©CineGear

A lot of people have been asking me about lenses and what they need to buy that would be essential for their style of photography. The answer? It depends. There are a lot of factors that contribute to people buying certain types of lenses but before you buy them, here are some pointers.

Disclaimer: I’m sorry for the Nikon folks. It’s nothing against Nikon but I just know much about the brand to speak about it.

Don’t just read about it, put it on:

Before making a purchase, it’s obvious that you need to do your homework first and read up on a particular lens. If you can, stop by your local camera store and ask them if you can try it out. Bring your camera body and don’t rely on theirs. You might have a different sensor than what they have available to test out. Bring your CF or SD card and take a few shots. If you can afford it, rent it! There are numerous camera shops out there that rent their gear. Rent it. try it out for a few days and really give it a test run. This might just sway your decision once you’ve actually had the time to really test it out. BorrowLenses is a great local company here in the San Francisco Bay Area. They even have multiple locations/affiliates. Go check them out!

Which glass?

If you ask me, I’m a bit biased for the Canon L glass. They are sharp and really built well. However, it does comes at a price and a steep one at that. However, you are guaranteed that it’ll be the best performing lens your money can ever buy. And the best part is that you can always resell them with little devaluation.

Have you also thought about what kind of lens you wanted to get? If you’re confused about the different types of lenses, here’s a good article from a few years back.

There are other companies out there as well that produce great lenses. Sigma and Tamron make exceptional lenses too but it really depends on what you prefer and what your budget can afford. My advice? Save your money and don’t settle for less. Save those dollars and buy the lens you really wanted to get.

And the list:

These lenses received the highest votes by owners and therefore most consider them to be the consumers’ top 10 lenses for Canon dSLRs. While i haven’t tried all of these lenses, I will give you my best thoughts about the ones that I did have a chance to test.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM

I own this lens and I love it! On my 5D Mark III, this wide angle lens is pretty sweet. Barrel distortion is almost non-existent. The image is sharp as a tack. This is definitely my go to image for wide landscape shots.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

I love the “nifty fifty”! I bought this lens a while ago and loved it. For around $100, you can’t go wrong with the lens. It’s sharp even though the lens is of plastic construction. If you’re on a budget, then this might be a good starter lens for you. The f1.8 is pretty sweet for this little lens.

Sadly, I don’t own this lens anymore. It was replaced by it’s much more bigger and robust brother – the 50mm f1.2L. This is now the lens that is always on my camera, my everyday go-to lens.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM

One of my very first L glass, I still have it in my gear bag. Even though Canon had already released the Mark II version of this lens, it’s still really good and takes extremely sharp photos.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM

I had this lens as part of a kit I bought when I upgraded to a 40D. I used it traveling but soon realized the f4 was not fast enough for my type of photography. I soon sold this and upgraded to the 24-70mm f2.8L.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM

This is the newest lens in my gear bag. I used to own the 100mm f2.8 and it was awesome but this L version is extremely sharp as with most L glass.

Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM

I have the Mark I version and it’s served me very well over the years. I use it quite a bit specially during engagement sessions. The bokeh wide open is awesome on a lens with this focal range.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

I hope this list helped you out if you were in the market for a new lens. Like I said, it really all depends on your style of shooting. Choose carefully and make sure you try them out first. Good luck and keep on clicking that shutter!

With all the buzz about “upgrading” firmware, what exactly is Magic Lantern? It basically is an enhancement of your camera’s firmware that allows you to use features not normally available as “stock”. Magic Lantern was initially created for videographers and enthusiasts specially when the 5D Mark IIs were being slowly but surely widely used in films like Captain America and TV shows like House.

While I do not have the upgrade on my cameras, a friend of mine does have installed on his Canon T2i and he loves it. The additional functionality not made available to him is now at his finger tips. Functionalities such as an intervalometer is awesome to have specially when it means you don’t have to pick up Canon’s remote trigger.

I like to think of it as a “jailbreak” for my camera although a lot of people might disagree.

More on Magic Lantern here.

This is by far one of my most anticipated posts from CES. Snapseed for Mac. While Snapseed had been released a few months ago for iOS devices, most photographers have been wanting a Mac version to use on their desktops. Today, Nik Software brings Snapseed for the Mac.

Personally, I enjoy using Snapseed on my iPad and iPhone. With iOS 5′s Photostream, I can seamlessly work between my iPad and iPhone on images that I capture on my iPhone. In addition, I can also easily download photos from my dSLR to my iPad via the USB connector and work on it with Snapseed’s really cool photo editing features.

I am totally excited about today’s announcement.

Las Vegas, NV (Photo Marketing Association, Consumer Electronics Show)—January 10, 2012—Leading photography software developer Nik Software (www.niksoftware.com) today announced Snapseed^® for the Mac. Snapseed is an innovative photo enhancement and sharing app with a powerful suite of imaging filters and tools for anyone, anywhere to transform any image into an extraordinary photo. Designed exclusively for the Mac and available now on the Mac App Store, this new version of Snapseed combines Nik Software’s professional photography tools with its award-winning interface to deliver a powerful new photography app to Mac users.

Key Features:

• Tune Image—Quickly correct photos shot in difficult lighting situations, create depth and vibrancy with Ambience, or adjust White Balance, Saturation, Contrast and more
• Auto Correct—Automatically analyzes your photo and adjusts color and exposure, or you can use the sliders to add or reduce the enhancements
• Control Points—Make precise selections and enhancements in seconds with Nik Software’s revolutionary U Point technology
• Tilt-Shift—Creates a narrow in-focus area designed to simulate depth of field, common in a Miniature Scene look
• Details—Enhances details with traditional sharpening as well as Nik Software’s unique Structure control found in the professional Nik Software product line
• Crop & Straighten—Rotate or straighten with simple slider controls and select from a variety of standard aspect ratios while cropping
• Grunge—Explore styles and textures without limits and give photos a totally unique look
• Drama—Add custom effects to a photo which range from subtle enhancements of textures to wildly creative and artistic effects
• Vintage—Nine unique nostalgic films, plus controls like saturation, textures and vignettes make any photo look like a vintage color film photo from the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s
• Frames—Add unique borders to photos by choosing styles and textures
• Black and White—Give photos a classic look with this darkroom-inspired filter. Select styles, grain, vignettes, and more for a perfectly nostalgic look
• Sharing—Share photos on Facebook and Flickr, email photos, and print them using your home printer

Snapseed is compatible with Mac OS 10.6.8 and 10.7.2 and later. Snapseed will be available in 2012 on the Mac App Store for $19.99 or the equivalent in other currencies.

The thought of an upcoming  model of the 5D line has got me drooling to no end.  This video is such a compelling show of Canon’s newest camera body, the 5D Mark III. Too bad it’s not real. I can’t wait for the real one!

Now on to the piece de resistance.

Thanks to  Dominik Worner for making me drool even more.

Since I started using strobes for my shoots, I’ve always thought about picking up a Vagabond Power pack unit from Paul C. Buff, makers of my trusty Alien Bees strobe kit. I use 2 AB1600s and 1 AB800 for my sessions. As luck would have it, my hesitation to purchase one paid off! Paul C. Buff is now offering these mini units that packs the same punch and power as the bigger sized Vagabonds.

Price: $239 (120v Model)

Check out the reviews here from Rob Galbraith and from The Strobist.
Images courtesy of Paul C. Buff and Rob Galbraith.

I’ve always liked the Leica M3 for it’s looks and capabilities as a prosumer point and shoot camera. This morning, a friend pointed out a new addition to these nostalgic looking cameras, the Fujifilm Finepix X100. Check out the promotional video from Fuji that showcases the cool new features of this camera. Don’t be shocked though as one of these beauties will set you back a cool $1200!

So, like any gear-head out there, they rigged it into the world’s first and only lens cup made out of a real lens body. They have it on auction now on eBay with the proceeds going to charity. Go check it out.

Features include:
- Made from 100% authentic Canon lens by Kai W of DigitalRev TV.
- Extendable in-built hood for reducing flaring and improving contrast of your drinks.
- EOS mount. Attaches to any of the Canon EOS SLR or DSLRs.
- Tripod mount. It can be mounted to a tripod for easy hands-free consumption of drinks.
- Manual-focus override, which is totally useless as the Autofocus doesn’t work.
- Did have UD elements for preventing aberrations.
- Ultrasonic motor (not working) for stirred not shaken beverages.
- Comes with official Canon protective carrying case and original packaging.
- Signed by Kai & Lok (from DigitalRev TV), although please state if you wish to have your lens cup scribble-free.

And as if that wasn’t cool enough, they even shot this video with the Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly. Now that’s a deep pocket! “Like”!

Tip: Click play and then pause and let the movie load first. WIth slow networks, it’ll be tough to keep up.

If you’ve ever thought of sharing your lighting diagrams with your friends, more often than not, you would end up sketching them out. Thanks to a pretty cool site, sharing lighting diagrams are a whole lot easier these days.

Strobox is a place for all types of photographers to share how they set up that amazing photo! The easiest way to learn is to look at photos and their lighting diagrams so you can see for yourself how they were created. They also have an App available at the Apple Appstore. I use  the App quite a bit as it’s loaded on my iPhone and I can easily email or post my diagrams via Twitter or Facebook. The App is free and logging on their site couldn’t be easier. Simply use any of your popular social network membership login credentials and you’re set.

Today marked a special day for most photographers. LensHero was born. The site was mainly launched to address a way for photographers to research which lenses fit their needs. The interface is very intuitive and maneuvering around the site seems fairly easy to do. It’s interesting to note that I heard about LensHero back in October when I happen to receive a tweet from 99designs.com about a new website gearing up. My wife is a graphic designer and she’s a contributing designer at 99designs.com. You can see the evolution of the LensHero logo here. It’s pretty cool!

We’re a small tech startup, launching a new site targeted at camera geeks and photographers, and anyone researching a new lens for their camera. LensHero.com will make it easy to understand what the best lens for you is, based on what camera you already have, and what type of pictures you want to take (portraits, architecture, travel, nature, etc).

What peeked my interest about LensHero is the fact that they had detailed information about the lenses I was interested in such as the price (of course), it’s features and other technical aspects of the lens. As I mentioned, it’s fairly easy to use their site. I entered my camera (Canon 7D) and I asked the interface to suggest a Portrait lens for me. Within seconds, I had a few recommendations to browse through. I chose the 85mm f1.8. Here are the results of the search. The information presented to me after my search is incredible proving that this method of search works really well. I highly recommend anyone to stop by and try out LensHero.

You also have the ability to explore lenses by manufacturer, type, mount, or by camera. Overall, I would say that it was a pleasant experience browsing around the site. The UI is easy to navigate and the research behind the making of the site is exceptional. I would totally give it “two thumbs up”!

LensHero is a site dedicated to digital camera lenses. Our goal is to cover all of the lenses you might want, for both DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. LensHero makes it easy to find lenses for your camera, and to figure out what lenses are out there and which one is right for you.

Are you an iPad owner? Do you have a camera you were wishing you could tether to your iPad for remote shooting? It’s possible but there are a few things you will need:

• iPad
• Eye-Fi Pro X2 SD Card
• My Wi
• Shutter Snitch

The process is pretty simple. First, you’ll have to jailbreak your iPad. Then you’ll need to install Wy Wi and Shutter Snitch. It’s unfortunate that I use Canon bodies that only use CF cards. However, if there are folks out there that uses the new Canon 60D, then you’re in luck as these new dSLR bodies utilize the smalled SD cards.

Check out the video here from FStoppers.

“This is a step by step of my retouching workflow for a basic clean beauty shot.”

I look at these images and I start drooling all over myself. What’s not to love here? The H4D Ferrari Limited Edition inspired body is amazing and at a mere €21,500, it’s a bargain (um… right). It’s a 40 megapixel camera with a medium format sensor. All Italian sweetness my friends. These are now available for purchase and will be limited to only 499 production units.

And as if that weren’t enough, Hasselblad also released the stainless steel version at a mildly cheaper rate of €15,000! The H4D-40 Stainless Steel is the Delorean of the camera bodies out there. I love the slogan: The H4D-40 – Size still matters.

Both models are limited editions and comes with the kit HC 2.8/80mm lens. Hasselblad simply rocks (sorry Canon)! Anything Italian and shiny makes me smile.

Images courtesy of Rob Gilbraith. Check his article here.

Here’s another product I found just recently that needs to be filed under the category “COOLNESS”.

James Bond would be envious. Q wouldn’t know what to say. But here it is. A 35mm film camera disguised as an ordinary juice box. This makes for 100% pure photo fun according to Photojojo. The camera sells for $25 and it’s yours. Act like a kid. Be a kid. This is a great item that also works really well. And if you were wondering about where the shutter was, well… you guessed right. The straw is the shutter! How cool is that?

Photojojo rules!

You’re probably wondering why I’m asking this question right? Personally, I prefer to borrow a friend’s gear first before I buy the same equipment. However, there are times when neither of my friends have the exact gear I am looking to buy. So what would you do? Would you go online and check out the ratings or the reviews? In addition to my online research, I also rent equipment if at all possible.

But why rent? Well for one thing, it’s a lot cheaper than buying it at the onset. Camera gear isn’t cheap and I can play with the equipment before I swipe my credit card. I also rent for specific events or special needs. Before I bought my Canon 70-200mm f2.8L, I went to my local store and rented it for the weekend. It was a great way for me to test out the lens without completely committing myself to making the big purchase. I’ve also rented specialty equipment such as Pocket Wizards, reflectors, and even camera bodies. It all depends on how much I think I’ll be needing a specific piece of equipment. Sometimes, it’s much more economical for me to simply rent it rather than buy it.

Have you been wondering about using a full frame body? Rent it. I usually rent my gear from BorrowLenses.com, a local rental outfit close to where I live. Renting from these guys couldn’t be any easier. I can either drive 20 miles to their store or go online and borrow the gear from there. Renting online is a snap! I choose which gear I need, a couple of days later, it arrives in a well packed box with a return label. All I need to do is repack the item, place the return address and drop it in the mail. It couldn’t be any simpler than that.

Try before you buy.

Most frequently asked questions and answers can be found here.

Have you been wondering how much longer you’ll keep your little point and shoot camera? Are you getting tired of trying to take that shot only to realize that the camera was too slow to capture the image? Maybe your birthday is coming up so you’re looking to get yourself a nice birthday present. So where do you start? What do you choose? Here’s my take on this loaded question and hopefully you can use it when you’re considering what to buy.

©www.photojojo.com

So what brand?

Well I suppose it depends on who you ask right? The first and most important thing you need to know is that there aren’t any really bad digital SLR cameras out there. If you ask your photographer friend, of course they’ll tell you to get the brand that they have because it’s the best. If you ask me, of course I’ll tell you to go and buy a Canon because they’re great. Generally speaking, brand shouldn’t really matter. What matters is what you want to do with it, how patient are you at reading the manuals, or perhaps, how many friends you have that have the same camera so you can swap lenses.

So what do I get then? Do your research or maybe you can ask a friend if they would be willing to show you the ropes if you bought the same brand camera that they have.

Go to your local store and play with the different brands and buy the one you think is the easiest to use.

Don’t fall for the megapixel hype!

Most cameras these days have at least 12 megapixels. Most people fall into the category of those shoppers wanting to get the largest megapixel camera they can get for their money. The truth is, you don’t really need all that much unless of course you plan on printing your images larger than 30″x40″. Most people just settle for printing 8″x10″ at the most. Do you even print at all?

Do I need video?

I think one of the best things that has developed in recent years is the ability for a dSLR to record video. It’s a great improvement over static photos for sure. Do you need it? Sure why not! If you can spring the extra money to buy a dSLR that has the ability to record video, then go for it. Here’s where it gets tricky – when someone asks me which one to get after they realize they want the video capability. My response is in a form of a question: “Between Nikon and Canon, who has more experience in video”?

It’s not about the body.

… the camera body that is. Trust me on this one folks. Think of it this way, how often do these manufacturers upgrade their cameras? If you look at Canon’s program, they usually introduce new models every two years.  So what do you do then? Do you wait for the newer models to come out or do you buy the one that’s on sale right now? I recommend buying the model that’s on sale and save your money on a better lens.

Every major brand offers camera kits which usually includes a “kit lens” around the 18-55mm range. They are decent lenses but won’t offer the same sharpness and clarity as an expensive lens. However, if you’re simply one who enjoys just taking photos of your kids and family, then you’ll be satisfied with the standard kit lens. if all else fails, see my first point above regarding ‘borrowing” lenses from your friends.

Amazon or local?

Always buy locally if you can. However, Amazon and other big online stores offer great deals that are sometimes really hard to resist. My suggestion is to ask your local store if they would be interested to “price match”. Pay the taxes but at least you won’t have to pay for shipping.

Click to Buy.

This is probably the hardest thing to do – either swiping that credit card or clicking “Buy” when purchasing online. It’s normal to get cold feet. If you’re not ready, go home and sleep on it. Think about it. Research once again if you have to. Remember, you’re spending a lot of money on a camera so it’s never easy but just take a deep breath and go for it!

Congratulations!

Welcome to the dSLR world! The next step should be practicing with your camera and mastering it’s controls. Don’t expect to suddenly take great photographs soon after you buy your camera. It takes time but at least now, you have the tools to use to photograph great images.  Avoid buyer remorse. Be happy with what you have and don’t look back. Remember, you’r in the big camera club now.

Be on the look out for future articles on this site. If you’re new to the dSLR world, you’ll need to read up on articles like this so you can boost your knowledge and techniques.

My Recommendations:

Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Sony Alpha DSLRA300K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens

Olympus Evolt E410 10MP Digital SLR Camera with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Zuiko Lenses

Either way you choose, I think you’ll be happy. As I said before, your investment are in the lenses and not the camera bodies. Spend your money on lenses, not camera bodies. If you anticipate investing quite a bit on lenses, I suggest going either Canon or Nikon. Just keep this fact in mind when you’re making your purchase.

Good luck!

I was going through my favorite blog resources today and came across a blog that had an article about the “not so obvious things in my bag”. I thought it was quite funny and interesting that I decided to see what I usually pack in my bag aside from the usual gear. So I suppose the next question is – which bag? If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I have as many camera bags as she has purses. Depending on how much I carry for a shoot, I can go as small as my AW200 Slingbag or as robust as my Pelican 1620 roller case. Either way, there are the “usual” things I pack from one shoot to the next. So what are they?

2. Desiccants: You never know when you’ll need these little guys. I tend to have them in all my bags anyway. Silica gel will help prevent condensation from forming inside cases. Condensation will form in a case when you take it from a warm to cooler environment. When I have multi-compartment bags, I usually have a small packet of silica gels in each compartment. I tend to buy them in bulk – eBay is a great resource.

3. A hand towel: Just in case my gear gets wet, I have something quick and absorbent to wipe it down then they immediately go inside the gallon bags.

4. Altoids: You can never be too cautious. Minty breath is always a plus! Right, girls?

5. LED keychain flashlight: Whether in I’m caught in the dark or just simply needing an accent light for a subject (i.e. rings or small objects I would like to artistically light).

6. Baby wipes: Don’t laugh. I carry around Huggies or similar wipes in my pack. I always like to wipe my hands clean. Maybe it’s simply the OC in me but they come in very handy. You’ll thank me when you’re caught in locations where the restroom facilities aren’t quite up to par with what you expect or perhaps when it it’s extremely hot and you simply would like to freshen up. Just pull a few out of the pack, place them in front of your car’s airconditioner and instant cold towelette. It’s sweet! We carried a pack of baby wipes while traveling in Cambodia in almost 100% humidity. It came in very handy.

7. Hand sanitizer: One can never be too careful.

8. Tylenol, Rolaids, and other medication: The last thing I would want to be in is at a location where I don’t have easy access to these things. So to prepare, I simply pack a few pills and put them in a small Zip-Lock bag. it’s saved me on numerous occasions.

9. Extra pair of contact lenses: I only started carrying this for a couple of years. What finally made me decide to bring an extra pair was after I had a session at Baker Beach in San Francisco. If you’ve never been there, then you won’t understand how windy it can get. Needless to say, I had to drive home with one eye shut. I was not a happy camper.

10. Mr. Pickles: See that little green guy in my Case logic pack? Yeah he’s like a little traveling gnome. We call him Mr. P. He’s pretty cool. He’s probably been to more places than you and I combined. He goes with me everywhere unless I’m not having a session then he gets to travel with my friends. He’s been everywhere from the Swiss Alps to the bottom of the ocean scuba diving. Go ahead. Check out his page and be his friend. Who knows, he might find himself in your bag someday.

While all of these might seem a bit trivial, you’ll never really know when they might come in handy. Maybe it’s me being OC once again but I’d rather be prepared than be sorry. So what’s in your bag?

Cheers!

PS: The owner of Kodak (George Eastman) named his company after the sound the he thought the camera shutter made.