Read The Manual

I was shooting a friend’s birthday party this week and couldn’t figure out why the exposure lock button wouldn’t work on my new Canon 7D. The exposure lock ‘*’ button is really handy when using ETTL flash to avoid the metering system getting tricked. This can happen when the part of the frame you want to focus on is too dark or light. If the focus point is too dark, the flash will output more power than needed. If too light, the flash will not output enough light.

I’ve been using Canon bodies for years and the trusty ‘*’ button on the back of the camera body always works. After wading through the custom menu functions, I still couldn’t figure out what was going on. So I hacked my way through the evening using manual exposure compensation.

I pulled out the unopened manual from my Canon 7D box after returning home and discovered that this new body has a new ‘M-Fn’ (multi funtion) button next to the shutter button which takes care of the exposure lock. Who would have known that the button I was looking for all night was literally a few millimetres from my trigger finger!

So the moral of the story is - read through your camera manual. You never know what you might discover about your new gear. And you might just save yourself a few headaches.

Read The Manual

DSLR Video

Once upon a time, just a few years ago, gadgets were carefully designed to do one thing well. A phone made calls, a PDA took care of your diary, a digital recorder captured audio and a camera took photos. Then, manufactures started to bundle all these applications together. Which is fine… if you like the “jack of all trades and master of none” approach.

As a long time Canon shooter, I was pretty sceptical about the new fad of including video recording technology in DSLR cameras. It seems so unnatural. It reminded me of my first digital video camera that took horrible low-res stills.

I got out of video production in order to take up still photography. It’s much quicker to get a final product and you don’t need a script, shooting schedule and a week of editing to get a final product that runs for 3 minutes. I confess that another reason I flinched at the concept of DSLR video was that it would suck me in and steel my weekends forever.

I finally had a chance to give my 7D video capturing features a solid workout last week. I went to the beach with a 70-200 2.8 IS and 10-22 3.5-4 to shoot some friends during a surfing lesson. If I could summarise the whole experience in one word, it would be “awkward”.

Camera Shake. It felt really unnatural trying to shoot video with a DSLR. Even with a monopod, keeping the image steady was difficult. High-def video is very unforgiving, so any movement gets magnified. I am pretty sure that 1080p is non-interlaced, so you really need to be smooth with your shots. After doing some research online, it seems you would need to spend a small fortune on steady-cam technology or other pro solutions to provide a stable platform from which to shoot DSLR video.

Focus. I must confess that I cannot remember the last time I used manual focus for still photography. The 7D has an awesome focusing system and I usually shoot events (weddings, parties, etc) so it would be impractical to even try and shoot manual. However, if you want to focus during a video shot on a DSLR, it has to be done manually. It is almost impossible to accurately track a moving object when you’re around f2.8 to f4. High definition video is very unforgiving too. Even a little front or back focus will be noticeable.

Recording length restrictions. The 7D has a 12 minute shot length limit. I expect that other DSLR cameras have similar restrictions. So if you want to shoot your kids performance at the school play, make sure you time your scenes well.

Audio. The built in mic seemed to work well. There is a 3.5mm mic input. But this has some kind of auto volume control which means you can’t mix audio off-camera and have it accurately sent to the file. Perhaps the biggest thing I missed was a headphone jack! It was weird not being able to monitor the sound because audio anomalies are something you really need to pick up during a shoot.

File size. Video is fine, but you usually need to edit it. High-def files are huge (around 5.5MB/sec). This means that your computer will die in post-production unless it is juiced up with a recent CPU, plenty of RAM, dedicated fast HDD and probably a video editing card too. This is something a lot of people may overlook when getting excited about shooting video on their new DSLR. Oh, and make sure you have a big stockpile of fast memory cards on hand.

Screen. The screen on a DSLR is in a fixed location. So unlike most dedicated video cameras, you can’t move it into a comfortable position. If you want to shoot low or high, then you need to be willing to get on your knees or find a ladder.

There has been a lot of hype about DSLR video. It is still a pretty new technology and I’m sure there are going to be epic improvements in coming years. Perhaps the main ‘wow’ factor at the moment is the narrow depth of field you can achieve on a DSLR, the huge range of lenses available from the still photography kit and the low light performance of DSLR sensors. But for now, if you want to shoot video… buy a dedicated video camera. If you want to take photos… then a DSLR is the tool for the job.

DSLR Video

UV Protection - Should I use a lens filter?

If you’ve ever walked into a retail shop to purchase a lens, the sales person probably suggested that you pick up a UV lens filter at the same time. Sceptics might categorize this as “up selling”, but there are good reasons to use a UV filter. Of course, like most things in photography, there are costs and benefits.

Since most DSLR camera sensors are not all that sensitive to UV light compared to film, the main reason for using a UV filter is to protect the front element of your lens from accidental damage. The theory goes that it’s much better for a relatively cheap filter to be exposed to threats than your expensive lens. This does make sense because the average photographer will come up against the following lens damaging scenarios regularly:

• Finger prints.
• Scratching.
• Airborne material like sand, salt spray or even small rocks and tree branches.
• Damage if the lens cap falls of in your camera bag.
• Running into objects if doing macro photography.

Some photographers rely on a lens hood to form a barrier between the glass and potential impact threats. This is probably OK for telephoto lenses where the lens hood extends well beyond the front element. But for an average standard zoom lens, the hood is too wide to provide any real peace of mind. Also, for reasons beyond my comprehension, Canon does not include a lens hood with their non-professional range of camera lenses. Even a $1,600 AUD 17-55 2.8 IS doesn’t get any special treatment. Shame Canon, Shame!

So, the argument for using a UV filter on your lens as insurance is pretty solid. But there is a catch. All filters are not made the same, and you generally get what you pay for. The issue is that cheap filters can degrade image quality. Some potential issues are:

• Softer images (loss of sharpness).
• Double images (shadow effect of one image over another).
• Los off contrast in backlit images.
• Ghosting and flaring. 

Most of these issues are eliminated or greatly reduced when using a good quality filter. My first set of UV filters were low quality. With no previous experience to work from, I didn’t realise that my shots were suffering from some of the problems listed above. Ghosting and flaring was the most common issue.

My lenses are now fitted with Kenko Pro1 Digital UV filters. They are multicoated to reduce flare, have a low profile frame to minimise vignetting and generally seem to do a good job.

Since filters are not the sort of item you would normally return to the manufacturer under warranty, I recommend buying them online from a reputable company. You can save a lot of cash. I made the mistake of purchasing my latest filter from a retail store in Sydney and didn’t realise until I returned home that I had paid twice as much as before.

In summary, I recommend that you purchase a high-quality UV filter for your lens. The image quality will be pretty much the same and the added peace of mind knowing that there is something solid between the outside world and your lens glass is worth the investment.

UV Protection - Should I use a lens filter?

What are you focusing on?

Despite amazing DSLR technology these days, cameras still need a person to drive them. A photographer often has to get close to the action or move into a visible position to capture the moment. Perhaps the best example of this reality is a photojournalist. If you watch the evening TV news covering a political or sporting event, there will invariably be a ‘press pack’. These guys have all the fancy gear and are willing to invade the personal space of others in order to deliver the goods for their employer.

Are you comfortable doing what it takes to get the shot?

I remember learning about three levels of communication during a public speaking course many years ago. These three levels can be applied to photographers, especially event photographers. Imagine that you are standing in front of an audience about to give a speech. What are you focusing on?

• Are you focused on yourself?
• Are you focused on the content of your speech?
• Or are you focused on the audience? 

In the same way that a public speaker could be focused on different parts their situation, photographers can be more aware of certain aspects of their role too. This graphic summarises the three phases of awareness a photographer goes through.

Self Conscious

The self conscious photographer is the one who hides in the background because they are worried that people might see them taking a shot. I remember this being an issue the first time I covered a wedding. I kept thinking that everybody was looking at me, that I was distracting people, that nasty things were being said about the annoying guy with the camera.

Just like a public speaker who is nervous about what they might say or worried that they will stuff up, a new event photographer has to deal with the fact that they need to be in the action to get the job done (capture the moment).

In most cases, our fears about being noticed are unfounded. Let’s go back to the ‘press pack’ example. TV viewers ignore all those photographers in the frame trying to grab a shot. They’re focused on the politician talking about climate change, tax or the latest party scandal. It’s the same at a wedding (or other public event). If you’re walking around with a big camera and flash, everybody knows that you’re the photog and it’s your job to move around and cover the event. You become part of the background.

Gear Conscious

The gear conscious photographer is focused on their camera. What ISO am I on? What shutter speed do I need to use? Did I bump the aperture setting? The white balance is totally off! My memory card is almost full! Do I need to replace my flash batteries?

The ‘gear conscious’ photographer is like the public speaker who has their head down the whole time and just reads the script. Think of that lecturer at university who stood out the front and read their notes in a monotone voice. They were technically correct… but the audience was left out of the equation.

Of course, a good photographer will be aware of their gear and know their camera settings. But ultimately, you want to move on from your camera and get to the final stage of awareness.

Subject Focused

The subject focused photographer has a high level of situational awareness. They notice when a good photo opportunity is about to present itself. They wait a few seconds for that candid smile, move a bit to the left so the pole in the background isn’t coming out of the bride’s head and know when to get out of the way so they don’t become the focus of attention.

Like the audience focused speaker, a subject focused photographer is not self-conscious, knows how to use the tools of their trade (camera instead of paper) and is reading the body language of the people they want to connect with. This is the where you want to be as a photographer… focused on the subject.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to progress through these three phases. It takes time and practice. But being aware of what you’re focusing on can help you take steps to improve for the next event.

What are you focusing on?

Get a Flash

I often find myself in conversations with DSLR owners who have been shooting for a while. A frequent question that comes up is, “What’s the next thing I should buy?” There are (of course) many options when listing all the potential camera gear and accessories available. However, my recommendation is always the same… get a flash.

Photography is all about light. It really doesn’t matter how expensive your camera body is, how nice your lenses are, or even how photogenic your subject is. Without good light, getting good photos is impossible. I’m not saying that you can’t take good photos without a flash, I am saying that having a flash in your kit will open up many more opportunities to take good photos.

The built-in flash on a DSLR camera provides some help when you’re desperate, but that hot-shoe on the top of your camera body is there for a reason. A built-in flash has the following limitations:

• Low power. The amount of light your built-in flash can produce is relatively small. It might be able to throw light 13 meters (42 feet) at best. A Canon 430Ex II can throw light up to 43 meters and the 580Ex II up to 58 meters (Hence the names 430 and 580).
• Fixed direction. Your built-in flash can only fire in one direction – straight forward. This might sound handy, but it has limitations. Without being able to bounce light of other surfaces, any shadows on your subject’s face will be filled in. This makes a face look ‘flat’ and reduces depth in the image.
• Lens shadow. If you have a long lens on your camera or even a short lens with a hood mounted, the flash may not be tall enough to fire over the top. This can result in a shadow at the bottom of the frame created by the lens blocking light from the flash.
• Red eye. The phenomenon of ‘red eye’ occurs when light enters an eye at a narrow angle in relation to the lens axis. Since a built-in flash fires almost directly in line with the lens direction, light entering an eye bounces straight back into the camera. A separate flash allows you to bounce light into the face from an off-axis angle which removes the red-eye issue.

Using a flash will give you more light when you need it. This means you can use a faster shutter speed to capture action, shoot with a smaller aperture to achieve more depth of field and use a lower ISO setting for maximum image quality.

Another advantage to using a flash is that you can use light modifiers on it such as diffusers, grids and snoots. Eventually, you will want to get your flash off your camera for even more creative opportunities. But I’ll leave that for a future post.

Let us know how your photography changed after getting a flash for the first time.

Canon 580Ex II flash units on a 40D (left) and 50D (right).

Get a Flash

Managing your photos and backing them up

I had no idea when I purchased my first DSLR just how many photos I would have to manage as the months and years went by. It quickly became apparent that I would need a system of storing files on my hard drive and backing them up.

The following principles are important for me when developing a system for managing photos:

1. It cannot rely on special software. This is because software programs come and go and sometimes they use databases to store information. If the database is corrupted, then everything gets lost.
2. It has to stand the test of time. The system needs to be basic enough that it will be relevant now and in 20 years.
3. Keep it simple. There is no need for a complicated system when a simple one will do.

So I store photos in folders on an external ‘master’ hard drive using the following system:

• YYYY


• YYYY-MM-DD Name of Event


• JPEG (This is where I export my CR2 files as JPEGs after editing them using Adobe Camera RAW via Adobe Bridge).

I just use the file name which the camera generates for the photo. However, you can assign a custom file name to images via your importing software. This is ZoomBrowser EX for Canon shooters.

There will invariably be an increase in the sensor’s megapixel count every time a camera manufacturer releases a new model. This is great for image quality, but it means that fewer shots fit on a memory card and that big external hard drive you purchased last year is almost full. The good news is that hard drives are always increasing in capacity and decreasing in price.

I like to use stand alone external hard drives to store my images on. I use 2 of the same model – the first as the master and the second as the backup. I have two 1TB Western Digital external HDDs at the moment.

I sync the master and backup HDDs using Microsoft SyncToy. I like this application because it is simple and seems to work really well. The only problem is remembering to run it on a regular basis. I ‘echo’ the master drive to the backup drive. This means that any changes made on the master get duplicated on backup, but not visa-versa.

I don’t use RAID configured external HDDs to secure my photos. This is because both HDDs are in the same case. In the event that I am travelling or want to take my photos with me, I like being able to just take the master HDD and leave the backup behind.

Do you have a great photo management system? How do you back up your photos?

Managing your photos and backing them up

Think twice before purchasing 'grey' import camera equipment

Photography equipment is expensive. So it’s tempting to look for cheap deals on eBay or other discount websites which sell products imported outside the manufacturer’s official channels. But you should consider the warranty implications before grabbing a bargain.
For example, Canon Australia will only service genuine Australian stock under warranty. So if your new camera gets a ‘shutter assembly’ issue, then it will cost a small fortune to get it fixed if you take it directly to Canon.

Many online grey import sellers have their own warranty schemes. I’ve never had any experience with these, but one potential issue would be the time that your gear is unavailable while it gets shipped around to get fixed.

If you’re the kind of person who likes to take a risk on these things, let me share my experiences with you about Canon gear. In the past 3 years I’ve had to return the following to get repaired:

• Canon 40D – Died in the first couple of days with a reoccurring ‘Error 99’ issue. A circuit board needed to be replaced.
• Canon 40D – Stopped working in the first hour of a conference I was shooting with a ‘shutter assembly’ issue. It kept my camera bag company for the rest of the week.
• Canon 17-55 2.8 IS – The Image Stabilisation system died and made the most amazing noise.
• Canon 580Ex – A wire was pinched (or something like that) and the flash would not fire in sync with the camera.

I’d love to hear your stories about camera gear warranty issues. Have you had any success with grey importers honouring their service agreements? Has your camera gear ever failed at a critical moment?

Think twice before purchasing 'grey' import camera equipment

Improve your photography by shooting in Manual 'M' mode

You probably know from life experience that the fastest way to learn how to do something is by doing it. Imagine if your parents sat you in front of whiteboard when you were a kid and tried to teach you how to ride a bike by drawing diagrams. You may have gained some useful knowledge, but chances are that you’d be even more nervous about getting on a bike for that first ride.

Many amateur photographers I know keep their DSLR cameras in ‘goof proof’ or ‘fully automatic’ mode. They jump online and start to read about photography in the hope that they will one day be able to turn the dial to ‘M’ and know what they are doing. However, this information dump just ends up producing confusion and fear of getting it wrong.

Just like riding a bike, I reckon the best way for amateur photographers to get their head around shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings is to always shoot in Manual mode. That’s right… always! After all, what have you got to lose? You can always delete a shot that didn’t turn out OK.

If you drive a manual car, then you’ll remember that first drive when the clutch, gear stick, breaking, accelerating and steering all had to be coordinated at the same time. It was a lot to take in and it probably looked rather messy. But after a while, that all happens subconsciously. You get in the car and drive to your destination without even really thinking about what gear you’re in. The same can happen with your photography when thinking about shutter speed, ISO and aperture.

The next time you grab your camera for a party, family event, holiday or whatever, try and shoot all your photos in manual mode. Decide for yourself what ISO, shutter speed and aperture to use. Review photos on your screen (chimp) and make changes as needed to fix any exposure or depth of field problems. It will not be long before you don’t trust your camera to make decisions for you. Your camera can be easily tricked, but if you know what you are trying to achieve and how to get the shot, then you will feel like you’re in control of the camera and not the other way around.

Improve your photography by shooting in Manual 'M' mode

Help-Portrait

A friend of mind sent me a link to Help-Portrait which is a new movement for photographers. I've often wondered how photography could be used for good, and this idea seems to have tapped into something special. The concept is simple:

1. Find someone in need.
2. Take their portrait
3. Print their portrait
4. And deliver them

Help-Portrait

To Grip or not to Grip?

Canon's DSLR camera range (with the exception of the 1D series) have an optional battery grip accessory. This device attaches to the bottom of the camera and has the following benefits:

• Provides space for an extra battery which increases battery life. 
• Provides an additional shutter, exposure lock and other buttons which means that you can shoot vertical (portrait) without having to awkwardly wrap your hand over the top of the camera. 
• Makes the camera easier to hold, especially when a large lens is attached.

To Grip or not to Grip?

Should I get insurance for my camera?

Risk management is one of life's more stressful endeavours. We have insurance for our car, our house and perhaps even our life. But what about your camera gear? Is it worth insuring?

Should I get insurance for my camera?

Which flash batteries should I use?

Using a flash provides a whole new world of creative possibilities when it comes to photography. However, you can spend a small fortune on batteries. I was using Energizer e2 AAs in my Canon 580Ex, but at $20 for a pack of 4, the cost soon added up. Then when I started shooting with 2 flashes, the cost doubled.

You can find Energizer rechargeable batteries everywhere in Australia (Coles, Woolworths, etc). So I gave them a go. The problem is that they lose their charge at a significant rate when not in use. So if I charged them up on Monday, they would only be 50% ready to go by the weekend.

Then came along Sanyo eneloop batteries. These are a game changer. I don't know how they do it, but Sanyo claims that they keep 85% of their charge over a whole year. From my personal experience, this seems to be the case. I will often only shoot on weekends and can go for a month or 2 before having to recharge my eneloop batteries.

Sanyo eneloops tend to die quickly rather than fade away in my 580ExII. This is good, because you want a fast recycle time right up to the point when the batteries need replacing. Some other batteries gradually slow down as their charge get used up.

Sanyo eneloops will cost a little more to start with, but they will pay for themselves in no time. I have 16 of them (2 sets for 2 flashes).

Which flash batteries should I use?

How to view RAW file thumbnails in Windows

I recently purchased a Canon 7D and discovered that the most recent version of the Canon RAW Codec does not support the CR2 raw files yet. This means that when I am browsing raw files in Windows, I cannot see the thumbnails.

What to do? Well, after searching around a bit I discovered a free RAWcodec pack from fastpictureviewer.com which works perfectly!

How to view RAW file thumbnails in Windows

All the gear and no idea

The first thing a person says when I am taking photos is, 'That's a big camera' followed by 'what sort is it?'. Well, to get this blog off the ground, here is a summary of my current camera gear (which is always changing):

• Canon 7D with BG-E7 Battery Grip
• Canon 70-200 2.8 IS
• Canon 17-55 2.8 IS
• Canon 10-22 3.5-4
• Canon 580ExII Speedlites X 2
• Lots of SanDisk Memory Cards (I am well over 50GB now)

There are quite a few other items in my camera bag, but I'll leave them for future posts. Most of what I know about photography has come from blogs and forums. I hope that this blog will be a helpful learning tool too.

But what would a photography blog be without photos? Let's kick off with one of the most cliché photos of all time - a wedding cake:

All the gear and no idea