Category: Digital Photography

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Are camera phones the new point and shoot cameras?

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I have two cameras that are with me 99% of the time. One is a Canon Powershot ELPH 870IS the other is my iPhone. Of course I have a couple great DSLRs (Nikon D700 and D5000). It goes without saying that when it's an important event I'm shooting with a DSLR. However, when it's just casual just out and about you would think that I pull out my Canon ELPH, but the reality is that I pull out my iPhone, take the shot (edit it in the FREE Photoshop.com Mobile App if need be) and share it immediately via Facebook/Twitter/Flickr/Email using the Best Camera App. 

You would think that more camera manufacturers would take the hint and be looking to add wi-fi (if not 3G capabilities) to their point and shoot cameras and redesign the interfaces on them for easier image sharing. 

Honestly I can't remember the last time I used my "Point and Shoot" camera. Sure I realize that your best or only camera may be your Point and Shoot camera and that you may use yours all the time. However, for me my best camera is my DSLR and for everything else I use my iPhone. Apparently I'm not alone! Look at this interesting set of stats on the 400% increase in mobile photo uploads to Flickr via the iPhone 3GS. What about you?

tplight

For those interested in more Flash/Light for low light photos, that's one thing I love about my Truepower IV iPhone external battery. Not only does it double my battery life but it also provides a bright LED light on the back for photos.

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GPS for your Camera – di-GPS Pro L Review

If you've been following this blog you know that I'm a big fan of the Dawn Tech GPS units for your DSLR camera. Well Dawn Tech has improved on a good thing and I'm here to talk about two of their new models.

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First up the NEW di-GPS Pro L

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If you want a little background on the di-GPS Pro see my original review here. The NEW "L" model offers a "data Logger". The 8MB flash memory based data logger can track over 260,000 data points. While this is great for someone that may want to download this data later, I'm more interested in having my GPS location data input right into the meta data of the shots when I take them! That's what the di-GPS units have always done. However, what this feature does give me now is the ability to geotag photos where there is NO SATELLITE RECEPTION based on my last known location. This is very cool! So if you're out shooting a landscape or walking about a city scene and then you duck in to take some shots of a historic landmark your shots taken inside will still be geotagged with the last known position. VERY COOL!

All of the other goodness of the original di-GPS Pro are still intact and this GPS is hands down my favorite!

 

The NEW di-GPS Mini 3L D5000

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I bought a D5000 last year to basically be my travel camera. So unless I'm specifically traveling to do an important shoot, I'll most likely have my D5000 in tow. When I bought the D5000 I also bought the only GPS that worked with it at the time which was the Nikon GP-1 reviewed here. While the GP-1 does work there is one thing that drove me absolutely nuts about it and that is there is no on/off switch. Basically it comes on with the camera and goes off with it. Now while that doesn't sound like a big deal, it means that when the D5000 goes to sleep so does the GP-1. While the D5000 wakes at the tap of a button, the GP-1 then takes a few moments to re-acquire the satellite and therefore may not be capturing location information if you don't wait first before firing your first few shots. Like its big brother, the di-GPS Mini series has an On/Off/Auto switch. In the ON mode the GPS stays on even if the camera goes off/sleep. Granted this will drain your camera's battery quicker, but I've found the drain to be insignificant vs. the instant ready to shoot factor. 

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Is home printing becoming obsolete?

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image above compliments of istockphoto.com

Recently two different people asked me about printing apps for the iPhone/iPod touch. Another person asked me about hooking up a multi-function printer to their Mac OS X Server. I get printing questions all the time. I have some really nice printers here at home. The printer that gets used the most is the Xerox Phaser. I have assorted Epson printers and a Dymo Twin Label Printer that I love for my one-off label needs. With that said, my printing volume has gone way way way down. I easily go for weeks without printing anything. While I'm not quite ready to head to eBay with my gear, I'm wondering is printing becoming obsolete?

 

What About Printing Photos?

I was never really that into printing photos at home to begin with. Sure I have an Epson Color Stylus Photo R1800 that does a fantastic job. When the R1900 came out I had no reason to upgrade. I'm always amazed by the quality I get when I do a photo print. However, I can probably count on one hand the number of photos I printed in 2009. I'm certainly taking tons of photos, but the reality is that I do most of my photo sharing online. If someone really needs/wants a print of a photo I've taken then I'll usually upload it to one of my favorite labs like Costcophotocenter.com, MPIX.com or Kodakgallery.com and have the print mailed directly to them. I just can't print my own prints cheaper than Costco's prices! So the only time I print a photo is I need it right then and there and can't wait or drive to pick it up. As you might imagine those times are far and few between.

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The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 3

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I don't read books often (lack of time), so when I do it must be a really good one. My buddy Scott Kelby has done it once again. I got sucked into this book while on a flight and I had to read the whole thing cover to cover. This is the 3rd book in the series. Both volumes 1 and 2 were must haves and volume 3 is no different. Scott takes his classic one tip/one image per page approach to teach you exactly what you need to know to get the shot that you see featured on the page. Man of the pages also have additional tips at the bottom.

Volume 3 doesn't replace volumes 1 and 2. It's not like a Photoshop book where the new book covers the new version of the software. All 3 volumes contain useful tips that the other volumes don't contain. There is some slight overlap and that's OK, because I'm not going to remember every tip and every setting. So whether you start with Vol 1 or Vol 3 the books can stand alone or work great as a set.

The Volume 3 Chapters Include:

  • Using Flash Like a Pro, Part 2
  • Using Your Studio Like a Pro
  • The Truth About Lenses
  • Shooting Products Like a Pro
  • Shooting Outdoors Like a Pro
  • Shooting People Like a Pro
  • Shooting Sports Like a Pro
  • Pro Tips for Getting Better Photos
  • Avoiding Problems Like a Pro

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I'll Never Remember It all

Like I said, I read the entire book cover to cover in one setting. So while it was a great easy read and I understood everything I read, I'm just not going to remember it all. Also I probably won't remember which book had which tip I needed for a particular type of shoot. These books are great for learning, but they are also great for reference. While I'd love to think that I'd carry all 3 books with me everywhere I go, I won't!

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Epson adds Tethered Shooting to their P6000/P7000 Backup Units

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Although I own an Epson P6000 (see my original review here) I've been using my HyperDrive ColorSpace more lately because of the increased performance and longer battery life. However, I never sold my Epson P6000. Good thing I didn't sell it 🙂 Otherwise I wouldn't get to play with one of the newest features of the latest firmware update.

 

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Shooting Tethered to an Epson P6000/P7000

When I do shoots in the studio I almost always shoot tethered into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 on my MacBook Pro. So shooting tethered is second nature to me. In the latest firmware for the Epson P6000/P7000 you can now shoot tethered directly to the device. I downloaded and installed the necessary firmware updates to bring my P6000 up to the latest version. Then I connected a USB cable from my Nikon D700 directly to the P6000. I turned on both devices and enabled tethered shooting on the P6000. I fired a couple of test shots and saw the progress bar on the Epson P6000 indicating that the images were being transferred over. I noticed it took about 6-7 seconds per 12MP RAW (.NEF) file. It works! Also you can keep shooting while the transferring is happening. Here's the 5m long USB cable that I use.

The P6000/P7000 support tethering from the Nikon D700, D90, D3X, D3, D300, D300S and the Canon  EOS 1Ds Mark III, 1D Mark III, 5D Mark II, 50D, 40D, Digital Rebel T1i

 

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onOne Plug-In Suite 5 Review

One of my favorite Photoshop Plug-in Suites just got upgraded. The good folks over at onOne Software have shipped onOne Plug-in Suite 5. I first got turned on to this powerful set of plug-ins back when it was version 3 and have been hooked ever since. Now I'll be the first to admit (like most suites) that I don't use every single feature/plug-in in the suite. However, usually the way suites work is that if you're going to use 2 or more of the products you end up saving money by buying the suite as opposed to the individual products. 

onone5

When I upgraded to Plug-in Suite 4 I was using Mask Pro and PhotoFrame quite a bit. I was also using Genuine Fractals on occasion. Now with Plug-in Suite 5 I'm very intrigued by PhotoTune and PhotoTools. That only leaves Focal Point which also interests me. Yep, it looks like I'll be using much more of this version of the Suite than I ever have before.

PhotoTune3

 

What is onOne Plug-In Suite 5?

Good question and I think that most people see the name and have no idea what this product is or whether or not they need it? Plug-in Suite 5 is a set of  6 powerful plug-ins for Photoshop that can be used by photographers of all skill levels. The plug-ins are accessed right inside the "host application", which can be Adobe Photoshop CS2, Cs3 or CS4 as well as Photoshop Elements 6 or 8 on the Mac or Elements 6, 7 or 8 on PC. Some of the plug-ins are also accessible from within Lightroom 2 or Aperture 2.1.

The Plug-Ins are:

  • FocalPoint – a plug-in to allow photographers to create a realistic depth of field effect in their photos. You can control the focal point and even have multiple focal points.
  • Mask Pro (my favorite) – allows you to mask difficult objects such as hair, glass or smoke/fog. This one has saved my butt on many occasions when I needed to extract someone from a background.
  • PhotoTune – this one simply allows you to easily color correct your photo. If Photoshop Channels confuse you, then PhotoTune will be a dream to work with. 
  • Genuine Fractals – If you've ever tried to size a photo up, you know that it can quickly lose detail and sharpness. This plug-in aims to make the image that you res up look as good as possible. I've used this with great results and looking forward to the new version.
  • PhotoTools – allows you to choose from hundreds of effects to add to your photo to make them stand out. Easy to use with drag and drop as well as sliders.
  • PhotoFrame – we see those cool burned looking edges all the time in print. Although you can do this manually in Photoshop, PhotoFrame makes it soooo much easier. There are several frames included from some of the best Photoshop professionals in the industry.

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Westcott Chromakey Blue/Green Screen Popup Illuminator

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You might remember my video review of the F.J. Westcott uLight Green Screen Lighting Kit. Well this time I'm here to review another Westcott Green Screen solution. It's their Green/Blue Screen Popup Illuminator. The difference between this background and the uLite kit is that it's more portable. Like the other Illuminator backgrounds that I love so much, this one folds down (into a circle) and fits into a handy carrying case. Combine it with their popup Illuminator background stand you've got a Green Screen or Blue Screen background that sets up in about 2 minutes. This one also doesn't take as much room to setup and use. 

 

It's Holiday Greeting Card Time

Many of you are putting your Christmas or other Holiday cards together as we speak. It's great when you can setup the perfect setting and take the picture. However, sometimes you just don't have the perfect setting, so you need to improvise. That's where shooting on Green Screen really comes in handy.

Here's a quick test shot that I took just to see what I would get with minimal effort. I basically setup the background in my basement right under one of the flourescent lights in the ceiling. I aimed a Westcott Spiderlite TD5 with a small softbox right at my subject. I could have used a bigger softbox and the brighter daylight bulbs, but again this was just a test and the light was already there from another project that I had just done.

test shot

I was worried at first that the ceiling light was too bright, but in fact it did a great job killing the shadows on the background. I fired this shot using my Nikon D700, 28-70mm lens at f/4.5, in Aperture Priority mode at 400 ISO. Yes, in RAW of course.

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Next I brought the shot into Adobe Photoshop CS4 and ran an Action that I learned how to setup from Dave Cross to AUTOMATICALLY extract her from the background

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iPhone App of the Week – Photographer Assistants

It's 2 for 1 iPhone App of the Week Reviews today. I thought I would cover two apps this week that I've come across to assist photographers. If you are lucky enough to have a photographer's assistant, then you know how nice it is to just concentrate on the shoot. That's because your assistant has packed all the necessary gear that you're going to need and he/she has setup your lighting. All you have to do is walk in and pick up your camera and start shooting. How cool is that? Alas, I'm not so fortunate. Since photography is not my full-time gig, I can't really justify a full-time assistant. So it's all on me. However, these two iPhone/iPod touch apps help me with the details:

 

PhotoAssist
PhotoAssist

PhotoAssist is an app that is geared to help you remember all the gear that you need to take on a particular shoot. It seems like I'm always forgetting something when I do location shoots. So this app is very much appreciated.

inventorylist
The easiest way to start off is to spend some time entering all of your gear into the "Inventory List."

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Two New Drobo Storage Robots

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As you know I'm a fan of Drobo! I currently have two Drobos serving up my data here at home. (see my original review here) One is connected to my New Mac mini OS X Server and the other is connected to my iMac iTunes Server. I've been very happy with the products and the performance. However, Data Robotics isn't resting on their laurels. Today Drobo is announcing two new members of the Drobo family:

 

The NEW Drobo S

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This is the one that many of you have been waiting for. Although the current Drobo with its Firewire 800 connection is fast enough for my regular data storage needs, those of you who would like to use a Drobo for more intensive work such as digital video have been craving eSATA support. Well it's here! The NEW Drobo S offers USB 2, Firewire 800 AND eSATA connectivity. It also has a 5th drive bay which means it can support up to 10TB's of storage/protection (using the current 2TB drives that are out today). 

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