by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

Video Editing in Photoshop CS6

Four years after HD video recording was introduced to SLRs by the Nikon D90 and popularized by the Canon 5D Mark II, video has become a standard feature for all cameras, from smart phones to professional SLRs. To match this shift in priorities, Adobe has added a new, full-featured, timeline-based video editor to the newest iteration of their flagship image editing program, Photoshop CS6. Video editing is now available in the standard version of the program, not just the extended.

In this video, I cover the fundamentals of video editing in Photoshop CS6, starting with the basics of adding and arranging clips in the timeline, creating transitions, and adjusting the audio. I then move on to using adjustment layers, layer masks, and Photoshop’s collection of filters. Finally, I touch on the basics of adding non-video assets like still photos and text, and how to animate them.

Since there was a lot of ground to cover with this topic, I couldn’t get as in-depth with some of the features as I’d have liked. If you have any questions about what I did in the video, please let me know in the comment section below. Similarly, if there are features that I skipped that you’d like to hear more about, please let me know, and I may produce a second video.

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by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

After spending far too many consecutive days behind my computer, I decided visit Myakka River State Park for a few days last week. The weather has been warm and sunny (a little too warm, perhaps), and I love shooting in cloudy weather.

Fields of yellow tickseed are currently blooming along the upper lake. I stopped in to take a few photos, to look for butterflies, and to eat a picnic lunch. On Tuesday afternoon, big rain clouds were rolling in, which gave me a dramatic sky as a backdrop. The butterflies were far too clever for me, though, and kept their distance.

Perhaps more interesting, though, were the orchids that were in bloom. Encyclia tampensis, one of the many species commonly called the “butterfly orchid”, is a relatively common native orchid, though it is found only in Florida and some nearby islands. I found several plants in early bloom, but the main flush appears to be a week or two away. Since the orchids are epiphytic, growing on relatively high tree branches, they weren’t easy to photograph. I’ll probably head back to the park next week and see if I can find any low-hanging fruit, so to speak.

Dragonfly perched on Alligator

The park also seems to be full of newborn animals. I saw two spotted fawns, sandhill crane chicks, and young alligators, among others. Definitely a good time to get out into the fresh air.

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by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

Most photographers who spend a significant amount of time in the field end up putting their cameras through some abuse, though it’s usually accidental. I’ve certainly dropped cameras and lenses; my second Sigma 70-210 f/2.8 broke in half when dropped on a concrete floor in 1996, and my Tokina 28-70 f/2.8 (of the same vintage) lost its autofocus when I jumped from the peak of a sand dune, not realizing that the rain and wind had hardened the far side of the dune into something like concrete. Plenty of light-stands have fallen over… but one of them fell over into the Cache la Poudre River (the Nikon SB-24 survived unscathed).

But I’ve never done anything like this. Parts were almost painful to watch.

Now, those of you who own Canon 7Ds, or who are thinking about getting them, can relax a bit when your camera is jostled in the streets. It will probably survive, though I don’t suspect that even “L” lenses would be able to take this kind of abuse. Of course, those of you with Canon 5D Mark IIIs, or any of the 1D series cameras, or Nikon’s D800 and D4 can expect similarly bulletproof performance.

[Turns out that DigitalRev actually has a pretty good price on the 7D, $1309, but I believe they're grey market (ie, no USA warranty)]

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by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

Adobe Decides: We Won’t Screw You This Time

In the wake of a flood of criticism, Adobe has decided to change course on the (non-) solution to their recently reported security vulnerabilities. Several days after their initial announcement, Adobe posted a new security bulletin stating that a patch is now in the works for the CS5.x versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash. No time-frame for completion of the patch is currently available.

On Tuesday, Adobe reported the existence of a security vulnerability in Photoshop CS5.x and other CS5 programs, but rather than providing a free patch for their flawed software, they suggested a $200 upgrade to the latest release.

In response to early critics, Adobe claimed that they did not believe that the security hole posed a real-world threat, as Photoshop is not a common target for hackers and no real-world exploits were known. Having announced the vulnerability, though, it’s hard to believe that Adobe expected the situation to remain unchanged. It is particularly troubling that the security flaw has been known since at least March 20, months before CS6 became available, and during that time, Adobe appears to have made no headway on addressing the problem.

Perhaps the most baffling part of this episode is that Adobe didn’t predict this PR nightmare. How could the company that recently gave us such an incredible new suite of multimedia cloud-programs for digital publishing not realize the power of the modern internet? While I am glad that Adobe has begrudgingly agreed to fix their design flaws, their initial stance points to a corporate management team that is remarkably out of touch with their customers and the modern world, a dangerous combination for any tech company.

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by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

Adobe recently discovered a security vulnerability in Photoshop CS5.5 (Mac and Windows) which would allow hackers to gain control of computers that use Adobe’s flagship image editing program to open compromised TIFF files.  Photoshop CS5.5 was released one year ago with a price-tag of over $700, replacing Photoshop CS5 as the world-wide, industry-standard image editing software.

Those of us who have used professional software over the past decade or so would naturally expect Adobe to do what any responsible, respectable software company would: release a free security patch for the program. Adobe, though, decided to spurn convention. They did nothing. In fact, they may have done worse than nothing; they publicly reported the existence of the security vulnerability on their website so that any hackers who were uninformed would get a fair shot at making use of it. Adobe’s recommendation? Buy the Photoshop CS6 upgrade for $200 (only available directly from Adobe). Just by coincidence (skoff), Adobe announced the CS5.5 security vulnerability on the same day that CS6 started shipping in the USA.

Surprised? Unfortunately, this move seems to be right in line with Adobe’s recent attitude towards their customers. Earlier this year, the digital-publishing giant faced widespread criticism for their decision (later recanted) to only offer “upgrade” pricing to CS5 and 5.5 users, after many years of allowing upgrades from much older versions. Most notably, Scott Kelby, President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, wrote an open letter to Adobe asking them to reconsider their new policy.

OK, Adobe. You have a right to try to make more money from your existing ranks rather than drawing in more customers with competitive pricing, excellent customer support, and innovative products. Just remember that your customers can vote with their dollars, and in these days of rampant software piracy, their absence of dollars.

However, Adobe, if these words get to you, my suggestion is this: Do the right thing. Either…

1. Release a free security patch for affected customers or
2. Extend the “free-upgrade to CS6″ offer that many CS5.5 buyers have received in recent months to cover all affected customers.

I can only hope that plans for one of these options is already underway, and your failure to mention it to customers was merely an egregious oversight.

It is unfortunate that Adobe’s recent releases should be tarnished by the company’s irresponsible behavior, as Photoshop CS6 is the most upgrade-worthy version since CS2, and InDesign and Dreamweaver CS6 look equally promising. -JMG

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by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

Canon 1DX Release is Near

At the April  NAB show in Las Vegas, Canon USA engineer Chuck Westfall proclaimed his confidence that the Canon 1DX would start shipping by mid-June, now just over a month away.

It’s been a long wait since the camera’s announcement in October, plagued by announcements of delays. Originally, the camera was expected to hit store shelves in early March, now two months behind us. The exact reasons for these delays remain somewhat nebulous; “delay to the start of mass production” is as close as we’ve been to pinning them down. Since the announcement of the Canon 1D X, the 5D Mark III has been announced, shipped, halted, and shipped again.

While the Mark III is a great camera (ok, I love it), I find that I’m much more excited about the 1DX than I was without knowledge of the new 5D. In 2009, the 5D Mark II was an exciting camera because it offered excellent, full-frame image quality at a modest cost (about 1/3rd of the cost of a 1Ds Mark III), and innovative new video features. While the 5D Mark III is certainly a step up from the Mark II in terms of AF performance, high ISO performance, and frame rate, these changes are more incremental than innovative, and the camera costs more than half of the price of a 1D X. I can’t help but wonder:  if those features were important enough for me to spend the extra money on the Mark III, wouldn’t they also be important enough to spend the extra money to go all the way… to get the fastest AF, frame rates, flash syncs, and best high ISO performance? Yes, the 1D X is a bit expensive… but when we consider the extra cost of the camera spread over the likely active life-span of the camera (3-4 years), it’s not much money IF those features are likely to improve your chances of getting the best shots and improving your career.

In any case, I’m now looking forward to getting my hands on a Canon 1D X and giving it a good, thorough test. If initial high ISO samples are a good indicator of the performance of production models, it will surely have been worth the wait.

The 1DX is available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Adorama, and of course B&H Photo.

This article is the intellectual property of the author, Matthew Gore, and/or Light and Matter, and may not be reproduced without their expressed written consent. All rights reserved.

by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

New: Microsoft Camera Codec Pack

If you have a high quality digital camera and use Windows, you now have one fewer reason to not shoot in RAW format. In the past, shooting in RAW usually meant that your files would show up as generic icons when browsing through your image folders, even in Windows 7.

Not anymore.

Now, Windows user can download the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack, which allows your computer to generate thumbnail images from a wide variety of the most popular RAW formats, including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, and Leica, among others. Microsoft lists the specific camera models that are currently supported, and unfortunately, some popular models are conspicuously missing at the moment, such as the Canon 60D, T3i, and recent models like the 5D Mark III. Similarly, Nikon’s D800 and D3200 are not yet supported.

The installation is quick and easy. Simply download the file that’s appropriate for your version of Windows (there are 32-bit  and 64-bit versions) and run it, and reboot your computer. Now, when browsing your files, you’ll see nice little previews of your images rather than a sea of the same generic one. It’s quick, too. On my computer, even if I browse to a folder with several hundred RAW images, the thumbnails are almost instantly available, and as I scroll through the files, the thumbnails appear as fast as I can scroll.

This development is particularly important for Photoshop CS6 users. For some reason, the “Open File” dialog browser  in Photoshop CS6 no longer creates a file preview at the bottom if the window (perhaps to nudge users in the direction of using mini-Bridge instead). This means that if you browse to a directory of  RAW images, there’s no way to tell which image you’re opening unless you happen to have memorized the file numbers that correspond with your photos. Though I do usually use Bridge, I rarely use mini-Bridge, and there are times when I want to quickly open a file from the “Open File” dialog, and with the advent of CS6, I just couldn’t do it anymore; it was a real annoyance.

Installing the Camera Codec Pack, though, solves the problem. In fact, the situation is improved over CS5. Instead of selecting a RAW file and waiting for a thumbnail to appear at the bottom of the window, the previews are instantly available for all of your (supported) images at once.

If you missed the links above, the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack can be downloaded HERE.

This article is the intellectual property of the author, Matthew Gore, and/or Light and Matter, and may not be reproduced without their expressed written consent. All rights reserved.

by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

After writing the “Three Basics of Photography” article, I decided that the Bucket Analogy was fine but still a little confusing, and I wanted something that would appeal to my visually oriented visitors. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that it would be simplest to forgo analogies altogether and just use a simplified camera, representing light as discrete, little cubic units. That reminded me of an old-school video game… so this video has a bit of a theme.

I hope that you take a moment to “Like” this video on YouTube. You can visit it directly by following this link: The Three Basics of Exposure & Photography

Please comment! As usual, if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them in the comment section below.

This article is the intellectual property of the author, Matthew Gore, and/or Light and Matter, and may not be reproduced without their expressed written consent. All rights reserved.

by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mark I ?

When I bought my very first auto-focus camera in 1991, a Canon EOS 10s, it shipped with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II. Even at that time, the Mark I was already a thing of the past. I knew that the Mark I existed, though, and immediately started looking for one to replace my Mark II, but Ebay and Craigslist didn’t exist back then (and I didn’t even have my drivers’ license yet), which made it tricky. Why did I care?

To start with, anyone who has put their hands on a 50mm f/1.8 II knows that they feel a little cheap. Maybe more than a little. The whole housing is plastic, as is the lens mount, and the focusing ring feels light and a little loose … and it’s not even rubberized.

The Mark I, on the other hand, was a very rugged little lens with a stainless steel mount, very similar in appearance to the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM. Optically, it’s identical to the Mark II, and they both use a micro-motor instead of a USM, but they’re still pretty quick.

I never did find a Mark I, back in 1991, and I admit that after using the Mark II for a few months, I didn’t look very hard. The optical quality of the Mark II was great, and back then, I had paid only about $60 for the lens, so there wasn’t really any room for complaint. Although the price has nearly doubled, it’s still probably the best lens for your dollar on the market, and not surprisingly, it remains one of Canon’s top sellers, even after 22 years.

Both lenses have only 5 aperture blades, which means that under some circumstances, background highlights take on a pentagonal shape rather than the smoother octagonal shape produced by more expensive lenses. Some users complain that this degrades the quality of the bokeh produced by the lens, but I disagree. Although the bokeh is not as smooth as that produced by other lenses, it is unique. It has a character of its own that is obviously optical; it doesn’t look like the smooth blur that is so frequently simulated in post-processing today. In this digital age, when homogeneity is so common, something that stands out from the crowd is a welcome change, even if it is not ideal for every situation.

So, if you’re thinking about spending a little money on a 50mm f/1.8 lens but would prefer something that feels a little better in the hand than the Mark II (and you don’t mind going retro), a used Mark I is a good option to consider. They’re relatively common on Ebay (here’s a link for current listings), though they tend to sell for $160-200, compared to the $100-125 of a brand new Mark II. There, the Mark I’s price point falls nicely between the current f/1.8 and the current 50mm f/1.4, which is higher quality than the f/1.8 models and has a USM motor, but also costs about $400.

However, I’ve also recently heard stories of the 50mm f/1.8 Mark I turning up in flea markets, garage sales, pawn shops, etc, attached to antiquated film cameras like the EOS 620, selling for less than $50 (including the camera body). In fact, there’s an EOS 620 on Ebay right now that has a 50mm lens with it (might be a mark I) and two other lenses, and the bidding is less than $70.  So, if you’re a bargain hunter, remember to keep your eyes open for old Canon AF lenses; many of them (including the 85mm f/1.8) are still excellent lenses today.

The Canon 85mm f/1.8 is another one of Canon's earliest AF lenses still sold today. I expect a replacement to be released later this year.

Photos in this article are by Nick Owensby, used with permission.

This article is the intellectual property of the author, Matthew Gore, and/or Light and Matter, and may not be reproduced without their expressed written consent. All rights reserved.

by Matthew Gore

To view this article in its original context, which we recommend, please click the following link to Light and Matter.

With this morning’s announcement of the new Nikon D3200, we can safely say that Nikon’s “fewer pixels are better” philosophy is officially a thing of the past. The new D3200 comes replete with a 24 mega-pixel CMOS sensor, fully twice the pixel count of the professional level D700 and D3s of yesteryear.  Not surprisingly, the D3200′s pixel count matches those of Sony’s a65, a77 and Nex-7; Nikon has been using Sony-produced sensors virtually from the beginning of the digital era.

Beyond the new sensor, the D3200 is very similar to the D3100, offering 1080p video and frame rates up to 4fps in high-speed mode, which is usually limited to .jpg shooting.  D3200 body will be offered in multiple colors (standard black, and metallic red) and is expected to be available later this month for $699.95 (estimated street price).

As an optional accessory for the D3200,  the new Nikon WU-1a USB wireless adapter will be available in May for about $60.  In conjunction with an Android app, users will be able to upload photos to the web or remotely control the camera. An app for the iPhone and iPad is expected next fall.

Perhaps more interesting than the entry-level camera is a new prime lens, the Nikkor 28mm f/1.8G. Expected to be available in May at a cost of about $699, the 28mm is the third f/1.8 prime lens to be released in the past year, following the new 50mm f/1.8G and the and the 85mm f/1.8G. The new 28mm lens boasts all of the benefits of modern lens design, including nano-crystal coatings, a silent wave motor, and an 11-element optical design that promises high enough resolution to take full advantage of the Nikon D800‘s 36 megapixel sensor.

This article is the intellectual property of the author, Matthew Gore, and/or Light and Matter, and may not be reproduced without their expressed written consent. All rights reserved.