garry_anderson3

The only problem I can see is that if you turn quickly you might hit somebody trying to see what you've got in your hand's,...... apart from that?

Good answer Tate, then Benjamin's photo's will look loke a "mediocre photographer" as all the details in his clients faces disappear into the shadows.

 

Fill flash is probably one of the most underated tools in wedding photography at the moment, and is a very valuable tool.

 

If you place your clients in direct sunlight the photo will be very hard, and they will be squinting. If you place then where the light is soft, you will need either a reflector and an assistant, or maybe more reflectors and assistants, or use fill flash to put some detail back into a shot.

 

I use between -3 stops and 0 stops of fill depending on the circumstances. (yes 1:1 and your flash maybe considered the main source, but with heavily backlit situations it is sometimes required.)When the general lighting is fairly soft look at -3 stops and when general lighting is hard go for -1 stops. The mark of a sucessful fill flashshot is that it looks natural, and the flash itself cannot be seen.

 

With new digital cameras, keep trying as you can see the results immediateley, and then compensate. Every flash/camera combo behaves slightly differently, so keep expirementing with yours. Once you've nailed it, it's another tool in your armory.

 

This weekend, I'll be re-shooting wedding formals for a client. They hired another "professional", and wanted their photo's taken in a local park, which is a very pretty and popular place, but the lighting is varied. They are so dissappointed with the results, with the faces virtualy totally in shadow, that they will have the brides hair and makeup redone, call all the family back, and re-hire the suits just to make sure they will have some photo's that they like of their wedding. A little bit of fill flash would have solved the problem without the need of a re-shoot.

 

The mark of a good photographer is that they are in control of the light, either using natural light correctly, or modifying it to suit their requirements.

Scott is right, a dedicated card is the right way to go, I forget that most people who aren't working in the IT field don't have RAID cards lying around to play with like I do.

 

For most "normal" computer people, the best option is still the fastest single drive you can afford. Get a raptor 10K.

 

Please remember, there are only 2 types of hard drives. Those that have failed, and those that will.

Be carefull, the bulb setting is not always as it seems. With a mechanical camera the shutter will still open till the pressure is released, with a battery powered camera it will stay pen till the battery goes flat, which may be a very short time (relatively speaking) maybe only 30 mins. With my X-Pan, Bulb = 45sec max (I've timed it).

I use to 40Gig HDD's in RAID 0 as a scratch disk and see a small but worthwhile perfomance increase with big files. After a lot of expirience with RAID arrays, I would never trust RAID arrays with important data. If one drive fails in RAID0, you're data's gone. I've had both drives in a RAID1 array fail within minutes of each other, and just recently a RAID5 array fail a drive and screw up all the data on a high end alleged fault tollerant server. They did take my advice and have a daily back up.The pain involved rebuilding the server with out a backup doesn't bear thinking about.

 

Always have a backup stratergy!

Use Vuescan, scan the first half, lock the exposure, lock the film base colour, scan second half, stitch and process. I have been using this method for years, works like a charm.

I feel for you and agree whole heartedly. Black and white digital, no matter how good the equipment or the operator, looks nothing like a well crafted silver print. And looking at the differences in technology, I have my doubts if it ever will approach the look of a silver print.

 

I don't think your expectations are too high, my opinion is that the acessability to digital technology has in some cases "dumbed down" our skills and expectations. People seem to think that digital black and white is good because they have never seen a well made silver print.

 

I too have tried to produce quality black and white using digital means, and they look pretty good, but still lack the qualities that make a great black and white print great.

 

For me, colour digital has made life much easier, but I'm going back to my darkroom for black and white prints.

Yes!

 

It's not so much about colour balance, though this is effected by the type of film, it's more about grain structure and the way a film looks. Slide films tend to have a finer grain structure than negative films, negative films capture more latitude, the greater the ISO the coarser the grain, the films with greater contrast have less colour fidelity, and silver film has a look all of it's own.

 

It will all come down to personal preference. Have a look at some film/digital prints that you like the look of, and see what film they used.

 

I use a mixture of Reala, Superia (yes it has it's uses especially 800), Agfa Ultra, NPS, and Kodak HD200. Each has it's own strengths.

Grab some different film too and try it out.

 

A warning here too! Once you start to get the results that you prefer, it's very hard to give somebody else control over your printing ever again! (Even when it cost's more).

Thinking about my last post, are you talking about dynamic range or latitude? Using our current technology, decreasing ISO increases latitude due to the same restrictions. The lower the ISO the lower the amount of data collected by the sensor/amplifier/processor chain. It is then easier to fit this data into the 12bits available in the file structure.

 

It's easy to be confused between dynamic range and latitude when talking about digital technology.Most DSLR's have a latitude of 5 stops, though this is probably more a limitation of the data processing capability.

 

One technique to increase dynamic range is to use is the "combined image in photoshop" technique. Taking two exposures, one for shadows and one for highlights, will give an image with a larger dynamic range than is possible with a single exposure.

 

Another way would be to use (dare I say it!) a high quality negative film and scan it with a quality scanner. Both methods have a greater dynamic range than a single digital exposure.

 

It all depends on your favoured method of working. As always, don't get hung on the digital v film argument, pick the best tool for the job that suits your method of working.

 

In the end it's the image, not the method that counts.

Dynamic range of a DSLR is a function of the bit depth of the system and the sensitivity of the sensor. A sensor with good "low light" capture has the ability to capture more shadow that a sensor with poor "low light" capture. The limiting factor is the noise floor, which will determine, how good the shadow areas will be captured.

 

"Bright light" capture is limited by "blooming", or the spill into adjacent photo site, which occurs when the photo site is overloaded.

 

The current technologly increases the ISO by increasing the gain of the sensor amplifiers.This is why noise is a problem using high ISO's as the noise is also amplified as well as the desired signal.

In theory, if the gain of an amplifier is increased, dynamic range also increases till the amplifier reaches overload, as it has the ability to increase the level of a smaller signal.

 

Therefore in theory, higher ISO's should give greater dynamic range.

In reality, the sensor noise floor and the available bit depth of most DSLR's means that the increase in dynamic range is not able to be used. Some file compression has to be used to make sure a full range of tones is able to be captured.

 

It is now thought that 32bit colour capture approximates the range of the human eye, so we have a long way to go yet, as most DSLR's only use 12bits!

There are only 2 sorts of hard drives.

 

Those that have failed, and those that will!!

 

Always back up, at least on 2 different types of media!

I once used an S820 for panorama printing by using photostitch and printing in banner mode with no page breaks. It does work, but not in photo quality and hand feeding was a pain. I gave up and bought an Epson 2100. Load paper-print. Much less hassle, better longivety and more control. When it comes to professional results (ie prints to sell) Canon still aren't there yet. Pity cause I did like the results on glossy paper.

Have a look at the new professional range from LG. I personally prefer a Trinitron CRT, but after looking at these LCDs I might change my mind. As for cheaper LCDs don't walk away, RUN!

You need lamps balanced to at least 5600K. Photo lamps have a better spectral balance but cost more. Standard flourecent lamps have holes in their output spectrum but are cheaper. Most importantly don't forget to profile your monitor to the colour temp of the room, otherwise it will all end in tears.

If your thinking about a RAID0 or RAID1 array just remember that there are only groups of hard drives. Those that have failed and those that will fail. The number of people who come through my PC workshop with out a backup is amazing. Sometimes we can retreive data from a single drive, but with an failed array we can only send it to the recovery experts, read $$$$.

The short answer, CMOS sensors have some technical advatages over CCD, namely more resistance to blooming and lower power requirements. The disadvantages are the noise charateristics are very much dependant on the sensor design and they are more expensive to make in larger sizes. Up to the generation 2 Canon CMOS sensors CCD had a distintic quality difference, from that point on I don't think your eyes can tell the difference.

P mode always, thats why my finger lives on the shift wheel. I can always adjust the shutter speed/aperture to what I want. AV mode with flash so I can control of fill. I find it the fastest way to operate with my equipment

I'm one of the 10% of the population who has the ability to use one eye at a time. I tend to just switch off the eye I'm not using. It sometimes freaks people out cause they think I'm looking at them and not the veiw finder. My brother is even better. He can use both eyes independently. Now THAT looks weird!!

I've just finished researching the same question, result? I've just bought a Velbon Maxi-SF. My "regular" tripod is a Manfroto 055 with a 141RC head, good gear but just a bit too heavy to carry around with all my gear and lug on airplanes.

As a professional musician and photographer I can see some interesting parallels. Music technology became digital and so accessable to the general public around 20 years ago, and very affordable around 10 years ago. However the amount of very good music made in that time has stayed about the same, while the amount oe mediocore music around has gone though the roof. The available technology has made everybody think they are they worlds greatest music producer/musician. Some very good music has come from some peoples home studio's so the technology has helped them release their talent.

 

The same seems to be happening in the photography world now. I am amazed by the forum questions that start with "I am photographing my first profeesional wedding this weekend and I need to know what camera I need........." You all know the ones. Or the "How do I fix this photo....." when if the photographer got it right in camera, all would be well.

 

The available technolgy has help some people release their talents, but overall I think a lot of people need to first learn about photography before they buy the latest camera/software/computer and then pass themselves as "professionals"

Ok, I'll try to answer all with out getting to technical.

 

You need to understand a little about cells and batteries to understand what is happening here. By the way, I don't think that everybody is wrong, just that we haven't yet put all the info together.

 

All cells have a "ESR" which is their Equivalent Series Resistance. This is the main item of interest to us as flash users. The ESR determines the amount of current that a cell can deliver into a given circuit. If the cell has a high ESR, in high current uses, some energy ends up as heat in the cells, and the cell may even overheat and explode. Most cells with a high ESR are designed to be used in standby devices, where the energy required is small but long life is required. These types of cells are useless in a flash unit, but you are unlikely to find them in common sizes. They do exsist though for things like alarms and remote controls were battery life is the prime objective.

 

The cells we are interested in are those with a low ESR. This allows us several advantages, primarily most of the energy ends up in the load and not as heat in the cell (more flashes!), and a higher sustained discharge current (faster recycle time). It's the higher discharge current that we need to be aware of.

 

Yes all trigger circuits are voltage controlled and are unlikely to be damaged by NiCad or NiMH cells. The inverter circuits though are current based circuits, and this is where the problem may occur.

 

Flash designers are aware that higher currents produce faster recycling, and make happier owners, so design their flashes with the lowest practical internal resistance to allow this to happen.If they design their circuits in this fashion to allow the best operation with alkaline type cells, there is a risk that the increased currents available with NiCad and NiMH cells may burnout the inverter.

 

This is also the case with with "fast recycle packs" for other flashes.

 

Now lets look at discharge/voltage characteristics. Firstly some basic terminolgy. The thing to look at here is the difference between the cells, "PD" or potential difference and it's voltage under load. The PD is with the cell not powering anything.Yes NiMH and Nicad cells have 1.2V PD and alkaline cells have a PD of 1.5V, but when connected to load, the voltage of the cell (with fresh cells) is about the same at 1.1V (high current usage, not so with low currentusage). The alkaline cell has a fairly constant decrease in voltage till discharge, so at around half capacity the available voltage to the load is only 0.9 volts. A NiCad or NiMH cell will deliver around 1.0v to the load until fully disharged, then the voltage heads south big time.

 

The alkaline cell still has energy in it, it just doesn't have enough voltage left to the inverter to fully charge the flash capacitor. If will run your tooth brush for weeks!

 

Strange as it may seem, alkaline cells and NiMh cells have very similar energy densities (Nicad has less), but it's the way the energy is delivered that makes the difference.

 

My warning still stands with anything battery powered. If the maufacturer has a warning about the use of NiCad cells, pay heed.

 

I'm happy to say that most modern flash units have NO problems with NiCad of NiMH technology, but there are some good and elderly units that may have a problem.

 

I hope this info helps you all make an informed decision about whats best for your equipment.

Be aware everybody that there is a risk of frying a flash unit using NiMH and Nicad cells. Both these types have a much lower internal resistance than alkaline cells. This is the reason that they offer faster recycling time and greater capacity. Older flash units WILL burn out due to the higher currents these cells can produce. If there is warning about using NiCad cells, don't use NiMH cells either.

 

Some flashes also limited the number of shots/minute.

 

Read the specs of your flash and stick with the manufacturers recommendations

Film has greater resolving power than current DSLR's, a 35mm 100ISO film frame has up too 20MP of information, but it may not contain 20MP of usable information depending on the care of the photographer. Film also has a much greater latitude and colour gamut then digital. I have no doubt that these characteristics will improve over the next generations.

 

Digital has no film grain, faster work flow and better performance at high ISO settings.

 

Strange as it seems the total cost of film V digital is about the same.

 

It really all comes down to want you want. If speed and portabilty is what you need, digital is the only way to go. If you want ultimate quality and you have time, film still has the edge.

 

Of course with the next generation of DSLR's this may all change.

 

I like using some unusual film formats, and no matter how good the current DSLR's are, they have yet to build a digital Noblex, so I'm staying with film.

True!! But people don't tend to hire bands or photogs for divorce parties. But then if the groom liked us and he's thinking of getting married again........

My "other" job is as a professional musician, so I'd don't tend to photograph many weddings, but I do attend quite a few. I'd never actually come across a bridezilla till last weekend. Firstly she'd screwed the price down to the bare minimum, but when we told her she was to provide accommidation (we were 3 hours from home), explosion no.1. We agreed than to stay in the caravan park to save her money.

 

All was going well on the night, till we had our first break. Explosion no.2 How dare we take a break on HER time! When we tried to explain that she was still getting four hours of music, she stormed off in a huff. We ended up playing 3 hours straight after Mummy had a talk to us. When we asked for a meal as per our standard contract during the speeches, explosion no.3. When we pointed out that a meal was in our contract, thats what we got. No entree, no desert and strict instructions to the bar that we had to buy our own drinks!

 

We spoke to some of the other "hired help" and she'd also had a swearing match with the caterers and the function center staff. I didn't get to talk to the photog, but from the look on his face he'd also been read the riot act as he certainly didn't appear to be enjoying the job.

 

I was left wondering what it would have been like if there had been a "real" problem! I'd often read about bridezilla's in this forum, but never meet a real one until now. Fortunatley I can pick and choose the jobs I wish to take, and the next time, when she starts to complain about the price or the contract, I'll bail out!!