Did Midland score a win with the XTC300VP4? There is only one way to find out….put it to the test!

Features

There are not a whole ton of features, settings, dials, inputs, outputs or really much of anything to the XTC300VP4. The camera is what it is, and what it is, is a video camera. There are only three settings shooting modes:

• 1920×1080 High Definition @ 30 FPS (16:9 Aspect Ratio)
• 1280×720 High Definition @ 60FPS (16:9 Aspect Ratio)
• 848 x 480 Standard Definition @ 60FPS (16:9 Aspect Ratio)

There are only two controls on the entire camera, the on/off slide switch and the video resolution switch. There are no menus to dig through, cryptic codes to remember, just set the video resolution you want and turn it on to start filming.

Host: Kerry Garrison

Sponsors: GoPro, Blackbelt Lighting

Even though I have talked about this setup several times, recent events have prompted me to bring it up again and for good reason. As I am writing this, I am on a cruise ship sailing towards St. Maarten. One thing about cruise ships is that they make a good chunk of money selling photos. They take photos of you getting other ship, arriving at ports, at dinner, and they have multiple static setups with different backgrounds. When you are needing to pound out hundreds of portraits per day you can’t be spending a lot of time messing with your lighting. So what lighting setup do they use for quick, simple, and consistent lighting? The standard three light portrait setup of course.

Let’s dissect their secret recipe and see how they are using the three light setup so effectively.

To the camera right is a 32″ softbox as the key light. On the camera left is a 42″ umbrella as a fill light, and then high right off the background stands is a third light with a honeycomb grid as a hair light. Why does this setup work so well that they use it exclusively at every one of their stations? The answer is simple, its because it works. The softbox provides some nice directional lighting while the umbrella softens the shadows. The high gridded light adds a splash of hairlight which looks natural for both indoor and outdoor scenes.

While the cruise ship is using 500 watt second monolights, a Westcott Apollo, and a Westcott umbrella, you can put together the same setup for much less. Let’s break down all of the pieces and see what it would cost to replicate this tried and true lighting setup.

(3) Blackbelt Lighting BB560 speedlites @ $95 each
(1) Blackbelt Lighting. Stealth 32″ Softbox @ $79
(1) Blackbelt Lighting 10′ x 12′ backdrop stand @ $85
(1) Blackbelt Lighting Ninja Speedlite Triggers @ $65
(1) Blackbelt Lighting swivel mount @ $15
(1) Shoot through umbrella @ $10
(1) Blackbelt Lighting Samurai Light stand kit @ $65
(1) Bogen Superclamp
(1) Expoimaging Rouge Grid
Printed backgrounds from Backdrop Outlet

All in you are going to be between $700 – $900 depending on the background you get. While this may sound like a lot of money, you would easily spend over $2,500 for big name products. The beauty of a setup like this is that it is a very versatile lighting kit that makes for a great starting point for building upon as your skill increases.

Features

GoPro Size Comparison

The GoPro HD Hero sports a 5 megapixel sensor mated to a super wide-angle lens with a fixed aperture of f/2.8. The lens also has a fixed focus so this isn’t really going to be a good replacement for a good point & shoot. The GoPro is designed to be used in situations that you wouldn’t put a regular camera. The camera body itself has no mounting points because it is generally used inside of the waterproof case that it comes with. There is also no viewfinder or LCD screen built-in as the camera is usually used unattended such as strapped to a motorcycle helmet or attached to the side of a car.

There are four still shooting settings that include:

• Single shot
• Three shot burst
• Countdown timer
• Timelapse mode

Camera Optics

• Lens Type: Fixed Focus (2ft/.6m – ∞), glass
• Aperture: f/2.8 (high performance in low-light situations)
• Angle of View: 170º ultra wide angle in WVGA, 720p, or 960p mode
• Angle of View: 127º wide angle in 1080p mode

GoPro Left Side View

GoPro Right Side View

GoPro Rear View

The first three options are pretty basic but the Timelapse feature requires a bit of explanation. In the settings you first set the time interval between each shot. When you press the shutter to take a picture, the camera will keep firing shots off, pausing between each shot based on your setting, until you stop the process, the SD card becomes full, or the battery dies.

As I mentioned earlier, the GoPro HD Hero comes with a waterproof case that is rated for up to 60 meters. With this much protection, there aren’t many places that you can’t find a use for the GoPro.

The Bad News

Keep in mind that the GoPro is a specialty camera so while it excels in some areas, there are some gotchas to be aware of. I already mentioned the lack of a viewfinder although an optional one is available for $79. I highly recommend the viewfinder for navigating through the GoPro’s menus and for setting up shots. There is also no flash as the primary use is for shooting video. Out of the box there also isn’t any way to mount the camera to a tripod, for this you need an $8 tripod mount adapter.

There are only two buttons on the camera and a small LCD, combined they are used to change the plethora of setting options. Once you get the hang of it, changing the settings isn’t too difficult, but adding the LCDBak really makes using the GoPro much easier.

If you decide to buy a GoPro HD Hero you should start with a package containing a selection of mounting hardware such as the GoPro Motocycle Hero. The GoPro Motorcycle Hero will start you off with suction mount, helmet mount, and a handful of other parts. Add a bicycle mount and the tripod adapter and you will have a good starter kit.

Why use the GoPro for stills?

No viewfinder, no flash, tricky settings menus, so why would you want to use a GoPro for shooting stills? The main reason is that it is small and unobtrusive. You can easily put the camera in obscure locations and just let it shoot away. Think about putting the GoPro in the arch above a wedding ceremony for some unique angles. Your imagination is your only limitation as to what you can do.

But how good are the images?

The single most noticeable thing you will notice about the images is that the lens is a super wide-angle. I don’t mean just wide-angle, this is seriously a wide-angle, so wide that you get a bit of barrel distortion. Sometimes you want a mega wide-angle shot, other times you may not and you may need to do some lens correction on the images.

In the specs I mentioned that the camera has a fixed focus f/2.8 lens. An interesting note here is that Adobe Lightroom reports it as f/3.4. This is a pretty trivial difference, but something I would point out. Also, if you are looking at the EXIF data you will see that the shutter speed and ISO change from shot to shot. It appears that the GoPro tries to maintain a good exposure by adjusting the shutter speed as needed and then adjusting the ISO to keep the shutter speed from falling too low. Hopefully I can get some clarification on this from GoPro. A few other interesting tidbits are that Lightroom reports the focal length as 5mm (I did mention it was a WIDE angle).

Is a GoPro HD Hero right for you?

The GoPro HD Hero at $269 (Amazon) is more expensive than a good point & shoot camera and may even seem lighter on features. The important advantages have to do with the protective cover that waterproofs and protects the camera body from damage. The versatility of the mounting system allows you to use the camera in all kinds of unique situations from scuba diving to sky diving and pretty much anything in between.

These days I don’t leave my house without a GoPro HD Hero. From a quick snapshot when needed to recording the Camera Dojo GoCast series, the GoPro HD Hero is just fun. Sure, a focusable lens, adjustable focal length, and more control over exposure settings would be nice, having these limitations forces you to think about what you are shooting and how work with what you have.

In this post we have only talked about using the GoPro as a still camera, next week we will look at using the GoPro as a video camera.

Be sure and check out more information about GoPro and enter their daily contest for a chance to win everything they make.

In this post we are going to look at how to control exposure by manipulating the different settings on the camera such as ISO, Shutter, and Aperture.

What is exposure?
Exposure is, simply put, the amount of light that enters the camera and hits the sensor. The more light that hits the sensor the brighter the scene will be. If too much light hits the sensor, parts of the image will be “blown out”, this is considered to be over-exposed. A scene that is too dark and the details in the shadows are lost is under-exposed.

Under Exposed Image

Over Exposed Image

How to control exposure
There are three camera settings that control the exposure, these are:

• ISO speed
  • Controls the sensitivity of the sensor to light
• Aperture
  • The aperture controls the size of the diaphragm over the shutter, the smaller the aperture number the more open the diaphragm is, allowing more light to enter.
• Shutter speed
  • The slower the shutter, the more light will enter the camera

We will look at these settings in more detail to see exactly how the play together later. First, you need to start thinking of light in terms of “stops”. A stop is not an exact amount of light, it is a relative amount of light, each stop of light doubles the amount of light. For example, if we have a single lightbulb as our base light source, adding a second lightbulb (doubling the amount of light) increases the light by one stop. If want to increase the light by another stop we have to again double the amount of light to four lightbulbs. Understanding this is going to be the key to understanding how the different camera settings affect our exposure.

ISO Speed
As already mentioned, the ISO speed will control the sensitivity of the sensor. The lower the number, the less sensitive. For low light you will need a higher ISO number to make the sensor more sensitive. The downside is that the higher ISO the more digital noise (grainy look) will show up which will degrade the image quality.

Each time you double the ISO speed you increase the exposure by one stop, so ISO 400 will give you one stop of exposure more than ISO 200, and ISO 800 will give you one more stop over ISO 400 etc. Some cameras have some in-between ISO settings to provide a finer level of control.

You currently see high ISO performance as being a major selling point for new DSLR cameras as this allows them to shoot in lower light conditions with less noise.

Pro: Higher ISO allows shooting in lower light conditions
Con: Higher ISO settings result in more digital noise

High ISO Digital Noise

Aperture
Aperture is a little confusing because the larger the number the smaller the size. The largest aperture lenses are f/1.0 although most of the good prime lenses start at f/1.4 – f/1.6. Zoom lenses typically are not available that can do more than f/2.8.

So besides letting in more or less light, what does the aperture actually do? The more light that comes in at a particular shutter speed, the shallower the depth of field. If you want more depth of field you use a smaller (higher number) aperture setting.

Pro: Larger apertures allow more light in and thus allow shooting in lower light conditions
Con: Larger apertures reduce the depth of field which may not be desirable

Shallow Depth of Field

Deep Depth of Field

Shutter
The faster the shutter, the less light enters the camera, the slower the shutter the more light will enter the camera. If you are shooting in low light conditions, you may need a slower shutter speed, however, too slow of a shutter and you can introduce blur from the subject moving, accidental camera movement, or both.

Sometimes a little blur can help portray movement and action, a sharp bike rider with a blurred background will make the rider look like he/she is moving fast where a tack sharp image shows no motion at all and would make the same image look boring. While blurring on other images can ruin the image.

Pro: The right shutter speed can really make an image more dramatic. Fast shutter speeds can freeze action, slow shutter speeds can add a dramatic motion blur.
Con: Fast shutter speeds require lots of light, slow shutter speeds are harder to control

Fast Shutter Speed

Slow Shutter Speed

Summary
By understanding the three variables that control exposure along with the pros and cons of each one, you will be able to better control the different options that are available to you.

The Math
Feel free to skip right over this part, this is the boring part, it’s so boring I thought of putting a picture of an artistic nude shot next to it just to keep people awake. Ok, so here we go. Before you can calculate the depth of field you first must know the circle of confusion for your camera.

Don’t get too lost on me yet, for most of us digital SLR users this is  one of two numbers. For most of us with APS/APS-C sized sensors this number is 0.019948, for full frame sensors (the big Pro cameras) and 35mm film the number is 0.02501. This represents the sensor size. Again, don’t get all lost on me yet, just remember the number for your particular camera.

The first thing we need to calculate is the Hyperfocal distance, for this calculation you will need to know the focal length of your lens. the aperture you are using and the CoC (circle of confusion) for your camera.

The math to calculate the hyperfocal distance is as follows:

HyperFocal = (FocalLength * FocalLength) / (Aperture * CoC)

Thus, the Hyperfocal distance of a 50mm lens at f/2.8 on an APS sensor (Canon 30D in my case) is 146.85 feet.

Next we need to calculate the near point which is the closest distance that will be in focus given the distance bdetween the camera and the subject. The math here (yes, it gets SO much worse) is as follows:

NearPoint = (HyperFocal * distance) / (HyperFocal + (distance – focal))

This is somewhat  complicated because the focal length is in millimeters and those of us in the US are better with feet and inches still so if you want the end value to be in feet you have to do some more conversions. If we are using the same 50mm lens, at f/2.8 on an APS sensor at a distance of 10 feet (3048mm) then our HyperFocal distance is 146.85 feet (44,749.23mm), giving us a near focus point of 9.37 feet (2,856.66mm). Are we following along still? Did I lose anyone?

Alrighty then, let’s now calculate the far point distance, this is almost the same as before but using slightly different math, so here we go.

FarPoint = (HyperFocal * distance) / (HyperFocal – (distance – focal))

Without changing our values that we used before, we now know that are rear point is 10.72 feet (3,266.81mm). Take note that the near point is actually closer to you than the subject is, typically the focus is 1/3 in front of the subject and 2/3 behind the subject.

The final step is to calculate the total amount of focal distance. This is one I can even do without a calculator, we simply subtract the far point distance from the near point distance.

TotalDof = FarPoint – NearPoint

Giving our example so far we have a total depth of field of 1.35 feet (411.48mm).

Let’s get practical
Why on earth would you want to know this? The simple answer is you may not, nor may you ever care to know it. When shooting portraits, weddings, events, and pretty much anything else it really isn’t going to matter much. However, if you are the type that wants to set up a shot and have it be EXACTLY what you want, there is simply no other way to know what the camera is going to do. This is important in macro, food, and product photography. By knowing exactly where you focus points begin and end you can more accurately design and execute precise shots.

Ok, how about the easy way?
This is kind of like taking a digital photography class and having to spend a semester cooking your own B&W film, its good to know the theory before taking on the practical application. So how can we do this easier than having to pull a scientific calculator each time you want to set up a shot?

• f/Calc Spreadsheet (download) – This is an Excel spreadsheet that will do all the math for you. This was development by me and is free to use.
• f/Calc Windows and Palm App (website) If you want a simple but powerful Windows or Palm based application, f/Calc does Field of View, Angle of View, Magnification, Spot Meter, f Numbers, Depth of Field and Hyperfocal distance
• PhotoCalc for iPhone (website) – Not only does it do everything for DoF, it also incorporates a sunrise/sunset function, flash exposure calculator, and Exposure Reciprocation calculator.
• CamCalc (Market) Android App for Depth of field, field of view, focal length equivalents, flash calculations, color temp. conversion, miniatures, and sunrise, sunset.
• PhoforPho (Market) Android App with Exposure calculator, Hyperfocal calculator, DoF calculator, Timer, and Exposure compensation calculation for multiple exposures.

I know this has been a doozy of an article to read through just to get to some free or almost free (PhotoCalc is $2.99) tools to make it dead simple to do these calculation. Hopefully this will help you perfect your images help you to use depth of field to its full extent.

To put it simply, on a bright sunny day, set your camera on f/16 and set the shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO speed. So if you are set to ISO 200, then set your shutter speed to 1/200^th. If you want a faster shutter speed then increase the shutter speed and set the ISO to match. For example, if you want to shoot at 1/400^th of a second, set the ISO to 400.

f/16 ISO 200 - Shutter 1/200th

f/16 ISO 400 - Shutter 1/400th

To compensate for overcast conditions, simply adjust the f-stop to a more open setting like f/11, and keep adjusting as needed. A good chart of recommended settings is in the following table:

By utilizing the sunny 16 rule you will help ensure that you get the right settings dialed in quickly and easily. It’s always nice to have some frame of reference when getting started. When all else fails and you don’t know what settings to start with, remember the sunny 16 rule and adjust as needed.

Getting Started
Most cameras, including newer point and shoot cameras will let you shoot in full manual mode. The problem with going manual is that if you don’t have your settings “just right” you can end up with an image that is too dark or too light. Without a basic understanding of the different settings, it can be difficult to get a good shot. However, with a basic understanding of the three variables even the most newbie photographer can learn to take better pictures by getting away from the automatic settings.

ISO Speed
The ISO speed is equivalent to the ISO speed we used to use on film cameras, this describes the light sensitivity of the film that is being used. The higher the ISO speed, the more light the sensor can pick up. For example, if your camera is set to ISO 800 you can take a well exposed image in a darker room than you could with ISO 100. By definition you would always want to run your camera in the highest ISO speed possible. While this may sound like a good idea, the downside is that the higher the ISO speed, the more “noise” will be introduced to the image, thus degrading the image quality. In most cases, you will get excellent results by using ISO 200-400 outdoors and 400-800 indoors. This does not take into account your camera model as some cameras do better than others at the higher ISO settings.

Shutter Speed

Medium Shutter Speed to Show Movement

The shutter speed is one of the easiest settings to understand as it simply means how fast the shutter opens and closes when you press the shutter button. The faster the shutter speed the better the camera will freeze the action of an event. This setting is represented in seconds, a fast shutter speed would be something like 1/2000^th of a second. A long shutter speed such as 1/30^th of a second or slower can result in blurry images if you don’t use a tripod. Like the other settings, the shutter speed also affects the amount of light that hits the sensor. The faster the shutter speed, the less light that comes into the camera. So while a fast shutter speed can freeze action, you need more and more light in order to prevent getting a dark picture the faster you set the shutter. When you cant get a bright enough image, you will need to slow down the shutter speed. In some cases you may want to get a motion blur such as a waterfall or freeway traffic, these shots require a very long shutter speed.

Shallow Depth of Field

Aperture
Understanding aperture is probably the most difficult setting for most people to grasp, because of this we wrote an entire article about it. The aperture is an adjustable opening in the lens that controls the amount of light that can enter the camera. The aperture setting is expressed in f stops with the largest opening having a smaller number so a wide open aperture is going to have an f-stop of around f/1.4. The aperture setting can have a big effect on the depth of field which allows one part of the image to be in focus and the rest of it being blurry which helps to highlight the subject of the photograph.

Starting Points
Without having a light meter or lots of experience how do you know what settings to start with? The way I learned was to set my ISO to what I wanted, typically 200-400 ISO outdoors and 400-800 ISO indoors, and put the camera in P mode and press the shutter half way down. Inside the viewfinder the camera will show the settings it will use to take the picture. Then you can put the camera into Manual mode and adjust the settings to match. After some practice you should be able to set some basic settings fairly close to what they need to be, then, by pressing the shutter half way down the camera will autofocus and then take a meter reading which should show in the viewfinder or on a display depending on your camera. Then you can adjust shutter speed or aperture to change the exposure to get it where you need.

Using the Histogram
If your camera will display a histogram after shooting an image, then you need to take advantage of this feature. By looking at the histogram of an image you can quickly tell if the image was properly exposed or not. With a digital SLR camera you want the histogram to be a nice curve with the curve being just to the right of center like our example one here. This is actually saying that the image is just slightly overexposed. With film, if you overexposed the image, you would lose detail so it was better to slightly underexpose. With digital, shadows will lose detail so it is better to slightly overexpose.

Practice Practice Practice
There is nothing that will beat getting out and getting behind the camera and learning how to use it well. If you plan on making photography a serious hobby or more, you will need to learn how to use manual mode for those times when the automatic or program mode settings just won’t cut it or for when you want to create an effect that you just can’t get any other way.

Get out and practice and be sure to post some comments and post some pictures to our Flickr group.

Setup

Almost no setup at all, install the batteries, secure the latch, power up the camera and start shooting. From unboxing to shooting should take less than 30 seconds.

Features

The Intova SS1000 Snap Sights Sport Utility Digital Camera is an incredibly durable and waterproof pocket camera for divers, surfers, skiers, and all sorts of adventure seekers who wish to document their experiences in pictures. Of course it is also ideal for taking worry-free pictures in the rain or at the beach.

This low-cost camera is an alternative to waterproof single-use type cameras, yet the SS1000 offers full digital convenience, including: 1.4″ LCD viewfinder, USB computer connectivity, micro SD card to 2GB, casing waterproof to 50′ (15.24m)

• Waterproof to 50′ (15.24m)
• 1.4″ LCD viewfinder
• USB computer connectivity
• Micro SD card to 2GB

Usage

Using the SS-1000 is simple enough, one button turns the unit on and it is ready to shoot. Pressing another button switches to video mode. The simplicity of the design allows fairly young children to use the camera. I found it almost impossible to use the tiny screen as an LCD viewfinder, it just isn’t big enough or possibly my eyes are not young enough anymore. Being underwater simply made viewing the screen even worse.

Getting to your images is pretty simple, just plug in a USB cable and your computer should recognize the camera as a drive and you should be able to easy copy or import the images.

Results

Well….to say I am disappointed in this camera would be a fairly accurate and yet not surprising statement. The sensor is just sitting behind a piece of clear plastic, there is no real lense at all. At best, you might get ok results under some conditions, but generally its just got the good to deliver anything that is destined to end up on a wall anywhere.

For a kid’s camera, the $35 SS-1000 will be a digital camera that they can take to the beach, the pool, or pretty much anywhere. For anyone looking to get good quality underwater pictures, this is just not the camera for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_KGEOySA5s

Final Score:

Setup

The LiquidMask is just like any regular snorkeling mask in terms of getting it ready for use. I recommend hitting up your local sporting goods store for some lens cleaner and anti-fog. You should use the lens cleaner before your first use and after any usage when the mask may be put away for a while. A good anti-fog solution is essential to having a good time underwater, spit has just really never done the trick for me.

To get the LiquidMask ready to shoot you will need to install the batteries and a micro SD card if you want additional storage ability. I dropped a 2gb card in mine which set me back around $6.00. Make sure all the caps are screwed back on well and you are good to go.

Features

The LiquidMask doesn’t rank high on features because a) there aren’t very many and b) the one it does have aren’t very spectacular. It does feature a 5mp camera which is pretty good since most images will need some cropping. The video is decent although at 20fps you will see some pixelization, but it’s not horrible. Fortunately it actually is a decent snorkeling mask and during our entire eight day trip it was the only mask I used even though I had access to many and even had my own mask with me. The convenience of knowing I always had a camera with me was nice when a simple swim would often turn up an unexpected surprise worth shooting.

Specifications

• Image Sensor: 1/3″ 3.1 Mega Pixels CMOS sensor
• Pixels: Still Image 3.1MP***
• Image Resolution: Still Images (2048×1536) + Video (640×480-VGA)
• Digital Video Recording Rate: Up to 20fps@VGA
• Internal NAND Flash Memory: 16MB
• Storage Medium: Micro SD (up to 2GB)
• Lens: 1G3P Fix lens
• Lens Aperture: F/2.8 Feet=8.5mm
• Lens Focus: 1.5m to Infinity*
• Shutter Speed: Stills (1/15 to 1/1000 seconds)
• Sensitivity: Automatic (ISO 100) + White Balance: Automatic
• Status LCD Panel Display
• 2GB Storage Capacity: 2100 Still Images at 2048×1536 (.jpeg format) + 72 minutes of video (m-jpeg)
• Supports: Windows XP/Vista and Max 9.x or x.x. (no software requirement to retrieve files) + full USB 2.0

Usage

I found myself a little torn on how to rate the LiquidMask for it’s usage ranking. On one hand, I don’t see myself ever snorkeling again without one for the reason mentioned above, but on the other hand the camera leaves something to be desired. The camera doesn’t appear to do any auto white balancing, daytime above water shots look great but change the lighting by going underwater and you HAVE to do post production white balance to correct them. While not a show stopper the less processing I have to do with jpeg files the better I can retain their image quality. Secondly, the refresh time on the camera is slow, you can only take one image every few seconds. The last issue I have is the indicator LED. if you are out snorkeling on the surface during the day, give up all hope of seeing the indicator light, only by pressing the shutter and listening very carefully for the click sound will you know the camera is on.

While it may seem like I am really bagging on the LiquidMask, the fact remains that it IS a highly convenient camera system seemlessly integrated into a nice snorkeling mask. I felt compelled to rate it high because I wouldn’t stop using it but also felt compelled to ding it a little due to some of it’s shortcomings.

Results

The important thing to keep in mind when swimming with the LiquidImage mask is to move slowly and try not to bring your hands in front of your face when filming video. If you take your time you can get some good images. If you have time to practice in a pool before going on an important trip, it will go a long way towards helping you get the best shots and video.

LiquidImage Website: http://liquidimageco.com/

With an accessory flash like a Canon 580 EX II the top piece can rotate around to different angles, this will allow the flash to fire in a different angle than the camera is facing. If you then bounce that light off something like a wall or reflector you can then redirect the light back at your subject to create good directional light. The only thing you have to really watch for is that you are blocking and light directly from the flash to contaminate the scene which can completely diminish the look you are trying to get.

First let’s look at the flash configuration we are going to use. A 580 EX outfitted with Velco and then a Honl Photo Gobo to cover the bottom and right side of the flash head. This blocks direct light from the flash from hitting the subject but still allows some extra light to move up and left which will help add a little fill light. If we used a snoot, we wouldn’t have any extra fill light and the shadows would be much harsher.

The key to this working with such a simple setup is actually having things to bounce the light off of. Without walls and a ceiling that are close enough to effectively use as reflectors we might have to bring in our own reflectors to create the desired effect.

Let’s take another look at the lighting diagram.

The flash is mounted on the camera and is turned towards the wall aimed to hit a midpoint between the camera and the subject. This will illuminate the wall and act like new source of light angled back towards the subject giving us light that appears to come from the right side of the subject. Now let’s look at an example image to see exactly what this looks like.

As you can see, we have effectively created a short light setup by bouncing the light off the wall while also using a small amount of bounce light from surrounding walls and the ceiling to add a small amount of fill light to keep the right side of the subject from being completely black.

The point here is that learning how to use your on-camera flash to behave differently than simply blasting your subject with straight on lighting will open up your ability to create much better images. Experimenting will different distances, angles, and reflector surfaces and soon you will find that you can find useful locations and/or objects to use as your bounce target.

Think Tank Photo

Long time readers of Camera Dojo probably know how much I like Think Tank Photo products and this year they have come out with a couple of new products like really caught my eye. The first is a new line of bags designed to have a cool retro look to them. While I have never personally been of fan of the “messenger” style of bag, I just have to have me some of these new ones. Nothing beats a product that is not only highly functional, but cool looking as well.

The second big announcement (literally) is a new roller designed specifically to haul your lighting equipment around. This is something I have really needed lately when doing on-location corporate headshots and family portraits.

You should easily be able to fit several lightstand, flash heads, soft boxes, umbrellas, and all of your assorted cables and modifiers all in a handy roller. While most certainly not capable of fitting in an overhead compartment it most certainly is handy for keeping your lighting gear together, organized, and protected.

Check out more of their products at http://thinktankphoto.com

ColorRight

ColorRight has been making white balance tools for several years and this year they have a few new products to help keep your colors in check. A new domed disk gathers light from 180 degrees making it far more accurate than the previous flat disc. Another disk is used in the scene as a reference for contrast and skin tones. Take a shot of the disc in the scene and using your white balance and color tools to dial in the settings for the rest of the pictures you take in the same lighting setup.

ColorRight Web Site: http://www.colorright.com

Vanguard

I raved about Vanguard’s products at last year’s PMA show and recently reviewed the Alta Pro 284CT tripod. This year they have some new stylish and extremely affordable messenger style bags as well as some ball heads. We will be doing a larger segment on all of the new Vanguard products this week during the rest of the show.

Vanguard Website: http://www.vanguardworld.com

Lensbaby

Oh Lensbaby, how doest I love thee, let me count the ways! This FrankenLens-looking thing below is the new Control Freak. When paired with the new fish-eye lens you get an INCREDIBLE macro lens that can actually focus on an object that is touching the glass of the lens, now THAT’S close!!

Lenbaby Website: http://lensbaby.com

Argraph

You know I am a gadget freak especially when it comes to products to use in the field for backups and image verification. Argraph’s new MemoryKicker offers more features than the Epson products at about half of the cost. We will certainly be taking a longer look at these products this week.

Argraph website: http://argraph.com

Stay Tuned!

PMA 2010 runs for the next few days to be sure and check back for video interviews, new product announcements, and other new info.

Syl’s new book LIDLIPS Lessons I Didn’t Learn In Photo School is available on Amazon for only $13.45.

Be sure and check out Syl’s websites: http://pixsylated.com and  http://speedliting.com

Show Host

Kerry Garrison
http://kerrygarrison.com Twitter Facebook FriendFeed

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Learn to Love Lighting no matter what the situation. From formal lighting in a controlled setting to on-the-fly lighting at a wedding or on location, after this workshop you’ll know how to get the shot!

Part 1: Love Lighting Lecture

Kerry will show you the most common portrait lighting methods to achieve classic portraiture styles. You’ll learn broad lighting, short lighting, loop lighting, butterfly lighting, as well as techniques for dealing with various lighting difficulties.

Jules Bianchi has been shooting weddings for over 10 years and knows about getting the shot in any situation. In an fun and informative style, Jules will show you how to keep your cool, grab your camera, and get the shot no matter what the lighting situation. She’ll show you how to work with your clients, put them at ease, and get those natural, unposed shots she is famous for.

Part 2: Love Location & Lighting

Jules will show you how she works her magic with an entire group to get fantastic images. Follow along as Jules addresses the technical issues of lighting, but also how to help her subjects loosen up, look natural and have fun in the process! Kerry will demonstrate the techniques of formal portrait lighting using his Westcott speed lights. Take all the information you learned from the morning and put it into action! You don’t want to miss this part of the workshop!

Workshop Schedule:

Choose your own adventure! You can choose Part One, Part Two, or both!

Part 1: Lighting lecture in the classroom – $99
Part 2: Live model shoot – both indoors and out with an entire bridal party! – $99

SPECIAL! Choose BOTH part 1 & 2 and pay only $149! This is a limited offer, so sign up now!

When: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Part 1: Noon to 4pm
Vendor Reception: 4-6pm
Part 2: 6-9pm

To sign up for the workshop, please click here

Highlights include:

• Canon 1D Mk IV
• Lightroom 3 Beta 1
• Photek (http://www.photekusa.com/Digitala.html)
• Nations Photo Lab (http://www.nationsphotolab.com/)
• Bibble 5 (http://bibblelabs.com/products/bibble5/)
• Lens Pro To Go (www.lensprotogo.com)
• Studio Share (www.studioshare.org)
• PickPic (http://www.pickpic.com/)
• Simply Canvas (http://www.simplycanvas.com/)
• Black Rapid (http://www.blackrapid.com/)
• Spider Holster (http://www.spiderholster.com/)

And be sure and check out Ed’s work at http://www.lehighvalleyphotography.org/

Don’t forget about our CameraDojo MediaSmart Server Giveaway

Show Host

Kerry Garrison
http://kerrygarrison.com Twitter Facebook FriendFeed

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

If you look at the movie industry, rail systems have become the standard way to mount all of the gear wrapped around a digital camera system (in this case, I believe this was a Red system).  Notice the young lady carrying a massive display of equipment on her shoulder.  If you look closely, you will see that there is a person supporting her around the waist as she is walking on rough terrain, and there is a person to her right who is actually running the follow focus and focusing the camera while she walks.  All of this gear looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.. and actually, it is (District 9).  In this article, we will talk about building a rail system similar to this to wrap around a DSLR.

When using a DSLR for high definition video, there are several other things you need to make the recording as clean as possible.  You need:

1) Stability – the ability to fluidly move your camera around

2) Focus – DSLRs do not have auto focus like camcorders do.  Focusing a lens is much more clunky and harder to handle

3) Light Control – sometimes a lens hood just isn’t enough control over the light on the lens

4) Microphone – the internal microphone is not nearly the quality needed for a professional video

5) Live View – the small, internal display is not big enough to use when manually focusing and framing a scene

6) Lighting – in darker situations, a light is often needed to illuminate your subject

7) Lens Modifiers – there are lens modifiers that do not attach to a lens and need to be fixed in-line with the camera lens, like a depth of field modifier

Now, imagine being able to take care of all of these needs at the same time.  To do this, you need a frame around your camera with which you can attach all of these components.  With a good rail system, you get:

1) Stability – a shoulder mount and frame you can hold with both hands

2) Focus – a follow focus knob and gearing with which you can easily mark your focus points and smoothly focus the lens

3) Light Control – a matte box with french flag and adjustable side flags and removable filter holders

4) Microphone – a frame allows you to mount a microphone either on the hot shoe or on the frame itself

5) Live View – an external monitor can be mounted above or to the side of the camera for optimal viewing, instead of just the small, built in screen on the camera

6) Lighting – a lighting solution can be mounted above the camera and will move with the camera

7) Lens Modifiers – with a rail system, a lens modifier can be mounted in-line with the camera lens in a rigid and secure installation

To accomplish all of this, we need to start with a rail system.  And to my surprise, there are quite a few out there to choose from.  But with a DSLR, there are special needs to handle the height and weight of the camera and all of its size requirements.  This means that not every rail system will work with your particular camera.  Rail systems designed for DSLRs are a little more height adjustable to allow for the height of the lens off the bottom mount of the camera.  The more flexible systems allow for a battery grip or XLR audio box under the body too.

And as of the writing of this article, there are a few video-capable DSLRs on the market, but many more are coming.  I am basing the article completely around my Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

The rail system we chose to work with for this article is the IndiSYSTEM from Studio4 Productions out of Waterloo, Iowa.  This is a U.S. manufactured rail system that is constantly changing and evolving to meet the needs of modern DSLRs as well as camcorders on the market today.  Tim Ovel, the owner, is a really personable and knowledgeable guy, and a lot of fun to talk with.  Throughout the build of this system, Tim was helpful in piecing the needed items and attachments together to make the rig just how we wanted it.

This article will be the first in a series that goes more in-depth into building and outfitting a rail system.  For this particular article, we are going to focus on the rail system itself.

However, we have other components that will be completing this rig in the next articles in the series.  We have a 5.6″ High Def HDMI battery powered portable monitor from Ikan, an LCD light panel from Ikan and a stereo mic and accessories from Rodes.  Delkin provided us with a Pop-Up Shade for the 5D Mark II, which helped with the outdoor light.  These accessories will help to complete the setup for a full production camera.

Now, let’s take a look at the system we have built here.  The first thing you need to understand is that this setup is completely reconfigurable.  Before even the first photograph was taken of the rig, I probably went through a dozen different configurations.  With the complete flexibility of the indiSYSTEM, you can pretty much make the rig fit exactly what you want it to.

The components:

There are several pieces that make up the rail system.  Combined in any arrangement, these parts make up a rail system.

The rails.

The rails themselves are the basis of a rail system.  They are a platform on which all of the components are attached.  Typically, the base is made up of 2 rails made up of a strong material like metal or carbon fiber.  Many of the rails out there are 15mm in diameter.  They can be almost any length, although the common lengths are anywhere from 10″ to 24″.  The indiRAILSpro system is based on carbon fiber rails, which are both light and very sturdy and strong.

The camera block

The camera mount, sometimes called the camera block, is where you mount your camera.  This is kind of the hub of the rig.  In the indiRAILSpro system, this block has a mounting plate that locks down to the rails themselves to the block and is the basis of holding them in place.  The block is drilled and tapped with mount holes with which to mount quick release bases and plates to attach your camera or to mount the entire block to a tripod.

The shoulder mount

The shoulder mount is not always a necessary piece of a rail system, but it is a very common requirement for many people.  The shoulder mount allows you to balance and carry your camera, rig and accessories on your shoulder while smoothly operating it.   The shoulder mount for the indiRAILSpro is easily adjustable and can be angled to allow the rear end of the rig to be higher or lower as best suits your needs.  The newest shoulder mount was just designed before this article’s release and is a cool new take on their last shoulder mount.  It is light weight and very flexible in layout.  It not only adjusts the distance of the rig from your shoulder, but it also angles to allow just the right angle for comfort.  After all, our shoulders to slant at an angle and your shoulder mount should accommodate that.

The Front handles

Handles on the front end of the rails are how you control it when it is shoulder mounted.  If you don’t intend to carry your rig on your shoulder, then you probably want to tripod mount it, and handles wouldn’t be important to you.  The handles need to be adjustable and flexible as people’s arm lengths are different.  This was another nice feature of the indiRAILSpro system as length, angle and separation could all be adjusted easily.

The Matte box

A matte box has many functions. It allows you to control the top and side light that hits the camera lens.  It can allow you to easily insert filters in front of the lens too.  A matte box can also shape the image aspect by blackening the top and bottom of your image to form a wider aspect letterbox effect.  On top of all of that, it makes your rig look cool and professional.  There are lots of reasons to want a matte box on your rail system.

The follow focus

This is not a “must have†accessory, and it is not terribly important to people using a rail setup with their average camcorders as auto-focus works well in that arena with that gear.  But with today’s DSLRs and video, auto-focus is not there yet.  Plus, there are many reasons to manually control your focus when doing cinematography.  A follow focus system will give you complete manual control over your camera’s focus.

Other Components

As you build out your rig, you will find lots of other  accessories you want to add to make your videography easier and more effective.  Once we built out all we needed with the indiSYSTEM, we started to add some other electronics to complete the system.  Here is what we found most effective to add.

A Matte box for the camera’s viewing screen – Delkin Pop-Up Shade for the Canon 5D Mark II

This little attachment is an inexpensive way to get a bit of light control over the screen of the 5D Mark II (or most any other popular DSLR) when shooting in outdoor lighting.  It takes only seconds to install, and looks good on the camera.  If the positioning of the rail system is right and you can focus your eye on this screen comfortably while moving your camera around, a pop-up shade like this really can make a difference.  And at $25, it really is an affordable addition to any DSLR.

A Larger external display – Ikan V5600 High Definition 5.6″ Monitor

Let’s face it… the small display on the back of the 5D II may be O.K. for checking out your still photos, but it is really too small for monitoring live video while on the move.  When you are moving around with a rig this large on your shoulder, you want to really be able to see exactly what is getting recorded.  Ikan has a series of monitors that are compatible with the HDMI output from the 5D II and many other cameras and camcorders on the market.  With the help of the Ikan mounting arm, the V5600 display took our rails system to a whole new level.  I will go further in depth to this display and it’s features in a future review, but we really loved the light weight, the long life battery pack and the ease of mounting it to the system.

Ikan also makes an 8″ HDMI monitor for those who want a larger display.  It is not as high of a resolution as the V5600, but then the HDMI live video output from the 5D Mark II is only 480P, so most of that video res is wasted anyway.  We will do a more in-depth review of this screen in a future article.  You can see this dispay here:

Ikan V8000HDe 8″ TFT LCD Monitor with DV Battery Plate, 16:9 and 4:3 Switchable Aspect Ratios

Video Light

On-camera lighting is another nice thing to have to accent your shot… especially if doing live interviews.  With a rail system, you have more real estate to mount a larger light and battery pack on top of the rail system above the camera.  The ikan iLED 150 is a slick solution to put portable lighting on top of your rail system.  With 144 LED lights and adjustable brightness, the iLED 150 gives you a nice, controlled lighting solution that runs for hours on a single charge.  We will be doing a specific light review on this product in the near future.

External Microphone – Rode Stereo VideoMic plus the Dead Kitten

There are many ways you can go with audio with your 5D II (or 7D or any other DSLR).  One way would be to add an XLR adapter such as those from Beachtek.  These would allow you to hook up XLR microphones either to the rig or wireless or off a boom.  But there is another, much easier way to add a mic.  As the Canon 5D II and many other HD recording devices have mini-phono jacks as their only source of recording.  For this, a cold shoe mounted microphone with a mini-phono jack is often the ideal solution.  We used a Rode Stereo Videomic with a wind filter called a “DeadKitten”.  This unit attaches right to the hot shoe on the camera and plugs into the mini-phono input.  It is a powered mic, using a 9v battery, and it has some really nice features.  It is a stereo “shotgun” style site mic with X/Y configuration, which enables it to capture the true ambiance of the recording space.  This mic is said to be the world’s best selling stereo shotgun mic.  I will be doing a full review of this and several other Rodes mics in the coming weeks, but for now, you read some great reviews here:

Rode Microphones Stereo VideoMic On-Camera Microphone

Putting It All Together:

So, I have to say, putting this all together was the best part.  If you are like me and you like to tinker with things, this is a tinkerers dream. The system came in pieces and components ready to assemble.  I was a bit intimidated at first, but quickly dug into the project.  There were dozens of pieces to put together, but all was done with either thumb screws or allen wrenches that were included.

First – the rails.

I started with the rails… two 12″ long carbon fiber rods that are the backbone of the IndiRAILS system.  There are “blocks” that attach to the top and bottom of these rails and clamp down to hold the rails in place.  All it takes is 1 set of blocks and your rails are steady and firm.

Second – the camera block

The first block to mount is the camera block.  This is where the camera mounts and is kind of the core of the rig.  The IndyRAILSpro camera block is adjustable vertically, so the Canon 5D with a battery grip can still be adjusted to a good height to work with the rest of the attachments.

Inside the camera block I have mounted the “C” shaped mounting bracket and carrying handle.  This is also a pretty recent addition to the product line-up (one that I think I had a little influence in creating) and is an important addition to the rig.  This handle not only allows me to mount my microphone and other gear above the camera, but it is a firm handle to help carry a rather awkward shaped rig around.

Third – the Matte Box

Next, I attached the indiMATTEpro matte box.  It also mounted with a block on the front, which added further stabilization to the rails.  The height of the matte box can be adjusted to match up properly with the lens height on the camera.  The side and top flags are easily adjustable and can be tightened into position.  The height is also adjustable so you can easily align the opening and masking height with the particular camera setup you have.

Fourth – front handles

To give me something to hold onto, I next mounted the front handles to the rails.  These mounted to the rails with a block just like the Matte box mounts.  The handles are pretty flexible with good adjust-ability, and they lock down real tight when in position.  In a future article, I plan to mount a remote control for the camera to one of the handles to allow start and stop recording while on the move, as your hands tend to be pretty tied up while carrying all of this gear on your shoulder.

Fifth – shoulder mount

From here, I put on the shoulder mount.  This latest design of the shoulder assembly is pretty nice.  It is lighter weight than the last model and is more flexible in that you can easily switch which side of the rig you put it on and the length of the mount, as well as the angle from the rig and the angle to the shoulder.

Sixth – follow focus

The next item to add was the indiFOCUSpro.  This is probably the coolest addition to the rail system.  The issue with the 5D II and video is auto-focus… or the lack thereof.  And truthfully, you really don’t always want auto focus.  Selective focusing is much more dramatic and engrossing in your video production. The issue is that grabbing the lens to focus shakes the camera and is inaccurate.  The indiFOCUSpro comes with a large hand grip dial to allow you to focus more naturally.  It has a gearbox that drives gears to turn the lens.  It also has gear teethed rings to mount on the outside of your lens. With the 6 simple adjustment points, it is easy to clamp the ring down on your lens.  It doesn’t have to be tight, and the alan screw tips are rounded as to not mark the lens.  But I went down to the local hardware store and spend $0.86 on some thread protectors and cut them down to fit on the threads.  This made me more comfortable tightening the screws down on my expensive lenses. You can see these (orange and red) in the photo to the right.

Once aligned and adjusted, the follow focus is a great tool for focusing the lens.  It also has a white back plate where you can mark your focus points with a grease pencil (included with the indiFOCUSpro).

At this point the rail system is ready to take out and use.  All of the gear mentioned above has been mounted to the rails and the camera installed.  Here are a few finished shots.

Cost

If you have looked into these rail systems before, then you know how pricey they can get.  We studied the Redrock Micro system and Zacuto gear.  We were amazed at how fast you can spend $2.5k, $3k, $4k and more.  What really excited us about the indiSYSTEM from Studio4 Productions is how reasonable the pricing is for their solution.  The complete indiSYSTEM setup I have shown in this article (not including additional electronics or camera – mic, screen, light, 5d, lens) was just a little over $1,200 at the time of writing this.  For those of us trying to break into video production, many cannot afford $3k or more to outfit our gear to get started in video.  This is something to truly consider when looking for a rail system.

There is a lot more reviewing to do here, as we need to show this rig in action.  But for now, it took me long enough to get all of this gear together.  I wanted to get a basic overview review of the indiSYSTEM components done so we could start to familiarize ourselves with using a rail system.

Stay tuned to see this rail system in operation and for reviews of the individual components.

Here are the websites for the manufacturers of products in this article:

• indiSYSTEM (Studio 4 productions)
• ikan
• R0DE Microphones
• Delkin

Prize Includes: [1] a 50 inch Viera Plasma HD TV; [2] Two Lumix Digital Cameras – one SLR and one point and shoot; [3] an HD Camcorder; [3] Toughbook Laptop Computer; [5] a Blu-Ray Home Theater in a Box and assorted Blu-Ray Movies, and [6] assorted accessories. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $12,100.

The final insider will also receive a LUMIX G1 camera to give away to their community of readers/viewers.

To enter the contest, go to www.livinginhd.com/lihdinsider and sign up. I know I will be preparing an entry myself so I can bump up the quality of the videos I am creating for all of you so as soon as I get my submission in you will have the chance to vote for me and maybe win yourself a LUMIX G1!

During this tutorial Kerry shows how to use a light meter to determine the difference between the background and the subject to achieve a good high-key look as well as using the meter to determine the proper exposure.

The E-P1 is a 12.3 megapixel camera with interchangeable lenses based on the new Micro Four Thirds format. Unlike most DSLR’s with Live View, the Live View system on the E-P1 has a fully functional Autofocus system.

The E-P1 uses a body-based image stabilization system which moves the sensor to compensate for movement versus lens-based systems like most other DSLR’s. This means that any lens you put on the system will take advantage of image stabilization.

E-P1 Features

• Live View Autofocus

  With the seamless precision and simplicity of a point-and-shoot, the E-P1’s Live View Autofocus system displays the images to be shot in complete focus on the camera’s bright LCD the moment the shutter button is pressed half way down.

• Multiple Exposure

  Multiple Exposure makes heightened creativity an easily-obtained objective. Two frames can be combined, and portions of one can be combined with those of another in any of the shooting modes. Images can be combined in playback mode or directly on the LCD through the use of the new TruePic V Image Processor.

• Micro Four Thirds Mount

  The Micro Four Thirds Mount on the E-P1 provides many key benefits, including the effectiveness of a digitally designed image sensor, an ultra-compact design, and expandability and compatibility with all Micro Four Thirds Lenses and Four Thirds System Lens via the MMF-1 Adapter.

• Art Filters

  A series of six built-in Art Filters for replicating countless striking and dramatic effects can be easily activated for both still and video imaging. The innovative Art Filters include Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film and Pin Hole.

• 12.3 megapixel

  The E-P1’s powerful 12.3 megapixel Live-MOS sensor packs a powerful high-quality imaging punch for such a compact camera, allowing you to capture more detail than ever before.

• TruePic V Image Processor

  In addition to more detail, the image sensor, combined with the next-generation TruePic V Image Processor, delivers excellent dynamic range, accurate color fidelity and reduced noise, all the way up to 6400 ISO.

• In-body Image Stabilization

  The camera’s In-body Image Stabilization system compensates for up to 4 shutter speed steps with any of the system’s interchangeable lenses.

• Mechanical Image Stabilization

  Mechanical Image Stabilization automatically compensates for camera shake in low-light situations or when using a telephoto lens.

• Electronic Image Stabilization

  Electronic Image Stabilization compensates for camera shake while shooting in the movie mode.

• MF Assist

  For accurate manual focusing, MF Assist can be enabled during S-AF + MF operation. With it you can zoom in on the central part of the image by up to five times by turning the focus ring.

• Perfect Shot Preview

  With Perfect Shot Preview, you can preview and select various photographic effects before you take the shot.

• Digital Leveler

  The camera’s Digital Leveler function is a highly functional and practical feature for such specialized requirements as architectural photography and other similar needs.

• Dust Reduction System

  A Dust Reduction System assures spot-free images. Every time you turn on the camera, the patented Supersonic Wave Filter silently vibrates, flinging and collecting dust so that it cannot interfere with the picture imaging at any time.

• 19 automatic scene modes

  There are 19 automatic scene modes available, including Night-Scenes, Portraits and Landscapes. Edits can be made in the camera after the pictures are shot using the handy ePortrait Mode.

• ePortrait

  The ePortrait mode is also useful for smoothing out the facial features of your subjects, which is a tremendous plus for High Definition playback.

• Face Detection

  A Face Detection function reduces the chance of blurry faces when shooting groups of people—up to eight subjects at once—even if they’re moving while you’re pressing the shutter button.

• Shadow Adjustment Technology

  Shadow Adjustment Technology corrects for extreme light variations with high-tech efficiency. It can also be used in post-editing.

• Aspect Ratios

  The E-P1 lets you select one of four Aspect Ratios (4:3, 3.2, 16.9 and 6.6) that help frame your images to whatever proportions you’d like, for everything from conventional enlargements to viewing on widescreen monitors.

• iAuto

  iAuto identifies your shooting intent (such as macro or action photography) and instantly adjusts the camera settings to achieve the best results.

• Slideshows

  Slideshows have never been easier or more fun to create. The E-P1’s enhanced playback functions allow you to employ effective fade-in/fade-out techniques, add captivating musical soundtracks, and much more.

• ultra-compact body

  The E-P1 is the definition of state-of-the-art optical engineering in an ultra-compact body. It weighs just 11.8 ounces and measures just 4.75†(W) x 2.75†(H) x 1.43 (D), giving it the facility to slip into pockets or purses and to take with you anywhere.

• M. ZUIKO lenses

  The accompanying Olympus M. ZUIKO lenses are small, lightweight, powerful and precision engineered.

• Four Thirds System Lens Adapter

  Other Four Thirds Format lenses can also be used on the E-P1 with an available MMF-1 Four Thirds System Lens Adapter, including extreme wide-angle fisheye and super-telephoto lenses. This further increases your range of creative options.

• sound recording

  The sound recording function of the E-P1 helps you capture all the nuances of any sounds being recorded. The system is capable of recording and playing back WAV files, and of adding the most professional-sounding narration to digital slide shows.

• background music

  There are also five separate background music files to choose from that you can add to your still images or video productions.

• SDHC media cards

  The E-P1 is capable of recording video to SDHC media cards to accommodate large files. (SDHC Class 6 cards are recommended.) Videos, stills and high-fidelity audio can also be output via HDMI cable-direct to any HD television.

• Full manual control

  Full manual control for all programs and functions, including Aperture and Shutter Speed Priority, is at your fingertips whenever it is needed or preferred. Full automatic control is also a button-press away.

• Live Control

  Live Control, an advanced camera management system, allows you to see the image being shot and the camera’s controls all at once, on the bright, colorful, high definition 3-inch HyperCrystal LCD. HyperCrystal LCDs offer many times the contrast of conventional LCD monitors, and also provide a wide viewing angle of 176º.

Summary

At prices starting at $899 with a lens, the E-P1 is certainly more costly than the best point and shoots but with interchangeable lenses and great features and image quality, it may well become the walk-around camera for Pros and high-end consumers.

For more information, go check out the Olympus E-P1 product page at:

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1461&page=overview#/product-views

How to get the lighting we want

By now we would hope you wouldn’t be asking how to get your lighting setup dialed in, but if you need a little refresher you should start off with the following articles:

• Lighting ratios for portraits
• Using a Light Meter for Proper Exposure
• Understanding Light Stops

For the rest of the article, different images will also be presented with lighting diagrams to help illustrate exactly how each look was obtained.

Broad Lighting

Broad lighting is certainly the easiest lighting style to use since the camera side of the face is lit brighter than the far side of the face. This look is easily obtained by simply bouncing your flash off a wall or reflector to the side of the camera back onto the subject. Broad lighting used to be taught as the “feminine lighting†but that is certainly not always the case.  Broad lighting will tend to make a face look wider which is not always a look that is the most flattering. With the right subject, broad lighting can certainly achieve very nice results.

With the subject facing to the camera right and a large light source to the camera left a broad light effect is created putting the side of the face furthest from the camera into shadow. With the tilt of her head it gave her face a more rounded appearance.

Short Lighting

Short lighting is considered by many to be the most flattering style and is certainly my personal favorite. Short lighting will tend to make a face look thinner. Short lighting is also harder to achieve because it virtually requires off-camera lighting since the light is coming from behind the subject.

With the shadow on the camera side of the face, the face looks thinner. Keep in mind, the examples so far have been achieved on the same location spot using only natural light and simply moving the subject and camera position to get the desired look.

Split Lighting

Split lighting is not very popular and is probably the least used of the different lighting styles. In split lighting the light is split down the middle of the subject’s face dividing it in half. The lighting setup is fairly simple with two lights on either side of the subject and one using less power than the other. I personally really like the split lighting effect to give someone some images that will have a different look than they are likely to get from other photographers.

As you can see, split lighting can be very effective and with just a slight turn of the head can look like a mix of split lighting and short lighting,

Summary

I hope this has given you a new set of tools to use to improve your portrait lighting techniques, done properly you can achieve a very classic, timeless look that your clients will love. The key to mastering any of these is to practice, practice, practice. Get some lights setup for one style, maybe get a model from a place like Model Mayhem, and work on each style until you really have it nailed down. Next time we will look at Rembrandt and Butterfly lighting.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

We we are talking about lighting ratios, we first need to understand a few key concepts. The first being what we mean when we refer to stops of light. For an in-depth article on this, please refer back to our article on Understanding Light Stops. To put it briefly, a stop is not a measurement of light output, it is the relative difference between two light values. If we double the output of a light source, we have increased our light by 1 stop, if we cut our light in half, we have decreased our light by one stop. This is an exponential increase or decrease since we have to again double, or half our output to change by a whole stop. For example, if we take the light output from a single light bulb, it will then take two light bulbs to increase by 1 stop. To increase by another stop we would then need four light bulbs, then eight, etc.

We we are setting up for doing portraits using light ratios, we typically want to have one side of the face lit properly and then the opposite side dropped by 2 or even more stops. Why do we want to purposely add shadows, because flat lighting (1:1 ratio) is actually unflattering. Using shadows will add depth, dimension, and realism to you portraits.

Be yee subtle or be yee dramatic – that is the question

Working with shadows can give you very dramatic differences in the mood of an image from being soft and feminine to being very hard and more masculine. While that is typically the case, there are excellent examples even when reversing the gender roles. One of my favorite recent images is of Hayley and uses some very dramatic lighting and yet because the transition areas between shadows and highlights are fairly soft, the feminine nature of the image is retained.

By making the transitions between the shadows and the highlights harsher, you can change the mood. In the following two images, the models were light with pretty hard side lighting with high ratios in order to achieve a more rough look that would really make all of the details on their bodies stand out more.

Notice in both images the shadow side of the image is almost completely dark and featureless adding to the dramatic feel of the images.

Sculpting with light

In this final section we are going to look at how we can actually appear to change the shape of someone’s face with the use of light and shadows. In the first image, Taylor is light with a 1:1 ratio which appears to make her face seem flatter and really shows her cheek and chin structure. In the second image we throw shadows into the cheek and chin which give her a different look altogether.

With the 1:1 ratio broad lighting, Taylor’s face looks more featureless and wider. With a 2:1 ratio short lighting setup her nose has more detail and her face looks thinner and taller.

Summary

Based on the recent poll here on Camera Dojo we know that many of you are struggling with lighting and we hope that this, and future articles on lighting will help take your images to a whole new level.

Presented by Camera Dojo publisher and podcast host Kerry Garrison, this should be a fun and educational workshop that will really help you improve your portraits.

For more information and to RSVP please visit the event page on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116391356208

With the new firmware v1.1, you now have control over the ISO and shutter speed settings giving you the creative control to make the camera behave the way you want.

To download the latest firmware and get the installation instructions, go to:
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/download.html

• Canon EOS 500D (EOS Rebel T1i)
• Epson R-D1x
• Hasselblad CF-22
• Hasselblad CF-22MS
• Hasselblad CF-39
• Hasselblad CF-39MS
• Hasselblad CFH-22
• Hasselblad CFH-39
• Hasselblad CFV
• Hasselblad 503CWD
• Hasselblad H2D-22
• Hasselblad H2D-39
• Hasselblad H3D-22
• Hasselblad H3D-31
• Hasselblad H3D-39
• Hasselblad H3DII-22
• Hasselblad H3DII-31
• Hasselblad H3DII-39
• Hasselblad H3DII-39MS
• Hasselblad H3DII-50
• Kodak EasyShare Z980
• Nikon D5000
• Olympus E-450
• Olympus E-620
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
• Sigma DP2

To download Camera Raw 5.4, go to http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Camera_Raw_5.4.

Links from the show:

SensorPen/LensPen – http://lenspen.com
Camera Slingers – http://cameraslingers.com
Marc Fuller – http://www.thinklikeabride.com/theagency/
Bluehost – http://bluehost.com
Westcott Photo Basics Green Screen Kit – http://photobasics.net/unleash.cfm

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison
http://kerrygarrison.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kerrygarrison Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=822369545

David Esquire
http://esquirephotography.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/esquirephoto Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=636655600

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

New feature provides amazing energy savings for faster recycling, more shots per battery while enabling greater working distances.

5D Mark II now compatible with on-camera flash with ControlTL system.

South Burlington, VT – Through-the-shoe communications allow PocketWizard radios, with version 4.250 ControlTL firmware, to significantly boost the performance of the High Speed Sync (HSS) feature of Canon Speedlite flashes. This means more light (which equals greater working distance), faster recycling times and more flashes per battery set when shooting in Canon’s HSS/FP Flash mode.

Because the new MiniTT1 Transmitter and FlexTT5 Transceiver communicate through-the-shoe with the camera system, they can control the HSS burst duration.  By precisely matching flash duration to the shutter speed, large gains in efficiency were found, as much as 60% in many cases, for both remote and on-camera flashes.

This gain in efficiency is immediately translated into shorter recycle times, allowing faster HSS shooting, more shots per battery set, and up to 1 ½ stops more output potential which enables greater working distances between the subject and the flash.

The new firmware also allows photographers to disable HyperSync™ mode in the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5, allowing use of HSS for shutter speeds down to 1/320 second. This is especially useful for the Canon 5D and 5D MK II whose shutter mechanisms can’t take full advantage of the HyperSync mode.

PocketWizard has also found a solution to allow on-camera flash with the 5D Mark II when using the MiniTT1 or FlexTT5.  Earlier firmware was not capable of firing a flash mounted on the hot-shoe of the MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 working on the camera.

These incredible new features are available for both the MiniTT1 Transmitter and FlexTT5 Transceiver running firmware version 4.250.  Units running older firmware may be easily updated to the latest release via a firmware upgrade by going to the maintenance tab of the PocketWizard Utility and click “check for updates†or go to PocketWizard.com/support/downloads to download the utility. Learn more about the new ControlTL Firmware v4/250 here or Download Manual Addendum v4.250 here.

Firmware version 4.250 is not compatible with versions 4.100 or earlier so all units should be updated to the latest release. You can also find detailed information about these new features at PocketWizard.com/inspirations/technology/fp_sync_hss

PocketWizard products are made by LPA Design, based in South Burlington, Vermont and sold by MAC Group in the USA and authorized distributors around the world.

At first look, the sling style would allow you to rotate the back to your front to have access your gear and then fling it back over your shoulder where it acts like a normal backpack.

As someone who does a variety of different types of shooting, I figured that I could really put the Pampas 57 bag to the test and see if this was going to be something I would really use on a regular basis.

Let’s get into it and look at the bag and then see what I thought of it.

Features

The Pampas bags are designed for comfort and functionality by allowing you to wear the bag as a regular backpack and then rotate the bag over your shoulder to your front for access to your gear. The Pampas bag has a good number of access points points and the build quality is top notch.

The back is covered in a nice breathable material over nice thick padding to help keep the bag comfortable on you and reduce sweating.

• Sling style design
• High Quality 600D x 600D Strong Polyester
• Secure Side Opening
• Extra padded inside dividers
• Contact areas offer breathable fabrics
• “Grab and shoot†quick access pocket
• Opens from front and side for instant access
• Front and top pockets for accessories

Usage

The Pampas bag certainly was comfortable as I used it during several small shoots as well as a 10 hour wedding shoot. Inside the dividers come setup for a handful of lenses and a DSLR body with a small size lens attached. I found that this wasn’t the optimum setup for me since once I am shooting I need access to the lenses and the main section was empty without the camera in it. Since the dividers can be arranged for your particular style, you can easily change it to match how you work.

Access to equipment from the side access section is very easy once you rotate the bag around to your front. However, getting to items that are further into the bag proves to be a little more challenging. While the large back section opens wide for easy access to the rest of your gear, I found myself quite nervous about having something fall out of the bag while it was open like that. To help prevent any issues like that, the side opening stays attached via some clever side webbing, but it just felt a little weird, this is probably something I will get over with more use of the bag.

I tended to keep my CF cards in the top outside pocket since it is pretty small but my CF card holder fit into it perfectly and was easy to get to. In the large top pocket I kept a container of batteries and my second flash head. Inside the main body I could have a 17-40, 24-70, 12-24, 50mm, and a Lensbaby Composer and still had room to spare.

Results

The Pampas bag did prove to be quite comfortable and the side access area was very easy to get to. I really only had some issues with the larger rear access area since it felt a little awkward getting to the equipment but not so much that I wouldn’t continue to use the bag. At weddings I normally have been using a Think Tank Photo Modulus Speed Belt which has worked out really well for me with one main exception. The speed belt fits lower on you around your waist and adds a good six inches of width on each side of you so navigating quickly between tight chairs in a reception can sometimes be difficult. With the Pampas bag sitting higher on your back I didn’t have as much problem squeezing through chairs at the receptions and I tended to carry more lenses in the Pampas bag simply because I could without adding any additional size. Where I really like the Pampas bag is when hiking or other situations that require lots of walking around between shots, I can put the entire camera with a lens on it into the backpack and not have to worry about the camera swinging around into things.

One of the best things about the Pampas 57 is the price you can get it for. While it is a good deal at the list price of $108, I found it online  Amazon for only $69.99. While it is to small to be my complete camera bag, it is certainly a great bag for keeping your most used items on you, its a great day bag or hiking bag, and its certainly a great bag for when I need to travel and want to take a good selection of gear without taking my entire kit.

Product Score Card

Product Website: http://www.vanguardworld.com
Author: Kerry Garrison
Photographs by John Loyola

What exactly is this colorspace stuff anyway? Basically its the amount of color that is contained in the file when you save it. The three most common colorspaces are Adobe RGB, sRGB, and ProPhoto RGB.  As my friend Rick Miller puts it, you can relate gamut to containers of beer. With sRGB being a 12oz can of beer, Adobe RGB would be a pony keg, and ProPhoto RGB being a full kegger.

The image shown here (courtesy of Cpesacreta) shows the relative sizes of the different colorspaces.

The difficulty here is knowing when to use which colorspace. Who would take a 12 ouncer when they can have a whole keg right? You would think, but the problem is that not all devices can actually display the larger colorspace  which can cause even more problems when it comes to viewing the images, add to that the lack of color management in most applications (like web browsers) and you will often get dull or washed out colors when viewing the images.

Wait a second, huh? If you use a colorspace that allows MORE colors, than why would the images look WORSE when viewing them? The answer that since almost no devices can actually display Adobe RGB, you wind up with an intepretation of the image causing it to look dull.

Effects of Color Space

Does all of this really make a difference? Let’s take a look at some images that were shot in RAW (thus no colorspace recorded on capture) and then saved as both Adobe RGB and sRGB using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Adobe RGB

sRGB

Adobe RGB

sRGB

Adobe RGB

sRGB

Adobe RGB

sRGB

In all of these cases, the images saved as sRGB should appear more vibrant in Internet Explorer and Firefox since they are not color managed applications. Apple’s Safari browser is supposed to properly display Adobe RGB files and Firefox is supposed to have color management in upcoming versions. However, until everyone is using a browser you should avoid Adobe RGB in order to provide the best images to the widest audience.

What about ProPhoto?

ProPhoto offers the widest gamut of the available common color spaces so should have a place somewhere right? Well yes it does. The best use of the ProPhoto is to use it within your workflow to preserve the largest amount of color in your images and then only do a final conversion to sRGB when saving your images as jpegs.  This is quite easy with Photoshop and Camera Raw while Lightroom uses ProPhoto RGB internally (Geek Note: Actually, Lightroom uses Melissa RGB which uses ProPhoto RGB chromatisity values working in linear gamma, named after Melissa Gaul, one of the Lightroom engineers).

Should you shoot in Adobe RGB or sRGB?

This is another tough question that different people will answer differently. The simple answer is niether. Shoot in RAW and convert to the colorspace you want during your workflow process. If you want to shoot in JPEG then you have to make the choice. The best thing to do is actually experiment with your equipment and software to determine what gives you the best results. Some people think you should shoot in Adobe RGB and then convert to sRGB if the file is for the internet, while others think you should shoot in sRGB so no conversion or translation is applied, thus you should get more accurate color representation.

In the end, you have to make up you own mind as to what works best for you, but you do need to be aware of the differences and some of the issues you can run into based on your choice.

Author: Kerry Garrison

References used in this article

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/sRGB-AdobeRGB1998.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/adobe-rgb.htm
http://www.steves-digicams.com/techcorner/October_2006.html
http://www.smugmug.com/help/srgb-versus-adobe-rgb-1998

So, what can you do with these? Here are some images from some of our beta testers:

Photo courtesy of Sipper Photography

Photo courtesy of Sipper Photography

Photo Courtesy of Black Diamond Productions

Photo Courtesy of Black Diamond Productions

To order these or other Lightroom presets, check out our Dojo Tools page (link).

Vanguard Supreme 53F

We have looked at different types and styles of camera bags but the Vanguard 53F isn’t your normal camera bag. The Supreme 53F is a hard-sided case more at home in the cargo compartment of an airplane than it is being used as a daily equipment hauler. While other companies selling hard cases have been around for many years, Vanguard has a lot to live up to. Let’s take a look at at the Supreme 53F and see if Vanguard has succeeded in building a better mouse trap.

53F with Handle Extended

Overview

Vanguard’s Supreme line of cases are watertight and airtight up to a depth of 15 feet, dustproof, virtually indestructible, resistant to corrosion, and can withstand extreme climate variations.  All of the Supreme cases are design to withstand temperature variations from -40° to 203°. The Supreme cases have quick release latches that are easy to use, and the comfort grip handle is ideal for carrying heavy equipment. With pad lock receptacles on each case, they are ideal for airline travel.

Features

The Supreme 53F is as rugged of a case as you are going to find anywhere. The case itself in extremely strong and durable with very well designed latches that lock easily and securely. The retractable handle locks into place in both the extended and retracted positions. The main handles have nice padding to make it more comfortable to carry. Internally, an O-ring helps keep the case water and dust resistant while the octagonal pluck-foam allows for almost any shape of object.

Secure Latches

• Water, air and dust tight
• Resistant to 264.5 pounds weight pressure
• Automatic pressure equalization valve
• Padded handles
• Metal lined padlock holes
• Waterproof name tag
• Locking travel handle
• Two layers of thick pluck-foam

Specifications

• Inside dimensions: 22†x 17 3/4†x 7 7/8â€
• Outside dimensions: 24 3/4†x 20 1/2†x 9 1/2â€
• Weight: 22.93lbs

Usage

Rubberized Handles and Pressure Relief Valve

The 53F is nice and big, too big for carry-on luggage on an airplane but not too big to be considered oversize for regular check-in luggage. The wheels roll smooth on flat surfaces but are too small to work well off-road or and in grass.  With two layers of foam included, you could have two levels of regular camera gear or remove one for larger items like studio strobes. The travel handle locks securely when retracted so you don’t have to worry about it coming out when it is being shipped.

Results

Having used other hard cases that are similar, the others just don’t stack up to the Supreme 53F. The latches are the best I have seen on cases of this type and the padded handles make it more comfortable to pick up when loaded. Knowing that when the case is closed my gear is safe from water and dust because of the integrated O-Ring gives you piece of mind. The only thing I would change if I could is the thickness of the pluck-foam. The 53F comes with 2 very thick sheets of foam but I would prefer 3 or 4 thinner sheets for more versatility but that is just being picky. It’s not everyday that you need a super rugged hard case, but when you do, the Vanguard Supreme series of cases is as good as it gets and with a street price of around $230, you get quite a case for the money.

Big Roomy Case

Product Review Scorecard

Author: Kerry Garrison

DSLR Sensor

What are you really cleaning?

There are two components that we will look at cleaning, the first being the focusing screen mirror. If you remove your lens and look into your camera with a lens off, you will see a small mirror.  Dust typically doesn’t stick to this surface very much, so a few quick blasts of air from something like a Rocket Blower should keep the mirror in relatively clean and clear.  This mirror, however, only affects what you see through your viewfinder and not what the sensor sees.

The second component is the “sensor”.  To get to the sensor you have to put your camera into sensor cleaning mode which moves the mirror out of the way, letting you get to the sensor plate. It is important to note that we are never actually touching the sensor itself.  The sensor sits behind a thin sheet of glass and it is this glass that we will be cleaning.  Knowing that you are actually going to be cleaning a piece of glass, and not the actual sensor itself, will hopefully make some of you feel a little better about this process.

And for those of you who take your camera bodies to Canon and get a free cleaning whenever you want (like we do), be aware that the days of free cleanings are about over.  Manufacturers are soon going to be discontinuing this free service, from what we have been told.

Lenspen SensorKlear II CCD Sensor Cleaner and SensorKlear Loupe

Tools of the trade

There are many things you can stick into your camera body to wipe down the sensor, but the goal of this article is to show you how to do it right.  There are many, many products available on the market to clean sensors in DSLRs today.  And quite frankly, many of them just don’t make sense.  Recently, we were at PMA in Las Vegas and we saw the myriad of cleaning products and solutions available for this job.  It is both overwhelming and confusing.  Then, we came across a product and a solution that just made perfect sense.  It’s called the Lenspen SensorKlear II CCD Sensor Cleaner and the SensorKlear Loupe.  These two items, together with a blower ball like the Giottos Rocket Blower or the Lenspen Hurricane Blower, make perfect sense as a solution to the problem.

Blowing out the camera

What are we getting into here?

The inside of the camera body is a dark and tight space.  To know what you are getting into, the the SensorKlear loupe is what you use to look into the camera to see if there is any dust that needs to be cleaned off the sensor.  This device is specially engineered to light the interior of the camera body and sensor surface, magnify the view to the eye and allow easy side access to get to the sensor.

There are also two kinds of dust that we will encounter.  Dry dust and sticky dust. Dry dust will make up about 95% of the dust particles you will encounter which is good news since they are easily removed with a blower ball.  A few quick blasts on the mirror, then putting the camera into sensor cleaning mode and then a few quick blasts onto the sensor is usually all you need for the majority of the dust you will encounter.  This should always be your first step when cleaning your camera’s sensor, and many times will be more than enough to solve your problems.  Once you complete this step, either check your sensor with a SensorKlear Loupe or put a lens back on, turn on manual focus and shoot a photo of a white background.  Check to see if there are any spots on your image.

Any dust that remains on our sensor and refuses to budge with just a simple blast of air is known as “sticky dust”.  This dust may be sticky from humidity or it is static charged and wants to just hang on the sensor.  There are several ways to get the sticky dust off and dozens of companies that are ready to sell you all manner of cleaning supplies to solve this problem.  In the worst case, it is possible that a spec might not be so easy to remove.  There are brushes that may work, or sometimes they just end up moving the dust around.  The other products offered are chemicals that will often leave a residue on the sensor glass (and yes, they ALL leave a visible residue… some just less than others).  Depending on the environment, some dust could even have some oil on it and the best you can do with brushes is to move it around and never get it to come off.  That’s when a chemical process and swab may (worst case scenario) have to be used to get that stubborn piece of dust off.

Lenspen SensorKlear

But outside of the worst cases (which RARELY occour), a simple blow, look and swipe should handle all your needs.  This is where the two piece solution of the Lenspen SensorKlear II CCD Sensor Cleaner and the SensorKlear Loupe make the perfect combination.  Let’s get into detail about these two pieces.

The SensorKlear Loupe is an electronically lighted eyepiece that sits over the body where the lens normally sits.  With it’s multiple LED lights, it gives you a wonderful, lighted view of your sensor that is magnified many times.  With this, you can see every spec of dust and debris on your sensor’s surface.  This is the only way we know of today to effectively see what needs to be cleaned.  You simply tell your camera to pup up the mirror for sensor cleaning, remove the lens and lay the camera on its back.  Then, you put the SensorKlear over the body opening and turn on the light.

The Lenspen SensorKlear II CCD Sensor Cleaner is a pen-like device with a hinge in the middle.  It has a capped cleaner surface at one end.  This cleaner surface is a specially designed chamois surface that is shaped like a rounded triangle to allow you to get into the corner of the sensor area and reach any surface.  Unlike brushes that can simply move things around, this pen can wipe just the area where the dust sits and pick it right up.  If the dust is sticky, it will usually pick it up too, or in some cases, it will move it around and turn it from sticky to dry dust, which can just be blown out of the camera.  Either way, there is no form of dust it cannot seem to handle.

Using the SensorKlear Loupe and SensorKlear II CCD Sensor Cleaner

So, the next step is to remove any debris we see.  We are assuming at this point that you have blown out the camera.  With the SensorKlear over the opening, there is a side access opening.  You simple bend the CCD sensor cleaning pen at a slight angle and reach in through this side access opening, watching the whole time throuh the eyepiece.  You make a small wipe or blot of the area where the dust is and it is immediately picked up and swept away.

We know that this sounds like a product plug; and truthfully, it truly is.  This is the first series of products that have actually made us feel comfortable cleaning our own camera sensors.  And that is saying a lot.  As a matter of fact, we heard rumors that Canon service techs themselves use these products for the work that they do on customer’s cameras.  I guess that makes sense to us too.  After all, its the best solution we have seen.

SensorKlear and Lenspen CCD Pen

Lenspen Website: http://lenspen.com

Authors

Maurice Naragon
Digital Creations
Website Development and Marketing
Professional Photography in Orange County, CA

Kerry Garrison
Orange County Wedding Photographer

Jim is a world reknowned photographer with an amazing carreer and is one of the few people granted the title of Explorer of Light by Canon.

Jim Divitale’s Websites

http://www.jimdivitale.com
http://www.divitalephotography.com

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

You can listen to this podcast now using our player widget in the right hand sidebar

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Canon DSLR Hot Shoe

During a wedding shoot one day I noticed that my flash was only firing occasionally. After the initial panic, I quickly figured out that if I held the flash with a little counter-clockwise tension, then the flash worked fine. At the first break, I tried my backup camera and it was doing the same thing. When I got home, I checked it against my daughter’s 20D and it worked fine, and it also seemed that the hot shoe on my cameras was loose compared to hers.Another symptom of this is that the flash will switch from E-TTL mode into TTL mode and the exposure will usually be very overexposed.

After some research on the net, I discovered that this is not an uncommon problem for cameras that get heavy use. Typically, a quick trip to a service center will fix it, but the actual fix is quite simple and you can help ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

What you will need

Protective Plate

The tools needed to make this repair are quite simple, although small. What you will need is a very small flat screwdriver and a VERY small Phillips head screwdriver. A typical cheap set of jeweler’s or eyeglass screwdrivers should do the trick quite nicely.

To make the fix more permanent, you may want to get some mild Loctite or other thread adhesive. I would not use the heavy duty stuff as that is only needed under heavy vibrations and someday, someone may actually need to take your camera apart for service so the more mild version should work perfectly.

You will also want a good clean work area, preferably with a towel underneath everything, if you drop one of the damned-near-microscopic screws you will be in a world of hurt trying to find it in the carpet.

Getting Started

Hot Shoe Removed

I don’t know if this is the same for Nikon or other brands, but I would assume its not too different, if you run into this issue on other cameras, its worth a try before sending it to service.

When you are looking down into the hotshoe, you will not see any screws, they are covered by a removable plate that slides off. This plate is a good thing to have there as on one of my cameras several of the screws were completely backed out and would have been lost if that plate hadn’t been in place.

There is certainly a technique to popping the plate off which is a bit hard to explain but simple once you get the hang of it. The way I do it is to slide the flat screwdriver under the plate coming from the rear of the camera towards the front. You want to be gentle here and not bend the plate, it will come off with very little pressure. With the screwdriver under the plate, the goal is to lift the back of the plate (side closest to the front of the camera) so that a little lip on it clears the bottom section. With a little pressure on the screwdriver to life the backend, and a little pressure on the plate with a finger it should slip out of place slightly. A little wiggling should allow you to pull it the rest of the way out.

Screws Holding Hot Shoe

At this point you will have access to the four small screws that hold the hot shoe connector in place. if you just want to tighten them up, go ahead and do so and skip to the section of reassembling the protective plate. If you want to use a little thread lock, then continue reading.

The cleanest way I have found to remove all four screws without dropping them is to loosen them all up all the way and then place a magnet (I stole one off the fridge). This will allow you to lift the hot shoe connector and all four screws at once. I then clean up the connector and the camera to remove any dust or debris that is there and put the connector back on the camera. If you are using some thread lock, you just need the smallest dot of liquid on the threads, you can do a quick dunk if you have small enough fingers or apply a little to the threads with a toothpick. Put the screws back in and tighten them up.

Putting the plate back on

Plate Rear Hooks

Oh sure, you popped off the protective plate like a pro, did a solid to your camera with a little Loctite, so putting this little piece of spring-steel back into place should be child’s play right? Its actually pretty easy to screw this part up and end up wondering for an hour what the heck you did wrong. Take special note of the picture here showiing how the plate goes back in with the little hoops going DOWN towards the camera. Those little hoops slide into two slots on either side so you have to make sure they are lined up when you push the plate into place and the rear lip slids into place. If you don’t have those two hoops in the right position, removing the plate again to reseat will be an excersize in frustration.

Trust me on this one, I am speaking from experience here. Once the plate is back in place properly, you are all finished and ready to go. If you are using some thread lock, be sure and give it a little time to dry before attaching the flash and torquing the screws, you might end up loosening them before they get glued into place which would really not be a good situation to be in.

At least you now have one thing you can fix if it becomes an issue for you.

Author: Kerry Garrison

Here is this today’s episode featuring me as the guest.

I think screen protectors are way overpriced.  You can pay $10 to $15 for a piece of plastic film smaller than the palm of your hand.  That just doesn’t seem right.  Fortunately, I happen to have a box full of old Palm Pilot screen protectors laying around and I usually just cut one of them to the size of my camera’s screens.  They are durable, scratch resistant and provide decent protection.  I bought several dozen of these in a single ebay auction, so I didn’t feel ripped off at paying $14.99 for a clear piece of sticky plastic, as many companies charge for their “custom cut” screen protectors.

Overview

While at the PMA tradeshow in March ’08, I met with a Giottos distributor named Bill Hodges, who was very enthusiastic about their products.  Bill showed me an product line that I was not familiar with in the Giottos lineup… the AEGIS Pro Optical Glass Screen Protectors.  Unlike the simple plastic films you can buy for $10 to $15, these Giottos screen protectors are $24 to $45.  Now, I have never been comfortable paying $15 for a piece of plastic film smaller than a playing card, so what could possibly make me spend two to three times that amount to protect my camera screens?

To answer that question, let’s look at some specs on this product.

AEGIS SP 80 series
• Transmission 420~680 nm: T≥98%
• High translucent, optical glass sheet made from Schott glass in Germany.
• Both sides 12 layers coated, from “LEYBOLD†Germany
• 12 Layers improve LCD backlight transmission while reducing reflections or glare
• Elite Schott glass protects and clarifies LCD images
• Includes Micro-Fiber Cleaning Cloth
• Available for digital cameras and DSLR’s including Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm
• Adds no significant weight or bulk to the camera body
• Resistant to acid and alkali prolonging the life of the LCD
• Easily applied using pre attached 3m double sided tape
• No air bubbles
• Glass surface reaches 8-9 and the elastic pressure is 4kg/cm2 to help it withstand impacts
• Removable and replaceable if it gets scratched or damaged

I have found that most LCD screen protectors fall into one of two categories; the plastic stick-on film sheet or the flip-up sun shade housings.  Stick-on sheets are prone to peeling off, bubbling, and have little to no beneficial optical qualities while LCD hoods/screen shades & covers are bulky and cumbersome while only minimally preserving the LCD image.

Setup

The Giottos AEGIS Glass Screen Protectors are very different from the start. The package has an interesting pull-up transparent tab that has the outline size of the screen protector that you can lay over your camera screen to confirm the size. With 12 layers of Anti-Reflective coating, plus being made of glass, they protect the LCD panel from not only abrasions and scratches , but impact too.  The multi-layer coating supposedly improves clarity and color quality as well as the life of the LCD.

I picked up two of these screen protectors; one for my Canon 5D Mark II and one for my Canon G9.  The two models I picked up were obviously different as the screen sizes of the displays on the two cameras are just a little different.  So, I started with the SP8301L for the 50D and 5D Mark II.

So, enough of all the marketing hype… what is the user experience?  What is this thing really like?  Well, first, the application to the camera screen was fairly simple.   Since it is rigid, it is easy to move around and pre-position.  There were no air bubbles to worry about, but not just because you are applying a rigid piece of glass, but because the glass is actually suspended above the screen surface by a fraction of a millimeter.  The only sticky surface is around the edges of the protector, and the thickness of the sticky substrate suspends the glass above the screen.

Installation

There is protective plastic on both sides of the glass sheet.  I cleaned my screen well with a micro-fiber cloth, peeled away the bottom film first, then lined the glass up with the screen.  My first shot was not perfect, so I used a fingernail to peel it up and re-apllying it.  Not too challenging.  Once in place, I rubbed it down with a cloth and peeled away the top protective layer.  The fit to the 5D II is perfect.

Usage

Checking at the final result, it looks great.  The protective cover has the Giottos logo in the black trim around the outside edge which covers the Canon logo.  This is the most visible thing you will notice every day  But as you can see by the photo it simply looks like part of the camera.  The surface of the Schott Glass is a little more reflective than the anti-reflective coating on the original screen surface, but you only notice this when the camera screen is off. Once it is on, the picture is bright and clear.  I actually find it much easier to see in bright sunlight than it was before the Giottos screen cover was on.

One More Time

Next, I installed my second screen protector over my Canon G9 screen – model SP 8300.  This was a little tougher as the screen fit was not as perfect as the one for the 5D Mark II.  The cover for the G9 was actually a couple on millimeters shorter on the vertical dimension than the Canon G9 screen.  This caused me to lift and re-seat the cover a couple of times to get it to where I could best see the camera’s screen through the glass.  Now, the end result is absolutely fine and the screen is 100% visible, but the Canon logo at the top is only partially covered.  This is a very small detail, as I guess I was expecting absolute perfection here.  However, I am completely happy with the end product.  With the small body of a camera like the G9, you tend to touch the screen more and it seems more prone to being bumped or scuffed by being laid on the screen, so I think this application is even more crucial than putting it on my pro body.

Protector in place	Removing film cover
With Protector Installed

Results

I have now tested both of my cameras outside in sunlight, in the shade, in the dark, in about every possible situation.  I have to say that I have no real complaints at all.  About the only criticism one might have is that the new screen is a bit more reflective than the original surface, but it isn’t bothering me.  After reading some reviews online, I see that there are various complaints about size, reflectivity and the screen not sticking.  I have to say that I do not see any of these issues with my two experiences.

Summary

The only reason to really put a protector of this sort over your camera’s screen is to protect the original screen and protect the value of your camera.  Let’s face it… these cameras are electronics.  In today’s market, electronics are the fastest depreciating item you can buy (outside of a home – but that’s another story).  To keep the value of your camera, you need to keep it looking new.  But you don’t want to have to look through some bubbled, misty looking piece of plastic film the whole time you use your camera.  So, is it worth a little more to invest in a quality piece of glass like this?  I think so.

Lensbaby Composer

In the beginning there was the original Lensbaby lens, a simple bellows system with push-pull focus and left/right and up/down sweet spot selection. Then c2ame the Lensbaby 3G that allowed you to fine tune the sweet spot after locking it down so that you can easily repeat the same shot and settings.

Now, the Lensbaby Composer promises a lens that is easier to use, better control over focusing, and a selection of different optic inserts to give you a variety of different effects.

Lensbaby 3G and Composer

Comparison to other Lensbaby Lenses

Looking at the difference between a Lensbaby 3G and a Composer, the older models have a flexible bellows that adjusts the focus by pushing it out or pulling it in, the Composer has a focus ring that moves the optic insert in and out. To adjust the sweet spot on an older model you move the lens around on the bellows, on the Composer the optics are held by a ball and socket that has an adjustment ring to adjust the amount of friction so you can have it move easily or even lock it in place and just about anything in between. The older models have a removable aperture disk, the larger the aperture (the smaller the f/stop number) the more dramatic the effect.

Optic System

The new Composer comes with double glass optics that can provide a very sharp image.  Also available are three other optic inserts that can be swapped out for the double glass optic. These other optics include:

• Single glass optic
  This is an update to the original Lensbabies lenses, with the single glass optic you get a subtle, soft, dreamy effect.
• Plastic lens optic
  With the plastic lens this optic has a very soft effect that creates very ethereal photos with abundant chromatic aberration.
• Pinhole/Zone Plate Optic
  In pinhole or zone plate mode, this optic insert achieves softer focus, dreamy images that are equally sharp from edge to edge.

You can see an interactive example of the different optics with different apertures by using Lenbabies’ Optic Comparison guide.

Using the Lensbaby Composer

Composer on Canon 30D

The Composer attaches to your camera like any other lens but there are no electronics in the lens so there is no Auto-Focus and no aperture control from the camera. The Composer is a completely manual lens and the aperture is controlled with different discs that are placed into the bottom of the optics.

Using the older Lensbaby 3G or the original Lensbaby 1.0/2.0 was an exercise in frustration for many people as just adjusting the lens, holding it in place, and holding the camera almost required three hands.  With the Composer, the easiest way to use it is to adjust the friction ring so the lens will move easily but is not too lose and simply shoot away, adjusting up/down/left/right as you see fit and adjusting for focus. If you are using a tripod and want to make sure the lens does not move at all between shots then you can lock the lens on place by tightening up the friction ring.  While this sounds like a lot of work, it is significantly easier than than trying to use two fingers from each hand to wrap around your camera body, look through the viewfinder, compose your images, and press the shutter at the same time.

The Lensbaby lenses are not lenses you will put on your camera and be firing shots off like a machine gun, you need to slow down, get your composure right, get your exposure dialed in, adjust the sweet spot, and make the image versus taking a snapshot. You have to think and work a little more, but the result is an image you made in-camera and got it right.

The Lensbaby Effect

What the lens does is to shift the focus into a “sweet spot” and the blur effect will radiate out from the sweet spot and increase in effect as it moves away from the spot.  In some images the effect can be rather subtle so I purposely chose an image that will show the effect quite well.

Here you can see the front of the car is where I set the sweet spot and the blurring effect increases as it goes away from the sweet spot. This is a very difficult look to do with software although some plugins are getting very close these days.

This differs from a true tilt-shift lens in that the Lensbaby lenses can’t correct perspective like a tilt-shift lens. The Lensbaby is more of a special effects lens which can create some very interesting images. While the car shot demonstrates what the Composer can do, that isn’t what you are typically going to do with it. Many still life shots are shot with Lensbaby lenses and I suspect we will even see some cool video from cameras like the new Canon 5D MkII.

The Lensbaby Composer is roughly a 50mm focal length so when it is used on an APS-C sized sensor it will become around an 85mm focal length, that’s something to keep in mind if you are trying to set a scene up for use with the lens.

The following are two images of the same scene, one with a standard lens and the other shot with a Lensbaby Composer.

Standard Lens

Lensbaby Composer

Sample Images

Here are a few shots I have taken recently with the Lensbaby Composer:

Walking Down The Alley

Soft Kiss

El Cortez Sign

Sassy Sally w/Plastic Lens

Picket Fence w/Super Wide Lens

Learning to Use The Lensbaby Composer

The Lensbaby Composer is not the most intuitive or user-friendly piece of glass you will have in your arsenal. It is most likely the only manual focus lens you will own, the aperture is set by physically changing rings in the lens instead of from the camera controls, and it takes practice to get really good shots out of it consistently. That being said, the Composer is FAR easier to use than previous Lensbaby lenses so it will take much less practice than before.

What I really like about the Composer is that I really feel that “I” am making an image. I have to slow down my thought process and get things right in-camera. If your composition is off, you can’t just crop it and get a better image since the effect will usually not allow for much latitude when it comes to post processing. If you feel you are stuck in a photographic slump, pull out your Lensbaby lens and start making some fresh new images, it will inspire you to think differently and try new things.

At the recent PMA 2009 show, Sam from Lensbaby walked us through the Composer and all of the available accessories.

Should I Get A Lensbaby Composer Now?

.6 Wide Angle / Macro Lens

Only if you like getting things for free!

With your purchase of a Lensbaby Composer we have arranged for you to get a Wide Angle/Macro Conversion lens with your order. It adds even more possibility to your images.

The Lensbaby 0.6X Wide Angle Macro Conversion lens converts your Lensbaby’s 50mm focal length to 30mm, while keeping the Sweet Spot the same size as a Lensbaby photo taken without a wide angle conversion lens. Other wide angle conversion lenses shrink the sweet spot. You can unscrew the rear lens element for use as a macro lens that focuses as close as 2″ to 3″ from your subjects.

The Lensbaby 0.6X Wide Angle/Macro Conversion Lens is fully compatible with all Lensbaby SLR lenses. L:earn more about this special offer (link).

The Bottom Line

The Composer is certainly a speciality lens that not everyone is going to find a use for. However, if you want to be able to add a dramatic effect to your images and do it all in-camera then a Lensbaby composer is a must-have for your gear bag and at only $269.95 it is probably going to be the least expensive lens you own.

I have been using the Lensbaby lenses for several years and the Composer is my favorite of them all with its easier to use design and now with all the accessories, it is a very versatile lens that adds to my creative process.

Website: http://lensbaby.com

Amazon Links

Lensbaby The Composer for Canon EF mount Digital SLR Cameras
Lensbaby The Composer for Nikon F mount Digital SLR Cameras
Lensbaby Optic Boxed Set
Lensbaby Creative Aperture Kit
Lensbaby Macro Kit (AMACK)

I have mentioned David Ziser’s upcoming seminar series several times and I will continue to until it is over as it is going to be the one big not-to-miss seminar this year. David is an expert on lighting and technique and presents these topics in very easy to understand ways so that you can go back and start implementing them immediately.

David Ziser’s Digital WakeUp Call 2009 Tour will get underway on March 30 and hits 58 cities across the country. I got a sneak peak at some of the material while at WPPI and it made my entire trip worthwhile so I am personally excited about the Digital WakeUp Call Tour.

I had asked David how I could help promote tour for him and he responded with a special discount code for Camera Dojo readers. The discount code ZKGDWC09 will get you into the seminar for only $59 (a $20 savings!).

Who Should Attend?

I have been asked this a lot, and while David is one of the best wedding photographers in the world and certainly many of the examples will be of wedding images, anybody that wants to shoot people, make their images better, and learn Lightroom, should most certainly attend. Even if you are not selling weddings or portraits, for $59 you will improve the quality of your images signifigantly by using the techniques that David will be teaching.

Is It Worth Attending?

Again, yes yes yes!! For $59, you will leave with materials worth $250 more than you paid to get in:

• Tour Handbook including: program notes, photography, marketing and more
• 2 Hour DVD with extended program content
• $100 Rebate from American Color Imaging
• 1 year membership to WPPI and Rangefinder magazine, a $99 value
• FREE 3 month membership to DigitalProTalkPlus.com, a $45 value
• FREE 3 month subscription to PPA Magazine, a $15 value
• FREE PPA Indemnification (no-fault) insurance for all new PPA members, a $50 value
• Over $2,500 in door prizes awarded each evening
• And a chance to win 1 of 4 Grand Prizes worth over $5,000

Where will it be held?

The answer is, almost everywhere. David (and his amazing model LaDawn) will bring DWC to 58 cities across the country. The the schedule and registration page lists all of the days and locations. I will be attending the one in Irvine, Ca on May 20th.

Links:

Digital WakeUp Call Tour
David’s Digital Pro Talk Blog

Las Vegas, NV (March 2, 2009) DigitalFocus 2009 – ExposureManager (www.exposuremanager.com), a customizable full-service online sales resource for photographers, announces a new Premium Subscription service created to help increase print and merchandise sales for photographers. ExposureManager’s behind-the-scenes marketing support provides a convenient e-commerce solution for busy photographers through every step from order placement to print production and shipping of the final product.

“Traditionally, photographers interested in selling their work online were required to have a separate website in addition to their online gallery service. Now they can use ExposureManager for their entire Web presence. This will let photographers spend their time more profitably behind the camera,†said Donovan Janus, CEO of ExposureManager. “Our new premium subscription allows our users to have an individually branded homepage, a portfolio page, pricing page and more as well as advanced e-mail marketing tools.â€

With ExposureManager’s new premium subscription, photographers now have the tools they need to convert potential customers into actual customers. Starting in March, photographers will be able to:

• see the favorites and shopping cart contents of their customers

• easily send e-mail blasts to customers based on a variety of filters

• schedule automated e-mail reminders for customers who selected favorites or cart contents but who have not purchased yet

• send out automated thank you e-mails after orders have been shipped and received

• With any e-mail that gets sent out, photographers can provide a unique coupon code to further encourage their customers to return for additional purchases

  The monthly price to subscribe to ExposureManager’s premium package is $24.99 and the yearly price is $249.99. And if current subscribers upgrade to the yearly account in January, they will receive $150 worth of free print processing.

About ExposureManager

Headquartered in Torrance, California, ExposureManager was established in 2004 by Donovan Janus and Rhesa Rozendaal. ExposureManager is a full-service online sales resource that makes it easy for photographers to sell their images via their online galleries/storefronts and then fulfill those orders with their in-house processing lab. ExposureManager deducts a nominal commission as its fee from the retail price of each sale. That commission covers credit card processing fees. ExposureManager then sends a check to the account holder at the beginning of each month. For more information visit www.exposuremanager.com .

Unlike traditional tripods, Alta Pro’s Multi-Angle Central Column (MACC) System allows users to move the central column as needed from zero to 130-degree angles in variable vertical and horizontal positions. This allows more angle possibilities than any tripod on the market but its solid design maintains its stability.

Its Instant Swivel Stop-n-Lock (ISSL) System feature allows photographers to securely reposition the central column in one simple movement, in just a few seconds, with maintaining the tripod’s stability. Designed to support an array of camera types including DSLR and video cameras, camera setup is quick and easy.Alta Pro’s design also enables macro photography and special wide-angle shots with additional attachments that can be mounted to either end of the central column. Alta Pro is one of many new-for-2009 products introduced by VANGUARD at PMA 09, including :

• SBH ball heads – A lightweight line of stable magnesium alloy-constructed ball heads with tilting and ultra smooth movement, designed to support heavy equipment
• Kenline i-Pro bags – With three patents and lots of why-didn’t-I-think-of-that features, this line of soft-sided photo-video bags was designed for professional and amateur photographers by photographers
• Pampas bags – Line of durable and convenient sling-style, soft-sided camera and accessories bags for on-the-go photography
• Endeavor, Spirit, and Sereno binoculars – Industry-leading protective coatings, enhanced durability and special features are uniquely designed for an array of professionals

Alta Pro Multi Angle

Kenline Bags

Source: Vanguard USA

Enter to win a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightoom! Go to the Lightroom product page and find the six word tagline and fill in the blanks:

Simplify photography from _______ to _____

Send your entry to contest@cameradojo.com with the subject: Lightroom Contest, in the body of the email have the completed tagline, your name, and twitter name if you use twitter. The winner will be drawn and announced (via twitter) on March 20th.

Here are the links mentioned in the show:

Lightroom Journal (http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal)
John Nack’s Blog (http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/)
Lightroom Suggestion form (http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform)
Dear Adobe (http://dearadobe.com)

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

You can listen to this podcast now using our player widget in the right hand sidebar

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Also announced is the smc PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited ultra wide-angle lens for PENTAX Digital SLR Cameras.  This latest model in PENTAX’s acclaimed Limited Lens series inherits all the attributes of this renowned product line including high quality image reproduction and high grade aluminum lens barrel finish, while providing users with a unique ultra wide-angle perspective. The lens will ship in April 2009 for $649.95 USD, while the PENTAX X70 will ship in April 2009 for $399.95 USD.

These PENTAX products will be displayed at PMA – The Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations Trade Show from March 3-5, 2009 in Las Vegas. More information is available here: www.pentaximaging.com and product images are available here: http://www.pentaximaging.com/press/pressfiles.html.

PENTAX Imaging Company is an innovative leader in the production of digital SLR and compact cameras, lenses, flash units, binoculars, scopes, and eyepieces.  For almost 90 years, PENTAX has developed durable, reliable products that meet the needs of consumers and businesses.  With headquarters in Golden, Colorado, PENTAX Imaging Company is a division of Hoya Corporation.

# # #

PENTAX X70 FACT SHEET

Versatile 24X optical Megazoom lens accommodates a range of subjects

Within a compact, lightweight body, the X70 features a high magnification optical 24X zoom lens offering a focal-length coverage between a wide-angle 26mm to a super telephoto 624mm (in the 35mm format). This is ideal for wide-angle scenic shots or group photos, as well as getting closer to the action at a sporting event.  Coupled with the Intelligent Zoom function, the X70 zoom range may be extended to approximately 150 times (for a focal length of an astonishing approximately 3900mm in the 35mm format) without compromising the optical performance of the zoom lens.

High image quality

With 12.0 megapixels, a high-performance imaging engine, and the high quality PENTAX Megazoom lens, the X70 delivers super clear, high quality images in any shooting mode. Images at 12.0 megapixels are also suitable for printing at most large print sizes including 8×10, 11×17 and even larger poster size prints.

Large, easy-to-view 2.7 inch color LCD monitor

The PENTAX X70 features a large, bright 2.7 inch color LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots of resolution. An Anti-Reflection coating helps minimize glare from sunlight for more effective outdoor viewing. Also, the X70 comes with an electronic viewfinder for easy image composition and review in the brightest lighting conditions. You can also access the camera’s menus and other functions via the electronic viewfinder, so you will always be able to change settings no matter how bright it is outdoors.

Compact, lightweight design

The compact, lightweight design of the X70, one of the smallest and lightest cameras in it’s class, make it easy to transport and use.  However, the small size does not mean features are compromised.  The X70 includes a full range of automatic and manual features and functions.

Reliable Shake Reduction for sharp, blur-free images

The X70 incorporates an “image sensor shift” Shake Reduction system to assure sharply focused, blur-free images even under demanding photographic conditions  such as when shooting at full telephoto or when shooting a sunset or indoor scenes with very low light. By accurately detecting the amount of camera shake using a high-performance gyro sensor and shifting the CCD image sensor vertically and horizontally at high speed, the X70 offers an outstanding camera-shake compensation effect, equivalent to approximately three shutter steps.

High-speed Continuous Shooting mode to capture the decisive moment

The X70 lets the photographer capture the subject continuously at a maximum speed of approximately 11 images per second and up to 21 images in succession.* Coupled with the Auto-Tracking AF mode that keeps a fast-moving subject in focus all the time, the X70 is sure to capture that once in a lifetime, decisive moment in sharp focus. The X70 is perfect for shooting sports action and active children and pets.

* When the continuous-shooting mode is selected, the image size is fixed at 5M (2592 x 1944 pixels).

Fast Face Detection AF&AE captures up to 32 faces in focus in approx. 0.03 seconds

The X70 Face Detection function is effective for capturing casual snapshots of people by optimizing the focusing and exposure of up to 32 faces in a single image in approximately 0.03 seconds. The X70 also offers other user-friendly functions including Smile Capture which automatically releases the shutter the instant it detects the subject’s smile, and Blink Detection which warns the photographer when the subject’s eyes are closed at the moment of capture.

Movie capture in high-definition TV image quality with anti-shake protection

The X70 captures high quality movie clips, equivalent in image quality to that of high-definition TV (1280 x 720 pixels) at 15 frames per second. The X70 also features Movie SR mode,** which effectively minimizes annoying camera shake during movie capture. The X70 can also record video at 848×480, VGA and QVGA resolutions at 30 frames per second, for full video capture flexibility. As a result, the photographer enjoys high-quality, blur-free movie shooting with minimal effort.

** When the Movie SR mode is selected, the angle of view becomes narrower than normal shooting.

Multi-mode exposure system

The X70 offers a choice of four exposure modes: Programmed AE, in which the camera automatically selects the optimal combination of aperture and shutter speed for a given subject and Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE and full Metered Manual modes, in which photographers are free to select either (or both) aperture and shutter speed to suit their photographic needs.

Auto Picture mode for the automatic selection of seven different shooting modes

The X70 features the advanced PENTAX Auto Picture mode, which automatically selects the most appropriate shooting mode for a given subject or scene by detecting the subject’s lighting, movement and other conditions. This user-friendly mode not only makes the right mode choice for the photographer (from Landscape, Portrait, Night Scene, Night Scene Portrait, Flower, Sport and Standard modes), but also features an Auto Macro mode, which automatically switches the camera’s focus range to macro in close-range applications.

Auto sensitivity control up to a high ISO of 6400

The X70 comes equipped with an Auto Sensitivity Control function, which automatically shifts the sensitivity level in relation to the subject’s lighting condition and the lens focal-length setting. This allows the photographer to use a high shutter speed in dimly lit locations, such as night scenes or indoor sports events to effectively minimize camera shake and subject blur. The auto sensitivity control range can be set between ISO 50 and ISO 6400, and is range adjustable.

Additional Features

• Image Format Choice proportions of 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 or 1:1.
• Scene mode palette for easy selection from 20 scenes, including a new Baby mode for accurate exposure and skin tones when taking pictures of babies.
• Overexposure compensation function to prevent blown out (or clipped) highlights.
• A Super Macro mode may be used to shoot as close as 0.4 inches (one centimeter) away from a subject for stunning close-up details.
• Digital Wide mode quickly stitches 2 images together for an extra wide-angle image (equivalent to 20mm in the 35mm format).
• World time clock displays standard time in 75 cities in 28 time zones around the world for extra convenience when on the road.
• Frame Composite mode (with 90 built-in image frames) offers fun and creative ways to style up your shots.
• Approximately 33.6MB of built-in memory. Also compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.
• Red-eye reduction function corrects for red eyes as the result of flash photography. Red-eye reduction can be applied during capture, or as a post-capture filter.

• Nikon D3X
• Olympus E-30

This update also includes preliminary support for the recently announced Epson R-D1x (and R-D1xG).

The Lightroom 2.3 update includes several bug fixes.

FIXES originally provided in the Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidate

• In the Windows 64-bit version of Lightroom an sFTP upload process could cause Lightroom to crash.
• Slideshows could return to the first image randomly during playback.
• A memory leak could cause Lightroom to crash while attempting to process files with local adjustments.
• Canon EOS 5D Mk II sRAW files could process with artifacts in Lightroom 2.2.
• Lightroom 2.2 could cause disc burning to fail for Windows customers.

FIXES new to the final version of Lightroom 2.3

• Attempting to undo(CTRL-Z) a single step in Lightroom 2.2 on Windows could cause a series of previous actions to be undone.

Lightroom 2.3 now provides language support for the following additional languages:

• Chinese (Simplified)
• Chinese (Traditional)
• Dutch
• Italian
• Korean
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Spanish
• Swedish

In this video we talk to GO|Bee Bags (http://gobeebags.com), Trendy Camera Straps (http://trendycamerastraps.com) and Kerry and David head back to Orange County.

[podcast format="video"]/podcasts/WPPI2009_part5.m4v[/podcast]

MiniTT1 – Canon

The smallest PocketWizard radio ever, the MiniTT1™ Transmitter locks onto the camera’s hot shoe supporting an on-camera flash with its own hot shoe while working with remote PocketWizard units. Remotes can be one or more PocketWizard FlexTT5™ Transceivers connected to Canon E-TTL II flashes or any PocketWizard Receiver for triggering flash or remote cameras.

Flex TT5 – Canon

The dedicated FlexTT5™ Transceiver, with its built in hot-shoe and ControlTL™ firmware, is the perfect addition to Canon E-TTL II flash systems.  The FlexTT5 takes the existing benefits of Canon wireless systems beyond the boundaries of infrared technology.  When paired with the Mini TT1™ Transmitter or another FlexTT5 Transceiver, a whole new world of wireless flash freedom opens up.  The FlexTT5 is also the perfect Transceiver for your manual triggering needs and works with all MultiMAX channels and many of the MultiMAX advanced functions.

The following video was taken on the show floor at WPPI 2009:

[podcast format="video"]/podcasts/PocketWizards_wppi09.m4v[/podcast]

For more information, go to http://pocketwizard.com

The widest tilt-shift lens in Canon’s lineup, the new TS-E 17mm f/4L lens expands shooting possibilities exponentially on EOS Digital cameras. Designed with UD glass to minimize and compensate for chromatic aberrations, with specially coated aspherical elements for the highest possible glare-free image quality, this tilt-shift lens offers an angle of view of 93°. New TS revolving lets users freely combine tilting and shifting within the range of +/- 90° in the direction of movement. The lens also has an improved tilt & shift knob with an enhanced range of movement of up to +/- 6.5° and revolving lenses for better operability, it uses a circular aperture for beautiful out-of-focus areas and has an SWC lens coating to control ghosting and flare to a far greater degree than with earlier coating technologies.

TS-E 17mm f/4L

TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II

Want to make your shooting easier so you do less cropping in post production? CropLines has the answer with engraved focus screens for 8×10, Rue of thirds, school portrait, or other designs so that you can nail your image in-camera.

Many photographers use or are considering flash brackets so that you can keep your accessory flash above your camera regardless of whether or not you have your camera in its vertical or horizontal position. The Reporter Flash Ring is one of the simplest flash brackets I have ever seen Instead of a series of hinges and brackets, the Reporter Flash Ring has a rong around the lens that doesn’t move and the flash slides around on the ring on a set of rollers. The design is simple and effective.

While not everyone wants their own photobooth, if you are looking to make you own, check out the new photobooth software from TOFURIOS. Their photobooth software is the best I have seen so far.

Stay tuned, more to come!

Mike talks about the possible future for plugins and for OnOne Software and hints at possible tools for the Apple iPhone and for dealing with video from new cameras such as the Nikon D90 and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Mike also is giving away a copy of the Plugin Suite 4 which contains the following plugins:

• Genuine Fractals 6 Professional Edition
• PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition
• Mask Pro 4.1
• PhotoFrame 4 Professional Edition
• PhotoTune 2.2
• FocalPoint 1.0

This is a $499.95 value!! To be entered to win we have a little scavenger hunt to solve. First off, go to http://ononesoftware.com and find the page for the Plugin Suite 4, Figure out why you need plugins, and from there, find the 10 word slogan. When you have found it, send an email to contest@cameradojo.com with the subject “OnOne Software Contest” in the subject and the answer and your name in the body of the email. Entries must be received by 5pm on Friday the 13th of March, 2009 and will be announced on the podcast that airs on March 17th.

Be sure and check out the OnOne Software blog (http://www.ononesoftware.com/blog/) and the OnOne Exchange (http://www.ononeexchange.com/)

OnOne Software: http://ononesoftware.com

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

YOU WILL LEARN…

• 32 ways to use your on and off-camera flashes for creative and dramatic effects.
• 10 of the best camera settings and lens choices for creating striking images on every job.
• 7 ways to use the new DSLR video capabilities to transform your product offerings.
• 10 “Magic Bullet” techniques to make your digital workflow nearly effortless, highly efficient, and fun with today’s top software from Adobe Lightroom, NIK, and LumaPix: FotoFusion.
• 20 new product and solid marketing ideas targeted to today’s customers to add substantially to your bottom line.

PROGRAM BONUS:

• Tour Handbook including: program notes, photography, marketing and more
• 2 Hour DVD with extended program content
• $100 Rebate from American Color Imaging
• 1 year membership to WPPI and Rangefinder magazine, a $99 value
• FREE 3 month membership to DigitalProTalkPlus.com, a $45 value

$2,500 in Door Prizes at EACH location and 4 Grand prizes totaling $20,000

If you sign up now, the price is only $59!! At the door the price is $79 which is still an amazing deal.

Go visit the Digital Wakeup Call website for additional information and to sign up. This event is most likely going to sell out in every city so I highly recommend you get registered as soon as possible.

It all adds up

If the visual references isn’t quite enough, then another way to think about it is to think of a perfect exposure as the combination of the right proportion of ingredients made up of ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture setting. If a perfect exposure = 9, and you have equal parts of Shutter, ISO, and Aperture, then you have a good mix (3+3+3 = 9). If you need to adjust one of the ingredients, then you have to adjust one of the others to come up with the same final number (2+4+3=9), subract from one, you have to add to another to make up the difference. If you have too much of one, without substracting from another, you end up with an overexposed image. Conversly, if you take away from one but don’t add another, you end up with an underexposed image.

The Sunny 16 Example

In a previous article we looked at the sunny 16 rule, this states that on a bright sunny day, a perfect exposure should be f/16, ISO 200, 1/200th of a second. (ISO and shutter are the reciprocal of each other). If we wanted a shallower depth of field and wanted a larger aperture like f/2.8, then since f/2.8 is 5 stops brighter than f/16, we would then need to compensate with either a lower ISO or a faster shutter. Increasing the shutter is the easiest in this example then we need 5 stops of shutter giving us a speed of 1/6400th of a second.

Low Light Adjustments

In low light we have the opposite issue, trying to get enough light into the camera. We only go so slow before we run into blurring issues with slow shutter speeds, and the aperture limit is going to be based on the lens we are using. If we still don’t have a bright enough exposure then we have to compensate by increasing the ISO speed.

Bringing it all together

While each setting can have an effect on the overall image quality, the sum of the three effect the overall exposure. For a refresher on the other settings, be sure and go back through these previous articles:

• Beginner’s Guide to Aperture
• Controlling Exposure
• The Sunny 16 Rule in Photography
• Capturing movement with shutter speed
• Understanding Depth of Field

Author: Kerry Garrison

Watsonville, CA (PRWEB) January 26, 2009 — ExpoImaging Inc. (www.ExpoImaging.net), developer and marketer of innovative camera accessories, including the Ray Flash Ring Light Adapter, ExpoDisc Digital White Balance Filter and the ExpoAperture2 Depth-of-Field Guide, today announced that it is now the exclusive U.S. distributor of Honl Photo Professional Products.

Developed by veteran photojournalist David Honl, The Honl Photo Speed System is a collection of lightweight, durable and affordable light modifiers for shoe-mount flashes including an assortment of grids, snoots, reflectors, gobos and gels. With retail prices ranging from $9.95 to $29.95, these practical tools were designed to universally fit all shoe-mount flashes without the use of annoying adhesives. As photographers increasingly take advantage of the power and flexibility of modern portable shoe-mount flashes, the Honl Photo Speed System allows them to affordably bring studio-style lighting effects into the field.

“With more than two decades of professional experience, David Honl’s work has been published worldwide,” said Erik Sowder, president of ExpoImaging. “David developed and field tested the Speed System while traveling on assignment under very challenging conditions. We firmly believe that there are no similar products available that are more practical or easy-to-use. And we are pleased that David recognized our sales and marketing success and chose ExpoImaging to be his exclusive U.S. distributor. We look forward to representing these innovative and unique lighting products.”

The Honl Photo Speed System consists of:
· The Honl Speed Strap: a simple, non-slip velcro strap that wraps around the flash head and attaches and removes in seconds. The Speed Strap avoids rubber bands, tape and sticky residue, and universally fits any shoe-mount flash. The Speed Strap provides a large wraparound surface area to quickly attach Speed Grids, Speed Gobos/Bounce Cards, Speed Snoots or Honl Gels. The Honl Speed Strap retails for $9.95.

· Honl Photo Speed Grids (patent pending): weighting just 3 oz and available in 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch grid, the honeycomb-like cells narrow the beam of light from a portable flash unit, producing a small circle of light on a subject. Perfect for dramatic lighting effects, Speed Grids fit any shoe-mount and most handle-mount portable strobes and attach quickly and easily to a Speed Strap. Honl Photo Speed Grids retail for $29.95.

· The Honl Photo Speed Gobo/Bounce Card: a versatile gobo made of black ballistic nylon on one side and white polymer on the other. The black side can be used to keep light from flaring into a lens when using a flash as a background or hair light. The white side can be used as a bounce card. Utilizing two gobos, photographers can create a barn door setup. The Honl Speed Gobo/Bounce Card attaches quickly with a Speed Strap. The Honl Photo Speed Gobo/Bounce Card retails for $14.95.

· The Honl Photo Speed Snoot/Reflector (patent pending): available as a 5-inch “Shorty” or 8-inch “Regular”, this snoot is constructed of black, ballistic nylon with a gray interior that produces a soft falloff. The snoot can be shaped to concentrate the light from a shoe-mount flash for dramatic cinematic lighting or opened-up to use as a flash bouncer/reflector. Ideal in a variety of settings, from basic portraits to dramatic background lighting, the Speed Snoot/Reflector attaches and removes in seconds using a Speed Strap. The Honl Photo Speed Snoot/Reflector retails for $29.95.

· The Honl Photo Gel Kit: colors strobes to correct for tungsten, fluorescent or daylight lighting environments or adds artistic color effects to images. These superior quality gels are pre-cut and have attached strips of velcro to secure quickly to a Speed Strap, and can be used in conjunction with Honl Snoots, Gobos and Grids. The usable gel area is 2.5 inches by 4 inches (approx. 64mm by 102mm) and can be trimmed to fit individual strobes. The Honl Photo Gel Kit retails for $29.95.

“We feel fortunate for the opportunity to partner with ExpoImaging,” said David Honl. “We chose to work with ExpoImaging because they’re good at marketing and they have a great reputation in the industry. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship.”

The addition of the Honl Photo line further solidifies ExpoImaging’s position as a leading supplier of unique and exciting products that meet the needs of photographers at all levels.

Honl Photo Professional Speed System Products are now available at photo dealers nationwide and online by visiting www.ExpoImaging.net.

About ExpoImaging, Inc.

ExpoImaging Inc. markets and develops innovative camera accessories and is the pioneer in digital white balance filters. Ray Flash: The Ring Light Adapter, Honl Photo Speed System, ExpoDisc Digital White Balance Filters, and the ExpoAperture2 Depth-of-Field Guide are available at select photography dealers worldwide, or online at www.ExpoImaging.net.

###
David Griffin
Matter Communications — Providence
401-351-9504 (direct)
508-648-1176 (mobile)
dgriffinmatter (AIM)
david@matternow.com
www.matternow.com

Carlos lays down the challenge to Camera Dojo listeners to post images taken with a single light source. To submit your images, add them to the comments on this page.

Be sure and check out Carlos’ website at http://carlosbaez.com and check out his DVD at http://www.photographymentor.com/school/seethelight

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

From Scarlett:
“I had so much fun last year shooting a sizzlin’ bride and groom session in the glamorous lights of Vegas with Ross of Flosites.com and his bride Leysa, and this year, I want to give you the same opportunity for some rockstar portfolio pieces too! For those attending WPPI this year, I’m hosting a stylish photoshoot in Vegas again. Lyndsay, who won my “I Want to Spend A Day With Scarlett” contest will be the model with her hot husband as we shoot around the city that never sleeps! ”

To join in on the photoshoot, the session fee is $199 and we’ll shoot on Monday, February 16 at 7pm. To sign up, send Scarlett an email at scarlett@scarlettlillian.com! This a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE event, and WILL sell out, so by emailing, you are agreeing to reserve your spot by paying the registration fee!

One of the sponsors, Pocket Wizard, will be at the workshop filming an exclusive BEHIND THE SCENES video of Scarlett and all of you participating in the workshop! So bring your inner rock star and get ready to be on camera! Seriously, you won’t want to miss this!

One lucky winner will get a chance to win a FREE spot in the workshop, so let’s do another CONTEST! The winner will ALSO win a pair of Pocket Wizards, AND the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners will all win a Trendy Camera Strap, and Camera Dojo Powertools & Dojo Wedding Tools Lightroom presets! Woo hoo!!

You guys got so creative with the “I Want To Spend A Day A With Scarlett” contest, but this time, let’s call it, “I Want To Shoot With Scarlett in Vegas!”

THE RULES:

1. You have to be in the pic. You are welcome to have others in the picture as well!
2. The pic has to say somewhere “I Want to Shoot With Scarlett In Vegas” whether holding a sign or photoshopped or whatever.
3. Get creative as you want, and try to tie in something Vegas into it! You can dress up like Elvis, or reenact Britney’s quickie Vegas wedding, or show me your winning hand at poker, or whatever you want!
4. Once voting is opened up, you will want to blog/Facebook/Twitter about your contest entry and direct people to come vote for you here on my blog!

Because WPPI is quickly approaching, the DEADLINE for contest entries is next Monday, February 2 when the Finale of my video blog premieres!! Then we’ll have my blog readers vote on the winning photo to award the winner! There is limited availability for the workshop to keep the group intimate for learning and getting the best shots, so for those interested, go ahead and sign up now, and if you win, I’ll refund your session fee!

Thanks to these amazing sponsors! Check them out!!!

Trendy Camera Straps (Scarlett will be hanging out at their booth, more details later on how you can come say hi!)
Pocket Wizard
Camera Dojo
Modern Photographers

• Camera Dojo
  We have free and paid sets of Lightroom Presets available Our most popular are our Camera Tools and Dojo Essentials.
• Adobe Exchange
  There are a growing number of presets available on the official Adobe Exchange website
• Lightroom Killer Tips
  About once a week Matt posts a new Lightroom preset for free. There are quite a few there now.
• Wonderland
  Over at Wonderland they have two really nice set of free Lightroom presets
• OnOne Software
  OneOne Software has 85 free Lightroom Presets designed by Jack Davis
• Presets Heaven
  Presets Heaven is trying to be the ultimate list of free Lightroom presets
• Inside Lightroom
  Inside Lightroom has a nice collection of free Lightroom presets organized into different categories
• Digital Freak
  The folks over at Digital Freak have a file with over 600 free Lightroom presets in it
• Gantico
  Very nice selection of free Lightroom presets that is added to on a regular basis
• Mathias Blix
  Mathias created some really creative Lightroom presets and now offers them up for free
• X-Equals
  Bandon Oelling has created some really nice presets that he has made available
• Laconic Stockpile
  Really nice sets of B&W and Vinage presets
• Gavin Seim
  Gavin sells several preset packs but has some free samplers that are really good as well.
• Lightroom Presetting Group
  This Flickr group has collected over 180 Free Lightroom Presets
• Life In Digital Film
  free film emulation presets

• Nikon D3X
• Olympus E-30

There are several bug fixes in this update :

• In the Windows 64-bit version of Lightroom an sFTP upload process could cause Lightroom to crash
• Slideshows could return to the first image randomly during playback
• A memory leak could cause Lightroom to crash while attempting to process files with local adjustments
• Canon EOS 5D Mk II sRAW files could process with artifacts in Lightroom 2.2
• Lightroom 2.2 could cause disc burning to fail for Windows customers

Additional Languages
Lightroom 2.3 now provides language support for the following additional languages:

• Chinese (Simplified)
• Chinese (Traditional)
• Dutch
• Italian
• Korean
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Spanish
• Swedish

The translation effort for these languages is over 90% complete in this release. We appreciate your feedback as we complete this work so that we can ensure that the final release provides a high quality update for all of these new languages. If you find a translation error or problem with these new language versions please report them here: Bug Report Form

Notes on the Additional Languages

• Localized help is not yet available for these additional language versions
• The new language versions cannot be installed simultaneously with the English/French/German 2.3 RC build

“Hey Guys,

I got a question for ya. Sorry the answer to this might already be on your site somewhere but I’d just thought I would msg you instead. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for photography books either having to do w/ business or the technical side of things. I’ve read Professional Wedding Photography by damien lovegrove and am in the process of reading understanding exposure bryan peterson. I have fast track photography on order..

Maybe one to do w/ posing??? Its weird I study photography all day long everyday.. but when it comes down to being w/ the couple it’s like I forget everything I ever learned and freeze. Then i want to slap myself because I could have done this or this shot but was having a brief moment of anxiety. I suppose posing and things will come with practice and the more I do it but I really thought I would have the hang of it by now. Any suggestions? ”

Yes Heather, David and I both have a list of suggestions for you.

David’s Picks

• Jerry Ghionis’ Pic Pockets $80
  These are small reference cards that show a specific scene, then on the back it goes into detail as to how the shot was taken.
  https://www.theicesociety.com/?page=72
• Bambi Cantrell’s Cue Cards $100
  These are stacks of cards demonstrating different poses and ideas to give you recommendations for setups.
  http://cantrellportrait.com/extra/online_store.php
• John Mireles Look Book $75
  More like a paint swatch sampler, the look book contains a wide variety of common poses to help you from getting into a rut or just for inspiration if you need some.
  http://photographerstoolkit.com/lookbook

Kerry’s Picks

• Photographing People – Rotovision $26.00
  Excellent book on posing and lighting setups and each shot includes a 3D drawing showing exactly how the set was designed with the placement of lighting, subject, reflectors, camera, etc.
  Photographing People: Portraits, Fashion, Glamour
• Posing for Portrait Photography: A Head-to-Toe Guide by Jeff Smith – $21
  This is  great book that goes through the correct placement of each section of the body from head to toe with plenty of example images to help make the point.
  Posing for Portrait Photography
• Professional Portrait Posing: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers by Michelle Perkins $23.72
  This book goes through the particular styles of a handful of professional photographers to show their distinct styles for posing and lighting subjects.
  Professional Portrait Posing: Techniques and Images
• The Moment it Clicks – Joe McNally $39.59
  Joe is a master of lighting and this book, while designed as a book on lighting, uses almost exclusively human subjects so it also is an excellent book for posing.
  The Moment it Clicks

Opening the Box for the first time

How Does It Work

Renting from BorrowLenses.com couldn’t be easier. Browse through their website and find the product you want, select the term of the rental you want, and select if you want to get the op

tional insurance (highly recommended). As soon as you place the order, an authorization hold in the amount of the order total is automatically placed on your credit card. This doesn’t withdraw funds from your card, but merely holds them. They will actually charge the credit card the day your order ships. (see their website for information on using debit cards).

Your package will arrive from FedEx ground and your rental period begins as soon as the package is dropped off.

Detail of the shipping box

My First Rental

I simply had to get my hands on the new Canon 5D Mk II and when I saw that BorrowLenses.com had the 5D Mk II available for rental I just had to get my hands on one. A few days later my package arrived with the 5D mk II, a manual, and battery charger all stuffed tight into thick foam padding.

It’s no surprise that the camera was in perfect

condition since it is brand new after all

Inside the box was instructions for sending the package back at the end of the rental period as well as a shipping label  When you are finished, simply pack it back up, seal it with some packing tape, slap the shipping label on the box and drop it off at any FedEx drop-off point.

The Cost of Renting

Canon EOS 5D Mk II

The big question is does renting something you will use on a regular basis make sense to rent versus purchase? Let’s say you really want to step things up and use some professional glass for your weddings, the 70-200 IS L f/2.8 lens will set you back around $1,600,then let’s assume you will need this lens for 15 different weekends over the course of the year. Since the lens will cost you $51 per week to rent, you would have to rent it 31 times before you would have spent enough to buy the lens, that’s two years of use that you can easily add to the cost of the individual jobs and not have to eat the entire $1,600.

Final Thoughts

There have been multiple times that I wished I could get a certain piece of equipment to rent but the local places are expensive, have a small variety, and require massive deposits.  The entire process with BorrowLenses.com is fast, easy, and painless. If you are wanting to try out a new piece of equipment before buying it, or if you need some extra for a special shoot, then do yourself a favor and call BorrowLenses.com. I will certainly be using them a number of times this year for different things. I will be evaluating the EOS 50D, Checking out Tilt-Shift Lenses, and probably using some high end glass for certain events. If you use them, be sure and tell them that I recommended them.

Author: Kerry Garrison

• R-Strap Camera Strap Courtesy of BlackRapid
• Fast Track Photographer Audiobook courtesy of Esquire Photography
• Dojo Wedding Tools Presets for Lightroom
• Dojo Power Tools Presets for Lightroom

All together this is about a $200 prize package.

Example from Roberto Valenzuela

Example of Converging Lines from Roberto Valenzuela

Contest Rules

Please get this right so you do not get disqualified. To enter your image into the contest, upload it to your Flickr account. You will need to be a member of the Camera Dojo Flickr Group and then you can add your image to the Group photo pool. You must tag your image with the words Contest and Lines. This will allow me to find them easily.

You must only upload images that you took yourself. We will post the winner’s pictures on CameraDojo.com but you will retain all copyright to the image. We suggest you have a watermark on your images as well. The deadline for entries is Feb 28th 2009 and the winner will be named on the following podcast.

Here are a few other examples:

Current Entries

1. Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes a low battery indication to be displayed when using the EF 85mm F1.2L II USM lens. Depending on the battery check timing of the camera, the battery level displayed on the camera’s LCD data panel may shows Battery will be exhausted soon or Battery must be recharged, even though the battery capacity is sufficient.
2. Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes an Err 06 Self Cleaning Sensor malfunction to appear on the camera’s LCD monitor and LCD data panel, even when the Self Cleaning Sensor Unit is operating normally. This message may appear depending on the timing of when the camera is switch to the ON position.
3. Fixes a malfunction that prevents correct colors from being printed when direct printing. RAW images captured using the camera’s custom Picture Styles (Emerald, etc.), which have been downloaded from Canon’s Web site and registered under User Def. 2 or User Def. 3.
4. Modifies the level of subject brightness that causes the AF-assist beam to fire when using an external Speedlite.
5. Enables an external flash connected to the camera’s synchro terminal to fire even when the camera’s built-in flash is popped up.

Source: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/eos40d/eos40d-firmware-e.html

“Lost That Spare Tire” from PeptidBond. He will receive a new R-Strap from BlackRapid. They also announce the next contest “converging lines”. More info about this new contest will be posted tomorrow.

Later, Kerry sat with Master Photographer David Ziser. David is a high end wedding photographer who has recently made the switch from JPEG to RAW and discusses the reasons for making the switch.

David has also recently switched to the new Canon 5D Mk II and discusses the new camera and how video will play a role in wedding photography.

Be sure and check out David’s website at http://digitalprotalk.blogspot.com and watch for news on his upcoming seminar.

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

What is a RAW image?

By RAW, I mean an image that is shot with your camera image quality set to RAW mode which stores the actual sensor data for the scene that was shot. This is different than a JPEG image that is a rendered image of the RAW data that has different effects applied to it by the camera such as sharpening, saturation, and contrast. A good quality JPEG image can look incredibly good and can be printed at large sizes and will look great. A RAW image will need some form of software program to convert the RAW data to something usable. The most popular programs for this today are Lightroom, Photoshop, Aperture, Capture One (Nikon), and Digital Photo Professional (Canon).

Is there a technical difference?

Anyone that tries to tell you there is no difference in image quality between a RAW image and a JPEG is simply mistaken or ill-informed. From a purely technical perspective, a RAW image will always give you a better image. A RAW image simply has more data, for each pixel there is at least twice as much data on older cameras like my 30D and as much as eight times as much data with newer cameras that have more bit depth. This means that a RAW image has the ability to have a greater tonal range than a JPEG. A RAW image will also then have greater latitude than a JPEG image, giving you the ability to process the image to recover shadows and highlights more than you can if you started with the JPEG. Since white balance settings are applied when an image is saved as a JPEG, shooting in RAW will allow you to adjust the white balance during post processing without sacrificing any image data.

This is not an opinion, it is a pure technical fact. So let’s accept that this is true and that RAW has a distinct technical advantage over a JPEG saved from the camera. I don’t think we need to debate that RAW has an inherent technical advantage and I think some people get caught up in this. I think the real issue is whether or not you need the advantages of RAW versus the negative reasons for using RAW that we will look at later.

Getting down with the downside of RAW

The big debate over RAW vs JPEG is whether or not the pros outweigh the cons so let’s look at the cons and see what the downside of using RAW images is:

• Increased file size
  This is probably the biggest issue there is. RAW images are considerably larger files than their corresponding JPEG images. With my 30D, a RAW file will typically be around 5mb while a fine quality JPEG will be around 1.5mb. As the megapixel count goes up, the files get downright huge with RAW images from a new Canon 5D MkII being around 22mb each. If you are shooting lots of images, at a wedding for example, then the larger size of RAW files will be a significant hit. Since the files are larger, they will require more horsepower from your computer to process. For the same number of images, you will need more flash card storage.
• Specialized software needed to process
  If you can call Photoshop, Lightroom, or Aperture specialized software, then yes, you will need something like this or use the software that came with your camera. If you use something other than these programs then you may have issues dealing with RAW files. For a brand new camera, you may have to wait for updated versions of these programs before they can recognize your files. This also means that if your camera is discontinued in the future, there is no guarantee that your camera’s format will always be supported (this is a good reason to use DNG files, but that’s for another article).
• RAW workflow is different than a JPEG workflow
  Is it? If you are already using Aperture, Lightroom, or Adobe Bridge for processing JPEG’s, then there is little to no change in your workflow. Two years ago, before tools like Lightroom and Aperture, working with RAW images was such a pain that RAW was said to mean “really awful workflow”. Since many of us are using Lightroom and Aperture now, there is little to no changes at all for working with RAW files other than they take longer per image to download off a CF card.
• RAW images in third party tools don’t look as good as the JPEGs
  This has been a real serious problem for a while as only the camera manufacturers really have the secret sauce for decoding their RAW images properly. Adobe has pretty much solved this issue with Lightroom 2.2 and the inclusion of camera profiles that setup the RAW processor to match the settings used to create the JPEG images in your camera.

Again, we are looking at facts here and not opinions, but it is important to understand that there is a downside to using RAW files even if I personally feel that the negatives are typically blown a bit out of proportion with the exception of the increased file size which can be a really significant issue for heavy shooters.

The non-destructive workflow

One of the biggest advantages of shooting RAW is that it inherently provides you today with a non-destructive workflow. What it means is that there is no image degradation between saves and any given step in the editing process can be removed. If we are using any of the three most popular tools today (Photoshop, Aperture, or Lightroom) then when we edit a JPEG, and make our changes, those changes are permenant, and because we just re-saved our image as a JPEG some compression has occured, every time we do this we lose some image quality. Sure you can make multiple copies along the way so you can go back to previous versions, but that negates the whole point of JPEG’s saving disk space. I personally work in Lightroom and I can take my RAW images and apply as many edits to them as I want but these changes are simply stored as a set of instructions to Lightroom, thus the original image is never modified. This also allows me to make virtual copies of an image so I can have a color, B&W, Sepia, or dozens of different versions of an image and take up only a trivial amount of disk space since it is only storing the steps to make the changes and isnt storing a new copy of the image itself and again, no matter what I do, there is no image quality lost at all during the post-production process.

Is anyone still using JPEG these days?

If nobody was shooting JPEG anymore than I wouldn’t have so many questions about it but are any real professionals shooting JPEG and the answer is yes.

Carlos Baez is a wedding photographer from Florida, this is someone who makes his living delivering top quality images to high paying clients and yet Carlos shoots JPEG because he can consistently deliver great images without the extra overhead of RAW files. Carlos is an expert at lighting and understanding exposure so he doesn’t rely on post processing to get his images right.

Ken Rockwell is a huge advocate for shooting in JPEG mostly because a lot of people use it as an excuse to not get the image right in camera. Although he has an article about this (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/raw.htm). I have posted a link to his article because he does make a few valid points but I think he does go over the top a little on some of the negatives while I do agree that many people use RAW without either knowing why or using it to correct their mistakes from not knowing how to use their camera properly.

Pros against JPEG

It’s only fair that I point out a few pros who have made the switch to RAW and some of their reasons for doing so.

Scarlett Lillian from Florida has been shooting RAW since she started shooting weddings but then tried going to JPEF to save disk and CF card space. After really giving it a try, she finally switched back to RAW because she felt she just wasn’t getting the color and skin tones from the JPEG files that she was when she was using RAW. She uses Photoshop with Bridge as her workflow tool.

David Ziser is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names in wedding photography and recent convert to the RAW side. David’s big switch came when he started using Lightroom for his workflow and then discovered that the images he was getting with Lightroom and RAW files simply gave him a better image than starting with JPEG. David details his experience in a post on his site, although he also make a case for use JPEG for less critical shots that will never be printed at larger than 5×7. Anything destined for the album or enlargements he suggests shooting in RAW and the filler shots can safely be shot in JPEG to conserve space.

Rick Miller who is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Adobe does a segment when he is demoing Lightroom where he shows a picture of his girlfriends dog that is a white curly haired dog. Rick took a picture of the dog that when the rest of the scene is properly exposed, the dog is overexposed. Saved as a JPEG, the details in the dogs fur are completely lost and unrecoverable. The same image shot in RAW is able to use tools like recovery and exposure control to regain all of the detail in the dog’s fur. This demonstrates how even a shot that is technically correct for the rest of the scene may still suffer from being shot in JPEG.

RAW or JPEG — Which is for you?

Since I am far more likely to forget to change my camera from JPEG back to RAW when I need to, I simply leave it on RAW and take the disk space penalty. With a large wedding costing me around 10-12gb of space, it isn’t that big of an issue. If I upgrade this year to a 50D or 5D MkII and I move to having 30-40gb of space per wedding, I may have to rethink this strategy. What I like about shooting RAW for weddings is that in the thick of things, if you do make a small error in exposure or white balance, it is far easier to correct it afterwards. I don’t use this as a crunch, but it is a safety net.

To decide If you should stick with JPEG all you need to do is to take a close look at your images and compare them with what you can get from a product like Lightroom and then decide if your images are good enough or if any improvements that you get from using the RAW image are noticeable and worthwhile.

What do some other photographers say?

Mark Teskey “RAW only. Shooting JPEG is like working without backing up files or a second body/flash. There’s no safety net with JPEG.”

JE Images “RAW all the way. if I need to tweak anything then I have full access to all the info..”

Denise Clay “[I shoot] RAW – I used the best film I could that matched the job in film days, why not do the same now with the best digital file?”

MrsBoesch “I shoot JPG. It takes up less space on my hard drive, and I am of the opinion that you should try to “get it right” the 1st time”

So what are you to make of this?

There is certainly a case to be made that higher quality final images can be made from using RAW files and that shooting in RAW provides a technical safety net (even if you dont need it because you are wicked good). The main issues of working with RAW for me are the non-destructive workflow and the ability to have multiple virtual copies of an image without eating up more disk space. I do believe that almost all of the main complaints about RAW have been more than satisfied with current software leaving the issue of disk space and storage being the only real issue, albeit a signifigant issue for some people.

In the end, the only thing that matters is that you are happy with the images that you are delivering and if you are shooting for clients, that they are happy with the images you are delivering. If you are shooting in JPEG and are happy with your images and you see no compelling reason to switch, then don’t. If someone like Carlos Baez can shoot a wedding in JPEG and he makes a LOT more per wedding than I do, I am not going to tell him he is wrong for shooting in JPEG. On the flip side, if you are shooting in RAW and the disk space is killing you and you are good enough that your images require basically no tweaks for color, white balance, exposure, fill light, highlight recovery, or saturation, then you may be a good candidate for shooting in JPEG. It all comes down to a personal choice. There is no right or wrong answer to this debate, its just a question of what works for you in order for you to deliver the best quality images to your clients.

Author: Kerry Garrison

Getting the Camera

Since I am not sponsored by Canon (any help here would be appreciated – wink wink) and I haven’t been able to justify the cost yet, I decided that another way to get one for a little while was to call up the good folks over at BorrowLenses.com. I hooked up with Max to get a weekend rental on the 5D Mk II so I could use it on a wedding shoot I had planned as well as to play around with the other features. If you have never rented equipment, you can’t go wrong by using BorrowLenses.com as their prices are great and you don’t get slapped with a huge deposit (no deposit in fact), but more about BorrowLenses.com in an upcoming article as I review their service.

I got the camera and couldn’t wait to slap in a card and start playing with it.

First Impressions

When picking up the body the first thing you notice is the surface has a much better texture on it than previous cameras making it easier to hold. The form factor is much like the 30D/40D/50D/5D. For users of those mentioned cameras, the control layout will be very familiar with the only noticeable exceptions being that the delete button has shifted due to the large screen and the top LCD illumination button has been moved to the right side of the display. For people moving up from a 30D/40D you will notice the lack of a pop-up flash and no preset modes on the mode dial (this is much more of a Pro camera than a consumer camera after all).

The large LCD on the back is just stunning with its much higher resolution display which enables you to better see if an image is sharp and in focus.

The new menu system is super clean and sharp looking on the big display although a little hunting around the first few times to find some of the features will be in order. The only thing that threw me for a loop for a minute was figuring out how to setup exposure bracketing. Not wanting to turn to the manual, I figured it out quickly enough. What I did have to crack the manual for was to figure out how to  use the video mode. Simple enough, go into Live View mode and press the Set button in the middle of the large dial on the back to start/stop recording.

First time setup

Before really being able to push the 5d Mk II to it’s limits, you will need to go into the menus and setup a few options first. Here are the things I did to get it ready for my tests.

C. Fn I : Exposure
Custom Function 3 changed to 1 to enable ISO expansion. This is needed to shoot at ISO ranges above 6400.

C. Fn II : Image
Custom Function 3 changed to 1 to enable Highlight Tone Priority. This enables Highlight Tone Priority which can help from overexposing important aspects of your image. Note however that when this is enabled, you will not be able to go over ISO 6400 regardless of the previous setting.

C. Fn III : Autofocus/Drive
Custom Function 3 changed to 1 to enable Multi-controller direct. This option enables you to select the autofocus point by using the multi-controller (mini joystick).

Live View Function Settings
LV Func. Setting set to Stills+movie, Screen Settings set to movie display

Image Quality
Image quality was set to RAW.

Finally, I made sure the date and time was correct, dropped in a compact flash card, formatted it and I was ready to go.

Shooting the 5D Mk II

Like many people getting the 5D Mark II, I have been shooting APS-C sized sensors for the past few years as I use a 30D as a primary and a 20D as a backup. Functionally, the 5D Mk II is virtually identical in how to operate the camera although the shutter sound is different and quieter. The big difference comes into play when using the same lenses you were using on the smaller sensor. If you aren’t familiar with this phenomenon, the smaller sensors in the 20D/30D/40D/50D are smaller APS-C size sensors versus the full frame sensor in the 5d Mk II. The smaller sensor size introduces an effect referred to as a zoom factor (also known as crop factor) which, in essence, magnifies the focal length of your lenses by 1.6.  To put it into simple terms, subjects on an APS-C sized sensor will appear closer (as if zoomed in by 1.6x) and the same lens on the 5D will give you an wider field of view. If we take a 50mm lens and put it on a camera with an APS-C sensor, what we get is basically an 80mm lens. A 70-200mm on the 50D becomes a 112-320mm lens on the APS-C sensor. This is interesting to note that a telephoto lens will get you more reach on a smaller sensor but you lose width at the smaller focal lengths. With my typical lenses, I now have to move closer to the subject to get the same effect as before, but I now have the added bonus of wide angle lenses being wider than before.

Image shot with 50mm on 30D (APS-C)

Image shot with 50mm on 5D Mk II (Full Frame)

Ok, so how about this ISO stuff, how good is it really? Yeah, well, its pretty damned good. On my 30D, it pained me to go up to 1600 ISO, on a 40D, 1600 would give you a very usable image but 3200 got to be a bit much, on the 5D Mk II, 3200 is a no-brainer and 6400 will give you very usable images. Moving up into 12,800 gets to be noisy but should be usable with a good noise reduction software while 25,600 ISO is basically unusable unless you convert the image to black and white and then you will get something looking like an older newspaper image.

Comparison of ISO settings from 5D Mk II

A feature that first appeared on the 40D is Highlight Tone Priority which can be a saving grace in numerous situations. Instead of going into how great this feature is, please refer to David Ziser’s post about Highlight Tone Priority.

What’s missing from the 5d Mk II?

Yes, the 5d Mk II is a huge leap forward for Canon, so much so that some shooters with the higher end 1Ds Mk III are actually “downgrading” to the 5D to get the improved sensor cleaning and higher ISO performance. But surely the 5D Mk II is not the Holy Grail of cameras, something must be missing right? Well, of course, otherwise it would be an $8000 camera. So what is it that we don’t have on the 5D Mk II that it’s big brother has?

• Dual memory card slots
  Many people think this is a major disappointment that the 5D wasn’t outfitted with dual memory slots to provide real-time redundancy when shooting.
• Built in battery grip/portrait grip
  The original 5D didn’t have one, and the 5D Mk II is aimed at the high end Pro-sumer market, not the professional market so this is an option. Unfortunately, the 5D Mk II uses a redesigned grip so existing ones will not work.
• Long life shutter
  The big gun 1Ds Mk III is rated as about double the shutter activations as the 5D Mk II (150,000 (5D) vs 300,000 (1Ds)).
• Dual Digic processors
  While the 5D Mk II does have the newer Digic IV processor, the 1Ds Mk III has dual processors for faster image processing.1

Granted, the higher ISO performance, larger, higher resolution LCD screen, improved dust reduction, 21 megapixel , full frame sensor, full HD video, and significantly cheaper price does make for a very compelling camera.

Focusing on Video

Yeah, the 5D Mk II is the Grand Poobah of DSLR’s that can shoot video with its full 1080p video capture. Being able to use all of the lenses at your disposal to shoot video is quite awesome indeed to achieve the same shallow depth of field that you can get in stills. So look out Sony, your days of being a video camera manufacturer have come to an end and the 5D Mk II is taking its rightful place of the King of all things video…..well….not exactly.

There is no question you can get stunning HiDef video out of the camera, there are plenty of examples online. But let’s look at the reality of shooting video with the 5D Mk II.

First off, abandon all hope of using autofocus when shooting video. If you are using the on-board microphone, you will hear constant whirrrr whirrrrrrrr whirrrrrrrr as the contrast-based autofocus “attempts” to focus. In some situations it may do alright, but the majority of the time you will end up with lots of times where the camera is trying to focus but tracks back and forth a few times before locking on. You really need to consider the camera as a manual focus camera when shooting video. Use autofocus in still mode to get your focus, then switch to video mode with autofocus off for best results. As for the built-in microphone (located just underneath the 5D logo), its alright for playing around, but anything serious will require an external mic plugged into the microphone jack on the side of the camera.

5D Mk II LowRez Video from Kerry Garrison on Vimeo.

Sample HiDef Video from 5D Mk II from Kerry Garrison on Vimeo.

Megapixels = Mega Storage

Oh sure, we all SAY we want more megapixels, but you really have to think of the ramifications of that. Here is a comparison of the same image taken with several of the different available image quality settings:

This means that a RAW file from the 5D Mk II is 4 times larger than a RAW from a 30D and even the 5D Mk II’s Fine JPEG is 2mb larger than the RAW file on the 30D. That’s 1/4 of the number of images I can fit on the same memory card and a typical wedding shoot for me will balloon from 10gb to 40gb. Add to that the additional disk space required to hold the images, and the addition computer horsepower (CPU and RAM) needed to process these huge files and you need some seriously beefy hardware to use this camera to its full potential.

For best results, UDMA Compact Flash cards are recommended, using these will speed up write times to the disc. Keep all of these things in mind if considering moving up to the 5D Mk II as it could turn out to be a bigger investment than just the camera itself.

Using the 5D Mk II

The first project I had was a small wedding reception, shooting out on a golf course at 11am presented some really harsh lighting conditions, the highlight tone priority system did a great job at keeping the subjects from getting blown out. One thing that I noticed was that the autofocus was really fast and super accurate. This is compared to the 30D that I normally shoot with. Normally I will get a handful of out of focus shots for no apparent reason, of almost 500 shots, there were only two that were out of focus, a significant improvement in the autofocus system over my camera.

The shutter noise is fairly quiet and doesn’t draw attention which is nice for quiet ceremonies and for catching candids without disturbing anyone.

For all your Shamu fans out there, here are some shots from Sea World.

5D Mark II - 70mm 1/640 f/9 ISO 200 Mode: Program sRAW1

5D Mark II - 70mm 1/5000 f/8 ISO 200 Mode: Program sRAW1

5D Mark II - 70mm 1/500 f/8 ISO 200 Mode: Program sRAW1

5D Mark II - 24mm 1/25 f/6.3 ISO 400 Mode: Manual sRAW1

5D Mark II - 42mm 1/60 f/2.8 ISO 400 Mode: Manual sRAW1

Is the 5D Mk II Right For You?

I only had the 5D Mk II available to me for a few days but I am completely impressed with it from a technology point of view. One of it’s biggest selling points is also one of its biggest problems, and that is the size of the images. A typical wedding will take up 30gb of space and just a simple day at an amusement park could easily eat up 6gb.  The ability to use the smaller sRAW sizes is a plus, but its painful to have to limit the camera, something I think I could get over easily enough but it remains to be seen if it is too limiting for doing paid wedding shoots in the reduced file format sizes.

Unless you already have a beefy uber-computer and have more compact flash cards than pairs of underwear, then there are going to be some hidden costs of getting into the 5D Mk II. I am probably fairly typical (or at least not abnormal) in that I am currently shooting with a 30D and put together some numbers as what it would take for me to purchase and use the 5D Mk II, and this is not upgrading the CPU or RAM in my machine as it isn’t that terrible to work on images with what I have.

That’s well over $4,000 with tax and shipping and isn’t counting having another as a backup. I would certainly recommend the 5D Mk II to anyone who can afford one, but, for myself, I need to take a look at the 50D before deciding to save up for the 5D.

Author: Kerry Garrison

Rental Equipment by: http://BorrowLenses.com

Have you ever imported some RAW files and when you first open the image in Lightroom the image is vibrant and looks great and then all of a sudden the image switches to something that is less sharp and the colors are all bland? If you have seen this phenomenon, what you are seeing initially is the embedded JPEG image being displayed first and then the on-screen image changes to the RAW sensor data image. The reason why there is a difference is that the JPEG images have had your camera settings applied to them before being saved. With Canon camera, this is usually Standard, Faithful, Landscape , Neutral, and Portrait. Other camera brands have similar types of basic settings. Many people complained that the JPEG image was often very nice and it took a lot of work to get your RAW images to look as good as the JPEG image.

To solve this, Lightroom needed to have a way to understand what the cameras where doing to the images. Initially, you could use the camera calibration controls to dial in some default settings, but this was really inaccurate and rather a pain to use. Shortly after Lightroom 2.0 came out, Adobe came out with the first beta versions of the camera profiles. These profiles were actually based on the characteristics of the different cameras and can be used to very quickly get your image looking better right from the beginning.

Sometimes the effect is more subtle

For some people who still shoot JPEG instead of RAW, one of the complaints about RAW is that it takes longer to process RAW images to get them look good. Lightroom 2.2 with camera profiles solves this problem quite nicely. You can easily create a camera profile preset (or download ours here) and use them as an import preset so that it is applied to every image as you are importing them. Applying the Standard profile during import will get the vast majority of your images looking almost identical to what you would get from saving the image as a JPEG.

Beta Profiles

If you have installed the beta profiles, you can go ahead and remove them using the following instructions specific to your operating system.

Go to the following folder (based on your operation system) and delete anything with the word “Beta” in it’s title. Then restart Lightroom and all should be good in the world again.

Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles
(note: the Library folder for Macintosh HD, not your user account)

Windows 2000 / XP: C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataAdobeCameraRawCameraProfiles

Windows Vista: C:ProgramDataAdobeCameraRawCameraProfiles

Video Demo

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Camera Calibration from Kerry Garrison on Vimeo.

Author: Kerry Garrison

1. DIY Photography
   (http://www.diyphotography.net)
   Udi does a terrific job at bringing alternative ways of lighting, shooting, and creating light modifiers to people without unlimited budgets.
2. John Nack’s Blog
   (http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/)
   John is the product manager for Photoshop and almost every day has a new blog entry with something interesting or cool to look at.
3. Photo Business News
   (http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/)
   John Harrington writes several times a week with news and information relevant to the business of photography. This is one of my must-read blogs every week.
4. Strobist
   (http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/)
   David Hobby has several posts a week that specialize in talking about working with small accessory flash units and getting the most out of them. This is definitely one of the best sites if you are into lighting.
5. Lightroom Journal
   (http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/)
   This is the official blog from Adobe for Photoshop Lightroom. All official Lightroom news is posted here.
6. Lightroom Killer Tips
   (http://lightroomkillertips.com)
   Matt Kloskowski posts excellent tips and presets several times a week for Lightroom users.
7. Digital Pro Talk
   (http://digitalprotalk.blogspot.com/)
   This is the home of David Ziser, one of the top wedding photographers in the world. David is one of the most prolific bloggers around and posts awesome shooting and lighting tips virtually every day. He posts so much that its hard to keep up with all of his posts. This is another must-read site.
8. Flash Flavor
   (http://flashflavor.com/)
   Matt Adcock takes some of the most amazing photos you will see anywhere and is simply an inspiration to go through and see what he is doing and how he does it.
9. Digital Photography School
   (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/)
   This site from Darren Rowse is chock full of good tips and tutorials with new content on a regular basis.
10. Rob Galbraith DPI
    (http://www.robgalbraith.com)
    Rob always has good information and is often the first with breaking news.
11. TWIP
    (http://twipphoto.com/)
    Although known more for their podcast than their blog, the This Week in Photography blog has a new post every day. Maybe someday CameraDojo will get mentioned on their show (hint hint) – wow, CameraDojo got mentioned on their site today!
12. Photoshop Insider
    (http://scottkelby.com)
    Another site with several new posts every week from Scott as well as regular guest bloggers.
13. 1001 Noisy Cameras
    (http://www.1001noisycameras.com)
    With new info more often than you change your underwear, 1001 Noisy Cameras may never win a design excellence award but certainly is at the top of most lists of useful and informative sites.
14. Pro Photo Life
    (http://www.prophotolife.com)
    This site from Jim Talkington amazes me that I don’t see it on most “top sites” lists like this. Jim does regular video tutorials and the wealth of content on his site is awesome. If you aren’t visiting this site every week, you are missing out on some fantastic stuff.
15. PhotoJojo
    (http://photojojo.com)
    You don’t even have to remember to go to PhotoJojo, this is a twice a week newsletter that is emailed to you with cool stuff in every email. Sign up and never miss it.
16. Photo Walk Pro
    (http://www.revellphotography.com/blog/)
    Jeff Revell’s site is another often-0verlooked site since many people think it is just about photo walking. Jeff also does a good amount of tips and tutorials for shooting and for working with Photoshop.
17. The Pioneer Woman
    (http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/)
    Ree Drummond must be the most amazing woman on the planet, with multiple blogs about her life including photography, cooking, home and garden, and more she is a non-stop blogging phenomenon. While her sites appeal mostly to women, her photography stuff appeals to everyone.
18. Lighting Essentials
    (http://www.lighting-essentials.com)
    This is another excellent site for tutorials on lighting. Don Giannatti is an awesome photographer and is bringing his knowledge and experience into this website.
19. DPReview
    (http://dpreview.com)
    If you just have to know everything there is to know about camera bodies and lenses, DPReview is the encyclopedia of all camera knowledge when it comes to specs and unbiased technical reviews.
20. AllTop
    (http://photography.alltop.com/)
    Alltop.com is the brainchild of Guy Kawasaki and the photography section is filling up with a great list of photography sites. Bookmark this page there and never have a lack of reading material.

While there are dozens of other sites out there that are all worthy of being on any list like this, I decided I was going to stick to the top 20 sites that I personally use. Please add your own favorites into the comments.

What is selective Focus?

We have talked about selective focus here numerous times using depth of field (here) (here) (here) and lenses such as the Lensbaby 3G. Selective focus simply means that the main subject of the image is in sharp focus while the rest of the image is blurred out, this forces the viewer’s eye to the section of the image that we want them to be looking at. This can have a dramatic effect on the image and give it a much more dramatic feel. The problem with simply using aperture settings to control the selective focus is it doesn’t allow you to control the shape, direction, direction, or opacity of the blur effect. With a Lensbaby lens you have more control over the sweet spot of the focus area but you are limited to a round pattern and you don’t have some of the other controls either, and you can’t do a true tilt-shift effect with a Lensbaby lens. With a tilt-shift lens you have more control in the different directions but you still can’t control some of the effect, a tilt-shift lens will also set you back over $1,000. This is where Focal Point comes in. You can use your high quality auto-focus glass to take a great picture, and then add a variety of selective focus effects to the image in post production.

Lensbaby Image

Comparison to using a specialty lens

Before jumping to conclusions, bear in mind that I am a fan of the Lensbaby lenses and I use them at different times to achieve a look that I know how to get in-camera. I have the new Lensbaby Composer and have a review of it coming as well. I know what that lens will do and I use it to create images like the one you can see here. You get a sweet spot where the lens is pointing and then there is a blurring effect that gets more intense the further away from the sweet spot you get. If you are a huge fan of doing things in-camera, then a Lensbaby is a great lens to use. However, the amount of effects that you can get is limited. If you have the time to swap lenses and get the image dialed in, the effect is very cool. If you don’t have a Lensbaby, or if you find later that you have a great shot that would have been even better with that effect, then you are out of luck without a re-shoot. With Focal Point, we can now add the effect in post production and get very similar results.

What can we get with Focal Point?

The best way to see what Focal Point can do is to take a look at several before and after images for comparison.

Original Shot		Focal Point Effect
Original Shot		Focal Point Effect

Using Focal Point

Focal Point installs as a Photoshop plug-in for Photoshop CS3 or CS4. Once launched you can move the “Focus Bug” around to select your sweet spot, and then grab on the handle to adjust the effect. You also have 3D effects that can control the focal plane by holding down the alt key on Windows or the Option key on the Mac and dragging within the focus bug.

Focal Point Plug-In Interface

On the right side of the interface are sliders for fine tuning the effect as well as adding a vignette effect and film grain into the blurred image. Any of the settings can then be saved as a preset for easy access at a later time.

Key Features of Focal Point

While we have mentioned most of them already, let’s take a quick look at the key features of the Focal Point plug-in:

• Focus Bug
  This unique control gives you very simple control over the effects. Just drag and click to move the sweet spot or to adjust the amount of effect.
• Aperture Shape
  While we have only looked at the round shape so far, you can also use a planer shape that simulates narrow depth of field that is often used with food or macro photography or for simulating the miniature effect that you can get with a tilt-shift lens.
• 3D Tilt
  As mentioned, you can adjust the tilt of the sweet spot to create the effect of a tilt-shift or view camera.
• Blur Types
  You can choose from a standard “defocused” look or add a bit of motion to the blur
• Add Layer Mask
  By default (you can turn this off if you want) a new layer is created in Photoshop containing the image with the effect applied. This allows you to change the opacity of the layer or paint out areas that you don’t want affected.
• Vignettes
  Focal Point allows you to add either a dark or light vignette effect to the image with the ability to adjust the amount of the vignette as well as the midpoint.
• Presets
  If you have created an effect that you like and may want to use again, you can save it as a preset within Focal Point so you can easily apply it to another image later.
• Film Grain
  While you may not think you want to add grain to an image, adding the film grain effect to the blurred image will help to maintain a realistic image as well as prevent posterization during printing.

System Requirements

Macintosh

• Mac OS X 10.4.10, 10.5 or Higher
• 1 GHz or faster G5 or Intel Core Processor(s)
• 1GB RAM (2GB+ recommended)
• 25 MB hard disk space for installation
• OpenGL 1.5 Compatible video card with 128MB VRAM at 1024×768 or higher.
• Adobe Photoshop CS2 (9.0.2) CS3 or Elements 4.0.1 and higher.
• Internet Connection & Flash 9 player
• Adobe Acrobat 6 Reader or higher

Windows

• Windows XP SP2, Vista or Higher
• 1 GHz or faster Pentium 4 processor(s) or equivalent
• 1GB RAM (2GB+ recommended)
• 25MB hard disk space for installation
• OpenGL 1.5 Compatible video card with 128MB VRAM at 1024×768 or higher.
• Adobe Photoshop CS2, CS3 or Elements 5 and higher
• Internet Connection & Flash 9 player
• Adobe Acrobat 6 Reader or higher
• Microsoft dotNET Framework 2.0 or higher

Focal Point Demo

Here is a video of Focal Point in action so you can get a feel for how it works.

Focal Point Demo from Kerry Garrison on Vimeo.

Results

Focal Point retails for $159.95 which puts it into the mid-range of prices for lenses from Lensbaby and is significantly cheaper than a tilt-shift lens.  Given that you have more control with Focal Point than you do with any type of lens, its hard to argue the value of Focal Point. There are certainly people like myself who enjoy using specialty lenses as they force you to slow down and really think about the image you are trying to make. Even for me though, there are times when I look at an image and wish I would have broke out the Lensbaby to take the shot and now I can get the effect that I want in post production. The effect that Focal Point creates may not be for everyone but if you shoot weddings, food, macro, still life, or nature shots, then Focal Point can add a new dimension to your images.

Product Review Scorecard

Product Page: http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=35
Company Page: http://ononesoftware.com

Author: Kerry Garrison

To be entered to win the contest, you need to visit the BlackRapid website and find out the position in the company that Milo has. When you have found the answer, send an email to podcast@cameradojo.com with the subject “BlackRapid Contest” and let us know your answer.

The winner will be randomly drawn on Dec 31st, 2008.

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon PowerShot G10
• Panasonic DMC-G1**
• Panasonic DMC-FX150**
• Panasonic DMC-FZ28**
• Panasonic DMC-LX3**
• Leica D-LUX 4**

Adobe has also fixed a few bugs that were introduced with the Lightroom 2.0 release:

Lightroom 2 Bugs – Fixed

• Images rendered from the Slideshow export process produced a jagged effect on hard edges relative to the quality of normal JPEG export
• Increased the number of characters allowed in Web gallery labels beyond 150 characters
• Catalogs with hundreds of root (top level) folders caused very slow launch times
• Drag and drop to move a subfolder to a different folder showed the incorrect photos in the grid
• Print Sharpening produced edge artifacts in certain conditions
• Density defaulted to 100 percent for initial stroke regardless of position of slider
• The  Adjustment brush created blocky, straight edges to brush strokes under certain conditions
• Lightroom could become unresponsive when using the graduated filter under certain conditions
• It was possible to lose the ability to edit an adjustment brush setting after applying a graduated filter with hidden pins
• Turning auto-mask on produced a lag in Lightroom performance in when applying the adjustment brush
• Print to JPEG functionality produced a low resolution image when printing photos with panorama aspect ratios
• Extended characters in a folder name caused Edit in Photoshop functionality to fail
• Smart collection did not respond to changes in custom metadata
• Enabling auto-mask produced a lag in performance in when applying the local adjustment brush

Lightroom 2 Enhancements

• Camera profiles are now available in the Calibration panel in the Develop module.  These profiles are designed to provide different interpretations of raw capture.

**With the release of Camera Raw 5.2 (and upcoming Lightroom 2.2 release) there is an important exception in our DNG file handling for the Panasonic DMC LX3, Panasonic DMC FX150, Panasonic DMC FZ28, Panasonic DMC-G1 and Leica D-LUX 4. In this release the native, proprietary files from these cameras can only be converted to linear DNG files. A linear DNG file has gone through a demosaic process that converts a single mosaic layer of red, green and blue channel information into three distinct layers , one for each channel. The resulting linear DNG file is approximately three times the size of a mosaic DNG file or the original proprietary file format.

This exception is a temporary solution to ensure that Panasonic and Leica’s intended image rendering from their proprietary raw file format is applied to an image when converted DNG files are viewed in third party software titles. The same image rendering process is applied automatically in Camera Raw 5.2 and in Lightroom 2.2 when viewing the original proprietary raw file format.

In a future release Adobe plans to update the DNG specification to include an option to embed metadata-based representations of the lens compensations in the DNG file, allowing a mosaic DNG conversion. In the interim Adobe recommends only converting these files to DNG to allow compatibility with third party raw converters, previous versions of the Camera Raw plug-in or previous versions of Lightroom.

Adobe.com. (Mac, Win)

What is this aperture thingy anyway?

Inside each lens is a diaphragm that can open and close, the size of the opening at any given setting is what we refer to as the aperture setting. On our cameras we refer to specific size settings as f-stops such as f/2.8, f/5.6, f/11, etc. While the obvious value of adjusting the aperture is to control how much light enters the camera, there is a secret hidden world beneath the hood that we will need to get a grasp of as well, but let’s start at the basics first.

For a given ISO setting and shutter speed we can adjust the amount of light entering the camera by adjusting the aperture, a smaller diameter (higher f-stop value) will allow less light in, while a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) will allow more light it. If we refer to the Sunny 16 rule, we know that on a bright sunny day, if we are using ISO 200 and a shutter speed of 1/200^th then we will get a good exposure at f/16. As the sun goes down and there is less light, we need to allow more light into the camera, we can do this by opening the aperture up (again, using a smaller number) to allow more light in. This sounds easy enough right?

Image showing relative sizes of aperture

If that is all there is to it, then this whole aperture thingy would be a piece of cake and life would be good. It is enough to get you going into how aperture plays a role in getting a good exposure, so it is certainly a lesson worth learning and understanding well.

Have you collimated your rays lately?

The opening of the diaphragm also will control cone angle of light coming into the camera and this is why adjusting the aperture can affect the depth of field. To see how this works use your thumb and pointer finger to make a big circle, with one eye closed look through that at a finger on your other hand held about 12″ away. This is going to simulate a large aperture, you will be able to focus on the finger but you will have far less focus on something across the room. Next, make the circle very small and look through it again (now simulating a small aperture), you will be able to focus on both your finger and something across the room equally well. The reason for this has to do with the angle of light coming into your eye, with the large circle, light is able to come in very straight which creates a shorter focal plane, with a smaller aperture opening the light comes in as a cone shape giving a longer focal plane. While this simple experiment has a very subtle effect (not everyone may even notice it working) in your camera it can have a dramatic effect on how your images look.

Factors that determine depth of field

There are three factors that will determine the amount of depth of field you will have in your image, and taking from a comment post from Photo Larry, this points out the different factors:

In a comment from an earlier post, Photo Larry provided this very simple guide:

• Distance from the subject (Close=shallow, Far=Deep)
• Focal Length (Short=Deep, Long=Shallow)
• Aperture (Small=Deep, Open=Shallow)

Aperture Setting
We have already covered this one, the larger the opening (smaller f-stop number) the shorter the depth of field will be.

Focal Length
The longer the focal length the shorter the depth of field will be. This is why you will get more blurring effect on telephoto lenses than you will with wide angle lenses. The most popular portrait lens is the 70-200 f /2.8 because as you back up from the subject and use the longer focal length with a large aperture the more the background will get blurred out.

Distance to Subject
The further you are away from the subject, the more depth of field you will have as well. This is much easier to see with a long telephoto lens, if you focus on something very close to you, much of the background will be blurry, as you focus on things further away less of the foreground and background will be blurry.

Two images with different aperture settings

Summary

Hopefully this will help you understand the basics of what your aperture setting can do for you and how to begin to use it to your advantage both in getting enough light into your camera and by being able to add some extra flair to your images using the depth of field.

Author: Kerry Garrison

A common complaint of female photographers is that photo backpack shoulder harnesses are designed for average-sized men. The shoulder straps on the StreetWalker have been specifically engineered to fit a wider range of sizes for both genders.  Women in particular will appreciate the StreetWalker’s very narrow and vertical profile, especially when combined with the shoulder harness design.

The three new StreetWalker backpacks are:

• StreetWalker — This slim, lightweight backpack will hold a Pro Size DSLR with 70-200 2.8 attached and hood in position. It includes a monopod/tripod mounting system, a contoured harness and air channel for increased comfort, and lots of pockets and organizers for customization.
• StreetWalker Pro — This backpack is designed for a Pro Size DSLR with up to a 400 2.8 attached, or a 70-200 2.8 attached and hood in position. It also includes the monopod/tripod mounting system, the contoured harness and air channel, and lots of pockets and organizers.
• StreetWalker HardDrive — This backpack will hold most 15″ laptops and a Pro Size DSLR with 70-200 2.8 attached and hood in position. It also includes the monopod/tripod mounting system, the contoured harness and air channel, and lots of pockets and organizers.

The StreetWalker backpacks were designed by veteran camera bag designer Lily
Fisher.  “First and foremost  these lightweight backpacks give photographers quick access to their gear while allowing them to maneuver easily through crowds,” said Fisher.  “Additional benefits are the slim profile and adjustable sternum straps.  These backpacks also offer a unique benefit to women photographers, which is that the shoulder harness has been designed to  fit our unique body types.”

Specifications:

StreetWalker
Internal Dimensions:  8.5″ W x 16″ H x 5.5″ D  (22 x 41 x 14 cm)
External Dimensions:  9.5″ W x 17″ H x 6″ D (24 x 43 x 15 cm)
Weight:  2 lbs – 2.8 lbs (0.9kg – 1.3 kg) (Varies based on accessories used)
Price:  $139.00

StreetWalker Pro
Internal Dimensions: 9.5″ W x 16.5″ H x 7″ D (24 x 42 18 cm)
External Dimensions: 10″ W x 17.5″ H x 7.5″ D (25 x 45 x 19 cm)
Weight:  2.6 lbs – 3.4 lbs (1.2kg – 1.5kg)  (Varies based on accessories used)
Price:  $159.00

StreetWalker HardDrive
Internal Dimensions: 11″ W x 17″ H x 6-7″ D (28 x 43 x 15-18 cm)
External Dimensions: 11.5″ W x 18″ H x 8.5″ D (29 x 46 x 22 cm)
Weight:  3.6 lbs – 4.4 lbs (1.6kg – 2kg)  (Varies based on accessories used)
Price:  $179.00

Source: Think Tank Photo

With Extreme 24.5-Megapixel Resolution, Processed Image Files Exceeding 138 MB, Five Frame-per-Second Burst Speed and Nikon Core Technologies, the D3X Ushers in a New Level of Image Quality

MELVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 30, 2008) - Nikon Inc. today announced the D3X, an FX-format digital SLR featuring extreme 24.5-megapixel resolution and superb low-noise capabilities, which provides professional photographers with commercial-quality image performance in a familiar and extraordinarily versatile D-SLR form factor. In conjunction with the groundbreaking Nikon FX-format D3, the D3X tops off a collection of flagship level, rugged, professional caliber digital single lens reflex cameras engineered to excel in all types of professional photographic disciplines from photojournalism and sideline sports, to commercial in-studio applications.

The foundation of the enhanced performance of the D3X is its FX-format, 24.5-megapixel (6048 x 4032) CMOS sensor providing commercial, high fashion, fine art and landscape photographers with the extreme resolution, dynamic range, color depth, detail and sharpness that clients demand. Whether creating catalogs, magazine covers, billboards or gallery prints, the large 5.49-micron pixel size and high signal to noise ratio produces vibrant images with breathtaking image fidelity while reducing lost highlights and shadows, and ensuring smoother tone reproduction with minimized noise. With full resolution shooting speeds of up to five frames-per-second (fps), and 14-bit files, that when processed are approximately 138 MB, the D3X offers today’s photographic artists an extreme level of performance and versatility ready for demanding assignments in the studio or on location.

“In 2007, the 12.1-megapixel FX-format D3 delivered groundbreaking digital SLR image quality, coupled with incomparable high ISO, low noise performance and high-speed handling. In doing so, the D3 broke photographic barriers, enabling photographers to work in ways never before possible,†said Edward Fasano, general manager for Marketing, SLR Systems Products at Nikon Inc. “Now, the new 24.5-megapixel FX-format D3X D-SLR provides the extreme resolution and high dynamic range capabilities needed to meet the extraordinary needs of photographic disciplines such as high fashion, commercial advertising and fine art. The D3X delivers this remarkable capability while fitting seamlessly within the Nikon system, taking full advantage of Nikon’s world-renowned collection of NIKKOR lenses and Speedlights.â€

Image Quality Takes Center Stage
To re-emphasize the importance of image quality above all else, the D3X delivers an incredible level of digital SLR performance to provide photographers with extremely high resolution, exceptional dynamic range, phenomenal total gradation and outstanding color reproduction. Image files can be recorded as TIFF, JPEG or NEF (RAW) formats in either 12- or 14-bit compressed or uncompressed formats, and recorded to UDMA compatible CompactFlashâ„¢ cards for optimum speed. Photographers can save image files directly to the dual card slots as overflow, backup, or as separate file formats to different cards. Building on the D3X’s flexibility, users have the creative option to shoot in the 5:4 crop mode with 20.4-megapixel resolution, the ideal format for creating 8 x 10-inch portraits. While using DX-format lenses, faster continuous shooting of up to seven frames per second can be achieved at a resolution of 10.5 megapixels.

The exceptionally low noise of the D3X is essential to any professional commercial application, and it provides photographers with an ISO range of 100 to 1600, expandable to 50 (Lo-1) and 6400 (Hi-2). The ultra smooth tones and lack of grain at ISO 1600 as well as at low sensitivity settings result in smooth, natural skin tones and exacting detail that, before the D3X, required larger and far costlier studio-bound camera systems.

Advanced Technologies, Meticulously Executed
In a commercial setting or on location, imaging professionals need high performance in both speed and processing. The Nikon D3X can shoot at up to five fps at full resolution or up to seven fps in DX crop mode, allowing photographers to catch the split-second difference in a model’s expression or capture all of the action in a sequence. Just like the D3, the D3X achieves a start-up time of a mere 0.12 seconds and a shutter release time lag of 0.04 seconds.

The D3X’s speed, as well as high levels of performance, leverages Nikon core technologies including a newly enhanced EXPEED™ Image Processing System, specially designed for the D3X to provide superior image quality, faster processing speeds and lower power consumption. This advanced system is able to achieve extremely precise color reproduction for a broad spectrum of hues, in addition to vivid saturation and smooth gradation. What’s more, Nikon’s advanced noise processing function is engineered to minimize noise at all sensitivities and operate seamlessly without interfering with other image color parameters.

The D3X also features Nikon’s exclusive Scene Recognition System, which continuously analyzes information from the 1,005-pixel RGB light sensor, to further refine auto exposure, auto white balance and autofocus calculations. This results in flattering portraits and awe-inspiring landscapes that portray accurate color and fine details. Nikon’s exclusive 3D Color Matrix Metering II helps ensure accurate exposures, even in the most challenging lighting conditions. Instantly evaluating each scene before capture, input data from the system’s sensor is automatically referenced against an internal database of more than 30,000 images derived from actual photographs to calculate correct exposure values. Active D-Lighting, used in combination with 3D Matrix Metering II, helps to determines proper exposure, and creates realistic contrast while compensating for lost shadows and highlights. Prior to shooting, users can choose from Extra High, High, Normal, Low or Off settings, as well as an Auto mode.

Additionally, the D3X features Nikon’s exclusive Multi-CAM 3500FX focus module, with 51 AF points, 15 cross type sensors and 36 horizontal sensors that easily track and lock onto moving subjects, delivering the same fast and accurate AF performance that helped make the D3 immediately successful. Users can select any of the AF points, making it easy to consistently attain accurate focus right on a subject’s eyes, frame after frame. Additionally, three AF-area modes – Single point, Dynamic-area AF and Auto-area AF – are available to maximize the use of the 51 focus points by selecting the most suitable one to match subject conditions. AF is also available in one of two Live View modes optimized for the studio, including a phase detection handheld mode and a tripod mode. This feature allows the user to zoom in up to 27x on the LCD screen to ensure critical focus. While in Live View, the graphic indication of a virtual horizon is also available, making it easier than ever to confirm camera orientation.

To further ensure each photographer’s ability to balance their personal style, Nikon’s Picture Control System enables users to adjust their images to pre-set parameters such as Standard, Neutral, Vivid and Monochrome that apply tweaks to image sharpening, tone compensation, brightness, overall tone and saturation. Photographers have creative control over these image parameters with the use of up to nine available customizable presets.

Synchronizing Both Form and Function
Engineered for real-world functionality, the D3X retains a rugged shell with moisture, dust and shock resistance that has become a hallmark of flagship Nikon D-SLRs, while preserving the usability and ergonomics that allow the camera to remain an extension of the photographer’s vision. Attention to detail goes so far as to include a self-diagnostic shutter system that is tested to exceed 300,000 cycles for maximum durability and longevity. The camera’s body also maintains the resilient magnesium alloy construction and form factor of the D3, promoting consistent Nikon system synergy.

A bright and accurate viewfinder offers 100 percent coverage with 0.7x magnification. The body also houses Nikon’s acclaimed 3.0-inch super density LCD screen, now relied upon by so many photographers. The high-resolution 920,000-dot screen is viewable at wide angles up to 170 degrees, and will allow photographers to quickly zoom in to confirm critical focus. Users can also output the video signal to an external display via HDMI to allow client viewing. Thanks to incredibly efficient internal circuitry, the D3X can capture up to 4400* shots per single charge of the camera’s Lithium ion battery.

System Strength Withstands the Test of Time
The D3X is fully compatible with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS) to give photographers a mobile lighting solution that is easy to manage. To further enhance mobility, the D3X is compatible with Nikon’s GP-1 GPS receiver to gather information such as latitude, longitude, altitude and date of shooting. Photographers can easily shoot tethered via USB, or use the WT-4a wireless transmitter to send images wirelessly when speed and mobility are essential. D3X users will also enjoy the system strength of more than 50 genuine NIKKOR lenses that provide outstanding sharpness and high resolution across a broad range of focal lengths.

Price and Availability
The Nikon D3X will be available at Nikon Authorized Professional Dealers starting December 2008, and will be available for an estimated selling price of $7999.95.**

* Based on CIPA Standards
** Estimated selling price listed is only an estimate. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.

Support for the following cameras has been added in this update. Visit the Camera Raw page for a complete list of supported cameras.

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon PowerShot G10
• Panasonic DMC-G1*
• Panasonic DMC-FX150*
• Panasonic DMC-FZ28*
• Panasonic DMC-LX3*
• Leica D-LUX 4*

The Camera Raw 5.2 plug-in is not compatible with versions of Photoshop earlier than Photoshop CS4, versions of Photoshop Elements earlier than Photoshop Elements 6, or versions of Adobe Premiere Elements earlier than 4.0.

The latest updater for both Windows and Mac can be found at http://www.adobe.com/downloads

Real and fake SanDisk Ultra II CF cards

The first fake CF card I came across was pretty obvious, visually. I received it with a used camera I bought, so I really couldn’t complain. It was basically free and I was thrilled at the time (2006) to have a 2GB card thrown in with a camera. But it was the performance of the cart that tipped me off to the real problem. The card was significantly slower in the writes than my other SanDisk Ultra II cards; about half the write speed or worse. Here is a look at the fake card next to the real card (right):

Back of 2GB SanDisk Elite CF cards

It is pretty obvious here which is the fake card. Come on, counterfeiters, can’t you do a better fake label than that? As I read up more, it seems that the early cards were easier to detect. Not only were the front stickers obvious, but the rear stickers were missing a lot of telling information. There were no serial numbers on the fake card. This was the first give-away. There was really not much of anything specifically identifying the card on the back label of the fake card. Notice that the real card on the left had the SDCFH identifier, as well as the patent numbers. This would be easy enough to fake too, if they weren’t so lazy. (right):

Close-up of real & fake SanDisk Ultra II CF cards

When you zoom in close (these images were made on a cheapo flatbed scanner at 1200DPI), you can also see the difference in the grain of the plastic. The fake card has a rougher texture and surface on it than the real SanDisk card. On closer inspection, you can see that the grain in the printing is finer on the real SanDisk card also. But these differences alone are harder to distinguish with the naked eye. If the labels were better duplicated overall, you might not even notice such small details as those. You can click to enlarge the photos to the right and get a better, more detailed blow-up of these differences. (right):

Sides of SanDisk Ultra CF cards

But here is one place that they did get clever… the serial numbering. Notice how close the printing is on both of the cards? Without contacting SanDisk, there is no way to tell which one is real and which one is a fake. (right):

So, recently I decided that it was time to buy me a new, 8GB SanDisk Ultra IV compact Flash card as my Canon 1DS Mark III burns through a lot of space at around 25MB per image. 2GB and 4GB cards were just not enough for events. I decided again to test my luck with a new SanDisk Ultra Card, and thought I would try to save a few bucks on ebay. What the heck… if the owner says it comes new in the box, that’s a pretty good sign, right? And sellers in Hong Kong can have real product once in a while too, right? Especially if it is in the new, retail box? And since it is not from the U.S., it could be cheaper, right? Like half price?

O.K., I have to say that right off the bat the first signs of trouble are right here. Half price, easily duplicated product from Hong Kong is a sure sign of fake product on ebay these days. However, for $29.97 shipped, it was worth it to see how good they really are.

Fake SanDisk Extreme package

Here is what I received, in a padded envelope from Hong Kong, partially crushed (right). Surprisingly, the box looks very very real. The gold foils are vibrant and shiny, the texture of the box is identical. And inside the box was the card in a plastic holder, a SanDisk keychain card holder and an SanDIsk RescuePRO 4.0″ installation CD. Pretty much every detail of the real box and contents was duplicated here with extreme care, and with only minor differences. At first glance, I was fairly convinced that this was actually real, or was it just a really damn good knock-off. After closer inspection, it seems that the later was the case. How could someone afford to go to all of this trouble?  Was there really that much profit in selling a $70 card for $30 on eBay with all of these production costs?

Real and fake SanDisk Extreme CF boxes

Looking at the box itself side by side with the real thing, it is hard to see many differences. The boxes look identical from the front, outside of the print color being a little off at the bottom (which is much more apparent in these photos and to the eye). Producing boxes like this with the gold embossing is not cheap process. Either these are the real thing, or someone is mass producing these to keep the costs down. I fear at this point that the compact flash counterfeiting business is not a small one. Someone is investing a lot of money into fake product and fake packaging here.

Back of SanDisk boxes

The back of the box is a bit different too. That would be the next clue on first, unopened inspection of the box. The real SanDisk IV box is the one on the left with a lot more text on it.  I only have 4 SanDisk Extreme IV boxes in my office (real ones).  The boxes for my SanDisk Extreme III cards are in storage, so I cannot see how much the back of the boxes changed from the III series to the IV series, but I assume that all boxes of series IV cards are pretty much the same.  This makes these changes on the back of the card more suspicious.

Real SanDisk Exreme Box

Fake SanDisk Extreme box

Now let’s look at a real box and content next to the fake box and content. They both have the same sleeve and slide-out insert format. They both have the same inside plastic housing and clear cover. They both have manuals, a CF hard plastic case and mini CD with software on them. They even both have a keychain CF card holder, although the real one has red text on it and the fake one white text.  The only piece missing from the fake packaging is a small advertising insert.

Real and fake SanDisk manuals

The manuals/documentation are slightly different.  The fake manual (on the right) is printed on cheaper paper with a much yellower cast to it.  The print quality is slightly lower than the original, real documentation pamphlet.  Interestingly, my real documentation is in Spanish, even though it was bought right here in the U.S. from an authorized SanDisk dealer (samys.com),   Notice the difference in phone numbers? I tried calling the number on the fake document and it rings SanDisk.  The phone number on the real pamphlet… wrong number/disconnected.  Now that’s funny.

Bottom of SanDisk boxes

On closer look at the bottom of the boxes you can see a numeric difference with the 8.0GB box. The real 2.0GB box has a part number of SDCFX4-2048-901. I assume that the 2048 is for 2,048MB, or 2GB. The 8.0GB fake box has a part number of SDCFX4-4096-904. Would that not be the part number of a 4,096MB card, or a 4GB? In an internet search for SDCFX4-4096, it seems it is the part number for the SanDisk Ultra IV 4.0GB compact flash card. There is our first clue.

8GB Fake SanDisk Ultra IV CF card

But, once we take out the CF card and begin to examine it, the details start to appear. The first thing I noticed was that it looked very close in all aspects to a real card. “Hmmm… maybe this is a real SanDisk Extreme IV.†Even the bottom edge of the card has a full serial number and ‘Made in China’ perfectly stenciled onto the case.

In further examination, I started to notice that the label was on crooked. But hey, that could be an issue in assembly that could randomly happen, right? Then, as the light caught it right, I also noticed two bubbles in the front label sticker. “Hmmm… this is getting more suspicious. SanDisk usually doesn’t let these kind of flaws through. This must be a hand-applied label.†Also notice that the corners of the label are square and not slightly rounded. This is another sign of a shortcut in the die cutting process of the fake label. On even further examination, you can see that the outer plastic edged of the card is different – different plastic to metal widths in the edges of the card.

8GB real vs fake SanDisk Extreme IV CF cards

The next thing I noticed is an issue which began to appear in several other articles, is that the holographic background to the lettering scans as a blue tint, and not gold like all of my other SanDisk Extreme cards. In this image (right), you will see that the fake card on the right has a blue tint to the lettering and the real card on the left appears more gold. Some of the elements are a little different size (like the E.S.P. logo), but overall it’s a pretty decent copy label sticker copy.

8GB real vs fake SanDisk Ultra IV CF cards

Next, lets look at the back of the cards. Again, the card on the left is the real card and the one on the right is the fake. Notice how it is a little dingy looking? That’s about the only difference on the back side. Even the corners of this dingy white label are rounded. It is hard to tell from the back side what makes this one fake, outside of the off-white paper used in making the label.  Again, a lot of work to make a fake card.  We are almost seeing efforts on the level of paper money counterfeiting here with all of the attention to detail in the print work.  Isn’t that another scary issue we have been reading about these past few years coming from China?

6 different CF cards

O.K., looks aside, its time to get down to the real meat of this.  How does the fake card perform in comparison to the real SanDisk Extreme IV cards?  To start, I do not have a real 8GB SanDisk Extreme IV card to test against, but I do have many 2.0GB Extreme IV cards that I bought from an authorized dealer.  This should be fine for our tests as the complete series of SanDisk Extreme IV cards are expected to perform similar to each other, within a small margin of error.  I also decided to throw in a few other generic and non-generic cards for comparison, and I included 2 separate SanDisk Extreme IV 2.0GB cards in the test to make sure that the real SanDisk IV cards perform equally in all aspects. You can see all of the cards (except for a 4.0GB PhotoFast Super card that looks identical to the 2.0GB Fotofast Super card) all in the image to the right.  The results are absolutely fascinating.

The test machine is a Mac Pro tower, 8 Core 3.0GHz Intel Xenon processors, 12GB RAM, Seagate 750GB SATA drive, Mac OS X v10.5.5 and a DELL 30″ monitor with 9in1 USB2 card reader built into it.  These specs are really irrelevant as every read and write was done with the same hardware and data.  That part is equal throughout the test.

The read/write copies were done with a folder containing ~1,000 jpg image files, 500k to 4.5MB each in size, 1.83GB (1,949,350,680 kbytes) total in size. 2 identical reads and writes were performed with this folder of images on each cards to insure consistency. All results were rounded to the nearest second. Margin of error is +/- 1.0 second.

Sandisk cards compared

This first chart is of read and write times for this folder of information to just the SanDisk cards, both real and fake. Notice how the read times are all pretty close, with the real SanDisk Extreme III and IV cards being almost identical, and how far off the 8.0GB fake card is from the others.  This is your first solid confirmation that you did not get what you paid for.  When you buy a card of this class and price, you are paying for speed, quality of build and the reputation of the company standing behind it.  This card is dropping the ball on all of those factors.  Below are the actual numbers from the tests.

All CF cards compared

Now, let’s throw some other cheapo cards into the mix.  The first is a Kingston Elite Pro 50X CF card (not necessarily a cheapo) and the other two are FastFoto Super CF cards, 2.0GB and 4.0GB.  These cards were bought 2 years ago off of an online discount house having a sale.  The interesting thing here is that these cards are really out of whack when it comes to write speeds, but their read speeds are good.  These were really cheap at the time I purchased them, and now you can see why.  However, the fake SanDisk 8.0GB cards are not terrible by comparison to the 2 year old generic CF cards. Below are the actual numbers from the tests.

SanDisk and fake CF cards

So, taking the data from the test and calculating MB/sec, we can see the relative performance each of these cards attains.  Let’s start with just the SanDisk cards and the fake SanDisk card.  Below are the actual numbers from the tests.

Transfer rate of all cards

Here is a comparison of all of the cards for transfer rate in MB/sec.  Below are the actual numbers from the tests.

A note to SanDisk:  Please forgive me for straying from authorized dealers just this one time.  The economy is rough, especially for those of us in photography.  The price was just too tempting.  I have purchased over 10 authentic cards from authorized SanDisk dealers in the past.  I promise not to stray again.  I offer this article to help others not stray either as a peace offering to you.

Maurice Naragon
Digital Creations
Website Development and Marketing
Professional Photography in Orange County, CA

I have had the hardest time dealing with camera bags over the years, from my first backback that got so heavy I couldn’t lug it around anymore to my uber cool Airport International 2.0 which is great for big jobs but what about when I want to go a little lighter? My old backback is too large, and my Airport International is too big, and my Modulous Speed Belt can’t hold enough nor is appropriate when traveling. So what does that leave? Fortunately, Think Tank Photo’s Mike Sturm has come to the rescue. Mike is the designer responsible for the newest and coolest backpack design from Think Tank Photo, the revolutionary ShapeShifter.

Why is the ShapeShifter so cool?
The problem with most camera bags is that they are designed for particular purpose, either trying to be lightweight and carry minimal equipment or being big enough to carry a large amount of gear. The ShapeShifter is designed for both, in expanded mode it can carry a couple of full size DSLR bodies, a few large pieces of glass, a good amount of accessories, AND a 17″ laptop.

Ok great, you can haul a bunch of stuff with you and your laptop easily, so what, the bigger rollers from Think Tank Photo allow you to do that easily enough. What is different with the ShapeShifter is that oncd your camera gear comes out (possibly moved to your Speed Belt) you can pull a zipper around and compress the backpack down to about three inches thick with your laptop still in it.

Features include:

• It can be compressed to 3 inches in width once your equipment is removed.
• Dedicated neoprene pockets for 2 pro size DSLR’s, 70-200 2.8, 24-70 2.8, wide angle 2.8, and strobes.
• Holds up to a 17†laptop in rear compartment.
• Front pocket organizers for your digital essentials.
• It can carry tripods and monopods.
• The Pro Speed Belt can be attached and quickly released.
• After your gear is removed, you can continue to carry your laptop and accessories, but in a much smaller package.

Who is the ShapeShifter for?
Since neoprene equipment bags inside the ShapeShifter don’t provide a lot of padding, the ShapeShifter is certainly not the best solution for travelers if there is any chance that your bag may have to get checked as luggage. For domestic flights the ShapeShifter is a great solution since domestic flights allow for a carry-on bag and a personal item such as a camera bag or laptop case. Since the ShapeShifter can hold you basic gear as well as your laptop you should always be able to carry it on and stuff it overhead or even under a seat.

Sports photographers who want an easy way to get their gear down onto the field but then want to compress the bag so there is a smaller profile to interfere with other photographers and easier maneuverability.

For photographers that use a modular belt system, you can remove most of your gear and still keep a few accessories and flashes in the backpack and still compress it to save space.

Any photographer that has to carry a laptop around safely as well as a decent selection of gear but doesn’t need a large backpack just to carry the laptop after the gear is taken out.

How well does it work?
I am super impressed with the versatility of the Shapeshifter already and have had it less than a week. I can carry a good selection of equipment comfortably and securely. The first day I got it I packed it up for a wedding with my Airport International Roller keeping the lesser used equipment and spares locked safely away, I could keep a small amount of gear with me at all times. The next day I took off to shoot a protest rally and loaded up with lenses and strapped my tripod onto the back. Out in the sun for a couple of hours all the extra shoulder and back padding made very comfortable to haul around a day pack of gear. A few days later I needed to make a day trip to San Fransisco to give a talk and I wanted a minimul set of gear along with my laptop. Even with a camera body, flash, several lenses, and my laptop I was able to compress the Shapeshifter down to the smaller size making it very easy to walk through the airports, take the BART into downtown, and walk to the convention center. Without the Shapeshifter I would have taken a large laptop case and probably not have taken any camera gear, or I would have taken a small camera bag that could hold a body and one lens. Thanks to the Shapeshifter I was able to take a 30D with battery grip, a 17-40 lens, a 24-70 lens, a 12-24 lens, and a 70-300 lens, and a 580 EX II. I could have taken some larger glass but then I wouldnt have been able to compress the bag down as much. Also in the Shapeshifter is the power supply for the laptop, a Zoom H2 audio recorder, and Jobo DSLR tripod.

The Shapeshifter isn’t going to be for everyone as there are some people who take too much gear everywhere they go and while the Shapeshifter can hold a decent amount of gear, it certainly can’t hold as much as the roller cases from Think Tank Photo. But if you need mobility and a roller is too inconvienent, the Shapeshifter is a great solution.

The bottom line
It didn’t take long for me to be a complete convert to the Shapeshifter for most of the assignments that I do although there are certain situations when I would rather have my larger roller with me. For the typical day assignment, for traveling, vacations, business trips, sports shooting, and many other situations, the Shapeshifter will be loaded up and hanging off my back.

The Think Tank Photo Shapeshifter backpack is scheduled for released in December of 2008 with a price of $249 US. If you have a photographer in the family that needs something like this, the Shapeshifter is an excellent Christmas gift.

Review Points

Setup
There is basically no setup of the Shapeshifter, open the zippers, load your equipment, adjust the straps, and off you go. If you want to use the monopod/tripod straps they are included inside the bag and will need to be attached to the outside before use. I keep the short sider attached at all times and when I am not using the long adjustable side I detach them and put them into a pocket in the bag to keep them out of the way.

Features
The Shapeshifter is like no other bag available today, loaded with more pockets than you would imagine and the ability to hold large equipment and compress down for smaller gear as well as having a padded laptop area that can take a 17″ laptop, the Shapeshifter is the ultimate in photographic mobility. Pockets galore! There are more pockets in this thing than you can count. The quality of the construction is simply incredible, I have full confidence this bag is going to last for many years.

Usage
Your biggest issue with the Shapeshifter is going to be deciding on what pocket of the dozens of available are you going to put your accessories in. Obviously this large number of pockets, holders, built-in bags, etc was built for someone with a better memory than me because there are so many places to put things you may well forget where something is. I am certainly a big fan of the Shapeshifter now and have taken it around to show all my friends.

Results
Sure, you can get a camera backpack on eBay for $30 and you may even be happy with it, but the ones I have bough have fallen apart, had the shoulder straps break, and are big and bulky. At $249 the Shapeshifter is not cheap, but neither is the contruction quality. Camera bags of this caliber are not designed for the budget-minded hobbiest, these are serious tools designed with professional photographers in mind. If you want to spend once on a backpack that will outlast several cheap ebay bags and you want to be sure you are not going to have zippers pop, seams break, and have it wear out prematurely then the Shapeshifter is the right choice.

Product Review Scorecard

Product Page: http://thinktankphoto.com/shapeshifter
Company Page: http://thinktankphoto.com

—-

Think Tank Photo Shapeshifter Camera Bag from Kerry Garrison on Vimeo.

The Red system is completely modular so you start off with the brain that you want (ranging in price from $2,500 – $55,000) and add other modules like recording blocks, viewfinders, LCD displays, handles, batteries, etc. to build the exact camera system you want. Depending on the speed you want, you can choose brains that can do 1-30 FPS up to 1-100 fps.

As you can see from the specs, these are not just DSLR still cameras but are also uber-high quality motion cameras with shows like Jumper and Sanctuary being shot on Red cameras already.

While typical readers of Camera Dojo may never use these cameras it is worth noting where the industry is going as technology being developed at the top end of the spectrum does flow down to the devices that we can afford over time.

for more information, please visit the Red website at http://red.com.

• shooting from different angles
• changing your depth of field
• dissect other people’s work
• Look at EXIF data on people’s images
• Getting to understand what the client is all about
• Drag the shutter technique
• Bounce your flash
• Get the “guy with camera” to assist
• Using your camera in different modes
• Using aperture mode when the light is changing
• Using shutter priority to catch moving objects

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)

David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

You can listen to this podcast now using our player widget in the right hand sidebar

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Adobe has released Lightroom 2.1 and Camera Raw 5.1 along with the DNG Converter 5.1. Lightroom 2.1 has been in a release candidate state for several weeks and has some improvements and fixes over the initial 2.0 release. Both Lightroom 2.1 and Camera Raw 5.1 include camera support for the following new models:

The beta versions of the Camera Profiles and DNG Profile Editor on Adobe Labs have also both been updated.  The Profile update includes additional profiles and incremental improvements to the previous beta profiles.  The DNG Profile Editor update includes minor enhancements.

Lightroom 2.1 (Mac, Win)
Camera Raw 5.1 (Mac, Win)

To find out about the other shows at Personal Life Media, please go to http://personallifemedia.com, you can also catch some of my favorite shows from there in the podcast player widget in the sidebar.

The Adjustments Panel

Working with adjustment layers has always been a serious tool for hardcore Photoshop geeks, now this has been made much simpler with a new adjustments panel. This can be used to easily adjust Curves, Levels, Hue/Saturation, Vibrance, and more. New On-Image controls allow you to adjust colors in the image without the guesswork of trying to match a complex color. The panel features a wide range of modifiable presets for each type of control and more than 20 preconfigured, customizable starting points are included.

New to the masks is the concept of Density and Feathering to control how much of the mask is used. This is a huge improvement from before where deciding you wanted more or less effect would require constant redrawing of the mask.

Improved Dodge, Burn, and Sponge Tools

If you are a big fan of the dodge, burn, and sponge tools, one of the big issues in the past is that they could sometimes affect the color underneath in odd ways. The new versions of these tools work in a much more natural way and help you to make the adjustments you want while retaining tonal quality.

Improved Image Aligning and Panorama tools

CS3 has some really good photo merge tools and panorama tools, but CS4 takes these tools to all new levels. The improved algorithms improve blending, vignetting, and geometric distortion which results in much better final images. The blending tool can take multiple images of the same shot using different focal points and combine them into a single image with a greater depth of field.

Content Aware Scaling

Ok, this is some wicked cool sh** right here. What happens when you want to scale an image that has people in it? The people can get severly distorted ruining the new image. With content aware scaling, you can size an image and retain the original sizes of key elements like people. Using this you could change a horizontal image to a vertical image and the people or key objects in it will look the same while scaling the remaining parts of the image in a very natural and usually undetectable way.  When you see this in action, you will simply be amazed at what it can do.

Fluid Canvas Rotation

If you use a Wacom tablet or just need to view the world a little differently, you can now easily rotate the canvas around to make it easier to work on a it. Rotating the canvas does not affect the rotation of the actual image, this is simply a tool to make it easier for you to work on images by being able to look at it from different angles.

Smooth Pan/Zom and Flick effects

Some people may think that the new smooth pan/zoom and “flick” effects are just for show, but as you begin to use them you will see how much nicer it is to smoothly zoom in and out of an image and be able to toss the image around as if “flicking” it with your finger. The built-in physics engine makes this new way of dealing with images much more natural.

Bridge

I have always hated Bridge, I’m not afraid to admit it, it was slow, real slow, painfully slow to start up and slow to use. Even on my new quad core system with a nice video card, I still didn’t like Bridge. But get ready you fellow Bridge haters, Bridge is one sweet tool now. Not only is Bridge faster, but it has been improved in a number of areas. There are several new views such as Carousel view which makes working with large numbers of images signifigantly faster. Bridge now also has a PDF-based contact-sheet creator and preview along with web gallery tools. Bridge has certainly grown up and is more integrated into the majority of the CS4 tools besides just Photoshop.

Camera Raw 5

Take the Develop module tools from Lightroom 2.0 and put them all into Camera Raw and you now have Camera Raw 5. And I do mean virtually all of the tools like port-crop vignetting, the gradient filter tool, and the local adjustment brush tool. Unfortunately, Lightroom Develop presets are not available in Camera Raw.

Smarter Smart Objects

Smart Objects were introduced with CS4 and made a huge impact on how you dealt with new objects. With CS4, Smart Objects can now accept perspective transformations.

64 Bit Support (Windows 64 ONLY)

As a HUGE shocker to long time Macintosh users, the advantage this year goes to 64 bit Windows systems. Apple changed a bunch of things without telling Adobe and thus Adobe had to pull 64 bit support out of the Macintosh version. Are Mac users going to have to switch to Vista 64? Not really, only the heaviest of users is going to see much of a performance difference according to sources at Adobe.

Live Preview for Clone Stamp and Healing Brushes

As cool as the cloning tool and healing brushes are, the results have always been somewhat black magic, you just never really knew what you werew going to get. The new versions of these tools provide a live preview for easier and more precise cloning and healing results.

Availability and pricing
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended is now available in North America for an estimated street price of US$999. Adobe Photoshop CS4 will be available for an estimated street price of US$699. Both can be obtained directly from Adobe or through Adobe Authorized Resellers.

To order directly from Adobe, visit the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com or call
1-800-833-6687.

Licensed owners of Photoshop CS3 Extended, Photoshop CS2, or Photoshop CS can upgrade to Photoshop CS4 Extended for US$349.

Licensed owners of Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS2, or Photoshop CS can upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS4 for US$199.
Licensed owners of Photoshop 5 or 6 can upgrade to Photoshop CS4 Extended for $899 or Photoshop CS4 for $599.
Licensed owners of Photoshop CS3 Extended, Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS2, or Photoshop CS are also eligible for special upgrade pricing to certain editions of Adobe Creative Suite 4.

• Local adjustment brush
• Graduated Filter
• “Post Crop” Vignetting
• Opacity for the cloning/healing tool
• Improved Auto Adjustment
• Support for the new Camera Profiles that are still in beta form

The Camera Raw code is the ‘engine’ that drives the non-destructive adjustments in Lightroom’s Develop module so you’ll see that the two products are now aligned in terms of image adjustment capabilities.

Camera Raw 5.0 is installed automatically with Photoshop CS4 so there’s no update process beyond installing Photoshop.  One important note is that the new camera support added in the last Camera Raw update for CS3 is not currently available in Camera Raw 5.0.  Adobe will be providing a Camera Raw 5.1 update next week that will include additional camera support.

Source: http://adobe.com

Show Links
http://canon-usa.com

http://thinktankphoto.com

You can listen to this podcast now using our player widget in the right hand sidebar

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Pretec CF 233X and 333X CF cards use metal housing and ruggedized construction to provide extensive ruggedness making the card resistant to impact and shock – at least 10 times more durable than a typical CF card. With the green concept of reuse, recycle and reduce in mind, Pretec 64GB CF cards can be configured or reused to make a 256GB SATA or IDE SSD, the highest capacity 2.5†SSD in the world so far, by using Pretec Q-SATA, a patent-pending technology of flexible, scalable and modular SATA/PATA design based on up to 4 CF cards. This technology provides ultimate flexibility and ease of use, especially for those needing both CF cards and SSDs.

Pretec 233X and 333X CF cards will be demonstrated together with high performance digital cameras from Leaf, a business unit of Eastman Kodak and a world-renowned industry leader in providing cutting edge digital photography solutions, whose AFi professional camera was recently awarded “Product of the Year†at the Photoforum exhibition in Russia. The new Leaf AFi-II system delivers the fastest shooting speeds of any camera in its class, with a practically unlimited burst depth. These speeds are enabled by advanced communication and CF technologies and Leaf Capture software. “Leaf and Pretec share a similar vision -to offer cutting edge technologies and unique products with unparalleled performance and to provide our customers with exceptional quality and satisfaction,†said Seth Greenberg, Leaf Marketing Director. “We are pleased to have chosen Pretec as our exclusive storage partner at Photokina 2008 and to witness the excitement as Pretec breaks the CF card speed and capacity world records.â€

Pretec 233X 64GB and 333X 32GB CF cards with suggested retail price of $399 and $630 are slated to start delivery by Photokina 2008, and 233X 100GB and 333X 50GB are expected to start shipping by the end of 2008.

About Pretec
Pretec™ (http://www.pretec.com) offers a complete spectrum of small form factor memory cards and card readers such as CF, SD/MMC, USB Flash Drive, and wireless communication devices for digital imaging, mobile communication, and industrial flash markets. As the 2nd company in the world to offer CF cards since 1995 and the company to create CF I/O and SD I/O cards since 1998, Pretec has consistently demonstrated the highest capacity flash cards in the world: such as CF 3GB, 6GB, 12GB, 16GB, 24GB, 48GB and SD 4GB, SDHC 8GB and 16GB; the fastest flash card in the world: such as CF 80X and 333X, SD 133X, USB 166X, and SSD (IDE/SATA) 400X. With more than 200 patents granted or filed, Pretec has also been offering the smallest USB flash drive in the world with unique technology: such as i-Disk Tiny (“Best Gear of 2003†by TIME Magazine) and i-Disk Diamond; the most reliable flash card in the world: such as rugged PCMCIA, rugged CF card, and i-Disk Bulletproof, a water-proof, fire-proof, and bullet-proof USB flash drive.

*For more information, please visit www.pretec.com
*Note:i-Disk, i-Disk Tiny, i-Disk Diamond and i-Disk Bulletproof are trademarks of Pretec. All other trademarks mentioned herein are recognized as the property of their respective holders

Apple Releases Camera Raw 2.2
Adobe Releases Camera Raw 4.6 Release Candidate
Leica M8 Firmware 2.00
Sony Alpha Firmware

Lightroom 2.1 Available on Adobe Labs
http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Lightroom_2.1

Lightroom Web Gallery Module
http://cameradojo.com/2008/09/23/lightroom-web-gallery-modulelightroom-web-gallery-module/

Canon EOS 5D Mk II
http://cameradojo.com/2008/09/16/canon-announces-eos-5d-mark-ii/

Canon Powershot G10 IS
http://cameradojo.com/2008/09/16/canon-powershot-g10-is-camera-announced/

Canon Powershot SX1 IS
http://cameradojo.com/2008/09/17/canon-powershot-line-in-sx1-is-with-1080p-video/

Sunny 16 Rule
http://cameradojo.com/2008/09/18/the-sunny-16-rule-in-photography/

Guest on the Digital Photography Show
http://digiphoto.thepodcastnetwork.com/

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Three new lenses – The Composer^TM, The Muse^TM, and

The Control Freak^TM – feature the Lensbaby Optic Swap System

On September 23, 2008, Lensbaby, LLC (formerly known as Lensbabies, LLC) is launching an entire new system of selective focus lenses at the Photokina tradeshow in Cologne, Germany (Hall 5.2 C021).

Three new Lensbaby lenses – The Composer^TM, The Muse^TM and The Control Freak^TM, – make up the new line of products.  Each features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap system. The new Muse and the new Control Freak replace the current Original, Lensbaby 2.0, and Lensbaby 3G lenses, which will be phased out immediately.  With the Composer, Lensbaby introduces a completely new lens, based on a ball and socket configuration that delivers smooth selective focus photography with unparalleled ease of use and greater precision.

All Lensbaby lenses provide photographers with a new way to control depth of field by bringing one area of a photo into sharpest focus with that Sweet Spot^TM surrounded by graduated blur. By bending the Lensbaby lens, the photographer moves the sharp area around the photo for customized creative effects.

The Composer

The new Composer retains its position after being bent and is easy to use even with one hand.  Photographers do not squeeze the lens to focus, but can simply tilt the lens to a desired angle and then focus with a barrel focusing ring.  The Composer stays in the desired bent position without requiring a locking mechanism and features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap System.  The Composer’s barrel focusing ring has a unique design that becomes more sensitive (requiring greater rotation to move the optic in and out) as you approach infinity, making it easer to focus on subjects from 10 feet to infinity.

“The Composer introduces a new level of ease and precision to selective focus photography,” said Craig Strong, Lensbaby president and co-founder.  “We developed the Composer because our photographers are interested above all in creating powerful, interesting photos. With its greatly enhanced ease of use and more reliable results, the Composer will make it more intuitive for photographers to realize their personal creative visions.”
The Muse replaces the Original Lensbaby and Lensbaby 2.0 lenses while being very similar in appearance and functionality. Photographers will still focus by compressing the lens and move the sweet spot by bending the flexible lens tubing.  The key update for the Muse is its new Lensbaby Optic Swap System.

The Control Freak

The Control Freak updates the Lensbaby 3G by adding the Lensbaby Optic Swap System.  With The Control Freak, photographers compress to focus, bend to move the sweet spot, and then push a button to lock the lens in place.  Once locked, photographers can adjust the fine focus with a barrel focusing ring and fine tune the tilt by rotating its three metal posts.

“While we expect the new Composer, with its smooth and precise operation, to be our most popular lens, we continue to offer the Muse and the Control Freak because each photographer has their own shooting style. The Muse is for photographers who shoot fast and loose and The Control Freak is best for shooters who have a step-by-step approach,” said Strong.

All three lenses – the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak – feature the Lensbaby Optic Swap System and will ship with one optic installed. Additional optics are available as optional accessories.  When a photographer wants to change the optic in their Lensbaby, they will simply pop the optic out and drop in a different optic using an Optic Swap Tool supplied with the new optic.  Each optic has different features and image qualities, allowing photographers to choose the look that fits their creative style.

Optic Swap System

At launch, the Lensbaby Optic Swap System will include four interchangeable optic options:

1)      Double Glass: A 50mm multi-coated optical glass doublet that is the same optic that was in the Lensbaby 2.0 and Lensbaby 3G lenses. Retail price: US$85.00

2)      Single Glass: a 50 mm, updated, uncoated optical glass singlet similar to the optic that was used in the Original Lensbaby. At f/2, the Single Glass Optic is one full stop brighter (2x as bright) than the previous Original Lensbaby Optic. Retail price: US$35.00

3)      Plastic: a 50 mm f/2 plastic singlet that maximizes blur and diffusion in a dreamy way that Holga^TM and Diana^TM camera lovers will especially appreciate. Retail price: US$35.00

4)      The Pinhole/Zone plate: an optic cup with an f/177 aperture hole to allow for pinhole photography and an f/19 Zone plate opening.  Users can slide a toggle inside the optic to change to back and forth between Pinhole and Zone plate mode, allowing further artistic exploration.  Retail price: US$35.00

The first three optics listed above are all 50mm fixed focal length.  They all feature magnetically levitating interchangeable aperture disks that allow aperture settings from f/2 to f/22.

The Single Glass, Plastic, and Pinhole/Zone plate optics will be sold individually as well as in an Optic Boxed Set to retail for $95.00.

Lensbaby President and Co-Founder, Craig Strong, stated, “Lensbaby photographers tend to be very creative. The new Lensbaby Optic Swap system will give photographers greater freedom to take photos that reflect their unique visions.”

Strong continued, “With the new Composer lens and the Lensbaby Optic Swap System, photographers will be able to choose a lens body that fits their bending style: fast and loose, smooth and precise, or step by step. Then photographers can choose an optic that expresses their individual artistic vision.”

Product Pricing and Specs:

The Composer – Smooth and Precise

• Priced at US$270
• Ships with the Double Glass optic installed (a multi-coated optical glass doublet)
• Features the Lensbaby Optic Swap system
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Focus Type: Manual
• Features a unique barrel focusing ring that becomes more sensitive (requiring greater rotation to move the optic in and out) as you approach infinity, making it easier to focus on subjects from 10 feet to infinity.
• Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
• Apertures: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
• Minimum Focus: about 18″ (46cm) / Maximum Focus: Infinity
• Size/Weight: 2.5″ (6.35cm) high x 2.5″ (6.35cm)  wide  / 5.5 oz (155.9g)

The Muse – Fast and loose

• Priced at US $150 with the Double Glass optic installed; US $100 with the Plastic optic installed
• Ships with either the Double Glass optic installed or the Plastic optic installed.
• Features the Lensbaby Optic Swap system
• Focal Length: right around 50mm
• Focus Type: Manual…Fingertip, actually
• Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
• Aperture: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8
• Minimum Focus: approximately 12″ (30 cm) / Maximum Focus: Infinity and beyond
• Size/Weight: 2″ (5.08cm) high x 2.5″ (6.35cm) wide / 3.7 oz. (104.9g)

The Control Freak – Step-by-step

• Priced at US$270
• Ships with the Double Glass Optic installed
• Features the Lensbaby Optic Swap system
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Focus Type: Manual/Fingertip, with barrel fine focus
• Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
• Aperture: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
• Minimum Focus: approximately 12″ (30 cm) / Maximum Focus: Infinity
• Size/Weight: 3″ (7.62cm) high x  3″ (7.62cm) wide / 5.7 oz. (161.6 grams)

About Lensbaby

Lensbaby, LLC (formerly Lensbabies, LLC) is a Portland, Oregon based manufacturer and marketer of award-winning selective focus SLR camera lenses.  Lensbaby was launched in February 2004 by Craig Strong, a professional photographer and the inventor of the patented Lensbaby selective focus SLR lens.  Lensbaby sells to photographers all over the world through its website, www.lensbaby.com, by calling 877-536-7222 / 971-223-5662, at tradeshows, in leading photo retailers and through a growing global network of international distributors.

# # # #

• Fuji Finepix IS Pro
• Nikon D700
• Nikon D90
• Nikon Coolpix P6000

Press Release:

Canon brings HD moviemaking and 4fps shooting to its PowerShot super zoom series

United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 17 September 2008: Canon today supercharges its PowerShot digital compact camera range with two powerful new models: the 10 Megapixel PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS, which jointly replace the PowerShot S5 IS.

Both raise the benchmark for compact zooms with an outstanding 20x wide-angle (28mm) optical zoom, with USM and VCM for fast, silent, zooming. The  PowerShot SX1 IS offers a revolutionary series of features never seen before on a Canon compact camera – a 10 Megapixel Canon CMOS sensor, 4 frames per second continuous shooting, and full HD movie capture – while both cameras use Canon’s new DIGIC 4 processor for fast performance and richly detailed, clean images in a wide range of shooting situations.

Unbeatable reach
With a Canon 20x wide-angle (28mm) optical zoom lens, the PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS tackle everything from long-range telephoto shots to sweeping landscapes. Canon’s Ultrasonic Motor (USM) combines with Voice Coil Motor (VCM) technology for near-silent operation and the speed for sports or wildlife subjects. And thanks to Canon’s optical Image Stabilizer – which now offers a 4-stop advantage – camera shake blur is avoided even with the zoom fully extended.

10 Megapixel power
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS feature resolutions of 10 Megapixels, capturing all the necessary detail for poster-size prints or creative cropping in post processing. A Canon CMOS sensor allows the PowerShot SX1 IS to shoot full-resolution JPEGs at speeds of up to 4fps – making it a powerful, pocket-sized tool ideal for capturing fast-paced action sequences.

High Definition moviemaking
For the ultimate in visual quality, the PowerShot SX1 IS delivers 1080p (30fps) High Definition video – ready for instant playback on any HDTV via a built-in HDMI connection. The PowerShot SX10 IS offers fun, spontaneous VGA movie shooting. Movies on both cameras are enhanced with CD quality stereo sound, optical zooming and Face Detection Technology; and if extra reach is required, the PowerShot SX1 IS includes Canon’s Advanced Tele-Converter for an extra 2x zoom with no loss in movie quality.

DIGIC 4: intelligent processing for better photos
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS both feature Canon’s new DIGIC 4 image processor. As well as ensuring ultra-fast operation and superb, low-noise images, DIGIC 4 drives several intelligent technologies that make great photos easier than ever.

People shots benefit from improved Face Detection Technology, which even detects faces positioned at an angle to the camera, or in profile. Face Select & Track tracks a specific subject even more accurately, while a new FaceSelf-timer function – which automatically triggers the shutter shortly after a new face enters the frame – makes group shots and self-portraits easy.

Canon’s improved Motion Detection Technology delivers fantastic, sharp results by registering camera and subject movement, then automatically adjusting ISO to prevent image blur. Blur is further guarded against by new Servo AF, which continuously adjusts focus on subjects moving towards or away from the camera.

DIGIC 4 also powers Canon’s new i-Contrast feature, which brings out great, natural-looking detail in dark areas of pictures – without blowing out lighter areas.

Total Control
For the ultimate creative precision, the PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS offer full manual control over both aperture and shutter speed. A Multi Control Dial offers fingertip access to all key settings. Plus, compatibility with a range of accessories – including Canon’s professional Speedlite EX flash units – extends creative potential even further.

Also included with the PowerShot SX1 IS is Canon’s WC-DC300 controller, which allows wireless control of shooting and playback. This is ideal for tripod shots at slow shutter speeds, or any situation where keeping a distance from the camera is preferable.

“Both of these cameras offer exceptional imaging possibilities,†said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “In particular, the PowerShot SX1 IS genuinely redefines what a compact digital camera can do. This kind of power and versatility must be experienced to be believed.â€

Pricing & Availability
The PowerShot SX1 IS is available from December priced at £519.99 / €679.99 RRP inc VAT
The PowerShot SX10 IS is available from October priced at £359.99 / €469.99 RRP inc VAT

Features at a glance:

• 20x wide-angle (28mm, f/2.8) optical zoom with optical Image Stabilizer
• 10.0 Megapixels
• Canon CMOS sensor for full resolution continuous 4fps shooting (PowerShot SX1 IS)
• Full HD (1080p, 30fps) movies plus HDMI output (PowerShot SX1 IS)
• DIGIC 4 for outstanding images and fast response times
• Shooting modes include full manual control
• Great people shots with Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB plus Face Select & Track and FaceSelf-Timer
• Targets every possible cause of blur with High ISO Auto, optical Image Stabilizer, Motion Detection Technology and Servo AF
• Auto Red-Eye Correction in shooting and playback
• i-Contrast boosts brightness and retains detail in dark areas
• 2.5†vari-angle LCD II with wide viewing angle plus electronic viewfinder (PowerShot SX10 IS)
• 2.8†widescreen vari-angle LCD II with wide viewing angle (PowerShot SX1 IS)
• Multi Control Dial and customizable My Menu
• Smooth, 30fps VGA movies (PowerShot SX10 IS)

• 21.1 Megapixel Full-frame CMOS sensor, 14-bit A/D conversion (16,384 colors/each of 3 primary color), wide range ISO setting of 100-6400 (expandable L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600).
• Full HD Video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution for up to 4GB per clip with HDMI output for HD viewing of stills and video.
• Next generation DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing of fine detail and color reproduction as well as reduced image noise.
• High performance with 3.9 fps continuous shooting, new shutter with a durability of 150,000 cycles and improved weather-resistant body.
• Live View Function for stills (Quick, Live and Face Detection AF modes) and video.
• 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) monitor with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings for improved viewing and smudge protection.
• Updated EOS Integrated Cleaning System specifically designed to work with a full-frame sensor.
• Compatible with over 60 Canon EF/EF-S lenses and most EOS System accessories.

The EOS 5D Mark II features a huge, full-frame sensor. A 21.1-megapixel CMOS sensor delivers images of up to 5616 x 3744 pixels. And since it is full-frame, all lenses will deliver the angle of view they would on a 35mm camera without a conversion factor. This comes in handy especially when shooting with wide-angle lenses. For the flexibility to shoot in even the most dimly lit situations, the EOS 5D Mark II offers Canon’s highest ISO sensitivity to date, ranging from 100-6400 (expandable to ISO L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600). Thanks to improved noise reduction technologies, images shot even at highest sensitivity will be remarkably smooth.