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8 Megapixels…

April 14, 2011 Jason5 Comments

When I first transitioned to digital photography seriously, my camera of choice was the Canon Rebel XT. In that camera I found a whopping 3 frames per second, 8 megapixels, and a host of other features and benefits that go with SLR photography. The times, how they change…

My Droid2 smart phone bit the bullet (this was the third one of these to die prematurely), and Verizon in its wisdom decided I needed to go to a different model phone. After several logistical problems with getting the correct battery shipped for the correct model to the correct address, I finally got a battery for the new phone, powered it up and activated my number on the new line. Imagine my surprise when I found out that this new phone has…yup:

8 Megapixels!

It staggers my mind that they can fit the same number of pixels on this teensy sensor that used to fill a sensor for an SLR. My hesitancy at embracing this MP count is that there will be excess noise, and pixelation on the images. While the smart phone features (phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) look to perform adequately, the camera is always a point of contention for me as I wish these phones could adapt somewhat and figure out a way to have an adjustable aperture. If you can fit that many pixels onto that teensy a sensor, surely the aperture could be adjustable!

This could just be me ranting on quixotically though – so, here’s a sample image at full resolution (click it to see full size). Does this seem decent enough for a camera phone? Sound off in the comments with your own thoughts on cell phone cameras – what features are good, what should be thrown out, and what should be improved? (No carrier bashing please – try thinking of this as carrier agnostically as possible! 🙂

Hardware review: The Tether Table

March 30, 2011 Jason2 Comments

A while ago I was thinking about what would be the best way to set up all the hardware for a studio scenario and blogging about it with the reading audience. The idea of the Tether Table came to me quickly and on approaching the folks at Tether Tools, it was met with equal enthusiasm. So, in short order, one was dispatched to me for review here on the blog – this will be the one given away in the upcoming end of month finale for the March Flickr Contest. So, without further ado, I give you:

The Aero-Master Tether Table

The Tether Table is a pretty straightforward device – it comes with the table itself, made out of T6 Aerospace Aluminum (whatever that is). Regardless of what the official name is – this table is pretty solid – I have no doubts as to whether it might bend under the weight of a laptop. What I found to be really nice is that it spins onto a tripod (sans head of course) quite nicely, and just as easily fits over the top of a light stand. The stability is also pretty equal between the two once it’s locked down.

So, how does the table lock down? There’s four little Allen screws that tie the female acceptor tube to the bottom of the table through the top. Their design makes them lay seamlessly flat so no worries about your laptop getting off kilter. Here’s a few sample shots to show you the design:

The other part that bears mentioning is the additonal kit item (not included normally with a Tether Table) is the Jerkstopper – a handy little device that attaches at both the laptop and camera end to avoid getting cables tugged out of your connection points. They really help to keep equipment from falling, plugs or connectors from getting ripped or damaged, and the add-on value is well worth the $22! Here’s the product shot from Tether Tools site to give you an idea…

The first problem I found was that it does require either a light stand or a tripod. So, if your camera normally goes on a tripod (mine does) and you have an external flash that goes on the light stand (mine does), then either the flash has to become more of a portable device (enter the wireless trigger system), or you need to get another light stand. I initially lucked out in that I am/was running the triggers through their paces for my good friend Kerry Garrison over at Blackbelt Lighting for an upcoming review this Friday, but the need for another light stand has become pretty clear to me. When I am using two-light setups though, things could get complicated, but that’s a personal gear issue, nothing really to do with the Tether Table itself, so no harm no foul there.

The second problem I found was budgetary. While the sturdy construction and clean polished look and feel are certainly features I can appreciate, being on a budget, the cost of entry to obtain a Tether Table of this caliber is a little pricey for my blood. At $179 for the Table and another $22 for the Jerkstopper kit, we’re over $200 and while it’s not inconceivable, it’s certainly rich for the enthusiast blood. For most professionals it is easily justified and likely something you can itemize in an invoice if needed. So, not completely out of reach, but up there for sure. Oh well, no one ever said photography was going to be cheap!

When all is said and done, I do think it’s a worthwhile investment. These can be invaluable in a studio or on-location shoot where you need to be moving around in between shots. The benefits of both the Tether Table and the companion Jerkstopper could be invaluable in a number of environments, including macro photography, food photography, portrait photography, and most product photography where a dedicated preview monitor would be super handy to have! To that end, I will be sad to see it go, but alas, the Contest Series gets priority! Thanks to the folks at Tether Tools for their generous contribution, and best of luck to all the participants! (If you haven’t entered your photo yet, the theme is FLAT, and the contest link is both here and at the top of the page!)

Have you got an idea for a product review? Is there something you’d like to see a test drive on? Sound off in the comments and I’ll try my darndest to make things happen! See you next time here on the blog. (And don’t forget the Facebook page where the “Behind-the-Scenes” video is posted on using this very table!…”Likes” and comments there are always appreciated too!).

Podcast #56: Is Blogging Dead?

March 22, 2011 JasonLeave a comment

Twitter, Facebook, microblogging, blogging, Audioboo, websites, statistics, logos, graphics, web design and more! It’s a lot to take in and more often than not photographers who are just getting started ask me “Which ones should I choose?” It’s a tough question because there’s no unilateral catch-all answer that will fit everyone. As always, the answer starts with “It depends…”

So, to better address the question I decided to bring in a pro who deals with this stuff all the time. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, we have another podcast! This is episode #56 of the LDP show, and I shared about an hour or so with Kirsten Wright talking about social strategies and best approaches and practices. It’s an entire industry, and there are some who claim to know and then those who really do know their stuff. Kirsten comes with some impressive credentials and a fresh outlook/perspective that many of us need. It’s a good kick in the…well, a good way to get motivated to get going in the right direction!

Make sure you check out her site over at Wright Creativity and make sure to add her on your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn feeds, and everything in between. She’s got gems and nuggets of brilliance galore to share. I’m booking her soon here to help me get things streamlined (in case you haven’t noticed, my schedule has not been as consistent lately as I’d like it to be – Kirsten is my kick in the #$%^!)

If you need some focus, direction, and a good reality check, Kirsten is the one to give t to you. Get it for free here in the latest episode of Learning Digital Photography: Is Blogging Dead? with our guest of the hour – Kirsten Wright!

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Running Off the Grid

March 8, 2011 Jason2 Comments

A friend of mine is going on an extended backpacking trip, and space is already tight, so he approached me to see if I had any ideas on how he should go about running his SLR for an extended period of time without being able to charge or re-charge. A couple ideas came to mind:

1. First, just buy a battery for each day – not the cheapest route, but the easiest way to ensure power is had all along.

2. Second, what about renting these accessories? If he has two of his own, then renting 5 would run half the cost…

3. Another option was to get a battery grip. Here he could use his own for as long as possible, then switch to disposable AA batteries…

4. Last but not least, solar power…I’ve considered these and even saw them in REI – they were a tad expensive and I am not even sure how one would go about connecting these to an AC charger. You’d need the solar panel, then a male USB/AC converter, then the charger. And the other factor would be how much of a charge you could get off that…in addition to weather concerns. What if it’s not all that sunny?

Given the options, my final recommendation was to go with option 3. It’d be a sound investment, would actually make the gear easier to hold on to, and often more stable than going w/out. He agreed and will likely buy based on my recommendation. It’s always a good feeling to be helpful to others, but before he does, I asked him to hold off for a day or two if possible, because I wanted to throw the question out to the readership…what ideas does the audience have for my friend?

Some of the rental outfits I’ve pointed him to include:

I’ve not had the benefit of experience with any of these vendors as we have a local camera rental shop that gives pretty good rates, so I always rent local from them. Anyone have any experience with the national rental outfits? Would really be helpful to get some external input here as he is leaving soon on his trip and could use some direction. Sound off with your ideas!

Did You Know…

March 4, 2011 Jason1 Comment

This last week has been kind of rough – after teaching in Minnesota on Sat., my whole time schedule was thrown off and I never really have been able to get my body clock back in sync. (I don’t know how traveling types do that…) That, combined with a little out-patient surgical procedure on Friday made for a lot of distractions. So, apologies in advance for being a little hit and miss with the blog posting.

Today though, I thought I’d share a little-known (or at least not-often-discussed) tip about the Canon EOS camera line. Did you know that there is a silent shooting mode? To enable this mode of shooting, simply switch your camera to the live shooting mode (where you compose your image using the LCD instead of the viewfinder), and when pressing the shutter, it’s much quieter than when normally pressed! I knew about this, but honestly had not used it in quite a while. It’s one of those “Oh yeah…..!” moments and when reviewing some material, I came across this from the owner’s manual. Here’s the page directly from the 40D guide:

This is a very handy feature to have if you don’t want to interrupt an emotional moment during an event (say a bride and groom kissing, a baby sleeping, or some other such occasion).Got your own unknown or not-often-mentioned feature to share about your own gear? Sound off in the comments! Have a great weekend all and we’ll see you back here next week!

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It’s high time…

January 11, 2011 Jason11 Comments

Over the holidays, the SLR was in great demand for the family portrait work, and I pulled it out periodically for some “street-style” photography. I found myself instead getting out my 4 year old P&S camera, which is very long in the tooth to say the least. So, I’ve decided that it’s time to retire the one and venture into new territory. I am currently waffling between three cameras:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Using On-Camera Flash?

December 30, 2010 Jason7 Comments

As much as we like to promote moving your flash off-camera, there are times when using that little pop-up flash can be really fun! One such time can be when it’s snowing outside! A little wind to help kick things up also helps. Here’s a few shots I took earlier today on an outing to Keystone, CO when the weather conditions were just about perfect for these fun effects!

Now granted, these are nothing that would ever been usable for fine art or stock type work, but it’s always fun to experiment, and this is one such case where on-camera flash works particularly well. There’s other times when using on-camera built-in flash can also be useful though, so don’t be afraid to experiment. Where have you had success with on-camera flash? Share your own thoughts, perspectives and shots in the insight

The 2010 Winter Solstice Eclipse

December 22, 2010February 24, 2017 Jason5 Comments

As you may recall from yesterday’s post, I did not get the entire solstice eclipse from beginning to end due to cloud cover. But, from the halfway point forward, the clouds cleared and I was able to get some adequate coverage. After wrestling both mentally and processor-ily with the amount of images (98) and trying to figure out a good way to present the series, I decided on the spiral approach…

What kinds of shots did you get? How are you presenting them? I debated on a video showing the movement across the sky, but that was very labor intensive, so decided on the above. Thoughts, comments, feedback? Share your shots too!

Building the Perfect Camera, Pt. 1

March 16, 2010 Jason6 Comments

One of the more recent episodes from the guys over at This Week in Photography had them wrapping up their coverage of PMA, where they talked tech about all the latest cameras to come out from the various vendors. Canon was noticeably absent from the show, but it didn’t detract from an interesting comment I think Ron Brinkmann said where he wished he could pull all his favorite features from each of the cameras and basically make his own.

To me, the idea screamed “blog post”! So, I decided to go for it. I went through every major SLR on the market today and cherry-picked my favorite features from each camera. It took a while (there’s a lot out there), but I kept on plugging at it for a few days. Finally, I’ve completed the list, and here’s my “perfect camera” wish list:

Full Frame Sensor – It seems the market is trending this way, and while the added zoom on a crop sensor can be nice, I’d love to see my 10-22 on a full frame body!
EF-S support – This is Canon-specific, but because of my 10-22 and 18-55, I would really love to get that super wide angle on a full frame without vignetting or fisheye distortion…I know, the impossible dream, but hey, it’s not like such a camera will ever really exist, so I may as well dream, right?
Low Light Performance – Think Nikon here – they’re beating the pants off pretty much everyone in the market with their low light sensitivity and handling.
ISO handling – the fact that you can shoot at ISO 102400 is pretty amazing, but the noise is crazy. Sure, I’ll take the high ISO, but at least let me make decent prints from it. This kind of ties into the low light performance, but since it’s a separate spec, why not…
Multi-card compatibility – Lately more cameras are supporting the CF and the SD format cards, but mine currently does not support the latter, so, it’s on my list!

That’s it? Of course not, but do you really want me to list ALL the features I want to see in my dream camera in ONE SUPER LONG POST? Of course not! I wouldn’t want to read that either, no matter who wrote it! So, I’m saving the other segments for another day soon (hint, hint, hint)! I’m not even sure this is my “Top Five”, but it could be close. I dunno, is it worth it doing a “top five” features list? Would you? Also consider this: what is your dream camera? What are the must have features for you? How much would you pay to have them all under one hood? I know it’d be a pretty penny, but think about how useful and how long it would last you…! Sound off in the comments with your favorite features!

Don’t forget, the March Flickr Giveaway is underway where you can win a Cheetah Stand, so make sure you enter your favorite WILD pic today!

The Moment it…"Oops"!

March 9, 2010 Jason5 Comments

We all know the real phrase, made famous by none other than Joe McNally, and his well-received book “The Moment it Clicks””…(and a great read, so go check it out if you haven’t already). However, that’s just Joe… I seem to encounter more blunders than brilliance.

For instance, I was working on the photos from the weekend shoot and had a rather good set I wanted to put into a panorama shot. Before taking the good set though, I decided to run a test on some older images on a new program that came which came recommended to me from Alex Saunders over at Tenuous Thread called AutoPano Pro. So, in working with the trial software, I went into Lightroom and grabbed my 12 or 13 photos to stitch together from my archives and see how it did for a test run.

Well, because the stitching of 12-13 images can take a while, I left it and came back the next day to find I had grabbed one of the wrong images. Can you find my “oops”?

August Sunset — Here's the edited version

August Sunset (original pano stitching) — Pre-post production

So, my foibles and failures in attention to detail thrown wide for the world to see! 🙂 It can be fun though when you look at these things lightheartedly and just have a good chuckle though. Anyone else have any stories or foibles they want to share? Comments are open…