Ch!cago

Oh!o

The sin of Cropping

Confess. You cropped your picture. And then were guilty about it.

Is it really wrong? Well....

No. There are plenty of circumstances in which cropping is entirely acceptable.

Just printing out family 4x6's? Cropping isn't gonna hurt.
Newspaper picture? Not gonna need full res anyway.
Advertisement? Depends on the final size.

That is what it all really boils down to. The final printed or published size.
As humans we have limitations. Such as distance to our subjects. Longer lenses help.
But limitations still remain. Thus we ought not punish ourselves for our natural limitations.

If your picture has detracting elements that only cropping fixes than strive for a tighter shot if possible(next time). But it remains your picture. Does it reflect poor composition etc. or does it merely reflect the natural limitations that were in place at the time?

These jets were doing a flyover for a local parade and they were heading towards the event. 20 miles distant. And they were rather high up. So... show a blue sky with some specks in it? No! This image underwent major cropping. It reflects my limitations and thus it is limited in what it can be used for. I blew out the highlights and darkened the shadows for a black and white, contrasty image. It could be used at some large printing sizes. It is limited. But its a neat shot.


Phothog

The Gear Objective

100mm Macro 2.8 USM.

This is my only Canon prime. It is also my only Canon non-L lens.

I bought this lens many moons ago. It had a stuck shutter. I sent it back. Very sad.
But the short time I had it I knew that some day I would get another.

Why not just get a fresh copy? Because I got my 24-105L instead!

I eventually did get my current copy and the love story restarted as if it had never stopped.

I love macro. It is the reason I first got into photography and I had some pretty sweet little gizmos that gave me 1:1 on my P&S. This current lens is a continuation of the wonderful world of macro.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6

This was my very first SLR lens. I bought it retail(ouch). I bought my first SLR body-only because I knew that the kit lens was lousy. I did not know too much about lenses at the time. I was immediately impressed by the reach this lens had. I also observed that it was not as sharp as my P&S. No big deal. It was TONS faster! Over the years that I owned it I developed a love/hate relationship with the 70-300. The hate part was intensified as I was diagnosed with the incurable L-disease. And eventually It was replaced by the 70-200 f/4 IS L. But due to its remarkable service(I put it through its paces!) I salute the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6.


PhotHog

(It is obvious that I am still sick 3 posts in one week!)

The Gear Legacy

Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro Lens

I like this lens. Actually I liked this lens as it has been replaced by the 100mm USM macro.

However it served faithfully and I got some nifty shots with it.

Slow at f/2.5 for a prime 50.

Not true macro unless you buy the extender thing for it.

So this is a compromise lens... But as always the number one thing that makes or breaks a photo is the SUBJECT.



Photog

Ill

I have cold.

Erk.

This pic was taken in August of 2008


PhotHog










70-300@300
1/3200 sec
F/5.6
ISO 200

The Gear Ultimatum

EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM.

Super sharp.
Super quiet.
4 stop IS.
Built like a tank.
Other great stuff.

In other words: This is an UBERLENS.

Why not the 2.8? Too heavy. The f/4 is half the weight.
I like the 2.8, but I don't like the camera strap cutting through my spinal cord.
Seriously I like the snappiness of this lens and it is easily hand-holdable for all day.

Take this traveling, use it for weddings, for portraiture... etc.

Me like it.

Phothog

The Gear Supremecy

The next item reviewed is the Canon 24-105 4.0L. This is obviously a mid range lens. It is my "On the camera" lens. This lens being a L series is incredibly sharp and well built. Interestingly there is nothing really special about this lens. It isn't very wide or very long. Its f/4 aperture, while constant is not that fast. If I were to pick out a defining feature the closest thing I would say is its all round functionality.

This 24-105 has weather sealing which is good for me! And 3 stops of IS. I like IS but only as a extra feature, something as a safety net to catch important shots.

I briefly considered the 24-70 2.8L but its limited zoom was a turn off for me in regard to nature photography. Also no IS :( In retrospect I could have made it work while enjoying the f/2.8...

I think the perfect solution to this dilemma would have been a 24-105 f/2.8 L IS USM. But unfortunately that for the moment is not happening.

As it is the only time I need a wide open aperture is dark places... And that is what a speedlite is for.

In conclusion I use this lens as an every day shooter, wildlife, landscape, portraiture, occasions, and weddings. This is a great lens.

Phothog

The Gear Identity

Canon Speedlite 580 EX II

This is my flash. It is very powerful, being able to illuminate a subject nearly 200 ft away. I rarely use it at even half that distance, but I do not doubt that I could(As long as I brought a lot of spare batteries!)

This flash is Canon's top of the line flash. It has ultrasonic capacitor charging so there is no high pitched whine after each shot. I like this feature. It also recharges very quickly after each shot.

I use this almost 100% for "people shots" It has a swivel head that can point in about any direction... Bounce time! It has fully auto mode as well as manual from 1/32-1/1. It is weather sealed.

My favorite(but admittedly seldom used) ability is the famous "Stroboscopic" function. This feature emits a burst of multiple flashes very quickly, allowing multiple images of the same subject in one exposure.

There are many things to like about the flash. I have nothing to complain about. That is a high commendation from me!

Phothog

Quick gear post here... 17% left on my macbooks battery and the power cord is at home!!!

Canon 17-40L Lens.

This was my first L, and yes it was a transmitter of the incurable L-Disease. Very sharp. Very quiet. Very fast AF. Weather sealed. Built like a rock. Did I say it was sharp? Great lens, not half bad price for an L...

More gear coming soon(with pics!)

Phothog

Gear observed

Can a photog ever have enough gear? Short answer: No!

I am going to start a series of posts reviewing my gear, starting with my primary camera.

Introducing the Canon 50D(Cheers and loud hurrah's!)

I have had this for a while now, resisting the temptation to give it immediate accolades. However after putting it through its paces, I am now prepared to give it the praise it deserves.

The first thing that I do with a new Canon SLR(I have owned 2 including this one, so there is a tradition.)is remove the rubber eye piece. I wore glasses when I first started shooting and the rubber would smear my specs! So I got used to a hard eye piece and now even with contacts, I prefer it this way.

This review will cover what I like about the camera. It may have a great feature/s that I don't care about. These will not be reviewed.

The Good:
Tough magnesium alloy body. I need tough gear.
Intuitive buttons and wheels.
Nice sensor 16.something Mp.
Good quality ISO's even at 800+
Fast in two respects: Fast shutter speeds up to 1/8000 of a second. Fast frames per minute: 6.3
Good frame buffer(50 frames?) I never have filled the buffer in real life shooting.
Other stuff that I subconsciously appreciate that I can't think of right now.

The Bad:
The pop-up flash. I loath built in flashes on a camera. I don't listen to the "emergency fill flash" argument. Sorry... Not. Really. Although this pop-up is much more well behaved than my 400D, whose pop-up's button was regularly being inadvertently pressed. (I dealt with this problem in my own delicate way... I ripped it off).
The joystick. irk. Hard to control.
Battery life. What a joke. Using the live view is something I rarely do, which is fortunate, but the batteries are just sucked dry even without it.
Proprietary external control jack. This is really irritating because if you want to do loooong exposures(which I do) you need a gizmo that works with Canon's special little three pronged plugin. I got a off-brand. I have mixed results. To get the external controller that Canon has to offer would take a significant bite out of my wallet.

Overall this is a good camera for this simple reason: It is a mainstream advanced amateur camera. Lots of options. Lots of gear that can enhance its resume. And oh... the Lenses!!!(To be reviewed)



PhotHog

Time ?

Time is a hard commodity to come by at times! This shot required more time than average to capture... And then it was time to go!











Canon 50D
17-40L
F/4
680 seconds
Location: Crater Lake, Oregon

The days of past

The quality of ones pictures, the ease of capture, and the possibility of getting the shot, improve with the cost of your gear. That said, some of my favorite pictures were taken with my old P&S. Back then getting a shot was more of a challenge. The gear was not designed for the use I put it through, I was not as good, but I worked hard and long, replaced my HP935 photosmart three times, and ended up with some good shots!





























Camera: Hewlett-Packard
Model: HP PhotoSmart C935
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/4 sec
Aperture: 3.2
Focal Length: 12.7mm
Phothog

DST

Canon 50D
24-105L @105mm
ISO 640
F/4.o