Archive for December, 2005

Where can I learn everything about EOS Flash Photography?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

A common answer on most message boards:

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

ttp://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=46599

Those two links should cover just about every EOS flash topic.? Happy Reading.

Ivan

Does anyone know how to calculate how far a flash fill will cover in on a lets say a sunny 16 day - what is the formula?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005


Sunny 16 is an approximation for ambient light exposure and is
unrelated to flash coverage. Flash coverage/distance is not affected by
levels of ambient lighting, only distance(inverse square law) and flash
Guide Number(power).

Distance = GN / f stop at ISO 100

at ISO 200 multiply by 1.4

at ISO 400 multiply by 2

So on a sunny day, the max distance of a 550EX, using f/16, is about 4 Meters at ISO 100.

Flash fill indicates that you are using ambient light as your
primary light source and flash to just fill in some shadows under the
eyes, etc. That means you should also be dialing in -FEC to the tune of
-1 to -1 and 2/3 as long as you stay within that max distance. Outside
that distance the flash will be maxing out and may give erratic
results.

Ron

Can I build my own flash battery pack?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Sure can.? Its cheap and relatively easy to do!? http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=6038636

Ivan

What is flash trigger voltage and why should I care?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

The flash trigger voltage is the internal voltage used inside the strobe/flash to trigger it’s circuit. To activate a flash the circuit needs to be closed (turned on) and the flash trigger voltage needs to flow thru the switch. Simple right? Yes, but what is usually the trigger? Well […]

Where can I find the trigger voltage of my strobe / flash unit?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Here is the site you need to go to: http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

What is the best rechargeable AA battery?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

The Battery Shootout:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

Ivan

What is fill flash?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005


Fill flash is often used when the subject of a photograph is in front
of a bright background, or a background with details that would
normally be lost with a standard flash mode.

Fill flash is a general term; it can mean different things to
different people, but almost always shares the common idea that it
simply bumps up the light values on the subject just enough to expose
the subject properly, without under exposing the background.

There are MANY ways that photographers achieve this. One thing to
remember is that your overall exposure should remain the same or very
close to the naturally occuring light. Your flash exposure should be
slightly lower than the ambient light (naturally occuring light). This
adds just a little bit of flash that only the trained eye can see
therefore making the photo better balanced with light and just
generally more dynamic.
dslro

How do I do the Overlay / Sequence Shots in PS ?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

1. Open that image in photoshop.

2. Open the second image, go select all, copy the photo

3. Switch back to the original image, (control-shift-tab), and paste the 2nd photo on top of the first

4. Select all again, and then go to layer, layer mask, reveal all.

5. Set your color selections to black on top, and white […]

Is there a way to trick the AI Servo?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Tricking AI servo, three ways I know… (works in ANY mode):
1. Achieve focus lock on a subject and then whilst keeping the shutter half depressed and the subject centered, move the lens focus ring - camera drops into AI servo and will stay there as long as the shutter is kept half depressed. (Only works […]

How do I calculate the Depth of Field?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Use a DOF calculator: http://www.dofmaster.com/

In most cases your lens will come with a DOF chart that you can refer to.
Ivan

What is the crop / maganification factor?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Here is everything you need to learn about it:
Write-up at Luminous Landscape
Ivan

How should I sharpen my pictures?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Well, if I can give you one bit of advice, it’s that you should never use the ‘Sharpen filter’

It’s not controllable and isn’t generally ’smart’ on what it sharpens.
Learning how to build edge masks is not that difficult, but takes a lot
of explaining so you’re better to read something like this:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/smart_sharp.shtml
And this is an excellent […]

How do I perform a lens focus test?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Focus Test Links:
http://md.co.za/d70/chart.html

http://www.photo.net/learn/focustest/

Ivan

How many actuations is my camera good for?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Curious how long your camera is going to last.? Here is a rough estimate based on actuations:
300d - 350d? ~ 30,000+
20d ~ 50,000+
1d Mk2 ~ 250,000

Ivan

Where can I find a manual for the 20D?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=SupportDetailAct&fcategoryid=215&modelid=10464
Click on "Product / Software Manuals", then download in whatever language you want.
Ivan

Comparison of the Digital Rebel XT vs. Modified Digital Rebel vs. Digital Rebel

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

A very interesting side by side comparison of the 350D/XT and a modified 300D:
http://www.camerahacker.com/Canon/DRebel_Comparison.shtml

Derek

Is there an alternative to the $120 white tripod ring?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

If you own a Canon 70-200mm f/4L, 300mm f/4L or 400mm f/5.6L
lens, you don’t have to spend $120 for the white tripod ring (Canon
Part: # 2889A002, "Canon Tripod Mount Ring A"). Instead, buy the black
version (Canon Part #: 2888A002, "Tripod Mounting Ring A for 200mm f/2.8L II").
This part is identical to the white version (targeted […]

How do you clear your CF card on Canon DSLR?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

The quickest and most used way according to forum users is to "format" the card in camera.??
Ivan

Can you recommend a prime lens?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

BrianP on Dpreview posted this:
If you need the speed, I would go for:
35 f/1.4 (if it is wide enough for you)
24 f/1.4 (if the 35 wasn’t wide enough)
If either speed doesn’t matter as much or you are on a tripod shooting landscape:
TS-E 24 f/3.5L (this is somewhat softer than the 35 above, but The Tilt […]

Is it safe to use 3rd Party Batteries?

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

Jim on Dpreview posted this interesting tidbit on it:

Rechargeable Lithium Ion (Li-ion) is relatively newer battery
chemistry. Li-ion batteries are popular because they contain a higher
energy density that almost any other type of battery chemistry. When
properly designed, manufactured, and used, Li-ion batteries have an
excellent track record. Unfortunately if improperly designed,
manufactured or used, and because of their […]