Interactive Learning Tools for Newbies

del.icio.us Tags: newbie,photography,f/no,iso,shutterspeed,aperture,PASM,auto,manual

People who are new to photography or exercising control over their cameras (e.g. new DSLR owners) find that it’s not as easy as it seems. And they think it should be, after all, this is 2009. It’s not like they were Lartigue in 1900.

Sometimes, they don’t want to read dry text, so I point them to interactive tutorials or visuals on the web.

Tamron offers a Focal Length gadget

Tamron offers a Depth of Field gadget

Craig Hickman offers Camera Demo, a gadget that lets you play with ISO, Shutter Speed, f/no, Light Level, Exposure Compensation and different modes – P A S M and full Auto

PhotonHead has some simple pages showing tables of Shutter Speed, f/no and what a “stop” means

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Looking Wide

del.icio.us Tags: uwa,Zuiko,Olympus,FourThirds,wideangle,macro

I’ve had my 7-14mm ultra wide Olympus Zuiko for a while now. The fervour to use it as a general walkabout lens has subsided. The mollycoddling of the bulbous front element has subsided. The fervour to shoot at 7mm (14mm equivalent to film) has subsided.

Now comes a more relaxed, patient and hopefully longer lasting relationship with that lens. One of the happenings that lured me away from the frenzy of all-wide was a return to 24mm equiv for the NILCs (Non Interchangeable Lens Cameras), otherwise known as the Point and Shoots. I got myself a second hand Kodak V705 and it taught me that even an NILC can provide good wide angle shots. Maybe not the technical image quality of a larger sensor, more expensive Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC), but a shot nevertheless, when the ILC is not with you. And often, in your daily life, the ILC is not with you.

I also learnt that learning about aesthetics, perspective, wide-angle-ness is a journey and the more experience, the better my eye for composition and spotting a scene becomes.

With that eye, one can even finesse a wide angle perspective from a non wide angle lens – it’s the old adage of “it’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it”

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Can a Llama outrun a car?

I'm munching on leftover re-heated pizza as I overhear Kim Possible. "Can a Llama outrun a car?" Well, rephrasing that, can a fixed focal length shoot better photos than a zoom? I'm not talking about the eternal quest for image quality. I'm talking about shooting satisfying photos.

And certainly, the answer is Yes. Certainly, a zoom is much faster to frame without moving your legs. And modern zooms are sharp enough - we take them so for granted that we don't even blink when standard walkabout lenses we pick for an Interchangeable Lens Camera are zooms.

So what do you lose with a zoom?

• a large enough aperture / small enough f/no. For light gathering goodness and subject isolation.
• the nudge to move your body and walk your legs - you're not discovering the alternative framing angles, perspectives in composition. Yes, you could use a zoom like a fixed focal length prime and refuse to zoom. If you can resist the temptation, you're a better person than I, Mbutu.

Now, that off my chest, one day, I'll gather enough motivation to write about what you lose when you have an Auto Focus lens.

Photography is a journey. Enjoy your journey

Which is the best entry level DSLR? The Canon or Nikon?

We often see questions like this in the DPR forum(s). Often, even more specific like "Which is better, Canon model A or Nikon model B?". And each new poster wishes a personal dialogue, so asking them to search and read previous posts is fruitless. It's such a common question that here's my answer.

Answer 1:
They are both good. Each Model and each Make has it's distinctive personality (of course, how would you sell competing products that look the same and act the same). All of the DSLRs are capable cameras and will give you the opportunity to shoot satisfying shots. The shots become better and better the more skilled you are and the more you spend on gear. Actually, you could buy a Pentax, Sony or Olympus DSLR and still get satisfying shots.

Answer 2:
They're both useless. What you need is a top of the line, full pro model D something with full pro, premium priced lenses. Wait a minute, even those pale if you go Leica shopping. Why don't you buy one of those?

"Ok", then they ask further - "But which one is best?"

Well, there can't be a best. For several reasons.

• As already said, both are competent in general and both have a personality. (Often the personality of these tools can only be felt by hands-on use and experience). There is a difference in which in where each model's strengths and the weaknesses are placed.
  
• There is a Better For Me, and this may be different to Better For You. Really we may have different portability expectations, different image quality expectations, how much we want bragging rights / swank value, how we shoot, what we shoot.

"Yes", they say. "But why doesn't this model have better high ISO performance, flipping LCD, spot metering, weather proofing and a 20x zoom?"

Well, yes, there is such a model. It's a CaNikOlyTaxSon. Look here - I just made a mockup using Photoshop from bits and pieces of all the cameras. Why aren't the makers smart enough to make a real one?

Body based sensor image stabilisation

del.icio.us Tags: ImageStabilisation,Sensor Size,Body,OIS

There’s an age old tussle amongst proponents of the sensor-based image stabilisation built into the body (Olympus, Pentax, Sony DSLRs) vs the lens-based stabilisation favoured by Nikon, Canon, Panasonic DSLRs. Sensor based IS works on the sensor so you don’t get steadying of the view when you are sighting the shot before you click. Then Bluetrain048 talks about a procedure where you hold in the IS button of the Olympus E-510 and it stabilises the image and keeps it steady for a couple of seconds. Well, I never knew it was there…..

DIYPhotography’s Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet

I thought this was fun – you see instructions on how to use your studio lighting, DIYPhotography has taken the time to make a Cheat Sheet.

Inexpensive Wide Angles in your pocket

I like wide angle perspectives. So much so, I bought the widest ultra wide available for my DSLR – the Olympus Zuiko 7-14mm. It wasn’t cheap and I would normally not go out and spend money like that, but I just had too, it was a special birthday and all.

I still like wide angle combinations which are more pocketable though. Pocketable wide angles are not easy to get – the small sensors in pocket, compact cameras mean that a “normal” angle of view lens for these cameras is already 4mm optical focal length. Making a wide angle forces the optics to go 2mm, 3mm which is really small.

I was happy to come across a second hand Kodak V705.

There are two lenses on it. The equivalent 23mm wide angle is a good lens but doesn’t focus (I think it’s a fixed focus) so it can’t go macro. The second lens – a zoom, does focus but either the exact camera I have is not good or the camera does not have a very good mechanism in that one. Ready-to-shoot time for the camera is fast, right after the sliding lens cover unhides the lenses, the 23mm is about ready to shoot and there is little or no shutter lag because the 23mm does not need to focus.

The camera is chunky though, it is small but not slim.

Looking around for other cameras (do you call it window shopping if you use Microsoft Windows?), there are a few wide angle compacts – but I like low cost because I expect the camera to be tossed around, sometimes with keys in my pants pocket.

What else is there that is wide angle and inexpensive?

There’s the Olympus FE-4000 Magenta. This has a 26mm equivalent wide angle lens, 4x optical zoom.

It’s about AUD 240 It has a 24mm equivalent lens with zoom to 120mm. It’s about AUD 199. I can’t yet find a review but there’s one for the FE-5020. PhotographyBLOG carried out a review.

The Panasonic DMC-FX40 is another inexpensive model with a 25-125mm equivalent zoom. Photography BLOG has a review. It’s about AUD 199 too.

Finally, the little known Kodak M420 with a review here – It’s not available in Australia – well, I did say it was little known.