a (fashion) shooter » cameras

food and drink with the Canon Rebel T21

AFS — Sat, 21 May 2011 18:42:45 +0000

I shot a story in a restaurant in Los Angeles yesterday – not with my usual full-frame cameras, but instead with the 1.6 crop Canon Rebel T2i / 550d. Why? In part to see how successful I could be in getting the background blur I want and need for tabletop photography in a busy room. Also, because I travel a lot, and having a small, light and usable camera is important at times. Knowing that the dynamic range of the newer crop-chip cameras is on par with the 5D2/1Ds3 cameras, it seemed feasible that this camera could do a stellar job. As I travel a lot, the 550d acts as a backup for my full-frame cameras when on the road – because it is small, light, and has an on-camera flash, which comes in handy now and then!)

I also used inexpensive consumer leneses: Canon 50mm 1.8, the kit zoom lens 18-55 IS, and the 24-85 3.5-4.5) These cheaper lenses are sharp enough most of the the time. But when pointed down, the focus and zoom tend to drift due to gravity, which means a LOT more work and constant refocusing and re-compositing. When working with time constraints, this is a big problem. The more expensive lenses which I use most of the time (70-200 2.8 L, 100mm macro, 50mm 1.4 etc. are much better in this regard. They stay where you put them. And the tripod collars on the 70-200 and macro are real time savers.)

A few issues with the T2i:

Viewfinder is not great for precise manual focus when using narrow depth-of-field! After using the full-frame cameras with their optional precision focusing screens, the T2i’s manual focusing is vague. Stopped down it is no problem, but using a 50mm or 85mm near wide open, you really can not tell precisely where you are focused until after the shot is taken and you can view it on an LCD screen.

I somehow thought I could use my Canon remote cable release for this camera, but no! I ended up using the 2 second timer instead, which is not nearly as convenient or fast as a remote release.

What worked well:

The image quality on this camera is really very good. No one I know of in the publishing world is going to complain about the files coming out of this camera. And these are going to Gourmet Magazine.

Tethered transfer times to the computer are good (I was shooting RAW connected with Canon’s Digital Photo Pro software. )

Battery life is very good. After the shoot the battery still showed just about full-power. The older cameras (including the 5D Classic, T1i…) would chew through batteries much faster, especially when shooting tethered.

In conclusion: The T2i/550d worked very well in this commercial application. Files look great, and everyone is happy. However, I do not recommend the cheaper consumer lenses for table top photography. While the IQ was fine, their mechanical characteristics made for some frustrating focusing and compositional issues.

While the T2i has been replaced with the T3i, the T2i can be had for good prices now. I bought this one as kit with the 18-55 IS as a refurb directly from Canon for under $500. IMO it makes a great small and light travel camera, and it also makes a good backup for the full frame bodies.

Canon’s T1i/T2i

AFS — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:27:41 +0000

Thoughts on the Canon T1i/T2i

It seems like every month I am asked about which camera to buy – usually by some friends who are about to have a baby. I have recommended Nikon and Canon entry level DSLRs, and I have gotten raves about just how much better the results are. And it is true – a lot of the time one can get far superior results with a decent DSLR than with a point and shoot. And the control over depth of field can give the images a professional-looking touch.
With cameras like the recently announced Canon T2i (rebel 550) at $900 with a lens, there are many choices which are simply out of reach for many new parents.
And the cameras I am used to using for my fashion and food work (1Ds mark III, 5D Mark II…) are WAY out of price range, and far too heavy for most casual users anyway.
So I set about to get relatively inexpensive SLR and put it through it’s paces on a trip to Martha’s Vineyard.

I got a minty T1i body and a minty 18-55 IS kit lens off of Craigslist in Los Angeles for a total of $500. (The T1i kit sells for $700 new today.) This is a saving of close to $400 over the aforementioned T2i kit with tax.

Well, first things first – the kit performed remarkably well. Metering was spot on using evaluative and partial modes, even when shooting JPEGS. I had read that this camera can be prone to overexposure in bright conditions, but I experienced no such thing. If anything, it underexposed 1/3 to ½ stop, which is perfect in my opinion – so as not to risk blown highlights.

Using the built-in flash at a party worked very well too – and again the exposures and skin tones were dead accurate. What a surprise! (It’s easy to get used to the Pro bodies and to assume that the consumer cameras are going to be lacking in many obvious ways, but that it not what I found with this camera + lens combo.)
Overall I feel it is a great backup camera for someone who as a full-frame camera such as a 5D. IQ is so good that I cannot see any difference in terms of image quality in the applications I have used them for (moderately sized prints for advertising, portfolios and web.)

I would not hesitate to use it as a primary camera, unless absolute control of depth of field is a priority – in which case the larger the sensor the better, and the 5D/1Ds3 would be the better choice.
The T1i and T2i represent amazing value, and have superb image quality and ease of use. Everyone I have recommended them to has been thrilled with the results!
www.ronpurdy.com

girl with head

AFS — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:27:37 +0000

The second workshop went well. Here is one of the resulting images. More to come…(Canon 5D Mark II, 50mm lens, daylight, handheld)

Wow! Canon releases Manual settings for 5D2 video

AFS — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:55:35 +0000

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html

It really makes a huge difference in terms of the usability of the video function of this camera. Cheers!

Here are some of the details:

Firmware Version 1.1.0 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

Includes a function to enable the manual exposure setting when shooting movies.

*For details on how to use this function, please download the PDF files from the bottom of this page.

Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.
Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable.

*Digital Photo Professional software version 3.6.1 or later (for Windows and Macintosh) can be used to automatically correct the peripheral illumination of RAW and JPEG images that were captured in the Peripheral illumination correction setting with cameras that have Firmware Version 1.0.7 or earlier.

Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.
Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.
Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.

Firmware Version 1.1.0 is for cameras with firmware up to version 1.0.7. If the camera’s firmware is already version 1.1.0, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

one light wonders: a magazine + video shoot with just one light

AFS — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:30:43 +0000

So I am posting some unedited video clips from an editorial shoot from last year for SOMA magazine. The still shots have been on my photo web site for some time, and were in the 2008 Fall Fashion issue of the magazine. Theses will hopefully give some idea as to the lighting setup. I like to keep it simple, and on this particular day I used one light only. The lighting seen here is a Profoto strobe pack with one head inside of a 4×6 softbox with the two baffles removed, in order to give it a hard shadow – hopefully resembling sunlight. The model is one of my favorites – Juliana Imai at Ford Models. The assistant and video shooter was Arturo Sanchez. (we shot the video on a whim, as I had a Canon G9 sitting on my desk at the time…) Anyway, as I said, it’s unedited, a little jerky, and loud…but you can also see some of the excitement which can occasionally he had when you’ve got the right crew. (To be sure, most of my shoots are not quite as fun as this one was…)

Camera used for the stills was a Canon 1Ds mark III and lenses were the 85mm 1.2 and the 50mm 1.4.

(Of course, since we happened to be shooting video for all the web to see, the studio looks a shambles! But some of that mess is needed as you will read below…)

In these clips you can see the big black soft box to camera right, there are a couple black boards on the floor which are there to soak up some of the light so the shadows on the wall will go deeper black. Also, the black board on camera left at the back of thet set is there to make all of the shadows deeper – as we are in a small studio with white walls and a white ceiling, it’s very difficult to get dark shadows without the ugly black foam core boards scattered throughout

The below image is a fuzzy video still showing my setup for the SOMA shoot. Click it to enlarge it so you can read the labels which explain why the set is so cluttered

Untitled from afashionshooter on Vimeo.

afashionshooter.com SOMA clip 2 from afashionshooter on Vimeo.

Juliana tells them how it’s done from afashionshooter on Vimeo.

afashionshooter.com SOMA shoot – gorgeous Juliana 1271 from afashionshooter on Vimeo.

Either later today or tomorrow I will be posting several more clips…in the mean time, here’s what the stills looked like:

the “upgrade”

AFS — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:41:57 +0000

Some thoughts in response to whether or not to upgrade from the Canon system to medium format digital. The Medium format systems typically cost $25K and up when camera, back, and lenses are included. One could easily spend $60K or more on a new system. The below is in response to a conversation on LL where some photographers were comparing (at 100% zooms in photoshop) the various pros and cons of the systems…

“I think it’s humorous reading about these differences and comparisons between cameras. Of course I don’t shoot huge landscapes for a living, but I do wonder just how many people in the world are in fact making a good living at it. I can think of not one of my hundreds of favorite images over the years which would have improved from more “micro-detail.” I am talking about my own work, prints I see in galleries, magazines, museums, etc., etc.

I believe there are micro-differences, but I believe that these have little to do with the goodness of an image. I mean seriously, go over to your bookshelf, flip through the pages of some of your coffee table tomes, and tell me what you see. How many would have much greater impact with 20% more detail?

And as has been said many times, do what your business requires. Have your clients ever asked for more micro-detail? Do they even see it? Do they care? I use a variely of camera formats from 4×5 to polaroid to 5D2s. Just the 5D Mark I cameras have earned me 6 figures per year for the past several years, without any complaints from clients. One client had their best sales day ever during the economic meltdown just this past November – with sales exceeding $1.1 million on the Monday following Thanksgiving. The ads were all shot with the lowly 5D, with no complaints about micro detail or anything else. (and no moire either )

I know that in terms of investing in my business, spending on plane tickets makes a lot more sense and will better my portfoilios to a MUCH greater degree than spending huge amounts on cameras.

I think about it this way: given my portfolios as they are today – if I were to have shot everything inside with a 40 or 60mp back, they would essentially look the same. Now if I had spent that same $30K or so on traveling, hiring talented stylists, locations, models, there would be a huge difference in my portfolios. $30K sends me on a lot of trips, and could potentially transform my portfolios. In my experience, what you put in front of your camera is 95% of the battle. The camera itself: 5%.”

Allie Crandell of MTV’s “The City”

AFS — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:03:54 +0000

Ok, so it’s not really fashion per se, more like a P.R. shoot really, but here’s Allie Crandell of MTV’s The City fame. Anyone seen it?

Anyway, this was shot with the Canon 5D2, and thankfully it worked fine. It was a mixture of cloudy daylight and strobe which was coming from the same angle as the window light.

Waterways (lucky landscapes)

AFS — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:50 +0000

Flying back to NY from Palm Beach last night, we got some pretty and moody views of the landscape. Of course my airplane window was filthy, and looked like it had several leyers of Saran Wrap sandwiched in between the plexiglass – causing all kinds of glare, flare, color smear, low contrast, you name it. Plus the old 50mm 1.8 I was using contributed plendy of flare on it’s own. (I actually keep this lens because I really like the flare it produces when pointed at the sun and other bright things.)

(for the most part post-processing included only contrast and exposure adjustments. All images were shot with the Canon 5D Mark II and the old Canon 50mm 1.8 Series I lens)

more tests…and notes on lighting

AFS — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:33:07 +0000

(I was trying to get off of this testing phase on this blog. and back to lighting, but I am still testing…)

In trying a third Canon 5D Mark II body today, it focuses better with the outer AF points, but they are still no good for full figure shots where the target is far off. Lots of out of focus ones.

On a positive note, the outer AF points seem to work ok for waist-up shots. And the color on this one is FAR better than my other 5D2 bodies.

(If the skin tones look a little funny, that’s because they are. The model is going to Japan tomorrow, where they insist that the models be as pale as possible. So she’s been hiding from the sun And thus, copius amounts of spray-on tan were applied.)

Still, if I were shooting something critical and could not be tethered to a computer to check focus, I would not use this camera! The auto focus is just too dodgy on far away objects, even using the center point. Tis a pity.

p.s. Dear Canon: Isn’t the one-shot AF mode supposed to only take the shot when it’s achieved focus at the selected AF point? IF so, maybe part of this problem could be resolved with a firmare fix: make it so that in one-shot AF mode the camera actually does not take the shot if the image is out of focus. Would this work, or can the camera just not tell that the image is not in focus?

**notes on the lighting setup for the above shots will follow shortly**

Canon 5D2: so long

AFS — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:09:04 +0000

My 5D2 is now gone. I couldn’t take it.

There are a few issues with this camera which I can not live with. The AF is still pretty bad on this, my second 5D2 body in anything but the brightest of light. (the first one was returned with abysmal focusing and weird image quality issues.)

People right and left are reporting failures in damp conditions/light rain. There were a bunch of 5D2 failures on Michael Reichmann’s Antarctic trip.

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31851&st=0

I am used to the 1-series bodies, which have never given me issues - the AF on the 1Ds3 has been superb. I get nearly 100% in-focus shots on the 1Ds3, as opposed to 50-70% typically in focus with the 5D2. Even my original 5D bodies have more consistent AF. Sheesh. There is also banding in shadow areas, even at 200 ISO and with the firmware update. I do not have any banding issues on my 3 other Canon cameras.

Additionally I still feel the 5D2 files are not as pretty as the 1Ds3 files are. Maybe it’s the new low pass filter, maybe it’s something else…anyway, with the grip and two batteries inside, it’s not noticeably lighter than the 1Ds3. So, I’ll try again with a video/DSLR camera once Canon sorts this thing out, or Nikon comes out with a good one. In the mean time, I’ll be shooting my older 5D bodies which have been bullet proof for years, 1Ds3 (which I LOVE) and perhaps a Nikon D700 just for kicks.

I do not usually shoot in conditions where I need to worry about water resistance in a camera, but lately I have been. Here are a few images of my friend Jenny’s horses (5D2.) I was shooting there because I am planning a fashion shoot this spring which will involve horses. Once again, there were many blurry shots, and what looks like very brittle looking images. Here are a few which turned out ok:

In the end, when the stakes are high (as they are whenever I am shooting a job) using a camera which I am not sure is focusing correctly, or which I am afraid may fail if there is moisture in the air, etc. is not my idea of a good time. There are plenty of things to worry about on a shoot. I don’t think my camera should be one of them.

(*I cringe every time I remember this scenario: I was shooting advertising with the 5D2 with models, hair, makeup, stylists, etc waiting on me. As I was shooting tethered, the art director was standing next to me looking at the monitor and saying “they are soft!”, and I was there thinking, yeah, I can see that, but I don’t know what the f*ck to do about it. This is after hours or working with the AF microadjustments, etc., etc.)