you looked at other photographers’ websites?  What are they charging?  Are they start-ups or established companies?  What kinds of services do they offer?  What kinds of services do you offer?  Do you provide print fulfillment or is that out-sourced?  What is your overhead?  Cost of equipment?  Cost of training?  The whole 9 yards – it’s a lot to filter.  Well, here’s some software that can give you a leg up in that regard – FotoQuotePro.

This software is very well designed and offers you rates for a wide variety of publications, ranging from magazines, to journals, brochures, quarterly reports, and a plethora of other variations.  Quarter page prints, half page, full page, distribution of media, and many other factors are tallied in to help Fotoquote determine your rate.  Granted this may not help the startup in portrait work, but if you are looking to market your work toward commercial and stock sites – this is definitely the software for you.  And now, in a special offer here at the blog – I’ve been able to garner a 33% discount for some lucky listener.  That’s right…33%!!  It regularly goes for a price of $150, and the good folks over at Cradoc Foto Software have generously donated a discount code.  Rather than buy and install it myself, I would like to pass this savings on to some lucky reader of the blog.

So, here’s how the winner of the discount code will be chosen – post a comment here at the blog.  Say what you like about the software, why you could use it, or simply introduce yourself to the rest of the readership.  This particular post will take comments through the end of June, so you have about two and a half weeks to get something out there and get a chance to win the discount code.  In the meantime, head on over to Cradoc Foto Software and download a trial to see what the program is all about.  In the meantime, here’s a few screen shots from the demo version to show you what they have to offer…

Tab 1 of FotoQuote Pro

Tab 2 of FotoQuote Pro

Tab 3 of FotoQuote Pro

Tab 4 of FotoQuote Pro

Tab 5 of FotoQuote Pro

Happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!  (Oh yeah, and don’t forget, you can also share your thoughts and suggestions for future hardware and software reviews that take place right here on the blog!  Let me know what you think as it’s the contributions of readers that make this such a fulfilling blog – who knows, there might be a giveaway in that too!)

Grab the Feed

Lest you do a double take, that’s right, I used it along with a makeshift boom (arm that extends out to the side) to hold a water bag for a photo project.  The point is, light stands, like tripods, can function in a wide variety of capacities.   While I tend to shy away from making generalizations because I know my own gear experiences are unique, for me the biggest difference between a light stand and a tripod is weight and stability – light stands seem much lighter and aren’t as stable.  I am sure there are some high end light stands that provide excellent stability and can weigh a decent amount, but this one that I use is pretty light:

I’ve linked the photo to the item at B&H (Item #IMLS8AQ  ) for those that want all the detailed specs, but here’s my two cents.

Pros:

• Weight – these things are super light, and very easy to move around.  I could literally pick one of these up with one finger.
• Extension – this basic model extends up to eight feet tall and compresses down into a shade under 3 feet.
• Cost – very inexpensive, running a mere $35 from B&H Photo – small price to pay for an assistant
• Size – this collapses down so small, I can fit my tripod, my monopod, umbrella, and this all in an over-the-shoulder bag!  Compactness is a plus, especially when travelling!
• Functionality – aside from the obvious funtion of holding lights of various sizes, with a small clamp, you could hold pretty much anything from lights to grey cards to reflectors, to booms with water bags.  Heck, you can even jury-rig something from your garage or storage shed to make this guy hold pretty much anything for you.  So much for the photo assistant, eh?

Cons

• Weight – yep, while a pro, it’s also a con – because they are so light, the can get easily bumped out of position or knocked over.  While using it with the boom/water bag for a weekend project, I bumped it ever so slightly with my foot and everything got knocked out of position.  Not by much, but when your DOF is a mere quarter of an inch and you are zoomed in tight on a water drop, one little bump requires re-setting everything from scratch again!
• Workmanship – I was rather disappointed when I was going to pull out one of the extensions one day when the whole top pulled off the bottom legs.  It seems the nuts that are used to anchor legs and extensions into position weren’t tightened down all the way and as a result, a firm yank can pull it off the assembly.  Then, when I went to tighten it back down – the plastic collar that the screw/net combo fits through cracked on me.  *Sigh* Ah well – it still works, and I just have to make a mental note not to pull on the extension too roughly as the top will pop off.  But, what do you expect for $35?

Bottom line – I’d recommend this for people needed an extra set of hands from time to time.  If you are into off camera lighting (and after Wednesday, you should be!), then a light stand is a must – and this is a great entry level one that will fit your needs indefinitely, because even if you upgrade, an extra set of hands is just a few seconds away.

That’s it for today – make sure you stop in tomorrow for the next installment of software reviews!  Happy shooting and see you then!

The tripod is probably one of the most basic and easy-to-understand pieces of equipment in a photographer’s gear bag – yet likely one of the least used.  I can’t tell you the number of times (myself included) I have heard someone utter “Argh!  I left my tripod back in my car!”  We’ve all done it, so the question becomes one of how to ensure you take the tripod with you.  The answer lies in making the right investment the first time.

FOr me, the first investment (because we all invariably try this route first), was a cheap an economical one from Wal-Mart for roughly $20.  I was quickly disavowed of its ability to support even a Canon XT with a 70-200 lens on it.  I went so far as to weigh down the plastic center column with my gear bag to little avail.  It was just not built for my gear.  Perhaps such a tripod would be good for the P&S crowd, because I would rather not disparage any gear intended to provide an increase in stability.

Anyone who goes to any length to increase their camera stability recognizes the benefit of a tripod.  So many pictures out there can benefit from increased stability – yet they continue to pepper the internet in perpetuity.  So, if you really are strapped for cash – something is better than nothing.  But, if you would like to invest a little in “some legs” (parlance for a tripod among photog-types apparently), then take a look at Bogen/Manfrotto.

Bogen/Manfrotto gear is recognized as one of the industry leaders in tripods, monopods, and camera equipment.  Another serious name in the game is Gitzo, and I’ve heard good things about them too – but for my money, I went with Bogen a few years back in my pursuit of stability.  My choice?  The Bogen 3021BPro:

This set is really sturdy – made of aluminum and an extended eight of nearly 70″ (69.29 technically), this was a great investment for me.  I stand at 6’1″ (73″)  so the height appeal was a major contributing factor.  Cost-wise, it also came in within my range at roughly $150-$200 new.  With quick-clamp leg extensions, and the ability to set up at varying ranges of 25°,  43°, 73° and  90° it was a great investment for me.

With the stability and low price though, came a downside – weight.  The legs themselves weigh in at a little over 5 lbs, but I did not plan on being very mobile with the set.  So, it was a great starter set for me.  The reason why I said “set” though is because any good tripod also needs a good head.  You’ll notice from the inserted image that the legs have a lonely screwmount at the top.  This does not give you much mobility for the camera when attached, so you really need to also invest in a head.

The head attaches to the tripod, and then in turn attaches to your camera and allows you a little more flexibility in moving the camera position around to get the right angle on your shot.  There are many types of heads including trigger mounts, ball heads, and pan-and-tilt heads.  Rather than get into an extensive discussion of the various heads as well, here it’s sufficient to say I chose the ballhead route.  Specifically, I went with the Bogen 488RC2.

This is super nice because it allows you to pivot your camera around very easy and go from landscape to portrait mode in a snap.  Also nice is the fact that the head comes with a quick-release plate, basically allowing you to go mobile from your stationary tripod in a snap.  I’ll go into the various heads and how they work in some future post.  For here though, I got the ehad at about $120, so for less than $300 total, I had a pretty decent workhorse for a tripod/head set.   Here again, the only downside I can think of is weight.  The head also weighs in at 1.5 lbs so I am getting near 7 lbs of tripod weight total.  It doesn’t sound like much, but if you’ve tried lugging a tripod/head combo around on a photowalk, it can get pretty heavy pretty quick if you don’t have some strapped method for carrying it while walking or traveling.  For the most part though, it’s lasted me well and worked gloriously – when I remember to take it out of my car!

Eventually I will probably either upgrade this set of legs to the more lightweight, yet also sturdy, carbon fiber material that is becoming more cost effective.  At the time when I got this set, carbon fiber was very new on the scene, and thus very expensive.  As we see the presence of carbon fiber increase in the market place, the price has also come down some.  Not a lot, but enough for me to start considering it.  In all likelihood, I could see myself hanging on to this set for studio or location work while also adding to the gear bag with the more lightweight carbon fiber legs for on-the-go types of photography.

All in all though – if you don’t have a set of legs, this would be an excellent starter set.  For under $300 your pictures will undoubtedly see marked improvement – that’s assuming of course you don’t forget the gear in your car!  Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

A while back I decided to ditch the Canon ST-E2 wireless trigger for a number of reasons – those being:

1. It relied on line-of-sight
2. It didn’t have a very good range
3. It wouldn’t work with non-Canon gear

I, like many others, have been salivating over the new developments in radio trigger technology.  And, at my last job, I had access to multiple lights, strobes, and such for experimentation.  So, in order to do said experimentation, I decided to invest in some Cactus Triggers that I purchased off an online web vendor (I forget the vendor off the top of my head – search the archives and I am sure it’s there…).  Much to my chagrin though, it would not work with my Canon 550EX flash.  So, when I left my previous job, it was back to the ST-E2.  In order to spur some motivation to invest in some more serious lighting gear on my own, I decided to sell the ST-E2 to fund the purchase of some Cyber Syncs.

Long story short, I ended up with no off-camera method to trigger my one flash unit.  So, I was back on-camera.  Needless to say, ambient light photography was a large focus for that time period.  Well, after the economy stabilized a little for the household with my state job, I decided to invest in the Cyber Syncs – but as a measure of insurance, wanted to make sure the devices would work in my 550EX (the 550EX does not have a sync port).  So, a quick email to them revealed that a neat little device from the folks over at Flash Zebra would make the Cyber Syncs compatible.  A mere $14 later and the device arrived late last week (while I was in SC).  So, next month the Cyber Syncs will be making their way to my doorstep.

In the meantime, I have these Cactus triggers, and I thought with the inclusion of a sync port, perhaps I could jerry-rig something together.  With the sync port going out to what looks to be an RC-mini, and the receiver also going out to an RC-mini, I needed a way to join two RC-mini’s together.  A quick dig through my various buckets of cables and connectors revealed a dual mini that is normally used to connect to headphones to a single audio.  Worth a shot, since it’s only about $50 total invested.  I connected everything together to get this:

On your left is the trigger that came from Cactus, to the RC male.  A reducer on that took it to an RC-mini male.  In the center is the well-hidden PC-sync device that came from Flash Zebra.  (For a better picture, see below…)  A female sync port on that was able to connect to the male sync port that was included with my Cactus gear.  That also went to an RC-mini male.  These are both connected on the right to the y-connector that you would typically see two headsets connect to the same audio source.  The technology is the same, so it’s worth a shot right?  (No pun intended…)

I fired off a test shot from the 40D and it worked!  So, how well would it work?  What kind of reliability would there be?  I took the flash into the next room and fired the trigger from a further distance away…about 20 feet.  Flash!  Then I took the trigger around the corner and fired it.  Flash!  How cool is that?  Another set of tests was needed.  One where radio waves wouldn’t bounce all over the place – outside!  If you recall, I interviewed Scott Eccleston from Weekly Photo Tips a while back, and a recent post of his armed me with a good testing method of the Cactus triggers.  Armed with the inspiration of this video, I enlisted the aid of my wife and took to the great outdoors.

I began with a fresh set of batteries in both the trigger and receiver, as well as the flash.  Starting from ten steps away from the flash, I tripped the shutter – flash!  Twenty paces – flash!  Thirty paces – flash!  Fourty paces – nada.  Hmmm…tried again – nada.  So, I moved back to 35 paces – still nada.  A couple steps closer and it flashed again.  About four more tests at this distance and I had 100% flash rate.  Starting back to my wife, I counted the paces, 1-2-3… all the way to 33 paces.  At an average gait of 3 feet per pace, that’s an outside range of 99 feet!  Considerably better than the ST-E2 and at a third of the price!

For posterity’ sake, and since I am in a very casual way reviewing the PC-sync adaptor from Flash Zebra, here’s a better shot of just that device.

Also for posterity sake, here’s a view of the trigger that attached to the hot shoe of the 550EX:

From my perspective, I would agree that 12 is probably close.  Yes, processing capabilities are increasing and hard drive storage space costs continue to decrease at almost ridiculous rates (you can get a 1TB hard drive for around $100 these days!), but these are mitigated by need.  When you look at the true and honest need for most folks (myself included), we do not regularly print much larger than 8×10, or 12×16.  I would venture to guess that even artist gallery prints and portfolios do not exceed 16×20″ dimensions that often.

Yes, more megapixels means you can crop smaller and retain print quality, but at what price?  More grain or noise?  Yep.  Reduced dynamic range?  Yep.  More processing demands?  Yep.  More storage needed?  Yep.  While all of these can be addressed by buying software to handle noise, bracketing exposures to increase dynamic range, and buying more storage to meet the increased demand, there does come a point of diminishing returns on the investment, and Olympus seems to have set that mark at 12 MP.

But, will the market agree?  I think so.  It’s no secret that the economy is not doing so well.  People are likely going to be more frugal in their purchases, and getting that full-sized wall print may not be as high a priority as, perhaps, bread on the table is anymore.  Do we need to re-assess our priorities?  Some say yes, that it’s not all about the megapixels.  Some say we should be asking for things like low light responsiveness, better auto-focusing, faster auto-focusing, better in camera noise handling.  I don’t think any of us would complain either if we saw a decrease in the costs of fast glass.

But who knows – maybe the masses will continue to push for more megapixels.  Now that Olympus has drawn a proverbial line in the sane, will other vendors see the logic and start to taper things off?  Or will the megapixels wars continue indefinitely?  Sure, we can’t predict the future, but guessing and talking about it can be a good source of discussion too because it can get us thinking about what is important in our pictures.  So, what do you think?  Where will things go from here?  Sound off in the comments, and watch for the podcast coming up on Monday where you’ll get an extended version of my thoughts on where things may go from here.

In the meantime, have a great weekend, and go out and getcha some (pictures)!  We’ll see you back here on Monday!

I also remind everyone of how you can win a Think Tank Photo Streetwalker!  This is a $150 value bag, and there are still a few opportunities left to participate in the random drawing.  Make sure you tune into the third segment to find out how (sorry, but only domestic US residents are eligible…) this can be yours for a simple song!  (Hint:  Make a post to the blog and you will probably be entered to win!)

Finally, I take a few listener questions from Josh and LaRae (thanks for the comments and email), as well as your weekly photo tip.  I made same changes to the recording process that I think have cleaned it up quite a bit, so I’d really like to hear some feedback on what people think of the difference in audio quality this go around!  Please don’t be shy, and make sure you let iTunes know they’ve dropped the feed!

[podcast]http://www.canonblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/CBPodcast65.mp3[/podcast]

Have a good weekend everyone.  Happy shootin, and we’ll see you back here Monday morning!

Oh, sorry, this is a photo blog, not a football one!

Okay, here’s the latest and greatest from CB. First and foremost, CB Episode #55 went up today. I took about twenty minutes to talk about off-camera lighting. I looked at the radio transmitters available, infrared transmitters and a number of different companies that deliver products. Pricing from various websites was also reported. As prices may change, and sales may happen, those are approximate according to the date of publication. So, if you have questions about off-camera flash, this may be a good starting point. I look at everything from PocketWizards to Cybersyncs, Skyports and more. It’s about a 20 minute listen, but chock full of information, so download it and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments – I’d really like to hear what people think of the “new format”.

Other news from CB – the header is updated! I’ve got new header shots rolling out every day this week, so make sure you visit the blog and look at the new images (this is for all you RSS readers out there). For the regular visitors, you may also notice that I finally took some time to sit down and add some of the common links above the header, so now you have quick access to The Online Photography Test (more questions and ideas are needed for the “Expert exam”, not linked like yet), the Colors and Textures Gallery, and my own website of personal photography work.  Finally, I also added a link to the  CB Flickr group (I’d love to see some more members sharing photos and ideas). Pretty cool stuff that I am happy to finally have in place. Thanks go out to Erik Bernskiold of Bernskiold Media for taking some time to jog my memory on the particulars of HTML editing – it’d been a while.

As promised, here are the links from the show (a.k.a. show notes):

• Pocket Wizards (B&H) $380
• Elinchrom Skyports (B&H) $180
• Alienbees Cybersyncs (Alienbees) $130
• Cactus Triggers (Gadget Infinity) $25-$50
• Nikon (B&H)
• Canon (B&H)

As I said in the show, I’m migrating from the ST-E2 from Canon to the Cactus transmitters. If you’d like to hear a follow-up episode on my experiences when I am done, let me know and I’ll try to get that “in the can” too.

Well, that was just a ton of information for a Tuesday, so I’ll leave things at that, and let everyone come back tomorrow rejuvenated for the Wednesday “What’s This?” Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

P.S.  Don’t forget the poll on the sidebar or the Photrade contest – both are ending soon so get your votes in today!

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See, cameras, like any other device in todays technologically advanced world, can have flaws that are discovered after it is released to the public.  Most of the time the bigger players like Canon and Nikon keep these to a minimum, but nevertheless, things can happen.  Here is what happened to me.

Thus far my lens collection has consisted of glass that does not have built in image stabilization(or Vibration Reduction if you are a Nikon shooter).  So, when I had a shoot for work this last Tuesday, I thought it might be a good idea to go rent some glass and give it a whirl – to see if I could benefit from it.  Well, the oddest thing happened…whenever I was using the IS lens, I would hear a funny sound in camera.  It’s very hard to describe, but when I swapped lenses out, I didn’t hear the sound anymore.  I stopped using the lens and did the rest of the evening with my kit 18-55 lens.  When I returned the lens to the rental store, the guy told me that there have been reported problems with my particular body (the 40D), and I should check my firmware.

Sure enough, the firmware was at 1.5 or something, and Canon’s website verified that a newer release had been issuedto correct this very problem.  So, I downloaded the firmware and will be updating that for a tutorial next week.  (Make sure you tune in for that, because it’s not like I’ll have a chance to practice for it, and if I mess up, that will make for a funny tutorial!)  The moral here though is that cameras need maintenance too.

As we think about our work flow, we make sure our software is up to date, our operatig system is patched and secured, and hotfixes or system updates are applied…after all, we’re talking about all our work captured and saved on those precious hard disks.

Since Adobe, Microsoft, Apple, and the rest all have ways to automate our updates, that side of things can become rather ubiquitous.  We’ve set things up, and we know it will update itself when it needs to, so we don’t even think about it anymore.  it falls off our radar.  Cameras though, do not have a way of “auto-updating”.  Thus, we can’t let things things fall off our radar.  Letting things slide like that will only result in what happened to me on Tuesday – equipment failure or problems due to lack of current firmware.

As sort of a PSA, I am including here indications of what the latest firmware is for all the EOS cameras that are active in Canon’s line.  Check your firmware in camera and if it matches, you’re good to go.  If not, follow the link to get the latest firmware direct from Canon.  Mac is listed first, Windows is listed second:

Canon 1Ds Mark III – at version 1.1.2, dated 4/30/08

• Mac version
• Windows Version

Canon ID Mark III – at version 1.2.3, dated 4/30/08

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

Canon 5D – at version 1.1.1, dated 3/18/08

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

Canon 50D – brand new, no version updates available yet

Canon 40D – at version 1.0.8, dated 4/7/08

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

Canon 30D – at version 1.0.6, dated 3/18/08

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

Canon XSi – no firmware updates are available for the XSi – but software updates can be obtained too

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

Canon XTi – at version 1.1.1 dated 12/7/07

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

Canon XS – no updates are available for this camera on a current platform, but legacy WIn2K has some installers

• Windows 2000 downloads

Canon XT – at version 1.0.3, dated 12/1/07

• Mac Version
• Windows Version

So, there’s the complete list of all EOS cameras.  Hope you take a moment to check your firmware today.  Happy shooting and watch those apertures (and firmware).  We’ll see you back here tomorrow!

• http://bgpictures.com/blog/
• http://www.photographybay.com/2008/08/21/canon-50d-info-leaked-real-specs/
• http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/Canon_50D.html
• http://www.canonrumors.com/index.php?entry=entry080125-142506
• http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/24/canons-eos-50d-product-shots-test-photo-leaked/
• http://www.canon.com.cn/products/camera/eos/index.html

The fact that the source URL of that last one is from China and not Japan (Canon is in Japan, not China…or are they?) makes me suspicious, but by the same token, another portion of the site has interviews that discuss the history of the EOS lens system for Canon, saying it’s the anniversary of their 20t year.  Plus, the graphics aren’t exactly the makings of hacks and pseudos who are trying for a temporary jump in their web traffic – there’s nothing to buy there!  Anyway, the movie itself has a translation and was kind of neat to watch, so here’s a link to that too:

http://www.canon.com.cn/specialsite/EOS_final/index-e.html

Plus, I finally learned that EOS stands for Electro Optical System.  As a guy running a blog about Canon and photography, I guess I should have known that!

No tutorial for today folks – just too busy to get one recorded in time.  As I have an event to shoot at work tonight I suspect that the post tomorrow will be the “no blog” day…but I’ll try to make it back here Thursday to share some more detailed shots and thoughts from the photowalk last Saturday.

Until Thursday then, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

So, any guesses for the latest edition of “What’s This?” Last week, the crop was from some fancy ornate crown molding in a capture from an old plantation house here in SC. It was kind of a stretch as I was pulling from my portfolio, rather than taking a shot specifically with the weekly theme in mind. This week I did a mite better though. I had hoped to have a tutorial compiled for publishing tonight too, but alas, t’was not meant to be. Someone did mention in the comments earlier this week though that the title page was notdisplaying correctly in their feed reader. Could anyone enlighten me further, as I don’t see any punctuation or anything wrong in the blog title header info. Thanks a bunch! Good luck with the theme, and we’ll see you out here again tomorrow! Happy shooting and watch those apertures…