Why I shoot Pentax

I was taking a picture of a group recently and after I finished one of the people walked over and asked "Is that a Cannon or Nikon?"  After mentally choking him while shoving a 300mm lens down his throat, responded nicely "No, a Pentax" to which he said "Oh, I didn't know they made Digital SLRs."  I mentally choked him again.

Mr. Choking victim is not the only one who thinks only Cannon and Nikon make DSLRs.  Some people know Sony makes them too  :)  Pentax, Olympus and Panasonic all make "mainstream" DSLRs and there are lots of specialty companies but Cannon and Nikon seem to suck the oxygen out of the discussion.  That is a shame.  If the personal computer experience has taught us anything, it is that competition is good.  iPhoto and iMovie drove Microsoft and other developers to make better visual media apps.  Google banished unrealistic inbox sizes with Gmail.  And look at what the iPhone has done for cell phones!  A photography world with only Cannon and Nikon would quickly become boring and expensive.  Panasonic is driving the "toss away the past" movement with the GH series that has no mirror and does incredible video.  Olympus is trying to see how small you can make a DSLR and Sony has reignited the megapixel race.  Cannon and Nikon seem to be intent on mirroring each other more than innovating IMHO.

What camera?

Let me start by saying DLSRs have reached a point where there are no bad choices, just different ones.  The differences between sensors have become slight and if the rumors are true, Sony makes Nikons sensors.  Choosing a camera has come down to the 3 Fs/P - Features, Family and Feel over Price- feature of the body, the family of products associated with it and the subjective "feel" at the price you can afford.  Instead of trying to list all the possible "F3/P," Ill tell you what brought me to Pentax.

Why DSLR?

Imaging resource has a great, but slightly dated, article on why a DSLR.  For me, I wanted a better sensor, better lens and better flash.  Before deciding what features matter to you, decide what your current camera is NOT doing for you.  Todays super zoom cameras are more like SLRs with only one lens than the point and shoot digitals of a few years ago.  I almost waited out another generation of DSLR with an FZ28.

The lineup

This site is about getting the most from your budget and that is exactly what I was looking for in my first DSLR.  My initial candidates were the Pentax K200D, Pentax K2000/k-m, Nikon D60, Nikon D40, Cannon EOS 450, Panasonic DMC-G1.  Right at decision time the Nikon D5000 and Cannon EOS 500 were announced and gave me serious headaches!  I never really considered any Sony or Olympus models.

Cut Day

I eliminated the D40 because it was too limited.  The combination of the 6MP sensor and limited autofocus lens selection was just too much of too little.  I plan to use this body for 5+ years so I decided 10MP was my target.  Yes, I know there is more than MP count but I wanted the ability to make large prints.

Next to go was the EOS 450.  Other than price I cant think of a good reason to eliminate it.  I just didnt connect with the Cannon.  The feel was just wrong for me.  Something about the Cannon way of thinking doesn't match me because I have issues with my wife's Cannon S5 P&S.

I thought REALLY hard about the Pansonic DMC-G1.  My last P&S/Supersoom was an FZ8 and I really loved it.  Actually, I still have it and use it when I dont want to carry as much or if there is a serious hazard to my camera.  I loved the size and true live view of the G1 plus the video capability but the price and sensor sent it packing.  The G1, like the Olympus E520, uses a micro 4/3 sensor with a 2x FOV crop.  One of the things I wanted was a bigger, softer sensor and the 4/3 was not what I was looking for.  I have also learned, the hard way, not to buy version 1.0.  

The D5000/EOS500 threw me for a loop but at the end of the day, the major advantage of them was video with a HUGE increase in price.  I have a video camera (a Cannon - see I dont discriminate!)  and I dont use it much compared to my still camera.  I would have to sacrifice a lot of still capability in the form of lenses and accessories to get video and that was not my purpose in going to a DSLR.

The Contenders

My final choices were the K200, K2000 and the D60.  

I really liked the price and size of the K2000.  The standard kit included a dedicated flash which would save me money initially.  It also had slightly better ISO performance than the K200.  On the bad side it came with an older kit lens despite being a new camera and it had some other major shortcomings.  There is no ability to select the focus point which seriously limits creativity.  It also has no weather seals and the included flash is fixed at 90 degrees.  Much like the D40, I was concerned that I would outgrow the K2000 far too fast.

Championship bout

So I was down to the D60 and the K200.  I will admit that the K200 came in with a "reach" advantage - my first real SLR was a Pentax K1000 - but I had also always dreamed of a Nikon.  The initial price was a push since they were only $10 different on the day I got mine.  But initial price was only half the story.  Nikon decided a long time ago to put image stabilization on the lens instead of on the body.  That was probably because the technology for lens stabilization predated affordable digital bodies and Nikon could sell a lot of new lenses to film guys long before they could convince them that digital could replace film.  Pentax decided to make every lens better by putting the stabilization in body.  But that meant that any improvement in stabilization means getting a new body.  Those decisions mean that with Nikon, you pay for stabilization every time you buy a lens but newer lenses might have better stabilization.  With Pentax you pay for it once but you are stuck with that level.  Nikon also decided that the D60 was for "new" Nikon shooters and did not make it Autofocus compatible with older lenses.  So along with paying for IS each time, you are limited to newer lenses and a more limited range.  If you wanted the compatibility, you had to jump up to the D80 or better - at a significant cost.  There were some other features left to D80 or better buyers - the D60 has no vertical grip or battery grip.  There is no built in wireless flash capability.  There is no option for uncompressed RAW and no ability to control Noise Reduction.  And like the K2000, it has no weather seals.  In fact, dust is such an issue, it has a very complex dust removal system.  Finally there was the feel.  It felt cramped in my hand and with anything except the 18-50mm kit lens, it felt unbalanced because the body seemed too light.  

The K200D had a lot of the features the D60 lacked.  The in body stabilization meant I could get some seriously budget lenses right off the bat.  My first non-kit lens was a 28-80mm Tamron that cost $44.  Sure its not pro glass but for $44 if I get 2 or 3 pics a year that I love, it was worth it.  The same lens for Nikon cost $90 and on the D60 it would have been manual focus.  I got a battery grip with a vertical shutter button for $30 and because the K200 takes AA batteries, I got great Eneloop recharables for less than half what an extra Nikon (or anyone else including the one used on the Pentax K20D) battery cost.  And I can use the same batteries in my flash.  Im really glad Im not stuck buying Panasonic batteries now that they have disabled 3rd party batteries.  The feel of the camera with the battery pack attached is perfect to me and the weather seals give me confidence to shoot in pretty rough conditions.  Wireless flash is built in meaning my $250 AF-360 purchase added off camera flash at no additional cost.  But I did give up some things with the K200D.  The burst rate and continuous speed on the Pentax is no match for the Nikon.  Right now I mostly shoot flowers and landscapes so its not as big a deal.  But it is limiting.  ISO performance past 800 is really not good.  I would only use 1600 in a pinch.  And there is no denying that Nikon glass is special.  My 5MP Nikon CP5400 took incredible pictures that I attributed to the lens.  Try finding a Pentax dealer in anything except a LARGE town let alone overseas and renting equipment is right out.  The Pentax "ecosystem" is just no match for the Big 2.  Final downside - I have suffered from Pentax "focus hunting."  I have not used other systems enough to know how they do but I have missed some shots because of it.  

Final verdict

In the end it came down to total cost of ownership.  The Pentax was going to give me more bang for the buck initially and allow me to add capability much cheaper than the Nikon.  Even things like lens filters were cheaper on the Pentax because the lenses are smaller around.  That meant I could get more creative sooner rather than later.  And the "feel" of the camera cannot be underrated.  If you dont like holding your camera, you wont.  The D60 and the D40 didn't feel right in my hand, the K200 did.  I plan to hold it for a long time.  And I wont pretend there was not a bit of contrarian "be different" going on.  I owned a Beta VCR (I waited until BluRay won), listen to strange music and was a Mac guy long before it was cool.  Maybe when this blog makes me super wealthy and I can but anything I want I will get my dream Nikon but I will probably always be a Pentax guy.

None of this is meant to say "Buy Pentax."  The K200D is right for me.  But I am saying look at what capability you are trying to add and decide what camera best fits that need at the price you want to pay.  And look at the entire price.  AA batteries and a battery grip were not factors when I started my search but became ones when I realized that I was going to have to spend a lot of extra money to ensure I had power for a week of hiking and I was going to be changing those batteries more often in dusty conditions.  And now I would not even consider a camera that didnt have the option for a vertical shutter.  And make sure you pick up an hold before you buy.  I would end with a comparison but I want to keep this rated PG!

Woof

I took notes this time!

This is a "daylight" shot:

This is a normal shot with "shade" white balance.

Shade acts as a warming filter to bring back the colors. If you use "shade" white balance for an early evening sunset, you will warm it up.  U can even use it to get a very light sepia effect.

This is the same flower shot with "Tungsten" white balance"

Everything gets a blue tint and seems to luminesce.

I left it un-cropped so you could see the effect on the different areas.  It seems to work better in soft or shaded light.  The real point is to play with and learn all the capabilities of that camera you bought with your hard earned dollars.  And of course to amaze your friends and make girls swoon  :)

Breaking the rules, eating dog food

Im not supposed to post on Sunday but I am so far behind I want to get this done!

A few years ago "eating our own dog food" was a hip business term.  It meant using your own products.  For me it means going out and shooting in the ways I talk about here.  So the other day I went out and unloaded my bag trying all my toys.  I took a LOT of bad pictures, partially because I had not used some of it in a bit.  Here are some of the good ones.

The black fabric trick is one of my favorites but by chance I didn't have mine.  But I was wearing a black coat, had my tripod and my remote.  As a result I was able to shoot this series:

this is a nice picture:

This is Dog Food!!

The ONLY difference between these pictures is the addition of a black pea coat behind the flower.  (**it was windy so the flower moved slightly between pictures)

Shortly after shooting this I decided to see just how far I could go with using steady hold and breathing to push my shutter speed down. Here is what I got at 1/6th of a second:

and here are the two pictures before and after:


Now this only works with stationary subjects or semi-stationary.  A great way to capture motion is to intentionally blur the subject while the background remains steady.  The key is keeping the background steady!  If you have to shoot 1/60 to do that, you are probably not going to get the blur you want.

Now here is where it gets sketchy.  I wanted to shoot with different white balance settings but I forgot to write down the settings!!  I think the first one is using fluorescent light.  The rest are tungsten:

Tungsten:


Normal:

Tungsten

Tungsten

I also used 10x filter on those.

Thats it for Sunday.  I am working on the DIY projects and remembering to take notes!

Break from vacation

Its amazing how quickly you can get behind after taking some time off!  Im just about caught up at and I am working on two lighting projects - shooting with inexpensive work lights and making a a kick but DIY reflector.  

Everything I needed to know about shooting I learned in the Army

Shake is the bane of all shooters.  Doesn't matter if you are shooting 300mm or 5.56mm.  If you shake, you will miss.  Before I joined the Army I had never shot anything that didn't have film in it.  I was afraid that was going to mean I would be a horrible rifleman.  On the first day at the range, the Drill Sergeants asked who had never shot before.  I reluctantly raised my hand, more afraid of the punishment for lying than the scorn for being less manly.  To my surprise the next words out of the Drill Sergeants mouth was that we non-shooters would be the ones to shoot expert (I missed by 1 shot, shot expert every time after that).  Why?  Because we had no bad habits to unlearn while the kids who knew how to shoot would not listen and fail to qualify.  They got it almost completely right.  Only 2 of the non-shooters failed to qualify the first time (they were just hard headed!) and the rest of the 25 "bolos" (not a good thing!) were all kids who had been shooting for 3 year or more.  Time to unlearn some bad habits.

BRM = BPT

The Army calls it Basic Rifle Marksmanship.  It is a proven method for teaching a serious business.  It is literally life or death.  We can translate that method into BPT - Basic Photographic Technique.  Before we ever put a single round in our rifles, we spent hours on dime and washer drills.  We would put a dime on the muzzle of our rifle and go through the entire shooting sequence.  The goal was to keep the dime/washer on the end.  Try it on your biggest lens with the dime on the lens hood.  Its hard!  We had a sequence beaten (they could still do that back then) into us - Breathe, Relax, Aim, Squeeze.  Take a breath, relax your body letting the breath out, aim as you get to the bottom of your breath, hold your breath momentarily, squeeze the trigger.  Here is a graphic representation of the sequence:

All of this applies to shooting with a long lens or in low light.  Take note of the length of the line for squeeze.  That is to scale.  One of the worst habits shooters, film or rifle, have is pulling the trigger/stabbing the shutter.  For a camera, make sure you have a good grip.  It should be firm but not white knuckle.  Put pad of your finger on the shutter button, not the tip. This will force you to squeeze down, not stab.  Think about and feel the ring around the shutter button.  If you can't feel it, you are using the tip instead of the pad.  When you want to shoot, squeeze down instead of pushing or stabbing.  Don't worry about releasing!!!!  The camera doesnt care how long you squeeze.  You want to hold it for a second.  If you are thinking about releasing, you will stab down so you can let it up immediately.

Burst shooting

I learned to shoot on an M16A1 that had a full auto mode.  One of the first things we were told was to never spray and pray.  If you run out of ammo, you die.  Instead we were taught to shoot controlled 3 round bursts.  Later the M16A2 got rid of the full auto completely and replaced it with an "automatic" burst mode.  Of course all of us oldsters decried the change as an accommodation for lazy shooters.  The skill to shoot a full auto in bursts was one of those dividing lines between good and bad shooters and we liked it.  The Army just wanted live soldiers and told us to STFU.  On your camera, learn to do the same thing.  Most of us shooting on a budget have cameras that can only shoot so many shots before needing a break to dump to the card.  And if you are shooting RAW with anything less than a $5000 monster you have even fewer shots before you need to give it a rest.  For me on the K200D, 3-5 shots are about right.  If I burst shoot 3-5 with a short (1-2 breaths) break, I can shoot for 30 seconds or more before I clog up the buffer.  Here is a graphic:

This shows an every breath shooting zone which is really important when the target is trying to kill you but it works for action subjects like cars or runners too.

By shooting like this, you can eliminate almost all shake.  If you hold your breath too long, you will induce shake as your body gets starved of oxygen and naturally increases your heart rate and breathing.  For me, on a three picture burst I have a very predictable sequence of "perfect" shots - 1/3 or 2.  If I squeeze a little too hard, I get 1 and 3 with the middle being blurry because at the bottom of my squeeze I moved the camera.  If squeezed too light - which is just like a stab - I get the second shot because I was light, didn't get response, stabbed a little to activate the shutter, got steady and then let up jerking the camera again.  On good days I get lots of 1/3 and I have a great control picture to figure which of the steady ones I like best.

Lots of camera reviews praise large buffer/high ISO cameras and complain about low buffer/low ISO cameras.  I dont have the $2000+ laying around for a Nikon D700so its ISO magic doesn't do anything for me.  Like the angry old Army guys, I think large buffers are for lazy photographers.  More than that, I think they teach bad habits and cause more bad pictures than they produce.  Controlled shooting will beat spray and pray every time.  How many times have you missed a shot because you filled the buffer?  Internalize these techniques and you will not miss those shots.  By learning the basics of being a steady shooter, you can get more great pictures in less light and with less chaff and more wheat.  This saves you time in Photoshop and time is money.  And by getting steady, you can push that ISO down, aperture up and still get the shot, just like the D700 guys.

Great pictures don't care what you shoot with.  If someone else is paying the bill, go for the best equipment possible.  But if its your dime, learn a little and save a lot.  Let the trust fund babies buy the expensive stuff (and drive down prices!) and watch them still get crappy pictures while you smile and  thank the Army for not only protecting your right to take pictures, but making those pictures better.

Go Shopping without spending a dime.....

A few years ago Cynthia Rowley published a book called Swell: A Girl's Guide to the Good Life.I didnt read it, not a girl, but I heard her interviewed on the Today Show one morning and something she said stuck with me - “Go shopping in your closet.”  The idea is that most women have a ton of clothes they dont wear and before you go out to buy something new, do some “shopping” with what you have.  Well, before you go to the camera store or hit Amazon, go shopping in your bag.  

What is in that thing?

I have four lenses, a flash, a tripod, remote, polarizers, warming filters, neutral density filters, macro filters, diffusers and backdrops all crammed into my bag.  I have never used all of it on a single shoot and I rarely use more than half of the lenses on a given day.  And lets not even talk about my camera.  Six regular modes (Auto everything, Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, ISO priority and Manual), Bulb, “no Flash,” and 14 scene and picture modes.  I dont even know all the scene modes let alone what they do.  And then there is the in camera processing (sepia, B&W, etc), metering modes, auto bracketing, white balance adjustments, exposure compensation, and on and on.  How much of THOSE do I use?  Way less than half.  You get the picture. Now the plan.

Shop in your bag

What is your favorite lens?  If you have more than one, you have a favorite.  You can deny it just like you do for your kids but its true.  One of the things I like about having my pictures picked up by Pixel Peeper is that it makes me see what I am shooting the most.  So here is the first assignment of shopping in your bag - put ONE lens on your camera and go shoot for a day.  If it is a zoom, force yourself to use the ENTIRE range, not the limits at each end.  Rinse and repeat for each lens in your bag.  When you are done each day, pick out your best pictures and put them in a separate folder.  At the end of the week (if you have more than 7 lenses you have no right to claim to be on a BUDGET!!!) look at all of them together.  Start taking note of what works well in what situations for what result.  I promise you will start using the lenses in your bag more.

Next step

If you carry a tripod all the time, make yourself do a “tripod only day.”  Every shot.  Then do a “handheld only day” and push the limits of your image stabilization and personal stabilization.  After three straight days of hand held only, I got to where I could shoot at 1/10th of a second and get better than 50-50 clear results.  Prior to that I maxed out at 1/30th.  Think about that, I gained 2 stops for nothing.  That is like getting the f/2.4-3.6 zoom instead of the f/4.3-5.6.  How much does THAT save?

ISO day

This one is a little more structured and can be done in a number of ways.  The idea is to learn what ISO you can live with in different situations.  On my K200D I normally have the ISO fixed at 100.  If I am doing hand held in variable conditions I will change to Auto ISO but limit it to 100-400 (very cool feature on the K200.  No idea if other brands have it).  If I am desperate for light I will go to 800 but it had better be something I cant shoot with a tripod.  1600 is to grainy for anything I really care about but if it is the only way, I will do it for documenting something (school play) or those once in a lifetime shots that would you would otherwise never get (alien encounter).  I suggest setting up near sunrise or sunset and rapidly shoot through every ISO setting with the camera on a tripod.  When you get home, decide where your sweet spot is and what you are willing to give up to get a shot.

Flashes and diffusers

This one is a little harder to do in a controlled way but the gist of it is to use your flash(s) and learn when to add light and when to go with what you have by shooting with and without.  I am still not good at this and I really struggle with adding or subtracting from the flash strength.  I use to ALWAYS use a diffuser.  Now I am starting to learn when NOT to use it.  This is my weakest area.

By the way, I suggest doing this last in your progression to this point.  The lessons of lens, tripod and ISO will all assist in determining when NOT to use a flash.

Modes

The first two weeks I had my K200D I was welded to Autopic.  Then I moved to shutter priority followed by Program AE.  Recently I have used Aperture Priority to shot an f/8 day.  But my new love is Manual mode!  Go figure!  When I was shooting a K1000 I lusted after the ME/MX/LX guys with automatic modes.  Now I have more and more better auto modes than they could ever dream of and I am shooting manual again!!  Take a week and shoot ONLY in one mode each day, just like lens day.  Again, I promise you that mode dial will start to get a workout.  After you have done that, learn to use the exposure compensation to give you “fake” manual.  Take a picture manually and than try to replicate it with an auto mode (Aperture or Shutter priority) plus the EV button.  Its faster than switching to manual and can often get the same result.  F/8 day was a real eye opener to me because it showed me what everything below that was costing me in sharpness.  I have significantly improved the quality of my pictures simply by getting away from the low end of the f-stop range.

White balance is a filter!

On the K200D, you can use the white balance to see what the different modes will look like on the last picture.  Taking a tip from The Strobist, I have used the Tungsten mode to create some beautiful effects.  Shade acts much the same as a 82 warming filter.  Didnt cost me a dime of time (Photoshop time) or money.

Get off Spray and Pray!

One of the joys of digital is that every picture is free.  Well, not quite since hard drives cost money but pretty darn close.  A lot of us have gotten in the habit of pointing and holding knowing that one of the last ten will be good.  This is a HARD habit to break.  Take a week and leave your camera on single shot for the entire week.  Make yourself think through each shot.  Frame it, straighten it (my weakness!) and then shoot.  Get in the habit of seeing the picture before you even raise the camera to your eye.  After doing this I realized that often I was just pointing and shooting because I didn't know exactly what I wanted but when I got home I could find something I liked.  Force yourself to make every shot count and you will be a better photographer for it.  If you want to get REALLY EXTREME, Shoot um Like You Bought um!  Limit yourself to 36 (or 24!) pictures a day for a week. Pretend that each one cost $5 (about the right conversion for mid 90’s processing - otherwise known as the stone age).  Subtract the cost of crap shots from your beer (or in my wife's case, yarn) budget.  Yikes!

Get a “Prime” for nothing

Most of us have zooms.  Some of us have only zooms.  Yet inside every zoom is a prime wanting to get out.  Take a day and shoot a lens with it “fixed” at one focal length.  I REALLY want a Pentax DA 35mm Macro Limited. But I also have an 18-55 zoom meaning I have a “free” 35mm prime.  Put that zoom on 35mm and shoot.  You might find out that 35mm (or what every length you choose) is not the right size.  Better to find out BEFORE you buy!  Additionally, every lens haas a sweet spot.  If your 70-300 zoom falls off a lot after 250mm, learn to shoot 250mm really well.  Like ISO, learn what it cost in terms of picture quality for that last 50mm.

Another benefit of fixing your focal length is that it gets you to move more.  Zooming in is not changing perspective.  Zooming is no different that cropping.  To get a different picture you have to move left/right/up down.  Moving closer or further is not really changing perspective either.  It is just manual zoom.  Force yourself to make a different picture instead of a more detailed/closer picture.

*** Yes I know there is a VAST difference between a zoom fixed at 35mm and a 35mm prime.  Think of it as "try before you buy" if you are looking for a prime.  More importantly, you will get an insight into what having a fixed focal length will mean.  Most post-film photographers have never known anything but zoom and while primes certainly have a place in the photographic world, if your personal shooting style doesnt agree with primes, that 50mm f/1.4 is just going to gather dust and weigh down your bag.

Learn your buttons!

Ill confess, I still dont know what the “green button” does on my Pentax.  It must be important because every Pentax DSLR has one.  And I have never checked my histogram.  I was very frustrated until I realized that half press on the shutter only locked the focus and exposure look required me to to press...the exposure lock button!  Most of the time the designers put the buttons on there for a reason.  Figure them out and you will be happier with your camera.

The Point

The point of all of this is that most of us have WAY more camera than we know we do.  We have lenses that are not used or not used to their fullest extent.  We dont know that by going with ISO 400, f/8 and 1/120 of a second we can get that shot we didnt think was possible because the automatic modes dont know that your 50-200 is super clear at 135mm and will make up for the 400 ISO.  Or when with a little bracing and breathing control (breathe, relax, aim, squeeze) we can get that low light shot without having to go to ISO 1600.  Pros can afford to have an “ISO Camera” and a collection of f/1.4 primes tended by a legion of assistants.  The rest of us normally have to squeeze every bit out of one body and a few lenses.  If you dont know the full capabilities and limitations of your equipment, you are leaving money on the table.  Do I really NEED that DA Limited 35mm?  Probably not but certainly not when my 18-55mm zoom rarely ends up on 35mm.  On the other hand, that 135mm prime is looking like a good buy.  So go shopping in your bag.  You might be surprised at how much free stuff is in there.

Limited Posting till Saturday

My son is taking me on a surprise mini vacation as a Fathers Day present so I will be very limited until Saturday.

Got to Love Passwird!

I know this will probably be expired before anyone reads this but I cant help putting up an example of what goes up on Passwird and why I check it out every day:

Three (3) SanDisk 16GB Ultra II SDHC Cards $32.47 shipped AR at Ritz Camera!

Pickup three (3) SanDisk 16GB Ultra II SDHC Cards for $32.47 after rebate at Ritz Camera. Features: Fast read/write speeds of up to 15MB/second. RITZ CAMERA

1. Add qty 3 SanDisk 16GB Ultra II SDHC Cards to cart @ $49.99 each.
2. Enter coupon code ETRC01 at checkout for $7.50 off.
3. Automatic $20 off $100 when PayPal is used as method of payment.
4. Send for the $90 rebate

Sure its a convoluted process and you have to mess around with rebates but if you are willing to spend a tiny bit of time and effort you get THREE fast 16GB cards for $32.  I dont care if you are shooting RAW at 20MP you will have a hard time filling 48GB before your batteries or your arms give out.

I hate lens cleaning cloths that are sold in camera stores.  Maybe I am just a klutz but I always seem to add as many smudges as I remove trying to use one on a lens.  And on a filter, they are never big enough to clean both sides at once and they force you to hold the filter by the edges and try to keep a grip while getting it clean.  I long ago gave up on the tiny things and now use the iKlear.  I originally bought it to clean my laptop screen and discovered that it is just as effective at cleaning lenses.  The "microfiber chamois" and "microfiber terry cloth" towels are a little larger than a standard washcloth.  I use the chamois on my lenses and filters and the terry cloth on everything else.  At $15, it is roughly twice what you would pay for one of the tiny cleaning cloths.  If you need a last minute fathers day gift, you cant go wrong with the iKlear.

Doah!

I just figured out what Highlight warning is - Histogram.  

Now I have to figure out a new acronym.  Maybe when I feel better.

Sick, tired and stupid!

I seem to have acquired some kind of flu.  I felt well enough to go outside and attempt some pictures today with the idea of finally getting a post up.  In my brain boiled state, I failed to check my camera settings.  Scott Kelby calls it WHIMS - White balance, Highlight warning (must be a nikon thing), ISO, Mode and Size.  I had white balance and ISO set for the last thing I attempted to shoot - a woodpecker in a tree in late evening - and then forgot to move off manual mode after my first 10 pictures.  As a result I shot 100+ pictures of flowers in the sun that are blown out and grainy.  But at least I was shaky and unsteady so they are mostly blurry too....so I have that going for me.  But it was a good lesson and a cheap one.  You can buy the most expensive camera, best lens and coolest tripod but if you don't check the basics before you shoot, you will not get the results you want.  So from now on, I will start each shoot with some FUN'EM- Function button (ISO, White balance, Flash, Shooting mode) E (erase the memory card) M (Check the mode dial).  And when I am done, I need to remember to reset everything - Program AE, Auto White Balance, High Speed (Continuous shooting - how many times have I left it on 2 second delay and missed a shot!) and regular flash (as opposed to wireless mode).  

The shrinks tell us that it takes 21 days to form a habit.  So I am resolving to do my FUN'EM for the next 21 days.  What is your WHIMS?

Doctor Doctor

I was afforded the opportunity to spend the day at the doctor yesterday.  I should have a double post up this evening.

Lets Find A Deal!

When the 50lb brains at DARPA were laying the foundations for the internet I am pretty sure they were not thinking "this is going to revolutionize how people buy things!"  Who knew that a tool originally designed to help defeat the Soviet Union or mitigate the impact of a war with would ultimately become one of the greatest tools of the capitalist economy?  For all its various impacts on our lives, I think the greatest impact is in how things are bought and sold in this country.  The internet has flattened the arbitrage factor in almost everything we buy.  No longer can a local retailer charge above market price simply because of lack of knowledge.  With a few keystrokes, anyone can find the range of market prices for an item and make a decision about a purchase.  Beyond the direct impact on individual items, all retailers have to take the internet into consideration for every item.  Some smart person will probably put a number on it but I know the internet dramatically increases the purchasing power of my household. But.......

There is always a but.  And the but here is time.  Finding those deals can consume more time than they are worth (time is money).  As I said in the mission statement of this blog, DPOAB about people on a budget of both time and money.  One of the other great advances the internet has allowed is the ability to leverage the input of millions.  What might take one person hours to do can be spread across the masses who only spend a few minutes.  That collective effort results in a huge number of "Deal" websites.  So many that even they can become time consumers!

Over the years I have frequented tons of deal sites.  Some are better than others, some have gone away and some have gone rouge.  Two have risen to the top of my link list and are in my batch of websites I visit every day without fail - dealmac and Passwired.

Dealmac is actually the Macintosh oriented subsite of Dealnews.  Dealnews has been around since 1997 and has grown from purely user submitted content to a full time professional staff with a range of subsites.  (Full disclosure - back in the 90's I regularly submitted deals to dealmac and a number were published on the site.  I received no compensation other than seeing my name linked to the deal)

Dealmac - not just Macintosh deals.  Back in the days of SCSI, ADB and NuBus, dealmac was an important source of deals on hardware and software you could trust would work on your mac.  These days just about the only things that are not cross platform are specific software titles.  I find dealmac is more tech oriented than dealnews but I dont know if that is just my personal bias.  You still get all the Photo, storage and general deal news here, just a little more limited.

Dealram - A GREAT tool for finding solid state memory of all types.  It is especially useful in finding the right memory for your system.  You can put in your make and model and you will only see ram modules that fit your system.  

Dealcam - much less useful than dealram.  I dont think it gets updated as often.  I prefer the Photo section of dealmac.  

Dealcoupon - I always check here before finishing a purchase online.  If there is a coupon code for free shipping or X% off, you will find it here.  I can't count the number of times it has saved me money on something I was going to buy anyway.

Styenotes - the newest site, centered on clothes.  I haven't used it much but I have bought lots of clothes from the links in dealmac so I imagine it will be great.

Much of the content is repeated across the full range of sites.  I use dealmac as my starting point and then go to the subsites if I am looking for something specific.  The Photo section on both dealmac and dealnews is excellent and they regularly post coupon codes for free or shipping only deals on processing.  The last one I used got me six 8x8 photobooks for the cost of shipping only.

Passwird - Run by a UCSB senior, Passwird is generally tech focused but has a full range of deals.  The owner started the site when he was in high school and his specialty is finding bizarre combinations of codes and pricing mistakes to generate free or nearly free stuff (which he then sells on eBay!).  He is also a master of figuring out how to game the Dell website to get GREAT deals on computers.  Both my Dell laptops and one desktop were bought using instructions from Passwird.  As an example, one laptop started as a bottom of the line POS but by choosing the right upgrades and a couple of stacked coupons I got a high end gaming class notebook for $1000 (2007).  The same system purchased "normally" from Dell was over $1500 plus shipping.  Passwird is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get, but you can scroll through the days deals in less than a minute.

I can get through both Passwird and Dealmac in about three minutes.  Both have simple layouts and both have rss feeds.  If I am looking for something specific, I always start at Dealmac and work from there.  Passwird is the first deal site I check every morning (ok, Ill admit it, at night too) because many of the deals on there are very short lived.  Both are great tools for the Digital Photographer On A Budget.

Sites Worth Your Time - The Strobist

This is the second Site Worth Your Time but by no means is that an indicator of the usefulness of the site.  In fact, The Strobist might be one of the greatest resources ever on the web.  The Strobist has one mission:

This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level. Or the next ten levels.

Now I have to admit I thought off camera flash was something strange, arcane and only for professionals.  About 5 minutes into trying to make my AF360 work in wireless mode I was SURE it wasn't for me!  I mean, I had to read the instructions!  Once I finally got it to work, the results were just not that impressive and I was back to traditional on camera work.  A few months later I stumbled on to The Strobist and saw this lesson and I was hooked.  Trying to get pictures like this or this is not easy, but its not nearly as hard as I thought.  In fact, the instructions are so good, I managed to get some semi decent ones on my first try.  

Off camera flash is not for everyone.  For one, if your camera doesn't have built in wireless capability, you will need to buy either transmitters or cables that are compatible with your brand of camera and flash (one of those "value" reasons I went with Pentax).  And of course it means more gear because you cant JUST have a flash.  Pretty soon you will want stands, umbrellas, hot lights, back lights and on and on.  Well maybe not.  Turns out you can do a LOT with just one flash and your hand to make a picture better.  The Strobist lays it all out in great detail starting with Lighting 101.

Once you have worked through all 29 (!) lessons, head over to Boot Camp.  Boot Camp II just started so you have a chance to not only learn but win some great prizes.  But dont forget to go through the Boot Camp I lessons and results.  You can learn a TON from the good, bad and ugly that other photographers produce - especially if you know how they were trying to do it.  Not that you will find much bad or ugly.  I think the first thing I learned once I really got my flash off was that one of the biggest difference between professional looking and amateur looking pictures was the proper use of a flash.  With the lessons here (don't forget Lighting 102), you can banish those flat, red eye monster pictures and take pictures for people to chimp about (ooooh aaaaah).

I am personally amazed by the depth and breadth of information David Hobby (aka The Strobist) has put on this site.  That he has it all available FREE is even more amazing.  He could easily charge for the site and get a TON of subscribers.  I would be right there.  But it is free and so its silly to not read and learn.  I have no idea how much a class or workshop would cost to teach everything available on the site but I know it would be more than what I spend on all my gear.  If you think of it that way, its like getting a bunch of free gear or more importantly, teaching you how to maximize the gear you have.  

The Strobist is a Site Worth Your Time

Barn doors, diffusers and lights

I am just starting to explore the world of creative lighting.  I HIGHLY encourage visiting The Strobist blog (a Site Worth Your Time).  While you are there, click on the paid links and Amazon links.  You can get a $1000 workshop worth of information for the price of a internet connection so at least visit the sponsors.  Rant over.  Like I said, I am just learning.  One of the first things I learned was that almost everything I thought about flashes was wrong.  Why would you want to diffuse light? Why bounce light?  Why color light?  Im still working on the last two but I am starting to understand diffusion.  Two of the 10 gift ideas were diffusers.  But what if you don't have even $20 in your budget?  How about $2.  For $2 Ill show you how to get a diffuser and a basic barn door.

I love my Sto-Fen. Not giving it up.  But there is the Gary Fong C4 Cloud Lightsphere too, plus more I probably don't know about.  Assuming they all do something different, what am I missing out on?  Never know because I am not going to buy them all.  But to get an idea, its time to head to the craft store.

Meet your future diffuser

$.89 at your local craft store.  You will need to adjust the size to fit bout your flash and how much "dome" you want.  I got the smallest because it was almost exactly the size of my AF360.  Now the tuff part.

I know, its hard to see.  Cut three sides.  I left one of the small sides on this one. I recommend leaving one of the wider sides and making that the top.  The side you leave will provide some pressure to keep it on.  The plastic is really thin and flexible so making the hole a little undersized is ok.  Leaving the large side also lets you put colored reflectors in there too.  (I ran out of clear boxes so I will put up pictures of the alternate version soon).

Here it is in action.  Big box of soft light.  You can move the wire as needed.  I had to use a helper light to focus on the clear object.  Ill talk about the light at the end.  So for $.89 and about 5 minutes, you get a useable diffuser.

Barn Doors

This one is still a work in progress but I am hoping some of you will try it and think of improvements I haven't.  Meet your future barn door.

Might notice a theme here  :)  This is a medium sized one and cost $.49.  On to the hard stuff.

Lay it out, trace

and cut
I am not the worlds best line follower......  Same thing here, leave the "long side to put some pressure on it if needed.  If you use a bigger box, you can use a Sto-Fen to hold it on.

Like I said, a work in progress.  I am looking for a black one.  Seems like a lot of light escapes this.  I also thought of wrapping it in black duct tape.  Might help with durability too.  I am experimenting with slots for preset spots but the wire actually makes it pretty easy to adjust the opening.  Ok, one last combination....

I used the small diffuser to hold the "barn door" on backwards making a kind of snot.  Once I get some colored ones I will experiment with different holes on the bottom for different effects.  I think the "take out food system" has real promise!!

Helper light

This is my helper light.

I got it from Ikea in a two pack for $3.  I think they only sell them in store (I cant find them online) so if you don't have an Ikea, try this - Sylvania DOT-it Self-Adhesive Bright White LED Light, Black.  These lights have a TON of uses.  I have used them for backlighting on flowers, focus lights, and plain old light in the dark (like for looking at your setting while doing night shooting because Pentax didn't backlight the LCD!).  They make a great addition to your camera bag.

Like I said, this is a work in progress.  I want to try inserting colored paper in both of these to see what happens.  And I would like to refine the barn door function a bit.  By the time I am done, I am sure I will be very happy and convinced that what I really need to do is spend $10 to get this - SP Studio Systems 4 Leaf Barndoor Set.  Until then, I will keep saving those lunch boxes!

10x Filter

In Fathers Day gift ideas, I made reference to a "ghetto macro". Today Ill show you just what I mean and why spending $15 is worth it.  

Close up lenses are also called "diopters" and sometimes "macro filters."  They vary in quality and of course price.  Functionally they are the same as reading glasses.  Practically, they allow you to get closer, MUCH closer, to your subject.  Why then would anyone spend the insane dollars on a "real" macro lens?  As always, there are tradeoffs.  The first and most obvious is the extremely small focus area.  You can forget about trying to frame a nice "rule of thirds" shot in camera - its center focus time.  Second, your depth of field is measured in millimeters.  Finally, focus is more about moving the camera than turing the dial so tripod work is probably out too.  This is a bright light tool!  Despite all of that, you can get some AMAZING results with a little practice and a lot of shooting.  Enough talk.

The pictures:

This was shot using a 200mm zoom, all the way zoomed at the minimum distance.

This is the same daisy with a 10x filter attached at "50mm" (different angle).  This is a very small flower and I couldn't get a single shot where the front petals and the back petals were both in focus.  most of the time I crank the lens to the widest setting - in this case 50mm - and then move my entire body until the part I want is in focus.  I have managed to get a few good pictures with autofocus but this is really a time when you want to go to manual focus.

Ok, thats nice but not THAT impressive.  How about this....

and this

Again, this is not a very big flower.  And not a very big spider.  You can compare him to the bits of pollen for reference.  Both of these were shot at "73mm" (109mm effective) and f/8.  As I said before, this is a tool that needs bright light.  I took these late afternoon because you also need to be able to get almost on top of the subject.  Overhead sunlight would make direct shots almost impossible.

I have not tried using a flash with this yet but it would almost have to be off camera.  Also, forget about your lens hood.  Even the smallest one on my 18-55mm hit the subject.  

Because the DoF is so shallow, flat subjects will give you more area in focus.  In fact, if you can get a flat enough subject, its hard to tell the picture was not shot with a "real" macro.
I have more examples up on the DPOAB Flickr page.  

Close up lenses are classic "good enough" tools.  If your bread and butter is producing high quality extreme close ups, buy one of these. But if you just want to take really cool pictures of tiny spiders and pretty flowers, a close up lens and some practice will get you some great shots.

Gods Placated

I seem to have made enough sacrifices (do you know how hard it is to find a virgin chicken?!?) and the internet gods are smiling on me again.  More shortly.

Argh!!!

The internet gods are not smiling on me.  Todays post may be late or not at all......grrrrr

Sites worth your time - Pixel Peeper

On the right I have a list of "Sites Worth Your Time."  First off, the list is a work in progress and not chiseled in stone.  And it is, of course, my opinion.  I don't have an objective measure of what makes a site worth your time, just my personal observation of the ones that I find I visit even on days I dont have a lot of time.  I had planned to cover them in order but I realized alphabetic order is a bad way to look at them.  So I am going in my order starting with Pixel Peeper.

Im starting with pixel Peeper because it is unique among the sites I call worth your time.  The site has a very limited agenda - showing you actual pictures shot by actual photographers with identifiable gear.  From their FAQ:

Pixel-Peeper is a lens and camera comparison site. You can examine full size pictures from a specific lens or camera (more than 1,000,000 photos are available), also based on a specific setting (e.g. aperture, focal length or ISO).

Each lens/camera page also lists a number of online stores and eBay auctions along with availability that you can use to purchase equipment, or simply to check prices in your country.

One of the reason I dont like a lot of the "review" sites is that they take pictures of these reference images that have no relation to anything I would shoot.  And it seems like every lens I can afford is called "soft" or it is has "fringing" and is therefore no good. Yet when I look at reviews on Amazon and other user sites, I hear great things about the same lens.  So how to decide?  That is where Pixel Peeper comes in.  Thinking of buying that Pentax 50mm f/1.4 for low light shooting?  Instead of reading about "front focus" issues, look at real pictures.  Want to know if the Nikon 18-200mm is significantly better than the Sigma 18-200mm?  Check it out and decide for yourself.

Same for DSLR bodies and and "point and shoot" cameras.  There are no reviews, no judgements and no comparisons other than the ones you make yourself.  You get to decide if the extra stops on on that f1.4 are worth $500 more or if f2.8 is good enough.  

One warning - this site can be depressing!  Wander into the Digicam section and you will see some amazing pictures being taken with point and shoot gear that cost less than my camera bag.  It graphically teaches that it is not the camera but the photographer.  

If you decide to create an account, you can input your equipment and create a wish list and a "watch" list.  The watch list will alert you if something you want shows up on ebay.  Pixel Peeper uses Flickr for its source images and to a certain extent depends on accurate tagging by flickr users.  I think it is a good, objective tool for determining if the lens you are interested in is "good enough" or if the extra expense of a lens is worth it to you.  For Non SLR Digital Cameras it can be even more valuable because you are seeing the exact lens/body combination you are buying.  A lot of times you are going to find out that in the real world, good enough is pretty darn good.

Pixel Peeper has all the qualities DPOAB is looking for - fast, easy to use and easy to digest information.  It lets you make informed decisions about where to spend your photography budget and is therefore a Site Worth Your Time.

Frugal Fathers Day Photography Favor

Do you have a Photographer Father you need a gift for?  Need a frugal favor to furnish?  DPOAB is here to help!!  (yes, I had to use thesaurus.com!).  Below is a list of 10 gifts for less than $25.  And dont limit yourself to Fathers Day or even Fathers!  Moms, girlfriends, boyfriends, aunts, uncles husbands and wives all like goodies for their hobby!

Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System It is a little thicker and a little longer than a standard pen with a brush on one end and a cleaning thingy on the other. Its one of those thigns that you dont need until you really need and there is no real substitute.

Tiffen 52mm UV Protection Filter I choose the 52mm as my example but the price is close on the other sizes. "But he already HAS a UV filter. Why get him another one?" The whole point of UV filters, other than filtering UV, is to get scratched. Or more correctly, to protect the REAL glass from getting scratched. But what happens if one day into that dream hiking trip with the majestic views he puts a one inch scratch across his filter? I have a spare UV filter in each of the two sizes my different lenses take. That gives me one spare and then I have to start juggling. In the mean time I can order a new backup. Its a whole lot cheaper than buying one at Disney World or walking back to civilization with no pictures.

Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce Diffuser I picked one at random but you will need to get the one that fits your flash. Besides making you look really cool, you will get better lighting, fewer red eyes and fewer shadows using a diffuser. There are others out there but there is a reason pros use the Sto-Fen.


Tiffen Circular Polarizer Filter
 ***I changed this from the original Hoya filter because the pice went up beyond the $25 max I had set for this.  There is nothing wrong with the Tiffen filter.  I originally choose the Hoya because of the huge discount***Once again, get the size right for your lens. Besides being an insanely good price, polarizers let you get those deep blue skies. If you shoot near water, a polarizer will eliminate the glare and capture what is below in clear water.

OP/TECH 37012 Pro Loop Strap for Camera Equipment (Black) After one day of walking around with my 70-300 zoom and battery pack, I ordered this. Besides yelling "Steal Me!!" in bright yellow, red or blue colors, most manufacture straps are too thin and not padded. if you plan to USE your camera, get one of these.

Gary Fong Puffer Pop Up Flash Diffuser Think of this as a Sto-Fen for your popup because that is exactly what it does. If you do not have a flash besides your popup, you NEED one of these. Popup flashes are harsh and give you flat pictures with red eyes and creepy skin tone. If you love your family, buy one of these!!

Digital Concepts +1 +2 +4 +10 Close-Up Macro Filter Set with Pouch (52mm) QUALIFYING STATEMENT! I only have the 10x. And Im mad because I paid almost as much for the 10X alone as the complete set is here. And its only almost because this doesn't qualify for free shipping! These are sometimes called "ghetto macro" lenses. Besides allowing you to get some great pictures, they produce a very very shallow Depth of Field that gives the rest of the picture a nice soft focus look. If you like bugs or flowers, you will like having these.

eneloop 4 pack AA with Charger I picked up this setat Costco for $20 so if you can find it there, get 2. These are the best rechargeables I have ever used. Unlike other rechargeable batteries, the Eneloops don't get tired and lose charge when they are in your camera or flash. Charge time is a little longer than some but it is worth it. I routinely get over 1000 pictures out of a single charge.

PC to Hot Shoe Adapter with Connecting Cord.
I use this to mount my flash on a tripod for off camera flash work. Thats about it. Makes off camera stuff a breeze because you can bounce and deflect just like on your camera because it is oriented the same.

Sunpak 59.4" PlatinumPlus 5800D This, as far as I can tell, identical to the 6601UT except for the color and the bag. I have the 6601UT and while it is by no means a "professional" tripod, it does the job. Its reasonably light, reasonably sturdy and dirt cheep. I am only now starting to get inot lots of tripod work and I know I will eventually move up to a better tripod. This blog is about "good enough" and for most people, that describes this tripod.

So there you have it. 10 inexpensive gift ideas for you or someone else.