Gear Check

Test

Tested my 85mm lens.

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When I sold my 70-200 2.8L IS to get one of the newer, sharper f4 versions I also picked up a Canon 85mm f1.8 to use for shooting portraits and lifestyle stuff. This week I have been shooting with Kaya Turski , fresh off her win at the European Open and with an x-games medal in her pocket she is finally putting injuries behind her and skiing really well. As well as some skiing stuff, I also wanted to get a few headshots and portraits of her as i’m sure magazines are going to be needing this stuff next winter. …

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70-200 f4 L IS – Initial thoghts

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Those of you who follow this blog will remember that a couple of weeks ago I sold my beloved 70-200 2.8 L IS lens. The lens that has shot the majority of my ski photos for the last few years. I replaced it with it’s smaller and lighter brother the 70-200 f4 L IS. Having spent a couple of weeks using it now I thought I would confirm my initial suspicions. I LOVE this lens. As I sold my old lens I have no way of doing any direct comparisons but if that’s what you want to see then check …

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Out with the old and in with the……..smaller and lighter.

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I think over the last 3 years, about 75% of the photos i have shot have been with the Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS. So today I sold it. Wait….what!??! Yep, it’s gone. You see I was thinking about it, when do I ever shoot that thing at 2.8? I’m always outside and 2.8 is quite a narrow DOF to hit a moving target with when you are not using auto focus (I don’t like using AF). The few times i did use it at wide’ish apertures where for portrait type stuff and then that was mostly at between 70mm …

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What’s in the bag? – Part 1 – Lighting kit

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Ok guys, you asked for it…..  I’m always getting people wandering about the gear I use so  without further delay here is part 1.  A quick video to show you my lighting kit in my Pelican 1610 case.  Below is also a list of whats in the case and some photos too. Bonus! In the case: Elinchrom Ranger RX Elinchrom Ranger “A” head 4 x Nikon SB80DX 4x Vivitar 285 4X Pocketwizard Multimax 4X Dual flash brackets Umbrella holders, mini ballheads and other lightstand accessories Many miles of cables and splitters and spares cables. Gaffer tape and flash gels

Ode to the Sigma 15mm Fisheye lens

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About 3 years ago when I decided to start taking my shooting seriously, I also decided that I was going to need a fisheye lens. What action sports photographer doesnt have a fisheye right? Being a Canon shooter gave me two options, the Canon 15mm Fisheye or the Sigma 15mm Fisheye. At the time I remember reading something posted on the website Wheels And Wax.com saying that the two were nearly identical in image quality. I had just bought a 70-200 2.8L IS so I though i’d save the money and buy my one and only non-canon lens with the …

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Winter gloves for photographers – The POW Photog

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Another question that comes up quite often from readers of this blog and visitors to my site is “what gloves do you wear when you are shooting in the snow?” I’ve seen this question discussed on several other photography websites too, it’s not just ski and snowboard photogs who are in need of a decent pair of winter shooting gloves. Of course the problem is that we want to stay warm but also retain the use of our finger tips for operating the camera controls and most importantly, the shutter button. Wearing a think pair of winter gloves, it’s all …

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What kind of memory cards do I use?

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Here’s a quick post on a question I get asked quite often. What kind of memory cards do I use? I exclusively use the Sandisk Extreme III memory cards. When I first got into photography I had the 2GB vesrsions of this card and I have never experienced a single failure. I think it’s safe to say that most photographers pick one type of card and unless they experience any failures, most likely stick with that type/brand for a very long time. The thing that initially attracted me to these cards was that they are rated down to -25 degrees …

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5DMKII – Quick video test

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The snow has been falling in Vancouver, and that means its time to shoot urban! I took a break from shooting stills yesterday though to film for a couple of minutes with my 5DMKII to see just what sort of video you can get with fast moving subjects and panning. I think I have a lot to learn about video if i’m to put it to good use. As usual, pointing a camera at a snowy scene provides less than stellar results from autoexposure mechanisms. Snow is typically rendered 2/3 of a stop or more underexposed as the camera exposes …

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First shoot with 5D Mark II !

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Last week a new camera arrived the day before a big shoot for a large pharmaceutical company.  I’m not one for going out and shooting test cards and greyscales and all that kind of stuff.  I simply like to test my gear in the situations that I normally find myself. Draw from this what you will then, it is not intended as any sort of review on this camera, there are plenty of those popping up daily on the web.  This is simply a few example shots from my shoot last week, and a few initial thoughts on the camera. …

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Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 2 – Video tripod heads

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Following on from Part 1 where I took a look at some useful sound accessories for the 5DMKII, this week I’m going to be taking a look at video heads for your tripod. For photographers out there wishing to take advantage of the video capabilities of this camera , there is no getting around the fact that you won’t be able to use your current photographic tripod head. Normally I use a Really Right Stuff BH-40, whilst this does have a separate panning base which might be usable for panning horizontally , it would not allow any vertical panning and …

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Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 – Microphones

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When Canon launched the 5dMKII in late 2008 , the quality and look of the video it produced was lost on nobody. It changed everything, Fast forward now to 2010 and I am updating my original posting on microphones for the 5dmkII because it’s popularity has gone from strength to strength. The final episode of the worlds most watched TV show(in 2010), House, was just shot entirely using the Canon 5dMKII. And what is even crazier about the whole story, is that Canon had seemingly no idea of the potential of this camera when they released it. They never intended …

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A new lens for my kit, Canon 300mm f4L IS

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Last winter as my shooting evolved to encompass a lot more backcountry shooting, I increasingly found myself shooting at long end of my 70-200mm F2.8 L IS.  Half way through the season i purchased a Canon 1.4x Teleconverter  to use with it , creating a 280mm F4.  Usable in terms of image quality but not great, I was left a little disappointed unless the lens was stopped down to f8 and that’s a pretty tall order when you are shooting action requiring at least 1/1000 shutter speed. This summer then i decided to pick up something that was naively a …

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