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?