Photographer in Perth, Western Australia
Recommendations
Mike Johnston (The Online Photographer) recently wrote about strategies for buying new cameras—which is certainly not a new topic. If we consider cameras (and lenses) as tools for doing a job, then I think it comes down to a straightforward cost-benefit analysis: what benefits do you expect to reap by going with a particular choice of… Continue reading Strategies for buying new cameras
LensRentals has published some particularly useful articles recently on cleaning lenses and choosing telephoto focal lengths. The first article outlines the procedures that LensRentals uses to clean and check its lenses, but it’s worth bearing in mind that (as they’re rental equipment) those lenses would be seeing far heavier use than any lens owned by… Continue reading Cleaning lenses and choosing telephoto focal lengths
Recently, one of my Compact Flash (CF) memory cards failed. To date, I’ve only used SanDisk cards in my digital cameras, and they’ve been very reliable. This was only the third error in 10 years of shooting, with more than 120,000 frames shot during that time (albeit across two DSLR bodies and five CF cards). That’s a… Continue reading Memory card failure
There are two main types of parts to DSLR systems—bodies and lenses. I’ve covered the mainstream Canon and Nikon bodies, so let’s now turn our attention to lenses for low light action photography. There are two main features we’ll want to see in lenses for low light shooting: A large maximum aperture (optically ‘fast’); and Fast autofocus speed. In poor… Continue reading Choosing Canon and Nikon lenses
A few days ago, I suggested a method for choosing a new DSLR body for low light action photography. I then outlined the current mainstream Canon and Nikon DSLR models, and made a few recommendations within each of those ranges. But how do Canon and Nikon currently fare against each other in this arena? A general point that most photographic writers… Continue reading Canon and Nikon DSLRs head to head
Nikon currently has the second-largest DSLR market share worldwide, after Canon. These two companies are far ahead of the rest of the field, and they have the most complete systems, in this particular market. Below, I describe what I consider to be the current mainstream Nikon DSLRs. There are other Nikon bodies available, such as the D4S (flagship professional body), but… Continue reading Choosing Nikon DSLRs
Canon currently has the largest DSLR market share worldwide, ahead of Nikon. These two companies are far ahead of the rest of the field, and they have the most complete systems, in this particular market. Below, I describe what I consider to be the current mainstream Canon DSLRs. There are other Canon bodies available, such as the EOS-1D X (flagship… Continue reading Choosing Canon DSLRs
For low light action photography, having the right equipment is very important—but what is the ‘right’ equipment? Some years ago, my recommendation was that a DSLR and prime lens be the minimum level of equipment used for this kind of shooting. Mirrorless camera technology has advanced significantly since then, but practical functionality (particularly viewfinder and autofocus)… Continue reading Choosing a DSLR
One of the most important tools for any digital photographer is a high quality computer monitor. There are many capable ‘standard monitors’ out there (the kinds we can buy for less than $200), but then there are the professional-quality monitors designed for imaging work—these range from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars in price. It’s immediately clear… Continue reading Monitors for high quality imaging work
Neil Guy, more widely known as N. K. Guy or NK Guy, maintains a comprehensive set of frequently asked questions and answers for new photographers using the Canon DSLR system. He covers: General questions; Cameras; Lenses; Flashguns; and Filters and other items. Unless you’re a veteran photographer, I’d highly recommend a read through these documents. For those of you who’ve… Continue reading Canon EOS FAQ for beginners