H2H Reviews: Pro Imaging Blog

HP Z3200 Photo Printer vs. Spectrolino

Sat, 15 May 2010 09:18:00 CDT

Just how good is the on-board XRite-powered printer calibration and profiling on the HP Z series printers? Take a look... the answer? Remarkably good.

Special shoutout to the folks at Parrot Digigraphic for letting us play with their stuff!

Cruse Digital Synchron CS220-110 Large Format Scanner

Mon, 03 May 2010 20:46:00 CDT

Want to see what a cool quarter-mil will buy in the digital camera world? Take a look at this- it's a large-format (48 x 72" scanning bed) Cruse Digital scanning camera, living at Parrot Digigraphic in Billerica, MA.

Sure, sure, it's a big tri-linear CCD on a huge copy stand... but the real secret to the scanner is the lights. If you've ever shot copy work you know the issues- first, you want nice,even lighting, and most importantly, no glare. That doesn't leave much room for control of lighting, or, least of all, creative lighting treatment. The Cruse opens up a whole new world since it's sampling a very small slice of the original. The lights are fully programmable and controllable, and you can treat an original for nice, flat, 100% even lighting, or you can use strong side-lighting to enhance the texture of the brush stroke, the collage, or whatever you're shooting. (Models, perhaps?)

Take a look, really cool stuff!

Photographer Profile: Alex Morrow

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:50:00 CDT

Every once in a while, I come across a photographer who's simple joy in takiing pictures comes through in the work. Paris Visone, once a student of mine from AIB is like that, she sports a camera grafted to her hand... photography is so much a part of her life and identity, her photography reflects a pure, honest reality that you seldom feel. Alex Morrow is another. Alex is a student, her comments are below, but she started her "365 Photos" project- self-assigning a photo a day, because she loves photography and loves the process of taking photographs, and wanted to build it into her daily life.

Capture One 5.1.1 Released- Improved Leaf Support

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:04:00 CDT

Just got this note from Phase One:

We are pleased to share with you the release of Capture One 5.1.1 on Thursday, March 25th 2010.

The release contains the following enhancements for Leaf backs:

Adobe Camera RAW vs. Apple Aperture- Camera Support

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:08:00 CDT

OK kids- here's the camera support matrix, Adobe Camera RAW (Photoshop and Lightroom) vs. Apple Aperture.

'nuff said.

(Complete list after the jump, natch.)

i1Match Display Calibration

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:12:00 CDT

I've had a few questions lately about the i1 Match software, and how to use it to run a monitor calibration. Here's a quick walkthrough:

A Few Words About Lens Testing

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:04:00 CDT

Working with lenses, and evaluating lens quality and performance can be, on the one hand, one of the easier things in photography to quantify. Optics is a well-understood science, there have been few breakthrough developments in lens construction since as far back as the 1950s. It’s been said that there have really been no discoveries in optical science since the ‘20s, in fact- although the introduction of metallic multi-coatings and glass formulae have certainly come a long way since the ‘60s. Getting performance numbers for lenses is almost as straightforward as hooking up a race-car to a dynamometer. The results are pretty much irrefutable.

However, in spite of that lenses elicit some of the more emotional reactions of any part of our gear. How many times have you heard a photographer talk about their favorite lens, the lens they just “love”? For me, it’s my Nikkor 105 f2.8, from around 1970, and you know, I can’t really even tell you why. I simply love the look of the lens, what it does to the subject, the sharpness, the color, even the way it throws objects in the background out of focus. Try testing for that.

Head-2-Head Reviews on Facebook and Twitter!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:00:00 CDT

Check it YO!

Head-2-Head Reviews is on Facebook, here.

Phase One humor...

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:48:00 CDT

Apparently, someone at PhaseOne has a sense of humor... and size DOES matter.

Thanks, and a shout to Chris Barrett from over on the Luminous Landscape MFDB forum!

Chris reports a 16TB partition on his Drobo... And we DID try to test it, but we got nothin that BIG!

Phase One releases Capture One V5.1

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:28:00 CDT

OK, I'm stealing a little thunder from our News Desk, but here's the news of the morning. C1 now has a better "Dust Tool". Ok, ok, other things too, but that Dust Tool thing is some serous lameness. They now call it Spot Removal... they mention it in the press release below. OK, if you're a Leaf owner and you've been wondering how things are gong to go, what with Phase and Leaf getting into bed together, here's confirmation of about 6 months of gossip: C1 Pro now supports tethered shooting for Leaf Aptus/Aptus-II backs.

Now, without further ado, the aforementioned press release:

COPENHAGEN, February 22, 2010— Phase One today released Capture One 5.1, the powerful raw conversion, workflow and image editing application. The basic version now features both a simplified workspace and ‘pro’ image-editing options; Capture One 5.1 PRO comes with new tools for advanced noise reduction and image editing efficiency.

Free to existing Capture One 5.x/5.x PRO owners, this value-packed service release extends raw image support to Nikon D3s, Canon 1D Mark IV, Sony A500, Sony A550 and a wide range of Leaf digital backs – this, in addition to its support for more than 170 different raw file formats (and growing).

“Capture One is built on the industry’s best raw conversion engine,” said Carsten H. Olsen, Phase One product manager for Capture One,” and our goal is to deliver the best quality image results with the most responsive application performance on the planet.”

Using Proof Setup and Gamut Warning

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:18:00 CDT

I just picked up this tip from my buddy Nick Wheeler on how to use an old tool, Proof Setup and Gamut Warning, to see which colors in my files can't be displayed by my monitor.

Here's a little how-to on that, as well as using it to pick your paper... enjoy!

Part 2- how to use this to adjust colors into gamut after the jump...

Photographer Profile: Roy Lockwood, Paintball, Casio and Olympus

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:12:00 CDT

We look at a lot of photographs, and every so often we see some work that is just simply amazing. Roy Lockwood’s photographs of competition Paintball for the New England Paintball League is all that and have earned him the first feature for new Shoot Profile series.

These shots are what sports photography is all about: seeing the shot, knowing where to be and what to expect. You want to give the viewer the experience of not only seeing the action, but the feeling that they’re in the action, and in the case of paintball, that means you’re going to have to take some hits yourself.

Lockwood uses primarily Olympus gear, but with a notable addition: an Olympus E-620 with Zuiko 14-54 and 70-300, and the Olympus E-3 with Zuiko 12-60 SWD and 50-200 SWD. He also totes a Casio EX-F1. “The Casio EX-F1 is very specialized and can take stills up to 60 FPS and shoot video up to 1200FPS. I shoot some break-outs (start of the games) with this and I have been able to capture images that I would normally have missed, such as hit-shots and other action that could be lost if shooting less than 30-60 FPS. That, and the players have been extremely enthusiastic about the results as they were able to see some of their moves in slow-motion when viewing the shots sequentially.”

His choice of Olympus is mainly about the 4/3 format and Autofocus speeds, but also about the weather (in this case, paint) resistance: “I favor Olympus equipment because I like the advantages of the Four-Thirds lens system, also because the SWD lenses coupled with the Olympus E-3 have an extremely fast auto-focus. The E-620 is packed with features and is very economical in terms of value for the dollar. The E-3 is a weather-resistant system (as are the Zuiko SWD lenses) and can take being hit by paintballs, and is easily cleaned since it’s sealed against water.”

Take a look at the photographs and read our complete interview with Roy after the jump.

Shooting on M, uncoupled lenses: A look at Stone-Axe Photography

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:06:00 CDT

This all started with my Nikon D5000 and the BarbieCam.

I was putting together a toy camera lens fitted body cap for my Creative Digital class at Northeastern, and, naturally, had to shoot in M mode since there was no lens. No lens, no aperture, no meter. Blame it all on the BarbieCam.

I’ve been working on some “HDSLR” videos, too. Now, one of the things I really love about HDSLR video is the shallow depth of field that you get with a 35mm-sized sensor. But, I have the D5000, with an APS sensor, so, I’m wondering, will I get shallow depth of field with that… Now, the only new lens I have for that camera is a really not-so-good (OK, sincerely trashy) Tamron zoom. At anywhere near full zoom, you get f5.6. Not so good on a small sensor if you’re looking for shallow focus.

All of which lead me to grabbing my old Nikkor 50mm f1.4, shooting on M, and taking a couple of shots at full-open. Here’s what those looked like- the full shot, and the

Hasselblad H4D 40 specs published

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:56:00 CDT

Via the German Calument site, we finally get a peek at the specs of the Hasselblad H4D 40- the camera that Hasselblad announced today will go on a world tour, February 10 and 11. The Launch Event schedule is here. ...and by posting this link, I just saved you several minutes of your life watching the most pointless product launch video I've ever seen. If you have time to kill, and are amused easily, that is here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Here's what we have:

Sensor size: 40.0 Mpixels (7304×5478 pixels)

Univex A: Toy Camera Lens Mods for your DSLR

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:52:00 CDT

I’ve played around with digital “enabling” of toy cameras for a while now, from my first Digital Holga to the pinhole digital, and even the “barbieCam”- a modified body cap using a plastic lens from an old Barbie Movie Projector. Sorry. I haven’t yet found any image of such a thing on Google. It’s fun stuff, especially if you’re a Holga, toy camera fan and love them blurry photos.

A buddy of mine found this little Bakelite camera in the cellar of a friend’s house, while helping him clean out. This is a Univex Model A camera from Universal Camera Corporation, a camera that sold in the 1930’s for around 39¢, with a “00” film roll that sported what looks like a full 35mm frame.

The lens is easily removable and can be replaced without damaging it, a plus for such a sweet vintage camera… so here’s a how-to on using a body cap with your DSLR to try out some of this special “glass”… well, uh, lenses.

Glass only comes into the equation some of the time…

Ortery launches new product photography machine

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:46:00 CDT

Not for nothin, but if you're a product photographer you may want to rethink your business plan...

Via TechRadar, we learned that this little $17K gadget can completely automate 3D product work. Especially since it hits right to the website product animation market, and, considering the cost of 3D rendering and photography, if you're shooting lots of expensive widgets it's really pretty cost-effective (if it works) you may be competing against it in the not-too distant future... that is, unless you own one (or two) yourself...

This, fron the TechRadar site:

Revenge of the Munki (another look at the X-Rite ColorMunki, a year later)

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:47:00 CDT

I first got hold of the ColorMunki at ver.1, brand new, and ran it through some tests for my blog and for my book, Color Pipeline.

Let’s just say I was less than impressed.

The ColorMunki was a great effort. It is a product that tries to break through the Color Management mystique, save the photographer a bit of money, and give us a unit that does it all. Most photographers desperately need to calibrate their monitors. Some of them need to build printer profiles, and none of them really want to spend the over-$1000 for a professional system like the X-Rite i1Pro.

We ran a whole array of display calibrators and the story will post here soon, but the one thing I was really interested in doing was to get my hands on the new version of the Munki. I’d heard it was much better, even in the very first version update, than the one I’d worked with, and it was a product that I wanted to like. The bottom line? It builds a great printer profile. Take a look.

The system uses a little different idea in generating targets and building profiles from them. Normally you simply print out a standard test target, usually 2 pages, and then go to the “read the target” phase. Sit down with a cup of coffee and read the strips. It builds a profile.

The Munki starts with one page of very limited colors, making it a really fast read, and then builds a second page based on what the first page looks like. This is page one.

RED Scarlet Surprise Hands-on with Ted Schilowitz

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:07:00 CDT

One last little bit of news from CES? Red Scarlet Prototype, and annoying press guys.

Brain under $3K, full (basic) shooting package under $5K.

Canon SECOND GENERATION EF 70-200MM f/2.8L IS II USM LENS

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:33:00 CDT

Well, I'm just a little underwhelmed by CES. Although I would have liked to see Lady Gaga (she doesn't return my calls anymore... ) there's been just little or no real earth-shattering news coming out for the pro photographer. Here's the new improved workhorse of a lens from Canon, though, the2nd gen. EF 70-200MM f/2.8L IS II USM. How could I not have Lens Envy?

Here's the

press release from Canon

, and here's the down and dirty:

FINALLY. some PRO news from CES: Canon Wireless

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:59:00 CDT

Finally, via Engadget, we get news of a fairly professional product announced at CES: Wireless File Transmitter units for the 5D Mark II, 7D, and 1D Mark IV.

According to the post, these units, the WFT-E2 II A, WFT-E4 II A and the WFT-E5A will add some impressive functions: "802.11a joins the b and g modes found on earlier models, and once connected the camera can act as an FTP site (available over the internet, if you wish), can beam a realtime preview image to a connected computer, act as a DLNA server, and can even synchronize itself with up to 10 "slave" cameras that all fire at the same time."

Microsoft CES Broadcast: FAIL

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:38:00 CDT

Want to see Microsoft's Keynote from their website? Get ready to download and install a 22MB plugin and restart your browser before you can.

Microsoft. FAIL. (Some things never change...)

MORE news from CES. Polaroid. Lady Gaga.

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:46:00 CDT

um. OK.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Predictions for the Upcoming Decade

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:23:00 CDT

You know, opinions on what’s coming in 2010 are a dime a dozen, and, frankly, worth exactly that. My personal favorite is a list of all the lists of predictions that our friends at 1001 Noisy Cameras put together, here.

Anyone who’s not been living in a cave can take a shot at what’s going to happen in 2010. The most telling piece is the Consumer Electronics Show, the big deal that has now grown to include various digital imaging manufacturers and products. Here’s our overview of what to expect, nothing all too earth shattering. It’s not the least bit surprising that the big noise is being made by the Electronics-to-Photography manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic and Samsung.

The broad strokes, memory will get bigger and cheaper. (“PANASONIC INTRODUCES NEW 64 GB* AND 48 GB* SDXC MEMORY CARDS”)

Camera companies will offer more models between the lines… adding to the confusion. Here’s the Panasonic site with all the press releases:

…and our own story on the Sony a450.

Computers will get faster, and cheaper. Apple Netbook rumors will continue to persist. iPhones and iPhone-like products will broaden capabilities and expand market share. We should see reports of new Canon Rebel-like additions and a Nikon D800. (Even the D900 is rumored.)

I’m not interested in idle gossip, or obvious trends. I’m interested in what’s going to change the game, and I think it’s what is now being called HDSLR, or, HD video capture with a DSLR camera.

Spec Battle Posted: Sony a450 vs. a500, a550 DSLRs

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:50:00 CDT

OK, kids, you have no doubt seen the release this morning, in the wee hours, of the latest Sony Alpha camera, the a450. Not doubt, as well, you may be as confused as most everyone about how, exactly, this fits into the Sony lineup.

Here's the spec battle between the a450, the a500 and the a550, but the long and the short of it appears to be the stripping of the Fast AF LiveView and the tilt-LCD, keeping the big battery of the 500 series and sharing the 14.2mp sensor of the a550.

Other than that... well, see for yourself:

CES in 60 sec. All You Need to Know

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:16:00 CDT

Nobody has time to trek to Vegas to see what-all's coming out, do they? Heck, we barely have time to, well, you know...

The CES site has a news channel and all, very informative, but really, who has time to listen to all that blather? (By the way, "MAJOR" and "MUCH MORE" appear to be the catchphrases of the new decade.) Here, as a public service, we offer "CES in 60 sec. And MORE!"

...enjoy!

Canon ERR 99 message

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:12:00 CDT

If you've been getting the "ERR 99" message on your Canon camera, here's a copy of a tech support email from Canon. In our somewhat limited experience, the error can be remedied simply by replacing the CF card or checking to see that the pins aren't bent, but here's the whole scoop:

To isolate the cause of the issue, we suggest that you do the
following:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the lens, battery, and CF card.
3. Allow the camera to sit without power for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Insert a fully charged battery, and turn on the camera.

Med Format Digital Back vs. DSLR

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:55:00 CDT

We’re wrapping up our Fashion/Portrait Shootout so be sure to check out the Nikon segment going up today, but, working on the final installment, our Medium Format Digital Back piece featuring the Hasselblad H3D 31 and 39, the files just demanded a mention here.

We’re always seeing questions and opinions on MFDB cameras, asking if there’s a difference, whether they’re worth it, how powerful the full-frame DSLR cameras are, and to be honest, in a lot of cases the MFDB cameras just feel like overkill, even to us. They certainly are expensive, and they certainly have fewer features.

In truth, it’s been a while since I’ve played with the files from one of the “big chip” cameras and it’s easy to forget how incredible this hardware performs. Here, for the record, are three files that were shot with the Nikon D3s, the Canon 5DMII, and the Hasselblad H3D 31. The Nikon is running a 12mp sensor at full-frame 35mm format, the Canon is also a full-frame sensor at 21mp. The Hasselblad is sporting a 31mp sensor with a physical size of over twice the format of the 35mm- 48 x 36mm.

We’re going to go into all of the ramifications of these differences in our feature review, but for now, let’s just see some files. They certainly don’t tell the whole story, but they do, just as certainly, answer the simple question we see so often: “Is there a difference?”
Here’re the three shots: Hasselblad, Nikon and Canon.

H2H Dream Cam: Canon G11 x Olympus E-P2 x Leica M9

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:22:00 CDT

Here are three great cameras, right? But no camera’s perfect. For every camera system we’ve looked at this year, we always come away wondering why a camera doesn’t have some feature, why it included this other flaw. We decided to build our Dream Camera, and it’s not much of a surprise we’re tossing our three big love/hates into the pot and giving it a good stir. The Canon G11, the Olympus E-P2 and the Leica M9 are three cameras we desperately wanted to love- but came away hoping for “next time”.

Let’s go through the high points of each one.

Canon G11

Size: The Canon is truly a “Pocket-Pro” camera, and yes, you heard that term here first. The camera fits into a shirt pocket with no apologies, and it’s always there when you want it. The best camera is the camera you have with you, and this little thing is coming with you everywhere.

Price: The G11 sells on the street for just under $450. It’s a whole lot of camera for that money. For a pro, it’s cheap enough to carry as a backup into any situation, hazardous or not. For an amateur, it’s not too much to spend to get a good starter, with RAW files, and full manual and auto controls. It can be whatever camera it needs to be- the definition of an entry model.

Camera RAW 5.6 FULL ver. out: Where were you LAST week?

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:21:00 CDT

Ain't it always the way? Testing 7D rendering today... and by the way, after all that? It's a drag-and- drop install.

Plugin update page is here.

How NOT to upgrade Camera RAW

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:17:00 CDT

If you've been following along, you may have noticed I had a little, eh, trouble, once I tried the Adobe Camera RAW 5.6 beta update from Adobe Labs. Suddenly Bridge didn't display either my RAW file thumbnails OR my ratings and tags. I tried everything, dumping the cache, resetting the preferences, even dumping the plugin and trying to put the old one back. I got nothing.

Finally I got an answer from Michelle Qi (of Adobe, I presume) on the Adobe Camera RAW forum. Well, let's say I got a lot more than an answer, I got a whole lot of help. Using the same procedure I've been using every time I've updated the plugin, I'd apparently thrown a wrench into the works. Here's what I did, and what you should NOT do.

First, I moved the plugin that was installed into a new folder on my desktop so it wouldn't be overwritten. Then I downloaded the new beta plugin and ran the installer. (Yes, if you haven't done it in a while, it needs an installation, not just the old "drag and drop" anymore.

The update needs the old plugin in place, since it's actually just a patch, not a full plugin. Who knew?

Canon 7D weirdness with ACR/Tungsten

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:01:00 CDT

We're putting together the files for our big 8-camera shootout, and ran into this very strage behaviour of Canon 7D files shot with a Tungsten setting. The JPEGs look fine, the files process in Canon's DPP software fine, too. Time to try profiling it with the X-Rite Passport, I guess.

This is, by the way, running Camera RAW 5.5- see the Adobe site for that update.

Take a look...

The Adobe Labs site has a beta version up- 5.6. I tried that and got better, but still pretty yellow- take a look, RAW is on the left. (JUMP)

DIY Portable HD How-To

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:21:00 CDT

You can save a bunch of money by building your own hard drives and enclosures, and it takes only a second. I just picked up two 500GB drives and enclosures for $100 per set from Data Memory Systems and tossed them together while I was watching the news last night- gangbusters.

Here's a short how-to video showing how simple it is. Watch the pins, match up the drive with the enclosure, and then when you're first using it just do a standard "format" and you're in business!

Hasselblad Head-2-Head- the generations

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:49:00 CDT

As luck would have it, at the same time that we're working with the big Hasselblads, notably the H3D II 39, I stumbled on my Dad's vintage 500CM kit. This is a circa- 1970 camera with the older-version 80mm lens and the 45 angle finder. The leather case was not included- unlike the snappy cordura case you get with the new cameras. The old leather cases had a camera-base bracket mounted on the inside that you could just slide the camera into- holding it securely, and vertically.

Fashion / Portrait Shoot Diary: 8 cameras, one model, and 40GB

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:44:00 CDT

This has got to be the ultimate Head-2-Head. We got together the Canon 5D Mk II, Canon 7D, Canon 50D, Hasselblad 31, Hasselblad 39, Nikon D3s, Nikon D300s, Nikon D700 and pulled together a willing (and patient) model and shot with every one of the cameras for three basic sets- a head-and-shoulders shot, a full-body shot (both with strobe) and a tungsten-lit portrait.

It was a blast- but not without some hurdles. You know, think of the last shoot you did with a model, and then asking her to just "do that thing you just did again", only 6 more times!

It also was really interesting from a camera evaluation, hands-on shooting perspective. Even with an assitant prepping the cameras, and some pretty good experience handling all of these products, there were some cameras I didn't like based on simple feel and controls alone. We're working on a few comparison reviews including the big-chip Hasseys compared to the smaller DSLRs, a comparison between brands, and even a shootout within a brand's product line. Stay tuned, but for the time being, take a look at some of the shots we did.

Product Glance: WD Passport External drive (FAIL)

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:54:00 CDT

I have mentioned on my H2H Shopping Guide post that storage and hard drives are things that everyone needs. As luck would have it, I just maxed out everything I have, and needed a few extra gigabytes right away. I ran to the local BestBuy and took a look through what they had, and friends, I'm a perfeshional, and it took me about a half-hour to make the decision.

I will say, 500GB in the neighborhood of $120 is pretty amazing, especially for a portable drive. I was also surprised to see that picking up a drive enclosure and a drive is nearly the same price, if not, in some cases more, than getting the package. Maybe this is just the BestBuy pricing, but the idea of a DIY drive just didn't make sense from any perspective. The Seagate portables all, every one, claimed Windows support but not Mac. Presumably they're talking about the installed software, but it was enough to talk me out of the product, period, since if I did have trouble it may make returning it more difficult, not to mention getting support from Seagate. I mean, a drive's a drive, right? But there's no need to ask for trouble.

I settled on a 500GB Western Digital Passport since I've had good experience with WD drives for years, as internals. Here's the joke though. You'd think, hope, that running an external drive is a simple plug and play. Forget it. The marketing guys, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that the way to make add-on value is to install software on the drive, and make it so you HAVE to address it. In this case it was the WD SmartWare package, and if you ignore it and format the drive, you will, on a Mac anyway, crash the system every time you try to eject the thing.

Please. Give me a break.

Leica S2: Hands-On First Look (Video)

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:05:00 CDT

Stopping by EP Levine is always a treat, and this time was no exception. We went down to the docks in South Boston to visit for the exclusive Boston Leica demo day- and had the rare treat of getting some hands-on time with the remarkable new Leica S2.

As often happens at Levines, a lot of long-lost friends stopped in, among them Tony King and Costa Manos, both veteren Leica shooters. We got a little piece of Leica folklore and a sneak peak at American Color 2, Costa's new book.

Thanks again to Mike and Jay and all the folks at EPL, and enjoy the video!

The H2H Shopping Guide

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:41:00 CDT

OK, we all know that holiday giving is all about what you give, not what you get, right? It’s better to give than receive, etc., etc. So here’s MY list of stuff you can give to ME! Think of it as just a token- my modest, selfless act to give you a chance to be a wonderful generous person. It’s a burden I bear…

Phocus Software Intro

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:10:00 CDT

OK kids, want a peek at Hasselblad's Phocus? Here it is. Wait. Is it Bridge? Is it some Bridgey type thing with a Lightroom control panel on the side? Just what the heck is going on?

What we THINK is going on is the continued alliance between Adobe and Hasselblad, that all started with Adobe talking to Imacon 'way back when about their snappy color engine in Adobe Camera RAW... could it be, oh, 5 years ago now?

How it works: The H3DII-50 Multi-Shot

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:45:00 CDT

With the release of the Hasselblad H3DII-50 Multi-Shot camera yesterday, there have been a lot of questions about what exactly multi-shot technology is all about. Here's a quick video showing how the sensor is moved, or stepped, in the process of taking 4 or 16 shots- in a process similar to HDR processing, you're taking several shots and gathering a leveraged range of information, in this case resolution, and then assembling the separate shots to produce one vastly superior image.

Think scanners. On the sampling axis, that is, the actual scanner path, if you want to double the resolution you just take a sample twice as many times. Same deal.

Stay tuned for more about this camera and the technology behind it... when we talk to Christian Paulsen of Hasselblad!

Photo Insurance FAQ- Part 2

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:21:00 CDT

Some of the sources for insurance for photograhers, specifically, are professional organizations like the ASMP and the PPA. Take a look at this link for ASMP, you can get an idea of what kind of coverage you can get at a group rate by becoming a member. This is likely the most comprehensive list of coverage for photographers, not everyone, and in some cases, nobody else can offer this kind of coverage. Here's a list of what they make available, for coverage:

OFFICE CONTENTS: Covers business personal property that is situated within your office such as furniture, computer equipment, copy machines, fax machines and improvements & betterments.

MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT: Protects your cameras, lighting, computer equipment outside of your office and darkroom equipment against fire, theft, water damage, breakage, earthquake and much more. Coverage is worldwide and on a replacement cost basis for owned equipment. This differs from some policies that exclude coverage for theft from unattended vehicles, earthquake, that are limited to the United States and Canada or only provide coverage on a depreciated basis.

The ASMP Prosurance policy automatically includes a $35,000 limit for rented equipment including Hired Automobile Physical Damage (See Below). This limit recognizes the growing trend to rent versus own equipment and the high cost of digital systems. The valuation for rented

Photo Insurance FAQ- Part 1

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:10:00 CDT

We're putting together a little series on insurance issues- what insurance is for, what you need, what you don't need, and in the process we stumbled on this great little clip from MyOwnBusiness.org talking about "self-insurance". Now, as we'll discuss in the coming week, "self-insurance" is commonly called "NO insurance"- when you decide that you're just not willing to pay upfront for insurance of one type or another.

The insurance industry likes to call this "self insurance" for the simple reason that without an insurance policy covering you in the event of a loss or liability, then the money is going to come from you, pure and simple. It doesn't matter if you're prepared for it, if you've saved or invested to provide your coverage- the money is going to come out of your assets.

Take a quick listen to this video, and keep the thought in your mind as we go thorugh the various types of coverage you may, or may not need. Above all, by the end of this series, sit down and get some advice from an agent that you trust.

Ted�s Top Ten Tips for Better Photos

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:50:00 CDT

(Photo: Mission Motors)

We were just talking on a forum completely unrelated to photography- ElMoto, an electric motorcycle forum, about how guys could take better shots of their bikes. For Joe Rocket and everyone else on ElMoto.net, here they are:

Ted’s Top Ten Tips for Better Photos

It takes light to make a photograph.

Back in the days of film, we were always trying to “push” the ISO- overdeveloping the film to compensate for underexposing it. It dawned on me one day that you do, in fact, have to have some light hit the film, or the sensor, to make a photograph. Photograph means “picture from light” after all…

Add light, wait for light, turn the lights on, whatever you need to do to avoid shooting in the dark. Even with cameras rated at ISO 3200+, you still need some light to make the photograph.

Hold the camera steady.

You can have the best optics ever made, but if the camera is moving then the image is moving on the sensor, even just a little bit.

The Shoot Diary- Nikon D5000 in the Studio (with Profoto Pro-8!)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:54:00 CDT

Well, yeah, I have this little project I’m working on… an electric motorcycle cross-country ride… and I needed to shoot the bike in the studio. Thanks once again to EP Levine and Exposure Place Studios here in Boston, I was able to get some good shots of it, as well as some hands-on time with the Nikon D5000.

I just want to say- this little camera rocks. I put a lot of value in being able to pick up a camera and just start shooting with it, and the D5000 more than fills that bill. Actually shooting with a camera brings up issues and features that you’d never bump into when you’re testing and reviewing it, and one of those things was the combination of the Live View and the LCD settings menu and the ease and access of the controls.

X Rite Passport (Part 3)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:08:00 CDT

A little walkthrough with the Passport, and the Colorchecker Passport software for profiling for Adobe Camera RAW..

Sensors is sensors� what exactly happens where, and what does it all mean?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:11:00 CDT

I got into a great discussion over on Luminous Landscape where we got some really interesting information about sensor design, processors on cameras, and the relative importance of firmware updates, image quality and sensor design. I came out with what, by now, you may recognize as my typical “show me the beef!” statement that sensors is sensors, and they don’t have a whole lot to do with image quality.

Naturally, I got fed my words, and had to do a little backpedaling. Of course there have been advances in sensor technology, and the sensors today are a big part of why our image quality is so much better than camera only a few years ago. And there ARE some big differences in sensors from generation to generation, and especially price to price.. but still...

I got inspired by this great link from Dalsa talking about the difference between CMOS sensors and CCDs that’s packed with tidbits of information about sensor design- like, for instance, did you know that although CMOS sensors can be cheaper because they can be mass-produced, their real advantage is that they can easily be tailored to a custom application (read: specific camera) which gives you great performance but also eradicates any cost advantage? Huh? Didja?

I put together this matrix of what happens in the process of making a digital image from the pixel, and where it happens. I also threw in some of the things that can go wrong- either through bad design or just cost-cutting. Here’s that for you.

Optimizing Performance in Adobe Photoshop CS4 and CS4 Extended: Top 10 Tips

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:46:00 CDT

Adobe has some great, and very detailed information on how to get the most out of your system by tuning your configuration and features settings to exactly what you need. Not only that, if you’re building a system or reconfiguring your workstation with drives, RAM or graphics, there are some good ideas about what works best, where to put your money and what is the bare minimum.

Here are my favorite tips- the top ten of optimizing Photoshop, but do yourself a favor- have a cuppa and sit down and read the links at the bottom of the page. Windows or Mac, it doesn’t matter, there’s a lot to learn, and some serious speed to be gained!

(Quotes are from the Adobe Tech site listed below.)

The Black and White Photography Workshops

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:10:00 CDT

OK, kids, some shameless self-promotion! Join us for our Black and White Digital Photography Workshops- we are having three sessions- the overview, processes and Smart Object RAW B/W. Details are on my site, here.

Hope we see you there!

A/D Conversion, Processors and Bit Depth

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:32:00 CDT

In a great post by Michael McNamara for the CDLC, there's a fantastic explanation of the Digic-4 Processor, but also, some background on the basic parts of building an image from a sensor: Analog to Digital Conversion (A/D Conversion), bit depth, image processing. It's a lot more than just a marketing piece, it tells in a very clear, understandable way, what is important and why, in the process. As someone who's tried to exxplain bit depth any and every way I could, this simple graphic does it better than anything I've ever said.

Some very helpful excerpts:

A/D Conversion Explained:

X Rite Passport (Part 2)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:48:00 CDT

Although the Passport is a simple, classic Colorchecker target in a nice little plastic case, there’s a bit more to it. Software.

Let’s start with Lightroom.

After you’ve installed the (free, with registration) plug-in from Xrite - ColorChecker Passport-, you need to start with a shot that has the Passport in it and go to File>Export with Preset>ColorChecker Passport. This automatically takes the file, finds the target and starts building a profile from it.

...

X-Rite Passport

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:19:00 CDT

OK, now, I'm not too much about reinventing the wheel, but this is cool. Not only does X-Rite give you a nice little ColorChecker, but they give it to you in a nice little plastic case. The nice little plastic case will unfod into a three-way, self-standing little, well, stand. You can carry it around, all nice and protected, then unfold it and stand it right up on the background, either vertically or horizontally.

But here's the cool part. They added a series of patches for making some basic, preset color corrections- warming, cooling,

Canon G11 First Look

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:57:00 CDT

Thanks to “Smilin’ Mike” Bard at EP Levine, we got a chance to run some early tests on the spanikin’ new Canon G11. Much as I went into it wanting to love the camera, I’d read some recent reports that the file quality wasn’t up to snuff. This is in spite of early reports from friends saying they loved the thing, and were shooting at very high ISO with great results. Stop by and visit EP Levine someday, either on their site or in person- the place is a legend in New England photography.

Again, as we did with the Leica M9, we have the test targets lined up and will post that data as soon as we get it, but the preliminary shots, shown here, of Smilin’ Mike himself made us, well, not smile too much. First, you should know, you need to download the Camera RAW 5.5 update which gives "preliminary support" for the G11, and that's here. What "preliminary support" means, I sincerely don't know, but I'm hoping it means they haven't done much work with the high-ISO noise. Read on.

At ISO 400 we got this. This is pretty much on par with the results we got with the older G9 at ISO 400.

A Supremely Geeky Digital Photography Timeline

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:45:00 CDT

As you've no doubt read, the inventors of the CCD- W. S. Boyle and G. G. Amelio- were just awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. As with any development, nothing happens in a vacuum, and the history of digital photography owes a lot to what laid the foundation for this invention, and what followed it. I've done some pretty geeky work before on the timeline of digital photography, but this award has pushed me to greater heights of geekdom.

Take a trip down Memory Lane- starting with the development of the Integrated Circuit- the IC, in 1960, that would replace the vacuum tube and start the whole revolution. I even found the point at which Moore's Law was first formed. Supremely geeky stuff!

Hasselblad Restores Upgrade Path

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:03:00 CDT

Since Sept. '08, Hasselblad has come under fire from both it's customers and the industry for not providing a buy-back upgrade path for owners of previous models. An interview and statement from Hasselblad can be found at the British Journal of Photography's story, here, but the details of a part of the upgrade program to the new H4D system are found on the Hasselblad site, here.

Irving Penn, A Personal Tribute

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:06:00 CDT

In the last few weeks that we’ve been moving into our new office, (YES! Very excited!) there’s been a lot of news in the photography community. Some of the saddest was that photography master Irving Penn passed away at his New York home, at 92 years old. There’s not much I can add to the many, many stories posted on the life and career of Mr. Penn, (probably the best I’ve seen is on the New York Times site, here, and here), but I can add my own little, personal and perhaps a bit indulgent story about Irving Penn.

In the early ‘80s I was a few years into my career as a commercial photographer. I’d set up a studio, and had a few clients- notably a company called DarLabs, (literally two guys in a garage- to soon become ModTap, then, after ten years and astounding growth to be acquired by industry giant Molex), an offshoot of Digital Equipment Corp. called the Computer Museum, and a dear friend and supremely talented goldsmith, Blue Poitras (dear friend indeed, but certainly one of the most demanding and challenging clients I was to have… always asking me to push my limits).

As a budding young photographer I looked to everything I could find for direction, inspiration, a sense of style that I could relate to and that my clients would find compelling. Interestingly, W Magazine, Vogue and the New York Times Fashion supplement were the sources of what seemed like the most exciting, current and inspiring photography- far more than anything the tech industry or photo industry was doing. Not to mention I got to see all sorts of great shots of hot babes…

Film vs. Digital- the Photographer as Poet

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:58:00 CDT

A whole lot has been made of this question, film vs. digital, and it all brings me back to my days studying Philosophy, when Steve Weber said that the essence of Philosophy, the “Study of Wisdom”, was in asking a good question- not necessarily finding the “right” answer. Whether film or digital is better is a bad question, because it doesn’t lead to understanding either medium. The question really is, “How does digital photography change how we see, and create, as artists?”

This certainly is the question of the day, as photographers, but really, has significance in any medium that allows digital, or non-linear editing as part of the creative process. The process itself, whether photography, music or film/video, has changed profoundly from a sequence that limits the artist to what was captured (with film, in photography), processed, and then interpreted in a print, to a process that allows the artist to combine and recombine elements at will, limiting the editing process only by the elements collected- either at the original capture, or afterwards.

The medium has moved, by virtue of digital editing, from a characteristic limitation of a particular tool (think pencils, charcoal, watercolor or black and white film, for example), to a virtually unlimited characteristic- you could say there is any characteristic, or no particular characteristic at all- of digital photography and Photoshop.

How many times have we seen the phrase “…limited only by your imagination” in digital product advertising? This is precisely the point.

Life at 8 frames per second

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:47:00 CDT

Just for fun... shot at 8 fps, played back at 1.

The Digital Holga How-To

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:26:00 CDT

OK, let’s get this out of the way at the outset. Why make a digital Holga? Because we can, it’s that simple. I started this project back in my days working at EP Levine, and when the Imacon 96 back was released they talked a lot about how it was adaptable to any camera, even a pinhole.

That’s all I needed.

I’ve often told the story about selling the Holga modification. We joked, Steve Brettler (owner of EPL and my boss) and me, about doing a Holga mod package and selling it online, to sell digital backs as accessories. It wasn’t until I joined the Imacon user group on Yahoo and in my biography listed myself as the first in history to shoot with a digital Holga with an Imacon back, that Imacon owners started contacting me about selling them one. I learned an important lesson- know who your customers are. It’s easier to sell a Holga to a guy who’s already bought the digital back, than the other way around. I think, all told, we sold about 50 of these kits, and had a blast doing it.

Chances are, you’re going to use a digital back available to you, and you don’t have much choice what the specs are, but in case you have a couple kicking around, this is what will work best... or work at all, for that matter.

DSLR Market Share story

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:17:00 CDT

An interesting three-year look at the DSLR market showing share, and change, since 2006, from the German online magazine PhotoScala, link here.

Note from the site- any "system camera", or, as they describe, a camera with interchangeable lenses, is included- thus, the mico 4/3, Leica...

Apple Laptops- Matte/Gloss screen comparison

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:51:00 CDT

In the words of Nick Wheeler, if you keep at this digital thing, it’ll make an ass out of you sooner or later. In my words, “I’ll have a little salt with my crow, thanks…”. But ever since the gloss displays came out, I’ve been raving up and down about how they are the best thing since sliced bread, and far better than the matte displays.

In my defense, the first thing I did when I got my hands on one was to run out and look at it in the sun, next to a Powerbook matte screen. Well, it was awesome. If you’ve ever looked at a Powerbook outside, you know what I mean- they’re all but unusable. My big mistake was to not revisit that comparison with a new Macbook Pro display, and this past weekend I got the chance to do just that.

See my "Shoot Diary” piece on the D3X for the whole story, but the basic idea is this: we’re shooting outside, with a black “floppy” so we can see our workstations. Here’s Lucia Prosperi in the work area, with her Macbook Pro with a new matte screen, and my slightly older Macbook, with a gloss screen. Once again, I’m eating my words.

The Shoot Diary- On Location with the Nikon D3X

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:30:00 CDT

Warren and Lucia Prosperi have some unique requirements of a camera. Warren's paintings are huge murals in a classic style of historic events. He needs to use photographs of re-enactors to capture what no one else can see- those accidental, synergistic moments that can only be captured by putting people together and observing them.

Warren will create a scene from a drama- but the drama that was an actual historic event, and Lucia will photograph it. From the many photographs of the scene re-enactment, Warren will piece together that moment in time that speaks to the significance, and the emotions, of the people who made history. It's a cliche, to say this, but the Prosperi's work truly makes History come alive, as nothing else can.

Warren must be able to capture at a high burst speed. He needs detail, but not detail like a conventional photographer- he needs nuance, color, tone and shading. He needs to view the subjects at life-size, and he's often working with low artificial light conditions. He also needs extreme depth of field, to include all the subjects within sharp focus.

Leica M9 tests- ISO 800

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:21:00 CDT

Thanks to our friends at EP Levine, and Stan Bucklin, the Northeast Leica guy, we ran some shots. I don't want to ace out our testing guys, so I'll keep it brief... but these shots are at ISO 800. I'm showing the details at 100%. The test boys should have something up on the main site by this evening.

First, the meter got fooled by the backlight more than I'd like it to. Other shots with the subject in the middle, and no backlight, were better exposed. These were a little dark on my subject, and it was just that light in the ceiling that did it.

Leica Webcast- S2

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:16:00 CDT

Buzz aside... this is the most interesting thing I got from the Leica webcast.

The S2 will ship in October.

It has weather and water sealing.

It will have a series of lenses with in-lens shutters within the next year.

Sorry kids. Thats all I got.

Oh, it was nice to see Seal. Haven't seen much of him since he got married.

Tomorrow: Lecia M9 Revealed. (oh boy)

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:33:00 CDT

Well, boys and girls, just one more day and we all get to tune in to the Leica webcast announcing that ground-breaking new camera, the M9. Or not.

Here it is, the webcast, you can watch it right here… we’re going to go to a big Leica event at a neighborhood dealer, where my guess is we’re going to all sit around and watch the video there, instead of at home, since the chance of actually having an M9 there is somewhere between slim and none. Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Tethered Camera Operation- who can, who can�t

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:37:00 CDT

I was recently given what my Grammy used to call a backhanded compliment, toasted as thinking “outside the cube” (sic). I still am not quite sure what was intended by that, but, the fact is, I am fairly notorious for trying to find options and solutions that aren’t in the owners manual.

My favorite Canon G9 just died, and I started looking for a new camera. The one feature we don’t really talk about in reviews suddenly dawned on me: What cameras can tether to a computer- not only allowing downloads, but remote control and shooting directly to the workstation. Now, you can assume that a DSLR can do that, but, skeptical as always, I’m asking, do all DSLRs support tethered operation, even the budget models? Are there any non-SLR cameras that can tether? Can cameras other than the “big two” tether?

For some reason, the information is hard to come by. None of the marketing material talks about that, on a camera-by-camera basis, and even when you get into the manufacturer’s software support pages it’s not easy to get a list of supported cameras. We’re going to show a list here, and my apologies if it’s not complete- please let me know in the comments if I’ve left your favorite ride out…

Let’s start with the big ones- Canon and Nikon, and their OEM solutions.

Eye-One Display LT Evaluation

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:11:00 CDT

The truth is, most photographers really only need to use one tool of Color Management, but they really do need to use it, and that’s a display calibrator. You can have the best monitor in the world, but if it’s not calibrated, you’re still shooting in the dark. The question is, how much of a device do you really need?

We decided to take out the big X-Rite Eye-One Pro and run it up against to Eye-One Display LT, X-Rite’s low-budget display solution and see if there’s much difference. The Pro version is the standard of the industry, and the Display LT uses a very common calibrator with the standard Eye-One Match software. As you can see by this screen, the LT does not unlock anything but a basic display option, but it’s the same package it’s big brother uses. The Pro version unlocks all the options you see here, and does a printer profile that is the standard of the industry.

The test was simple. Run a basic display calibration on a pretty standard monitor, using both devices. Here’s what we got:

Adobe Known Issues Photoshop Snow Leopard page

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:52:00 CDT

Adobe has posted a "Known Issues" page for Snow Leopard- the site is here, but here's what they have right now:

Adobe Photoshop

(CS4, CS3) Performance slows when changing values with arrow keys in Photoshop CS4 (Mac OS X 10.6) (TechNote cpsid_51128)

(All Versions) Droplets no longer work in Photoshop after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) (TechNote cpsid_51093)

(CS4, CS3) Blue halo in Expose around Photoshop windows is larger than in other windows (Mac OS X 10.6) (TechNote cpsid_51135)

(All Versions) Images don't open when dragged onto the Adobe program icon in the dock (Mac OS X 10.6) (TechNote cpsid_51230)

(CS4, CS3, CS2) Crash or program error occurs when using Menlo font in Photoshop and Premiere CS3 and CS4 (Mac OS X 10.6) (TechNo te cpsid_51220)

(All Versions) When opening and saving, applications, including Adobe applications, may sporadically crash (Mac OS X 10.6) (TechNote cpsid_50654)

Adobe Bridge

(CS4) Bridge CS4 crashes when navigating in Review mode (Mac OS X 10.6) (TechNote cpsid_51136)

(CS4, CS3) Videos do not play correctly in Bridge CS3 or CS4 Preview pane with QuickTime 7.6 or 10.0 (TechNote cpsid_51255)

For issues affecting other Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications in Mac OS X 10.6, please see Adobe Creative Suite 3 Known Issues with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) (TechNote cpsid_51215)

Dell 9 Hackintosh vs. Macbook

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:44:00 CDT

Ever been tempted by those cute little, incredibly cheap netbooks running OSX?

Just for fun we’ve been wondering exactly how the “Hackintosh’s” stack up for photographers. It certainly is a sweet sounding package- a tiny netbook, dirt cheap, and maybe a great solution for location file management. With the help of Michal Daniel and his custom build Hackintosh, we were able to run a few baseline tasks to see just what we were looking at for speed.

Gamma- The Bill Atkinson Stroy

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:49:00 CDT

At one point, I read this great piece about monitor Gamma, and how, even back in the day, video cards on Macs and Windows boxes measured out to the exact same Gamma spec. This lead me down a long road, ending at Bill Atkinson's studio in California...

Gamma, how 1.8 became the Mac "standard" and the History of Color Management- an Excerpt from Color Pipeline:

How do I use gamma in color management?

I set the “gamma” selection at 2.2 when I calibrate my monitors. That’s it. My video card and my monitor have a gamma of 2.2, regardless of the so-called Apple and Windows “standards.”

That brings me to a story to loop us back around to “Life After Color Management.” It’s my Bill Atkinson story.

Snow Leopard for Photographers

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:34:00 CDT

OK kids, today’s the day. Apple releases Snow Leopard, and it’s looking really hot.

Primarily the thing that’s looking like a big plus for anyone, like photographers, who are taxing their system resources by crushing huge amounts of, or just huge, files, is the increase in efficiency and size on the disk. Here are some numbers:

-72 sec startup on a MacBook Air, (vs. 100 Leopard).
-Applications open faster- Safari: 3sec., for example, and half that if you open the app again.
-The OS is half the size (around 5-7GB) of Leopard, the install is purported to be only 15 minutes.

As far as features and, well, Apple calls them “Refinements”,

the complete list is here, from Apple

Some of the ones that photographers may love are…

Sensor design basics- Full-Frame CCD, Interline CCD, CMOS

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:56:00 CDT

The basics of sensor design, from a 2003 vintage Kodak Powerpoint piece.

Head-2-Head: Kodak Retina IIa vs. Canon G9

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:43:00 CDT

Putting together some stuff for my studio lighting class last night, I decided on a tribute to my grandfather- and I grabbed the camera that is always sitting on my desk, the Kodak Retina IIa that he gave me, at age 10, for my first "real" camera. Sitting on the desk, side-by-side with my Canon G9, I was struck by the similarities of the two. Not only in size- but in what these two cameras were trying to acheive at their respective times. The Kodak boasted a Schneider lens with a Copal shutter with speeds up to 1/500th sec. The Canon has opened more than a few eyes with a "pocket camera" size, and a remarkable file and set of features.

Olympus E-P1 RAW files and Camera RAW 5.5

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:28:00 CDT

We called the Olympus E-P1 / Canon T1i / Nikon D5000 Head-2-Head a "Mini Head-2-Head" simply because we had fairly limited access to the E-P1 and there were a few things that we couldn't work on- one being the RAW files. The Olympus software, Master 2, is all but unusable, and the results we got we didn't even feel we could publish. At that point Adobe Camera RAW was the 5.4 version, and didn't support the camera, so all the testing we did was on in-camera JPEG processing- generally not so good.

Adobe Labs releases Camera RAW 5.5

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:44:00 CDT

The Camera RAW 5.5 update is here- Adobe Labs usually releases products and updates as "beta", and ask for feedback from users.

From the Adobe Labs site:

Release Notes

Newly supported camera models include:
- Nikon D300s
- Nikon D3000
- Olympus E-P1
- Panasonic DMC-FZ35
Camera Raw 5.5 includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response
Please provide feedback on your experience with the Camera Raw 5.5 plug-in and the DNG Converter on the Camera Raw User to User forum.

Leica S2 Specs Released!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:09:00 CDT

The Leica S2 Press Release is official!

More to come, but here are the specs:

Technical data LEICA S2 / LEICA S2-P

Camera type: Digital single-lens reflex camera for use with Leica S lenses

Image sensor: low-noise Kodak CCD sensor. Resolution: 37.5 megapixels (7,500 x 5,000).

Size: 45 x 30mm, pixel spacing: 6µm. Aspect ratio: 3:2.

Dynamic range: 12 stops, color depth: 16 bits per pixel, low-pass filter: none (Moiré detection and suppression using digital signal processing)

Sensitivity range: ISO 80 to 1250 (manual or automatic control)

Data storage (format): DNG (approx. 75 MB per image), JPEG (basic or fine),

Memory cards: Compact Flash (up to 64 GB), SD cards (HC)

The SECRET aliasing noise fix

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:25:00 CDT

The piece on noise brought to mind the old Secret Aliasing and Noise Fix- it's an old trick using Layers and Color Blending to take care of spots of unlpleasant red, green and blue colors from things like bad lenses, shooting patterns that make aliasing, even noise from shooting at high ISO or long exposures.

Hope you find it helpful!

A little break for the weekend...

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:18:00 CDT

Well, this IS a piece about just the biggest, most amazing CCD floating around in space. ...thought we all might benefit from a peek outside our own computers this weekend- what happens when you point a huge, sensitive CCD into "blank" Space.

Enjoy!

Medium Format Digital News- Closed Systems

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:30:00 CDT

In an interview with Olivier Laurent, via the British Journal of Photography, (link here), Christian Poulsen (Hasselblad's CEO) makes some pretty interesting statements about the direction of the Medium Format Digital Back market. Using the impending closing of the venerable Franke & Heidecke, Poulsen saw this as an indication of the overall trend in the industry- and a validation for moves that Hasselblad made years ago.

Resolution, noise, lenses, pixels- sorting it out.

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:26:00 CDT

What is noise? Where does it come from? How does it affect the image? These are all good questions that are often answered by, "Well, it's like film grain...". Although a good starting point, this really isn't correct, and even a little misleading.

Film grain comes from increasing the size of the light sensitive silver-based crystals in the film's emulsion. You see, when you try to boost the sensitivity of the emulsion by boosting the size of the crystals, a coarse, well, grainy effect. The grainy effect will correspond to the colors in the dye layers of the emulsion.

Noise in a digital file comes from turning up the gain- the volume, if you will- on the base signal, and, as a result, turning up the "static" in the file, too. The example I always use is trying to record a conversation in a restaurant- if you turn up the volume or sensitivity of the recording, you're turning up the background sounds too. This all gets back to the basic electronic concept of signal to noise ratio- for every technology you have a signal- the stuff you want- and noise- the stuff you don't want. The standard approach to getting rid of noise is to identify the noise and use that pattern to negate it.

Image Stabilization- a look under the hood.

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:03:00 CDT

We’re all excited about a couple of things, centered on lens performance and a few recent announcements about Image Stabilization. That, and how we now have a stadardized Image Stabilization test apparatus. It seemed like a good idea to start by looking into the deep, dark secrets of how Image Stabilization works.

It’s always seemed like electronic magic, but actually, it’s quite simple. There are basically two ways to integrate Image Stabilization- sense and correct shake in the lens, (Optical Image Stabilization), or correct it in the body. That’s right, move the sensor around to match the image movement. OK, simple in concept… maybe not so much in the actual engineering, considering the sense-response time, and the accuracy required.

Leica S2 pricing released

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:33:00 CDT

Leica has spoken! Trying to quell web-gossip, via PDN, Christian Erhardt drops some pricing information.

Olympus E-P1- First Round of Testing

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:17:00 CDT

You've been waiting patiently, and we’ve been working hard. We’ve tallied the preliminary results of our pretty extensive testing, and the verdict is a resounding, “Not Bad”. Here’s the deal.

We ran our basic noise and ISO tests on the in-camera JPEGs, as often we do, and we were able to run the same tests on the Canon Digital Rebel T1i and the Nikon D5000… with some pretty interesting results.

First off, let’s look at graphs. The overriding concern with ISO and noise is because of a couple things. All these cameras are running sensors with some pretty small pixels, and the rule of thumb is that performance costs money. At under $1000 we’re thinking the noise/ISO issue is what’s going to rear up first. The other issue is that Olympus has, in the past, not been really at the top of the food chain in noise/ISO performance. Good, but not the best for the buck.

Shoot Diary- Olympus E-P1 RAW trials and tribs

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:26:00 CDT

Well, you may have been lurking around, waiting patiently for our followup and a good look at some files from the sweet little E-P1. Out of self-defense, I'm going to tell you the story of shooting RAW with the Olympus... it ain't a pretty picture, I'll warn you.

First, as you'd expect with a new camera, the RAW files aren't supported by Adobe Camera RAW. (When oh WHEN will these manufacturers start offering DNG as a shooting option?) However, in the spirit of the faceoff we're trying for, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon Digital Rebel Xti are supported right now. Fine, it's only a matter of time, but I'm just sayin...

So we go to the Olympus Support site. Go to the Downloads section, and select the Olympus Pen Digital menu and that should take you to a package that can work with the files, right? Wrong. Nada.

On the sidebar, looking like an ad, is a link to the Olympus Master 2 software. OK, fine, we click, we download, we hope for the best.

Gamut comparison- Harmon Gloss FBAL Baryta vs Premium Luster

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:15:00 CDT

Well, folks... the much hyped new baryta papers fall a little short. Now, maybe with the Epson 3800 it's different, and we'll be running that comparison this week,but the claims that these papers exceed the gamut of AdobeRGB 1998? I'm not seeing it.

The first bit of this is Epson Premium Luster in green, and Harman Gloss FBAL in red for the Epson R2400. After a bit, I switched the Luster to "real color" showing which part of the actual gamut we're looking at.

Sneak Peek: The Olympus E-P1

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:14:00 CDT

You’re going to see a lot more about this camera here, including a “mini” Head-2-Head featuring this, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon Rebel T1i, but thanks to our buddies at EP Levine here in Boston*, we got a chance to fondle the camera and do some basic comparison tests

Video Tutorial: Calibrating Focus with Lens Align

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:36:00 CDT

Here's a video tutorial illustrating how to setup and utilize the Lens Align focus calibration system. Be sure to check out this tool if you have a microfocus adjustment on your DSLR!

Medium Format Digital News- The Saga Continues

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:46:00 CDT

Now that you have a little of the back-story of the intrigue and drama in the medium-format digital world, take a look at the latest news from Mamiya via press release:

Mamiya Digital Imaging is proud to announce our new M series digital backs, consisting of three new models: the M18, M22 and M31, the latest additions to our digital line-up.

The M series digital backs have all been designed for compatibility with Mamiya's 645AFD, as well as the soon-to-be-released 645DF, which was recently showcased at the 2009 Tokyo Photo Expo. Through use of the specifically designed digital back adapter HX701, the backs can also be attached to our famed RZ Pro D. The M18 has a resolution of 18 megapixels and a CCD size of 44.2 x 33.1mm. The M22 has a resolution of 22.1 megapixels and a CCD size of 48.9 x 36.7mm while the M31 has 31.6 megapixels and a 44.2 x 33.1mm CCD. These large sized CCDs make the digital backs ideal for medium format photography. Each digital back can be purchased separately or in a system kit with the Mamiya 645AFD camera and Sekor 80mm F2.8 D lens. The M series backs are the quintessential tool for commercial photographers and studios, covering portraiture and on location work.

Shoot Diary- On Location with the Canon 5D Mark II- followup

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:00 CDT

(Bill Gallery, on left, and the Creative team on location at Sugarbush Airport, VT)

You can read all the specs in the world, and you can do some test shooting and tryouts, but the fact is, you really don’t get to know a camera until you’re on an assignment with it. Whether under the pressure of hostile conditions and editors’ deadlines, or the slightly different pressures of an Art Director and client hovering behind you while the models are looking for direction, the little things about a camera, both good and bad, are going to make themselves known pretty quickly on a job.

You’ve seen some of the videos, now we get a chance to sit down and talk to Bill Gallery about his experience shooting with the 5D Mark II.
Bill is a veteran “Corporate Reportage” photographer. Much of his work resembles documentary photography or journalism, within the context of corporate America, some of his early work being the first Annual Reports for Apple Computer in the mid-‘80s. He shoots fast, spontaneously, with very little in the way of artificial sets, styling or lighting. He needs to move fast, and he needs to be flexible- both in his composition and in his equipment. He shoots with two basic lenses- the Canon 24-70 and the 70-200. For a taste of his work, see www.billgallerycom.

Shoot Diary- On Location with Bill Gallery

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:29:00 CDT

Interview with Bill to come, here're a couple of teaser videos or our location shoot with the 5D Mark II...

Cool, and useful stuff- the Eye-Fi WiFi SDHC Card

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:51:00 CDT

It takes a bit of work to get our attention on the Pro-Digital blog. There’re a boatload of products out there that are, well, to be kind, less than professional-grade. The Eye-Fi Wifi card is something that, at first glance, seems a little gimmicky, but when you take a good look at it, it’s actually quite remarkable, and a potentially powerful tool for the working pro.

It is, pure and simple, a memory card with either 2 or 4GB of on-camera storage. It also has a WiFi transmitter that allows you to move files to a workstation, wirelessly.

What’s not to like here? First, on set, there’s one wire we can leave at home. Actually, one complete setup- card reader, network configuration, whatever your preferred method of transferring files to the computer is.

Camera RAW, and some other updates

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:59:00 CDT

Both Adobe and Apple have released some updates centered around RAW file support. (Adobe’s Camera RAW works within Photoshop and Lightroom, Apple’s RAW file support is built within the operating system (OSX) to allow Aperture 2, iPhoto 08, and iPhoto 09 and others, even Finder to handle RAW files.)

Adobe’s Camera RAW 5.4 is adding support for the following cameras (there are no interface or feature updates):

* Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i/EOS Kiss X3 Digital)

* Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

* Epson R-D1x

* Hasselblad CF-22

* Hasselblad CF-22MS

* Hasselblad CF-39...

The Medium Format Digital Back Industry Cheat Sheet

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:25:00 CDT

Things are so simple in DSLR land. There’s the Big Two, and the others… occasionally you have some cross-fertilization, oh, maybe some lenses or software bridging between two players, but rarely do you see the complexity and intrigue of the medium format segment. We, here at H2H, even have trouble keeping it all straight, and then Phase One goes and buys Leaf, right? We thought it may help to look at the landscape before the bit Phase deal to understand where this is all coming from.

Here goes, alphabetically.

Hasselblad

First we have Hasselblad. Hasseblad is the easiest, actually, because as of around 2005 or so, Hasselblad made the bold move of dedicating it’s H series cameras to only the Hasselblad (known in the US as Hasselblad, actually, Imacon in the rest of the world…) digital backs.

Pinhole Digital hack

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:29:00 CDT

This falls under the category of, just because you can, maybe you shouldn't... but this is the hack of a $9 CVS Vivitar digital camera to make it into a pinhole digital.

...like I said.

Dust on the Canon G9 sensors...

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:46:00 CDT

Up until now, I figured one of the coolest things about my little G9, other than the fact that it's tiny and shoots great RAW files, was that there was no dust on the sensor to worry about. Like I say, until now.

I took the camera on a little camping trip in Maine, and suddenly saw this little hair on the bottom left of the frame....

The BIG Chips

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:41:00 CDT

OK, now, there's been a lot of hoo-haa about the worlds first, biggest, baddest chips coming out. Here's a rundown on the major players. Let's start with specs, then actual physical dimensions.

Medium Format Digital Back lineup

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:52:00 CDT

This is a product matrix for the digital back market- Hassey, Phase, Leaf and even Sinar. There is an unbelievable pile of (very pricey) products out there:

H3DII-31 Integrated 31 Mpix capture unit..

Shooting to the Card- Setting up Bridge

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:36:00 CDT

You may have seen the previous post about Photo Mechanic, and how it’s a fast, efficient and simple process to handle shooting big volume and sorting on location. I also mentioned that other software can do the same thing, among them, Bridge. Here’s how to set that up.

The first thing Photo Mechanic does that we love is that it will automatically “Ingest” the image files from a card when you plug it in, and it can ingest the files to two different places, giving you a nice backup, quickly and easily. In Bridge, go to File>Get Photos From Camera

The Shoot Diary- Photo Mechanic

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:53:00 CDT

Let me just start by saying that Photo Mechanic, by Camera Bits, has been around a long time. …and, I’ve got to confess, I’ve dismissed it more than once as a simple tool that photojournalists cling to out of habit. I’ve long said that Bridge, Aperture, Lightroom- very powerful tools at very reasonable prices- can, and should do the same thing. Well, after using it on a shoot with Bill Gallery, I’m going to change my tune.

Bill shoots like a documentary photojournalist. Rather than long hours spent for a handful of captures, Bill prefers to shoot sets as they unfold- action as it happens, with little arranging or choreography. He’s been shooting with the Canon 5D, and for H2H Reviews tried out the 5D Mark II for it’s larger, higher resolution files. He’s shooting with 4 and 8GB cards, and he fills them routinely, even with the smaller files of the 5D. This would all be fine, except that on a commercial assignment, there’s that pesky client who wants to see what Bill’s doing. To keep that client happy, Bill uses Photo Mechanic.

Black and White Conversion Methods- Part 2

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:15:00 CDT

The Beginnings of Control- Mapping Colors

The truth is, Adobe doesn’t seem to think a straight mode change from RGB to Grayscale is much of a good idea either. If you do that move, you’re going to get this default warning: <picture 6> With CS3, you get an Adjustment called “Black and White”, and also have it available as an Adjustment Layer. Here’s what that looks like.

I’ve opened it up as an Adjustment Layer, as you can see, and it lets me take each basic color, Red Green and Blue, plus our secondary colors, Yellow, Cyan and Magenta, and adjust how light or dark we want them to be. Essentially, going back to our gamut map visualization, this lets us track the individual colors across, up or down to exactly where we want them to be on that center column.

Black and White Conversion Methods- Part 1

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:02:00 CDT

Introduction-

Probably the single most common question I get about working with digital Black and White is asking the best way to convert from color. Like so many things about Black and White photography, this question is really very simple, but with a really complex answer. It always makes me think of my electrician friend James. He saw a show on Ansel Adams and told me he thought the whole thing was a scam. “He took Black and White pictures of mountains! Seriously. How hard could that be?”

Before we get into the various methods, let’s look once more, in a slightly more visual way, at exactly what we’re doing. Here are some gamut maps of a nice, colorful image, made with software called ColorThink. This shows all the colors in the photograph, plotted on the CIE LAB color space.

H2H Video: The Arctic Deathmatch

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:40:00 CDT

Control your camera with... your iPHONE!

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:17:00 CDT

Well, here's one more step down the road to running just EVERYthing with your phone. onOne Software has developed a $10 application for remote-controlling your Canon DSLR with your iPhone or iPod. Crazy.

LCD monitors, image persistence

Fri, 29 May 2009 18:30:00 CDT

Image “persistence” is kind of an interesting new phenomenon we’re seeing in LCD displays. At first, it may seem like the old “burn-in” we saw on the old CRT monitors, but it behaves more like ghosting- an image seems to leave a trace that fades within minutes, or hours, or an image that may be barely visible when the overall tone of the display changes. It’s caused by the same thing that caused burn-in… leaving the same image up on the screen for too long… but fortunately, on an LCD display, it’s not a permanent problem.

Adobe Express: Web-Based Photo Editing (checking back in...)

Fri, 29 May 2009 13:57:00 CDT

A whiile back I had a look at the Adobe Express package- a web-based photo editing application, one that was getting a lot of attention as part of the new wave of online applictaions... destined to change the world. Back then, in September '08, I was underwhelmed. Although a few things have been improved, I'd say it still remains as little more than an curiosity.

secrets- how to improve the performance of any lens. (The Lens Hood)

Thu, 21 May 2009 20:18:00 CDT

Here's the secret. The enemy of Optics, especially in photography is a simple thing. Flare.

Phase One C1Pro 4 processing tests

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:55:00 CDT

Evaluating a RAW file processor is a slippery slope. As I'm fond of saying, the RAW file is not the "digital negative", it's more the digital "latent image", an unprocessed source of all the image information, available to the photographer to process to taste. The negative, after all, has already been processed, right? And then there's that matter of taste.

The slippery slope comes from that issue of taste... you really need to look at processing RAW files in the context of what you prefer, what you like, rather than what is "best", or "more accurate". Think about film here. If accuracy was the key feature of a film, why would we have so many different emulsions? Every film, and RAW processor, renders the photograph differently, so the key to choosing is to find the one that works best, for you.

The Shoot Diary- PhaseOne C1Pro v.4

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:39:00 CDT

Back in the day, PhaseOne built a medium-format digital back system that set the bar. Every manufacturer- digital back and DSLR, had some variant of the basic process- control the camera, control the workflow, control the colors, process and output the files. As the systems evolved, they all began to resemble one original, and powerful package- PhaseOne Capture.

When the leading DSLR manufacturers were offering software that was billed as professional, but resembled more of a consumer product, PhaseOne saw the need to step up where the OEMs were missing the boat. They introduced C1Pro- adapting their rock-solid software to the professional DSLR market. As they had with the MF DB market, they set the bar for the camera companies, and changed workflow for everyone.

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a look at C1Pro, but I had a big shoot with a Canon 5DM2 that I needed to tether to my laptop. I thought it was a great chance to revisit C1Pro. Ironically, I was using it for the same reason I looked into it when it first came out- rather than simply process the files, I needed to shoot to the workstation with a DSLR and move fast. Photoshop couldn’t do it, the manufacturer’s software was too flakey, I needed a MF DB solution: C1Pro was the natural, well the only, choice.

Adobe DNG Profile Editor

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:41:00 CDT

As I've mentioned, CS4 Camera RAW 5.2 gives you some additional Camera "Profiles" in the Calibration tab. Still in beta, Adobe has the DNG Profles Editor which lets you take a DNG file, presumably converted from a native RAW file format, and make very specific adjustments to how it is rendered.

Black & White Conversion Comparison: Channel Mixer, Camera RAW and layered Smart Objects

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:27:00 CDT

Here are three black & white images derived from a single Adobe RGB color file. Each monochrome shot was created using a different b/w conversion method.

TinEye: Where Are Your Images Being Displayed Online?

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:19:00 CDT

TinEye lets you search your online images and see where they're showing up... (whether they have your permission or not!)

Schewe: TIFF vs PSD (via Luminous Landscape)

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:53:00 CDT

Well, here's an answer to a question on Luminous Landscape that I've been asked a lot, and frankly, just didn't know the answer to.

The New Baryta Papers

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:04:00 CDT

Baryta papers, harkening back to some of the glorious silver papers of the darkroom days, have very recently joined the inkjet printing arsenal. It’s big news.

Contact Sheets in Bridge CS4

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:43:00 CDT

Making Contact Sheets in CS4 has moved from the Photoshop "Automate" menu to the "Output" menu in Bridge. When you select "PDF" you get the usual Contact Sheet decisions- rows, columns, file names, etc, along with new stuff like headers and footers. Refresh the Preview to see the results.