Finally finished the new website with some new pictures, a bit bigger layout and imagesize with titles and frames. Hope it also works on more browsers, I removed all fancy stuff that only worked on IE. Take a look and tell me what you think:
http://photo.lonningdal.net
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Thursday, June 24, 2004
In focus?
If you have been photographying for a while you might have come back after a nice trip only to find that that brilliant landscape shot has been ruined because either the things in the foreground or the distant background is out of focus! And you wonder because everything looked alright on the LCD screen when you took it. Hehe. Well everything looks fine on the LCD, and generally you cant judge an image by looking at the LCD - except the histogram to see if you have overexposed or underexposed.
So what you need is to know how you get everything in focus - from the little flower in the foreground to the snow-topped mountain in the background. As most of you know, stopping down the lens to e.g. f/22 will do the trick, but you are still not guaranteed to have what you want in focus. Its because the focus point needs to be correctly placed to get optimum depth of field (DOF). Normally this means you need to manually focus. The focus point you are looking for is called the Hyperfocal Distance and will ensure you the longest distance in focus. Naturally this changes based on the focal length (mm) and the f-stop. Fortunately this is pure math and no magic involved, and some people have been so nice to make an online tool for calculating the hyperfocal distance. Try the link below and enter focal length and f/stop, then press the Calculate DOF button. The Hyperfocal distance will be shown. You can enter this in the Focus Distance and see that it will show you the closest Near Depth you get with Infinite Far Depth (thats where the snow-topped mountain is).
http://www.dudak.baka.com/dofcalc.html
For my 17-40mm, while shooting at 17mm, if I focus at hyperfocal which is 0.525 meters, I get everything from 0.263 meters to infinite in focus! Now that should bring everything in focus. Of course you also need a tripod for shots at f/22 or your images will be all blurry from camera shake. No point in fuzzying with hyperfocal distance then.
Note however that many lenses have a sweet spot where they perform best, that means that image quality is generally best at this f stop. On most lenses this is around f/8 and f/11. So if my foreground starts at around 1 meter you dont need to shoot at f/22 to get everything sharp. Actually, if I shoot with my 17mm at f/11 at the focus distance of 1 meter I get everything from half a meter in front all the way to the back in focus.
I've ruined one too many shot by relying on autofocus so now I am keeping a table for reference so that I can quickly find the hyperfocal distance at each f-stop at the most used mm ranges (usually this is 17mm).
So what you need is to know how you get everything in focus - from the little flower in the foreground to the snow-topped mountain in the background. As most of you know, stopping down the lens to e.g. f/22 will do the trick, but you are still not guaranteed to have what you want in focus. Its because the focus point needs to be correctly placed to get optimum depth of field (DOF). Normally this means you need to manually focus. The focus point you are looking for is called the Hyperfocal Distance and will ensure you the longest distance in focus. Naturally this changes based on the focal length (mm) and the f-stop. Fortunately this is pure math and no magic involved, and some people have been so nice to make an online tool for calculating the hyperfocal distance. Try the link below and enter focal length and f/stop, then press the Calculate DOF button. The Hyperfocal distance will be shown. You can enter this in the Focus Distance and see that it will show you the closest Near Depth you get with Infinite Far Depth (thats where the snow-topped mountain is).
http://www.dudak.baka.com/dofcalc.html
For my 17-40mm, while shooting at 17mm, if I focus at hyperfocal which is 0.525 meters, I get everything from 0.263 meters to infinite in focus! Now that should bring everything in focus. Of course you also need a tripod for shots at f/22 or your images will be all blurry from camera shake. No point in fuzzying with hyperfocal distance then.
Note however that many lenses have a sweet spot where they perform best, that means that image quality is generally best at this f stop. On most lenses this is around f/8 and f/11. So if my foreground starts at around 1 meter you dont need to shoot at f/22 to get everything sharp. Actually, if I shoot with my 17mm at f/11 at the focus distance of 1 meter I get everything from half a meter in front all the way to the back in focus.
I've ruined one too many shot by relying on autofocus so now I am keeping a table for reference so that I can quickly find the hyperfocal distance at each f-stop at the most used mm ranges (usually this is 17mm).
Monday, June 14, 2004
The dangers of f2.8 L glass
Well, having been using the new 70-200mm for some time now I must say I am very satisfied with this lens. Sure its heavy and expensive but its worth every penny if you are serious about your photography.
However, if you are coming from the average f4.5-5.6 world of consumer lenses, going to f2.8 kind of glass can make you do some mistakes. Once you have such a light sensitive lens its tempting to keep shooting at f2.8 without thinking about the concequences. Although I have been used to this aperture with my 100mm macro lens, the macro was often used in more planned shoots, closeups and tripod shots. The 70-200mm has IS and it works brilliantly handheld. However, if you are not careful, shooting at f2.8 can ruin your pictures. You have to remember that the Depth Of Field (DOF) is very shallow, which also means your focus has to be spot on. Fortunately this lens is both quick and accurate when it comes to focusing. However, there are many times I have focused at an area that was deep into the object I wanted i focus, effectively rendering the front part of the object unfocused. Unfortunately you cant see this on the LCD since everything looks alright there. You just have to think about it and make sure you focus at the foremost part (or actually a little bit further than that might work too).
Just so that you were warned! It takes practice to shoot at f2.8 and get good results. You especially need to think quickly when shooting on the move.
However, if you are coming from the average f4.5-5.6 world of consumer lenses, going to f2.8 kind of glass can make you do some mistakes. Once you have such a light sensitive lens its tempting to keep shooting at f2.8 without thinking about the concequences. Although I have been used to this aperture with my 100mm macro lens, the macro was often used in more planned shoots, closeups and tripod shots. The 70-200mm has IS and it works brilliantly handheld. However, if you are not careful, shooting at f2.8 can ruin your pictures. You have to remember that the Depth Of Field (DOF) is very shallow, which also means your focus has to be spot on. Fortunately this lens is both quick and accurate when it comes to focusing. However, there are many times I have focused at an area that was deep into the object I wanted i focus, effectively rendering the front part of the object unfocused. Unfortunately you cant see this on the LCD since everything looks alright there. You just have to think about it and make sure you focus at the foremost part (or actually a little bit further than that might work too).
Just so that you were warned! It takes practice to shoot at f2.8 and get good results. You especially need to think quickly when shooting on the move.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
The Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS has arrived...
...and its awesome! It took only 3 days for it to reach my door from New York which is very fast indeed. Thanks UPS.
My first day of shooting and this lens immediately proves its worth. The kind of images I can take with this I could only dream of before. Its pin sharp even at 2.8 which enables a whole new kind of photography. My first impression out of the box the sheer weight of the thing. Its gonna take some muscles hand holding this for a long time. But on my first day out I must say its really not a problem. Just need a new strap for my camera, one that isnt so hard on the neck. The lens is at least built like a tank.
The zoom ring is a bit harder to turn in comparison to what I am used to, but that too is no real problem and I guess its good so that you dont accidentally turn it by holding the ring. However, I wished the same was true for the four buttons on the side. The IS, IS mode, AF/MF and AF range buttons are all very easy to switch accidentally. It mainly a problem when you pull it out of the bag and I have already turned off AF and IS by accident this way. Still no real problem once its up and you have checked the buttons.
The auto focus is amazingly quick on this lens too. It locks on fast and in AF servo mode it follows the target happily without a hitch. The IS is also very quick compared to what I was used to on the 75-300mm. Its also very silent. Just have to make sure I am full stocked with battery because it will empty the batteries faster (30% less time the manual states).
But the quality of the glass is amazing, combined with the IS I can handhold and shoot almost anything. Here are some pictures you can click on to see some from a first days shoot.
My first day of shooting and this lens immediately proves its worth. The kind of images I can take with this I could only dream of before. Its pin sharp even at 2.8 which enables a whole new kind of photography. My first impression out of the box the sheer weight of the thing. Its gonna take some muscles hand holding this for a long time. But on my first day out I must say its really not a problem. Just need a new strap for my camera, one that isnt so hard on the neck. The lens is at least built like a tank.
The zoom ring is a bit harder to turn in comparison to what I am used to, but that too is no real problem and I guess its good so that you dont accidentally turn it by holding the ring. However, I wished the same was true for the four buttons on the side. The IS, IS mode, AF/MF and AF range buttons are all very easy to switch accidentally. It mainly a problem when you pull it out of the bag and I have already turned off AF and IS by accident this way. Still no real problem once its up and you have checked the buttons.
The auto focus is amazingly quick on this lens too. It locks on fast and in AF servo mode it follows the target happily without a hitch. The IS is also very quick compared to what I was used to on the 75-300mm. Its also very silent. Just have to make sure I am full stocked with battery because it will empty the batteries faster (30% less time the manual states).
But the quality of the glass is amazing, combined with the IS I can handhold and shoot almost anything. Here are some pictures you can click on to see some from a first days shoot.
Tipa Awards
Well the 2004 Tipa awards have been given now, and I see that 300D got the breakthrough prize. Well although it was the 300D that "broke through" I still think The Nikon D70 is a better consumer camera, which of course is the price they got for that too. If you want to go Canon I would recommend the 10D instead.
Sandisk got the storage media price, which I think is correct also. The Sandisk Ultra II cards are really good.
Other than that I see that Epson got all the prices related to printing, which might be right. Well until they realise the thing breaks down after half a year and the usage cost is way higher than anticipated. Ok, maybe I have been burned once, and base my feelings on that. But thats me. :-)
Sigma got the best consumer lens award, which might also be right. I dont know much about this lens but it sounds like a good spec and I guess its true. My only experience with Sigma was a 24mm that would never work right on my EOS 50e/Elan2, and many friends who can hear parts falling apart inside the lens. While this was some years ago, I hope Sigma has improved their build quality. Well this is an EX lens so its the top of the line for Sigma, and if you are on a budget I guess its a good alternative to the Canon 16-35mm or the 17-40mm.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Three web sites...
... I regularly visit are:
http://www.dpreview.com/
A nice place to catch up on the latest hardware news and extensive reviews of gear.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com
Very good tutorials on how to take good pictures and post-process them as well as detailed reviews. Later they have added thorough analysis of image quality from different lenses using the DxO analyser (read about it there).
http://www.the-digital-picture.com
Reviews of the best Canon lenses and gear as well as miscellaneous accessories.
http://www.dpreview.com/
A nice place to catch up on the latest hardware news and extensive reviews of gear.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com
Very good tutorials on how to take good pictures and post-process them as well as detailed reviews. Later they have added thorough analysis of image quality from different lenses using the DxO analyser (read about it there).
http://www.the-digital-picture.com
Reviews of the best Canon lenses and gear as well as miscellaneous accessories.
Canon 17-40mm L f4 focusing problem!
I have recently experienced and learned that the Canon 17-40mm L f4 lens has a focusing problem on its wide end. It seems that on a Canon 10D or similar sensor size, the lens will not focus correct if you use it around 17mm. If you try it out and look closely at the focus ring you will see that it moves slightly beyond the infinite mark (the 8 sign on its sign). This effectively mean that if you shoot at f4 nothing will be sharp in the picture. I dont know, but I regard this as a major bug in the 17-40mm (or a combination of the lens/camera).
Fortunately there is a workaround. The 17-40mm is parfocal, which means that its focus remains at the same spot even if you zoom after focusing. This means that you can zoom in (40mm), press the shutter half way to focus, and while holding the button down, zoom out to 17mm again and press the shutter to shoot. This has worked for me, and will show the true capabilities of this lens. So if you feel your images are soft at 17mm, its most probably a focusing problem. If you shoot at higher f stops than f4 it will be less visible though. The best thing is to adjust the focus manually if you are rigging up for a landscape shot. That way you have full control and can get everything from that little flower in the front to the mountain in the back in focus.
I hope Canon knows about this problem and maybe come up with a fix? It might even be solved by a software fix for the 10D maybe? Well who knows...
Fortunately there is a workaround. The 17-40mm is parfocal, which means that its focus remains at the same spot even if you zoom after focusing. This means that you can zoom in (40mm), press the shutter half way to focus, and while holding the button down, zoom out to 17mm again and press the shutter to shoot. This has worked for me, and will show the true capabilities of this lens. So if you feel your images are soft at 17mm, its most probably a focusing problem. If you shoot at higher f stops than f4 it will be less visible though. The best thing is to adjust the focus manually if you are rigging up for a landscape shot. That way you have full control and can get everything from that little flower in the front to the mountain in the back in focus.
I hope Canon knows about this problem and maybe come up with a fix? It might even be solved by a software fix for the 10D maybe? Well who knows...
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Ordering at B&H...
...sure takes a long time. I have recently ordered the Canon 70-200L f/2.8 IS lens from B&H and it seems they have a very strict credit card verification system there. After waiting a week I finally got a mail stating that I needed to send them a fax or email with images of my Mastercard. Well, it seems I didnt read their export pages right, in which case it states that I should do this when I order. I sent them the images.
Well, then I waited another week without hearing anything, my order still in "processing" state. Then a mail saying I need to call them. So I called them and they wanted the phone number to my bank to verify that my billing address was the same as where I wanted the lens to be sent. So I gave them the number and told them to call early because of the 6 hour time difference.
So I waited some more days, and got an email that I needed to call them and arrange a phone-meeting with the bank to do the verification. So thats what I am doing today.
Well, its nice to know that its secure and that my credit card cant be misused at B&H, but this is maybe a bit over the top. Hopefully this is only a problem the first time. I guess I will be ordering from B&H again, as it seems their prices are the best. Fortunately the US dollar is low today (compared to NOK) so I get a lot of dollars for my NOK today!
Oh joy! The lens has been shipped yesterday so now I just have to wait for the express package to reach Norway in 5 days and then for customs to clear it, which should take around 10 more days if I am not mistaken. :-)
Well, then I waited another week without hearing anything, my order still in "processing" state. Then a mail saying I need to call them. So I called them and they wanted the phone number to my bank to verify that my billing address was the same as where I wanted the lens to be sent. So I gave them the number and told them to call early because of the 6 hour time difference.
So I waited some more days, and got an email that I needed to call them and arrange a phone-meeting with the bank to do the verification. So thats what I am doing today.
Well, its nice to know that its secure and that my credit card cant be misused at B&H, but this is maybe a bit over the top. Hopefully this is only a problem the first time. I guess I will be ordering from B&H again, as it seems their prices are the best. Fortunately the US dollar is low today (compared to NOK) so I get a lot of dollars for my NOK today!
Oh joy! The lens has been shipped yesterday so now I just have to wait for the express package to reach Norway in 5 days and then for customs to clear it, which should take around 10 more days if I am not mistaken. :-)
The new Canon S60...
...sure looks like a nice compact camera!
I have previously owned the S40 and was very satisfied with it, effectively convincing me that I needed a digital SLR. Now that I have sold my S40 i keep finding myself in situations where I wished I had it around. An SLR can be tiresome lugging around at places where a compact would do just fine.
The new S60 seems to be improved in almost all areas, but the main improvement that caught my eyes was that the lens wide end is 28mm (equivalent in 35mm film). I often find that the 32-35mm at the wide end for most compacts to be a limiting factor in many cases. A full 28mm will enable you to take some nice landscapes or indoor shots that would otherwise be hard to do. But still its just a compact and you shouldnt expect too much of this. Its also nice to see that they didnt go higher than 5 Mpix, because these small sensors dont really benefit from more megapixels in my eyes.
Another nice improvement is the zoom buttons instead of that horrible lever-thing they had before. I think it will be much easier to use now.
If you want a nice compact, I dont think you can go wrong with the new S60.
I have previously owned the S40 and was very satisfied with it, effectively convincing me that I needed a digital SLR. Now that I have sold my S40 i keep finding myself in situations where I wished I had it around. An SLR can be tiresome lugging around at places where a compact would do just fine.
The new S60 seems to be improved in almost all areas, but the main improvement that caught my eyes was that the lens wide end is 28mm (equivalent in 35mm film). I often find that the 32-35mm at the wide end for most compacts to be a limiting factor in many cases. A full 28mm will enable you to take some nice landscapes or indoor shots that would otherwise be hard to do. But still its just a compact and you shouldnt expect too much of this. Its also nice to see that they didnt go higher than 5 Mpix, because these small sensors dont really benefit from more megapixels in my eyes.
Another nice improvement is the zoom buttons instead of that horrible lever-thing they had before. I think it will be much easier to use now.
If you want a nice compact, I dont think you can go wrong with the new S60.
A brand new inkjet...
...is installed at home now. The Canon i965. It was a gift from Canon for a photo-course I held for some people working there. With 6 different colors (including black) it sure can make some fine photo prints. What amazes me the most is the speed of this thing. It can print full quality A4 prints in just 1 minute. And the quality is simply stunning. Just what the doctor ordered.
I have previously been using an Epson Stylus Photo 895 with some mixed results. Sure it produced nice photos, but I have had so many problems with it I swore never to buy an Epson printer again. The Epson drinks ink like no other, and I had to put it through 2-3 cleaning cycles before it would print without banding, effectively emptying all of the colors. So far I have been very satisfied with the Canon ink usage which is way lower than the Epson. I have printed quite a few A4 pages now and the ink level has hardly sunk by one pixel or so.
It will be exciting to see how the Canon performs after a year of use. One thing I did like was that it is easy to change the print-heads, something most printers require you to deliver it for service to do. I hope however that the print-heads last longer than the Epson version.
By the way, the new Canon i990 is an even better and faster printer. It seems new models are being created every 6 months or so. So its much nicer to know that lenses you buy for your camera last for many many years before you feel like swapping them out. And you still get a good price when you sell them. Some of the Canon lenses have been unchanged for the last 7-8 years I have heard. I wish printers were the same.
I guess my next printer will be a big A3 printer though. :-)
I have previously been using an Epson Stylus Photo 895 with some mixed results. Sure it produced nice photos, but I have had so many problems with it I swore never to buy an Epson printer again. The Epson drinks ink like no other, and I had to put it through 2-3 cleaning cycles before it would print without banding, effectively emptying all of the colors. So far I have been very satisfied with the Canon ink usage which is way lower than the Epson. I have printed quite a few A4 pages now and the ink level has hardly sunk by one pixel or so.
It will be exciting to see how the Canon performs after a year of use. One thing I did like was that it is easy to change the print-heads, something most printers require you to deliver it for service to do. I hope however that the print-heads last longer than the Epson version.
By the way, the new Canon i990 is an even better and faster printer. It seems new models are being created every 6 months or so. So its much nicer to know that lenses you buy for your camera last for many many years before you feel like swapping them out. And you still get a good price when you sell them. Some of the Canon lenses have been unchanged for the last 7-8 years I have heard. I wish printers were the same.
I guess my next printer will be a big A3 printer though. :-)
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