Camera Archives - Photography Blog

Best Camera for Macro Photography

When you start thinking about the best camera for macro photography, the first choice to come to mind is point and shoot camera. This is the easiest choice for reasons I will explain later.

The main choices for best camera for macro photography are point and shoot camera and single lens reflex camera. Choice of film and digital is there but the easy and practical nowadays is the digital. In film cameras you know the result once the film is developed while in digital you can instantly see the results.

Point & Shoot (P&S) Camera

Point and shoot cameras are the small compact cameras with a retracting lens (zoom lens) and a small flash built in the camera.

P&S have a mode called macro. It is sometimes written as M on the mode dial. This is the easiest way to use macro. Just dial in the macro mode and start using the macro mode. The camera automatically adjusts everything for macro photography. It cannot get easy than that. It is very good for learning the basics. You can carry it with you all the time and try your hand anytime an opportunity presents itself.

The point and shoot can focus very close to the subject however it will not give you an image of 1:1 meaning life size image in photo. You can get very close to the subject without disturbing / scaring it. You can use the built in flash for macro photography, but as it is on one side of the lens the light might not be the best one.

Single Lens Reflex (SLR) Camera

The SLRs are made to cater from beginner to the professional photographer. SLRs can be customized for your usage for any kind of photography. The downside is that SLRs are bulky and expensive than point and shoot.

SLR gives you the option to use specialized lenses as per your requirement. You can change lenses to do portraits, sports, macro or landscape photography. You can use a dedicated macro lens like Canon EF 100mm Macro 2.8 Lens or you can use some techniques with a reverse lens / bellows to get macro shots. You can also use dedicated flashes for macro photography or you can make some improvised flash setup at home. The possibilities with SLRs are unlimited for macro photography and you can get the best result for macro photography.

Conclusion

The choice of best camera for macro photography depends upon your requirements and the way you intend to use it.

If you intend to carry it all the time in your pocket and a decent image is all you want then a point and shoot camera is the best choice.
If you are looking for professional quality photographs and are not encumbered by a heavy setup comprising of SLR body, lenses and flash then SLR camera is the best choice for you in macro photography.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review

By Kate

Canon EF 100mm macro f/2.8 is one of the Canon prime lens aimed at photographers who want to venture into macro photography on a budget. The price of this lens and the features make it the favorite canon macro lens in the market. Its sharpness would ensure that every tiniest detail on your tiny subject would stand out.

Should you buy Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens?

This is a true macro lens giving a magnification of 1:1 (life size) reproduction of subjects, meaning you can capture the exact size of your subject on the camera sensor. The minimum focus distance is 1’ while you get 6” minimum working distance from the end of the lens. You can increase the magnification by 1.19x and 1.39x with 12mm and 25mm extension tubes respectively.

This optics in this lens is sharp. At f/2.8 tiny aberrations are hardly observable and by stopping down to f/4.0 the images get incredibly sharp. However, do not expect this sharpness while holding the camera in your hand. Canon claims that the secondary diaphragm blocks stray light at f/2.8 and increases contrast in backlit situations.

Colors are amazing and you would find less time using Photoshop to enhance the saturation in your images. The bokeh is great like it should be all smooth and creamy.

Although Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro is not a L series lens and not build to that quality, it is still solidly well built with metal construction ensuring a long life. It performs exceptionally well in cold temperatures.

The lens uses internal focusing which means the lens length always remains constant and the front element does not extend when you focus the lens. The focus ring is easy to use. Manual focus is available all the time with override option (even in AF mode) to let you take capture great images before they flee. Whenever you feel like controlling the focus, just grab the ring and there you go.

If you are using automatic focusing, Ultrasonic Motor is quite fast at all distances. In fact, some people rate it much faster than the Canon 180mm macro L lens on autofocus.

With focal length of 100mm this makes for a great portrait lens. The bokeh as mentioned above is also smooth and creamy making great head shots.

If you are using this lens on compact sensor, the magnification is 1.6x. This means more working distance in macro and more telephoto effect. However, at 160mm it becomes difficult to handhold the lens and it is better to use a support like monopod.

As this is the propriety lens by Canon, you would find it far way better than other 3^rd party macro lenses ensuring complete compatibility in all areas. Tripod collar and lens hood are available as options.

You can use this lens for reproduction of art and advertisements of selling items online. I personally know people who experienced great difference in their sales based on the images taken with this lens.

There is no Image Stabilization (IS) on Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro the lens which is quite a difference from the L series lens in the same category but with this price this is hardly anything to complain about. I have also experience that AF is sometimes slow in lowlight, but if you are taking macro pictures you should ideally be using a ring flash. Another weak point I noted is that there is not button for shifting from macro mode to telephoto mode, which can sometimes make the camera go focus hunting.

The main competition in macro category would be Canon 50mm and Canon 180mm. The Canon 50mm has a shorter working distance while 180mm although giving more working distance is much more expensive. The Canon 100mm 2.8L with IS is tough competition but it is almost twice the cost making it out of reach for beginners and hobbyists.

A Guide to Purchasing a DSLR Camera for Beginners

By Kate

DSLR Cameras are becoming very popular as they’re now within reach of the average photographer as prices fall and as manufacturers produce easier to use models. In addition to price, there are a number of reasons why you might decide to invest in as dslr camera.

Reasons to Invest In a DSLR Camera for Beginners

Image Quality – As a result of the greater variety of image sensors in a DSLR, accommodating higher pixel sizes, a DSLR camera is able to utilize a faster ISO, resulting in a faster shutter speed and therefore less grainy.

Speed – DSLR’s are quick with respect to start up, focusing and shutter lag.

Adaptability – A DSLR’s capability to change lenses provides numerous possibilities for photographers. A DSLR camera can be used with a variety of quality lenses varying from wide angle to telephoto depending upon what you’re photographing and your budget. Image quality is impacted largely by the quality of the lens you utilize.

Optical Viewfinder – Due to the reflex mirror, what you see through the viewfinder will accurately represent the resulting image.

Large ISO range – This differs among cameras but usually a DSLR camera gives you a big range of ISO settings which allows for flexibility in shooting in numerous conditions.

Manual Controls – A DSLR is created in such a way that it takes into account that the photographer will want control over the settings. While s DSLR camera possesses helpful guide modes, the manual controls are usually built so they’re at the users finger tips as they are shooting.

Value Retention – The lenses you may own are usually compatible with other camera bodies of the same brand, so if you upgrade within the same make, you will not need to purchase a new lens.

Depth of Field – A DSLR camera will be versatile when it comes to depth of field, which allows the photographer to put everything from foreground to background into sharp focus through to blurry.

Quality Optics – There is a substantial amount of variation in quality among DSLR lenses, but the lens that comes with a DSLR camera for beginners will be of better quality than that of a point and shoot camera. I suggest DSLR buyers get the best quality lenses that they can afford. If choosing between a high end lens for a medium range camera or a medium range lens for an advanced camera, choose the higher quality camera lens because they add so much to photos end result.

How to choose a Digital SLR Camera for Yourself

By Kate

It depends a lot on a person’s profession and usage when it comes to choosing a digital SLR camera. There are many advantages of choosing a digital SLR Camera. One of the key feature is the lens attached is used for viewing and focusing the image. The other cameras don’t have such function; the object is basically seen through the viewfinder and not the lens. Whatever image is seen in the camera before clicking the same comes on the negative. SLRs are parallax error free. The SLRs have multiple features that can be implemented for various uses. Use of different lenses makes the camera usable in many situations. Keeping this in mind most manufacturers have come up with a wide range accessories and lenses for SLRs. For example some lenses come with very long focal lengths making the objects clear especially when a wildlife photographer uses it. As it won’t be possible for them to go near to the wild animals still the image is not blurring.

When you go for choosing a DSLR then first thing to click your mind should be ‘what you would like to photograph?’ What are your photography styles? Few of them are listed below:

Landscapes

A landscape photographer would like to click the beauty of nature. There is no human figure to be clicked so the main focus is on clarity of stationary objects.

Wildlife

A wildlife photographer would like to click only moving objects. As the focus will be on wild animals so the images to be captured are for running or moving objects. Overall sedentary objects are not to be captured.

Small objects

If a photographer likes clicking small objects for example a flower so very minute details of that flower is to be captured. And fine details of the surroundings are also focused. Another name for this is macro photography.

Availability of light

If you love to click objects during night then such lens are required which makes the objects clear irrespective the availability of light.

When you travel

While travelling no one would choose such a camera which is bulky or requires accessories for its use. It’s not convenient to carry loads of things when you travel. You should be able to click objects while biking, hiking etc.

When you want to click indoor

The light availability is the maximum if the objects are clicked at home. And most of the time the objects are stationary. So it’s very easy .The focus and clarity of objects is very easy.

Frequently moving objects

If you like photographing frequently moving objects then you need a different lens. For example if you want to photograph a small child then obviously small kids keep on moving and changing expressions. The SLR should be able to capture the moment which you want to capture for the lifetime.

Portraits

When you want to photograph the facial expressions of a person the clarity is a must.

Continuous Shooting on the Canon EOS 400D

By Kate

The Canon EOS 400D has the option to use a ‘Continuous Shooting’ drive mode in the following Modes: Sports Mode, Portrait Mode, Program AE (P Mode), Shutter Priority AE (TV Mode), Aperture Priority (AV Mode), Manual Exposure (M Mode) and Automatic Depth of Field (A-DEP Mode). So I thought it would be handy to write a brief article exploring how continuous shooting works and when and why it can be helpful to use it.

How Many Photos Per Second?

According to the Canon Manual, continuous shooting allows “up to 3 shots per sec” to be taken. I have just carried out a crude test of ‘continuous shooting’ speed in two modes (Program AE – P Mode and A-DEP Mode) and using two different AF (auto focussing) Modes – One Shot Mode (camera will focus only once during continuous shooting) and AI Servo (focusing will be continuous during continuous shooting). The results were were as follows:

Program AE – P Mode

•   One Shot Mode
◦   Max duration of continuous shooting – approx 9 secs
◦   Number of photos taken – 24 photos
◦   Photos per sec – 2.6 photos per sec
•   AI Servo
◦   Max duration of continuous shooting – approx 8 secs
◦     Number of photos taken – 16 photos
◦   Photos per sec – 2 photos per sec

A-DEP Program

•   One Shot Mode
◦   Max duration of continuous shooting – approx 14 secs
◦   Number of photos taken – 34 photos
◦   Photos per sec – 2.42 photos per sec
•   AI Servo
◦   Max duration of continuous shooting – approx 28 secs
◦     Number of photos taken – 43 photos
◦   Photos per sec – 1.5 photos per sec

So, it does seem that in some modes it would be possible to take up to 3 photos a second. However, the number of photos that can be take per second will be affected by various factors, such as:

1. The AF (auto focus) mode used – if you use AI Servo AF whilst doing continuous shooting the number of photos per second will be lower. This makes sense since in this AF mode the camera is continuously adjusting its focus for each shot, which will inevitably reduce the shot speed. You can see this in the above figures – within both P-Mode and A-DEP mode less photos per second were taken when AI Servo was used as compared to One Shot AF Mode. [Read more…]

Candid Photography with the Canon EOS 400D

By Kate

Over the weekend I went to a summer party and decided to take along my Canon EOS 400D rather than the smaller Nikon E4600 I usually use at social gatherings. This is because I’m now used to the incredibly high quality photos that can be produced by using the Canon with its 10.1 megapixel capability – the Nikon’s 4 megapixel capability just doesn’t come close. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to see how the Canon performs when taking more ‘candid’ photographs of people instead of the posed photos I’ve mainly taken so far.

What is ‘candid’ photography?

Candid photographs are those that are taken spontaneously without any posing or staging and with the aim of capturing people acting naturally. Therefore, when you are trying to take candid photos you need to take them quickly and inconspicuously since people’s behaviour tends to change when they are aware of cameras.

Technical settings for candid photography

Candid photography “focuses on spontaneity rather than technique” (Wikipedia). This makes sense; if you want to photograph people as they really are (without cheesy grins and model-like poses) you can’t afford to stand for ages messing around with the camera’s settings to get the perfect shutter-speed, aperture, ISO etc. The photo may not be technically perfect, but this is a situation where the photo’s content takes priority.

I took my candid photos using the fully automatic mode on the Canon EOS 400D since it meant I could take reasonably good photos very quickly. However, the downside to using this mode is that the flash will always fire in low light – there’s nothing like flash photography to draw attention to yourself!!

While writing this article I have found a really helpful webpage (Digital Photography School) with tips on taking candid photographs, which I shall have to try in the future. One of the tips is to avoid using flash photography by setting a higher ISO value and widening the Aperture to allow more light onto the imaging sensor – therefore avoiding dark photos without using flash. However, I’m not sure this would have been enough in the dark marquee that I was photographing in on Saturday night!

Practical approach to candid photography

One practical problem I encountered when using the Canon EOS 400D to take candid photos was the fact that it was quite difficult to inconspicuosly take photos in the relatively small area in which the party was held. This was probably mainly due to the fact that the Canon was so much bigger than all the other digital cameras (simple point-and-clicks) being used at the party.

Additionally, the fact that I usually store it in a Lowepro camera bag didn’t help; by the time I had the camera out of the bag and ready to take photos people were very aware of its presence and therefore tended to strike poses or at least look less natural.

However, I got around these problems by carrying the Canon around my neck outside the bag for periods of time so that people got used to it being there and I could access the camera to take photos quickly.

Staged vs Candid Photos

Staged Photographs – advantages and disadvantages

I find that staged photos work well as formal momentos of an occasion, particularly if you are not very photogenic! The subjects of the photo can take the time to groom and pose themselves properly and the photographer can fine-tune both the lighting and the camera’s technical settings, meaning that the resultant photograph is much less likely to be a source of embarrassment for anyone.

However, people undoubtedly look less natural in staged photos – one example of this is the tendancy to adopt either a fake wide toothy smile or an uncomfortable close lipped grimace/smile. This means that looking at a staged photo will not give any insight into how the person in the photo was feeling that day and you often lose any true sense of the relationship between individuals.

Additionally, staged photos usually don’t capture the atmosphere of the occasion – when looking through my own and other people’s photos I have often noticed how people adopt the same pose in each picture with only their clothing and the backdrop changing! [Read more…]