Due for a replacement soon?

The first whisperings of Canon’s crop camera successors are being heard, and we expect something to come to light by the time Photokina comes around in Septermber.

As long time users of the XXD line and the 7D, it’s naturally exciting to see what Canon has to come up with.

We’ll be updating this space with the latest rumors on the latest crop camera from Canon with our comments in italics…

May 14, 2012 – 7D Replacement

• Camera capable of 10fps is in testing
• Variation of the 61pt AF system found in the 5D Mark III and 1D X

With 10fps and a 61pt AF system, it seems like a camera aimed for the pro sports market, especially with the departure of the 1.3x 1D series. 

May 9, 2012 – New Crop Camera

• Amalgamation of the 60D and 7D into one camera.
• XXD line would go back to being a higher end camera.
• No mention of whether it would be called 70D or 7D Mark II
• No big megapixel jump from the current 18mp, though different image sensor than the T4i
• There is no defined announcement date yet

This looks like it would make many old XXD shooters happy. I’d personally love to see a combo of the two cameras.

Stay tuned for more updates as time goes on!

In the wake of the highly esteemed 7D, the 60D took the XXD line in a new direction with a slightly dumbed down feature set. Having been a long time user of the XXD line, what I’ll do mostly in this review is address each of these changes. Here we go…

Canon EOS 60D © Jesse Warren

One of the best features of this camera, in my opinion, is the swivel LCD screen. I’ve done more than a few studio shoots where this swivel screen was a life saver. With it, you can shoot at low or high angles without having to crouch down or get in awkward positions to see the screen or adjust your settings. I can’t state how valuable this is. I only wish it would trickle up to one of Canon’s full frame cameras…

The 60D was widely derided upon release in part due to its cheaper plastic shell. Personally, I don’t think it makes one bit of difference – except for maybe making the camera lighter. Also, how often have you heard of these things breaking or cracking? Right…

I was concerned about the locking mode dial, thinking it would be a pain to adjust each time. While I would still prefer no locking button, in practice it hasn’t been that bad. But why they placed the movie mode on the far side of the wheel is beyond me, especially when you can’t rotate non-stop. Even my humble little S100 can do this.

The 60D lost the joystick of the previous models and replaced it with an 8-way controller around the set button. It doesn’t have the most precise tactile sensation, but it works well enough, and I’d say at least as good as the joystick did. It also works double as navigation in the menus, not just for AF points, which is nice.

The new swivel screen forced all of the buttons form the left over to the right side of the camera – which is just as well because it means one handed operation is much easier now, especially with the Q button right by your thumb. The top plate controls have been simplified to one function – which actually makes things less confusing. Ergonomically, it’s a fantastic camera.

The 60D inherited the 18MP sensor of the 7D, and you can’t argue there. While not as good a performer as the sensor in its rival – the Nikon D7000 – it’s no slouch and produces fine looking files. Just don’t count on ISO 12,800 anytime soon, although 6400 can be useable in a pinch.

THe 60D was the first Canon to include TTL control of Canon Speedlites – which is a feature that Nikon has had for years. This is a huge advantage for those doing off-camera flash photography. No need to buy an ST-E2 or other triggers. Although if you’re firing speedlites other than Canon, you’ll need some triggers.

My conclusion? Despite the fact the camera was subject to quite a lot of abuse and criticism, it has served my needs well. Aside from what I’ve already mentioned, it has a wonderfully comfortable grip, reduced size for more portability, and a bargain price that comes in under a grand. Despite it not being full frame, or housed in a magnesium alloy shell, or sporting the latest and greatest AF – it has been my go-to camera in the studio, thanks in large part to the extremely useful swivel screen.

It features yet another one of the Aputure sales girls, Grace, and I think she did a fabulous job for her first time in front of the lights. What do you think?

Anyways, check out the video to learn more about Trigmaster II…

Shenzhen, May 9, 2012 - Aputure Photo Tech Co. is pleased to announce our latest flash trigger, the Trigmaster II 2.4G.

Trigmaster II is the perfect triggering solution for your speedlite, studio strobe, and camera shutter needs. It inherits the advantages of the previous models while adding exciting new features, bringing you a splendid  flash and camera control experience.

It has a plethora of features jam-packed into a small unit, including 1/250s sync speed, 16 channels, and more. If you’re just getting into off-camera flash photography, or even been in the game for a while, Trigmaster II won’t let you down.

Main Features

• Control speedlite flash
• Control studio strobe
• Control camera shutter
• 2.4G wireless frequency
• Triggers up to 120 meters
• 100% reliability within 80 meters
• Awakens most speedlite brands
• Can control multiple cameras
• Compatible with high voltage flashes
• Compatible with 2.4G Aputure triggers
• Transmitter uses AAA batteries

Stay tuned for an upcoming video…

Supermoon © Jesse Warren

First let me preface this by saying that these are not the best moon photos ever, but…what you may take from this is how to coax a decent moon picture out of some basic DSLR equipment. 

Last night happened to be a “Supermoon” – the closest and brightest the full moon will be all year. I didn’t know this at the time, but when I saw it, naturally I ran for my camera to get some shots.

You don’t need any super-telephotos lens costing multiple thousands of dollars here.  I used a Canon 50D and Canon 70-200 2.8L for this shot. Zoomed out to 200mm, that only gave me 320mm of effective focal length to work with, but it was enough. You don’t even need an L though – I’ve shot with a cheap superzoom (Sigma 18-200) in the past with passable results. Any 70-300mm will do even better.

Now for the few tips…

1. Use a tripod. Duh.

This goes without saying. Actually you can get a decent shot handheld, but to avoid any motion blur, use a tripod.

2. Shoot in manual mode. 

When you’re zoomed in on it, the moon is so bright, you’ll need to underexpose by quite a bit to get a correct exposure. The maximum -2EV of my camera just didn’t cut it.

3. Stop down your aperture.

f/8 will do. This will help make the details of the moon sharper.

4. Take multiple exposures. 

This will help ensure you get the one you want. Out of about 6 shots there was one that I definitely preferred to the others.

5. Wait until the moon is full. 

Why? Because it’s brighter, which will help you shoot at low ISOs and sharp apertures, and will provide more detail to marvel at.

6. Get creative. 

Everyone’s taking the same moon shots. Why not use your imagination a bit?

7. Shop it up! 

With Photoshop of course. I find that cropping to 100%, upsizing, dragging the curves around, and applying an unsharp mask usually does the trick. That’s exactly what I did for this image.

—

The original image…

Original Supermoon © Jesse Warren

After PS…

Supermoon © Jesse Warren

My first attempt at shooting the moon…with a Sigma 18-200 superzoom.

Slice of the Moon © Jesse Warren

An oddball attempt to fake a lunar eclipse…

Fake Lunar Eclipse © Jesse Warren

There ya go. Happy moon shooting!

Extras

Check out these great supermoon shots from The Big Picture and In Focus.

I was pretty sure that the 4th image would win with its impressive strobist techniques, but little did I know. In fact, I wasn’t even sure whether to include the winning image in the finals, but something told me to keep it in. After all, appeals to my style of shooting (shallow depth of field).

Anyways, the winner took an ordinary/ugly subject and made it look good, so props to him for doing so, and for winning the contest. He’ll get a new set of Trigmaster IIs.

1st Place

Beautiful/Disgusting © Joe Bergquist

2nd Place

Curvature © Wilson Hurst

 3rd Place

Untitled © Nikki Mensent

Honorable Mention

Milk Twin Flash © Joe Dyer

 Honorable Mention

Earthy and Sky © zPrime

April had 5 birthdays, and we convened in the old studio to celebrate, play games, sing songs, and have some cake and snacks. Here are a few snaps of the shenanigans…

(All shots were take w/ Canon 60D + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 by Jesse Warren)

Yen

Birthday Crew

Colin

Game Time

Job On The Mic

In A Row

Lizzy On The Mic

Girls looking on...

Shy Girl

Hardy

Here are a variety of photo-essays dealing with not only Earth Hour and Earth Day, but also other fascinating aspects of our planet. Have a look…

Your Earth Photos – Nat Geo features the best of your very own Earth photos…and we must say, there are some good ones.

Aghanashini River, India © Dinesh Hegde

Images of Earth from Above - an excellent series from the Atlantic, showcasing aerial images of the Earth, it’s landscapes, cities, people, etc.

A View of Earth © NASA

April F-Stop – Surfline reminds us every month how much natural beauty we get to appreciate as surfers with photos like these.

Outer Banks © Matt Lusk/Surfline

Earth Hour 2012 – The Big Picture delivers again with a great series that lets you see sites around the world before (lit-up) and during (dark) during Earth Hour this year.

The Great Wall at Badaling © (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Hawaiian Waves - you’ve probably come across Clark’s work before, but why not check out these new photos from his website…

In the Barrel © Clark Little

Photographing the Northern Lights – a wildlife photographer that we interviewed a while back shares his first experience shooting the northern lights in Norway.  All we can say is…wow. More photos here.

Norwegian Northern Lights © Juza

Gangxia West Village –  this is part of a series that I’ve been working on, documenting the life cycle of a city block as it changes from old urban village into demolished lot into a modern shopping mall complex.

The Last Tree © Jesse Warren

Lee Morris of FStoppers

Tell us about yourself. I’m currently 28 years old and I live in Charleston SC. I love the outdoors, especially wakeboarding and kiteboarding but for some reason I always have to force myself to leave my computer chair. I tend to begin working in the afternoon and stop working well after midnight. When I have meetings at lunch time I have to set an alarm so I don’t sleep past noon.

What’s the best thing about living in Charleston? The water. I can jump on a boat or go to the beach in less than 10 minutes from my house.

How did you get started in photography? I went to school for graphic design and I always thought that is what I was going to be. In college I took photography classes but was never very interested. When I was a Junior I interned with a photographer and a advertising agency at the same time. During this time I realized that I was a terrible graphic designer and I hated having office hours and having a boss. The photographer was in his twenties, owned his own studio, didn’t answer anyone, woke up when he wanted, went home when he wanted, and made way more money. I decided that I would become a photographer at any cost.

One camera and one lens for the rest of your life – what would it be? I just got a D800 yesterday so I would have to say a D800 and a 24-70mm 2.8.

Do you see yourself remaining a wedding photographer throughout your career? No. I love wedding photography at the moment but I’ve always said I don’t want to be the old, nerdy, wedding photographer. I may always shoot weddings for friends but I plan to eventually stop marketing. I hope to be doing other things within 5-10 years.

A few videos featuring Lee and his work…

Lee Morris of R.L. Morris Weddings from FStoppers on Vimeo.

The iPhone Fashion Shoot – Lee Morris Shoots With The 3GS Fstoppers from FStoppers on Vimeo.

Fstoppers Original: Lee Morris Shoots Oak Steakhouse from FStoppers on Vimeo.

Hilarious © Ken Rockwell

Ken Rockwell is one of the most popular figures in photography (there’s even a fake Ken website). He is also one of the most divisive.

Search for anything photo-related and chances are Ken’s pages will rank towards the top. He is opinionated, controversial and lays it bare for all. Perhaps that’s the method to his madness. But there is no denying he has a passion for photography and spends plenty of time snapping away.

There is a lot of useful information to glean from the site if you can look past the BS.

Take note from Ken’s about page:

“I have a big sense of humor, and do this site to entertain you (and myself), as well as to inform and to educate. I occasionally weave fiction and satire into my stories to keep them interesting. I love a good hoax. A hoax, like some of the things I do on this website, is done as a goof simply for the heck of it by overactive minds as a practical joke.”

Anyways, here’s how you can get the most out of Ken’s website…

Daily RSS Feed

Ken’s daily RSS feed runs kind of haywire, updating itself every time he updates a page (instead of once per post). But it’s a useful way to keep track of where he’s updating his website, recent deals and discounts, and also if you just want to read some interesting banter on various topics of photography.

Recommended Cameras & Lenses

Where I think Ken gets it right is not in his “scientific comparisons” (leave that to dpreview and co.) but for general advice for novice photographers. For those just getting into photography or with basic questions, you’ll get some pretty sound advice from his recommended cameras page. For example, his continued praise of the 35mm f/1.8, which will get a lot more striking images than a basic kit lens. Likewise, his praise of the S100 as the world’s best compact camera. I can attest to that, as can just about everyone I know whose gotten it.

How to Take Better Pictures

Ken pretty much hits the nail on the head. It’s not about resolution or your camera, but about your eye and your vision, and making the most of what you have. A few good articles include The Importance of Timing, How to Get Great Colors, & Your Camera Doesn’t Matter. Ken’s pictures are not the best in the world, but there are certainly some decent ones in there. He can coax a good image out of almost any camera without PS, and for amateurs looking to achieve the same thing, you can learn a lot.

Some of Ken’s Photos

Coming soon…