Canon and Sony News for Mar 2017 (Page 4)

Adobe recently debuted "Make It Now," a series of short videos which demonstrate how to accomplish various tasks with Adobe Creative Cloud tools. "How to Make a Double Exposure in Photoshop," can be seen above while the remaining videos released thus far can be seen below.

How to Create a Composite in Photoshop

From the DSLR Video Shooter YouTube Channel:

You will need these items for the smoke machine:

BATTERY
I would suggest a 15w battery or higher. That will give you plenty of smoke. The one I used in the video was an Eleaf iStick 50W which a friend gave to me. Turned out to be way overkill so 15+ watts would be fine. The battery I used charges via USB but some units will need one or two 18650 batteries.

TANK
There are tons of tanks out there but I used an Nautilus Atlantis tank.

LIQUID
Again, many different kinds/brands. I went with a no nicotine version.

NOSE SUCKER
I grabbed a pack of 3 here.

Just posted: Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sports Lens Review.

Find out how well this big, beautiful lens performs!

The Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sports Lens is in stock at: B&H | Amazon | Adorama

BTW, the tripod shown here is a Really Right Stuff TP-243 Ground-Level Tripod. It is a compact, rock solid support that does not flinch at even lenses bigger than this one.

The tripod head is a Wimberley Tripod Head II. It is ideal for lenses such as this one.

The Irix 11mm f/4 Firefly and Blackstone Lenses are available for preorder at the following retailers: B&H | Adorama

Image quality, vignetting, flare and distortion test results along with specs, measurements and standard product images have been added to the Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone Lens Review page.

A full review of this lens is coming soon. Note that the upper right corner shown in the image quality tool is sharper than the other three corners.

Amazon has the Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone Lens in stock. This lens will be arriving at B&H and Adorama soon.

From the B&H YouTube Channel:

Do your travel photos look like everyone else’s? What makes an impactful travel image beyond the postcard photos? They say (and it’s a myth) that the average person uses only 10% of their brain. Photographers use a very small percentage of their camera’s and computer’s brain.

In this seminar Jack Reznicki will show you where we can leverage the functions of our cameras and the richness of post processing, to give your travel photos more impact, beyond the postcard.

Topics Include:

• Auto ISO
• Auto Focus
• Focusing Modes
• Metering Modes
• Cropping and composition
• Scale
• GPS and Why
• Camera bag choices - Packing your gear for puddle jumper flights
• Camera model choices
• Lens choices – why to use what
• And more

From Canon USA:

MELVILLE, N.Y., March 10, 2017 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to congratulate O.J.: Made in America, ESPN Films’ five-part documentary directed by Ezra Edelman and shot by Nick Higgins on winning the 2017 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film blends archival video with new footage captured primarily with the Canon EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera.

Cinematographer Nick Higgins chose the EOS C300 camera for O.J.: Made in America because of the small form factor and ability to capture long takes without stopping. Higgins said, “The EOS C300 was the best camera to shoot this documentary. I really appreciate the small form factor, and was able to roll for hours and hours with just two 64 GB cards and AC power.”

The ability to shoot for long periods of time with limited interruption was crucial. “Interviews for this film lasted at least three hours and were typically around five or six hours long; our longest was eight hours long,” Higgins explained. “The topic of conversation was always intense, and the flow would have been completely thrown off if I had to interrupt for the camera. That’s why the EOS C300 was so important to this project.”

In terms of lenses, Higgins’ relied on the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens. “I shot the vast majority on the 50mm at an f2,” Higgins said. “That way, I could make the background abstract without fearing that the subject would go in and out of focus as they breathed.”

“When our skilled engineers develop cameras and lenses, it is our greatest hope that they end up in the hands of filmmakers like Nick Higgins and the team behind O.J.: Made in America,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, President and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “We extend our congratulations on the Oscar win, from everyone at Canon.”

B&H carries the Canon EOS C300 & C300 Mark II and EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens.

From the DJI YouTube Channel:

DJI’s designers and engineers have crafted a whole new type of drone that is the Mavic Pro. Watch and learn all about their creative processes in developing a tool that is exquisite in both form and functionality.

B&H carries the DJI Mavic Pro.

With two excellent, similarly-priced general purpose zooms available for Canon users, both of which feature an f/4 maximum aperture, weather sealing, great AF performance and image stabilization, choosing between the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM can be a challenge.

The primary and significant advantage held by the 24-105 f/4L IS II is the extra 35mm of focal length range on the long end.

The 24-70 f/4L IS is a smaller and slightly lighter lens. It is 0.99" (25mm) shorter when retracted (actual measured length) and 1.25" (31.8mm) shorter with the hood installed. The 24-70 weighs 6.7 oz. (189.9g) less with hood installed (actual measured weight). Are these differences? Yes. Are they significant ones? Possibly.

For many, a more significant advantage of the 24-70 is its very impressive macro capability. A 0.70x maximum magnification from a non-prime-macro lens is eye-opening and significantly more impressive than the 24-105L II's 0.24x spec. However, it should be kept in mind that a 12mm extension tube can push the 24-105 to 0.60x maximum magnification. Disclaimer: I have not made an image quality comparison with the extension tube in play.

Image quality comparisons I have made show that:

The lenses are more similar than they are different in terms of sharpness. The 24-70 has less CA at 24mm, but more at 70mm. The two lenses have a similar amount of vignetting aside from at 24mm where the 24-105 has an advantage even stopped down. The 24-105 shows less flare effects while the 24-70 has less linear distortion.

Affecting image quality on a limited basis is the aperture blade count. The 24-70 has 9 blades vs. the 24-105 L's 10. This difference will primarily be noticed when point light sources are photographed at narrow apertures, with the odd blade numbered aperture creating 18-point sun stars vs the even's 10-point stars.

On the whole, I would not consider image quality to be a primary differentiating factor between these two lenses.

There is a minor difference in these lens' IS systems. The 24-70 features Canon's 4-stop Hybrid Image Stabilization, correcting both angular and shift movement in macro mode. The 24-105 L has 4-stop non-Hybrid Image Stabilization.

The Price

If price remains a deciding factor for you ... the Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM's retail price is slightly lower than the freshly released EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM's, though rebates will likely increase or decrease the price differential from time to time.

Get your Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM Lens or Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens from B&H.

From the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom YouTube Channel:

Lightroom tips and tricks in 60 seconds or less from longtime Lightroom team member Benjamin Warde.

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

From the Harold Ross YouTube Channel:

This short video discusses one of the six lighting principles I teach during my light painting workshops. This principle is : The Angle of Reflection is Equal to the Angle of Incidence. The video demonstrates that changing the angle of the light is sometimes needed to achieve certain reflections.

You can find more of Herold Ross's tutorials here.

If you are considering the purchase of the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens or the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens, you are likely a discerning photographer pursuing sports action or wildlife.

While there are other uses for these lenses, these are by far the most commonly photographed subjects with these focal lengths. While no one will consider these lenses inexpensive, no one will consider the image quality they deliver to be anything short of stellar and image quality is not a differentiator here. Those who know what they want, want these lenses. While having both of these big whites in the kit would be perfect, most of us cannot afford or justify the purchase of both. Thus, the question of "Which one?" arises.

The obvious (and only) difference in the names of these lenses is the focal length number. These lenses were announced at the same time, arrived on my doorstep on the same delivery, appear very similar and indeed share the same overall design concepts and construction materials. Those wanting as much reach as possible will of course want the 600mm option.

But, sometimes a selected focal length can be too long. A too-narrow angle of view may make it too hard to quickly find a subject in the viewfinder, hard to keep a subject in the frame (especially if it is in-motion) and, if framed too tightly, important parts of a scene may be cropped from the frame. Because APS-C-format cameras have smaller imaging sensors and therefore use a smaller portion of the image circle provided by these lenses, they "see" an angle of view equivalent to a 1.6x longer lens on a full frame body. Thus, on an APS-C body, these lenses frame a scene similar to a 800mm and 960mm lens on a full frame body and at these angles of view, "too long" comes more frequently.

Similarly, a focal length can be too short. Too short is usually the result of not being able to get close enough to a subject. Reasons for this situation include physical barriers (a fence, a body of water), subjects that are not more closely approachable (wildlife tends to be uncomfortable with us nearby) and safety (dangerous wildlife, unsafe proximity to race cars). Too short usually results in an image being cropped with a lower resolution image remaining.

Another focal length related tip to consider is that, the longer the focal length, the longer the time span a moving subject is likely to remain in near-ideal framing. Without a zoom range available to quickly fine tune framing, prime lens-captured images often require cropping in post processing. However, the longer focal length lens has a narrower angle of view, which requires you to be farther from the subject for optimal framing and at that longer distance, an approaching or departing subject changes size in the frame at a slower rate. That means more images can be captured within the period of time with optimal framing. For the same reason, a larger physical area can be ideally-covered by the longer focal length – such as a larger portion of a soccer or football field. While the difference between 500mm and 600mm is not dramatic in this regard, the 600mm lens has an advantage.

Another benefit provided by a longer focal length is greater-enlarged background details, meaning that a longer focal length can create a stronger background blur. The 600mm lens can create a stronger separation of a subject from its background than the 500mm lens can. Most of us love an extremely blurred background and the longer focal length makes it easier to produce (though both of these lenses rank very highly for this purpose).

A longer focal length means a longer camera-to-subject distance and with more atmosphere placed between a lens and its subject, there is an increased likelihood that heat waves will cause image distortion. The longer working distance required by the longer focal length also provides more opportunity for obstructions, such as tree branches to get between the lens and, for example, a wildlife subject. The longer subject distance also delivers a slightly more-compressed perspective, creating a slightly different look to the subject (not necessary a benefit to either lens specifically).

Although focal length is typically my first priority for choosing a lens, it is not always the most important. In this lens comparison, there is a substantial size, weight and price differential that can sometimes be more important than the differences already discussed.

The site's lens specifications comparison tool has a detailed comparison between these lenses, but here is a quick look:

How old are you? How old do you want to become? How do you want to feel when you get that old? Safe to say is that all of us are getting older and also safe to say is that most of us reach a maximum strength point somewhere far prior to reaching the age we hope to survive until. And, how we feel at the end goal date is partially conditional on how we treat our bodies during the younger years. Just because you can handhold a 600mm f/4 lens for long periods of time now does not mean that you should do this and the strain placed on our bodies now may be long-lasting. If you are not able to use a lens support most of the time, the 500mm option is going to be the better option for most.

Size also matters, but when lenses get this big, the size differences don't seem to matter so much. Smaller is better, but neither is close to what I would consider small. You will likely find the biggest size difference to be in the volume of comments generated on the sidelines and the case size required by the lens. That said, I frequently carry the 600 with me on airplanes (in the USA), typically using the MindShift Gear FirstLight 40L and always as carry-on. With the 500, a modestly smaller case can be used or slightly more can be included in the same case.

The size difference between these lenses is apparent in the product comparison image accompanying this post. See the same comparison with the lens hoods on here (and also compare these lenses to other models).

The 500mm focal length is 83% as long as 600mm and the similarity factor for a majority of the above-discussed differences is about the same. One exception is the price factor, with that one dropping to just below the 80% mark. While neither lens is inexpensive, the 500 costs considerably less than the 600 and that factor alone will be the basis for this decision for some. That quality lenses typically hold their value well means that overall cost of ownership is not as bad as it first appears.

Recommendations

Most often, I recommend the 600mm lens for full frame bodies and the 500mm lens for APS-C bodies, though there are some exceptions.

If photographing big field sports such as soccer, the 600mm lens is my choice for a full frame camera and I would rather have the 500mm lens on an APS-C body.

Those photographing small birds will likely find the 600 preferable in front of any camera.

Those needing to handhold the lens with any frequency probably should select the 500mm option.

The Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens is one of the most important and most used lenses in my kit (primarily composed of full frame cameras). Many of my favorite images can be attributed to this lens, from irreplaceable memories of the kids playing soccer to captures of incredible wildlife in the mountains. The weight of this lens is a definite downside and I have more-than-once become worn out from carrying it, but ... the results are worth every bit of the effort.

To Learn More About These Lenses

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens Review
Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens Review

Better Yet, Add One of These Lenses to Your Kit

Get the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens at: B&H | Adorama | Amazon
Get the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens at: B&H | Adorama | Amazon

Add One to Your Kit Temporarily

What are you doing this weekend? Spend some time getting to know and having fun with these big white lenses without the large price tag. Try renting! Lensrentals.com has the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens and Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens ready to ship to your doorstep.

From B&H:

Women of Influence is an inspirational look at the talent, drive, and perseverance that forged some remarkable photographic and filmmaking careers.

Ten leading women explore their works, the stories of how each built careers, overcame challenges, and developed signature styles.

From the B&H YouTube Channel:

In 1962, the US government prevented US citizens from traveling to Cuba. In 2015 the US and Cuba started to normalize diplomatic relations. It is now easier for US citizens to travel to this island nation. This is good news for all photographers, including underwater image-makers. Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen), is an archipelago that has been an underwater national park since 1996.

Join Larry and Olga as they explore this rich underwater environment.