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PHOTO OF THE DAY - DANCER, BALLET MANILA


Dancer, Ballet Manila. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

The annual Asian Festival in Columbus, Ohio is a great opportunity to take pictures. This photo of a dancer with Ballet Manila is one of my favorites for the day. Ballet Manila is on their 2005 U.S. tour.

The festival is held every spring on the Franklin Park Conservatory grounds on E. Broad Street. This year (2005) the festival is May 28-29. More information is at the the festival website.

The photo was taken with a Canon 20D digital SLR and the Canon EF 70-300 DO IS lens. The lens is sharp. On the full size digital file you can count every eyelash.

My online album of festival photos is here.

 
LOST IMAGES WITH CANON D-SLRs AND LEXAR CF CARDS

Canon and Lexar have both announced problems with lost images under certain circumstances when using Lexar CF cards in Canon digital SLRs. Details follow.

Alert from Canon:

Digital SLR Image Disappearance

May 20, 2005
Canon U.S.A.

We have received inquiries about the problem of images disappearing when using specific digital SLR cameras. As a result of our investigation, we found that the following two problems may occur. Please be advised of the details and countermeasures.
Disappearance of images within the camera's buffer memory

Affected Products: EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II

Problem:

Pressing the [DISPLAY] button immediately after shooting with the camera set to "RAW+JPEG (high image quality)" causes the LCD monitor to become entirely white and the camera to lock up, losing all the images in the buffer. This problem is caused by the firmware for these models and sometimes occurs regardless of the recording media used.

Countermeasure:

We are now making arrangements to release new camera firmware incorporating the correction of this problem by the end of May 2005. In the meantime, please be aware of the following when using these models.

* Before pressing the [DISPLAY] button to check captured images, make sure the access lamp is off, indicating that files have been written to the media.
* When this problem occurs, remove and re-install the battery to restore correct operation.

Disappearance of images when using Lexar Compact Flash Cards

Affected Products (D-SLR): EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS 20D, EOS Digital Rebel XT / EOS 350D Digital / EOS Kiss Digital N

Affected Products (CF card): Lexar Professional 80x-speed Compact Flash cards

Problem:

Captured images on some Lexar CompactFlash cards can be lost when used with the Canon cameras listed above. Working together, Lexar and Canon have investigated the cause and confirmed that the problem occurs in extremely rare instances when the products above are used together.

Countermeasure:

Lexar will offer a free firmware update incorporating the correction of this problem by the end of May 2005 for Lexar Professional Series 80x CompactFlash card customers using the affected Canon cameras.

Lexar customers can contact Lexar Professional Support in US at (+1) 510-413-1233, or in UK at (+44) 1483-522-947 or visit Lexar on-line at
www.lexar.com/support.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience these issues have caused for you. We will make every effort in quality control to provide products that our customers can use with confidence. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Contact Information for inquiries:
Call Center: 1-800-848-4040 (toll free)
*Available with your cell phone or PHS.

Office Hours:
Weekdays: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays, holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Alert from Lexar:

LEXAR ISSUES CUSTOMER ADVISORY REGARDING CANON CAMERAS

What:

Lexar Media Inc. and Canon Inc. posted customer advisories on May 19, 2005 to all Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS 20D, and EOS Digital Rebel XT / EOS 350D Digital / EOS Kiss Digital N camera customers using Lexar Professional 80x CompactFlash cards. The advisory alerts customers to lost image occurrences reported by both companies.

Canon and Lexar both extensively test their products prior to release to ensure compatibility across product lines. In this instance, both companies investigated the occurrences and were able to identify the problem only through extreme testing. The first identified lost image condition was found to be with all memory cards. The second identified lost image condition was found to be rare and specific to the listed cameras when used with Lexar CompactFlash cards.

Action:

To ensure compatibility, Lexar will offer a firmware update for Lexar Professional 80x CompactFlash cards to customers who experience a problem with the Canon cameras listed. Similarly, Canon will offer a camera firmware update to address issues unrelated to a specific card make. Both companies have communicated their efforts to provide firmware updates to customers by May 31, 2005 as both companies continue to investigate.

Lexar customers wishing to update their firmware can call Lexar Professional Support at (510) 413-1233 or visit Lexar on-line at www.lexar.com/support. Lexar’s firmware update will only address failures when using Lexar Professional 80x CompactFlash cards with the Canon cameras listed.

 
NEW EPSON PRINTERS



Epson has announced replacements for all of its upscale, archival printers. The new models are the 2400, 4400, 7800, and 9800. They replace the current 2200, 4000, 7600, and 9600. A new ink set has been created for these printers which includes three black inks. Preliminary testing indicates that prints will have an even longer archival life than the already excellent life span of prints from the current printers. The street price for all four printers should be about the same as for the printers they replace.

You can read more at Digital Outback Photo and The Luminous Landscape.


New Epson 2400 archival printer

 
PHOTO OF THE DAY - BIGHORN SHEEP


Bighorn Sheep, Guanella Pass, Colorado. Copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

I had crested Guanella Pass and was heading north toward Georgetown, Colorado. I came around a curve and found two bighorn sheep. I took my first few photos right out the car window in case they ran off. (It is a good idea to have your camera and lenses nearby for unexpected photo opportunities.) They didn't spook, so I got out of the car, set up my tripod and took some more photos. As they fed they got closer and closer until I was able to get the photo above.

Canon 10D camera with EF 100-400mm IS lens.

 
TAKING QUICK PORTRAITS


Will, all set for the prom. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

I was taking a short water break from mowing my lawn and I noticed Will's sister was having trouble with her camera. I would rather take pictures than mow, so I went to grab my camera. Will was all ready to leave for the prom and we only had a couple of minutes to do a few casual portraits (the style of the portraits is casual, certainly not the clothes). This one is his favorite.

I wanted some soft light and my front porch is perfect for this late in the afternoon on a sunny day. Enough light bounces into the porch area to give some definition to the face but still avoids all the problems of shooting in direct sunlight.

Will is turned at a slight angle to the camera, but he is following me with his eyes. This is the way I usually prefer to do portraits. If the face is turned just enough so one ear disappears, the angle is just about right. I had him turn both ways so I shot his face from both sides.

His coat is slung over his shoulder so he looks very natural. This is so much better than the very stiff looking "stand with your hands at your side and face the camera."

According to the EXIF data, we took 12 photos in a little less than 2 minutes. If the subject is ready to go, looks good, feels natural in front of the camera, and the light is nice, it doesn't take too long to come up with a simple but effective portrait.

Will left for the prom and I finished mowing. Then I headed for my computer. It only took a few minutes with Photoshop and my Epson 2200 printer, and a print was in his mother's hands. Needless to say, she was pleased.

You can't see it in this reduced size web photo, but I created a thin black strike around the photo. There is a slightly larger white border around that. The outside border was created by grabbing some color from his coat.

Basic Exposure Data:

Canon EOS 20D
Shooting Mode: Aperture-Priority AE
Tv (Shutter Speed): 1/60
Av (Aperture Value): f/6.3
Metering Mode: Partial
ISO Speed: 400
Lens: 28.0 - 135.0 mm
Focal Length: 56.0 mm
(35mm equivalent FOV: 90 mm)
White Balance: Auto

 
PRIME TIME AT POINT PELEE

Mid-May is prime time at Point Pelee National Park in Canada. If you are a bird-lover, bird-watcher, or bird photographer, Point Pelee in May should be high on your "A list" of places to be. It is considered to be one of the five best bird-watching sites in all of North America.

Point Pelee is a short drive (30 miles) southeast of Detroit Michigan and Windsor Ontario. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada. It is mostly a narrow spit of land that juts out into Lake Erie, making it one of the shortest migratory bird routes across the lake. There are also some islands along the route from Ohio to Point Pelee.

I have been to point Pelee several times by myself and a few times with friends. When I lived in southern Michigan, it was an easy drive to go over for the day. Although it is the most crowded in May, it is also when you will see the most birds as they migrate across the lake. They are tired from their long flight when they land at Point Pelee so you can get closer to more birds than almost anywhere else in North America.

The last time I was at Point Pelee was on a splendid fly day. Close to 120,000 birds landed at Point Pelee on that one day alone. The place was packed with bird watchers, photographers, and birds everywhere. The time of day didn't matter, the bird watching was great all day long. It was amazing!

If you go in May, drive to the visitor's center (there is a small entrance fee) and take the shuttle south as far as it will go. From there, just walk south and enjoy all of the birds.

The best days are right after a storm clears when the birds have been waiting on the Ohio side.

It can be almost impossible to find a place to stay near Point Pelee in mid-
May. If you don't live close enough to drive over for the day, you may need to find a place to stay in Detroit or Windsor.

Point Pelee's website is here, and you can check live bird sightings here .

 
TRUSTED PHOTO EQUIPMENT INFORMATION

Where do you go for reliable photo equipment information, especially when so many photo magazines provide information that isn't really helpful? You want to know how good the item REALLY is before you put your hard earned money on the line. This is my guide to some trusted sources.

WHY PHOTO MAGAZINES OFTEN AREN'T HELPFUL

Photo equipment reviews in many photo magazines seem to be getting less and less valuable. You get descriptions and tables with long lists of features but when you are done reading the review, you have no real idea how all the different models compare in terms of their actual quality. Sometimes you are left with the impression that everything is so generic so that no potential advertisers are offended.

I read a review of a so-so quality lens by an excellent photographer. The article was about focal lengths, maximum aperture, features, and how to use the lens, but it avoided a clear statement as to the actual optical quality. Tucked away toward the end of the article was a brief statement about it being "good for consumer use." That could mean "You will like this lens if you aren't too picky and never make prints bigger than 4x6 inches."

TRUSTED SOURCES

I have several sources that I have come to trust. I don't like like to go with just one source of information. I am the most comfortable with a decision if several of them have written about a particular item.

I have read Popular Photography for years. I have found their camera and lens reviews to be quite reliable. They are not afraid to point out weaknesses and seem uninfluenced by advertisers when they write their reviews. A lot of their camera and lens tests are available online.

It was a shame when George Lepp decided quit publishing The Natural Image. Back issues may be available. Lepp regularly wrote some of the best equipment comparison articles. With no advertisers, Lepp could say whatever he wanted. I trust what he says.

Michael Reichmann via The Luminous Landscape is another valuable and trusted source. I check his website regularly for all kinds of valuable information which includes a variety of camera and lens reviews.

Bob Atkin's site is well worth checking out. Atkins is not prone to follow the "conventional wisdom" and checks things out to verify them for himself. He leans more toward "real world" testing. You can learn a lot at his website.

Norman Koren provides a wealth of information. Some of it is quite technical. If you aren't a techie, don't let that deter you from reading the less technical stuff. If you ARE a techie, then enjoy! If you want to do some technically based camera and lens testing for a very reasonable price, look into Koren's Imatest software. You can download a copy and do 20 tests for free before deciding to buy.

DPReview is one of the best sources for digital camera reviews. I check this site out on a regular basis. If a major D-SLR review appears, I post a notice at this blog. I modify the recommendations at this site by comparing them to reviews from working pros like Lepp, Reichmann, and others. There is a difference between a mostly technical report, however accurate it may be, and a field report from an experienced working pro. Useability in the field can be more important than some technical shortcomings.

Two other good digital camera review sites are Megapixel.net and Steve's Digicams.

Photodo has a number or lens test results online. If find these to be very helpful. They had a more extensive set of test results at their older site than they do now. With their permission, I have published a summary of their results at my own website. These include some results that are no longer available at the current Photodo site.

Practical Photography is a British magazine that I pick up from time to time. Occasionally they do a really good camera or lens comparison article. These reviews seem to be uninfluenced by advertisers. They did a series of lens tests several years ago in which they ranked over 50 lenses on a 1 to 10 scale. Some lenses rated as low as a 4 and no lenses received a 10 so they didn't pull any punches. There was a period of time when Practical Photography seemed to have a change in editorial policy and their comparisons were as worthless as the ones that appear in several U.S. photo magazines. They seem to be back on track in more recent issues. Unfortunately, they are not online. I summarized one of their camera comparison articles here.

Tim Grey is an excellent source of information on software (including Photoshop techniques), scanners, monitors, digital projectors, and other hardware. Read more here.

SEARCH ENGINES

There is always the option of doing a Google search (or some other search engine) for the items you are interested in comparing. The catch to doing this is you may not have any idea if the person writing the web page knows what they are talking about. I still use Google as a source of information and compare what I find to the trusted sources above. Every once in a while, some virtually unknown person who really knows what they are talking about posts some great work on line.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said above, it is best to compare several good equipment review sources before making a decision. I should also add that some magazines publish beautiful photos and give excellent picture taking advice, even if their equipment reviews are disappointing.

I do not have the option of trying out lots of equipment. I do post the best information I can find at this blog and on my website, along with my own observations on the equipment that I have been able to use. These appear in the TIPS section and will appear in the new LEARN section.

Spend however much time you need to make the best choices you can - then go out and enjoy your equipment. Don't obsess endlessly over your choices.

Go make some good photos!