Opportunity for photo taking

I had some engine trouble last week, and rather than being worried about the actual problem my first thought was to grab a picture before the engine light turned off!


© Photographer: Bradcalkins | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Over on dtnguyen's blog, there was an interesting article on managing a telephoto to get sharp photos. Someone commented that the photo used as an example wasn't sharp, and there was a bit of a 'challenge' for a sharper photo from a telephoto. I started looking through a few photos, and although I have a lot of 'sharper' examples, they are not from telephotos, and are almost in every case a larger portion of the frame. I tried to find some that were about the same percentage of the frame. What I found was that almost all my telephoto shots (70-200 f/4) are a little less sharp than my shots from my 17-55 f/2.8. Here are a couple of examples of what I would consider typical sharp photos my lenses seem to deliver in REAL shots, either outside or in the 'studio'. Another way of saying that is that I don't think I get any sharper results in my telephoto shots (with a great lens that is very capable) than in the example enlargement.

This is from my 17-55mm at 55mm, stopped down a stop:
This is from my 70-200mm at 189mm, wide open at f/4:
Both are processed through Phase One Capture LE with no output sharpening. I didn't adjust any of the settings from the shot defaults. The top photo is a flash capture indoors, and the bottom is a sunlight/shade shot outdoor. I used a 1/250s shutter speed in the telephoto shot (plus IS), and I shoot on an APC sized sensor (Canon 20D).

I'd informally judge them to be about the same sharpness, but the bottom shot was a relatively rare find among my telephoto shots. Perhaps I tend to use the telephoto more often for 'action' shots whereas the shorter focal lengths get more use in controlled lighting situations (i.e. studio/flash). In any case I think it speaks to the need to take time to ensure sharp results from long lenses - the original point of the article.

Color Management, Photoshop Elements & EpsonR1800

After sorting through a large number of web search results to try and find the best settings to use for my Epson R1800 printer, using Espon Premium Photo Paper Glossy, and Photoshop Elements 5 - I finally hit upon a bunch of settings that work for ME. I've ignored the reams of advice to let Photoshop manage the color and turn off the printer color management. Here are the settings I arrived at:

Selected 'Let Printer Manage Color' in PSE:

In the print driver ICM mode, I select my color space (Adobe RGB (1998) for this print), and the paper profile from Espon. What could be easier!

Image Stabilization Works...

Last night I thought I would take a few test shots with my 70-200mm IS lens. This is a 1:1 centre crop of a handheld shot taken at 200mm, at 1/13s f/4. There is no chance I could take a picture this sharp at that shutter speed and focal length without IS. I've converted from RAW and done a little sharpening, about equal to what I would normally do on a shot to print. Also - this was not one out of a bunch of trials, but the only shot taken. The point is that it helps a lot in low light with a static subject.

Depth of Field

Here is an interesting 'take' on the depth of field issue between crop and "full frame" sensors. Anyone using anything other than a 24x36mm sensor will likely be interested in some of Paul's conclusions.

White Balance

I mentioned a while back that I had purchased a Robin Myers grey card. Here is an example of a RAW conversion using the 'As Shot' white balance obtained with the card. I'm really happy with the colors on this. Without the card I was a long way off.

In this case I shot my Canon 580EX through a shoot through umbrella located at camera left. In behind I used my reflector still in the black/silver case with the black side facing the camera. With the flash diffused, but so close to the background, I had to reduce the black a bit to get the background not looking slightly grey. It is a bit of a cliche shot, but I'm developing skills here!

Nik Software - Viveza

It seems to be a non-event on the photo websites, but I think this is a pretty cool product. I love things like this that move you to a new way of thinking about your pictures. I downloaded a trial and gave it a try - it is great for certain types of pictures.

Sounds like Nikon has been using the U-POINT technology for a while - maybe it is just Canon owners that are getting to catch up?