Instruction Manuals

Good evening,

I am a week off. I was ill and now one of the children is ill and someone was ill before that I lost track. I realized that it is a pain to talk in the "we" and "our" terminology and I have decided to not do it as much. I learned something new today though that I feel I should share. It goes along with the comparison from the last blog. We all know or should all know that the effective focal length changes with the crop factor, well the effective aperture changes as well. So the f1.8 on an LG G6 is closer to an f13 because the crop factor is 7.37 which explains why so much is in focus with the camera. Also the 4mm is closer to a 30mm. This was explained in greater detail at photographylife.com. 

So instruction manuals, the boring part of getting a camera. Most of the time the cameras are roughly self explanatory especially if you have experience with that kind of camera before. The other day I bought a Nikon off of an acquaintance with the idea of selling it for more money. She got more that she was asking and I should get more than what I bought it for. I have never used a Nikon DSLR before and realized how different it is from Sony, Minolta, and Canon cameras. Thankfully the manual came with it and I could figure it out. Before picking it up though I spent 30 or so frustrated minutes trying to change the ISO off of auto and changing the focus points on the camera. After looking through the manual for a few minutes I figured it out and I recalled a decade or so ago I found some interesting things from the manuals. Like how to take multiple exposures on a single frame of film, add picture styles to the editing program, use the AE-L button effectively, and other things that I can't remember having learned from the manuals. So my advice is look through your manual the thing that you might not know your camera can do might be the thing that will make some great shots. Again I would love to see some pictures in the comments. So get your camera's manual, peruse it, see if there is anything new, grab your camera, then go out and shoot.

~Scott

I had to change the setting to take this photo so I could see how well the camera worked before trying to sell it.

Situational Packing

Good morning,

Sorry it has been so long, work and holiday stuff has been taking  a toll. Today we are going to talk about packing gear. Most photographers have more gear than can easily be packed into something that is portable like a backpack. Take the example below.

This is digital cameras a57 on top and a77 on the bottom, then lenses and flashes. This is just the basics not counting chargers, batteries, filters, etc. For size reference each square is 6 inches.

Now most of us probably don't want to have a rolling suitcase in tow or have the ability to have an assistant carry our gear. Most people opt for a backpack or an over the shoulder bag for storage.

Here is my trusty camera bag with a storage area on top. With kids as travel companions it is quite handy. Even with the flap open is doesn't cover the same amount of 6x6 tiles that my gear does.

Situational packing is key for this situation. We can't always bring every piece of gear that we have. First off we can knock out one long zoom, not great lighting anticipated take the faster 70-210 f4, or do we need a little extra zoom the 75-300mm f4.5-5.6 is better. Is macro photography the goal, take the 50mm f2.8 macro if not then the 50mm f1.7. Just those 2 drop it to 6 from 8. Now comes the trickier part. Are wide landscapes or getting the whole room in the frame the goal? If so take the 11-18mm instead of the 35-70mm. If not then we can switch those. If we are taking the 35-70 then the ultra wide and 50mm can be left at home unless you need the 50 for macro. Keeping one lens with a wide aperture is a good rule, in this case it is either one of the 50mm lenses or the 28mm f2.8. The 35-70 covers the 50mm range so the 28mm would be in the bag, if the 11-18 is going then so is a 50mm. Through our image processing software we can see which lenses we use the most to help decide what to pack. Just what has been covered with the lenses cuts them by half.

Not everyone has more than one camera body. So this might not pertain to everyone. If we do though then this is a choice to be made as well. If the situation requires a quick lens change or missing the shot (wedding, sporting event, children playing, etc) then bring two if not then one should suffice. If the environment is not a place we want to change a lens (windy, sandy, dusty, etc) then bring two with the lenses attached that will most likely be used. Most times one camera is fine.

Now to the flashes. If you need them bring them if you don't then don't. If people indoors or in shaded areas are the subject being them though. There are so many times that a fast lens doesn't suffice in those situations.

I will be adding a picture soon of typical packing for different situations.