Merry Xmas

Merry Xmas from Bringing the Light.

In this case, the camera was brought (out) and the light was available. ;)

The following was taken with my Dad's X-700 Minolta with a Dimension 135mm 2.5 lens. The residence is my folks last house. Each year, since 1992, we have done floodlighting, and then mini-bulb lighting (starting 1999).

Canon success and fail

I've been shooting with my trusty little Canon rebel for 3 years now. It has served me well for the most part, however, at some point in the summer the focus point illuminators got mucked up.

I stupidly put off getting the camera looked at and only got to it 2 weeks ago. Suffice to say, thanks to extended warranty and quick service - the camera is back in my hands.

Canon replaced the focus screen, however that didn't take care of the problem. The rebel has 7 AF points in it. Five of them are fixed. I am NOT impressed. I took it in for the AF points to get fixed and they didn't fix all of them. I really don't know how the AF points work, but apparently the issue isn't with the focus screen. So, I can either go back tomorrow (ugh) or go back on Monday after work.

In other realms, some friends run a local rave promotion crew and it was their 3rd year this past weekend. I rented a 16-35L to take shots. Unfortunately, the 2.8 wasn't much good to me as it was really dark in there - and I suck at using flash now... far too long have I gone without using, that I've kind of lost my touch a little bit. Plus, aiming was never a forte of mine.

Anyhow... the 16-35 is a nice lens and all... but I'll reserve judgment on it's brother till I get the chance to try him out (the 16-35L ii). I have used the 17-40L and found it to be a great sundowner lens. The 15mm fisheye is a great indoor and festival/landscape lens. The 16-35 is... something else. Not sure what yet.

Lenses...

Been thinking about getting yet another lens. My travels and experience have shown me that I am in a great need for a focal length towards the wide end of things.

I've been reading reviews for stuff under $700 and, sadly, not many are coming up with good reviews.

Sigma 20mm 1.8 = crud
Sigma 24mm 1.8 = crud
Canon 20mm 2.8 = meh
Canon 24mm 2.8 = meh
Sigma 30mm 1.8 = not FF compatible

From what I'm gathering, for the most part at least, is that if I want a good wide angle, I'm best off to go with a 17-40mm. I've used that lens and I have to say, it's a fun lens... but it's slow.

Why don't I get the 16-35? cause I'm not made of money!

*sigh*

Optical Slave...

I got myself a few items off Ebay recently. One of which, I'm rather displeased with, which technically speaking is due to my not doing the research that I needed to. But also at fault are the ebay sellers that sell this particular item because none of them can do something as simple as use a spellchecker and maybe find a friend that knows english.

The Brits controlled Hong Kong for HOW LONG? And you mean to tell me none of them over there learned proper english? Before you start thinking I'm being a racist arsehole... please read on. You'll see that my ire is bases upon stupidity/ignorance.

Anyhow... I'm angry because I gave benefit of doubt to a product because it's a stupidly simple device. It was only after I received the item and tested it that I discovered that to go optical on Canon, you need a slightly different product which works with the pre-flashing system of Canon's E-TTL.

However... I stumbled upon a rather hilarious discovery. I can use my Yongnuo RF-602's in conjuction with the SYK-3 optical slave hotshoe. It works with Cactus/GadgetInfinity/CowboyStudio triggers as well, if in case you were wondering.

Sorry... no pics.

Anyhow... This is done very simply

Step one: attach flash to camera
Step two: attach second flash to RF-602 receiver
Step three: attach RF-602 transmitter to SYK-3 optical flash
Step Four: place 2nd flash where need and place RF/SYK-3 combination somewhere conveniently out of the shot, but within the range of the camera on-board flash.
Step Five: Flash away!

Keep in mind that you should be shooting manually when doing this, because Auto settings will make the camera overexpose with that 2nd flash involves.

Outside of this, I'd like to once again iterate how much I appreciate how Yongnuo has been making themselves a bigger player in the market. They're doing it right by providing properly translated specs (for the most part) for their equipment. The manual that came with my RF-602's, while unfortunately very spartan, is easy to read. Very little instruction, well written, is going to always beat more information, poorly written, any day.

Now... closing remarks about the optical slave
Pros: cheap [$5], works with Nikon, small
Cons: Doesn't work with Canon, poorly described, no english instructions come with.

FYI: They do make a Canon-friendly version, but it's $15-20. At that amount of coin, it'd be wiser to spend a few more and get another transmitter if you're using PT-04s or RF-602s. Just sayin!

Sensor vs. Glass vs. Mpx

This is a quick rundown of how best to show why the sensor matters just as much as the glass you put in a camera. It's also a demo of why high mpx should not be your reason for getting one camera (or cellphone) over another. It's also a cavaet to you to avoid a certain electronics manufacturer.

This is no where near my best flower shot... but instead is probably the best shot I took with my phone... before it slipped out of my hand and hit the ground really hard. Ever since hitting the ground, my cellphone has been sketchtastic and shuts off at the slightest bit of a medium shake or jarring. Suffice to say, I'm not happy cause it was the first time I dropped my cell and meanwhile, I know iphone users who have dropped their phone 99times before the screen cracked [the 100th drop does it in]

The LG KC910 which has a Schneider-Kreuznach lens, has a sensor that yields 8.2mpx.


The amount of mpx is moot of course, because, it's inability to capture basic images without heavy tweaking is rather, scary. How LG thought slapping this poor example of a phone together being a good idea, is beyond me.

Good glass is good to have, but means nothing when the sensor is crap! What I find extremely annoying about this phone is that LG was smart enough to allow auto and manual focusing, but they didn't include aperture control... or at least, include a simulated version.
There are ISO settings, and the phone has exposure bias, but the flash is overpowered and the exposure bias goes between -1.0 and +2.0 (yeah, i don't get that either)

Suffice to say, I'm probably going to give in and get an iPhone, which means going on a contract with my service provider, which is something I've wanted to avoid for a while now. I suppose it's my best bet right now because I need a phone that doesn't die on me when it's martini'd.

I'd like to also point out that this is my 3rd LG phone. And suffice to say, I am not at all impressed and I will likely not be buying LG ever again. Their stuff is utter crap, easily disquised with shiny plastic. F*** YOU LG!!


Back on topic -

MEGAPIXELS.
Megapixels don't matter if the following conditions are low-grade: sensor and glass.
There... I said it. Now stop buying f***ing crap cameras and taking photos of yourself in mirrors. You can easily get a camera that has high megapixels but a low-grade sensor and worse glass and take pictures, but they won't be good.

Sensor -- Many companies make cameras. Few make good cameras.
To put things into perspective, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Samsung, et al., all put their best sensors into their DSLR cameras. But they also do trickle down... that is, after a sensor has proven itself in the latest release, chances are that it will get put into a lesser model is high - albeit with tweaking for price-point and cost-effectiveness. Having said that, Canon does this with their line-up to an extent. The 1D series gets best, then comes 5D, then 7D, then xxD (50/60d). Eventually, the Rebel line gets the tech from its bigger brothers. After that, the G-series... then finally the A-series. [Okay, yes... I know that's a rather glib way of stating it and that's not how it really works, but it might as well be the way it does.]

At the very least, any image taken with the latest A-series, is likely to be just as good as any shot taken with an older Rebel series camera.


Now... Glass...
Here's the fun part. The more you pay, the better it is. E.g. Canon's L-series line-up.
There are weird little discrepancies in this rule of thumb, and the biggest one is the well-known problem with the 70-200 F4L and the 70-300 IS. The 70-200 F4L is my telephoto option of choice. It's a great lens and it cost me at the time $700cdn (after exchange and taxes). The 70-300 IS lens on the other hand, would have cost me $750+ if i had bought it in either Canada or the US.
So, why did I go with the 70-200? Well, the extra 100mm wasn't important to me, and to get IS meant getting a variable aperture. With the 70-200, I get constant F4, which is good for DOF effects when at 200mm - not that I really have done shots with that combination, but i can! At 200mm on the 70-300, would have me at an aperture of probably 5.0. Not only that, the glass in the 70-300 isn't as good and that lens is a bit heavier. It really doesn't make any sense to get the 70-300IS when you know these details. I prefer a light-weight system. It makes my shoulders happy.

Now, there is a small oddity in the Canon world, when it comes to great glass. It's the 50mm 1.8... also known as the nifty-fifty or plastic-fantastic. For reasons similar to the Helios 44, the 50mm contains gaussian optics and renders really nice background blur. The 50mm 1.4 is a great lens too, but at 4x the price, few amateurs can justify it. The 50mm 1.2L on the other hand, is closer to 15x the price, and while worth every penny, is not easily justified by anyone not shooting professionally. Even still... from what I gather, most pro's go for the 35mm or the 85mm. (L-series in each case)

Fast lenses rock... that's why they're so damn expensive. ;)

I'm rambling... I'm done.

Harvest Festival!

Every year for the past decade almost, hundreds -if not thousands-of young men and women have made a trek to parts outside of the city of Toronto, every September. They drive northward, away from the hustle and bustle, to get down and hustle to groovy beats in a land way off.

They leave the comfort of the city and its clubs and bars, for a cool night under the stars, where a collective of DJs and promoters throw together a festival that combines music, art, camping and good old fashioned fun. They gather for what is called Harvest Festival.

For the past 4 years, I have gone and enjoyed the amazing sights and sounds. This year, aside from a couple of hours that I lost to being alcoholically comatose, was filled with magic and wonder. In those moments that I was conscious and in the mood to use my camera, I captured some amazing pics - at least, in my humble opinion they're amazing.

This time around, I had my 5D and a rental 17-40 F4L. While the lens was rather slow (the 16-35 would've been better suited to my needs), the colours it rendered were amazing - with my lightroom skills only able to make them pop a little more.

Here are a few select pics. Enjoy!

Upgrading... and admiring. [not in that order]

One thing I don't do, as a photographer - amateur or otherwise - is claim myself as a strobist.

Really, I don't. With great irony, I don't.

I love all the work that David Hobby has put into his website, and I love the way he has created a following on such a basic principle. He has brought a beautiful technicality to that part of the equation that it is, if anything, nothing short of awe-inspiring.

I suppose, to a small degree I am trying to do the same [with this blog], but I am not methodical (nor professional) enough to lay down a gauntlet, in respect to photography. Although, I could probably do so with working with Alternative Glass and building a database like pBase [but more informative]. I certainly have quite a few (lenses) in my possession, and through creating a formulae, I'm sure I could build up a nice single-contributor pbase rival for that purpose. If i do that, I may have to rebrand this blog again! [insert perfunctory LOL here]

The inherent problem with the title I chose is that, in talking about Lens, i am not talking about lighting, and through virtue of extension, not bringing light to anything. Perhaps, i'm shedding light on subjects rarely discussed? [insert strong LOL here]

I ramble too much. [insert annoying LOL here]

Having said that, for the last 9months, I've been working with the Canon 5D. A magnificent camera that has yielded some rather awe-inspiring photos every so often, for me. I also upgraded my flash system, returning the well loved SB-28 back to it's rightful owner, my de facto mentor - Scott [aka Thinkincolor], and acquiring a Canon 430EX for my primary flash system. The Quantaray QF30 remains, as before, my backup flash - on the ready with fully charged Eneloops in it's bay, just in case the 430EX or its batteries fail. This is, by no means, a plug for the QF30. It's a crap flash that is only redeemed by the fact that it is dedicated and TTL. Unfortunately, the former works against it as it cannot be used with off-camera wireless flash systems, such as the Pt-04 "Cactus" triggers, or the Yongnuo RF-602 trigger. The RF-602's were a small upgrade for me as well, this past summer.

Also, acquired for my kit... A DECENT TRIPOD! I got an Induro cx-114 last month, and my chances to use it, have been so far, very limited. It is a great tripod, nonetheless. I just don't have a tripod head for it yet, so i've been stuck with using it only when i bolt the camera on directly, which is never ideal. But at least, I haven't been forced to lug around a heavy tripod. Thank god for Carbon Fibre!

...But I digress [see what I mean about not being methodical?]

THE REAL UPGRADES I'VE BEEN MEANING TO TALK ABOUT

Flash/light modification is always key to a good photo. Something that my kit has been lacking is exactly that - light modification. I've been using my flashes as is all this time, with them either direct or bounced. Rarely, i slap on a snoot or grid, but more often than not, those don't work with the kind of shooting I do. On occasion, I have relied on bounce cards - which more often than not, have been playing cards or white cardboard, strapped on via elastic. I have recently moved over to scrap Chloroplast instead, as it is stronger and more durable.

Chloroplast by the way, is awesome for macro light tents.

So, I've decided that I need to get more out of my flash and to do that, I'm getting diffusers. I was only going to get one type, but I realized that I would still be limiting myself, so i went both with sto-fen and lambency types. The former, being a cheapie from Hong Kong, costing me $1.60cdn, the latter, ten times more. The beauty is, I can use both of them at the same time, theoretically. The Lambency is a rubbery kind that slips over, and i'm assuming with enough give to go over the sto-fen. [For the record, I did not get a Gary Fong... i went with an unbranded knock-off]

Lambency Type Flash Diffuser Mounted to an older Canon Flash

Also being added to the kit is an optical slave. As you recall, the QF-30 flash is far from great, but I hope to expand it's abilities and use, within my kit, by adding an optical slave to it. It's my hope that I can get more into proper strobing with it on optical slave. The funny thing is, I had given thought to selling it on Craigslist. Maybe I will still, but not until after I give the optical thing a shot. At the very least, I might be able to use it in conjunction with the 430ex this way, and with the Rebel's on-camera pop-up flash.

Outside of that, I'm thinking about upgrading my knowledge too. I've been hemming and hawing over buying a few books off Amazon. If i do go through with them, I'll of course review them here. I should give reviews for the books i have already... there's an idea! (right off the bat, I will highly recommend Michael Freeman's books, as they are a nice middle-of-the-road approach; using both inspirational and manual styles.)