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› archive for April 20th, 2009

The Thrifty Studio

SO, as everyone might be aware, off the clock and non-competing with Roberts, fellow Robertonian Nick and myself do miscellaneous art things around town (shooting, studio stuff, paintings). We try to get out there and experience the world, and get to know the people around here. And, in the course of things, we’re always having gigs pop up that my “ready to roam” camera kit isn’t quite tailored to handle.

Fortunately for us, right next to the best professional photo processing in Indianapolis is the best photo rental department in the nearest anywhere. Backgrounds, Pocketwizards, extra Canon flashes (gotta love that 580EX II for kickabout jobs), professional studio lighting (I used a two-light kit from our rentals department when I shot my paintings for an online gallery), we’ve got quite a good deal of stuff for rent.

So, this weekend when I’m doing a boudoir/pinup set and need some good lights, I know the rentals department has what I need to rise above. What can they help you accomplish?



Micro Panels Plus

Lite Panels has released another great light called the MircoPro.  The Micro was a big hit when it came out last year and I have no doubt about this one.  It has twice the output power of the original Micro.  Pretty cool.  For shooting in low light with HD camcorders or a constant light on an SLR hotshoe instead of a flash unit, this should fit the bill.



Spring Expo

It’s that time of year again!  Today is the big start to the week of the Spring Expo here at Roberts Imaging, culminating in the big Manufacture Representative demo on Friday, April 24 and Saturday April 25.

Got an old camera you want to sell?  Bring it in on Friday and we will buy it from you.  This is at our downtown store only.  We will have folks on hand in the store to buy your gear.

We have several deals going on this week from all the brands, but there are a few standouts.  How about a Nikon Coolpix camera S520 for only $89.97?  It wasn’t too long ago it was selling for $200.  Hurry.  We have a limited stock of them.  A Sony A350 SLR with two Sony lenses and the vertical grip for the camera, all for $799.99!!  And many, many more deals!

There was a misprint in the Indianapolis Star ad that I should mention too.  It shows a Canon G10 for $129.97.  Obviously, to those that know the camera, that was a big mistake.  It should read $449.97.  Sorry about the mistake.  Sometimes that happens.



Mighty Micro Monster

I was playing with it just the other day. I was impressed by how far it it goes with just a few turns.  Lightweight, compact and might in reach the new Lumix 45-200 F4.0-5.6 Micro 4/3rds zoom lens from Panasonic is a beauty.  With its 90-400, 35mm standard equivalent focal length it really gets out there. When coupled with the Lumix G1 Panasonic Digital camera system the speed of focus is amazing, and since stabilization is built into the Panasonic digital SLR camera system, there is no extra charge for clear clean shake reduced images. This lens is a must have foe your Panasonic DMC-G1 and DMC-GH1 camera platforms, where else are you going to get a 400mm equivalent lens with stabilization and F5.6 gathering?
Lumix G Vario 45-200
Remember that the micro 4/3rds system works with the recently announced Olympus micro 4/3rds camera and offers an adapter for the regular 4/3rds cameras so you can use this lens on the entire Olympus Digital Camera platform too.  Also remember that Roberts has the best prices on digital camera SD cards in Indianapolis, so stock up on Sandisk or Kingston SDHC cards while you are here.



A Crash Course in Modern Urban Photo Slang

Chimpopotamus: someone who chimps a lot to verify composition, focus, and histograms.

Chumpopotamus: someone who misses many good shots because they’re too busy chimping

Peepachu: a person more obsessed with the pixel-level noise and sharpness than the actual photograph’s merit. Any similarities in name to an annoying 90′s fad cartoon character are not lost on us.



Noise vs Awesome

Click to See 1:1 Crop

Click to See 1:1 Crop

So, this weekend my old college pal Cory had a party to celebrate finishing his masters’ thesis (good job, pal), and a handful of us were up there that evening chumming around on his porch. I grabbed this shot of our dear Mr. Henry, sporting possibly the most excellent facial expression ever (for the record, he was using Live View to try and focus my old OM 50mm f1.8 more accurately in the dusk light). As I was looking over the shot (ISO 800, 1/40 second, mixed dusk and tungsten porch light), I was remembering one of the most arrogant sentiments of all time I read on a forum one time:

“My vision of the world does not have noise in it.”

Man, talk about a poor attitude to take. Would it be better if cameras took silky smooth pictures at ISO 6400? You bet! But, in the meanwhile, we see the world differently than cameras do (our eyes work much more akin to video cameras than still cameras, constantly reading light instead of having to rebuild it in shots). And, until technology catches up with us, isn’t it worth a little noise to catch moments like this one? As a matter of fact, show of hands, who noticed the noise before they noticed Mr. Henry’s expression? Who noticed the noise before I pointed it out? (Go ahead you peepachus, click it to see a 1:1 crop, I’m not ashamed. I’d print this shot any day and not even think twice about it.)

Worry about noise when you can. But, if you start sacrificing the shots that matter because “your vision of the world doesn’t have noise,” well, it might be time to readdress that vision of yours.




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