Are Today's Digital SLRs Too Complicated & Too Fully Featured - For You?

I don't know about you, but I only use a few of the features on my digital SLRs - Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.

In fact, the settings/features I use for most of my still pictures are:
• Aperture or shutter priority mode.
• Exposure compensation.
• Center AF focus point or other AF focus spot.
• Evaluative metering mode.
• One shot.
• Highlight alert on.
• RGB histogram displayed.
• White balance set to the lighting conditions.
• ISO 100 - 400.

I rarely go into the Custom Functions – although I am glad they are there when I need them.

So I was thinking: Do you think digital SLRs are too complicated and too fully featured for most photographers - and that includes you? Would you like to see a more basic digital SLR?


Let me know by posting a comment here. Share your ideas.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Thank you Canon for supplying the menu shots for this post.

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 32/101: Keep It Level

This is tip #32 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip: Keep it Level.

Not keeping the horizon line level is of the biggest mistakes novice still photographers make.

Keeping the horizon line level, and the entire scene level for that matter, is even more important when shooting video . . . but not always, as recently pointed out by an astute reader.

I've found, by watching Juan Pons in action, that the easiest way to keep the scene level is to use the Manfrotto Ball Leveller (438).

I just got mine. Juan was using his when we were at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas shooting videos for our upcoming Wiley Publishing DVD: Canon DSLR Video Master Class.

The new holiday classic, The Christmas Cheetah, was shot at Fossil Rim with the Canon EOS 7D and Canon 70-200mm IS f/4 lens. The camera/lens set-up was mounted on the rig you see at the opening of this post.




For all my video gear, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 31/101: Master Your Flash

This is tip #31 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip: Master Your Daylight Fill-in Flash Technique

See.... you guys asked for more articles on flash (see the poll on the top right of my blog). Your wish is my command. :-)

Mastering your flash is one of the most important things you need to do if you want to photography people and become a professional photographer.

A while back, I wrote an article on Fill-in Flash for my friends at Layers magazine. It will get you started on mastering your flash.

Here is a quick video that I also did for Layers magazine.

One more for Layers magazine.

Hey, want a way-cool accessory for your flash? Check out the Rogue Flash Bender. Below are two shots that I actually took at a trade show (Photo Plus Expo) with the Rogue Flash Bender.

If you have any questions, please ask here, as always.

I will be giving two classes on flash photography at Photoshop World in Orlando in the spring. Be there or be square.... and don't miss Scott and his band!!!!!

Explore the light – including the flash light :-)
Rick

P.S. For more on lighting, see my app, Light It!

The image below is screen shot from that app. I used a Canon 580EX II in a Westcott soft box for the model shot. Here's the intro movie for the app.

Need Info? You've Come to the Right Place

As you may have noticed, I changed the URL of my blog to: http://www.ricksammon.info. That's because it's all about photo how-to info. (If you don't see ricksammon.info in the URL window, that's because e-blogger never forgets an old URL, and automatically redirects an old URL to a new URL.)

If you have a specific question, please don't be shy. Post it here as comment. If I don't answer it here, I will try to answer it on the DPE podcast that I do with Juan Pons (who, in addition to being a wonderful photographer, knows a ton about computers, iPads and iPhones - not to mention shooting HD videos with an SLR.

In the meantime, here is a quick tip: Use your camera flash as a studio strobe. Fire it through a diffuser, as shown here, or bounce the light into a reflector.

The basic concept: You increase the size of the light source. The larger the light source, the softer the light.

Tech info:
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105mm IS lens
Canon ST-E2 wireless transmitter
Westcott diffusers and stands
And . . . that's me holding a Westcott reflector, which is acting as a fill light.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. That's Vered Koshlano on the left in the opening photograph for this post. See more of Vered's work on her site. Vered is the co-author/photographer of my book, Studio and Location Lighting Secrets. Hey, like the cover shot of the book? My friend, fellow Canon Explore of Light and expert remote control helicopter flyer Eddie Tapp made that wonderful image.

It's Topaz Tuesday. Have Some Creative Fun!

As many of you know, Topaz Adjust from Topaz Labs is one of my favorite plug-ins. It's great for plug-in fun – as well as creative enhancements.

All these images were enhanced with the Spicify effect in Topaz Adjust.

Spicify adds: color, saturation, contrast, detail and sharpness . . . if you want.

For the picture above, I also used the Spificy effect. However, in this case I reduced the noise to the point where the picture lost sharp detail, creating a painterly effect.

For the above image, I reduced the Spicify effect after I opened the picture in Photoshop by going to Edit >Fade Filter. Topaz DeNoise and Topaz ReMask are awesome, too!

Have fun with Topaz. You can save a bundle by ordering a bundle!

Here's a Topaz tip: Always press reset before you start to work on an image. If you don't, your previous settings will be applied to your image.

Explore the light,
Rick