Interesting things for photographers

Everyone is talking about the Canon 5D mkII and the Nikon D90. Why? They both shoot HD video. People are saying this is a huge paradigm shift regarding these camera’s being able to shoot video. Erm, compact digital cameras have been doing this for years! I know, but this is HD! So what. Focusing is an issue and so is recording sound. Video on a DSLR is a convenience feature. Nothing more. At least for now. When the next generation of video capable DSLR’s come out, that can focus quickly and have stereo sound. We might be having a different discussion.

Let me explain my thoughts a bit more. Will a professional photographer shoot a full length feature film with one of these cameras? Probably not. Will a professional photographer shoot video for any of their clients? Not likely. Will photographers make silly videos to send to family and friends? You betcha! However, will some talented filmmakers jump all over these cameras and make amazing films. Of course. It looks like these cameras will be used to make great still images by talented photographers, or great films by talented filmmakers, But rarely used for both. There are those people out there that are talented photographers and talented filmmakers but I can’t see this generation of DSLR’s filling the needs for these gifted artists.

Another thing to consider. It could cause problems for some professional photographers. “I’m sorry Mr./Ms. professional photographer, but you can’t bring that camera into this venue because it shoots video and you’re not allowed to shoot video.” Says the security officer. “But, I’ll only shoot stills!” Pleads the photographer. “Sorry, no can do!” What’s a photographer to do?

Are we ready this type of convergence? Yes, but we are a going to have to wait for this merging of technologies to advance far enough that capturing both stills and video equals or betters current technology. And once that happens we’ll have to call ourselves “photogravideographers”

What are your thoughts?

Choosing a new digital camera today can be a daunting task. There are so many things to consider and so much marketing hype that choosing a digital camera can get frustrating. I’m going to explain to you the 5 most important things you should look at when choosing you next digital camera. I’m not going to get into the technical details, too many of those. I’m going to keep it simple and logical, so when you do go out to buy your new camera you’ll be prepared.

1. Budget – I know, I know. This always makes it to the number one position, but for good reason. You can’t spend more than you have. Right? Don’t let a sales person or a friend talk you into spending more than you want. There will always be features that are not available in your price range. Suck it up, cupcake! You probably can live without a feature or two. Buy the best camera you can afford!
2. What and how are you going to be shooting – If you’re going to be taking snaps of the family, or vacation photos, you’re going to want something easy to carry and use. On the other hand, if you want your shots to be more creative or to shoot wildlife, you’ll probably want a digital SLR. If this is your first camera you should consider a compact digital camera, where as someone who’s been shooting for years might want a digital SLR.
3. How does the camera feel in your hands – This one is probably the most overlooked. A lot of people are buying their cameras online now without ever trying or holding the camera first. This is a mistake. Go to a camera store and hold the cameras, play with the menus, change the settings, etc. This may seem basic, but what’s right for your next door neighbor might not be right for you. The last thing you want is to buy a digital camera that doesn’t feel right. It will probably start gathering dust somewhere.
4. Output – Are you going to be printing large wall murals, 13X19, 8X10, or only 4X6 inch prints? Are you going to be putting the images on the web, or sending them out in e-mails? I’m going to let you in on a little secret… If you’re only making small 4X6 inch prints, sending them in e-mails, and putting pictures on your facebook or myspace page. You don’t need more than a 6 megapixel camera. Really! However, making larger prints and submitting images to contests, you definitely need more than 6 megapixels. 10-12 megapixel cameras are now considered the higher range compact cameras.
5. Software – Software? Really? Yup! If you’re already familiar with image editing software… Great! You don’t need to worry about this. If you have never used image editing software this is a huge thing to consider. Make sure you ask the camera store to see the software on one of their computers that comes with the camera. Or at least find out what software comes with camera and download the trial version before you buy the camera. There are so many people that don’t know how to resize an image to e-mail to friends, or never download images to their computer because it’s too difficult or they don’t know how. The software that comes with the camera should be simple to use and fun. The other option is to buy 3rd party image editing software and that usually throws your budget out the window.

What have we learned? Don’t exceed your budget. Figure out what and how you’re going to shoot and buy the camera to fill your needx. Make sure the camera feels good in your hand and is easy for you to use. Choose a camera that is appropriate for your desired output. And, make sure the software that comes with camera is easy for you to use.

Is ther anything you consider important when buying a digital camera? Give us your comments.

I’m doing something completely different with this weeks Friday Five. I know it’s Saturday, but let me explain. Yesterday was such a beautiful day (maybe the last one for a little while) I decided to go for a hike instead of sitting in front of a computer looking for cool and relevant links. Actually, the hike was my friend Andrea’s idea and with winter just around the corner I thought I better take advantage of the weather.

The hike details:

• Total Distance – 20km (just over 12 miles) from where we parked to the lake and then back to the car.
• Elevation gain – 800 meters (approx. 2625 feet)

Here are five images from yesterdays hike:

Not too sure what this little guy was, but he sure was cute.

During lunch we were paid a little visit by some very hungry Whiskey Jacks. One of them pulled a hunk of cheese from another groups sandwich and flew off with it.

Volcanic rock on the shore of the the lake.

Andrea taking in the view.

And this is why we live here.

Tell me where you live and why you live there.

It’s so good to be back in the swing of things and posting again. There is so much news that I missed, if I posted it all here today it would probably be the Friday 50, or 500. I’ll be touching on some of the important things in other posts. Let’s get started with this weeks Friday Five.

• Mark J. Rebilas is a good great photographer that puts his gear in harms way. He straps his camera to some crazy places. I wonder if has crash replacement insurance on his gear?
• James Nachtwey was awarded the TED Prize in 2007, he was given $100,000 and a wish to change the world. This is the result.
• Social Networking sites are all the rage, but you need to be aware of the down side.
• It seems prices are falling everywhere (stocks, housing, and even gas), and so are hard drive prices. WD’s ShareSpace has a great solution for your ever expanding image library.
• Finally, from the “More balls than brains” department. Red Bull Rampage is back! If you’re a mountain bikers, you probably have a huge grin on your face right now. It’s on this weekend and you can get all the info here.

Did you miss me?

I missed you!

The last few weeks have been exciting and relaxing. I had one of my best friends come and visit me here in Whistler. So, I took time off to spend it with her. We did a lot of touristy things here in Whistler. It was fun being a tourist in my home town. After all that I needed a vacation from the vacation, so I just relaxed and re-energized.

I’m ready to go with more posts and how-to’s for this fall.

I’m going to keep this weeks Friday Five short and sweet. Let’s go!

• It’s coming! It’s coming! Well at least something is. Canon has put a teaser on their site “Destined Evolution“.
• Sometimes it takes just one company with a great idea to change the world. Let’s hope HP’s idea of selling their laptops in a messenger bag, instead of traditional packaging, catches on. Apple, Dell, Lenovo, you guys paying attention!
• Google launches something new and shiny. Chrome. It’s their brand new web browser. It’s only available for Windows right now (c’mon us Mac users wanna play too).
• “A picture is worth a thousand words.” What happens when you combine a couple of pictures together? Or, remove something from a picture? Does the word count change? Here are some of the more memorable fake photos of all time.
• And, here’s a quick white balance tip for Aperture 2 users.

I love experimenting with light and shadows. And this is one such experiment. The experiment is very simple: What would happen it the same subject was shot under the same light conditions using no card/reflector, a silver reflector, a white card, and a black card. You might be surprised with the results. Lets take a look.

The image above of the new bike frame was shot under day light conditions with light coming into the room from a very large (south facing) window just behind the camera and slightly to the right. This was shot on an overcast day in late afternoon so the light was very soft. There is no reflector to the left of the bike frame.

This shot has a silver reflector to the left of the bike frame, just out of frame. The round 74cm silver reflector is just a few inches away from the subject. Notice how the Specialized “S” logo is much cooler looking because of the silver reflector is being reflected by the bike frame itself.

In this shot I used a 20″ X 30″ sheet of white foam board in the same position as the silver reflector. Notice how the shadow on the left seems to look washed out because of the reflection of the white card on bike frame. This clearly shows that white cards and silver reflectors have different fill light properties.

And finally, here I used a 20″ X 30″ sheet of black foam board. Notice how dark the shadows look. The Specialized “S” logo almost fades to black. The black card makes the shadow very dramatic.

What have we learned? Silver, white and black reflectors/cards have very different reflective properties and can be used to achieve very specific looks. This is just a very basic look at reflectors and fill cards and experimentation is key. Grab an object (or even a person) and try to get different looks using different color reflectors and cards. In this experiment I only used silver, white and black. Try it with gold, or even better colored reflectors/cards. You’re bound to get a very interesting shot.

Which of the images above do you like best?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had this stupid grin on my face since Tuesday. Why? Because Canon and Nikon introduced some fabulous cameras and lenses on Tuesday and Wednesday. Great cameras at great price points.

On Tuesday Canon announced the 50D. 15.1 megapixels and 6.3 frames per second. Also announced, was EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens. YAY Canon! If this camera was announced a few months ago I might not have switched to Nikon. The best part is Canon is now giving Nikon a run for it’s money and we all know this kind of competition is great for the consumers.

Wednesday Nikon trumped Canons announcement with the D90. High Definition video in a Digital SLR… Insanity! I am excited about the idea of shooting video with a dSLR, but with this being the first camera to offer the feature I’d like to wait and see how well this works. Nikon also announced the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR zoom lens.

There are tons of other sites with more info. I’m just going to list a few (non-manufacturers) sites.

Canon

• DPReview – 50D, 18-200 lens, 50D and 18-200 lens preview, Selphy printers
• Imaging Resource

Nikon

• DPReview – D90, 18-105 lens
• This was almost overlooked when Nikon announced the D90 and 18-105 lens, but it’s a cool little GPS add on for the latest Nikon cameras. Moose Paterson has the info.
• Vince Laforet has an interesting take on the problems that might arise when using the D90. Never really thought of that.
• Chase Jarvis (a.k.a. Mr. Uber Cool Photographer) and his crew have been shooting with D90’s for a while.

There are probably many links I’ve missed. If you have a link to another article, post, or discussion regarding the 50D, the D90 or the lenses and accessories mentioned. Please post the link and/or your comments below.

Cheers

Hello, my name is Mike and I’m an addict! I can’t help myself, I need my addictions to get by. If I don’t get my fix I become irritable and cranky.

The first step is admitting I have a problem. I have been hiding some of my addictions from you for far too long. You already know one of my addictions. Photography. The other two I have hinted at, but never fully revealed to you. OK… Here goes! My other two addictions are……. Mountain biking and skiing. Whew, there I said it! I’m so messed up, I even managed to get my fix for all three addictions in one day. One Day!!!! I have a serious problem!

What am I going to do? The other two addictions have kept me from posting about my photography addiction. If I’m not shooting, I’m mountain biking or skiing (I’m so messed up I even go back country skiing). You deserve complete honesty. This blog (www.imageguy.com) will continue provide great photography info and how-to’s. But, from now on I’m going to incorporate mountain biking and skiing into this blog too.

I am just started a new personal project. I’m am building a new mountain bike with the parts I want. I have the frame, a Specialized Pitch Pro and now I’m going to build the “Perfect Pitch”. While I’m building the bike I will shoot everything I find interesting. I’m not talking about taking snap shots, but true product shots with video and and detailed how-to information about the shots I take.

During the winter the mountains and skiing around Whistler are breath taking. I will be shooting and providing shooting information about the shots I take and a few little surprises too.

I can no longer just share just one addiction with you! You’re getting the whole enchilada.

Cheers

After last weeks photo shoot that was quickly followed by a busy week, I’m finally able to get to my blog. Let’s get started with weeks Friday Five!

• Wonderfulmachine.com – it’s a cool name and what they do is even cooler. They bring photographers and clients together. Check em out!
• Can it be true! A new camera from Canon! D’uh! It seems Canon’s China website accidentally leaked the specs of the 50D and Photography Bay caught it!
• The Olympics bring out the best performances in the athletes and the photographers shooting them. German magazine Stern has posted some truly stunning, funny, painful and dare I say risque images from the games.
• Grant Gunderson shot the cover of the current issue of the September issue of Skiing Magazine. This is one truly amazing shot.
• There is cool, and there is uber cool. Chase Jarvis falls into the uber cool category. Eating, drinking, music, video and photography. Songs For Eating And Drinking is the project… Did I mention uber cool?