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› archive for January, 2009

Prime Interest

Nikon lensesOne of the big things the past couple of months in photgraphy seems to have been primes.  The Nikon 50mm 1.4G has been an exceptionally hot little item. And, it’s not just Nikon lenses with renewed prime interest, if you follow the various forums. There’s quite a lot of clamor about for more primes. We have to admit, the resurrection of interest in primes caught us a bit by surprise.

For those just joining us already in progress in the digital age, primes were the de facto norm for film for a large chunk of photographic history. A single focal length historically made it easier to formulate a sharp optic, a feat more difficult in zooms because you have to try to optimize a wide range of focal lengths, which often adds weight and size and makes the lens slower.

In the modern age, decades of experience formulating primes, in addition to their simpler and smaller optic constructions, typically leads to primes being among the cheaper offerings a manufacturer has. (The EF 50mm f/1.8 I, for example, is one of–if not the cheapest–Canon lenses, weighing in at under 100 bucks.) Also, primes are usually faster, typically being f1.4 or f.18, much faster than standard kit lenses which are usually f3.5 or slower.

So, for cost and aperture speed, primes are still hard to beat. But, if you want more flexibility than a single focal length can offer, don’t fret. Despite the common insistence that primes are the best optically, computer assisted design has lead to a generation of quality zooms that perform to the level of primes of old at many, and sometimes most or even all, focal lengths. Olympus is famous for the consistent performance of it’s mid and high grade zooms, the new f2.8 constant aperture zooms from Nikon also offer equal performance. And, of course, Canon prides itself on the performance of it’s L-series senses, and if you buy Sony Alpha DSLRS you’ll find a collection Carl Zeiss zooms which also lack any concerns in their optical performances.



Olympus E-30 SLR now shipping!

The new Olympus digital camera, E-30 is now starting to ship.  This SLR features a new 12.3 MP FourThirds format sensor.  It is the little brother to the Olympus E-3 camera, and will share the same vertical grip.  They both share in having the worlds fastest AF system when coupled with SWD lenses that are available.

Olympus E-30
The camera has six new art filters.  Select from Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, or Pin Hole Camera.  You can overlay up to four images into a single image.

Like most Olys, this camera has dual memory card slots offering both compact flash and XD flash memory card storage.



New and exciting.

As a soon to be proud owner of my third Olympus digital camera, I would say I am a fan of their products (I’m no Derek Martin, but who is).  I have on order an Olympus E-420, the updated version of the E-410′s which we still have in stock.  Here is what’s next.
Olympus E-30
Yesterday David Linsell our regional Olympus digital camera representative was in the store with one of the newest Olympus offerings. The E30 is a really cool camera, far more advanced than my soon to be model.  The E-30 has some very cool Art mode settings, and still features one of the most comprehensive LCD information screens in the industry. Of the many other advances and upgrades the E-30 offers are some cool ones that are fairly unique. The E-30 will allow in camera multiple exposures of at least 4 images that you can compose right on the LCD in the Live View Mode!

If I had to do some quick digital camera comparisons I would say that Olympus has the best live view, the Alpha line of Sony digital cameras are very close, and then everybody else falls a little short. The Nikon digital SLR cameras “that have live view” are slowed down considerably when it is in use as are the Pentax and Canon digital SLR cameras, and then there are focusing issues with the last three on my list. The Sony and Olympus cameras still focus quickly and accurately in live view, a real plus that makes live view fun and practical instead of just a “need to” option. A few models of Olympus and Sony digital SLR’s (Sony’s Alpha 300 and Alpha 350, Oly’s E-30) have pivoting  or even rotating and swiveling LCD screens.
Another Olympus plus is memory card versatility, Olympus digital SLR cameras, even the baby DSLR the 410-420 take both the Olympus style xD cards, and compact flash cards, and you can select between the cards at will.

Who knows maybe my next Olympus digital camera will be a E-30. Heck maybe that will be your next Olympus Digital Camera too.



New Canon standard definition cameras coming

For standard definition video, Canon is rolling out three new flash memory card models to replace last year’s FS11, FS10 and FS100. This year, the Canon FS22, Canon FS21 and Canon FS200 are 17% smaller and lighter than last year’s standard-definition flash models.

The Canon FS22 and Canon FS21 are identical, aside from the fact that the Canon FS22 has 32GB of internal flash memory while the Canon FS21 has 16GB.

The Canon FS22 and Canon FS21 camcorders have a 1.07 MP 1/6″ sensor and a 48x Advanced Zoom. The Canon FS200 records to SD cards only, has a 680K 1/6″ sensor and is capable of a 41x Advanced zoom.

All three models are equipped with a new Quick Charge feature that will enable the battery charge time to go much faster and Quick Start, which enables the camcorders to spring to life by the flick of an LCD screen.



Coming Back Around Again: G1

So, perhaps the biggest news in the camera world last year was the invention of the Micro Four-Thirds standard, the first SLR quality system without a mirror (removing the “R” from “SLR”, actually, and leaving most of us with no idea what to call this new camera type.). m4/3 (as it’s commonly abbreviated) promised small bodies, smaller lenses, and all-around niftiness.

And so we waited.

Panasonic Digital Camera, I Dub Thee "G1"And, first out of the gate was a Panasonic digital camera calling itself the “DMC-G1,” or jst the “G1.” The G1 was (and, as of now, still is) the first of its breed: no mirror, interchangeable lenses, EVF, contrast auto-focus, SLR-sized sensor (the same size sensor used in my beloved Olympus digital cameras, and which I think gets entirely more criticism than real-life performance merits). And all of that is a very technical way of saying the following:

If you’re wanting better quality than a point-and-shoot can offer, but don’t want to have to deal with the hassle a traditional DSLR brings with it (I know my friends give me odd looks when it takes me three minutes and some off camera-flash to nab a shot), this is your camera. Intherchangeable lenses mean you’re no longer stuck with the limited 3x, 4x, or maybe 5x zoom your camera came with. You can go wider, you can go longer. It focuses just like your point-and-shoot, but faster. It’ll simulate shutter blur for you, it has focus zoom.

The reviews are starting to come in. Popular Photography named it the 2008 camera of the year, stating “The reason? In a contest where the criterion is “the camera that best refined or redefined photography,” the debut of the G1 represents a re-defining moment.” DPReview just today finished its exhaustive (and exhausting to read) review, finally concluding that this camera is “Highly Recommended” and stating that “In use the G1 does indeed offer the ease of use of a compact camera – especially if you stick it on fully automatic and ignore the wealth of options and pages of menus. If you’ve been using a Panasonic FZ series – or any advanced compact camera – you’ll feel right at home with the G1. There’s a good selection of external controls as well as Panasonic’s useful on-screen quick menu, giving the best of two worlds combined.”

It’s an innovative and, so far, unique product, and it’s worth considering if you’re looking to make the upgrade. Actually, I’d go so far as to say it is the ideal upgrade. (Please note, I’m not calling it the best camera ever ever, but it certainly bridges the point-and-shoot/DSLR gap better than anything else going.)



The Colour of Magic

Reportedly, the colour of magic is a greenish-purple, or “octarine.” But, here in the real world, we have a different understanding of color, and one that is the same for Nikon digital SLR cameras and Canon Powershot digital cameras and yes, even that film stuff.

This is continuing my posts here and here, and we’re talking a bit more about hue.

As I’ve said, hue is the basic “color” of color. Since color is really light, it’s the specific wavlengths of light. Now, I’m sure many of you are familiar with a basic color wheel (you know, Red, Blue and Yellow and Purple, Green, and Orange between them), but that’s not actually accurate and can lead to some troubles understanding how color photos and white balance work.

read more



Think Tank StreetWalker series

The folks at Think Tank Photo have released three very usable photo backpacks called the StreetWalker series.  With the three new backpacks’ slim vertical profile, photographers can navigate crowded places and public transportation while still being able to access professional photographic equipment.  They come with a handy card showing layouts for both Nikon Digital SLR camera and Canon Digital SLR camera layouts.

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.



Where’s the Kitchen Sink?

So, tying in with Phil’s last post (and indeed, this is much more a Phil kinda post than a me kinda post), Sony did in fact smack me down with 15 new models of camcorders last week, which I’ve been getting up on our site. Including those new Webbies, which’ll be up for you all tomorrow. But, as he was finishing his post, I was pulling together the data on this Sony camcorder, and have to say it’s among the more feature packed compact camcorders I’ve seen (although I am very, very far from expert, so I’ll listen to any corrections on this opinion.)

Sony Compact Camcorders

But, just speak from the sec sheet, Sony HDR-XR500V has the following spiffiness:

  • 1920 x 1080/60i
  • 120 GB Internal HD
  • 12.1 MP Still Capture (8.3 MP Dual Record)
  • Mic jack/built-in zoom mic with Dolby 5.1 channel
  • 3.2″ 921,000 dot touch panel (VGA-resolution wide-aspect touchscreen– very nice, Sony)
  • 12x Sony G optics (yup, just like the G branded Sony lenses)
  • Recording down to 3 lux
  • Built-in GPS
  • Active hotshoe
  • Built-in flash

Seems like a lot to me. Matter of fact, when I saw it had a model above it I was wondering what else was left to shove into a compact camcorder (it’s a 240 GB HD, apparently). So, yeah, HDR-XR500V. Certainly something, I think.



Elements of Design (and Art): Color

Color is pretty darn important to most people, and for most photographers it is probably the most consistent element to deal with. But, most people don’t really know how the aspects of color work. Again, the following ideas are universal and don’t care if you buy Sony Alpha DSLRs or Panasonic camcorders. Light is light, color is color.

Of course, it turns out that color is also light. You probably know that color is visible light as we see it reflected off of things. This fact leads to color having three primary attributes:

  1. Hue (also called Tint)
  2. Saturation (also called Intensity, or Purity)
  3. Luminosity (also called Brightness, or Value)

If you’ve ever been in a photo editor (or manager, like Lightroom) and seen HSL or HSB, those are ways of managing color based on those 3 principles (there are two other common managements, RGB and CMYK which deal with light in different ways, but that’s another post).

So, weirdly enough, the best visual example of how hue, saturation, and luminosity work together is the color mixer from… Microsoft Paint!

MS Paint Color Picker

The main field is hue (pure colors formed by different wavelengths of light), and saturation, the slider on the right is luminosity.

As you might notice, Luminosity/Brightness/Value is the basic gradtion of white to black, which is the foundation of black-and-white photography (and also Notan theory design). This aspect of color is so important that it’s beyond being just a subset of color and counts as its own design principle. The gradation from light to dark (referred to by the fancy-schmancy term “chiaroscuro” in the art world), is the primary source of visual contrast and drama in a scene. Luminosity is the single most important aspect of color to a photographer, then followed by hue and saturation. But, if the light ain’t there, the color usually won’t help much.



The Ringlight Chronicles, vol I

So, ringlights have become pretty popular these days (along with 50mm primes, like the 50mm f1.4 G Nikon lenses). Which is understandable, times are rough and Profoto’s stellar ringflash weighs in at about 1500 bucks, without pack, putting it well beyond most weekend warriors. So, the prospect of using any Canon flashes or Nikon flashes one might already own to a simlar effect is, you gotta admit, pretty tempting.

So, finding myself bored last night and deciding between organizing the towel closet and doing something productive, I decided to give a go at making one of the DIY ringlights whose formulas can be found bouncing all over the photographic intertubes.

The results?

Olympus digital cameras don't deserve to be made this ugly

Functionallity: 1

Aesthetics: 0

In my quick test shots the thing does work as advertised, throwing a nice even ring of light which makes headshots shine as all harsh shadows are removed from faces leaving behind only soft, sumptuous modeling.

But, boy, it is friggin’ ugly. Some more black tape on the outside would help things, but only in the same way that giving Michael Jackson a new nose would help things.

But, it does work, so I’m already plotting a Mk II. I think maybe a couple Harbor Digital flash adapters and a nice wide throw reflector might make for a better start. We’ll see.




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