Canon and Sony News for Dec 2017 (Page 4)
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice is rapidly approaching and the days are already short.
That means nights are long and, while plenty of indoor photography avails itself at any time of the year, late fall and winter is a great time to photograph the night sky for a few reasons.
First, there is more dark time of the day and that means more hours of star visibility.
You can spend hours photographing the night sky and still get to bed in time to be well-rested in the AM.
When the nights are long, the biting bugs are gone (depending on where you live, the potentially-biting bears may also be gone).
One more reason is that, because cold air is not able to hold as much moisture as warm air, winter tends to have clearer skies, and clear skies are of course a prerequisite for star photography.
Winter astrophotography is not without downsides and these include less-comfortable temperatures along with a Milky Way alignment that may or may not work well for you.
Of course, a bright moon can preclude dark skies at any time of the year.
The Milky Way (or any photo of the stars) can make a nice image, but a meteorite is a huge bonus.
How do you increase the odds of getting the perfectly-positioned meteorite in the frame?
Photographing during a meteor shower is ideal.
However, meteorites can happen at any time and a formally-designated "shower" is not a requirement.
A big key is to take a lot of photos, significantly increasing the odds of a well-placed shooting star streak.
Night sky exposures are long, especially with long exposure noise reduction enabled, and that means taking many photos takes a lot of time.
Time-consuming tasks that can be left unattended beg for multitasking.
Set up the camera (on a tripod of course) with the desired manual exposure settings dialed in and set the drive mode to high speed burst.
Then, using a remote release featuring a shutter release lock, lock the release down and go do something else.
If you are fortunate enough to have great stars in your backyard (and you are not concerned about the camera being stolen), that something else could be anything indoors including eating dinner.
Or, set up a second camera to photograph the night sky with, perhaps using a different foreground and/or focal length.
Read a book, call your mom, sleep, etc.
You get the point – and you get the pictures.
If long exposure noise reduction is turned off, the set of images captured can later be combined to create a star trails photo (these are especially great if including the North star).
Also optional with the same set of images is creating a time-lapse sequence with the stars moving across the sky.
For this image, I used the suggested strategy and spent my time working with another camera I had also set up.
Every 5 minutes or so, I came back to adjust the composition (keeping the bottom of the Milky Way aligned with the break in the trees).
Upon reviewing the images later, I found one with the ideal meteorite streak position (along with four smaller meteorite streaks visible in the full-resolution image).
I should mention here that even with a 14mm lens, cameras with imaging sensors having pixel densities as high as the Canon EOS 5Ds R (and all 20+ MP APS-C models)
begin to show small star motion-blur streaks at the 25 second exposure used here (except those stars closer to the North Star and the southern equivalent).
One option to extend exposure times while avoiding star streaks is to use an equatorial tracking mount.
However, a tracking mount will just cause the foreground to be blurred (if a foreground is included in the frame).
A great feature of the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer tracking mount is the 1/2-speed rotation setting option,
permitting the motion blur to be balanced between the earth-bound subject and the celestial ones.
This setting effectively doubles the exposure times that can be used or, alternatively, it facilitates a 1-stop lower ISO setting.
The Star Adventurer likely costs less than you think.
Start with the "Astro Package" and consider adding the EQ base and counterweight.
Multiple times I've started to assemble a list of the best star photography lenses, but ... that project remains unfinished.
That is a really hard list to assemble and there are no perfect astrophotography lenses.
However, there are several really good choices and I currently consider the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens to be the best astrophotography lens available today.
I have a dark sky photo trip planned for next summer and the Sigma 14 Art is the primary Lens I plan to take for that purpose.
What is your favorite astrophotography lens?
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 3200
5792 x 8688px
From LensRentals:
Dear customers, Here at LensRentals, we are completely committed to delivering the absolute best rental experience for every customer, every time. In our opinion, there is only one other company in this industry that upholds the same type of standards that we hold so dear here at Lensrentals.
That’s why we’re so excited today to announce we’ve joined forces with our friends at LensProToGo. We’ve had a mutual respect and friendship with Paul and the entire LPTG crew since the days when Lensrentals operated out of my spare bedroom. We’re happy to have Paul join the Lensrentals ownership group and to have the rest of the LPTG team joining our family.
When Paul and I started in the equipment rental business over a decade ago, it was pretty scary, with each of us trying to figure out how to do this. We were respectful competitors but also helped each other, sharing what we each had learned with each other. This new partnership not only combines two great companies, it combines two great management teams.
For those of you who have used LensProToGo, you already know how fantastic the folks at LPTG are. Their entire team in Boston is made up of professional photographers & videographers with a passion for helping you achieve your goals.
LensProToGo customers will get access to the largest rental inventory in the country and the advantages that arise from a shipping location located just a few miles from the FedEx SuperHub in Memphis. Lensrentals customers will get access to an even larger staff of experts ready to offer unbiased advice and to help you craft solutions for whatever projects you have coming up.
Both brands will continue to exist and thrive. If you’re a LensProToGo customer, the only differences you’ll notice is a greater choice & availability of equipment, and that your shipment might ship from Lensrentals HQ in Memphis. If you’re a Lensrentals customer, you’ll soon have more options for pickup locations, and you might end up talking about your order with a staff member who has a wicked good New England accent instead of an adorable Southern drawl.
We’re committed to keeping what you love about each brand and only making each one better than ever. We look forward to telling you more about all the exciting things we have in store in the near future.
Thank you for your continued loyalty,
Roger Cicala
From Canon USA:
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is excited to announce the launch of a CarePAK PLUS promotion just in time for the holidays. Now through January 6, 2018, 13 months free Canon CarePAK PLUS is included at no additional cost to customers who purchase select Canon cameras and lenses and register their product within 30 days. The list of eligible Canon products has been expanded to include the EOS 6D Mark II, EOS 80D, EOS 77D and the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM, giving even more Canon customers the opportunity to enjoy free accident protection.
All eligible Canon cameras and lenses include:
- EOS-1D X Mark II Body
- EOS 5D Mark IV Body
- EOS 5D Mark III Body
- EOS 5Ds Body
- EOS 5DsR Body
- EOS 6D Body
- EOS 7D Mark II Body
- EOS 6D Mark II Body
- EOS 80D Body
- EOS 77D Body
- EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
- EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM
- EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
- EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
- EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
- EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
- EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
- EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM
- EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
CarePAK PLUS offers protection from accidental damage such as drops, spills, power surges, and more including normal wear and tear, beyond the standard warranty period. With a CarePAK PLUS, a damaged product will be repaired to good working condition or replaced with an equivalent product. Canon customers also enjoy service performed by Canon factory technicians using only genuine Canon parts, which no other service plan can offer.
B&H is an authorized Canon retailer and a highly recommended source for filling out your gear bag.
Just posted: Canon EOS M100 Review.
Here are some of the basic reasons why you should get an M100:
- You want high-end image quality
- You want very simple-to-use interface
- You want good AF performance
- You want a very small size and light weight camera that is able go everywhere with you
- You want to pay a very low price
And you might want to get the M100 right now because of Canon USA's holiday promotion, featuring a big $100 instant savings on this little camera.
The Canon EOS M100 is in stock at B&H | Amazon | Adorama | WEX.
Note: When cropping in Photoshop, I always leave "Delete Crop Pixels" unchecked. Doing so allows you to choose a different framing or aspect ratio later (utilizing the previously cropped portion of the image) if desired. [Sean]
From the f64 Academy YouTube Channel:
In today's tutorial, I have the perfect candidate for this feature. I have a horizon that is WAY off due to composing the scene in camera rather quickly while the waves were approaching me. If I tried to fix the horizon in ACR, I lost a killer composition because it cut off the top of the trees and grounded the eye of the viewer. However, when I brought it into Photoshop and checked the content aware crop button, it made a WORLD of difference.
B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.
I shared this white-tailed buck image in the LensCoat RainCoat Review and decided I would share it individually as well.
This deer encounter was mid-afternoon on a mid-fall day in Shenandoah National Park.
The time of the day combined with the time of the year meant a relatively low sun angle and the time of the year also meant that the buck was in rut.
This nice-sized buck was with a doe and he was making sure that rivals did not intrude and was constantly watching for such.
The constantly watching aspect is a key point.
During non-rut times, it can be hard to get a buck to lift its head in this national park, but during rut, that problem vanishes.
The buck are constantly giving their best alert poses.
And, when a challenger shows up, the action gets especially entertaining.
Many basic image composition strategies involve establishing balance in the frame.
When an included subject has eyes, the direction they are looking adds weight to the side of the frame being peered toward.
This means the subject, adding weight itself, should be moved toward the opposite side of the frame for equalization.
There is some flexibility as to how far to move the subject and the rule of thirds often has value in this situation.
Had this buck simply turned his head the other direction, I would have had to rapidly change AF points to the other side of the frame and recompose to move the majority of empty space to the right side of the animal to again achieve the desired balance.
As an aside, if that head turn happens, quickly grab a photo placing the already-selected AF point on the closest eye.
Then switch AF points as desired prior to continuing to photograph.
I often do this because moments with wildlife can be fleeting and as long as you have the entire animal/bird in the frame and in focus, you still have the option to photograph additional empty space after the animal is vanishes.
The photo of empty space probably will not be very special (don't accidentally delete it later), but it can be perfect for stitching into the fast-captured wildlife image.
In this case, the buck was motionless for a long enough period of time for me to capture a dozen or so images.
All seemed ideally-composed in the viewfinder, most were composed slightly differently and many variants still looked potentially the best during review on the computer.
That of course meant that picking only one of them to share was a challenge.
Some of you remember that I often use the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens at SNP.
The zoom is ideal for working around obstructions, but this time I opted to use the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens.
I made this choice primarily to get the stronger background blur (and foreground blur in this case).
I know, you are thinking that this is a big and expensive lens.
But, it is among my most-frequently-used and a large percentage of my favorite images were captured with it.
One editing question regarding this image remains in my mind: should I remove the small branch over the deer's head?
Or does that detail add to the image, emphasizing of the thickness of the brush he is in?
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 250
8688 x 5792px
Canon has issued a product advisory for the EOS 5D Mark IV to alert customers of a delay in the release of a firmware update.
From Canon USA:
We would like to inform you that release of firmware to enhance functions of the EOS 5D Mark IV, which was originally scheduled for November 29 at the same timing as the firmware updates for six other models (EOS-1D X Mark II: Ver.1.1.4; EOS-1D X: Ver.2.1.0; EOS 5D Mark III: Ver.1.3.5; EOS 5DS: Ver.1.1.2; EOS 5DS R: Ver.1.1.2; EOS 6D Ver. 1.1.8), has been postponed until late February 2018 for reasons related to firmware preparation. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to users of this product who have been inconvenienced.
In the firmware to enhance functions of the EOS 5D Mark IV, we are planning to incorporate the following enhancements:
- Support will be added for chromatic aberration correction, peripheral illumination correction, distortion correction, and Digital Lens Optimizer when using Digital Photo Professional to process RAW images captured with the following TS-E lenses: TS-E 17mm f/4L, TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, TS-E 50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO, or TS-E 135mm f/4L MACRO.
- Support will be added to fix a phenomenon* in which standard exposure may not be obtained, or an irregular exposure may result, when Silent LV (Live View) shooting with the following TS-E lenses: TS-E 50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO, or TS-E 135mm f/4L MACRO.
- Support for Exif 2.31 will be added.
*This phenomenon occurs when tilt or shift is applied on a TS-E lens (TS-E 50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO, or TS-E 135mm f/4L MACRO) during LV shooting when Silent LV shooting is set (set to Mode 1 or Mode 2 on the menu). For this reason, until the firmware update, when performing viewfinder shooting or LV shooting, please shoot with the Silent LV shooting set to [Disable].
by Sean Setters
I was in the middle of a head shot session with a local Savannah model when I thought to myself, "Just how many flashes do you need in a studio setting?" After the session was over, I thought a little bit more about that question.
Before going any further, let me be clear – a flash is not absolutely necessary to create a compelling studio portrait (but the use of flash can make capturing compelling portraits easier). Many beautiful, classic portraits have been created using window light alone, or possibly combined with an inexpensive reflector or two. Other constant, man-made light sources (either inexpensive or high-end LED panels) can be used for compelling portraiture, and can even be combined with flashes for interesting effects. But when I think of a versatile lighting tool for the studio, my mind immediately goes to "flash."
With that said, flashes have a few inherent benefits over constant lighting:
- Wide range of light output variability (and easily controllable)
- Action freezing potential regardless of ambient light level
- Full-spectrum light, ideal for color rendering
- Huge range of light modifiers available
Right now, I have (5) shoe-mount flashes and (6) studio monolights. I use the shoe-mount flashes and monolights interchangeably in the studio, often in the same setup.
So let's walk through a few of the images from my most recent studio session to see how many flashes were used and why.
In the shot above, I only used two flashes, but a total of three light sources were employed. The main light was provided by a shoe-mount flash which was boomed above the subject and diffused by a 24" gridded softbox. Another shoe-mount flash was fired through a 43" collapsible umbrella positioned below the boomed softbox and provided fill light (the two flashes producing a traditional clamshell lighting setup). With the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens mounted to a tripod, I used my free hand to dangle a string of battery powered LED lights in front of the lens to create the bokeh effect.
In this shot, I used two studio strobes slightly behind the subject, both diffused by gridded strip boxes to accentuate the subject's hair and provide separation from the black background. For the main light, I used a shoe-mount flash firing through a Light Blaster (with 35mm transparent slide installed) to create the pattern on her face. So for this particular setup, that's two rim/hair/separation/kicker lights (take your pick on the terminology, but for the rest of this post, I'll use the term "rim") and one main light for a total of three lights. In post-processing, I used Topaz Impression to make the photo look like a painting.
Now let's take a look at a more traditional headshot.
This shot required the most lights of the setups we tried. Like the first image, I used a clamshell lighting setup with two flashes located above and below the subject (the same modifiers were used). But as in the preceding shot, I used the two monolights, diffused by strip boxes, to provide rim lighting on both sides of the subject. All told, that's four flashes used. Aside from lighting, I used a fan camera right to create movement in the subject's hair.
So is four the magic number? I don't think so, because I can think of a couple of situations where you I may want one or two more flashes based on the last setup.
For instance, if I had wanted to create a similar headshot to the one directly above but on a darker background (possibly black or gray) I could have used another flash to create a color gradient spotlight behind the subject (using a colored gel and grid modifier). Otherwise, if I had wanted the background to be completely white, with a nice, even coverage, at least two flashes would likely be required to achieve a clean white background.
So, with that in mind, I think a studio lighting kit with at least six flashes would be ideal, allowing for a very wide range of portrait styles to be captured. With six flashes, you'd have:
(1) main light
(1) fill light
(2) rim lights
(2) special use/background lights
If you have a reflector or two handy, then you could likely get by slightly fewer flashes, with the compromise being that reflectors are not nearly as versatile as flashes. But keep in mind, the actual flashes are only one part of a lighting kit. As you add additional flashes, you'll also likely need to add more light stands, umbrella swivels, light modifiers, radio receivers (if not a built-in feature of the flashes), etc. to support use of any flashes added to your kit.
Are there any circumstances that would warrant more than six flashes? Absolutely. But with six flashes (and the corresponding gear) in your kit, accomplishing your creative portraiture goals will rarely be inhibited.
Macphun/Skylum has released an update to Aurora HDR 2018. See below for details.
Changes include:
Aurora HDR 2018 version 1.1.1 for MAC:
- Added Luminar 2018 in plugin menu
- Added “Expand All” feature for filters
- Added support for Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018
- Added amount slider for image presets in Batch Processing
- Improved RAW, DNG support for several cameras including Nikon D850
- Improved Touch Bar support
- Improved Batch Processing UI
- Improved UI and performance
- Fixed localization issues
- Fixed several issues related to macOS 10.10
- Fixed colorspace mismatch issue with Adobe Photoshop plugin
- Fixed saving issues with Adobe Lightroom plugin
- Fixed DPI resolution issues on exporting files
Aurora HDR 2018 version 1.1.1 for Windows:
- Added Luminosity Mask feature
- Added Resize option to export dialog
- Added hotkeys for main application modes, brush, zoom
- Improved stability, particularly app crashes on exporting files
- Improved UI and performance
- Fixed issue with Adobe Photoshop plugin
- Fixed image orientation issue
Aurora HDR 2018 is designed to receive all free software updates automatically. However, if for some reason this doesn't occur, or you want to make sure you're using the latest version:
- For Mac choose "Check for updates" in the Aurora HDR 2018 menu in the upper left-hand corner (near the Apple logo).
- For Windows choose "Check for Updates" in the Help menu of the top bar menu.
While the UI for Aurora HDR 2018 is not necessarily my favorite, the results you can get with the program are great and well worth acclimatizing to its (somewhat quirky) interface. [Sean]
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.
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