So, this quick post has a simple purpose. I need to insert this code - G75ZCYP56J99 – into a post so that Technorati can add the blog to my profile and I can move on with my life. Nothing more interesting. Although I do plan on writing up a post later about putting together a starting gear kit for a photography studio.  Someone had asked that question in the comments on my post comparing the Canon t1i vs t2i vs t3i, and I thought it was a sufficiently important question to devote a whole post to answering it.

More on that later today…

First Up? York Photo.

York Photo is a fairly typical online print shop. They print a full range of photo sizes, from wallets to standard 4×6 photos up to large poster size prints. They also have all of your expected photo products – cards, mugs, gifts, whatever. Their website runs on the same basic system that Snapfish does, so if you’re familiar with their offerings then you should know what to expect.

How many free prints do I get? At the moment, York offers a set of 40 free prints when you open a new account. That’s a pretty good size gift, seeing as Snapfish and many of their competitors only offer 20 prints.

But, are these prints really free? As usual, you’ll have to pay shipping. Shipping is $0.99 for the first five prints, and $0.49 for every ten prints after that (until you get into larger orders over 200 prints). If you order the full set of 40 free prints, you’d be looking at $0.99 + 3 x $0.49 or… $2.46. Divide that by fourty, and you’re paying a princely sum of $0.0615 per print for that initial order. That’s damn good.

Do they normally have cheap photo prints? Seeing as this is a one time offer, you should also consider their day to day pricing. They advertise their prints as $0.08 per print (for a standard 4×6). That sounds too good to be true, and it is… somewhat. Again, you’re going to have to pay shipping. Ignoring the first five prints (which costs $0.99 to ship), every additional print costs $0.049, or roughly 5 cents. Tack that 5 cent premium on to the 8 cent printing cost, and you have a net cost of about $0.13 per print. That’s not as unbelievable as $0.08… but it’s not bad.

Do they have any other cool promotions going on? The 40 free photo prints is a standard offer at York Photo, but they do run special promotions from time to time. Currently, they’re running a promotion on canvas prints. Follow this link, and you’ll get 50% off all canvas prints. If that doesn’t work, use the coupon cold A2012CANVAS. Canvas prints seem to be the next big thing these days, and this promotion brings a relatively pricey print ($35 – $100) down to a reasonable price range.

How’s the Print Quality? I haven’t ordered from York before, so I don’t know for certain. I’ve gotten prints from Snapfish, and I suspect they use similar hardware since they have the same front end for their website. It’s not MPIXPro / Millers level… but it’s certainly as good or better than what you’d get at Walmart. Considering the price? It’s worth it.

If you’re curious, just head to York, get your set of set of 40 free prints, and judge for yourself. I’d be interested in some comments below if you’ve printed with them before.

There are a couple problems with this. First, you need to have the flashes, and that’s an investment. Second, you need to have a way to trigger those flashes off camera. For me, that was the most confusing part, initially, about getting into strobist style photography.

Older Canon digital SLR cameras didn’t have built in wireless capabilities. You needed to buy some equipment – either the proprietary Canon wireless transmitter, an expensive as hell set of pocket wizards, or some cheap off brand transmitters. When I first started experimenting with flashes with my Canon t1i, I had to buy some radio triggers. It didn’t have a built in commander flash.

The trend recently, though, has been for Canon to include a built in commander flash with most of its newer cameras. So which Canon dSLR cameras come with the ability to trigger flashes?

The latest model in each of Canon’s tiers comes with a built-in commander flash. This means that the Canon EOS Rebel t3i, the Caon EOS 60D, and the Canon EOS 7D will all work. On each of these cameras, the pop-up flash can be set as a commander flash, and it will wirelessly trigger the other flashes in the system. The pop-up flash fires off to send this signal, but the power output of this initial flash is low enough that it shouldn’t affect the exposure of your image (unless you want it to and you jack up the power).

Older models, like the Canon EOS Rebel t2i and the Canon EOS 50D, don’t have this capability. The higher end Canon cameras, like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, don’t have built-in flashes at all. So these cameras don’t have the capability either. But then again, if you’re spending upwards of $2,000 on a camera, it’s not a big deal to spend a couple hundred bucks on a Canon ST-E2 wirless transmitter.

If you’re stuck comparing the Canon t2i vs t3i, then this is a good reason to opt for the newer camera. If, on the other hand, you’re stuck deciding between the Canon 60D vs 7D, this isn’t going to be much help. They’ve both got the same capabilities.

Almost a whole year later, the Canon EOS Rebel t3i / 600D is still Canon’s premier entry-level dSLR. It is relatively cheap (currently $670 on Amazon), but extremely powerful. It features 18MP of resolution, a built-in commander flash, an articulating screen for videographers, and HD video. Paired with a nice lens, this is an awesome piece of photographic equipment for a devilishly low price. What more could you want…?

Last year, I wrote a preview / review, looking at the differences between the Canon t1i vs t2i vs t3i. Although the post is almost a year old, it’s still wildly popular… and accurate. There are some tiny improvements that come with the Canon t3i. For videographers, the articulating screen is nice. For portrait / studio photographers, the commander flash is awesome. Otherwise? Stick with the cheaper Canon t1i or Canon t2i.

More recently, I wrote about the difference between the Canon t3i vs Canon 60D vs 7d. In this case, there are some clear advantages to owning the more expensive camera. However, these don’t necessarily apply to everyone. In short, the 7D is a huge upgrade for sports and action photographers. Portrait photographers are just fine with a Canon EOS Rebel t3i, and the extra $6-700 could easily be spent on some nice glass. Read the Canon 7d review for full details.

Although the Canon t3i release date was almost a year ago, it’s still a great camera. I, personally, do a ton of sports and action photography. I can’t wait to get my hands on a Canon EOS 7D. But… if I didn’t do sports, and I only did portraiture? I would have bought a Canon EOS t3i months ago. They’re currently pretty cheap on Amazon, and they do everything you need to be a semi-professional portrait photographer.

Unlike the three entry level cameras, there are some real differences between the Canon EOS t3i, 60D, and 7D. There are also some very real price differences. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone needs to spend the extra cash on the more expensive camera. Let’s take a look at a few comparison points to help you decide.

Fold Out Articulating Screen for Video

I have never been a big fan of the articulating screen. As someone focused very much on photography, this smacked of something designed to pander to amateurs who can’t bother to look through a viewfinder. To this day, I still chuckle when one of my students picks up a dSLR for the first time… confused about why they don’t see anything on the back screen.

But, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a use for the articulating screen. If you do video, then you’re going to be looking at the live preview on the LCD screen. And it just might come in handy to be able to fold out that screen and position it just so. This is a nice feature for people that will use their camera for video. To me, it’s a complete and utter waste if your almost entirely focused on photography like I am.

Autofocus System

If you’re talking about an step up from the t3i and 60D to the 7D, then one of the key characteristics is the autofocus system. Both the Canon EOS t3i and Canon EOS 60D sport the same 9 point autofocus. There are some slight differences in the way it works, but nothing fancy.

The Canon EOS 7D is a hueg step up in terms of autofocus. Instead of the 9 points, it uses a 19 point system. You have a lot more options in terms of customizing autofocus points, and the system is in general more accurate and quicker to focus.

Does this matter to everyone? Not necessarily. The autofocus system used by the t3i and the 60D works great for portraits, indoor/sit-down events, and stuff like that. When you can take a second and compose your shot, you don’t have to worry so much. It does sometimes get off a little bit when you have a wide open aperture (i.e. a 50mm f/1.8 or something similar), but I did plenty of portraits with my Canon t1i and the autofocus was never an issue.

Sports, on the other hand, is a whole ‘nother issue. In fast moving sports, like track and basketball, you need a quick and accurate autofocus. It needs to be able to pick the right points, and re-focus as the subject moves. If you take a lot of pictures at sporting events or of other fast paced action, you’d be well served by the improved autofocus. I’ll be happy to never take another picture at a basketball game with my old Canon t1i…

Framerate and Shutter Lag

Another key improvement with the Canon 7D is that the framerate is higher and there is significantly less shutter lag.

The Canon 7D is capable of sustained shooting at 8 FPS. The t3i can capture 3.7 FPS and the Canon 60D is slightly faster at 5.3 FPS. This really matters to one group of people: sports shooters. Who else shoots in continuous mode? The more I used my old Canon t1i, the more I realized that the 3.* FPS was a problem for really quick moving sports – the high jump, 55m hurdles, basketball. In a blink of an eye, the moment of peak action is gone… and you could easily be stuck with a shot before and after the moment you wanted to capture. For this type of shooting, I’d take the Canon 7D any day of the week.

The 7D also sports a quicker mirror assembly, which leads to less shutter lag. Shutter lag on any dSLR is significantly less than a point and shoot camera, but the Canon 7D has about half the shutter lag of either the 60D or the t3i (~125ms vs ~250ms). A quarter of a second is not a lot of time… but again, this will be important for a sports shooter.

Camera Build – Durability and Weatherization

A final key strength of the 7D is that it is much more durable than the 60D and the t3i.

Each of the three cameras is built from different materials, with the 7D being the heaviest and most durable and the t3i being the lightest and most fragile. The Canon 7D is built out of a magnesium alloy – real, durable stuff. The Canon t3i and 60D on the other hand are made out of mixtures of metal and polycarbonate resin. The stronger materials make the 7D heavier, but it will live longer under heavy use.

The 7D is also weatherized, whereas the Canon t3i and 60D are not. In theory, the 7D should thus stand up better in harsh weather conditions (rain, snow, etc), while the Canon t3i and 60D are more likely to die a grisly, short-circuited death. Your mileage may vary, but that’s some increased peace of mind for someone that has to walk up and down a football sideline rain or shine, or someone that does a lot of wildlife photography.

Finally, the shutter on the Canon 7D is rated for 150,000 actuations. That’s about 50% higher than the 100,000 actuation rating given to both the Canon t3i and Canon 60D. Of course, that rating is an “estimate,” and it’s hard to say just when a particular camera will die (just like a car). But, on a macro scale, that means a Canon 7D will last 50% longer than either a t3i or a 60D. Another way of thinking about this is that, in the long term, it makes the Canon 7D much more affordable.

Of course, the shutter life isn’t going to matter to some people. As a yearbook photographer who juggles sporting events, portraits, school performances, and such… I take 15,000 to 20,000 pictures a year. Maybe more, I’m not sure how many I delete. The average person may not ever reach that 100,000 / 150,000 mark, and they might end up re-selling/junking the camera in order to upgrade first.

If you shoot sports or for whatever reason shoot high quantities of pictures, then the extended shutter is a great boon. For the average person, it may never matter.

Similarities – Why You Don’t Need to Upgrade

Despite some real improvements from the Canon t3i/60D to the 7D, there are also some areas where you’ll see pretty much no improvement at all.

Resolution. All three cameras use the same base image processor. Same resolution, same image quality. More or less.

ISO / Noise . All three cameras have the same ISO options, and they have similar amounts of noise at each level. This is related to the fact that they use the same underlying chip.

Lenses. All three cameras use the same EF-S lens mount, because they’re all crop-sized cameras. This is one key difference between all of these lower end cameras, and the higher end, full frame Canon 5D / Canon 1Ds. For people who aren’t going to make use of any of the real improvements in the 7D, you would probably be better off spending that extra few hundred bucks on a nicer piece of glass. Lenses are important.

Flash Control. All three cameras sport an on-camera commander flash. You can trigger other Canon flashes wirelessly using the built in flash, rather than buying a set of radio transmitters to do the job. This is key benefit that all of these cameras have over the older entry-level models, the Canon t1i and Canon t2i.

So… What’s Right for Who?

For people who specialize in sports and/or action photography, the Canon 7D is a huge improvement over the 60D and the t3i. It’s more durable. It’s got a longer life expectancy. The autofocus is vastly improved. The shutter lag is lower, and the frame rate is higher, for those important action shots. Not to mention weatherization. If you can afford the upgrade, definitely go for it.

For everyone else? Well, it’s kind of up to you. The 7D is nicer… it feels more “real,” with its hefty magnesium body. It sounds nicer, with the quicker mirror/shutter movement. But, there aren’t a whole lot of tangible benefits to justify a huge increase in price.

Consider for a moment that the Canon t3i is $670 on Amazon and the Canon 7D is $1345. In recent months, the Canon t3i has gotten somewhat cheaper (why, by the way, is the 60D still $1200?). The current price difference – ~$675 – is enough to invest in some nice glass (like the Canon 85mm f/1.8 that I love for portraiture, or a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for indoor events). If you don’t shoot sporting events and you’re not flush with extra cash, I really don’t know if it makes sense to spend twice the money to buy the 7D. Even for a professional portrait photographer… I’m wondering what the appeal is.

And, back to our original thought, if you’re doing video, you may want the Canon t3i anyway. The articulating screen is useful for videographers if it isn’t useful for photographers.

Something I’ve found increasingly puzzling while writing this review, though, is… why would anyone buy a Canon 60D? It has very few real improvements over the Canon t3i (slightly higher FPS, slightly more durable body), and it has some real detractors compared to the 7D. Yet the Canon 60D is closer in price point ($1200) to the 7D ($1345) than it is to the Canon t3i ($670). I’m confused. I really am…

Anyhow, hopefully this review has helped you make a choice as to which of these three dSLRs is the best suited for you. For me, I can’t wait to get my hands on a Canon EOS 7D full-time. My Canon t1i served me well, but it’s nearing time for it to retire to the backup position. For others, though, the Canon EOS t3i will be just fine. Don’t assume that a more expensive camera is necessary. It may be “better,” but that doesn’t mean you need it. There are other things to spend your money on (*hint* GLASS *hint*).

The Canon t2i and t3i both have a slight edge in terms of resolution. They boast a 18 megapixel resolution, while the Canon t1i has only 15 megapixels.

Does this make a huge difference? Not really. In most cases, about 8 megapixels is more than enough. Everything else is over kill. For more information, check out this information on camera resolution.

If you’re looking for a more detailed comparison between the three cameras, I’ve written an in depth review of the Canon t2i vs t3i. Read that for a breakdown of how the three cameras are similar and different.

I asked her how much they cost, and she said they had a really great deal that was something like $20+ per 50 cards. I then reminded her that Costco sold photo greeting cards at $15 per 50 cards, and $5.50 for every additional 25. But, of course… she didn’t like any of their designs.

I told her I would just design one, and she gave me one of those looks like… “Oh really?” But, 20 minutes later she came back into my office and she picked this design. In the spirit of giving, I decided to share the InDesign file in case anyone else is looking to print up some holiday greeting cards.

The background image comes from a hi-def wallpaper website. It’s a pretty simple design – one square-ish frame for an image, and a small frame for text. There’s enough room for a one to two line message and a signature. The image frame and the text frame both have a white stroke to separate them from the background and a drop shadow to give it a little depth.

The files below are in two formats – InDesign CS 5.5 and IDML. If you’re using an older version of InDesign, try the IDML file. It should open in CS5, and it might open in CS4.

The files also come in two sizes – 7.5″ x 6″ and 8″ x 4″. Costco uses the strange 7.5″ x 6″ size. Other print product sites, like Shutterfly, use the longer and slimmer 8″ x 4″ aspect ratio.

• Holiday Card, 6×7.5, CS5.5
• Holiday Card, 6×7.5, IDML
• Holiday Card, 8×4, CS5.5
• Holiday Card, 8×4, IDML

A few weeks ago, I ordered a Canon 200EG Camera Backpack. I’ll be writing up a full review of the backpack after I’ve had it for a few weeks. Although it’s definitely not better on every point, I can already tell that I like it better than the old camera bag. Here are a few direct comparisons to help you figure out which is the best camera bag for you…

Capacity – How Much Does It Hold?

I was able to put everything that had been in my old Canon 200DG into my new Canon 200EG backpack. They’re fairly comparable when it comes to capacity. My backpack is currently holding: a Canon t1i body, a Canon 18-55mm lens, a Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens, a Canon 430 EX II speedlite, a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, a set of radio triggers, about a dozen extra AA batteries, two extra camera batteries, and the camera battery charger. There are a few other random accessories, too…

It’s a pretty packed bag. The Sigma lens takes up a lot of room. In fact, the items fit better in the backpack than in the traditional bag. Before, I had to lay the flash down on top of the Sigma lens. Now, everything lies flat in the backpack and nothing is stacked on anything else.

One thing I do prefer on the old camera bag is that the side pouches were much larger. The side pouches on the Canon 200EG backpack are fairly small, and they won’t hold much. There’s also no big front pouch like there is on the Canon 200DG bag. Overall, I’d say there’s a pretty comparable amount of space, and the 200EG backpack puts more of the space in the main compartment while the 200DG puts more space into extra compartments on the sides of the bags.

Comfort

This is one reason I wanted to get a new bag. The old Canon 200DG bag is not very comfortable. It has a single shoulder strap, and when the bag is heavy there’s no comfortable way to hold it. It’s too bulky to rest on your hip, and it doesn’t really shape well to fit against your back. I used to kind of rest it on the front of my hip to help support the weight that way.

The Canon 200EG is a big improvement in this area. The two shoulder straps help distribute the weight more evenly, and I feel comfortable walking around with the backpack on. It’s not digging into one shoulder and straining my back. I think the shoulder straps are a little short, and the backpack rides a bit high… but this might vary per person. It may not be perfectly ergonomic, but it’s definitely better than the old bag.

Durability

In the long run, I’ll have to see how the backpack holds up… but I’m going to lean towards the backpack on this one. I had two problems with the old Canon 200DG bag. First, the bottom began to fray, and right now it looks like it’s going to start ripping open some holes. Second, and more importantly, the plastic clip that resizes the shoulder strap developed a slight crack and over time it will eventually break completely.

I don’t know how the material of the backpack will hold up, but I assume the strap will hold up better. There are plastic resizing clips on the shoulder straps, but they don’t really bear any weight. My biggest concern is whether or not the shoulder straps themselves will stay attached to the back of the bag (I briefly had a sling-style backpack where the strap began tearing off the top of the backpack). However, I’m going to assume, due to the even distribution of weight, that the straps will hold up just fine.

Convenience

The one thing that I do like more about the old Canon 200DG bag is the convenience of getting into it. I could swing it around to my front, keep the bag over my shoulder, and open the top of the bag to get something out. This made it quick and simple to assemble/disassemble the camera, especially if I was just handing the parts to someone else who would actually be taking pictures.

With the Canon 200EG backpack, I need to find a place to lay the backpack down. Then, I have to unzip the whole bag and life the top off. It would be next to impossible to do this while still wearing the backpack, even if I were to flip it around and wear it on my front.

Major problem? Probably not… but minor nuisance, sure.

Bottom Line

For me, the Canon 200EG backpack turned out to be a great choice for a camera bag.

It’s large enough to store all the crap that I use on a regular basis, and it’s lightweight and portable. This bag is big enough for most portable gear kits, assuming you’re only taking the stuff that you’re likely to use, and it’s comfortable enough to wear around a football sideline for a few hours.

It is not big enough to hold your camera gear and a three flash lighting kit. It is not an extra-durable, indestructible bag that you would use if you were checking your camera gear as luggage.

Something else to keep in mind is that Amazon offers it’s own “Amazon Basics” backpack that seems almost identical. It’s a little bit cheaper ($32.99 at the moment, while the Canon backpack is a tad under $40). One difference also seems to be that the Amazon bag is the same depth from top to bottom, while the Canon backpack tapers slightly. This makes the Canon bag look nicer, but it does make it more problematic to use the very top of the storage space.

She did what she usually does, and asked me what was wrong. The camera was less than a year old, and Olympus has a one year warranty on most of their products. Since I couldn’t immediately find a way to fix it, and I wasn’t sure that I could fix it if I opened it up, I figured I’d give the warranty a go first. I assumed it would cost more to fix it than the camera was worth, but if the warranty covers the bill…

I filled out the form on Olympus’ warranty information website. I needed to fill out the “alternate Repair Submission Form” for US customers. Put it in a box with the camera and shipped the whole thing off to the repair center in New York. I had to pay for the shipping out of pocket, but I figured the $5.95 (USPS Small Flat Rate Priority Mail Box) was a reasonable expense.

A week went by, and I didn’t hear anything from Olympus. Thought I would get some kind of confirmation (e-mail at least) that they received the camera, but nothing. Two weeks, still nothing. About three weeks after I shipped the camera out, I came home to find a box at my doorstep. It was the camera… fixed!

I’m a little annoyed at the lack of communication. However, the camera is completely fixed. The lens assembly must have been replaced, and it opens and closes fine. The camera turns on and off again, and it takes pictures like it used to. Now, unfortunately, my friend is in China so I’ll have to ship this to her the next time I sent a care package overseas…

So, if you’re having a similar problem and it’s under warranty, ship it off to Olympus. I don’t know how much it would cost to fix it if you paid for the repair, but the cost of shipping is certainly a reasonable expense when you’re talking about reviving a $100+ camera.

However, I did find some time to carve out for this series. I’m halfway done with the series, and the pages for How to Purchase a Domain, How to Purchase Hosting, and How to Install WordPress are all complete.

That leaves three more steps that I have to work on – customizing the settings and the theme, creating pages and categories, and actually uploading photos.

When will it be done? Hopefully sooner than later. I’m thinking tonight or tomorrow.

At the end, I also definitely plan on organizing this into an eBook so it’s in a nice, compact, downloadable pdf file. I’ve said that before and not gotten around to it… but this time I’m determined. It’ll happen by next weekend, for sure.