Photography.ca » Photography product reviews

Fuji X-T1 — A Fine Camera for Almost Everything

Marko Kulik — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 07:33:34 +0000

Thanks to our partnership with The Camera Store (The largest camera store in Calgary Alberta Canada), I recently tested The Fuji X-T1 w/the Fuji XF 18-135mm f/3.5–5.6 lens. The Fuji X-T1 is a solid, retro-looking mirrorless camera that I’ve been wanting to test for a few months as it has been getting seriously good reviews and some pros have even touted it as a DSLR killer. Although I love my DSLR (Nikon D800E replaced by the D810), it’s heavy and a pain to carry around for hours and hours at a time. I’m always interested to test smaller cameras that can give my DSLR a good fight for its money in the hopes that one day I can just bury the DSLR beast.

Fuji X-T1

For those that want the conclusion at the beginning, I really liked the Fuji– XT1 and I’ll talk about why in a few paragraphs, but let’s get that DSLR killer thing out of the way.

Straight off the bat this is one of the best mirrorless or point and shoot digital cameras I have tested. It goes head to head to with my DSLR on many levels. That said, it cannot kill my DSLR or even lower priced DSLRs built in the past couple of years because it can’t track and capture moving subjects with the same ease. I’m NOT a sports photographer but I regularly want to shoot a bird, squirrel, fast moving dog, or running baby. For me, a DSLR killer must be able to track and capture a moving subject with the same ease and efficacy (and ratio of keepers) as a DSLR. The X-T1 cannot easily do this and admits to being unable to do this on page 68 of the manual. It’s the one big thing that’s missing for me in this (and every other mirrorless or point and shoot on the market today) camera. It does a better job at this task than all the other mirrorless or point and shoot cameras I’ve tried, but DSLRs costing the same or less money as this camera will get you sharper results with greater ease. If you accept this limitation and you have the budget for it ($2100. for the camera and lens) it’s the best non-DSLR camera that I’ve tried.

Here’s a checklist of the main things I really liked about the Fuji X-T1

1 — Solid feel and size — The Fuji X-T1 is a solid feeling metal camera and I like that. I’m sick of plasticky feeling devices. This camera is VERY reminiscent of my old Nikon FM2 film camera in terms of shape, size and weight. One of the main advantages of this camera is that it is much smaller and weighs less than most DSLRs. The FUJI X-T1 weighs 440 grams with the camera and card. My D800E with battery and card weighs more than double (994 grams)!

Size comparison between the new Fuji XT-1 and a 30ish year old Nikon F3. Hat tip and © Wendy Kennedy for this image.

2 — Overall sharpness — Aside from sharpness on fast moving subjects, you will love the sharpness of this camera!

The XT-1 gives you lovely natural colours. Images are sharp straight out of the camera. Exif — ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/100. Note: I did NOT try to get the birds sharp in this image, I was framing the people on the bench and the moving birds were a happy coincidence.

3 — Automatic electronic viewfinder - You can frame your scene by looking at the back of the LCD screen or through the viewfinder. The camera ‘knows’ when you bring the viewfinder to your eye and all interior controls become instantly visible — It’s very cool.

4 — Horizon line — This appears automatically in order to let you know if your camera is parallel to the subject for distortion free images. I really like this but you can shut it off if you don’t.

5 — Shoots in RAW format, Jpeg and RAW/Jpeg

6 — Although I already ragged on the autofocus being inferior for moving subjects when compared to a DSLR, it does a better job than all other non-DSLR camera that I’ve tried. In addition it has focus points that you can move around your screen fairly easily to allow the autofocus to focus where you want. I use these focus points all the time when I’m framing a scene.

In order to assure sharp eyes (or sharp anything) I am always moving the auto-focusing square to exactly where I want the most sharpness to be. In this case, I moved it right over my boy Baci’s eye. The Fuji X-T1 does a decent job at this! (Not as fluid as most DSRs mind you, but MUCH better than most mirrorless/point and shoot cameras I’ve tried).
As an aside, this was a relatively low light shot with EXIF data at ISO 6400, f/4.7 at 1/80.

7 - Low light shooting. This camera does a killer-good job in low light! It’s a low light maven! This image below was shot/pushed at ISO 12800. I never shoot at this ISO because normally you get tons of noise (pixelization/grain) at this speed. But look how acceptable this image is! I have even included a 100% crop of a portion of the image with shadow detail as noise is most visible in the shadows. Yes there is noise in those shadows but it’s acceptable noise, it’s not a hailstorm. Most mirrorless/point and shoot cameras (and most DSLRs) on the market today are inferior to the Fuji X-T1 with regard to their low-light and low-noise performance.

This image was shot at f/3.5 at 1/110 at ISO 12800! Look how acceptable the noise level is.

Here’s a 100% crop from the same image.

Noise is its nastiest in the shadows but look at how well the noise is handled at ISO 12800 — Very, very impressive!

X-T1 Gripes

As hinted at previously, my main gripe with the X-T1 (and every other point and shoot/mirrorless camera that I’ve tried) is that it cannot autofocus fast enough to capture fast moving objects as sharp as I like them. Here is a shot of a squirrel. I admit it’s very good for cameras in its class but my DSLR and most others I’ve tried does better.

A 100% crop detail of a squirrel. I focused on the eye for about 15 images and the eye in this image is good but it is not tack sharp. My DSLR has a much better ratio of keepers for difficult shots like these. EXIF data was ISO 800, f/5.6 @ 1/850

The main other gripe would be the price as $2100. for a mirrorless camera and lens is quite a chunk of change when DSLRs with lenses can be had for many hundreds of dollars less. That said, we should be used to paying more for devices that are physically smaller; it’s the trend across so many consumer products. To temper the price blow a bit, this camera is very versatile and can accommodate many different lenses of varying focal lengths. It’s solidly built and it seems like it will last.

In conclusion, if you have the budget for this camera you will love its size, shape, feel and its weight. The quality and sharpness of the files are superb and as long as you don’t expect tack sharp eyes from moving subjects, you will love this camera. To date, it’s the best non DSLR camera I’ve tried.

131– The Lensbaby Composer Review

Marko Kulik — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:44:09 +0000

Photography podcast #131 reviews a Lensbaby lens. Lensbaby lenses are special in that they have a sweet spot of sharp focus in the center of the lens and blur out toward the edges. In addition to this (and where the magic truly lives), you can actually bend the lens to move that sweet spot of focus around the frame. The particular lens I tested was a 50mm Lensbaby Composer with double glass optic. It’s great fun and fairly easy to use though you need to know in advance that it’s a manual lens. It will still help you figure out exposure based on your ISO and aperture ring you select, but you’ll be going old school and manually focusing this bad-boy. It’s worth it though as you can make some really creative in-camera images with this lens. It’s a fabulous lens to juice up your creativity.

Thanks to The Camera Store (The largest camera store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for sponsoring the Photography.ca podcast and for allowing me to test this lens.

Click the player at the end of this post to listen to (or download) the 11ish minute podcast.

My hairless cat Baci with the Lensbaby Composer. Note his sharp central eye while everything else fades to blur

This is an image of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Quebec. It was very easy to see and capture this effect in camera.

An image of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Quebec. Because the bridge was not centered in the lens, I had to physically move the sharp sweet spot of focus by actually bending the lens and thus the image took longer to compose.

Norco Bicycle shot with the Lensbaby Composer

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Lensbaby Composer user guide
The Lensbaby Composer and other Lensbabies at The Camera Store
Tilt shift lenses for landscape photography
Lensbaby 3G review

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

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Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Many thanks to Barefoot, Troy Borque and Terry Babij for their comments from the last podcast. Thanks as well for the emails and welcome to all the new members of the bulletin board.

You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player.

Thanks for listening and keep on shooting!

130 — The Big Stopper Filter Review

Marko Kulik — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:40:02 +0000

Photography podcast #130 reviews the Big Stopper by Lee filters. The big stopper is a 10 stop glass filter that slows down shutter speeds in order to accentuate movement. Both clouds and water are classic subjects for use with this filter and the resulting photographs tend to be ethereal and dreamy. Aside from reviewing the filter, I offer up 6 tips on how to use it effectively.

Thanks to The Camera Store (The largest camera store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for sponsoring the Photography.ca podcast.

Click the player at the end of this post to listen to (or download) the 18ish minute podcast.

This evening image of Rue Laurier in Montreal is a long exposure image using the big stopper. You can see movement in the clouds, and in the cars. The people look ‘ghostlike’ because they moved (somewhat) in place while waiting for the traffic light. Notice the traffic light has all 3 colours lit because the traffic light cycled during this 30 second exposure. Exif data — ISO 100, f/11, 30 second shutter speed.

Fast moving water at Chutes Dorwin in Rawdon, QC. Canada. In the top image I used my lowest ISO (50) with my smallest aperture (f/32) and this yielded a shutter speed of .4 seconds. The water does look dreamy. But when I used the big stopper, I was able to get much slower shutter speeds and the lower image was exposed for 15 seconds. It’s much dreamier and more ethereal looking but the filter must be used with care. If you look at the top of the bottom image you can see a rainbowish arc and this where flare entered my camera. As discussed in the podcast, this is easily solved with a hat (or postprocessing).

Fountain at Parc Lafontaine in Montreal, QC., Canada — The slowest shutter speed I could get without a filter was 1/60 in this light. When I put the big stopper on, It extends the available shutter speeds big time. The image on the right was a 15 second exposure using the big stopper and look how dreamy the water looks.

How the Lee filter system works

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Podcast 77 - On Neutral density filters and graduated neutral density filters
Podcast 84 - Back Button autofocus
The big stopper at The Camera Store
Regular forum assignment — Repetition
Level 2 photography assignment — Forced perspective

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are interested in writing for our blog please contact me photography.ca ( A T ) G m ail Dot co m (using standard email formatting)

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred.

You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player.

Thanks for listening and keep on shooting!

128 — Your First Lens Should be a Nifty 50mm

Marko Kulik — Tue, 27 May 2014 18:56:48 +0000

Photography podcast #128 talks about five reasons why I think the 50mm lens is the first lens you should get for your SLR or DSLR. Two of these reasons are all the aperture advantages this lens has to offer has and the fact that it’s one of the most affordable brand new lenses you are likely to find (that aren’t garbage).

If you have a full frame camera the 50mm will act as the conventional 50mm lens from the film camera days. On a crop sensor camera the lens will act more like a 75mm or 80mm lens and many people are using this lens to make wonderful portraits.

Thanks to The Camera Store (The largest camera store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for sponsoring the Photography.ca podcast.

Click the player at the end of this post to listen to (or download) the 8ish minute podcast.

This is a 50mm lens — It’s the first lens you should buy for your DSLR or SLR.

This image was shot on a full frame DSLR using a 50mm lens at Palais Des Congres in Montreal, QC, Canada. The exposure was ISO 400 f/1.8 at 1/2500

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Good comments from our last podcast - Point and Shoot Cameras Suck for Learning Photography

The Canon 50mm at The Camera Store
The Nikon 50mm at The Camera Store
Reversing rings at The Camera Store

The Canon 50mm at B&H
The Nikon 50mm at B&H
Reversing rings at B&H

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are interested in writing for our blog please contact me photography.ca ( A T ) G m ail Dot co m (using standard email formatting)

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Many thanks to Alain Casault, Lisa Osta, and Tom Trottier for their comments from the last podcast. Thanks as well for the emails and welcome to all the new members of the bulletin board.

You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player.

Thanks for listening and keep on shooting!

127 — Point and Shoot Cameras Suck for Learning Photography

Marko Kulik — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:04:20 +0000

Photography podcast #127 goes into why point and shoot cameras suck for learning photography. I actually rag on point and shoot cameras quite a bit in this podcast but it’s because photography should be fun and learning photography on a point and shoot camera is rarely fun and almost never user-friendly. At the beginning stages of learning photography you need your camera to be user-friendly and it’s nice when your camera can handle any shooting situation. Point and shoots are inferior to any new DSLRs when it comes to photographing things that move. Given that precious memories (that involve movement) like your child walking/running are missed with a point and shoot, it’s an inferior tool.

That lovely intro aside, I do recommend a few user friendly Point and shoots for photographers that are comfortable with a Point and shoot’s limitations. They definitely are portable and can be handy in capable hands.

Click the player at the end of this post to listen to (or download) the 13ish minute podcast.

Thanks to The Camera Store (The largest camera store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for sponsoring the Photography.ca podcast.

This point and shoot camera is not a good camera for learning photography

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Podcast # 76 - Point and shoot cameras — Review of Canon G11
Exposure exposed — Easily master camera exposure and make stunning photos by Marko Kulik
Photo tours — private photo instruction in Montreal
Canon G16 at The Camera Store
Nikon P7800 at The Camera Store
The Eos Rebel T5 at The Camera Store
The Nikon D3200 at The Camera Store

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are interested in writing for our blog please contact me photography.ca ( A T ) G m ail Dot co m (using standard email formatting)

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player.

Thanks for listening and keep on shooting!

The Nikon 105 with Defocus Control is Dreamy

Marko Kulik — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 13:59:24 +0000

The Nikon 105 f2.0 DC lens is one of the most interesting lenses that I’ve ever tried. I just tested one from The Camera Store. This lens is super-solidly constructed, mostly of metal, and feels great both in your hand and on the camera. It has a built in lens hood which I found convenient but the highlight of this lens is the defocus control which brings its coolness factor to eleven. What’s cool about this DC (Defocus Control) lens, is that you can defocus the foreground or the background to accentuate the bokeh (zone of blurriness/creaminess/dreaminess) in the foreground or the background. It takes a little bit of play and the results are subtle, but if you are into this type of subtlety and you are prepared to pay more than a grand, you won’t be disappointed. This lens is in a class all by itself.

Nikon AF DC 105mm f/2.0 D Lens

Let me say immediately that this specialty lens is not for everyone. It is made in my estimation for portrait, landscape or fine art photographers that love to play with selective focus and who want to be in supreme control of their bokeh. If this last sentence was confusing then you are probably not ready for this lens. But if you already love bokeh and want to play in the bokeh-olympics, this might be the finest tool available.

But Doesn’t Nikon Have Another 105mm Lens That Also Does Macro?

Yes they do and that lens is another fabulous portrait lens that does true macro. The Nikon AF-S 105 mm F2.8 Micro is a lens that I’ve owned for a number of years and it’s about 300. cheaper than the DC lens. It’s razor sharp, has Vibration Reduction (VR) and does true 1:1 Macro. If you like to do portraits as well as Macro work, get this lens instead.

But if you don’t do that much Macro and want a fabulously unique tool that is great for portraits and bokeh-play, the DC may be the better choice for an experienced photographer. The DC lens is also an f/2 lens. The f/2 is brighter in the viewfinder and always delivers more bokeh than f/2.8 all things being equal.

In terms of head to head sharpness and autofocus speed, I found the autofocus a bit faster on the Micro (Macro — Nikon calls their Macro lenses Micro just to be special) lens and I found the sharpness to be a hint sharper. The 105 DC lens is also razor sharp (but has no VR) and has very fast autofocus, but head to head with the 105 Micro, it loses by the smallest of margins to my eye. Please be aware that I only tested this lens on 2 shoots in coldish Montreal weather which unfortunately limited my play.

How does it work?

The instruction leaflet that comes with the lens is near useless. You’ll want to play with this sucker for a while. But basically, to get good bokeh effects you need a large aperture so you’ll choose an aperture like f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4, or f/5.6. Once you set that aperture, you’ll focus on your subject. Then you’ll decide if you want to defocus what’s in front of the subject, what’s behind the subject, or not defocus at all. The defocusing simply softens the background or foreground more than it would be with other lenses. The effect is subtle and not everyone will even notice it especially novice photographers. Personally though, I love this lens and I made a mistake when I purchased the f/2.8 Macro lens. I don’t do that much macro and would have gotten more use and joy from the bokeh play offered by this lens.

From L to R — Zero defocus, defocused foreground, defocused background — Click to enlarge

The images above were shot against a giant Christmas tree. The middle image makes the foreground lights around the neck have an interesting glow due to the defocused foreground, but the eyes lost sharpness. In general I found that defocusing the foreground looked weird most of the time. To my eye the normal setting and the defocused background settings are the best looking in this set and in general. The non defocused images looked superb actually. But a lens like this is usually bought for the ability to defocus it.

Left image had no defocus. Middle Image had background defocused to f/4 but aperture was f/2.0. The image at right was shot with the 105 Macro lens at f/2.8 its widest aperture — Click to enlarge.

The reason to get the Nikon 105mm DC lens is for the (De)focus play that it offers and normally you’ll set the defocus to the same aperture you are shooting on. But you don’t have to follow that rule and when you break it, it throws the background or foreground into an even softer or dreamier state. In the set of images above, the left image shows beautiful f/2.0 bokeh with a very sharp headstone and no defocus was used. The middle image was shot at f/2.0 but the rear defocus was set to f/4 which thinned out the zone of sharpness in the foreground in this case and softened the background to an even dreamier state compared to the previous shot. For comparison purposes the shot at right was shot with the 105 Macro lens that has no defocus control. It still shows excellent sharpness in the headstone and lovely bokeh in the background, but it is limited to f/2.8 without defocus control, and so it can’t be as dreamy as the DC 105mm.

Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal. Rear Defocus used on the Nikon 105mm DC — Click to enlarge

In summary, if you are just starting out in photography and you want an awesome fast portrait lens that also offers macro, the 105mm f/2.8 with VR is probably a better choice for you and it’s 300 dollars cheaper. If you just love bokeh and experimentation and are a more experienced photographer that rarely uses Macro, you might well want to try the Nikon 105mm f2.0 DC lens. It’s a one of a kind lens that will retain and go up in value in the future due to its uniqueness. I plan on adding it to my arsenal in the very near future.

Two Photo Accessories Reviewed

Marko Kulik — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 13:37:02 +0000

Hi photo lovers!

I’ve tried a couple of photo accessories recently that I’d like to share with you because they make my life easier.

1 — The S&F deluxe technical belt by Lowepro.

Lowepro S&F deluxe technical belt

My wife picked this up for me recently as a gift and I’m loving it. As mentioned in previous posts and podcasts, I’m a big fan of lens pouches and I use them almost exclusively (versus carrying a camera bag) on most personal photo shoots. Usually I have 3 lenses on me and 2 of them are carried in lens pouches. Until a few weeks ago I simply clipped the pouches onto an actual belt that goes through my jeans. It works well enough but getting into the jean pockets is difficult and my wife felt I looked all dishevelled especially if I needed to wear a jacket. She was right.

I have to say, the technical belt is WAY better than clipping the pouches to a regular pants belt. It is so much more comfortable and you can see the solid back support if offers, it’s a pure joy to wear. Especially when going from shooting to the car, the whole belt comes off in a flash with the pouches firmly secured onto them. If you do need to get into your pants pockets you just slide the belt around. In addition, it looks and feels great when you have to wear a jacket. It might well be my favourite accessory of 2013. It can be purchased immediately at B&H in the USA or at the The Camera Store within about 1 week.

2 - PhotoRepublik Twin Speedlite Holder — This accessory was loaned to me for review by our sponsor The Camera Store and I find it to be an extremely well built accessory. Some of the common gripes people have with flash holding accessories are their overall ‘dinkiness’ and that the actual point of contact between the flash and the holding shoe is flimsy (read risky) and difficult to control. Good new or used flashes are at least 100–600 dollars, why would you want to attach it to a bracket with a flimsy flash shoe holder that looks like it costs less than a nickel. One careless bump into the light stand can snag the bottom part of the flash right off.

This twin flash holder is crazy solid in all respects and operates smoothly. The point of attachment to the flash as well as the whole unit (except the knobs which are still very solid) is made of steel and operates very smoothly to attach to your flash. It feels safe and that will make you feel more secure about the setup. There’s place for an umbrella holder and it tilts from front to back for easier angling of light. It’s a perfect attachment for shooting with an umbrella when when you need more punch than one flash can offer.

PhotoRepublik Twin Speedlite Holder — Comes with a threaded mounting screw (shown in between the 2 flash holding units)

123 — Entry Level Camera Trigger Showdown — PocketWizard versus Cactus

Marko Kulik — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 12:49:54 +0000

Photography podcast #123 compares 2 entry level triggering devices for your camera. A ‘trigger’ is simply a device that allows your camera to fire nearly any portable flash, monolight or studio flash while it is OFF-camera. The ability to fire a flash or other light source while OFF-camera allows you to modify the direction and the quality of the light(s) to produce much more creative and professional looking photography versus direct on-camera flash. The 2 units tested are the PocketWizard Plus X and the Cactus V5 Duo.

The PocketWizard Plus X transceiver (sold as a single unit for $99.00) and the Cactus V5 Duo (2 transceivers for $99.00 or sold individiually at $59.00)

Thanks to The Camera Store (The largest camera store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for sponsoring the Photography.ca podcast and for loaning me the test equipment for this week’s podcast!

Both these units do the identical job with identical (100%) reliability in both my indoor and outdoor tests. The top photo shows how the Cactus transceiver attaches to both the camera and to an off-camera flash. The bottom photo shows how the PocketWizard Plus X transceiver attaches to both the camera and to an off-camera flash. The main difference is that the PocketWizard is missing the extra hot shoe so it attaches to the off camera flash with (an included) sync-wire.

The build quality of the PocketWizard is slightly more robust than the Cactus V5 and its legendary reliability (PocketWizards have been around for decades) and the fact that they work with every other PocketWizard ever made are its main advantages.

Where the Cactus V5 duo really shines is with the addition of the extra hot shoe on the unit. Here the flash will act as an on axis-fill flash to fill in shadows created by another light, and it fits snugly into the hot shoe on top of the Cactus V5. At left is the PocketWizard attempting the same task but because it has no extra hot shoe it must be attached to the camera’s flash via an included sync-wire

Both these units will do the identical job, but the Cactus’s design (at right) is more elegant, easier to attach and the Cactus V5 Duo is half the price of the PocketWizard Plus X. Unfortunately the Cactus V5 will NOT work with PocketWizards or even different Cactus models.

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

The PocketWizard Plus X at The Camera Store
The Cactus V5 Duo at The Camera Store
Illuminight — Photography exhibition by Marko Kulik

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are interested in writing for our blog please contact me photography.ca ( A T ) G m ail Dot co m (using standard email formatting)

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks as well to Enrique Waizel, Bernard Dallaire, Jason, Darnell B and Royce Howland who posted comments directly on the blog. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

Thanks for listening and keep on shooting!

115 — Color spaces — monitor settings — recommended hardware — Interview with Joe Brady

Marko Kulik — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:03:54 +0000

Photography podcast #115 features an interview with Colour expert Joe Brady who works for Macgroup US.
Joe knows pretty much everything there is to know about getting accurate colour from your monitor and your printer. Joe has recorded 2 podcasts with us already about monitor calibration and those links are listed below in the shownotes. In this podcast, we tackle some colour concepts that are a source of confusion for many people. We talk about monitor settings like colour temperature, gamma, and luminance. Then we tackle the sRGB, Adobe RGB and Prophoto RGB colour spaces and explain what they are, the advantages of each and when and where they are most useful. Finally, Joe recommends some calibration tools, monitors and printers.

Scroll to the BOTTOM of this post to find the player to immediately listen to the audio podcast.

This image shows off the 3 main color spaces. You’ll note that the ProPhoto RGB color space contains the most colors. This makes it the best color space for printing your own images on a quality printer. When posting to the web, the colour space should be sRGB as that is the type of monitor that most people have.

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:
Podcast 62 – Monitor – printer calibration – Interview with Joe Brady
Podcast 63 – Review of the Colormunki and the i1XTreme
Joe Brady Photography
X-Rite ColorMunki Photo Color Management Solution at B&H
X-Rite ColorMunki Display at B&H
Eizo FlexScan SX2262W at B&H
Eizo ColorEdge CG223W 22 at B&H

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are interested in writing for our blog please contact me photography.ca ( A T ) G m ail Dot co m (using standard email formatting)

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to Mikey88 who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as well to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board. Most of the links to actual the products are affiliate links that help support this site. Thanks in advance if you purchase through those links.

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You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

Thanks for listening and keep on shooting!

Essential and Advanced Filters for Creative and Outdoor Photography — E-book Review

Marko Kulik — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:05:55 +0000

A few months ago Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Crysanthou Published an e-book called Essential and Advanced Filters for Creative and Outdoor Photography. You may think that with digital photography the need for filters is over and you would be mistaken in thinking this.

Certain filters like the polarizing filter are essential and at the time of this writing, the effect of this filter (which stays on my lens 95% of the time that I shoot outdoors in the day) is best achieved with an actual filter on the lens. Although I have seen digital-effect polarizing filters that you apply when post-processing an image, they suck when compared to the real thing. Darwin and Samantha provide awesomely clear images and explanations as to why this filter is essential, how and when to use it creatively and when not to use it. This filter is so important that a good 20% of the book is devoted to it. This section alone is worth the 10 dollars that they are charging for the e-book.

Two other kinds of essential filters that Darwin and Samantha talk about a great deal are graduated neutral density filters and neutral density filters. The purpose of graduated neutral density filters is to reduce the contrast in a scene (like a clipped sky) because when a scene is too contrasty the camera can not record all the tones even though our eye may see them. The filters are normally made of glass or plastic and are usually shaded at one end and clear at the other end. Neutral density filters are solid coloured and are mainly used to make shutter speeds longer to achieve creative blurring effects. This section of the book also has awesome (filtered and non-filtered for comparison) images and crystal clear explanations on how to use these filters.

The final section of the book is dedicated to additional filters that can add pop to your images as well as talking about technical considerations like colour casts and noise reduction.

This e-book is fab and well worth the ten dollars. The only thing I might debate in this book is calling the neutral grad filters essential. I feel they are essential only in certain very important cases. They are essential if you want to spend less time in front of your computer post-processing your images, because your images will already have the contrast control built into the exposure. If you are already excellent at the HDR technique, (taking multiple frames of the identical image with different exposures and then blending them in software) then these filters are not essential because you can achieve a similar goal using HDR. That said, even if you know the HDR technique well, graduated neutral density filters are still useful (perhaps even essential) when the scene is contrasty and involves movement.

It may come as no surprise that I highly recommend this 65 page e-book. Darwin and Samantha are veteran photographers and teachers, write super-clearly and their pics really illustrate the creative effect these filters have. This is an easy read with an easy on the eyes design. It’s a great e-book to have with you on your smartphone or tablet for creative inspiration while in the field. It’s also a fab resource when you are thinking about which of these filters to buy.

This book can be purchased directly from Darwin and Sam’s site.

88 — Rain photography

Marko Kulik — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:16:57 +0000

Photography podcast #88 talks about rain photography and is based on a suggestion by Mad Aussie, Thanks MA. ‚ In the podcast we talk about how to go about‚ protecting yourself and your camera so that you can enjoy rain photography. We also talk about subject matter, technique, after the rain camera care and we touch on lighting as well.

Puddle-drop and Reflection by Marko Kulik Rainsleeve and Flash rainsleeve Links /resources mentioned in this podcast: Rainsleeve for your DSLR and flash (at B&H) Rainsleeve for your DSLR (at B&H) Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page My Facebook profile — Feel free to “friend” me — please just mention Photography.ca My Twitter page — I will follow you if you follow me — Let’s connect — PLEASE email me and tell me who you are in case I don’t reciprocate because I think you are a spammer. If you are still lurking on our forum, feel free to join our friendly ¯¿½Photography forum Thanks to Yisehaq, Jack Label,‚ Robertv and Glenn Euloth who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board. Most of the links to actual the products are affiliate links that help support this site. Thanks in advance if you purchase through those links. If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the¯¿½ Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. |¯¿½Subscribe with iTunes |¯¿½Subscribe via RSS feed |¯¿½Subscribe with Google Reader |Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

86 — Inkjet paper review 2 – Museo Silver rag, Portfolio rag – Moab entrada bright

Marko Kulik — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:06:21 +0000

Photography podcast #86 is the second? podcast devoted to high end inkjet papers and it reviews and discusses 3 of them. I LOVE photo papers (traditional and digital) and I just bought a new Epson 3880 inkjet to test inkjet papers with?.and of course make larger prints.?There?s LOADS of creative possibilities when you try new inkjet papers so I hope the review of these 3 papers?is useful to many listeners/readers.

All 3 of these papers are highly recommended. Museo Silver rag is a thick (300 GSM) light cream coloured paper with a medium gloss finish and a slight texture. Museo Portfolio rag is a thick (300GSM) matte paper with a cream colour and very slight texture. Moab Entrada 300 bright is a thick (300GSM) double sided matte paper with a white colour and slight texture. Just as an FYI, if i say a paper has a cream colour, others may say on first glance, no it’s white. However, take that paper and put it beside something like regular plain white laser paper and the creamy base tone is more apparent.

Note as well that the 2 matte papers have optical brighteners in them. I also talk about ICC profiles again. Here is where they go on your computer after you download them. MAC= MAC HD > Library > ColorSync > Profiles
Windows PC= C: > Windows > System 32 > Spool > Drivers > Color

Detail from Parisian self portrait on Museo silver rag — ?Marko Kulik

Parisian self portrait on Museo silver rag — ?Marko Kulik

Detail from Reflection at Dorwin — 2009 on Museo portfolio rag — ?Marko Kulik

Reflection at Dorwin — 2009 on Museo portfolio rag — ?Marko Kulik

Detail from Parisian self portrait on Museo portfolio rag — ?Marko Kulik

Parisian self portrait on Museo portfolio rag — ?Marko Kulik

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Epson 3880 at B&H
Podcast 62 — Monitor/printer calibration
Podcast 63 — I1 Extreme and ColourMunki review & printer dialogue boxes when printing.
Museo Silver rag — Buy Museo silver rag at B&H
Museo Portfolio rag — Buy Museo portfolio rag at B&H
Moab Entrada 300 bright- Buy Moab entrada bright 300 at B&H
Main assignment on our photography forum — Minimalism
Level 2 assignment on our? photography forum — Sidelight to create texture in B/W

Publicphotograpgy.org — Celebrating the rights of photographers -?Publicphotography.org — Flickr group — Publicphotography.org — Facebook group

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly ?Photography forum

Thanks to Benny who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board. Most of the links to actual the products are affiliate links that help support this site. Thanks in advance if you purchase through those links.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the?Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I?Subscribe with iTunes I?Subscribe via RSS feed I?Subscribe with Google Reader ISubscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

85 — Inkjet paper review 1 — German etching — Fine art Baryta by Hahnemuhle

Marko Kulik — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:15:46 +0000

Photography podcast #85 is the first of several podcasts that will review and discuss inkjet papers. Let me say it right now, I LOVE photo papers (traditional and digital) and I just bought a new Epson 3880 inkjet to test inkjet papers with.…and of course make larger prints. There’s LOADS of creative possibilities when you try new inkjet papers so I hope the review of these 2 papers (German Etching and Fineart Baryta by Hahnemuhle) is useful to many listeners/readers. Both papers are Highly recommended. German Etching (310GSM) is a textured matte creamy white paper. Fineart Baryta (325 GSM) is a glossy white paper with an ever so slight texture. Ansel Adams called the print ‘the performance’ and these days there’s tons of paper choices to get your prints to sing.

Detail from The Wanderer II on German Etching paper by Hahnemuhle — ©Marko Kulik

Detail from Steam Vents at VNP — German Etching paper by Hahnemuhle — ©Marko Kulik

Steam Vents at VNP — German Etching Marko Kulik

The Wanderer II — German Etching — © Marko Kulik

Detail from Snow Pod on Fineart Baryta from Hahnemuhle © Marko Kulik

Snow Pod on Fineart Baryta from Hahnemuhle © Marko Kulik

The Wanderer I — Fineart Baryta Hahnemuhle © Marko Kulik

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Epson 3880 at B&H
Podcast 62 — Monitor/printer calibration
Podcast 63 — I1 Extreme and ColourMunki review & printer dialogue boxes when printing.
Hahnemuhle papers — Hahnemuhle ICC profiles
Hahnemuhle German Etching Paper at B&H
Hahnemuhle Fine art Baryta Paper at B&H
Comment about back button autofocus on Nikonians — Thx F8&Bthere!
Testimonials link if you’re feeling wordy

Publicphotograpgy.org — Celebrating the rights of photographers -Publicphotography.org — Flickr group — Publicphotography.org — Facebook group

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to RobvE, f8&Bthere, and Richard who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board. Most of the links to actual the products are affiliate links that help support this site. Thanks in advance if you purchase through those links.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to thePhotography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. ISubscribe with iTunes ISubscribe via RSS feed ISubscribe with Google Reader ISubscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

80 — Clean your camera’s sensor — cleaning camera lenses

Marko Kulik — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:56:37 +0000

Photography podcast #80 talks about how to clean your DSLR camera’s sensor. It describes the wet technique and the dry technique and it’s not as scary as it seems. We also talk about how to clean your camera’s mirror as well as cleaning camera lenses and general camera care.

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Original suggestion thread for this podcast from our photography forum
The visible dust website — Camera and camera sensor cleaning products
The Copperhill Method of sensor cleaning — They sell cleaning kits and products as well
SensorKlear by Lenspen demo on Youtube
Camera and camera sensor cleaning supplies at B&H
Lenspen SensorKlear to clean camera sensors at B&H
Air blower at B&H
March 2010’s Light and Shadow assignment on the Photography.ca forum
Hat tip to photographer Dominic Fuizzotto for his insight on sensor cleaning.

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to Jimmy Brown,Â Wickeddark, jack label, Fortytwo and Zenon5940 who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

80 — Clean your camera’s sensor — cleaning camera lenses

Marko Kulik — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:56:37 +0000

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook

If you liked this podcast and want to review it on Itunes, this link gets you to the main page

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to Jimmy Brown,‚ Wickeddark, jack label, Fortytwo and Zenon5940 who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

76 — Point and shoot cameras — Review of Canon G11

Marko Kulik — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:53:21 +0000

Photography podcast #76 talks about point and shoot cameras and reviews the Canon G11. We talk about the advantages and limitations of point and shoot cameras. We also talk about the most important reason for photographers to get a point and shoot camera and that reason is NOT quality.‚ Finally I give a quick review of the Canon G11. I recommend this camera but I’m also brutal about its faults.

Image from Canon G11 — ISO 100, F-7.1, 1/100

Canon G11 manually focused at ISO 100 — Click to see the nice noise

Canon G11 manually focused at ISO 800 — Click to see lots of noise

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:
Canon G11 at B&H (Disclosure — Aff links — helps support our site)
January’s macro or close-up assignment on the Photography.ca forum

Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook
My Facebook profile — Feel free to “friend” me — please just mention Photography.ca
My Twitter page — I will follow you if you follow me — Let’s connect — PLEASE email me and tell me who you are in case I don’t reciprocate because I think you are a spammer.

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to Glenn Euloth (Iguanasan), Fortytwo, Crystalb, jacklabel, Bambi, JuiCe and Yisehaq who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

74 — Hyperfocal distance — How to use the hyperfocal distance

Marko Kulik — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:54:22 +0000

Photography podcast #74 is all about the hyperfocal distance and how to use it in landscape photography. In a nutshell, hyperfocal distance is the distance you focus at to get greater depth of field when focusing on an object in the distance. In this podcast we define what hyperfocal distance is and how to use it for both traditional (film) photography and in digital photography with new DSLRs and lenses.‚ We also talk about when not to use the hyperfocal distance in landscape photography.

Hyperfocal distance chart from dofmaster.com — used by permission; thanks Don Fleming!‚ This beautiful application from the dofmaster.com site clearly shows that by focusing at the hyperfocal distance you gain over 4 feet of sharpness toward the foreground when you use a 5omm lens at F-16 and focus at 27.1 feet instead of‚ where the object actually is at 50 feet.. Try this test for yourself; shoot 1 shot the regular way and 1 shot using the hyperfocal distance. This application already lists the most common digital cameras and takes their crop factors into account.

Left image shot normally while right image was shot at the hyperfocal distance. Even at this small size you can see that the right shot shows a bit more sharpness in the midground while the background looks similar in both shots. The effects are more noticeable when you print at larger sizes.

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Dofmaster’s awesome depth of field calculator that also calculates hyperfocal distance
Dofmaster’s depth of field calculator for free use with an iphone (need to connect to the Net — use this URL from an IPhone ONLY — NOT from your computer)
Dofmaster’s simulated depth of field calculator for free use with an Non-iphones (need to connect to the Net)
Dofmaster’s Itunes depth of field calculator App for $1.99 (No Internet connection required)
November’s ‘landscapes in portrait orientation’‚assignment on the Photography.ca forum
Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook
My Facebook profile — Feel free to “friend” me — please just mention Photography.ca
My Twitter page — I will follow you if you follow me — Let’s connect — PLEASE email me and tell me who you are in case I don’t reciprocate because I think you are a spammer.

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks to Kat, Glenn Euloth (Iguanasan), Bambi and Alex Maxim who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

Painting with light

Marko — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:20:55 +0000

LIGHT PAINTING
Light painting has actually nothing to do with ‘painting’ per say, but rather is an artistic form of photography. To go about it, choose a subject to shoot, turn off the lights, and while holding your light source, move it around. Playing around with‚your shutter speed will affect the outcome of the shot; a good shutter speed for this type of artistic imagery is 20–30 seconds.

Image by Marko Kulik

This is a fun way to experiment with your camera and lighting, and can produce some fabulous results. Best thing? You don’t need to have much‚patience for it! 20–30 minutes is all you need and you’ll get a nice handful of shots.‚Nice idea when doing this type of exercise is to wear black clothing… otherwise you may become the focal point of your shoot!

For some tips and examples check the link in our photography forum
You can also take a listen to our painting with light podcast

63 — Review of the Colormunki and the i1XTreme

Marko Kulik — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:54:27 +0000

Photography podcast #63 features a review of the Colormunki and the i1XTreme monitor/printer/projector profiling systems. These are hardware systems that use a spectrophotometer to measure the color from hardware devices like monitors, printers, projectors (and in the case of the i1XTreme, scanners and cameras as well). So many of us are printing from our homes, offices or home-offices and we want accurate colours from our RGB or CMYK printers. These hardware devices absolutely simplify this extremely confusing process and both products come highly recommended. After the review, we ask Joe Brady of MACgroupUS in a telephone interview, to clarify what we need to do in Photoshop’s printing dialogue boxes to assure us of a good monitor to printer print. This is a common area of confusion for many photographers trying to print on their own printers.

UPDATE — In the podcast I say that the ColorMunki is restricted to use on 3 monitors. This restriction has been lifted.

The ColorMunki

i1Xtreme

Photoshop’s dialogue boxes

Links mentioned in this podcast:
colormunki
i1XTREME

ColorMunki summary tutorial on Youtube
X-rite Eye One ( i1 ) 1 of 2 — Monitor Setup from colorHQ.com
X-rite Eye One ( i1 ) 2 of 2 — Monitor Adjustments from colorHQ.com
Podcast #62 — Monitor — printer calibration (an introduction) — Interview with Joe Brady
Purchase the colorMunki at B&H — Purchase the i1XTreme at B&H (what I reviewed) Purchase the i1 Photo at B&H (a good alternative if you don’t need the extra bells and whistles).
Joe Brady Photography

Link I forgot to mention — Just like there are better monitors for photography, there are better printers with good print drivers that work well with the 2 systems reviewed in this podcast. 2 recommended printers Epson R1900 and Epson R2880 at B&H

If you are still lurking, feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks as always to Steven K, benny, Lovin and SuzieQ who posted a blog comment about our last podcast and to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca — Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast — Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

Picpockets by Jerry Ghionis

Marko Kulik — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:24:41 +0000

I met Jerry Ghionis at the 2008 PhotoPlus Expo/conference‚ in New york and he has what I think is a great teaching tool. They are sets of cards called Picpockets and they are the same size as playing cards but they contain photos or photos with notes written on them. They come in a sturdy pack and can be taken on location and used for inspiration. The ‘Ordinary to Extraordinary’ series is nice because it shows you the simple backgrounds plus the fairly simple lighting and Exif data that were used to create the many striking photographs that make up the set. Each set of cards currently sells for about 80 dollars and contains about 50 cards. In the interest of full disclosure, Jerry was kind enough to give me samples of his products for review.

Ordinary-Extraordinary Vol 2

Clamps, stands, arms and adapters — Photography podcast #35

Marko Kulik — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:35:03 +0000

Photography podcast #35 is all about using simple accessories to make your photo shoots go smoother. In particular, we discuss clamps, magic arms, flash adapters and light stands. All of the accessories can be used in multiple ways making them extremely versatile in a variety of shooting situations.

Manfrotto Superclamp #035

Manfrotto spring clamp #175 with threaded adapter (088)

Manfrotto spring clamp‚#175F with flash mount

Manfrotto flexible magic arm #237 HD

Opus umbrella mount OPL-SW0316

Opus umbrella mount on manfrotto master stand #004

Superclamp with arm attached to spring clamp

Extendible arm on manfrotto master stand #004
attached to superclamp holding a 32.5 inch reflector

Purchasing these items through these links helps support this site:

Manfrotto super clamp at B&H
Manfrotto super clamp at Amazon

Manfrotto spring clamp with flash shoe at B&H
Manfrotto spring clamp with flash shoe at Amazon

Manfrotto‚flexible arm‚at B&H
Manfrotto flexible arm at Amazon

Manfrotto‚master light stand‚at B&H
Manfrotto master light stand at Amazon

You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below this set of images.

Photo of the week
This week, the photograph is by Arkady Renko and I comment in the podcast on why I think this photograph is fantastic.

Thanks as always for the comments by‚Samirah,‚ Carlson Chu and Yves Janse. We LOVE comments and suggestions so please send more. Special thanks to Nico Pin who has helped make this blog more user friendly and look funkier.

Lensbaby 3G review — Photography Podcast #15

Marko Kulik — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:25:33 +0000

This photography podcast‚features‚a review of the Lensbaby 3G which is a tool (a lens actually)for the traditional‚and digital SLR‚that allows you to add unusually artistic depth and blur effects to your photographs. You can download‚this photography podcast‚directly‚by clicking the preceding link‚or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player.

Here are some Lensbaby 3G example images (click to enlarge)
Note the blurring effects in each photograph

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