Learn Digital Photography Basics » The Equipments

In Review: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Ahmed Anwar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:17:27 +0000

When it comes to digital cameras, especially digital SLR’s, we may come across various reviews that you can find online and in print. After all, when we’re talking about investing in digital SLR’s or digital photography, there are a lot of things to consider. Digital photography equipment is indeed expensive and so we’ll have to make the most out of digital photography reviews to make sure we are shedding out some serious cash on the right one. Here are a couple of digital photography reviews on Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Let’s first discuss this digital SLR as it is one of the top choices of digital photography enthusiasts today.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is known as the full-frame digital SLR which is not only a nice camera with a neat interface but it can also capture or record HD video! Imagine that now, with your digital SLR, you can create videos in HD quality! Now that is surely where we should be heading in terms of such digital cameras. After all, HD television programming is now becoming mandatory in most parts of the world. It is becoming the norm. And sooner or later, all the cameras to be released will be able to record HD-quality videos. In fact, in the USA alone, it has become a law that everyone must switch to digital. Analog TV is being phased out in North America. And so it’s time to welcome all the technological gadgets in full HD!

That is certainly the beauty of a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It is a professional DSLR that is on the lower to middle priced ones. It is an update on the original EOS 5D that seems to make this digital SLR offer and added feature. A lot of owners of this camera like that it has a similar ability with its predecessor in a way that it shoot images with a film-like quality. It is known to provide a great image quality as well as an expanded ISO range. The only disadvantage of getting this type of SLR is that there are cheaper cameras in the market having better or more features than this one. At the same time, this digital SLR has a couple of new RAW modes to boost. The only problem is that it has a slight color shift when you look at the photos. And what is the price? Getting this digital SLR will probably set you back around $2,800 to $3,000 depending on the package you get and of course the deal you get where you get it.

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Used Digital Photography Equipment

Ahmed Anwar — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:30:48 +0000

Because of the high prices that photography equipment costs, a lot of photography enthusiasts turn to purchasing used photography equipment. After all, if it still gives you the quality you want at a more affordable price, what is there to lose? Like used cars, used computers, used house, use television, used gaming console, there are the pros and cons of buying used photography equipment. Thus, you have to be very keen when purchasing them. Below you can find a helpful guide to buying used photography equipment.

1.When buying used photography equipment, you are able to fully test it out. This is one advantage of buying used. While you can test out some of the cameras in stores, they are usually attached to the display with a security device. Thus, your testing area is limited. When you meet up the buyer of the used photography equipment, you are able to test out the camera outdoors, indoors, with natural sunlight or test it out during night time if the flash is good. At the same time, you can easily ask the previous owner how to do this and that easily. You can easily ask how he or she does this kind of effect or how he or she adjusts the settings depending on what you want to do. For example, you want to meet dinner time so you can try taking night shots as you move. You can simply ask the seller how to put it in night mode while shooting moving objects. That is one big advantage of buying used photography equipment. So, always make sure that you have a list in your mind of the features that are very important to you. Then test it out when you meet with the buyer. Of course, if you’re only buying the item online then have it shipped to you, then that will be a different scenario of course.

2.Now when buying used photography equipment, the small blemishes or signs of wear on the camera shouldn’t be a problem. However keep in mind if there are several scratches as it may be a sign that it has fallen down. Check how deep the scratches and dings are. At the same time, look for rust. If there is, rust in the camera, this means that it must have been exposed to excessive moisture. It could be from leaking batteries or perhaps was used in underwater photography and the housing isn’t of good quality. It can also have been exposed to liquid for a long time. So make sure to check those out.

3.As for used digital SLRs, make sure to check the sensor chip. It could have been exposed when changing lenses or when the shutter is open. Make sure to snap a shot of a monochrome surface. Look for lines or dark spots, if there is, I suggest you don’t get the camera. It means the sensors has been soiled or damaged. Sensor chips can cost you more than the value of a used digital SLR.

Key Tips on Buying Digital Camera

Ahmed Anwar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:32:12 +0000

Choosing what digital camera to buy can be very difficult. There are various brands to choose from. Aside from this, digital cameras nowadays are getting more and more complicated. Whenever a new model comes out in the market, the added features are usually their selling point. But do you really need all these features? Does an expensive camera equate to performance? Digital camera buying tips are what you need. If you wish to buy a new camera, but overwhelmed with the numerous choices in the market, here are a few tips on buying digital camera that could greatly help sliming down your options.

1. Different models and brands have different features. Sometimes, it can get really confusing to choose the right one. First, think of the features you really need. For example, if you think you will be using the optical zoom often, then choose a digital camera with high optical zoom.

2. If you have observed, digital cameras seemed to have a competition when it comes to their mega pixels. More often than not, newer models have higher mega pixels. Do not be swayed by this. It doesn’t follow that when a camera has higher mega pixel, the better it is. Mega pixels are actually more on how big you can print a picture in excellent quality. So if you just intend to print 8 x 10 inches, a digital camera with 4 mega pixel will do. Remember, mega pixels refer to image size.

3. Having a nice LCD is something to invest on. A camera with a bright LCD allows you to see the image clearly even in bright sunlight. Another importance of a good quality LCD is it can be a representation of the actual image recorded.

4. If you are considering a camera with zoom lens, take note that the optical zoom is more important than the digital zoom. Using the digital zoom can deteriorate the quality of the image.

5. If you opt for a simple digital camera which you can just point-and-shoot, do not pay for something expensive with a lot of modes, features, and manual settings. Do not spend on something you are not going to use.

6. You also have to take into consideration the battery life of the digital camera you are going to buy. Having an expensive digital camera does not mean it has long battery life, nor does it mean the cheap ones use up the battery easily.

7. Lastly, when comparing the prices of digital cameras, consider the inclusions in the package such as extra battery, memory card, charger, etc.

Guide to Buying Used Photography Equipment

Ahmed Anwar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:20:25 +0000

It has been a couple weeks now that I haven’t penned anything here. The last couple weeks have been busy for me. However, here is something for the day.

Below I have outlined a helpful guide to buying used photography equipment.

When buying used photography equipment, you are able to fully test it out. This is one advantage of buying used. While you can test out some of the cameras in stores, they are usually attached to the display with a security device. Thus, your testing area is limited. When you meet up the buyer of the used photography equipment, you are able to test out the camera outdoors, indoors, with natural sunlight or test it out during night time if the flash is good. At the same time, you can easily ask the previous owner how to do this and that easily. You can easily ask how he or she does this kind of effect or how he or she adjusts the settings depending on what you want to do. For example, you want to meet dinner time so you can try taking night shots as you move. You can simply ask the seller how to put it in night mode while shooting moving objects. That is one big advantage of buying used photography equipment. So, always make sure that you have a list in your mind of the features that are very important to you. Then test it out when you meet with the buyer. Of course, if you’re only buying the item online then have it shipped to you, then that will be a different scenario of course.
Now when buying used photography equipment, the small blemishes or signs of wear on the camera shouldn’t be a problem. However keep in mind if there are several scratches as it may be a sign that it has fallen down. Check how deep the scratches and dings are. At the same time, look for rust. If there is, rust in the camera, this means that it must have been exposed to excessive moisture. It could be from leaking batteries or perhaps was used in underwater photography and the housing isn’t of good quality. It can also have been exposed to liquid for a long time. So make sure to check those out.
As for used digital SLRs, make sure to check the sensor chip. It could have been exposed when changing lenses or when the shutter is open. Make sure to snap a shot of a monochrome surface. Look for lines or dark spots, if there is, I suggest you don’t get the camera. It means the sensors has been soiled or damaged. Sensor chips can cost you more than the value of a used digital SLR.

Setting Up a Photography Studio Lighting Equipment

Ahmed Anwar — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:02:53 +0000

Are you ready to take photography to the next level? Are you ready to take photography as your career? Are you ready to set up your own photography studio? If so, one of the things you have to prepare is your photography studio lighting equipment. Without the correct lighting, your skills won’t matter. One can say that lighting is the most important aspect of photography. After all, photography is the capture or light and its reflection. The proper lighting holds a very important role to the success of your photos or shots. So continue reading below to learn more about setting up photography studio lighting equipment on your own.

In reality, photography lighting equipment is so important not only in the studio but on location or outdoors too. It is so essential to photography. If you have already witnessed a photo shoot, you might have noticed how many lighting equipment is used just to take a photo of one model. That’s how important lighting equipments are. But it’s not just your usual light. Let’s take a look at the various times of lighting equipment you can use.

Some of the most popular photography studio lighting equipment used today includes tungsten, AC- and DC-powered strobes or studio lights, battery-powered location strobes, daylight-balanced fluorescents, HMI and LED lights. Each of these types of lights is suited for various types of applications. That’s why you should be able to choose the lights that you will need. So let’s take a look at some of the types of lighting equipment available.

If you are considering getting studio strobes, know that they are instantaneous, heat-free, and bright. It is perfect if you need to use a very minimum aperture setting in your camera. You’ll get a really sharp focus on your subject if you use this in you photography studio. Studio strobes can deliver instantaneous output. It can accommodate flash durations of about 1/15,000^th of a second. If you are taking shots of little kids, it would be the perfect lighting equipment to use. What’s even great about it is that it is generally cool unlike other lighting that heats up. Kids won’t sweat under this lighting.
Now let’s move on to the hot lights. The tungsten or the quartz halogen lights are used for stills and video. This allows you to add finesse to the direction and quality of lighting. It’s great lighting equipment for neophytes. They are lighter and less expensive than strobe lights. You will have more opportunity to study your subject and create a high quality photo with these.

The Various Underwater Photography Equipments

Ahmed Anwar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:33:50 +0000

A normal camera won’t work underwater. We know it will only get damaged. So have you ever wondered what kind of underwater photography equipment those photographers use to take beautiful pictures under water? If you are do scuba diving, or simply want to take pictures of you and your family and friends under water just for the fun of it, then you are probably interested in knowing what the various underwater photography equipment are available? Well, here is a guide that will help you discover these items one by one.

Perhaps you would like to learn how to take shots or take photos under water. To do so, you will need an underwater camera, and underwater photo gear or underwater photography gear. Let’s first discuss the different styles or types of cameras as photography experts would say.

Point and shoot are the compact cameras that have been very popular since the start of the twenty first century. It’s perfect to bring along any time and any day. It is designed for casual use like taking photos with your friends and families, or perhaps going to parties and other events. These types of cameras are among the cheapest types of cameras. They are usually compact and can fit in a ladies bag or a gentleman’s pockets.
On the other hand there are the D-SLRs also known as the digital SLRs or the Digital Single lens Reflex cameras. These are the most expensive types of cameras. These are the types of cameras being used by professional photographers. If you are serious about photography, then this is the camera for you. There are a lot of multiple lenses that you can use with digital SLRs. You can choose from a number of accessories such as flash, lenses, tripods, and many others.
Now if you are looking for the type of camera that will go in between, look for the full featured cameras also known as the semi-SLR cameras. They are the “in-betweeners” so to speak. They have almost all of the features of the digital SLR cameras at a more compact size. They are easier to use as compared to the SLR cameras. However, usually you can no longer modify them by adding lens, etc.

Note that all these types of cameras can be used under water. You can use housings for all three types of cameras so they won’t get wet if you bring them under water. However, there are also some cameras that were specifically built for under water adventure. Remember, if you are using the non-underwater cameras and simply buy an underwater housing, you’ll have to make sure that your housing can withstand the submersion, the water pressure, and the moisture. Now you don’t want that expensive camera to go to waste now do you?

Tips on Buying Digital Photography Lenses

Tips on Buying Digital Photography Lenses

Ahmed Anwar — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:57:27 +0000

One of the many ways to upgrade your digital camera is through digital camera lenses. While some digital SLR’s already have kits that include lenses with them, sometimes they may not be enough later on. If you constantly look for more digital photography techniques in your photos, and if you want your digital SLR do be able to do much more, then upgrading lenses or having multiple digital photography lenses will be needed. Here are a couple of tips on buying digital photography lenses.

Digital photography lenses are fundamental to good photography. There are so many types of lenses out there that will probably confuse you. Everyone who started from scratch knows this for a fact. Sometimes, without the right guidance, you end up buying what you really wanted just because you don’t know the different types of digital photography lenses and their main features or functionalities. There are the wide-angle lenses, the telephoto lenses, there are various focal lengths of lenses, and they have different speeds. Plus, there are so many brands out there. So how do you know which one is for you? It is quite overwhelming to hear the many types of lenses in the market today. So this little help will surely take you a long way.

Choose the focal length that you like. It is one of the most important factors, if not the most, that you should think about when buying your digital photography lens. It determines the field-of-view that you can successfully take with your digital SLR. There are two main types namely the wide-angle and the telephoto.
1. Telephoto lenses – are great at taking portraits and close-ups.
2. Wide-angle lenses – as the name implies, they are wider and great for landscapes and indoor photography such as taking a photo of a room.
Speed is also important. The terms slow and fast lenses refer to the maximum aperture of the lens. This is the maximum amount of light that a lens lets in. So the fast lens is the type of lens that allows more light and the slow lens is the opposite. The speed helps in defining the results of your shots. The f/stop numbers are the measurements referring to the maximum aperture. This is the ratio of the size of the aperture and the focal length. More light gets in when the f/stop number is smaller. So in this case, the f/2.0 lets in lesser light than an f/1.4. Just remember, for darker lighting conditions, you are better off with fast lenses. If you have a well lighted subject, then you may opt for the slower lenses.
Zoom lens is not your fixed-focal-length lens. This is great if you need to take different shots where you have to zoom in and out. However, the problem with zoom lenses is that they don’t have a consistent maximum aperture. But there are some which are really larger and more expensive.

The Basic Photography Equipment Needed in a Photo Studio

Ahmed Anwar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:14:54 +0000

A lot of people are turning photography into their personal hobbies these days. The photography hype has hit a lot of yuppies or young professionals because perhaps of the many social networking sites that promote photo sharing with friends and simply because of the many ways of which to showcase ones photography or art through the World Wide Web. Thus, a lot has turned into buying their professional cameras as well as photography equipment to make their own photo studio at home. So here, you will learn the basic photography equipment needed in a photo studio of your own.

When creating your own photo studio, keep in mind the basic components of such a room. You’ll need the basic photography equipment such as the camera, the film if you are not using a digital camera, the lights, props, and of course materials for the background. Let’s look at the details for each of these components one by one.

Let’s start with the camera. It all depends on what kind of quality you want to get out of the camera. You can get a manual camera with at least a good 35mm. This will allow you to set your exposure easily. On the other hand, you may opt for a digital camera too. Now what you are probably wondering right now is what resolution and pixels to get? The answer depends on you. What are you going to do with the photo? Are you printing a 3R or 4R picture? Or are you printing a poster? If you’re not planning to print a billboard sign that has to have high quality settings, then you don’t need the highest resolution and pixels available in the market today. If you are printing only the size of a long bond paper at the most, then most of the digital cameras below a thousand dollars can do the trick.
Of course, if you are using a manual camera, you will also need film. To get the natural skin tone and proper contrast in colors, you may opt for either the Fuji NPS film or the Kodak Portra NC.
Now let’s go over to the background. A photography studio won’t be complete with this. It greatly affects the subject by either complimenting or detracting from it. If you don’t know what background to use, a simple plain background will do. You’ll need a background stand and a seamless paper to go with it. The most common colors that photographers use are white, gray, black, and blue. Now if you’ve been to a photography studio, you’ve probably seen the dyed backgrounds. Those are called muslins and can be draped because of its lightweight material.
The lights are very important photography equipment. You can’t do without one. Remember, photography is all about lighting. To create your own photography studio, you’ll need at least your fill light and a main light. The use of umbrellas gives it a nice and soft quality. You can also use a third light at the back to get rid of the shadows. For more advance photography, you can add a fourth light that serves the purpose of a hair light.