One of my favorite features of speedlites is High Speed Sync. This feature allows you to work with speedlites way past your camera’s normal sync speed (1/160 – 1/250 depending on camera). By shooting at very fast shutter speeds you can dramatically cut ambient light and can shoot what looks like night-time shots at high noon. Sounds incredible huh? Guess what, using it is as simple as pressing a single button.

Links to related articles:

• Learning to shoot in manual mode
• Photography Basics: Controlling Exposure
• The Exposure L – Understanding the Correlation Between Shutter and Aperture

Special thanks to our sponsor: GoPro

Host: Kerry Garrison

ISO and Aperture

The good news is that two out of three aint bad. What I mean by this is that ISO and Aperture affect video exactly the same way that they affect stills. ISO will make the sensor more sensitive to light so just like stills, you can increase the light into the camera by increasing the ISO setting which, just like stills, will add digital noise to the image.

Just like still images, Aperture will open or close the lens’ aperture diaphragm to allow more or less light into the camera which will affect the depth of field.

So long as you already have a good handle on ISO and Aperture, the same principles apply to both stills and video so you already well on your way.

Shutter Speed

With stills, shutter speed is fairly simple to understand, a longer shutter will allow more light but may add motion blur while a fast shutter speed can freeze motion but cuts down on the amount of light entering the camera. The confusing part is how this affects video. Many new video DSLR owners simply think this affects only the light since the frames are already moving. The reality is that the shutter speed can have a significant impact on the video image and most of the articles on the internet are painfully difficult to understand.

The traditional standard for video is 24p (which is actually 23.976 frames per second) which is very pleasing to the eye and is pretty much the standard for camcorders and DSLR video recording (much more on this is available on Wikipedia).

To achieve a film look (which has just enough motion blur between frames to look natural without being “smeary”) you need to follow the 180 degree rule which, simply put, says that your shutter speed should be double the frame rate. This is one of those times when I want to say “don’t worry about what it means, just go with it” as the technical explanation is quite…well…technical. Tyler Ginter did a really good job explaining the technical side of this on his blog post 180 Degree Shutter – Learn It, Live It, Love It.

While I am not going to try to explain the whole 180 degree shutter concept, I will instead just jump into what it really means to you and your video.

Since we already know that when we are shooting stills with action, a slow shutter speed will have motion blur and a fast shutter speed will freeze action. When we translate this concept to video, a slow shutter speed will create a smeared look to the video. If the shutter is too fast there isn’t enough motion blur to smoothly transition from frame to frame causing a stuttering or staccato effect. If you have ever looked at something moving with a CRT monitor behind it you will know what this stuttering can look like. Sometimes, this can be used for creative effect like in the opening of Saving Private Ryan.

To see how this looks in actual video, I did this quick comparison of 24p video shot at both 1/50th (yes, I know 1/48 is double the 24fps but most cameras can’t do 1/48th shutter speed so we have to take the closest option which would be 1/50th) and 1/300th shutter speed.

What about exposure?

The issue with exposure is not when things are too dark as we can open up our aperture and increase our ISO (only to a certain point before we need additional lighting anyway) but when things are too bright, we only have a few options. If you are already at a small aperture and a low ISO and 1/50th of a second will result in an over exposure the temptation is to increase the shutter speed, but this is going to violate the 180 degree rule and cause the stuttering video.

The only way to knock the exposure down is with the use of a neutral density filter. The most versatile filter is a variable neutral density filter that allows you to dial in the amount of filtering. A good example of this is the Fader ND Mark II which is adjustable from 2 to 8 stops.

The real beauty of using a filter with this much versatility is that you can shoot at the relatively slow 1/50th of a second at wide open apertures to create a very short depth of field that just isn’t possible with regular camcorders. The ability easily create different depth of field shots  is a key reason many filmmakers are jumping onto the DSLR video bandwagon.

The Exception to the Rule

Let’s face it, every good rule deserves a good reason to break it and the 180 degree shutter rule is no different. In fact, there is one really good reason to break it and that is when you are specifically shooting for video that will be shown in slow motion. If we use the basic rule of having a shutter speed that is double the frame rate, when we slow down the video we will end up with more blurry video. If you shoot at faster shutter speeds, when you slow the video down you will get cleaner looking video.

This actually brings up a major difference between shooting stills and video. With stills, our final output will be a still frame. Sure, you may use some panning and zooming in a slidehsow which may require cropping that isn’t very tight but lets not digress too much. With video, you really need to think ahead about how the video will be played back. Will the video be sped up, played at normal speed, or slowed down as this final product needs to be considered when choosing the shooting settings.

Summary

Hopefully this has helped make some sense out of the shutter speed issue with DSLRs. If you are just going to be shooting video for yourself, you may not care much about all this but if you are trying to really make your video look its absolute best, and most certainly you can achieve incredible results with the current video enabled DSLR’s, then this is one of those topics that you really need to get a handle on.

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.

Often we try to use the fastest shutter speed possible to help avoid blur but when shooting a moving object you sometimes need some amount of blur or it can look like the subject of the image is sitting still. In many cases you want to have the sense of movement to help convey the story of the object.In the case of the ceiling fan we want to show a little movement of the blades since the moving blades is going to be more typical of what you would see by looking at the fan once installed. We also want to show that this is a five-bladed fan so we have to be careful not to have too much blur that we lose all the details.

Let’s take a look at a series of shots taken at different shutter speeds:

1/10th Second - Way too much blur

1/25th Second - Better but lacking detail

1/40th Second - Looking good

1/100th Second - Not enough, just looks fuzzy

1/200th Second - Almost no movement

As you can see the photos taken at the two extreme ranges show either far too much blur or not enough blur to make for a good image. The photo taken at 1/40th maintains a little more detail than the images shot at 1/25 making it a more suitable image for our use.

Summary

The whole point here is to get you to experiment more with shutter speeds to capture a sense of movement, action, or speed. By adjusting the shutter speed you can control how much or how little the blur effect will have.

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.

But let’s step back in time a little, what about using an older vintage Canon AE-1. There are no scene modes, no automatic modes, no program modes, no eTTL flash, just shutter and aperture and whatever ISO film you have installed.

The Truth Be Told

Even the old AE-1’s had some basic metering and some automatic modes. If you pressed the shutter half-way down, the internal meter would tell you what the recommended aperture setting would be based on your ISO setting and current shutter speed. If you roll the aperture wheel on the lens (yes, on the lens, not on the camera body) from one of the available aperture settings to A, then the camera would set the lens to the recommended aperture setting before taking the shot, thus giving you somewhat of an shutter priority mode (you set the shutter, camera adjust the aperture). Keep in mind this is a reflective light meter so it can sometimes be inaccurate with brighter or lighter subjects.

Is it important that people know how to shoot film?

If you ask most any photography teacher they will tell you that learning film is extremely important in order to understand all of the dynamics of film and that learning the developing process will teach yo….oh man, I can’t even finish explaining it. I think the point that is often missing is not whether someone can shoot film or not, but whether or not someone has the skills and knowledge to get a good exposure without relying on all the modern conveniences of current cameras.

As I discussed this issue with fellow photographers, some felt that it really didn’t matter so long as the person can make good images with what they have. The problem I have with this is that you may be able to make good images, even on a regular basis, what you can’t do is to get a wide range of creative images.

The camera and your flash are going to try to give you a very neutral lit image. While this may be ok a good percentage of the time, when you really want to do some creative lighting your camera is simply not going to know what you want to do.

An example of this is with very dramatic lighting. The image shown here would be almost impossible with any automatic camera or TTL lighting modes. The camera would see the subject as underexposed and try to increase the exposure to give a brighter image. Of course you can usually correct that with flash exposure compensation, but that doesn’t work all the time and if you use most wireless flash triggers you won’t have automatic exposure features anyway.

It’s also fairly common that eventually a photographer decides they want more powerful studio lights, they make a big investment in gear, and then can’t figure out why they are not getting what they want out of them. Again, this is simply a lack of experience in understanding the correlation between aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and lighting power.

If I can help to teach anything, it would be that shooting in manual modes is not as difficult as it may seem at first. Learning how to really control your camera and your lighting will open you up to a whole new world of creativity.

Here are some past articles that will help you along your path:

• Getting Manual Flash Exposure Quickly
• The Exposure L – Understanding the Correlation Between Shutter and Aperture
• How to use a Light Meter
• Photography Basics: Beginners Guide to Aperture
• Photography Basics: Controlling Exposure
• Capturing a sense of motion with shutter speed
• Learning to shoot in manual mode
• Understanding Depth of Field

The Image

The image I am starting off with is Sunrise on the Salton Sea which pretty much describes the image pretty well as it was taken just after sunrise on the west bank of the Salton Sea (specifically 20 minutes after sunrise). The sun casts a dramatic reflection all the way across the water while a dead palm tree and the shore line add some additional detail.

Sunrise at the Salton Sea

Making the image

The image itself is fairly simple as there are no extra lights used and virtually no post processing. The image is pretty much as it appeared in camera.

Of course, shooting into the Sun may not be the easiest task unless you have a neutral gradient filter but none was used on this shot. In fact, I didn’t even use optimal camera settings as I had changed them on accident and couldn’t see that I had changed the ISO setting in the viewfinder as I was trying not to go blind from looking at the Sun.

The ISO should have been at 100 but ended up being at 400 and the first attempt was at 1/1600th and f/5.6 and came out pretty overexposed.

1/1600th f/5.6 ISO 400

The second attempt was a little better as I adjusted the settings to f/11 at 1/1600th. This was a pretty good image but the rays on the Sun were not very pronounced and I was picking up too much detail in the foreground.

1/1600th f/11 ISO 400

In order to kill off the detail in the foreground a faster shutter speed was needed so I pushed it to 1/2000th. To pick up more detail from the Sun less aperture was needed so I closed it down to f/22. In Adobe Lightroom just a touch of Vibrance, Setting the Camera Calibration to Camera Standard, and adding a touch of Sharpness where all the post production that was done.

1/2000th f/22 ISO 400

Again the final image and settings show that you can actually shoot straight into the Sun and pull off a nice image without any additional hardware or heavy post processing.

Equipment Used

Camera: Canon 50D

Stop the Madness
So…what is a stop exactly? Simply put, if you take a given amount of light and double it, you are moving up one stop, if you cut the amount of light in half then you have gone down a stop. So a stop isn’t a specific amount of light, instead it is a measure of difference between the amount of light. To be completely technical about it, the term “one f-stop” refers to a factor of √2 (approx. 1.41) change in f-number, which in turn corresponds to a factor of 2 change in light intensity. So how can we visualize this easily? If we have a single light bulb as a base light source, then two light bulbs would increase the light by 1 stop. Going to 4 light bulbs doubles the output again giving us 2 stops, to get to 3 stops we then need 8 light bulbs, etc.

So let’s take the sentence in the introduction, if we wanted to expose one side of the face 1 stop under the other side of the face, what we are saying is we want half the amount of light on the shadow side that we have on the lit side. Pretty simple concept huh?

For the most part, we are actually going to be doing a lot of guesswork unless we have good light meters and can measure each piece of the scene. Using our DSLRs we can zoom into each area of the scene and look at the exposure meter in the camera for a pretty good meter reading as well.

How aperture and shutter affect light
Ok, so now we have a basic understand of what a stop is, now we need to see how to control this using the two basic controls, shutter speed and aperture. To illustrate the effect of aperture, we have created this chart that shows the amount of light that is gathered at typical aperture settings. While each camera/lens may have slightly different available aperture numbers, they are typically in multiples of 1.4 (as described in the previous section). As you increase the f-stop number to the next 1.4 increment, you halve the amount of light.

The effect of shutter speed is the same concept. Every time you double the shutter speed, you decrease the amount of light in half. If you cut the shutter speed in half, you double the amount of light.

Again, you can see this represented by a similar chart.

Where this gets interesting in combining aperture and shutter speed, you can get the same exposure with different combinations of aperture and shutter speed. For example, a shot taken at 1/500 at f/2.8 and a shot taken at 1/60 at f/8 will have the same equivalent amount of brightness, what will change is the depth of field.

Let’s take a look at one of our favorite studio lights, the Westscott TD5 Spidelite. The light head has 5 bulds in it, you can control the center bulb, and two sets of two bulbs. To show how this affects stops we can use the different combinations to control how many stops of light we have:

If we only turn on the center bulb and use that as our base reference point, we can then use the different variations to come up with the following amounts of light changes:

How can we use this information?

If you have a light meter than putting this information to use is just a matter of measure-adjust-repeat until you get the desired light readings you want. With a modern DSLR, we can do this with the camera’s light meter with fairly good results.

Let’s say we want to use a two-light setup to light a subject’s face and we want one side 1 stop darker than the lit side. To begin with we zoom into the lit side of the face (or use the Photovision Digital Calibration target aimed at the light source , the small size works best for this) and adjust the lights until you get a good exposure reading. This is the time to make the camera adjustments to center the exposure in your camera’s meter.

Good Exposure Reading

The next step is to meter the shadow side of the face, using the same technique of zooming into the subject or a target to get a meter reading. This time however we want to underexpose by one stop.

-1 Stop Under Exposed

At this point we now have the camera setup for the right exposure on the lit side of the face and we checked to make sure the shadow side was one stop underexposed, we are now good to take our shots and be confident that the lighting will turn out good.

Summary
Hopefully this has helped to explain the concept of stops as it pertains to the relative amount of light and how we can use the tools we have available to make sure we have good lighting and exposures. To discuss this with others, please join us in our Camera Dojo Flickr Users Group.

In this video Kerry demonstrates using a simple light meter in a product shoot.

How to use a light meter from Kerry Garrison on Vimeo.

Related Articles:

• Using a Light Meter for Proper Exposure
• Podcast #53 – Using a Light Meter

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)

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

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

• 23% shoot 101 – 250 images per week
  That is a lot of people shooting a lot of images, good for you! Keep it up and post some in the forums
• 19% shoot 51 – 100 images per week
  That is still a good number of images to be shooting every week.
• 18% shoot 11 – 50 images per week
  Ok, not bad, at least you are out there shooting, keep it up, practice makes perfect right?
• 13% shoot 251 – 500 images per week
  What a bunch of rock stars out there, you guys are burning up the memory cards
• 11% shoot 0 – 10 images per week
  That’s a little surprising, I was hoping for a smaller number here, but its alright, we all lead busy lives
• 9% shoot 501 – 1000 images per week
  Amazing!
• 8% shoot over 1000 images per week
  Do we have that many wedding photographers here or is this one mad group of shutter freaks?

Overall, 53% of you shoot over 100 images per week and 47% are under 100 images, thats an amazing range of people and shooting habits. I just wanted to share this with everyone.

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

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.

• 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.

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.

The Canon EOS 5D is slated to ship towards the end of November 2008 at an expected street price of US$2699 in the U.S.

First off you need to realize that studio flashes like the PhotoBasics StrobeLites are not automatic like the on-board or accessory flash on your camera. A studio light doesn’t know what you are trying to do and will not adjust itself for the camera settings you have dialed in. You also need a means of firing the lights off when you press the shutter, all that and more will be covered in this article.

Connecting the lights to your camera

PC Sync port on Canon 30D

The first thing we need to do is to connect the lights to your camera, for this we are going to need what is called a PC Sync port. On most Canon DSLR’s the PC Sync port is on the left side of the camera under a rubber flap. In the image here you can see the PC Sync port and the end of a PC Sync cable. In my typical setup I will have the main light plugged into the PC Sync port to fire it and the other lights will automatically fire at the same time because they have a built-in optical slave that will fire the flash when another flash is detected. Since this happens far faster then the mechanical shutter, the effect is that all of the lights fire at exactly the same. There is a limit of how fast the lights will sync to the camera but we will address that in a moment.

Weim Hot Shoe Adapter

If you are unlucky enough to not have a PC Sync port on your camera then you will need to purchase a hot shoe adapter. The recommended one is the Weim Hot Shoe Adapter which sells for about $50 at most places. This will got into your camera’s hot shoe (when an acessory flash plugs in) and has a PC Sync output port on it.

As I mentioned, the lights do have an optical slave so they will fire when another flash is used so you may think you can just use the flash that is built into your camera to fire off the big lights. While this will work to an extent, the problem is that unless you know how to adjust your flash’s output compensation, the flash is going to fire at a level that your camera expects will be correct for the given light, when the big lights fire along with the built-in flash, your subject will no be over-lit and the scene becomes overexposed.

Rear view of StrobeLite

The opposite end of the PC Sync cord plugs into the back of the light. In this image you can see the 1/8th inch mini plug port on the bottom right hand area of the strobe head. With the camera and the lights connected, you are all ready to take some amazing images right?

If ONLY it was that easy. Now actually comes the hard part, figuring out how to get the light set right for a proper exposure. Hang in there, it won’t hurt too much.

Getting the lighting right

Output Adjustment Dial

Nice, quality studio lights make your lighting easier right? I wish! In the last section I explained that your on-board or accessory flash will meter the scene and use the appropriate output for the exposure metering, not so with studio lights, at this point you are full manual.

On the flash will be an adjust dial to control the amount of light output. On the StrobeLites this goes from full power down to 1/4 power given you two stops of light output control. If you have a light meter and know how to use it, you have all the tools you need to get the shot right the first time. If you don’t have a light meter then you will need to continue reading.

Since I shoot with he same lights, in the same studio, with the same basic setup the vast majority of the time I know the basic light setup that will work without have to take too many test shots, I can usually get it dialed in within about three shots.  A key thing to note is that your meter in your camera is basically worthless at this point. You are going to want to shoot in manual mode otherwise the camera is going to try to adjust your settings for the metered light. In manual mode you have total control. So where should you start?

For most of my pictures I start with the following basic settings:

ISO: 200
f/Stop: 11
Shutter Speed: 1/200th second

In fact, those are the exact settings I used for the previous pictures in this article so far. Why these particular settings? For one, I like shooting at ISO 200, I like the results I get at that speed, f/11 is my normal aperture setting unless I am going for a particular depth of field effect. That leaves two ways to adjust the amount of light I need. I can either adjust the shutter speed or adjust the light output of the flash. You may think that you may want to go with a faster shutter speed to make sure you dont introduce any camera blur but in most cases you can’t shoot any faster than 1/200th or 1/250th depending on your lights/camera combination. With the PhotoBasics StrobeLites and a Canon 30D, I have never had an issue at 1/250th but I like the extra margin of safety of using 1/200th. Let’s take a look at what happens if you shoot faster.

Out of Sync Image

The image shown here was shot at 1/640th of a second, while this would be perfect safe if I was using the Canon 580 EX flash, the StrobeLites cannot sync with the camera at that speed so what happens is that the strobe went off too late causing the image to be partially cutoff by the closing of the shutter mechanism. Because of this issue we are limited to speeds of 1/200th or less so I usually will stick it at 1/200th and be done. That leaves adjust the light output higher if I need more light or using a lower output or a slower shutter speed if I need less light. Knowing that the only things I will need to adjust are my light output or shutter speed I have really reduced my possible settings from a handful down to basically one, and its either shutter speed or light output.

Since most of my shots are product shots, the lights are generally pretty close to the objects so I will start at a very low power output of the flash, if its too bright at the lowest setting and I am already at 1/200th of a second the only way to cut down on the light being captured is to move to a smaller aperture setting like f/22. If the light isn’t enough I can just reach up and dial in more light or use a slower shutter speed.

With a little practice and a handful of confidence, you will be getting your lighting dialed in within a few shots. Take your picture and then look at the histogram of the image on your LCD of your camera to double-check the exposure. If its too dark, bump up the light, if its clipped out, dial down the light. Nothing will beat just a bunch of practice with your own lights/camera/lenses/environment to get you familair with how your lighting setup will work the best and soon you too will be able to get it dialed in perfectly within just a few quick test shots.

Author: Kerry Garrison

Do I need to know this?
If you are always using your flash in automatic modes, you may never need to know much about guide numbers but in manual modes, if you don’t have a flash meter, understanding how guide numbers work can be a powerful tool in helping you to get your lighting setup faster. Many older flashes even have built-in guides to help you calculate the aperture setting for a given distance.

Using the guide number to determine aperture
At the end of this article is a link to an Excel preadsheet that will do much of the work for you as well as containing the guide numbers for a handful of popular flash heads. First off you should understand the math behind it and how to read the guide number information for your own equipment.

Some flash devices will simply have a single guide number value while others may have different numbers at different ranges and even ISO settings so you need to pay attention when reading the guide number. Let’s take a look at a typical flash setup. A Canon 580 EX II flash has a listed guide number of 191, if we divide the guide number by the distance in feet we should get a good estimate of the aperture to use. In this example we will use a distance to the subject of 30 feet.

Guide Number / Distance = Aperture
191/ 30 = 6.3

The closest aperture setting on my Canon 30D to that is f5.6 so that would be an appropriate aperture to use if I was using ISO 100. If I was using a higher ISO number then I could use a smaller aperture. The following chart shows the multiple factor for common ISO speeds:

ISO Multiplier Table
ISO 100: 1.0
ISO 200: 1.44
ISO 400: 2.07
ISO 800: 2.99
ISO 1600: 4.30
ISO 3200: 6.19

To expand on the previous calculation, we can add in the ISO to give us more aperture options. Using the same guide number and distance while adding the ISO, let’s see how this affects our aperture setting:

(Guide Number / Distance) * ISO Multiplier = Aperture
(191/ 30) * 1.0 = 6.3
(191/ 30) * 1.44 = 9.1
(191 / 30) * 2.07 = 13.1
(191 / 30) * 2.99 =19.0

The most common question now is how to determine the distance to your subject without measuring it with a tape. Most lenses will have a distance readout that will show you the distance to your subject once you focus on it. Just press your shutter half way down while aiming at the subject, take your finger off the shutter, and then look at the distance readout. We aren’t aiming at hyper-accuracy here since the aperture settings in your camera aren’t going to exactly match the calculations but we are trying to get as close as possible and avoid a lot of trial and error. Using this information you should be able to get your light dialed in much faster than just by guessing.

Determining Maximum Flash Distance
Using a similar method we can also determine the maximum distance your flash can be effective at, this is extremely useful when trying to determine if you can light up a person on a stage from the back of an auditorium for example. The calculation for this is the guide number divided by the f/stop, and again the ISO value can be used here as well. In this example we will use the guide number of a Canon 580 EX II (58) and an f/stop of 5.6.

(Guide Number / f/stop) * ISO = Max Distance
(191/ 5.6) * 1.0 = 34′
(191 / 5.6) * 1.44 = 49′
(191 / 5.6) * 2.07= 70′
(191 / 5.6) * 2.99 = 102′

Since the f/stop and the ISO determine how much light enters the camera, you see how using a larger aperture (lower number) and a higher ISO can really affect the range of your flash. Let’s compare the difference between f/5.6 and f/2.8 as an example:

GN 191@ f/5.6 100 ISO = 34′
GN 191 @ f/5.6 200 ISO = 49′

GN 191 @ f/2.8 100 ISO = 68′
GN 191 @ f/2.8 200 ISO = 98′

These calculations will help you determine if a long distance shot is even possible or if you need to bring in additional light. If you are too far from the subject for your light to be effective, you could place your light closer to the subject and fire it with a wireless trigger, this would allow you to shoot from a distance but get the desired light effect.

Summary
I know this can seem a little intimidating at first but understanding these concepts will help you get your lighting technique under control much faster and help make sure you can get the shots you want. You can even use the calculations to build a custom “cheat sheet” for your particular flash that can print out and keep as a handy reference. The spreadsheet that we have made available for you has both the f/stop and maximum distance calculators but has a second worksheet that will create the cheat sheet for you by simply changing the guide number on the first line to match your flash device’s output.

Calculation Spreadsheet [ Download ]

Author: Kerry Garrison