Learning from my experience, I have made a firm conclusion that for zoom lenses,  f/4 is the most suitable choice for my preference being an amateur enthusiast. The main reason was that their weight fits comfortably for outdoor sessions which I mostly do such as street, travel, and photojournalism. On the other hand, for those type of photography, the one stop advantages - both in lighting and beautiful bokeh - are not making significant difference.

I do agree with the general thumb advising that every lens performs at its best starting from two stops darker than its maximum aperture, which means f/2.8 lenses get their best at f/5.6 whilst f/4 lenses have to go down to f/8 to reach their top. But with the latest lens technology the difference is hardly visible especially with top quality lenses like Canon’s L series. Therefore to fill up the mostly needed range spanning between ultra-wide to telephoto I chose f/4 zooms of Canon L series. …click here to read more

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At the present time the Bali holiday goers don’t just stay at a Bali villa because they need them, they choose it because they love it. Charmingly nestled almost in each area on the island, these rental luxury villas are built without compromising and sacrificing comfort. …click here to read more

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The latest edition of Digital Photographer Magazine, sphotographer.co.uk, has just arrived. It is my ergular buy now as I learnt that this one is among a few featuring knowhow, technical insights, and unbiased reviews. I just got this Issue, no. 76, December 2008, delivered today. As ussual, I had a locar source from which I can get these magazine at an even cheaper price than local ones.

In the focus are story from Photokina 2008 in Cologne, the largest annual photography exhibition which has been attracted 168,000 visitors so far for this year alone. The new releases column features Panasonic G1, Pentax K-m, and a few others. Reader’s portflio features Matt Harris with his fabulous landscape in the wilderness of Hampshire. …click here to read more

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When we do macro photography on small products like jewelry, light tent or light box may remain the best option. But when we get into a situation where dragging the subject on to the table is not at all possible we have to use either ambient or portable lighting.

The easiest setup is using the flash. But there are many issues in using flash for macro photography. When the object is too close and falls into the shadow of the lens, on-camera flash may not be able to illuminate it. Taking the flash off the camera - either wired or wireless - can somehow overcome this problem. The second issue is that for macro, even the smallest flash power can be too harsh and burns out details in overcast. …click here to read more

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I have been interested by infra red photography for quite a while. Unlimited possibility to unique tone is the main point here. Ever since I have been researching online resource on the issue, including technical how-to and digital post processing techniques. Without any attempt to go into technical detail on light wavelength and all these kind of stuffs, I understand that blockage of different wavelength results in different tone, into which digital post processing pops in. There are two ways in getting into infra red photography.

The first one is using a filter attached in the front of the lens. It is perhaps the easier way to start with, as all we have to do is buy an infra red filter, attach it on to the lens, and off it goes. The problem is that the filter blocks the light, and therefore we have to shoot in very low speed. In almost all cases, usage of tripod is definite must as we can go as low as about a second in a bright sunny mid-day. …click here to read more

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Canon announcement of EOS 50D replacing its predecessor 40D - which has only introduce less than a year ago - instead of the three-years-in-existence Canon EOS 5D has invited both disappointments and hopes. Disappointments were obvious. Hopes came from beliefs that by introduction of 50D, the long awaited 5D Mark II will carry an even newer technology than what 40D has. On September 17th 2008 Canon pays off loyal user who have been patience enough to wait. Canon EOS 5D Mark II which brings along the most advance technolgy was officially anounced.

Looking into specification I belief it exceeds every expectation people have ever had - at least among many of them I read in online forums, blogs, and articles. 21.1 mega pixel CMOS sensor, Digic 4, ISO 50-25,600 are among the most significant leap over the three years old 5D. Attached to this posting is Canon’s official press release.

Contrary to beyond expectation specifications, price tag was by far below expectation. Whilst most columns predicted it to come in similar price of 5D in its annoucement, which was $3,300, Canon puts estimated retail price of $2,699 for body only and $3,499 as a kit with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS. First delivery was scheduled as close as end of November 2008.

“Will I get one?” Definitive question is NO, at least not in the near future, even if I have $1,300 to be invested in photography gears. There are still lightings and glasses at my higher priority than replacing my 5D with a new one.

Attached is full release. …click here to read more

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Keeping interest in still life especially product photography, I made my time to continue with another session. Getting experience from the first session, I completed the setup quite quickly, from unwrapping the tent to getting the lights stand up and powered.

I have tried all lenses I got and knew what works best for this purpose, I attached my manual Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4. White balance went to auto as I knew that any other preset would not work. I know that the light temperature if household spot lights I was using would require 600 points of temperature offset on post processing. Lighting too, aperture priority, -2 exposure compensation, and keeping in mind that I may need to change apertures for desired DOF. Well, exposure compensation was actually the first parameter to set when needing different amount of light, however I took -2 to start with, not 0. The camera was tripod attached, so I was not worry about slow shutting. It was still life, I got all time I needed by the shutter to completely flips. …click here to read more

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For some reasons which I did not quite understand, my magazine supplier did not update their inventory for quite a while, so I was forced to go back to the old way, Periplus. I have stopped buying photography magazine from Periplus since I got in contact with my supplier offering fresh issue in very reasonable price of less than a half of Periplus. Unfortunately I found Periplus collection of photograhy magazine has changed as well. They only had two whilst in the old days they used to have 6-8 different publications.

The good side was that it took no time to choose. I took October issue of Digital Camera World without really examining the content as the other one features new DSLR generation from Sony and new Canon’s entry level 1000D, which I had no interest at all.

Back home I got a pleasant surprise, the issue I chose was Digital Camera World’s special issue of Fine Art Nudes, featuring the issue in detail through about 20 pages, it also gave away a CD with raw images in very high resolution. What a gift. The bad side however was the passion to bring it into practice.

Containing thorough exposure of the issue including engaging models and studios to technical details like lighting, posing, and digital post processing, it was absolutely not at all about pornographic. However I guess amateur like myself can be compared to ordinary human being with professional gynaecologist. Could I manage the other passion if I have a chance to be in nude photography session?

…click here to read more

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After getting disappointed with two cheaper choice of telephoto lenses I finally got something which I am happy with. My first Canon telephoto lens Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM was quite capable to bring amazing pictures when it got the right shooting condition. Its replacement with shorter range but recommended by many happy users Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM brought even more disappointment at the same area of concern AF, regardless its decent plus of image stabilizer which did work well.

I have to admit that I have always been comparing telephoto lenses with the brilliant Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D I owned during my Nikonian days. I guess that was the honest reason on me being nuisance in choosing optical equipments. Unfortunately my pockets are shallow. When I put my hands in to draw some money, it is very easy to reach the bottom end. So the luxury to get the best option available is just not mine. As always, I have to dance among need, passion, and money.

My first grab on Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L belongs to my fellow Bali photography enthusiast was impressive. Noting absence of IS I had similar impression with my old Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D. But it was a Ferrari in its own species, and as anything else in life, there is price for every bit of excellence. Another issue I was considering was weight. 1,310 grams of Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D was a real burden in active outdoor sessions, in many occasions giving enough reason to go out without it. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L is even heavier at 1,470 grams. Finally presence of IS which I consider nice to have but something I can live without, especially when the price of having it quite significant. …click here to read more

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I continuously amazed with products shown on magazine advertisement, and very much interested on how those appealing shots of - in most of the cases - very simple products have been made. Whilst large products like cars will definitely require expensive extra-powered lightings, I started to pay my attention to small products like stationaries, jewelries, small electronic devices, and other stuffs at similar size.

Exploring available resources on the net I found that photography for small products needs specific lighting equipment, which I found even harder to find than larger-powered studio lighting, at least in the country I live. Of course I can order from Adorama or BHP, but enormous extra cots for shipment and import duty have forced me to immediately wipe it as a possible option. As I thought small products would not need high powered-ligth, I decided to start with normal house-hold tungsten spot-light, keeping in mind that I would have to be careful with white balance setting. …click here to read more

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