Category: news

Best Blog Sites of 2007

Jason2 Comments

Rather than regale the CB audience with some trivia for the Monday Minutia, I thought it might be fun to start off 2008 with the list of MUST SEE blogs for the year. These are blogs that I have come to know and love for very different and varied reasons, ranging in purpose and perspective from tips and tricks, to the nitty gritty of lighting, along with casual conversation and the occasional in-depth reading jaunt. Without further ado, I give you: THE SEVEN OF ’07!

1. Photoshop Insider – Daily posts from Scott Kelby, who is very well-known as both an author and an instructor. Scotts contributions to Photography include the formation of NAPP, the implementation of the highly regarded (and highly expensive) annual Photoshop Expo, and now the Kelby Training online learning website where you can subscribe either monthly or annually to get all the education and learning you want. With heavyweights like Adobe, iStock, CDW and a host of others offering discounts to NAPP members, Scott and his gang pretty rule the roost and have the enviable position of setting the standard by which all others are measured. From a blog perspective, Scott’s site is a great info-mercial for keeping up to date on the latest learning strategies and materials that the NAPP team has to offer, as well as occasional insights on various tips and tricks. For me, PI is a great place to go to get some light reading in and pick up some tips or tricks along the way. A great learning resource to have in your toolkit. Given his instructional methods and techniques, the only thing missing here would be a weekly podcast or vlog posting, but that’s mitigated by Photoshop User TV, so it’s a very minor nit. Otherwise, I do not go a day without reading the musings and postings of Scott.

2. Strobist – If you want to learn about lighting, this is THE place to go. Everything from demonstrations, to techniques, and even instructional guidelines (See Lighting 101, and its sequel, Lighting 102). I am still something of a lighting virgin as I admittedly have not taken my flash off the camera yet, but this is a great place to go to learn the nitty gritty, see sample shots, and pretty much get all the info you could ever want on lighting.

3. The Digital Photography Show – Hosted by Scott Sherman and Michael Stein (but it’s really more Scott with a dash of Michael), this is a great resource to keep current on industry news, participate in contests, and hear from top people in the industry on everything from camera and photoshop techniques to file management and printing. One of the nice things about TDPS is that they do a brief text-based version on the blog, and then a more detailed version in a podcast – great for downloading and listening to while on the go.

4. Photoshop User TV – This is the insanely popular weekly vlog of the Photoshop Guys – Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, and Matt Kloskowski where they demonstrate and share techniques, tips and tricks on how to get the most out of Photoshop. If memory serves, this regularly gets premiere billing in iTunes.

5. Tips from the Top Floor – Chris Marquardt has made this show very popular both in his homeland of Germany and across the pond to the U.S. This is in no small part due to his regular workshops he conducts to share his knowledge with others. From his last trip to the states, I think he hit close to a dozen cities for workshops, and these were spread all over the country. Videos and online training is one thing, but Chris brings his knowledge to you, and at a very wallet-friendly rate.

6. Photojojo – This is a very kitschy kind of site but also very handy. Regular informative posts show how to do unique things with your photos, ranging from making a photo cube to photo mobiles, and even making useable stamps from your photos. Some of the tips and ideas that come out of here are better than others, but by and large, it’s a very outside-the-box kind of delivery, and makes for a great RSS feed.

7. The Online Photographer – From the mind of Michael Johnston comes a daily dose of photography-related news and information. The Online Photographer really raises the bar in terms of the quality of the writing material. This is not to say that other resources are not well-written, just that TOP writes better than most. The range of subject matter is also quite extensive – and has educated me on more occasions than I would care to admit. The one caveat is that I do sometimes have to pay attention to what I am reading – much of TOP’s content would go beyond a brief scan or skim which is what I usually do on web sites. TOP is also not a place to go if you’re looking for a quick tip or trick on how to do something. Rather, TOP is a collection of very well-written articles and commentaries on the state of the photography industry. The best analogy I can think of is a newspaper…where most blogs are like the comic section, TOP would be the equivalent of the New York Times. Overall, TOP is a highly recommended source for reading material related to, but fair warning – come ready to read!

So, that’s it. The best seven from ’07! I could have done five, or ten, or some other common multiple, but the the alliterative potential would have been lost. Ya know I just can’t let that happen. Have a good day, and tomorrow is Tutorial Tuesday!

A Friday Fix and some Funnies

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Made a few minor updates to the Canon Battery Lithium Content page. First, I added some additional information that was initially lacking (it seems some of the Canon EOS series batteries have multiple cells, so the numbers needed another factor entered in the formula.) The other part was that I updated the location of the page – it’s now in the tutorials/education section where it belongs.

Apologies for the missing Thursday post. I am sure it won’t be the last time I don’t have time for a post this year…just disappointed the first missed post day came so soon (day 2 – I didn’t count the 1st)!). The funnies come today via WTD and FBorFW:

What the Duck:

What the Duck Cartoon Strip

For Better or For Worse:

For Better or For Worse

And last but not least, a written one:

Once upon a time there was a photographer in one of the most remote parts of the African continent on assignment. He came across a primitive village where the residents were living in thatched huts and wearing colorful primitive garments. He approached a man who appeared to be the chief who was wearing a large headdress made of woven hemp and colorful feathers. Not knowing how to speak to him, he pointed to his camera then to the chief inquiringly. The chief nodded his approval. As the photographer was taking a meter reading the chief said “today use f/8 at 1/125 for ISO 100 film”.

Got any good jokes? First person to post an original photo-related joke wins a free action from me!

Web gem for Wednesday – go buy some baggies!

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Starting the new year off with a bang, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the Transportation Safety Administration has implemented new policies regarding what battery types can be brought on airplanes. The new rule speaks to the Lithium batteries we’ve all come to know and love that charges everything from our cell phones to watches, cameras and laptops. That’s right, your Li-ion batteries are now a restricted item. What are the rules?

Well, it turns out you can have one in your device, so your camera, laptop, cell phone, and other such equipment is safe. You can also carry two spares, provided each is stored in its own sealed plastic bag or the original packaging. Loose batteries, whether in carry-on or checked baggage, are no longer permitted. Lithium content is also restricted now to less than 25 grams. For now, it’s safe to say that virtually all cell phone, laptop, camera, and watch batteries fall well under the limit, including standard AA and AAA batteries. Whether this is per battery or a total of all batteries is somewhat unclear, but from what I have been able to gather, the aggregate total is in reference to the total Lithium content per battery. This is not a definitive piece of information but is the best I can determine from the travel sites (referenced at the end of this post) and other resources.

For those that are curious, I have been able to determine that Lithium content is based on a factor of 0.3 per cell multiplied by the rated capacity in ampere hours. If you look at the back of your batteries, it will tell you certain key information that can be used to determine your total Lithium content. For example, on my Canon XT, the back panel shows that it has a rating of 7.4 volts, with 720 Milliamp Hours. It’s the mAh that we need to use for determining how much Lithium we have. So, if I take the rating of 720 mAh and convert that to regular Ampere Hours (remember your metric system?) I get a value of 0.72 (720/1000). Now, I would use that 0.72 and multiply it by 0.3 to get my total lithium content. So, the XT/XTi batteries have about 0.21 grams of Lithium. Here’s a chart of common Canon cameras, their battery models, and the total Lithium content:

Camera Model

 Battery Model mAh value Ah value Total Lithium content
Rebel XT (350d) NB-2LH 720 0.72 0.216 grams
Rebel XTi NB-2LH 720 0.72 0.216 grams
20D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
30D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
40D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
5D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
1D Mark II NP-E3 1650 1.65 0.495 grams
1D Mark III LP-E4 2300 2.3 0.69 grams
1Ds Mark III LP-E4 2300 2.3 0.69 grams

It should be noted here that the 1D Mark II series of the EOS family did not appear to be a Lithium battery, rather a Nicad battery, so it should be exempt from the new restriction. Regardless, at most, any EOS battery will yield considerably less than 1 gram, so with a total of 3 (one in the body and 2 spares), you are just a hair over 2 grams of Lithium (2.1 to be exact). When coupled with your laptop Lithium content, and cellular phone content, you should still be well within the parameters. As for other devices, I just checked my cell phone and laptop. The former (a Motorola v325i), and that has 880 mAh, so comes in at 0.264 grams ( 0.88×0.3). The laptop comes in a little closer as my Macbook Pro (15”) has an Li-ion battery that comes in at 60 Wh (no milliWatt hours here…), so the yield there is 18 grams of Lithium. I’d read elsewhere that the 17” MBP has a Wh capacity of 68 (or 20.4 grams of Lithium).

What it basically comes down to, is that you now must put your spare batteries in a plastic baggie, and can only tote those in your carry-on. (You cannot transport them in checked luggage.) Here’s my theoretical total Lithium content if I travelled with everything and the maximum number of spares:

Camera: 0.63 grams (0.21×3)

Cell phone: 0.78 grams (0.26×3)

Laptop: 54 grams (18×3)

For a grand total of 55.41

As a means of reference, here’s the links I visited in compiling this post:

Wall Street Journal Article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119911051123859361.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Mac Owner’s Blog (for MBP 17” numbers):

http://stevenfettig.com/mythoughts/archives/000728.php

Safe Travel (note the <dot> GOV distinction)

http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html

Calculating Lithium Content

http://www.rosebatteries.com/pdfs/DOTshipping.pdf

 

 

When I get home this afternoon, I will set this up as a dedicated page so it won’t be archived and add it to the “blogroll” links on the side panel for easy reference. Happy Wednesday all, and go buy some baggies!

 

ETA: The dedicated page is now up and can be found here: Battery Lithium Content

Wednesday Web Links

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Having travelled during the recent holiday, a few photography-related issues came up during my travels.  First off, was the procedures used to handle photography equipment.  While travelling, my gear list included the following:

  •  Apple Macbook Pro
  •  Canon Rebel XT
  •  Canon 18-55mm kit lens
  •  Sigma 70mm f2.8 lens
  •  Canon 530 Speedlight EX
  •  Various CF cards, batteries and charging mechanisms

 Prior to entering security checkpoints, I pulled my laptop out, set it in its own container, and sent it through the security X-Ray.  Nothing I had was ever submitted to additional inspection.  This was quite the opposite experience that others have recorded on their blogs (see Scott Kelby’s experience recounted here). It was quite a pleasant experience.  One thing that helped me move through my travels with ease was in knowing the expectations of the TSA, and what they look for and like to see.  For example, I also know from previous experiences that leaving your batteries inside the flash will display oddly on their X-Ray scanners, so I always make sure batteries are removed from devices when packing.  It also helped to check the TSA restrictions and guidelines on their website (especially since my wife enjoys her lotions and potions).  So, in the interests of sharing that information with others, here’s the TSA link for permitted/prohibited articles:  TSA List.  Needless to say, DSLR’s are not subject to additional searches or inspections by any regulation in place with the Transportation Safety Administration.

 The other thing that I encountered specific to photography was how and where we are permitted to take pictures.  Without regaling all the details, here it’s enough to say that after a frustrating experience with a supervisor, I wanted to report him to the customer service department for his airline.  After snapping his picture, he suddenly became much more animated, and dashed off.  A few minutes later he confronted me with two local policemen who stated that “You can’t just take people’s picture anymore.”  At this point I replied, “Well, I am not sure what he told you, but the only reason I took his picture was to assist in reporting him to his superiors because he refused to even try to help me.  As far as taking people’s pictures, legally speaking, he has no right to privacy in a public place, and I can take his picture as long as I don’t use it to promote a commercial product.    Here’s a printout on Photographer Rights that may be of interest to you.”  For those interested in what I handed them, it said in part that:

 ” Members of the public have a very limited scope of privacy rights when they are in public places. Basically, anyone can be photographed without their consent except when they have secluded themselves in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy such as dressing rooms, restrooms, medical facilities, and inside their homes.”

 Suddenly these two officers, who were intending to interrogate me, turned their heads to him questioningly, clearly indicating he had recounted a very different story from what actually occurred.  Having this document also bolstered the evidence that I was within my right to do what I was doing.  So, I would encourage everyone to carry a copy of this with them.  Check it out here:  Photographer’s Rights.  Thanks to Bert Krages for putting this information together. Other than the flight delays and dealing with less than helpful airline supervisors, the holidays were quite enjoyable, and I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too.  See y’all tomorrow!

Thursday’s Thoughts

Jason4 Comments

Wit the sidebar poll continuing to generate some increasing preferences toward PS CS3, I can’t help but wonder why more are not adopting LR as an alternative. My guess is that it has something to do with familiarity of the interface, as well as the support for dual monitors, and the added benefits of layers and filters. I’ve also heard from a few that profiling papers using LR is more challenging as well.

From this I am thinking that it may have been a little counterintuitive for Adobe to launch not one, not two, but three new software lines that in essence are competing with one another for market share. While I can see the merits of appealing to a [b]wider[/b] market share with a multi-faceted approach, I can also see some downsides. For those on a budget it seems clear that LR is the way to go, but with CS3 and CS3 extended, and the myriad of ways to obtain the software at serious discounts, I can’t help but wonder why LR would still be an option. I saw an academic price for CS3 extended recently at [b][i]under[/i][/b] $300! That’s within $100 of Lightroom!!! For me it’s a no-brainer, and I will definitely make the move to the Extended version after the holidays.

It does seem though that in using this multi-faceted approach, Adobe is appealing to a wider range of shooters. The “other” category seems rather low, which tells me people are not only choosing an Adobe solution for their work flow, but that they are also moving toward a dedicated solution that is geared towards their goals. I kind of feel bad for the competition as it seems with this approac, Adobe is goig to become the sole provider of photo editing software (that can be taken seriously anyway). That brings anti-monopoly issues into play and I can’t help but wonder if Adobe had considered this in their long-term strategizing….

In other news, the Photoshop Guys over at NAPP and Kelby Training have announced a whole new online training system. Now, instead of paying per class, you pay fur usage of the training resources, much like Lynda.com Some pretty big names in the photo education field are hopping on the coattails of Scott Kelby and his ever-rising presence in the training environment. Kudos to them and best of luck. Feel free to stop over at the NAPP site for more info as they will likely pimp that heavily for the next few months. Nothing wrong with self-promotion, and these guys definitely have it down to an art form. Anyone wanting to monetize their photo presence should take a hint from the methods they’re using over at NAPP and follow the leader (anyone else remembering the Honda commercials?)…congrats to the NAPP crew, and watch out Lynda.com!

Another totally random thought I’d had recently was on the layout and purpose of Canon Blogger.  As I’ve spent the vast majority of my posts either addressing industry news, events, information, and presenting tutorials, tips and tricks, that Canon Blogger could also use a face of just photos.  So….I started a blog over at the blogspot domain.  Canon Blogger was taken so, I had to take the next-best thing:  CanonBlogger1.  So…for a view of my photoblog (or as close to a photo blog as I dare to go), stop over to that page:  Canon Blogger’s photo posts to enjoy some of my digital photos, all taken from my Rebel XT.  (Some day, the elusive 40D will be within my grasp…with fellow photogs and blogers as my witnesses, I promise that will happen….when I can’t say, but my suspicion is shortly after the X-Mas tree comes down! 😀

Last but not least, it seems the latest Tutorial from thursday is going to garner a new record number of site visits based on my analytics metrics as of right now, so thanks to all who have stopped in to view the tutorial. It’s down a couple posts by now, but feel free to visit the flash page from here: Faded Antique Effects

My wife and I are sitting in an airport in Charleston SC waiting for our flight to Ohio for the holidays, so I might not post again until after Christmas. I have a feeling I will get an opportunity, but just in case, let me take a moment to be specifically and intentionally non-PC and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

That’s all for today. Anyone that would like to share their comments/replies/thoughts from todays post is encouraged and welcome to share in the comments section below, or to email me directly. My addres, as always, is jason <AT> canonblogger <DOT> com. Happy shooting, and have a good afternoon – get that shopping done!

Wednesday on the Web

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For my first post of “Wednesday’s wonderfully wise web gems” (it’s an addiction, I know…), take some time to stop over at Scott Sherman and Michael Stein’s Digital Photography Show. Self-admitted non-pros give great information on events in the industry, interview industry-leading experts and big wigs, as well as some pretty innovative contests with cool prizes. Their average podcast length ranges between 45 minutes to an hour and change. Another great resource is Photoshop User TV. Adobe gurus Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, and Matt Kloskowski deliver tips, tricks, news and events relating to Adobe products and share their thoughts on gear in a half hour long video podcast every Monday. They are all part of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals that offers training, and workshops for people of all skill levels on many of the Adobe products. Well worth the cost of membership too, and you get access to much more than a weekly video podcast including discounts from some of the most respected vendors of photography gear and products in the industry.

Last, but not least is Fred Miranda’s online photo community – with so many forums and communities it can seem like an insurmountable task to find the right ones that gel with your interests. Fred’s site is well organized, and offers something for everyone whether you’re a Canonite, Nikonian, a gear hound, a color guru, or like to just look at pictures. Another added bonus is that Fred sells actions for improving your work flow efficiency, and these are a great resource for a minimal investment ($5-$20). Product reviews, articles, and a great sense of community round out the forums quite well. Granted, I may be partial as I have been a member there for almost three years now, but the thoughts and perspectives of that community are quite valuable.

Don’t forget to vote in the poll – and see what is the most popular image editing software. The answer may surprise you! (It surprised me to see this one in the lead.. 🙂

The Digital Photography Show

Photoshop User TV

Fred Miranda

The weekly tutorial is up and available for viewing!

JasonLeave a comment

This weeks tutorial has been recorded, produced and published. Watch how to create a neat antique effect on your images. Because the tutorial shows a camera raw view, it does not fit a blog-sized flash screen, so my normal procedure for embedding the flash player in the blog will not work.  For an online streaming version, click the Flash link at the bottom of this post.  The Quicktime version is available as always for iPod or other media player via download. Enjoy the vid, and feel free to share your comments here on the blog or with me directly via email. My address, as always, is jason <AT> canonblogger <DOT> com. Thanks and enjoy the tutorial!

Flash Tutorial – Applying an Antique Effect to your Imagery

Tuesday Trivia Tickle…

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Well, the Monday Minutiae did not happen as I had hoped (my pillow convinced me to deal with it instead…), so I guess Tuesday will get a temporary trivia tickle (I can’t help it – alliteration is my ”thing”.) Did you know that Canon currently has 64 lenses on their website for purchase as of 12-17-07. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Number of lenses w/IS: 17

  • Number of lenses w/USM: 46

  • Number of lenses at 2.8 or higher: 32

  • Number of dedicated macro: 5

  • Number of non EF-mount types: 4

  • Number of L Lenses: 25

  • Third Generation lenses: 3

  • Second Generation lenses: 9

  • First Generation lenses: 52

  • Digitally Optimized lenses: 2

  • Fisheye lenses: 1

  • Fixed Focal length lenses: 34

I put together a full spreadsheet of all these lenses including their body mount type, focal lengths, aperture size/range, glass quality, IS presence, generation, designation and USM presence. It’s a pretty handy reference, and if anyone wants a copy, feel free email me to request one. I’ll probably post it for download later this evening, so if you can wait until then, stop back to the blog after 4pm (Eastern time) to see if it’s available yet. Tonight I should have the weekly video tutorial finished so don’t forget to mark your calendars tomorrow to stop back and check out the latest. This weeks subject is “Applying an antique effect to photos”, specifically designed for those using Photoshop CS2. Watch the show to see where you can view the same methods for other software platforms! Until tonight then, happy shooting (and surfing)!

The spreadsheet file has been uploaded and can now be downloaded from here: Canon Lens Availability & Features

Alternatively, you can view a PDF version of it here:

Canon Lens Availability & Features

New Poll (both literally and programatically)

Jason3 Comments

In light of my recent foray into a solid system that has both portability and transparency for use across multiple software and OS platforms, I started a new poll. In doing so, I also realized the polling system was broken, and voting links were dysfunctional (I put the fun in dysfunctional, eh?). So…the polling plugin has been updated as well, and is now re-enabled. So, participate in the most recent poll: Let’s see which software package is the most popular – any guesses on which it will be?

Scott Kelby’s 7 Point System

Jason1 Comment

Reknowned photographer, and Photoshop/Lightroom posterboy Scott Kelby has released his latest book, the 7 Point System for Photoshop CS3, and it’s marching it’s way into people’s homes left and right.

While I am looking forward to getting a copy, I am also a little concerned about the fact that CS3 is in the title. Usually when a specific type of software is in a books title, it means that specific generation is required to take full advantage of the concept behind the book. This concerns me because while I do plan on getting to CS3 eventually, I am still fairly happy with CS2, and was not planning to upgrade any time soon. It also strikes me as a little odd as Scott has also indicated that Lightroom has also become a standard part of his work flow. So…what should the rest of us be doing? Should we be upgrading to CS3? Should we be going out and getting Lightroom? What about both? What about those that use alternative setups like Corel’s software, or even (gasp) The GIMP?

It seems that if this is a 7 point system that teaches you how to identify the “7 things” to take your photos from bland to beautiful, that these 7 things could theoretically be applied under a multitude of software setups. Is this another way of trying to convince us to upgrade to software when we really don’t need to? I am all for innovation and upgrading, and for improvements in technology, but if this is a system or a way of working with photographs, I would rather have a system that can be applied across multiple environments regardless of the underlying software.

I guess it’s the computer geek in me, because when troubleshooting networks and hardware problems, we follow a standard procedure for pinpointing problems. Very much like the scientific method, this works well regardless of whether you are in a Windows environment, Macintosh, Unix,Linux, Solaris, or any other setup. It works universally.

For the 7 point system to be effective (and the fact that Scott is trying to get copyright protection on the process) it seems this would thus be a process that could be applied across many environments. Ideally, that would be the case. et the title, and some of the comments on his blog, seem t suggest this system is somewhat proprietary to the CS3 setup. I’ve posted the question on his blog, so hopefully we’l find out about portability soon. More when/if that happens.

So, what about you, readers of CB? Has anyone out there read the book? What are your thoughts on it? Can you take the concepts and methods and port them to CS2, Lightroom, the GIMP, or some other software setup? I’d love to hear your feedback here (or via email). Thanks in advance for sharing any of your thoughts!