Canon and Sony News for Jul 2015 (Page 2)
From PocketWizard:
New distribution channel allows LPA Design a closer connection with the photographer.
South Burlington, VT – As the wireless market and the photo industry as a whole continues to become more competitive and challenging, LPA Design, manufacturers of PocketWizard Photo Products, has realized the need to get closer to the photographer and has started selling direct to USA dealers. This change in distribution only affects the US market. LPA Design continues to rely on their network of global distributors and dealers throughout the world. “As we transition to our new sales and marketing approach, we are excited by the possibilities of working more directly with our Dealers and building closer relationships with the community of PocketWizard photographers. We’re exploring the means to hear and respond to our customers in a more direct and informative way. We’ve already heard some comments and suggestions, and are making changes that will offer a range of mutual long term benefits. We’ve had a great partnership with the MAC Group over the past 14 years, as they’ve been integral in building the PocketWizard brand in the US market. We wish them continued success in the future,” commented Heather Ambrose, Marketing Manager at LPA Design.
To spearhead our direct to dealer initiative, we have engaged the services of Lorenzo Gasperini of Inovanti, LLC to represent LPA Design / PocketWizard as our National Sales Manager. Lorenzo has a deep history with PocketWizard which started back in 1994 when he encountered PocketWizard and later joined Bogen Photo (Manfrotto USA) and LPA Design as the first US distributor. In 2000 Lorenzo joined the MAC Group and as the National Marketing Manager he inspired new products, markets and partnerships that lead to significant growth and success for the brand. In 2008 Lorenzo was paramount in building the PocketWizard brand internationally as the International Sales and Marketing Manager. In addition to his responsibilities with PocketWizard, Lorenzo (Inovanti) also works with the Sekonic light meter division and Syrp motion and linear control devices. Lorenzo has a tremendous amount of knowledge in the photographic and video market and will be an asset to the PocketWizard Sales and Marketing Team once again. PocketWizard looks forward to continuing toward a closer and stronger alliance with all their US dealers in an effort to strengthen their USA-built brand.
B&H carries PocketWizard products.
Sure, telephoto lenses are great for wildlife, sports and many other uses, but they are also great for flowers! I've had my eye on a small field of wildflowers and, after spending a large number of contiguous hours of work putting the Lens MTF Comparison tool into place, I gave myself the freedom to go after some summer color in the form of flower pics.
I knew that making an image worth sharing from this field was going to be a challenge. The location was not well-suited for a grand landscape image incorporating the flower color in the foreground. The flowers were beautiful, but they were intermixed with other vegetation, were very random in position and most were imperfect including a random state of bloom (some were well-beyond peak).
I was biking to this location (2 cars - 4 drivers = a problem) and, since I wasn't sure what the best opportunity was going to be, I put lenses ranging from 16 to 300mm in focal length along with a Canon EOS 5Ds R in a Think Tank Photo StreetWalker Pro backpack and was on my way. After riding past and then walking back along the edge of the field, I found few standout subjects calling for emphasis. Sometimes, flowers look best when blurred out of focus, becoming blobs of color and this was what I determined the case to be for much of this field.
This pair of cosmos did appear to be a cut above the rest and I focused on them for a period of time. By using a 300mm telephoto focal length with a relatively short focus distance, a nice blur was created, making full use of the imperfect blooms in the background.
While simply setting up such a blur is easy and can be good enough, taking the shot to the next level requires some attention to detail. In this case, I oriented the tripod-mounted camera and lens so that the background of the in-focus flower was only green, making the flower pop. This perspective also placed a complementary same-color cosmos just out of focus with a matching pair more-strongly blurred above. An intermittent light breeze made this alignment a bit more challenging, but ... patience was the answer to that issue.
I used manual focus aided by the 5Ds R's 16x Live View, allowing precise focusing on the center of the flower (preventing AF from picking the petals just in front). While an f/5.6 aperture would have given an even stronger background blur and would also have created a nice image, I opted for f/8 in this case. F/8 kept more of the flower in focus and reduced vignetting to even out the background brightness. Lighting is courtesy of a bright cloudy sky.
Then, right on cue, the bee landed on my primary subject. I was shooting the scene in vertical orientation at that moment (creating a nearly identical image), but I wanted to post the horizontal format picture as it fits better on computer monitors. So, I simply copied the bee out of the vertical photo and pasted it into this one.
Go get some summer color (in your photos, not your skin). Mount your telephoto lens and go flower hunting!
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr, Google+, 500px and Facebook. Also, if reading from a news feed reader, click through to see the framed image.
ISO 100
8688 x 5792px
Watch as Ryan Connolly explains the basics to using a shotgun microphone to get the cleanest audio possible.
B&H carries boompoles and the Rode NTG3 microphone.
Here are the other videos in this series:
It is with great pleasure that I announce the latest addition to the site's tools: Lens MTF Comparison
Required Reading: To get the most out of these beautiful charts and to learn about MTF measurements, please take some time to read through the Lens MTF Help page.
Many prime lens results are immediately available in the MTF tool and many additions are planned, including zoom lenses. We'll announce the additions as they become available. Aperture tests in addition to wide open are also expected to be included at some point.
These MTF charts are made available under agreement with my friend Roger Cicala and his crew at Olaf Optical Testing with support provided by LensRentals.com. Go rent a lens!
From Adobe:
Lightroom for mobile Android 1.2 now available
Tonight we’re announcing the immediate availability of Lightroom version 1.2 for Android phones and tablets.
- Edit images faster by copying image adjustments and pasting them onto another photo
- Crop the perfect photo with a re-designed experience on your Android device that enables you to quickly adjust, align and auto-straighten.
- Easily find your favorite images! The new Segmented view in Collections give you a different way to view and engage with your photos.
- Raw file support for the Panasonic Lumix CM1 Communication Camera
Version 1.2 also includes fixes for bugs and other issues identified by customers, including:
- Screen occasionally went blank after changing the orientation from landscape to portrait.
- Lightroom could crash when customers tap the sign-in button.
- Fixed issue that could cause crashes when scrolling through a large collection and changing the device orientation from portrait to landscape (or vice versa).
- Hardware back button was not closing any contextual menus.
- Slow performance when swiping from image to image.
- Copying or moving an image into a different collection was not working correctly. Please note that this issue only occurred on certain Samsung tablets.
- Lightroom sometimes caused automated logouts.
- Edits not visible when sharing photos to certain 3rd party apps and services.
- Crash occurred when occasionally navigating from grid view to collections view.
Visit the Google Play store and download Lightroom mobile.
Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan (USD$9.99 per month) includes Lightroom CC across desktop, web and mobile, Photoshop CC and Photoshop Mix (for iPhone and iPad).
by Sean Setters
Often we see a location, capture the image, post-process and move on. After that, being in the same location can feel a bit like, "...been there, done that." But shooting the same location multiple times - if given the opportunity - can be very beneficial.
Last year was my first experience visiting Oak Island, NC. I brought [what I would consider] a small photography kit and captured many worthwhile images while on vacation. While planning a return trip this year, however, the recent shark attacks in North Carolina (and Oak Island in particular) meant that I was less than eager to enjoy even modestly deep water off the beach this year. In other words, I knew I'd have more time to devote to other endeavors.
Therefore, taking advantage of the photographic opportunities the island had to offer became an even higher-than-usual priority for my vacation. I packed substantially more gear this time around and I challenged myself to create at least one image I was proud of each day. On image in particular that I wanted to capture was a long exposure of the Oak Island pier similar to the shot in IR that I took last year, but this time using a traditional (but very strong) ND filter. I purchased a Rocolax 15-stop ND filter in anticipation of shooting the pier again this year.
Fast forward to yesterday - my first full day in Oak Island this year - and I was out the door soon after sunrise. Why not before sunrise? Because the position of the rising sun meant that it wouldn't be a subject included in any of the pier compositions I wanted to capture (Oak Island faces south meaning I would have had to have been in the water to capture the pier with the rising sun). What was important, though, was that I shoot early (soon after sunrise) in order to get the low-on-the-horizon sunlight that I wanted for illuminating the pier.
My experience shooting the pier the previous year meant that I could plan [almost] everything about the image capture so that my time and attention could be utilized in the most productive way possible. I knew where to park, how to access the area under the pier and exactly how much time would be required traveling from the front door of the beach house to the shooting location. And, using time of optimal illumination was especially important in this instance because my exposures would be measured in minutes, not seconds.
For all intents and purposes, I was able to capture the image I wanted (plus another framing) without a hitch. The only thing I didn't take into consideration was the tide level (high tide) which meant that I had to position myself closer to the beach with the end result that the pier was not as tall in the foreground of this image compared to last year's image.
After processing the image I realized that being able to shoot the same location, one year apart, was a really great experience. Some of the benefits include:
- Familiarity with a location means that you can better plan your shots, pack the right gear and optimize your time while capturing images.
- Challenging yourself to capture the same location in different ways is a great creative exercise.
- Shooting the same location periodically - with a good amount of time between attempts - can help illustrate how your photography is growing/evolving over time.
In the end, I was happy with how the shot turned out. It looks very similar to the shot I had in my head meaning that all my planning and recent experience in long exposure photography paid off. I'm roughly 95% happy with the image; and that nagging 5% should provide ample incentive to shoot the pier yet again with another year of photographic experience under my belt.
Image quality results from the EOS 5Ds R have been added to the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens Review.
This is another of my favorite lenses. Not ony for the amazingly wide angles it provides, but for the solid image quality at those wide angles.
B&H has the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens in stock.
From the Vimeo Blog:
If you work with multiple cameras, you’ve probably run into the same issue we have. Our battery charging situation is out of control. Taking some inspiration from Vimeo Award-winner and vid-blogging extraordinaire Casey Neistat, we set out to build a battery charging station to add a little zen to the Vimeo Production studio.
Shopping List
by Sean Setters
I've been doing a fair amount of long exposure images lately as I've been testing out my latest filter acquisition, the ROCOLAX 77mm 15-stop ND. Unfortunately, light leakage through the viewfinder spoiled many of my early test shots. The best way to get rid of the light leakage is, of course, the often overlooked accessory that Canon includes free with your camera – the Canon Eyepiece Cover. I say "overlooked" because many people never notice the handy little tool attached to their OEM camera straps (or realize its function).
The problem, though, is that I do not use the 5D Mark III's camera strap (instead I use a BlackRapid strap modified for Arca-style plates). Not using the OEM strap means I had no convenient way to keep the small, seemingly easy to lose Canon Eyepiece Cover with me.
At first I considered finding a place in my main camera bag for the eyepiece cover, but I realized that I often use my smaller camera bag when shooting these types of shots. That means I'd need to remember to transfer the eyepiece cover every time I intended on shooting long exposures while using the smaller bag (and knowing myself, I would forget it 90% of the time).
The second thing I considered was storing the eyepiece cover in my tripod bag. That made a bit more sense as I'm always using the tripod when shooting long exposures. However, I realized that I don't always take the tripod bag with me on long exposure outings (especially around town). I sometimes simply set up my camera on the tripod (with a remote timer attached) and simply put the compacted-down setup in my car. That way I'm ready to hit the ground running as soon as I get to the location (all I have to do is extend the tripod legs). So storing the eyepiece cover in the tripod bag wouldn't work.
Keeping the eyepiece cover with the tripod – not the tripod bag – seemed to be ideal. I tried to search for a small bag to attach to my tripod. However, I didn't find anything specifically designed to be strapped to a pole. I reasoned that I could use a bag designed for a belt loop and simply find a strap to fit around the tripod leg, but that seemed like a lot of work (and added bulk / expense) just to keep the small rubber eyepiece cover with me. And depending on the size of the bag, it might make storing the tripod in my tripod bag more difficult as there isn't much "wiggle room" in the bag as it is.
While looking at the Canon Eyepiece Cover in my hand, I realized that the eyepiece cover's design held the solution to my problem. It was designed to fit on the thin part of the OEM strap, so I should simply strap it to my tripod with a strap something similar in size. And as luck would have it, I had the perfect strap sitting in a tool drawer – a thin hook & loop cable tie.
I had to cut a little bit off the edge of a cable tie in order for it to fit in the eyepiece cover's slots and then cut it to a length that fit well around the tripod leg. Once cut to size, the eyepiece cover fits perfectly around the tripod leg. The cable tie proved to be the best possible solution for my needs as it keeps the eyepiece cover on the tripod at all times (extremely convenient) while also remaining low in profile (not bulky). And if the eyepiece cover molds to the curve of the tripod over time, that's ok – it'll stretch to fit the eyepiece just fine.
Here's what my setup looks like:
As you can see by the picture above, I'm also using cable ties in another way. I realized that cable ties could also be used to attach my TC-80N3 Timer Remote firmly to the tripod as well. Up until now, I typically used the center pole's weight hook to keep the timer from dangling from the camera (instead it would dangle from the cord a short distance from the timer). But in windy conditions, the constant swaying movement of the timer could lead to softness in the long exposure images. To counteract this, I would sometimes physically hold the timer to keep it from swaying (not an optimal solution to the problem). The timer cable already had a tie attached to it; all I needed to do was add one more cable tie around the tripod leg to complete the windproof setup.
Of course, cable ties are also extremely handy for their intended purpose, too, which is why I had them within arm's reach when looking for a solution.
Have you used cable ties to creatively solve a photographic need of your own? Let us know in the comments.
Update: Site visitor John has suggested an even cheaper, practical solution – attach a piece of gaffer tape to the camera dome and use it to cover the viewfinder when needed. Keep in mind, though, that long-term use of gaffer tape can leave a sticky residue on the surface of whatever it's stuck to (even though it's designed to be removed cleanly under normal use). I'd suggest replacing the tape periodically to avoid this.
From Sigma:
Sigma Corporation Announces Pricing and Availability of 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art Lens
Market’s first F2 full-frame zoom available in late July for $999
RONKONKOMA, NY — July 16, 2015 – Sigma Corporation of America, a leading DSLR lens and camera manufacturer, today announced that the new Sigma 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art lens will become available in late July for the street price of $999.
The 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art lens is the market’s first full-frame zoom that allows photographers to carry one fast aperture lens that can do the work of three popular fixed focal length lenses – the 24mm, 28mm and 35mm. It includes an optimized autofocus (AF) algorithm for smooth, fast, and accurate focusing, a manual focus (MF) override functionality, and is made of Thermally Stable Composite (TSC) reducing its size and weight.
Built upon the impressive versatility offered by Sigma’s 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art lens, the new 24-35mm continues the Art line tradition of top optical performance that’s comparable to Sigma’s 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art and 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art. It offers optimized lens power distribution, and minimizes spherical aberration, axial chromatic aberration and field curvature. The Sigma 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art lens also features a video-friendly, inner focusing system that eliminates front-lens rotation, enhancing the lens' stability as well as a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) that ensures a silent, high-speed AF function.
“The combination of fast, constant aperture and zoom versatility will make this lens exceptionally popular for photographers who crave the convenience of wide angle zooms, paired with the performance of fast, wide primes,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “The Art lenses have raised the bar for total imaging performance, and this lens is going to make a lot of photographers very happy.”
As with all new lenses under the Global Vision categories, every 24-35mm will be tested using Sigma’s own modulation transfer function (MTF) measuring system, “A1,” in the company’s factory in Japan. It is compatible with Sigma’s USB DOCK, which allows photographers to update the lens’ firmware, adjust focus points and customize full-time MF function settings by using Sigma's Optimization Pro software. Sigma’s exclusive Mount Conversion Service, which enables users to easily convert the lens’ camera mount between supported versions, is also available for a fee. The lens will be available in Sigma, Canon and Nikon mounts.
The Sigma 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art lens will also feature:
- Large-diameter, aspherical lens elements, which require advanced technologies to produce, one “F” Low Dispersion (FLD) glass, and seven Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements with two aspherical lenses. The advanced optics and optimized lens power distribution minimizes spherical aberration, axial chromatic aberration and field curvature, resulting in outstanding optical performance
- A video-friendly, inner focusing system that eliminates front-lens rotation, enhancing the lens' stability and allowing use of circular polarizing filters
- A Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) that ensures a silent, high-speed AF function. Smoother AF is achieved when the this AF algorithm is optimized
- Full-time MF by rotating the focus ring of the lens while auto focusing
- A nine-blade, rounded diaphragm creates an attractive blur to the out-of-focus areas of the image
- Specifications: Lens construction containing 18 elements in 13 groups; a weight of 33.2 ounces; a diameter and length of 3.4 inches by 4.8 inches, respectively; a minimum aperture of F16; and angle of view (35mm) of 84.1° to 63.4°; minimum focusing distance of 11 inches; and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:4.4
Preorder the Sigma 24-35mm Art Lens
B&H is accepting Sigma 24-35mm Art Lens preorders.
Image quality results from the EOS 5Ds R have been added to the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens Review.
The 16-35 f/4L IS is one of my favorite lenses and is looking great in front of the 5Ds.
B&H has the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens in stock with a $100.00 MIR available.
From the Canon Professional Network:
Canon has released an updated version of its popular Digital Photo Professional 4 (DPP 4) RAW processing software, which expands the support of its DSLRs to include EOS 1200D, EOS 60Da and EOS 60D as well as its PowerShot G7 X and PowerShot G1 X Mark II premium expert compacts and EOS M2 and EOS M Compact System Cameras...
The new update – version 4.3.0 – also incorporates two critical fixes, including a phenomenon in which the picture style set on the camera is not transferred to Digital Photo Professional properly and a phenomenon in which the copy and paste command using keyboard shortcuts cannot be used for the folder name.
“As part of Canon’s ongoing development of its Digital Photo Professional software, regular updates and fixes keep it up to date with our end users. Canon always listens carefully to customer feedback and this latest update is an example of that,” commented Mike Burnhill, Canon Europe’s Professional Imaging Technical Support Programme manager.
DPP 4.3.0: KEY FEATURES
- Faster, real-time adjustments
- Improved RAW file workflow
- Better, more approachable user interfaces
- Compatible with 64-bit native environments
- Colour adjustments for specific colour gamuts
- Improved highlight recovery provides expanded tonality
- Improved shadow recovery function
- Support for movie playback
- Auto Lighting Optimizer can be applied to JPEG images
- Better integration with EOS Utility 3 software
You can download DPP 4.3.0 now, free of charge, from Canon Europe’s support site here. Just click on your camera – EOS-1D X, EOS-1D C, EOS 5DS, EOS 5DS R, EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 6D, EOS 7D Mark II, EOS 7D, EOS 60Da, EOS 60D, EOS 70D, EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 760D, EOS 750D, EOS 700D, EOS 100D, EOS 1200D, EOS M3, EOS M2, EOS M, PowerShot G7 X and PowerShot G1 X Mark II – and select DPP 4.3.0 from the software options to download.
Fireworks are captivating, especially from a photography perspective. But even a captivating subject can become mundane over time.
The local fireworks show happens annually during the summer and attending has become our family tradition. This is not a New York City East River-scale fireworks show, but it is well done, is relatively low effort to attend and is very easy to photograph. After photographing the show over many years, I've grown somewhat bored with the same-old imagery and have been looking for something different. While I have a great unobstructed view from a close distance, the area is void of additional subject matter to include in these shots.
A technique that is showing some popularity right now is to utilize manual focus ring adjustment during exposure to change the appearance of the fireworks. When in focus, fireworks blasts appear as thin lines arcing through the frame during long (bulb) exposures. When out of focus, those lines become thick. If you rack focus during the exposure, those lines can be made to vary in thickness.
Go from out of focus to in focus to create a many-faceted star-like subject as shown above. Do the opposite and the narrow lines grow thick as they expand:
A key to long exposure photography is visualization and this technique will exercise your brain in this regard. But, there are no rules and the technique is not hard to try.
Before the shoot, establish the ideal focus distance mark in the focus distance window or using the distances printed on the lens. Note that this may not be at the full rotation extent of your focus ring and the subject may become blurred at focus distance longer. This is true even though fireworks photographed at a safe distance would be considered at infinity. Remember the ideal setting and have a small, dim (to not bother others nearby) flashlight handy to allow re-establishing of sharp focus. As Tony suggested (in the comments), Follow Focus device (even an inexpensive model) can work great for this purpose as long as the slected model cannot be rotated beyond set stop points (or care is taken to avoid this).
Ideally, press and hold the remote release to open the shutter immediately when a rocket is launched. As the rocket explodes, adjust focus smoothly until the burst goes dark and stop the exposure.
How much rotation to give the focus ring depends on the focal length, aperture and lens being used. A telephoto focal length is going to create a stronger blur more rapidly than a wide angle lens. A wide aperture will create a stronger blur more rapidly than a narrow aperture. Lenses have differing focus ring rates that also need to be accounted for.
The rate of focus adjustment also plays a role in the final shape of the blurs.
Use your creativity to expand the focus blur technique. For example, capture two subsequent explosions with the focus ring going in opposite directions. Or just leave the entire explosion blurred.
There is no reason that you cannot mix your standard fireworks photos with your creatively blurred versions.
Too late to get creative in the field this year? Edit your fireworks photos in Photoshop or your favorite image editing app. Experiment with the blur filters available to you there.
The fireworks images on this page were photographed a Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM Lens at about 47mm. This lens and focal length permitted an easy full extent focus adjustment. The camera was a Canon EOS 5Ds R. With the incredible resolution this camera offers, I framed the fireworks slightly wider than I typically do. This meant more cropping, but fewer large bursts went out of the frame.
For the fireworks images on this page, I utilized a 2-stop neutral density filter. Without this filter, the softening effects from diffraction would have been noticeable with the required f/16 aperture. The filter permited a sharp f/8 aperture with properly exposed bursts.
Are you bored of the standard fireworks pictures you capture regularly at your easy-to-attend location? Are you tired of the thin lines of color in your fireworks images? Get more frame coverage from your fireworks color by making them out of focus.
Learn more about fireworks photography.
As mentioned earlier this month, Canon is offering free 1-year subscriptions to the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan and KelbyOne Online Training with the purchase of a 5D Mark III, 6D or 7D Mark II.
With the promotion in full swing, Canon has released the video above highlighting the offer.
The hype is over; the day is here: Amazon Prime Day is upon us. The picture above says it all, "More Deals than Black Friday."
Unfortunately, only Prime customers are eligible for the deals. If you're not already a prime member, it's worth taking a look at as the benefits include:
- Free 2-Day Shipping
- Prime Photos
- Prime Instant Video
- Prime Music
- Kindle Owners Lending Library
I must admit, I'm seriously considering getting the iRobot Roomba 595 today... [Sean]
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