I don’t often do a weekend post, but every once and a while, and since I have reduced the blogging schedule somewhat, figured I’d share this little nugget here today.
A friend told me about a site that produces tons of free applications for things like video, audio and stuff – that I should check them out. I took a look and sure enough – there’s literally dozens of apps they offer for free. Now, my mantra is always that “you get what you pay for” but when I saw they had a photo-specific app, figured I had to at least try it. It’s called 3-D Photo Maker, and is a pretty quick and easy download/install and to create the images. (I don’t think there’s a Mac version as of yet.)
It’s a neat idea and I am not sure what algorithms they are using, but here’s the upshot of what it does. You reference two images and it does some sort of processing to them that theoretically creates a 3-D look. It was hard to tell the results because you do need those 3-D glasses to view the results, but on a first glance, it’s kind of neat. Here’s a few sample screenshots from the program:
For those interested in trying it themselves, the download link is here: Free 3D Photo Maker
Posting your photos online has become an almost expected step in becoming known as a photographer. People want to see your website. You are judged on not only the quality of the photos but the quality of the website as well. So, when I found a plugin made by a company called Cincopa that lets you insert browse-able galleries into your posts, I was intrigued. I signed up for a free service, and shortly after signing up, ran out of bandwidth. (200MB/month limit). Continue reading “Sharing your photos online”→
Ever have one of those days where you know that you are doing something wrong with your gear – but for some reason it’s just not clicking (so to speak)? I had just such a day recently. I still have the DIY-style radio triggers from Cactus I bought last year (still have not upgraded to the Cybersyncs), and I was trying to light something off camera for a macro shot with this little solution. Try as I might, I could not get the transmitter to fire my 580 when on camera. For the life of me, if I tried one setup, I tried at least several dozen, all to no avail! Finally, in frustration, I tossed the whole thing aside.
Then today, I was considering some advice on blog content to help “promote” archived content. One such technique is to do a theme of “a year ago today…” and reference a post from that same day last year. Well, last year today I did a neat little write-up on…yup, these little Cactus triggers. Lo and behold, the one combination of cables, wires and gadgets I did not try was the one I demonstrated nearly a year ago to the day that does work with these guys. Oh the joys of camera gadgetry! With all the gear and gadgets we own, it’s really amazing that we are able to keep this stuff in our heads as we do. Well, mine must have sprung a leak, because I ended up reading my own blog on how to configure my own gear! Well, thank goodness for the blog, eh?
In honor of finally figuring out (from my own writing no less) how to create the shot I was trying to get, and in kind of a rebirth of the “What’s This?” series from last year, here’s that shot for you today. The first person to guess what this is – wins!
I’ll give everyone a hint – it has to do with photography! 🙂 Oh, and as an aside, I am loving the noise reduction in LR3 Beta 2! I was at ISO 100, but some noise still creeped in – nothing LR3B2 couldn’t cure rather quickly!
Also, in light of it being “tax day” here in the states, to lighten your mood, here’s a laugh from WTD (I’ve not posted one of their cartoons in a while – though I do keep visiting every day!)
Wanna know why they rock? I’ll tell you! As you already know, the February contest has ended and the winner was announced yesterday here on the blog. Well, due to some extenuating circumstances, the gallery print was unavailable as the prize. Please stop over to Rich Charpentier’s blog for his details and give him a little shout out of support.
Thankfully though, as I had already been in communication with the folks over at ExpoImaging regarding sponsoring a future contest, they generously agreed to move things up a few months so that the contest winner will not walk away empty-handed! Major kudos and shout outs to the folks at ExpoImaging for their generosity! As you may recall, I had reviewed the RayFlash and the ExpoDisc a while back. Not only are these excellent products, but the company is clearly top notch and you can be proud of any products you own, knowing they are really the kind of company that supports their products and customers to the Nth degree!
Please also check out their website for more product information and consider supporting them with your next purchase as well, since they really came through in a clutch for LDP and its readers! They were absolutely amazing!
Can anyone guess the significance of the post title right off the bat? Any takers at all? For those that could, cool! For those that can’t, 37 is a reference to the last podcast for 2009! Episode #37 (Longevity of Lenses) is now available for your listening pleasure in iTunes and with the folks hosting the show directly on the web at Personal Life Media. It might be an hour or so actually before the show is available for download on iTunes, so hold off for a little there before downloading – you might get the previous episode! It does take a look at the subject of lens longevity much along the lines of the previous post here on the blog, but it also speaks to things like depreciation, and considers the business element of lenses too – so there’s always more in the podcast for blog readers to enjoy!
I can’t guarantee I will have a post ready for tomorrow, so this could also be the last post for 2009 as well. It’s always fun to look back and review the year this close to the end. I’ll have some more details trickling out once we’re into 2010, including the always popular “Best Blogs”. There does seem to be a trend as in 2007 I posted my “Top 7 of ’07”, followed by the Top 8 of ’08, and most recently, the “Top 9 of ’09”. Can you guess what is coming soon in January? 🙂
Here though, it seemed appropriate given that the podcast was released today, to note that it is episode 37 of the show. That means 37 episodes in 52 weeks – that’s more than one every other week. I am not sure what the average show length is, but am guessing it is in the 30-45 minute realm, which means some people out there have spent at least 26 hours (over a day!) listening to me talk about photography! Got another day available for 2010?
I hope so because we’re going to have a lot more fun and cool stuff coming up in the podcast, and on the new radio show for newcomers over at WebtalkRadio! More guests, more articles, more tips and tricks, and yes…more contests! These shows and articles and contests though really are here for you, the listener and reader though, so if you want me to cover anything specific, please feel free to let me know in the comments of the blog or via email!
Anyway, enough of the “back story”. Here’s the show notes:
Last but not least…don’t forget the contest deadline is rapidly approaching – tomorrow midnight is your last chance to get your favorite Giving photo into the Flickr thread to be eligible for the prize bonanza! Lots of stuff is going to go to some lucky participant, so get it up there and good luck! Happy New Year one and all, and we’ll see you next year here on the blog/podcast/etc.! Happy Shooting!
Yesterday we looked at things to consider when getting a new camera body…while the idea is all well and good, lenses are another story, and since we are likely to invest more in glass than in cameras (Have you seen the costs of some of the really good glass lately?), the life of a lens is something worth considering.
In all things technology-related, there is a principle called Moore’s Law which states that technology will advance at a rate of re-doubling roughly every two years. While this principle was developed primarily for computers, we can draw similar analogies for digital photography too, with the sensor being analogous to the transistor. The rate of increase has not quite been on par with re-doubling every 2 years, but the increases can be noted pretty impressively going from a mere 4 in 2001 to a current rate of 21 MP per frame for DSLR cameras (I am only looking at the Canon line-up here:
Canon 1Ds Mark III = 21MP (2007), Retail
Canon 1Ds Mark II = 16 MP (2004)
Canon 1Ds = 11MP (2002)
Canon 1D = 4 (2001)
Lenses aren’t like that though – focal lengths don’t change that much. Instead, technology has allowed lenses to become faster at the longer end of the given focal lengths. We’ve also seen the introduction of image-stabilization technologies. The addition of new technologies in lenses does not necessarily deprecate previous generations – it merely antiquates them! This means your lens may not have the bells and whistles of future generations, but it should work indefinitely if treated properly.
Keep in mind though that there is a distinction between full frame and crop sensor cameras here though, because Canon has two lens lines, the EF line and the EF-S line. The EF-S line is intended for the crop sensor cameras and cannot be used on the full frame mounts – if you try to use an EF-S lens on a full frame body, the mirror could slap down and shatter the back element of the glass, so avoid this scenario if at all possible! (There are some converters on the market that will extend the gap between the mirror and the element to avoid this, but I’ve not used them.)
Lenses are also different from camera bodies because there are no moving parts that can fail. Well, that’s not entirely true because zooms do have moving parts when you rotate the lens, and these can fail. * However, because the lens is always a closed item, the susceptibility of a lens to parts failure is not as high as it is for camera components. Shutters, for instance, have a certain lifespan for which they are rated, (usually somewhere between 50,000-150,000 actuations). Lenses don’t fail after a certain number of focal adjustments (assuming you are handling the lens correctly), and in the case of fixed focal length lenses (primes), this is even less the case.
So, a lens can literally last for as long as the vendor makes a body that will accept the mounting mechanism, and in the case of most vendors, I don’t see that changing any time soon. I’ve had my kit lens from Canon when I got my first Rebel XT back in 2004 and it still works great on my 40D – it may not be in the lineup anymore (neither is my 40D either, but I digress…), but any EOS body will accept this lens and the image quality has not deteriorated at all over time! Lenses can last forever!
How long have you kept your lenses? Do you have any “go-to” lenses in your bag that you anticipate will always be there? Let me know your favorites!
On a blog administrative note, don’t forget that there’s still a little time left in the Flickr Giveaway thread for December, so if you have any shots (the holidays are good times to capture those “Giving” themed photos), make sure to get one in for a chance to win that $400= prize package! Happy Shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
*ETA: Special thanks to Marco for pointing out in the comments that there are quite a few moving parts in even fixed focal length lenses. In addition to the focusing ring, there is also the diaphragm that moves which closes down the aperture to the correct setting for every actuation of the shutter, so there are moving parts in any lens, including fixed focal lengths.)
With the major holiday of the year behind us, many are proudly wielding new cameras…but many are also asking questions. The most popular question I am getting via emails is something along the lines of:
“I got a new ______ for Christmas. Now What?” (Insert your own camera make/model in the blank)
The answer to this really depends on what, if anything, you had before the new item made its way into your hands. For simplicity sake, I’ll break the response down to 3 different categories:
1. This is your first “serious” camera, and you are making the foray into digital photography. Right off the bat, let me say Congratulations! Joining the digital revolution of photography and imaging is definitely exciting, and the onslaught of information can be intimidating. A couple resources are better in this case over a huge amount of information overload. In this case, I would recommend doing three things:
Read the Manual! Seriously – it may not be the most well-written thing, but it can give you insights as to what all the buttons, dials, and knobs do.
Learn the basics of exposure – The Digital Photography School offers a great page that goes over the nuts and bolts of how exposure works in cameras – very helpful!
Learn the basics of composition – There are so many resources on this, but I like Wikipedia because it links to many others and thus I would deem it very reliable and unbiased. The one linked here is the article on the Rule of Thirds. Many other sites cover this too (including mine), but this is just a superb starting point.
Make an inventory – if this is an SLR, it means you should now be including it on an inventory of “high ticket” items in your house, and a home inventory is always a good thing to have in case of disaster!
Get out and shoot, practice, then shoot some more! Trial and error is an important part of the learning process, and by learning what doesn’t work, you will be one step closer to learning what does work. So, don’t be afraid of getting out and shooting!
2. This is an “upgrade” from a previous digital camera, and you are simply adding more features. In this scenario, you are probably already armed with the basics, and are looking to expand your creative efforts with the increased features of faster shutter speeds, larger MP counts, etc. Here, there’s only three things instead of the five above:
Read the manual – there are many more options, custom functions, features, buttons, dials, knobs, and menu options. Reading this will help get all this sundry stuff down quicker so you can…
Get out and shoot – the tried and true rule of practice, practice, and more practice is what will gain the most in terms of comfort and ease of use for you whether it’s a new camera or an upgrade! It also will give you an opportunity to see and note the differences between your previous body and test for things like sharpness, functionality, and all that sort of stuff while you are still in the important warranty period.
If you already have an inventory of gear, be sure to add it here, making note of the serial, registration, purchase date and (if available) location of purchase. If you don’t have an inventory of gear – the new addition should be motivation enough to ensure that you do get one together. You may also want to consider your insurance situation: Do you have coverage? Do you have enough? Call your agent to find out.
3. Here, you are an established photographer, and this is simply adding another item to your tool belt. In this scenario, you are likely adding another body for redundancy purposes, or to relegate your other one to a backup role. Nevertheless, there are some important things to consider doing as you move forward:
Use it! Check for compatibility with all your current lenses – that everything works as expected, that there are no cracks, chinks, nicks, or other things that you should be concerned about.
Add the gear to the list of inventory that you likely already have – make note of the serial numbers, the date of purchase, and if your gifter doesn’t mind, the place where purchased. All this can be very helpful in keeping records current and up to date. Check with your insurance agent and make sure you still have enough coverage for your gear – see that they get all this information too.
There you have it, some key points to keep in mind for you and your new camera. Congratulations on the new gear, and don’t forget to get creative, because while the gear is fun – it’s really just a tool in your creative tool belt! Did I miss anything? Are these categories sufficient enough for most? Do you fit into one of these categories or is another one needed for your situation? Any other ideas for what to do with a new camera purchase? Got any specific questions? What kind of camera did you get? Share your own questions, feedback, and stories below, by sounding off in the comments!
Last, but not least, don’t forget about the December Giveaway over on FLickr. Over $400 in prizes including books, prints, papers, and software that are great for any photographer! Thursday the 31st is the last day to enter, so make sure you get your best “Giving” themed photo in before the deadline!
Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
While recently listening to This Week in Tech (a great podcast, and I highly recommend it), the show host, Leo Laporte, made an interesting observation about the advancement of technology. He was musing about the changes that have happened in audio consumption. We listen to much of our music in iPods and portable music players, when not too long ago, we were confined to a certain space. To that end, he noted that the technology of audio in those days revolved around things like the number of amps, tweeters and woofers, quadraphonics, decibels, and much of that technical information. We jam-packed our houses with stereo components, our cars with subwoofers, and on and on. To get truly high quality audio you needed to have resources (a.k.a. money), and the producers of that audio content was restrictive because of the costs.
Not today – these days you can plug a $5 microphone into a USB port on a $400 computer, say or sing anything you want, and almost instantly have beautiful high quality digital recordings of whatever you like. This is a good thing though – because even though more people are recording audio, what matters is what the message of that audio is saying. I can’t just go on the podcast and talk about nothing because no one would listen…although sometimes it feels like I am blathering on and on! 🙂 As the old saying goes, “content is king“! Leo’s observation was that in the audio world, it’s a wonderful thing because anyone can produce audio, and there are now more voices for creativity. With the lower cost of entry to producing high end audio, two questions came about. The first is “What does that content say (what is the point, or message)?” The second is “How do you want to consume that media?” (With the options being whether you want it on a CD in your car, on your iPod at the gym, on your computer as you work, or where ever.)
It was a very astute observation, and that description applies to other media as well. I am, of course, thinking about photography. Think about the analogy for a minute. For the longest time we had the film world, and as ASA speeds got better, grain got finer, the size and quality of image development improved as technology permitted. With the movement to the digital world, and the subsequent “Megapixel Wars”, capturing high quality detail in your photography was no longer such an arduous process. I believe we are at a crossroad now in digital photography, where the technology has expanded to a quality level that anyone is able to produce excellent quality images, in terms of technical details. The portability factor for audiophiles doesn’t really apply as much to photography though as the medium is more portable by definition. You are also looking at the image rather than listening to it.
The advances in the technology of photography has also introduced a creative outlet for many where it previously did not exist. The decreasing costs of production have allowed many to find their “photography voice”. With the holidays upon us, many are likely to get a shiny new camera with lots of bells and whistles, and for some out there, this will be an opportunity to “sing”! It’s an exciting time to be a part of the chorus because with so many voices, there are lots of melodies and harmonies to be heard and enjoyed.
This will undoubtedly lead many to ask “So, how do I make my pictures sing?” It’s a great question, and one that I have been tackling in some way, shape, or form for some time now from various points of view, including technical, compositional, and subtle intangibles that are all part of this larger question of how to better express yourself photographically. There’s more to come on that, and I’ll be sharing more thoughts on this in the weeks to come. But it is a good exercise, so I would like to throw it to the reading and listening audiences. As we take a blogging break over the holidays, ask yourself (and post your thoughts here in the blog) the following two questions:
Can pictures really “sing”? Why, or why not?
If so, what does it take to make your pictures sing?
Share your thoughts in the comments below! As a reminder, you can also now embed photos in your comments by using the link to attach a URL. Happy shooting, Merry Christmas, and we’ll see you back here next week!
P.S. Don’t forget – next week is the last week to add your “Giving” themed photos to the December Giveaway! Should be lots of opportunities to capture some photos with that theme over the weekend! There’s over $400 in prizes will go to one lucky person, so post your best photo to the Flickr thread here. The guidelines are posted there, so be sure to check those to make sure your entry is counted…Happy Shooting and good luck to all!
