Canadian Camera Conference 2013

Over the weekend of June 28-30, 2013 I had the opportunity to attend the biennial (I learned a new word today!) CAPA Canadian Camera Conference here in Fredericton, NB. I attended as a volunteer and a paid conference goer. This event was organized in conjunction with Photo Fredericton, the local photography club. I have been an active member of the club's executive since moving here 6 or so years ago.

This was my first photography conference, it was well worth the money, and it was very well run. The speakers were amazing, captivating, experienced, friendly and passionate about photography. The 'big' names giving keynote addresses were Freeman Patterson and David duChemin. I became familiar with Freeman only after moving to New Brunswick. I know now he is a Canadian photographic icon - my bad. David duChemin was also unknown to me, maybe I had a glimmer of recognition from reading articles in magazines like Photo Life, or Outdoor Photography Canada. This just serves to illustrate that I need to look at more photos by the guys (and girls) who are doing it right. BTW- I do know who Ansel Adams is. :P

The three photographers who I will remember most are David duChemin, Kurt Budliger and Freeman Patterson - each for a different reason. Freeman, not for his photography, but for what I am coming to realize is a deep understanding of photography and how it speaks about the photographer. Freeman is also very aware of every part of the photograph he is making and why it is there - and his connection to it. His presentation helped me realize that my photographs are about me as much as anything and are unique because of that. David DuChemin is an amazing speaker, funny, sarcastic, and very passionate about life and photography. He illustrated to me that photos are about feeling and story, also that they take work - and that work is part of the process of creating a great photo, and you may learn something along the way. I could listen to David speak for hours! Kurt Budliger is a very friendly and knowledgeable landscape photographer - his images are gorgeous! He fulfilled my need for technical learning by introducing me to some tools and techniques in Lightroom 5 which will speed up my workflow and help me tweak my best images. While his post processing technical knowledge was great - he was always reiterating that the goal was to get it right in the field and spend as little time as is required on the computer.

There were more speakers who also imparted much useful information, but I wanted to point these individuals out as they had the most impact on me.

What did I learn?

• Stop taking safe photos.
• Shoot more, and bring your camera with you to more places.
• Experiment, try things, make photo sketches (all those shots that lead you to the great one)
• Connect with your subjects, create mood and feeling - these are most important.
• New Gear is not the answer - it is just a box for gathering light. Learn the equipment you have.
• Photography is work, photography is art.
• Get excited and live life, it is short!

The next conference is in 2015 in Vancouver - beautiful place, consider going.

Mix and Match

OK – its official, just tested it, it works. I was wondering if a Nikon SB-20 (or 28 for that matter would work on a Canon G15)
Why you may ask? Have you seen the Canon 580ex mounted on a Canon G15?

OK, here is the Canon G11 with the 580EX II, the G15 is slightly smaller than the G11! I would guess that the Canon 580EX II is at least 3x larger than the G15. That is why I wanted to try a Nikon SB-20 – much smaller flash. Couple of things here – I wanted a hot shoe flash that was smaller, and that I could bounce and swivel – well at least bounce. Most flashes that do this are certainly bigger than the G15. The second part to this is that I didn’t want to fry my brand new G15! I have used my SB-20 and SB-24 and SB-28 on my Canon 40D and 50Ds, and the research I found showed that the Nikon flashes seemed to work on previous G models…so I went for it.
Works like a charm. Just set the camera on M, and dial in 1/125 and F/4 @ ISO100, then set the Nikon SB-20 at f/4 and ISO100 and shoot away. The shots were properly exposed, as I expected.
Keep in mind that the Nikon SB-20 is about 1/2 the height of a Canon 580EX flash. Here are some dimensions…
Canon G15: 1.6 x 4.2 x 3 inches
Canon 580ex II: 3 x 5.3 x 4.5 inches (directed forward as per Canon’s specs)
Canon 580ex II: 3 x 7.5 x 2 inches (directed up for a ceiling bounce)
Nikon SB-20: 2.8 x 4.3 x 2.7 inches

Here is a Nikon SB-20, it has an odd head on it, but through the cylindrical mechanism it can bounce at a six different angles (-7, 0, 45,60,75, and 90 degrees) and has 3 diffusions/focus designs in the plastic to change the light dispersion pattern from wide to normal to narrow (28mm, to 35mm, to 85mm). If you lay the flash on its back, it is about the same footprint as the Canon G15, but twice as thick. Much better size match!
A little info about the SB-20, it has a guide number of 100 at ISO100 (in feet). This flash can be found for $50-$60 on EBay. Suggested Canon compatible options for the G15 include the Canon 90ex and the 270ex. The 90ex has a guide number of 30, and retails for about $125. It cannot bounce. The Canon 270ex has a guide number of 89 and retails for about $160.00, the 270ex does bounce. If you don’t mind a little less than full auto / ETTL (may require some thinking) then you can get a small powerful flash for 2-3 times less.
So far, very happy with the new Canon G15 – what fun!

Finally photos, after all the Gear posts!

I have noticed something in myself. I start looking at purchaing more gear, when all I really need is to get out and shoot.
If you have noticed my recent posts, they have been about gear. I really probably have most of the gear I need (did I just say that out loud?!). I just figure I am not shooting because I don't have the right gear...then I go cruising on the internet, looking at reviews, checking out B&H, etc. I may even end up buying something.

Well, I did get out shooting on Father's Day with a friend, just a little walkabout around downtown Fredericton. Some shots are here, and a few more can be found here in the Around Fredericton Gallery.

 

Yay for a sunny Father's Day!

New gear! … again…

OK – so for a while now I have been kinda thinking about getting a compact camera, that had a good set of features, that I could tote around instead of the DSLR on those outings where I just don’t wanna take the big camera. I eyed the Canon S95/100/110 series (which a few friends have and love), and the Canon G series (the 11/12/15/x) and even the EOS-M.

I got reminded of this the other day when I walked by Blacks Camera Store and saw the EOs-M kit for $300 off! Tempting! In the end – it is not so compact when you attach a lens.

I started looking at used Canon G11s and G12s, and the new G15. While I would love the Canon G1X  - there is no way I can justify the price tag for a point and shoot.

I ended up finding a G15 online at an Ontario retailer for a good price – and Future Shop happily beat the price. $396.99 + tax. Not bad for a 12MP point and shoot with a 5x zoom (28-140mm) Image stabilization, RAW capability and a hot shoe! (even HD video!)

Details here: http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/products?m=gp&pid=18831

I tried to make it appealing to my wife by suggesting that the aging 4mp cameras we had were not cutting it any more and she could use it to take great shots of her henna artwork with it (when I didn’t have it of course). She seemed to buy this argument, or maybe she was just humoring me and didn’t put up any discussion.

None of our bags fit properly and so a little search revealed that many people were using the LowePro Apex 60 AW for the Canon G Series. I found one online at staples for $6! I could not believe it.

Well padded, perfect fit, with a sliplock attachment to fit on other Lowepro products.

I can’t wait to spend a little more time with this camera, I think it will be a great alternative to toting the big guns. I am also excited that it is so capable that I can jump into RAW, Manual, external flash etc.!

Equipment (mistake) Update and New Camera Adventure…..

Part 1 – Camera bag

OK – well on the way to fixing my previously posted mistake! Nothing a little $ couldn’t take care of. I thought to myself – I don’t make too many silly mistakes – at least ones that cost me money, I ordered a Lowepro TLZ 55 AW. It came today! This is one size up from the 50 AW and easily accommodates my aforementioned lenses, with camera strap settled on top. A couple of added bonuses too – there are slip lock attachments on BOTH sides and a 580EX flash can fit in the front pocket!

All for only $49 at Adorama. I just need to list my TLZ 50 AW and the TLZ1 to recoupe a few $.

Also in the package were a couple of memory cards – 2 x 8GB Lexar Professional 400x (60 MB/s) CF. After shopping around for either Lexar or Sandisk branded cards in this size and speed range – Adorama had the best price… $20.95 ea.!

I got these to go with……

Part 2 – New (used) camera!

A while few weeks ago I was browsing Kijiji online classifieds and saw a deal on a used Canon 50D. Remember that I own a Canon 40D and a Canon 50D. I have thought off and on about upgrading my 40D to another camera, maybe a Canon 7D, maybe another 50D. The problem with anything other than a 50D is that the accessories and batteries change – and forget full frame (now at least) as that would mean changing some lenses too. All too much $$. SO… I contacted the buyer to arrange for the purchase (he was in another city). I asked, due to the distance and cost, if he would agree to an inspection period, and he did. I found the shutter count too high for my liking (not a fault of the seller) and he agreed to take it back. While we were waiting for the prescribed meeting date, 2 things happened. 1. I found a Canon 50D on e-bay from a Canadian seller with a low shutter count (~14,000) in great condition, and 2. A friend was interested in buying the one I was returning – he didn’t mind the high shutter count.

So in the end we are all happy campers, the seller sold his camera, and now both my friend and I have dual 50Ds in our arsenal (he was also shooting with a 50D plus another model).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to sell the 40D… Kijiji here I come!

Equipment Comments

A bit of a mistake….

So what I did was took a look at my older Lowepro Top Load Zoom 1 bag (seen here):

And I was getting tired of skiing with a backpack, but wanted to haul a camera along…so I bought the chest harness strap kit (seen here):

That allowed me to carry my bag like this (seen here), and skiing with it was great:

But I was only loading a DSLR with a short zoom – 18-55mm kit lens. I wanted something (a TLZ bag) a little bigger that would handle my 55-250mm or my 17-55mm f/2.8, maybe my 11-16mm f/2.8 or even, dare I think, my 100mm f/2.8 macro. I started online shopping…and found the LowePro TLZ 50 AW – which was also compatible with the chest harness. It advertised that it would fit the DSLR with the 17-55mm f/2.8 attached. I lined up my lenses and they would all work…maybe even the macro – it was less than 1/2” taller than the 17-55mm… Click, Click – and I bought one from e-bay! It arrived a few days later, and much to my surprise it was about the same size as the one I already had! I never even thought to try the bag I already owned – I just assumed it would be too small….here is the new one:

There are a couple of differences with this bag – it has the Sliplock attachments on the side to add a lens case, etc. and it has an all weather cover tucked in the bottom. It is about 1/2” deeper as well,  so I am still happy, mostly….

And I did try it skiing, I strapped a #1 Lowepro lens case to one side and slid in the Canon Vixia HF R200 Camcorder – it fit easily.

-André