Ok so here it is. After fiddling with my new purchase, 100mm f2.8L Macro, I took this shot. Nothing really fantastic except I shot it at 1/15s handheld. I’d say it’s pretty sharp, with the IS working just fine. Conditions were less than ideal. Muted window light only from the back, I overexposed +1EV and used f7.1. Can’t get more depth of field without getting movement blur in the image.

And yes if you’re wondering, the bigger ring is for my finger and the other one’s for Lydia.

Added this baby to my arsenal this evening. I shoot with mainly prime lenses these days and the 100mm range is ideal for portraits. Plus the macro part is actually the deal clincher. I don’t shoot a lot of macro photography but when I want to shoot details and food, not having a macro lens is a pain. I was using extension tubes for macro work all this while but outside the studio, it’s a pain to setup.

So new toy = new pictures to shoot. I fired a few test shots with this lens and I’m impressed with the speed. I’ve used the older non-L version before so this new lens is quite a jump. Focusing is very fast considering the elements having to travel from 1:1 range to infinity. Of course, selecting the range with the selector switch helps reduce the ‘hunting’ time.

I wished the aperture is bigger than the f2.8 though. The IS really helps in low light but only to reduce camera shake. Moving subjects would be a problem at shutter speeds as low as 1/15s. I’m planning to use this for portraits mostly and the occasional macro work. Looking forward to using this lens the next few days.

Finally the day has arrived when I retire my Canon 1D Mark 2. This camera has served me for 6 years! I get nostalgic when I think of the time I got ‘her’. She was one of a handful in the shipment to arrive in Singapore. The rest were routed to Athens for the 2004 Olympics. For 6 years she endured the hardest abuse and came out unscathed. Two of the most memorable experiences I had were:

1. Shooting a triathlon in Bintan in heavy rain. Mid-way through the race, a thunderstorm developed. What started as a light drizzle turned into a fierce tropical thunderstorm which blew my makeshift shelter, made of black trash bags, away. I was in the middle of nowhere and my 1D had a 70-200mm lens coupled to it. Together they formed a completely weather-sealed system. So here I was in a thunderstorm, with my camera exposed to the elements, still shooting away. Onlookers would’ve been amazed at this sight. I was strangely confident that the rain would not get into the camera and lens and I was right. I wiped them dry in the hotel room and went on shooting the next day.

Continue reading 'PUTTING MY CANON 1D TO REST'»

Yesterday was a start to the series of shoots involving athletes from various sports. The images will be used to publicize and introduce the Games to the public in a few months time. We started with gymnastics, in my opinion, one of the most challenging sports to shoot. I remember having such a hard time when shooting in the SEA Games. The speed of the athlete coupled with the low lighting sent shivers down my spine.

The good thing was yesterday’s shoot was not in a competition environment and we could direct the gymnasts to repeat certain routines. But the speed was also a challenge. I wish I could ask them to stop in mid air but defying gravity is not one of their strengths. So we encountered all sorts of tech issues but the most tricky ones were the most basic. Logistics. The gym was fully occupied, both with gymnasts and equipment and power sockets were at the walls far away from the action. Mental note: bring plenty of extension cords. Halfway through the shoot, we had to move because our power cord was lying on the runway for the vault. And we had to figure out how to wire up the lights again. This and other problems took a lot of time to resolve.

Continue reading 'YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES SHOOT 1'»

Ok so Cathay Photo had this incredible deal for their BX500Ri Elinchrom lights, a deal I was unable to resist. I had plans for other gadgets that’ll keep me busy this Christmas but instead, what do I get? A set of lights. But man, what an awesome set. So maybe I’m trying to console myself but the packaging reminds of any Apple product which would’ve been in my hands. I raved and ranted about the size and weight in my previous post and here’s a picture to compare. Mind you my Bowens set is more than 5 years old so this is more like a comparison between technology of old and current.

I think the greatest difference besides the size and weight is the EL-Skyport transmitter’s remote function. This is one function I’ll enjoy using the most, although a learning curve is required. It’s kind of like the Canon’s ST-E2 transmitter which can control 2 groups of lights but way more advanced because you have a lot more control, hence the learning curve. You can even determine the increments for the light output so you can have a refined adjustment for products and a faster adjustment for portraits. Very useful if the lights are inaccessible or you just don’t want to keep walking to manually adjust them. And you can have your assistant concentrate on other things. Or better still, work alone.

Continue reading 'BOWENS VS ELINCHROM: BATTLE OF THE LIGHTS II'»

Here’s what I did with 3 X 580EX flashes, and no money for a model. Wanted to practice to get more consistent results for location portrait shoot so I rigged this setup. Key light comes from one flash on camera right shooting through an umbrella. Other 2 flashes at 45 deg and 135 deg behind ‘model’ to get the sharp rim light. Here’s what the setup looks like.

Took a shot without the key light to see the effect of the two lights behind. I adjusted the EVs and zooms to get the effect I wanted. When setting up lights for a complicated setup, you can fire one at a time to check what each light is doing, independent of the rest. Kind of ‘building’ the set. When satisfied, then fire them all. So here’s what the image without the key light:

I like.

Ok then, let ‘em rip.
Continue reading 'WHAT TO DO WITH 3 FLASHES'»

I’m not usually a gear junkie but I must admit that the Elinchrom system is getting to me. I’ve been using the Bowens 500W lights for maybe 5 years now. While hardy and problem free, they’re not exactly the most convenient to bring around for location shoot. Especially if there’re loads of equipment to haul around.

Someone was selling an old Elinchrom system and I tested it a few days back. I was so impressed with the size, ease of use and the design of the lights and softbox. The thing that hit me most was the size and weight of the lights. For the same output, one light weigh almost half that of the Bowens (2kg vs 3.5kg), and is even nearly half the size (260mm vs 410mm). Perfect for location shoot. Pack two of these lights, umbrellas and stands in a bag and I can just sling it over the shoulder. That’s it, a mobile studio kit. You may not feel the difference when just carrying one light but you will when you have a few of them.

Continue reading 'BOWENS VS ELINCHROM: BATTLE OF THE LIGHTS'»

Been awhile since I’ve updated my blog. Plenty of things have been happening but not all work actually. Spent a lot of time preparing a slideshow for my friends’ wedding next week. I haven’t done this for a long time so I took awhile scanning the prints, correcting colour, editing the music, and syncing the slides with the music, using photoshop, imovie, garageband, the works. But I got something out and tested it at the hotel earlier. Spent some time trying to convert audio files from aiff to wma. Somehow the hotel’s AV system can only play either the original CD or wma files. Someone recommended Zamzar and I’m quite happy things turned out ok. It’s a webware but I needed first to convert the files to mp3 (this I used itunes) and then uploaded the mp3 and waited for Zamzar to email me the link for the converted wma file. Neat! The bummer thing was, after transferring the files onto the CD, the hotel system system still can’t play it. I suspect it has something to do with the encoding. Back to the drawing board. Good thing is they’re able to supply me a mini-stereo jack so perhaps I’ll just hook an ipod to it. Forget this format conversion stuff.

I also started checking out portable photo printers for an assignment in Bali end of October. Continue reading 'UPDATES'»

I got my dirty hands on an M9 a few hours ago. Dirty because I just completed shooting massage chairs again and spent almost all the time moving chairs and lights. The M9 was passed around at a Leica Premier event, which I got invited to. Met a few friends there and especially an old friend who I got to know at the 2003 SEA Games. Andrew was one of the lucky ambassadors who went around introducing the camera to guests.

What else can I say about the M9. It’s a Leica and that says a lot. It’s the first full frame digital rangefinder with a 18.5 Mpix sensor. The functions are easily accessible and I particularly like the ISO button near the LCD. It looks just like any M-series camera with a digital back. Of course, the legendary lenses were such a joy to use. I fumbled with it for a bit since I was so used to autofocus but after a short time, it became very intuitive. And true to its nature, the shutter was so silent I forgot how silent leaf shutters can be. Anyone who has not held a Leica before, must try it and enjoy the sound of the leaf shutter. The camera is a work of art itself. Well-built and classic, yet updated with modern electronics. The camera looks very basic, with few buttons and dials compared to the modern DSLR. But if you think of it, modern DSLRs have a lot of unnecessary things like creative modes and other obscure functions that most people will not use. No such thing for the Leicas. You don’t surrender creative control to the camera. You decide and tell the camera what to do. This is what photographers are supposed to do.
Continue reading 'LEICA M9'»

Amidst the fanfare of the 7D, there’s this other lens that’s making its debut. And it made feel glad I didn’t get the 100mm f2.8 Macro earlier. The new lens is the 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM. The big difference, besides the L construction, is the Hybid IS. This IS system seems to be latest system Canon has and it promises up to 4-stops compensation. So if I normally have to shoot at 1/8s shutter speed, I can now shoot at 1/125s, all other things being equal. That’s the difference between lugging a tripod and not. A very big factor for me when i shoot small products in natural light and I don’t want to be carrying more stuff than I normally would. Or to shoot portraits in low light. I love shooting portraits with the older 100mm. Good range and minus the bulk of my 70-200mm. With the low noise of my 5D Mk II, I can shoot at F2.8, ISO1600 and maybe 1/4s, I can shoot in almost complete darkness. Sweet!

It’s finally out! Seems that Canon is closing the gaps between the professional cameras and the prosumer range. Here’s the 7D that has a APS-C sensor, with a FOV of 1.6X, and with the frame rate of 8 fps. This will probably signal the end of the x0D range, with the last one being the 50D. This camera is supposedly equipped with new focusing mechanism and an advanced viewfinder (100% view). But what caught my eye was the Integrated Speedlite Transmitter. Does it work based on radio frequency (like the Pocket Wizards) or infra-red (like Canon ST-E2)? I can’t find more info on it yet. The ST-E2 is not reliable outdoors especially on bright sunny days. Continue reading 'CANON EOS 7D'»

Dang, I always tell people that Canon will come out with a new camera with swivel LCD…and it’s here! I missed the older G-series swivel LCDs but I didn’t expect it so soon though since G10 is still quite ‘young’. Read more about it here. The specs look great, all pointing to a killer of a camera. I’m not sure how the Quick Shot mode performs but if it’s as good as Canon claims, I think it’ll be a first. They’ve quite a lot of scene modes but what tickles me is the aquarium mode. Are there so many people out there shooting those things? This is so tempting but what do I do with my G9?

Oh I’m so happy with my purchase. While packing for the Penang shoot this morning, I thought it’ll be nice to have a lighter tripod than my Manfrotto 190DB. The Manfrotto is a great tripod but I felt it’s a tad heavy for traveling. So with a Gitzo in mind, I checked out Cathay. Steven was there to help me and he recommended the Slik Pro 714CF. Wow, I love it! Plus, it’s at $283, down from the $500 plus retail price. It’s carbon fibre but not as light as the Gitzo, but hey, it’s one-third the price. The stem can be shortened and the legs almost horizontal, ideal for macro shooting. You’ll need to get the head separately but with an adaptor, I could fit my Manfrotto 488RC2 ball head. I originally have reservations about twist lock system, preferring all this while Manfrotto’s locking system. But it’s been giving me problems recently and I thought of trying the twist lock. After trying it out a few times, I find it’s not too cumbersome. Continue reading 'A SLICK SLIK'»

Just a few days back I brought my Canon 1D Mark II to Canon service center to have them check out my camera. Weirdest thing was happening to it. I couldn’t get a sharp image looking through the viewfinder. Some other parts was sharp except the point I wanted in focus. I adjusted the diopter adjustment but other parts became focused except the part I wanted to. But I still got the images I wanted after taking the shot so I knew it couldn’t be a focusing problem. Maybe the mirror got misaligned. So at Canon, when the staff took off the body cap, the focusing screen fell out. That was the problem. Whew! Nothing wrong with the focusing mechanism, they just had to re-attach the focusing screen. Well, I got to know more about my camera but most importantly, it re-inforced my conviction to bring along a backup camera on every assignment. Sure I could still compose the image and trust the camera to focus correctly but having a blurred viewfinder was very disturbing. This was one of the simple things that could go wrong. I also had this camera’s shutter collapse on me a few years back at a wedding shoot. The shutter was rated at 250,000 shots and the 250,000th shot happened to be at this wedding. Thank God I had another backup camera. Continue reading 'CAMERA WOES'»

This is definitely the icing to the digital camera techonology cake. Quite an amazing gadget, coming from the Japanese nonetheless. This Party-shot cradle will detect faces, compose and take a picture! It uses the Face Detection and wait a minute, Smile Shutter, features. What will they think of next? I think this is quite a cool techie toy. Just leave it on at a party and see what the result is. You can dispense away with the annoying relative who pokes his camera into every conversation and hoping to capture contocted images of you in mid-conversation. This away, you can literally blame the camera for every unflattering shot of yourself. Brilliant!

It releases in September. Too bad I don’t own a Cybershot…I would love to play with this toy. Will this replace the hired photographer as claimed by Sony? Hardly. Maybe the one who uses a digital compact on assigments.

Here’s the article in dpreview.