Adobe has started banging the drums about the upcoming unveiling of CS5. On Monday April 12th they will unveil the new CS5 suite of products. Thwey will only be annoucing details fo teh new product which likley won’t be availible for sale before fall 2010. There are already some sneak peek videos on the site of some what to expect. Looks exciting!!
A product that has been long overdue is finally out. An instructional DVD that was created with the beginner in mind. “Studio Lighting DVD” is a new instructional video available at www.photographydvds.com that was created with the person that is new to studio lighting in mind. The first portion of the video covers the basics of the equipment needed and how to setup and use some of the most commonly used items from Sekonic, Photovision, AlienBees, and PocketWizards. Read more…
The Electric Artist also know as Gary Crilley is offering a free 176 page book online as a free download. You do have to submit your name and email address though. It looks like a pretty good book and has some useful tips as well. It is a ~30MB download so be sure you have time or a fast connection.
Northlight Images has a great article on how to use your LCD screen to check and fine tune your auto focus on your camera. Canon’s two most recent pro-level cameras the 1D and 1Ds Mark III cameras feature a AF microadjustment setting. You can use this microadjustment to fine tune exactly where your camera focuses the lenses to during auto focus. This has been a often talked about problem with the occasional gross offender being written about extensively along with samples to backup the claims. Previously the cameras and lenses had to be sent to the manufacturer for service to have the two adjusted. The ability to set this in camera alleviates the need to do this. Even if you don’t have the ability to make these adjustments you can test your camera and get an idea of if it is front or back focusing and approximate by how much. Armed with this you can decide if the problem is extreme enough to warrant a trip to the repair shop.
Professionalsnapshots.Com’s website is running a multi part series on workflow.
If you take a lot of images and/or don’t have a great deal of time to process then then a good workflow is essential. My greatest weakness is not doing a better first cut once I upload new images. Because of this I spend to much time in later steps continuing to plow through the images that are not worth keeping. In my experience after awhile you will recognize a good or great images right away and those are the ones to spend your time on. My two best time savers have been getting a fast card reader (Kingston FCR-HS215/1) and uploading all of the images to their directories and letting Lightroom generate the thumbnails overnight. This way the next day I can sort through the images with a fresh set of eyes and don’t have to wait for the thumbnails to generate. During Football season I generally sort through ~4,000 images and narrow that down to 500 to post to my web gallery. For me a good efficient Workflow is key.
Adobe has released a beta version of their new web based version of Photoshop! This is a slimmed down version of Photoshop but still very powerful and useful. You have to sign up for your free account that includes 2 GB of online storage. The interface for uploading your files is quite simple to navigate and use. Once the images are uploaded rotating and adding captions to them in the gallery viewer is quick and easy. The editing of a full sized image (10 MP JPEG) was slow for me. I realize this is a beta but still I was a little let down by the extremely slow response to edit a single image. Once you have done your editing you can share them with other users, email them, or use them in your Photobucket or Face Book gallery. I recommend you check it out and reserve your custom URL today.
Adorama Imaging Resource Center (AIRC) editor Mason Resnick is posting a new photo tip everyday until July 4th 2008 on their website. This is his second such article of this type. From September through December Mason posted his first 100 in 100 and no is on to part II. Every five days he tackles a new subject for five days with a new tip each day. So far he has done shooting in low light, sports/action photography, digital camera scene modes, shoot to sell – successful eBay photography, and make ultimate-quality digital prints. The page is located here and check out last years list here.
Photoshop is a great tool and like all tools there is more than one way to get to the same effect or correction. This is one of the reasons I really enjoy reading online tutorials and tips and tricks. By seeing what works for other people you can find better and/or faster ways of doing what your already doing. I came across the the PSHero.Com website and really enjoyed some of their tutorials, tips, and tricks. Every time I read a magazine, book, or listen to a Podcast I come across something new and the PSHero.Com material is no exception. I like to always go back to the basics and the “Basic Image Adjustment 101” is a great place to start. I highly recommend you check this out an more. Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite websites as well.
I am often asked for my advice on accessories by people who have just purchased a new DSLR. I am going to break this in to several parts so I can provide some detail and thoughts about each
Part Three – A fast lens
I am a big proponent of expanding your possibilities and trying something different. Most people (me included) when they purchase their DSLR typically get the “kit” lens with it. Today this lens is often an 18-55 mm lens with a variable aperture of f3.5 – f5.6. This works ok in really bright situations or higher ISO speeds. Once you move indoors you either have to use flash or max out the ISO. Depending on what you are doing this can be limiting and not always giving you the photo you were looking for.
I am often asked for my advice on accessories by people who have just purchased an new DSLR. I am going to break this in to several parts so I can provide some detail and thoughts about each
Part Two – A bulb type blower
One if the downsides of DSLR cameras is dust. It is all but impossible to avoid but can be easily minimized. Newer cameras now have “Anti-dust” features built-in but trust me you will still get dust inside the lens box. I reality you don’t actually get dust on your sensor but on the filter that covers it and protects it.
I am often asked for my advice on accessories by people who have just purchased an new DSLR. I am going to break this in to several parts so I can provide some detail and thoughts about each
Part One – A tripod
The more support/stability you can give your camera while acquiring the image is likely to give you better sharper images. If you don’t have a tripod you will likely be amazed how much better your photos will be with one.
I thought I had seen it all in the area of DIY (Do it yourself) for photography until I saw DIYPhotography.net. This site has some really interesting ides for photographic items such as creating a beauty dish from a turkey pan to stabilizing your camera while shooting with a washer, bolt, and some string. The site is provided bu Udi Tirosh and he has done a great job of collecting all of these tips, articles, and videos. If you are looking for some inspiration on the cheap check out the site at www.diyphotography.net
Tired of the same old gallery templates provided in Lightroom? There are a number of places on the web that have free downloads to change things up a bit. “Lightroom Galleries” not only has some neat gallery add-ons that you can download for free but tutorials, news, and a user forum as well. The latest addition is TTG Panic Gallery from the Turning Gate website. If you like their galleries you are encourage to donate.
The Image Space a website by Joe Barret has released a “Lightroom Tips eBook” as a free download. With 30+ tips that are also available on “The Image Space” Site. The book format makes it easy to access and all in one place. This site is a wealth of information and great images. Here is the download page.
I am a big fan of the Lowepro Slingshot bags. I own the 200 AW and 300 AW. The 200 AW is the mid-sized bag and is great for the 20D and a shorter lens attached. Last year when we prepared for our vacation in
Nikon announced their new entry D60 in advance of the PMA 2008 show. The DLSR offers a resolution of 10 megapixels, 3 FPS, Nikon’s exclusive EXPEED image processing concept, and a VR-NIKKOR lens in the standard kit. This appears to be an excellent to the Nikon line up and as is now the trend several key technologies are being pushed into the consumer cameras. By pushing the VR (Vibration Reduction) image stabilization technology in to the kit lens for this camera Nikon is upping the ante for entry level DSLRs. Nikon D60 product page.
Canon announced their newest upgrade to the Rebel line with the improved XSi. The new features and upgrades for this camera are a 12.2 MP sensor, 3.5 FPS, 3.0” LCD, 9-point AF, DIGIC III image processor, and Live View. The two new feature additions to the camera that surprised me are the Live View and the DIGIC III processor. Both of these are great features I was just surprised to see them show up in the entry level camera before the prosumer version. My guess is the we will see a updated 40D soon that will have these features and more. One of things that I will be curious to see is the picture quality at higher ISO ratings. I am not sure how closely this is tied to the DIGIC III image processor but if it is anything close to the quality of the 1D MK III then this new camera will be one to beat at this price point. Canon’s XSi Product Page
Scott Kelby who is in my opinion a guru of everything about digital photography has many books out and recently published “The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom book for Digital Photographers”. Scott has authored a number of book that deal specifically with Adobe Photoshop and now Lightroom. The style that Scott writes in is very informal and a welcome change from most books I have attempted to read on Photoshop. All of his “For Photographers” books are just that and really are written in a way that a Photographer can relate to and easily use. I purchased the Lightroom book and was learning about functions and features that I had no idea existed or how to do them in Lightroom. This book and his others has continued to move me along in improving my workflow and quality of work. Scott is also heavily involved with NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals). Please support the blog and click on my Amazon links to purchase on of Scott’s books
For along time now the Canon 200mm 1.8 lenses has been one of the most sought after lenses of Canon photographers. The image quality is heralded as one of if not the best in the canon line up. Some might speculate this is because the lens was discontinued in 2004 and therefore everyone wanted what they could not easily have. Canon recently introduce its replacement in the form of a newly designed 200mm 2.0 lens now with image stabilization. The new version is available for $5,999.00 which will continue to likely drive the price of the old version us which can typically be found for around $3,500 to $4,200 on the web and eBay. This lens has found a great niche among photographers that do portrait work for its very shallow depth of field and for indoor sporting events where flash is not practical or often not even allowed. Canon’s product page.
When the Adobe Lightroom Beta came out I was on of the many that downloaded it and played around with it but honestly I was no blown away, at first. As I played around with it more and more and discovered some of the new tweaks and features. Soon I started really looking at it and how it could improve my workflow I got excited. I eventually purchased the Scott Kelby Lightroom book and then I started seeing the improvements in my ability to import files, tag them, and catalog them. I like the fact that Lightroom treats all files (RAW and JPEG) as if they were negatives and does not alter them. I do sport photography and a typical day is shooting close to 4,000 JPEG photos and then having to short them and select the 10% to 15% that I will process and post for purchase. Lightroom has really reduced the amount of time required for my end to end workflow.
