pete_ferling

<p>My sister-in-law, Betty Ditizio (Gracia), creates custom jewelery. Like medical devices, with all their transparent, and reflective parts, I found these items to be just as challenging and, (if not questioning one's manhood for shooting such things in the process), I considered the technical aspects of dealing with this form of work as very appealing.<br>

Note: Below is the raw take, no Photoshop. Just a little sharpen and clarity in LR before export.</p><div></div>

<p>I wasn't missing all the rain, as I was stuck in the cave for the last two weeks shooting product. A record 190 medical devices for brochure, cat and cover. Here's an example, a Red Urology Catheter, (There's beauty in everything). The studio is trashed. Looking forward to a four-day weekend, I just turned off the lights and closed the door. The cleaning lady is gonna hate me...</p><div></div>

<div></div>

<div></div>

<div></div>

<div></div>

<p>Twenty-five years ago an instructor at Navy Photo School made a positive impact on me when he said it's your job to take the otherwise ordinary and mundane, and make it interesting.</p>

<p>A simple Oxygen Nasal Cannula with extension line, just one example of many thousands of ordinary things I shoot for the old day job. I've learned that most everything can be beautiful, you just have to cast it in the right light.</p><div></div>

<p>One bad apple on the tree does not constitute the need for a chainsaw. Just pick another one.</p>

<p>I understand the question, but have you handled a 60D yet? I went to best buy and picked on up. Ugh. Plastic. Small fit. Cheap. That might not bug you, but it did bother me. I would be afraid to drop it, (and I know a 40d will survive the numerous bangs and clangs it's encountered, while on the job and able to finish it). The obvious upgrade then for me for a crop sensor, EFs body was the 7D.</p>

<p>I do agree, 18megs is definite benefit in image resolution. Before I touted how I could squeeze a 23" print from the 40D. After my first dozen 36" prints from the 7D from an Epson 9800. I'm tempted to go back and reshoot some scenes that required stitching last year.</p>

<p>The articulating screen is nice. It almost made the deal for me. I just could get over the lower build quality from an on-the-job issue.</p>

<p>The fruits of our labor.</p><div></div>

<p>If you need a toy and don't mind the risk of being an early-adopter-beta-tester, then go for it (if and when that becomes available). If you have a business need and a Mark II will upgrade your current gear, then it's pretty obvious what you should do. There's plenty of good info and history on that model, so you know what you'll be getting for your money.</p>

<p>That lens is sharp from edge to edge, and I have some 36" prints from a 7D to prove it's worth. You won't be disappointed.</p>

<p>Shot Glasses. Canon 7D, Modified FD35mm 2.8 Tilt-Shift lens.</p><div></div>

<p>Despite all that math, what matters is how it applies to the end result in your own process. That extra 8mp (over my 40d) incurs a significant hit in time and resources on my workstation. Updates to edits are not as fluid in response to adjustments. There are times that I've had to reload an image (change focus) to get an update to show. Other times I've had exports to PS that simply didn't export. PS would open, but the file would not load, and the action had to be re-initiated. It's not linear, either. It's nearly tripled the time I spend in front of my screen. That may seem like a tolerable hassle to casual users (and I'm OK with it for my own use), but in a production environment when you have designers and managers waiting...</p>

<p>I have two 7D's and files from both at 18mp have the same result. I've only had them for two weeks, and it was very busy. However, my initial experience confirms that higher resolution is also less forgiving of lens and user issues. Everything is magnified. It will take some months to see how this affects my keep ratio.</p>

<p>Tomorrow I will have some time to experiment in the studio and do some testing to see what I lose with mRAW, and hope that's its only resolution. 10MP covers a good range when your end game is brochures, web and video. An Epson 9800 will settle the score as to what I lose or gain in prints.</p>

<p>I think it's best that we continue to use a great product, and continue to buy bodies and lenses to keep the business going. Once the donations have dried up, the groceries have to be purchased with other means.</p>

<p>Canon 7D, 135 F2L, F4, 1/640.</p><div></div>

<p>I use yousendit for large files, and/or files in a zip folder. You then send the link via email. I can also get an accounting or proof that said files were downloaded, including return receipts, password protection, etc. You can also set expiration and download limits as well. You can do basic stuff for files up to 100megs for free, or pay as you go, or purchase a yearly pro account for all the extra goodies and bigger files. Comes in handy when your recipient is across the pond and needs the files by morning.</p>

 

<p>Online forums, being what they are, and google, being the tremendously powerful search engine it is, and glued together by the fact that anything you put online can be considered legal fodder... not many folks in that kind of know find that answering such questions are not very useful in the long run. There is a fine balance between admitting that your a human, and capable of making mistakes, and simply being taken as an idiot. So while some pros may tell stories and leave the names out, their own name connects the real event to the other "party" whom also finds it and reads it. Ain't this fun? (I'm not a lawyer btw).</p>

<p>You run into all kinds of folks in this business, and you have to understand that some things are simply unavoidable. You have to trust you gut instinct, and learn to qualify your clients, but in the end, like any business, you take risks. You learn as you go, often turning the other cheek for the sake of keeping the feathers straight and always, always remember why you're doing this in the first place. It doesn't mean that you have to let others walk all over you, or abuse you. You just have to change your perspective, learn that you have a spine and realize that sh** happens.</p>

<p>"Test run." It's still work. What the client intends to do with the end results is their business, (so long as you were compensated for yours).</p>

<p>I would say that a 30x30 room is the minimum for a productive product studio. When you buy a house, you have to imagine how it will look once you get all that furniture in place. Suddenly that spacious room starts looking like an economy suite at the road-side crash and burn. All those tables, light stands, softboxes, modifiers, and a workstation adds up. Not mention staging and gear storage. Now factor in a small party of clients whom also attend the shoot, and they want a place to sit and work on their laptop, etc... Could you make something smaller work? I guess if you had too. But would you want to work in it?</p>

<p>Forget the garage Martha! We're building a barn!</p>

<div></div>

<p>I blew the shutter in my 40D a few months back, still under warranty, Best Buy sent it to the NJ plant. I was told it could take up to a month. Had it back next week. New shutter, CLA, etc.</p>

<p>I also had another experience with same shop years ago when my XL1 jammed. Since I had pro status, I got it back in four-days, one day before my next scheduled shoot, new motor, take up wheel assy and eject mechanism. That turn-around alone saved me about $300 in rental fee.</p>

<p>Good service is half the reason I stick with Canon.</p>

<p>I quit asking advice a long time ago, and simply went to the store with my old camera, a lens, and a memory card. Took some test shots, did some pixel peeping at home and eventually convinced myself to replace a 1Ds mkI with a 40D. The same should hold water with a MkII vs. 7D, (I did try out the 7D as well, the high ISO performance is great, and it will be replacing my 40D at warranties end). But don't take mine or anyone else's advice. Go test it out for yourself. Best Buy should have one under the counter. Bring your memory card and a good lens, and have the employee follow you around as you case the place. Don't forget to take some shots in the dimly lit HDTV room.</p>

<p>Trust me, you'll feel better putting your theory to actual test, rather than reading all this jest.</p>

<p>I know this is late but, wow. $2000 limit and in three days? Considering that we sometimes pay outside studios $1200 for half-day, or $4000 full day to cover maybe three or four products, or supports for a single brochure.... suicide.</p>

<p>I do much of this in-house for our company, and the most I ever hit in a single day was about 50 small plastic connectors for a poster. Those were simple table shots, white and chrome parts on white sweep. You still have to factor in the post work: the renaming, keywords and cataloging (hours of keystrokes). Move up to props and putty and then it's round trips through photoshop for edits to remove.</p>

<p>Many times you will have customers attending the shoot, and they'll add in extra hours in lieu of communicating wants, giving direction and approvals. There simply is no piece rate. They are essentially renting your time and gear. What are you worth? In fact, do you really want to establish a reputation of being cheap, not competitive, but cheap?</p>

<p>Shooting film does add value and purpose to the experience of a shoot. However, in the day to day business of product photography, its costly and slow. The gentleman before me shot with cambo's 4x5 and 8x10. I still have the negs, complete works of art for even the most mundane of ads and brochure supports. Then we purchased our first Canon 1Ds Mk1. That was a game changer. Same day turn-around. You can setup, shoot, deliver and strike in the same day. In fact, an entire days work done in an hour. Once we armed ourselves with an Epson 9800 (the other half of the digital revolution), it was game over. My very first ebay experience was selling off the Cambo gear.</p>

<p>Bean counters aside, I do have to point out that even in digital, my style of shooting and work has not changed. We have a lot of young designers whom think they can fix everything in photoshop, and that making things happen correctly before pressing the shutter is a waste of time. I was even taking direction from designers over an internet feed via desktop sharing. It's not the same, and I put a stop to it. My point is that film, and I'm agreeing with others here, made you slow down and think about your work.</p>

<p>Even in fast paced events like sports and concerts still required that kind of logic, and I've learned. I remember shooting 1000's of images at an event, in hopes that I nail a few keepers. My keep ratio was very low. Like 1 in 10, and it created a a lot of work for me to sort out all those shots. Now, I time things and anticipate, firing when I feel the moment is right. I shoot a few hundred and my keep ratio is much higher, like 1 in 3. So while I learned that pixels were cheaper than film, my time was not.</p>

<p>Put it another way: An old bull is on a hill overlooking a valley full of cows. Suddenly a young bull runs up and frantically panting, he yells "Hey, hey. Lets run down there and have out way a few of them cows!"</p>

<p>The old bull slowly looks up at the eager young bull, then down the hill, and replies. "No. Let's WALK down there have our way with them all."</p>

<p>Last few frames affected would indicate loose rolls regardless of camera used. However, you need to do a process of elimination:</p>

<p>1) regardless of camera. Start using a black bag for changes and transport. (The guy at the lab also uses a black box for making an exchange). If you still have an issue, then it's hardware.</p>

<p>2) If the seals are good, then either you have door flexing going on due to temperature changes or in how you grip it. Apply a few strips of black gaffers tape for a few rounds and see if that helps. If so, then you might want to think about using a black camera case while you shoot to keep things in the dark. Just a suggestion.</p>