Light Description

G1 Xpectations

2012-01-29T19:34:00.001-06:00

OK, so the title is a bit hokey but after reading many previews of the G1X, as well as the User Guide, I’m beginning to get a feeling for it. This seems to be a good time for realistically evaluating my own expectations of the G1X. But first, a few interesting references:

Canon announcement, product page, video and User Guide

Previews
     - DPreview, CES hands-on, Update, Sample gallery
     - Which (and a video)
     - PhotoReview
     -Imaging Resource

Posts here at LightDescription
     - Specification comparison to G9 and G12; to Pro1 and G12
     - Notes on User Guide: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
     - G1X announcement

By now, nearly three weeks after Canon’s announcement, the Internet is full of opinions on the G1X. Here’s what I expect.

Canon has said that the G1X will be shipped in February but Amazon says release is on March 31. My G1X is on pre-order from a different supplier and no ship date has been promised. Although some purchasers seem to think that they will receive their G1X in early February, I expect mine to come towards the end of February and perhaps early March.

I’ll be writing about the “G1X” even though the official name is “G1 X” (note the space). Confusingly, there is a Panasonic GX1 (officially DMC-GX1) and a Fujifilm X-Pro1.

I’m looking forward to
     - Large sensor features and better high ISO and reduced depth of field
     - Improved dynamic range
     - Higher resolution LCD (should be useful for manual focus accuracy)
     - Full HD video with optical zoom
     - Playing with Movie Digest mode
     - Silent operation but high quality images.

At the same time, I’m expecting to compensate and use work-arounds for
     - Larger size, heavier camera
     - Reduced battery life
     - No conversion lens adapters (probably temporary shortcoming)
     - Lack of close-ups (“macro” is limited); will probably use G12 for macros
     - Reduced telephoto focal length (am wondering about cropping)
     - Slow response (“shutter lag”) – but probably improved over G12
     - RAW + adjustable (colors, noise, compression, sharpening) JPEG mode

I’m preparing to be disappointed in
     - ETTL flash in manual exposure mode
     - “screen blanking” bug
     - Lack of flexibility in movie mode
     - F5.8 at max telephoto (wishing for, say, f4)

I expect to have a very nice camera in a few weeks but hope to be pleasantly surprised by an earlier delivery.

G1X User Guide Notes (Part 3)

2012-01-24T20:27:00.001-06:00

Continuing to read in the G1X User Guide and post thoughts and differences as compared to the G12 …

Playback Mode includes editing and I’ve rarely edited in-camera – except to delete mistakes! It’s interesting to me to realize how many people keep an album on their camera.

Scroll Display. I don’t care for the Scroll Display when viewing images and didn’t realize it could be turned off (p141). Scroll Display is now OFF on my G12.

Grouped images. Images shot in burst mode can be view individually or ungrouped but this takes a few button presses and use of the Main Menu (p148). Seems awkward to me but I’ll try it because burst mode is likely to be useful.

Hints and Tips. Like the G12, the G1X comes configured to display brief hints and tips while working through the various settings and menus. After a while, these hints and tips are no longer needed and can be turned off (p173).

Formatting. As a carry-over from past (bad) experiences, I always format memory cards from the device they are to be used in. I reformat frequently but usually not at “Low Level”. Formatting the G1X memory card appears to be the same as formatting the G12 memory card.

Copyright. Copyright information can be entered from the Main Menu of the G1X. This was not possible with the G12 (although it could be set in Canon software and transferred to the G12).

Accessories. Most of the G1X accessories will probably not be interchangeable with G12 accessories.

Battery. As noted previously, the battery is different from the G12 battery and offers fewer shots per charge.

AC Adapter Kit. I have the ACK-DC50 AC Adapter Kit for my G12; however, the G1X requires the ACK-DC80 – no doubt because the dummy battery is different.

Macrolite adapters will be different from the G12 even though the macro ring lite is (apparently) the same.

Cases. Soft cases and underwater cases are different from the G12 because, obviously, the G1X is larger.

Lens Hood. Canon offers the LH-DC70 lens hood for the G1X; this is new as far as I can tell.

Filters. Like the G12, the G1X uses 58mm filters; however, I expect some difficulty here. G12 filters are placed on a lens adapter. G1X filters are placed on a filter adapter, FA-DC58C. Looks like the hood attaches in the same way as the filter adapter which means that hood and filter adapter cannot be used at the same time. I expect the G1X to eventually have a lens adapter – even if from a third party – that uses a larger filter size and can accept conversion lens.

External Flash. I am extremely curious about external flash with the G1X. Flash is covered in Section 8; however, it does not satisfy my curiosity. One of my biggest complaints about the G series has been that its external flash capability appears to be intentionally crippled as compared to the Canon DSLR. Specifically, when a G series camera is placed in Manual exposure mode, the flash controls also become fully manual. Said a different way, there is no ETTL automatic flash control when a G series camera is in Manual exposure. Although I had high hopes that external flash on the G1X would be more like Canon DSLR, it more and more appears to be standard G series logic and controls for flash – in spite of the hopes raised by the wording on the external flash chart on page 204. I am afraid that the G1X does not meet my hopes for external flash.

This concludes my reading and posting from the G1X User Guide. The use and operation of the G1X appears to be much more similar than different from the G12 and even prior G series PowerShots. In most ways, this similarity is a welcome feature. I’m awaiting the delivery of my G1X even more anxiously than ever.

G1X User Guide Notes (Part 2)

2012-01-22T09:12:00.001-06:00

In a previous post, I began reading the G1X User Guide and making notes of the differences between the new G1X and my current G12. This post picks up at Section 3: Other Shooting Modes.

Section 3 is primarily concerned with the other automated shooting modes such as SCN, Filters and Movies. I’ve rarely used SCN modes because RAW files are not available with the SCN mode. Creative Filters is somewhat interesting but, again, no RAW.

HDR. I did try the in-camera G12 HDR and will be trying G1X HDR as well. With the G12, I preferred to produce my own HDR images using Photomatix. Like the G12, the G1X in-camera HDR is generated from three bracketed shots with a choice of five processing variations: no effect, sepia, B/W, super vivid, poster.

Miniature effect. The Miniature Effect blurs the upper and lower portions of the image. It is available in still or movies on the G1X but only movies on the G12.

Movie Digest. I admit to be curious and interested in Movie Digest. When shooting in Movie Digest mode, short video clips are made prior to taking a still image. The G1X then combines all the clips from that day into a single video file. Cute and not available in the G12. I wonder about mixing various stills and Digest image files on the same memory card. How does the G1X know when to combine all the clips?

High-speed Burst. This feature was one of the bragging points in launching the G1X. It is available only in the SCN mode and generates 4.5 images per second but is limited to 6 consecutive images. The consecutive shots are considered part of a “group”. During playback only the first image will be displayed. If that image is erased then the entire group is erased! (Glad I read that!) Groups can be “ungrouped” – more instructions to read.

Movies. In “Movie Mode”, movies are nearly fully automated but some adjustments are available: Exposure adjustment (but not with the top dial), AF frame, manual focus, self timer, ND filter, white balance (p92).

Movies in P Mode. Interestingly, movies can also be recorded when the top dial is in P mode by pressing the Movie button. Function and Menu settings may be changed automatically if necessary. Wonder if there’s an advantage to shooting movies from P Mode?

Auto ISO. Maximum for Auto ISO is 1600; this is set in the main Menu.

Noise reduction. There are three levels of noise reduction in the main Menu.

i-Contrast. For problems with highlights, adjust “Dynamic Range”. For problems with shadows, adjust “Shadow Correct”. These are the same as for the G12 but I’m hoping that typing it will help me to remember! Available through the Function settings but not available in RAW modes. Not available when shooting RAW+JPEG.

Preset focal lengths. By assigning the zoom function to the front dial, present focal lengths of 28, 35, 50, 85, 100, 112 mme are available as steps in the zoom range. Not available in Movie mode.

Powered IS is an additional image stabilization mode for “slow” camera movement while filming movies.

That’s it for instructions on taking pictures; next is Playback instructions.

G1X User Guide Notes

2012-01-20T20:41:00.001-06:00

While waiting for my G1X (pre-ordered), I’m reading its instruction manual and making note of similarities and differences that appear useful or interesting as compared to the G12. Many of these similarities and differences are summarized in a previously posted comparison chart. Based on product announcements and previews, it appears that operation of the G1X will very similar to the G12. These notes may appear to be random but are being added while reading from the beginning of the 244 page G1X manual.

Control Dial. As has been reported, one major difference between the G12 and G1X is that ISO selection has been moved from a dedicated dial on the top of the camera to the “up” section of the Control Dial on the back of the camera. I’m curious but hopeful about how this relocation will work out. Manual focus has been shifted to the left section of the Control Dial.

Cap and Strap. The G1X comes with a removable lens cap and string to attach it to the camera – looks to be an improvement over the G3 removable cap. Instead of the neck strap, I’ll be using a Gordy wrist strap.

Battery. The battery is an NB-10L instead of the NB-7L used in the G12.

Flash. The internal flash will not pop up automatically (page 22); instead, a message appears on the display screen to “Raise the flash”. It seems that the picture will still be taken (without flash) if the flash is not raised. Push the flash back into the camera body before shooting movies.

Software. I don’t use the included ZoomBrowser or Digital Photo Professional software so won’t have comments on those instructions. In the past, there have been problems when downloading images from the G9 or G12 (especially when shooting RAW+JPEG) so I always download images by inserting the memory card into the computer or a card reader.

Movie recording time. Similar to other PowerShots and Canon DSLRs, continuous recording time is limited to 30 minutes. This limitation is widely said to be a result of European taxes on high resolution video cameras.

Macro focus. The quoted 20cm minimum focus distance is at wide angle; at full telephoto minimum macro focus distance is 85cm. Without macro setting, the minimum focus distance at full telephoto is 130cm using auto focus but is 85cm in manual focus. It appears that the “macro” setting is not a lens shift but is a change in the auto focus algorithm.

Shooting speed. The quoted 4.5 frames per second is really only available in the burst mode; in Program mode, the maximum is 1.9 frames per second.

Shutter button. Everyone, please notice the “half-press” technique for the shutter button on page 41. It’s the same as the G12 but surprisingly few people know about this very useful and recommended technique.

Mode Dial. Shooting modes C2, C1, M, Av, Tv, P and Auto are located as expected on the Mode Dial. After Auto, the G1X has SCN (Scenes), Creative Filters, and Movie instead of the Low Light, Quick Shot, SCN, and Movie of the G12.

Image stabilization. There are six image stabilization icons displayed to indicate the type of stabilization that is automatically applied if IS Mode is turned ON in the main menu.

Self-timer. The self-timer control has moved from the Control Dial (G12) to the Function Settings. A delay up to 30 seconds can be programmed and up to 10 still shots can be taken. The self-timer also works with movies.

Compression ratios. Contrary to some rumors and wishes, according to the instruction manual, there are only two compression ratios used for JPEG images: Fine and Normal. (Some older Canon cameras also had a “Superfine” compression ratio. I know the Superfine files contain more detail but, in practice, I’ve not be able to discern much difference between Superfine and Fine. Superfine files were notably larger than Fine files.)

Multi-area White Balance. The main menu includes an option to automatically detect and correct the white balance of areas partially lit by mercury lamps. Although this feature was advertised as “Multi-area White Balance”, in the menu, the option shows up as “Hg Lamp Corr” (page 63).

Movie image. One of the selling points for the G1X is the ability to film full HD movies (1920x1080 @ 24 fps). This option is selected from the Function Settings. Other options are 1280x720@30fps and 640x480@30fps.

(Notes from the instruction manual will continue …)

Features: Pro1 vs G12 vs G1x

2012-01-16T20:37:00.001-06:00

In 2004, Sony came out with their ICX456 sensor, a 2/3” 8MP CCD, and their DSC-F828 camera using it. Nikon (8700), Olympus (C-8080), Konica-Minolta (DiMAGE A2) and Canon (Pro1) immediately used that same sensor in their own “premium” compact, non-interchangeable lens cameras of that year. In those days, one has to suspect that Sony was more interested in selling sensors than cameras!

Although the Pro1 is revered among Canon enthusiasts, most reviews placed it in the middle of the pack of those cameras using the Sony sensor. In my own opinion, the Pro1 (in Canon’s sometimes strange product numbering system, there is also a Pro70 and a Pro90 IS) was the smallest, best-looking and most desirable of that group. Although I seriously considered the Pro1, I already had a G3 and decided to add a Canon DSLR, the 20D, to my arsenal instead of the Pro1. I think this was the correct decision for me at the time.

For those interested in comparing the specifications and features of the Pro1 to the current G12 and upcoming G1X, I’ve modified the previous chart comparing the G9, G12 and G1X. As noted above, I do not own and have never used the Pro1. Also, I could not find the complete specifications (even in the Pro1 manual) and have relied on reviews from DCresource, DPreview, and Luminous Landscape.

On re-reading the reviews for the Pro1, I was reminded of the low ISO limits of those years. the Pro 1 shows very poor performance at ISO 400 and also lots of “purple fringing”.

Features: G9 vs G12 vs G1X

2012-01-14T14:38:00.001-06:00

I own and use the PowerShot G9 and G12 and plan to get the G1X. Below is a rather quick comparison of the specifications and features available in the G9, G12 and G1X. I did not attempt to list all specifications and features, especially those that were essentially the same or those that I felt were relatively insignificant. Cells colored green indicate a specification or feature that I felt was significantly desirable or improved in comparison to the other cameras.

Flash Straps

2012-01-12T21:16:00.001-06:00

So many flash accessories are attached by Velcro that my handful of miscellaneous flashes are all taped up with Velcro. Most of the time, that’s OK but there are other, cleaner and neater, solutions. Both LumiQuest and HonlPhoto offer removable straps for mounting flash accessories. Unsure of which to use, I bought one of each. Here’s a very quick review.

The straps are similar but different. The Honl strap is wider. The LumiQuest strap can be stretched (note the “loops” in the fabric).

My taped up 580EX II is on the right and my Yongnuo 565EX with the Honl strap is on the left.

In the above picture, the Velcro patches were removed from the 580EX II and the LumiQuest strap was installed.

Although neither came with instructions (!), both straps seemed to work well. The LumiQuest strap is slightly more difficult to install because it must be stretched; however, it does not slip on the flash whereas the Honl strap could be slid. In practice, the Honl worked fine. “Testing” was done with my largest and heaviest flash attachment, the LumiQuest LTp softbox.

I’m ordering LumiQuest straps for the other flashes.

G1X Announced

2012-01-09T17:23:00.001-06:00

As expected (although expected tomorrow), Canon has announced the new G1X. Instead of a continuation of the G series, the G1X is apparently being pushed as a new beginning, hence the odd product name.

Well, it’s an odd name to me anyway. I’m disciplining myself to type G1X instead of GX1 -- which is a nice Panasonic micro four thirds camera. These certainly are the times of the “X” cameras! Fuji has just announced a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera as “X-Pro1” and thereby strengthened its X-Club membership while simultaneously borrowing Canon’s “Pro 1” product name.

DPreview already has a preview of the G1X. Canon Europe has posted a video.

The G1X sensor is the large 1.5” size first noted in the WellFargoAdvisors early release and has 14.3 megapixels. Maximum aperture is f2.8 at the wide angle of 28mme and decreases to f5.8 at 112mme telephoto. The announcement places enough emphasis on flash compatibility that I’m hopeful the G1X will have flash modes more like Canon DSLRs than like previous G series cameras.

Although the complaints have already begun about overall size, weight, zoom ratio too small, maximum aperture too small, too expensive, etc., etc., the G1X looks very good to me. Mine is on order.

G1X?

2012-01-06T20:52:00.001-06:00

It more and more appears that Canon is about to launch the next addition to the PowerShot G series: G1X. If rumors are true, and I believe they are, the G1X is spec’d out as a very nice enthusiast’s camera and I intend to get one – in February from what is being said.

When I first read the G1X rumor on the CanonRumors site, I believed it but became skeptical while reading the resulting comments on the CanonRumors discussion forum. Followup on the DPReview discussion forum convinced me that the G1X rumor was not true. The main areas being questioned were:

The original source of the rumor, WellsFargoAdvisors, was severely questioned and criticized (that site no longer includes the G1X product announcement).

The rumor first said that the G1X was fitted with a 1.5” sensor. This is an odd size and the methods for specifying sensor size are very confusing. One interpretation was that this would be an impossibly large sensor. Another interpretation was that this was a typo and the correct sensor size was 1/1.5. It was then pointed out that a 1/1.5” sensor would be only marginally larger than the existing G series sensor and therefore not competitive. DPReview has a good explanation of the numbers used to specify sensor size.

Again relating to the supposed 1.5” sensor as a diagonal measurement, many pointed out that the G1X would be impossibly large and high priced.

The rumored zoom lens was only 28mm to 112mm – a relatively short 4:1 zoom. G series enthusiasts seem to want both a wider and longer zoom – say, 24mm to 144mm (me too).

The rumor gave the aperture a range of f2.5 to f16. My interpretation was that this was truly a “range” but many others thought that the zoom lens would have f2.5 at the shortest focal length and f16 at the longest focal length. Such a lens would not be competitive, f16 being far too limited.

The rumor did not include photos of the G1X or any specifics such as size, weight, type of view finder, type of display, etc.

As I mulled over these arguments, I again became a believer in the rumor. It now appears that WellsFargoAdvisors probably released a summary announcement prematurely. The sensor is probably identified correctly as 1.5” based on an old video tube naming convention. This really means that the sensor is somewhat larger than a micro-four-thirds sensor but smaller than the APS sensor. The lens must be physically larger than the current G series zoom lens because of the larger sensor. The lens was probably limited to 4:1 zoom in order to keep the body of the G1X relatively slim. The maximum aperture is probably something like f2.5 to f4.8 depending on the zoomed focal length. The minimum aperture is probably f16 for all focal lengths.

I expect the G1X to look like a recent G series PowerShot, probably most like the G12 but a little larger and thicker. The optical viewfinder of the G series will probably be sacrificed for the sake of size (it’s not a good viewfinder and many do not like it although some insist on an optical viewfinder).. The articulating LCD display may also be a casualty of size (hope not).

In my own predictions and wishes, I’ve variously and inconsistently described a camera somewhat like the rumored G1X. I sure hope that the G1X accepts accessories such as lens/filter adapters, flash, flash triggers, remotes, etc. I especially hope that the flash system on the G1X is the same as the Canon DSLR flash system.

It is now being said that the G1X will be announced early next week!

Flying Pelicans

2012-01-06T07:46:00.001-06:00

More White Pelicans at the LSU lakes…

G12 Gallery

2012-01-02T09:11:00.001-06:00

I’ve added a Canon G12 portfolio to my SmugMug galleries to complement the existing G9 and G3 portfolios. The G12 portfolio contains 20 pictures (so far). Interestingly, 28 of the 52 pictures designated “Picture A Week” were made with the G12 and many of these also were selected for the G12 portfolio.

The G12 is a better and more versatile camera than the G9 just as the G9 is an improvement over the G3; however, little technical improvement can be noted by flipping through those portfolios – especially at the viewing resolution. If anything, the G3, G9 and G12 portfolios are more of an indication of my own interests and skills than the particular camera that was used.

PAW 52

2012-01-01T09:29:00.001-06:00

Almost, but not quite, every year, White Pelicans come to the lakes around LSU. They’re quite a sight feeding, floating and flying around but it’s surprisingly difficult to get an interesting photo of them. When I learned that the White Pelicans had returned, I essentially pre-determined that they would be featured in Picture A Week.

While driving around the lake searching for the pelicans, to my surprise, a mass of them were feeding near an edge of the lake – almost in a corner. Although I could not park nearby, it was only a short walk to return to the scene. I was able to get perhaps ten yards away from the feeding frenzy.

The above photo was taken with my Canon 7D fitted with 100-400 IS zoom at 100mm. Exposure was 1/1250, f8 and ISO 800; shot in RAW and post processed in ACR. I like the still photo but it really doesn’t do justice to the event. I also used the 7D in movie mode and assembled this video using Adobe Premier Elements version 9.

White pelicans at LSU Lake

PAW 2011

2011-12-30T08:42:00.001-06:00

The “Picture a Week” (PAW) project began as a challenge to myself to get at least one picture every week that was worthy of publication in my LightDescription blog. My original intention was to minimize family photos; however, my granddaughter is so photogenic, so active and, well, so cute that she was still my main subject. In addition to this blog, my PAW photos are “published” in a SmugMug gallery. This picture, PAW 6, was the most popular picture – by far -- in that gallery.

Of course, producing a picture a week would be much more difficult if film were used. With film, to keep on schedule, the photo would have to be taken early enough in the week so that it could be chemically processed, scanned and post processed for publication in the blog. Instead, all of my PAW were digital and post processed in Photoshop.

To determine popularity, I relied on SmugMug statistics. That is, the assumption was made that anyone sufficiently interested in my PAW would click through the current PAW to the SmugMug PAW gallery, see the thumbnails and look at an enlarged version of the picture. There is a major problem with this method for my PAW project because, naturally, the first images in the SmugMug portfolio tend to have more views than the images that were added later in the year.

The High Dynamic Range (HDR) PAW were always popular and PAW 25 was the most popular of the HDR images.

This “fog” picture – almost an afterthought—was popular, PAW 30.

I really liked this picture of kids playing in the fountains, PAW 15, and thought it to be one of my better efforts for the year.

Not as popular as I thought it would be, this Swiss Army Knife adventure, PAW 28, was a good one to add to my Swiss Army Knife collection of photos.

The third most popular picture was the first one posted, my granddaughter about this time last year, PAW 1a.

The second most popular picture was PAW 3.

Did any of the PAW replace one of my previous “Top Ten”? No and this was sort of frustrating as I really hoped that the PAW project would generate a Top Ten Photo.

The PAW project will end with PAW 52. Instead of PAW, in 2012 LightDescription will regularly feature a photo – could be recent or from the past – along with the processes and thoughts that went into it.

Have a Happy New Year with much good photography!

A Year at LightDescription

2011-12-28T17:56:00.001-06:00

Although not quite the end of the year, today I have the time and inclination to summarize 2011. I blame this timing on my real job for which I must submit a monthly report before the end of each month. First, some background and statistics.

LightDescription began five years ago with a variation on a joke and true story; it now includes 356 posts – some 70 posts per year. I usually do at least one post per week. This year, there have been 92 posts – primarily because of my PAW commitment. Except for PAW, LightDescription has become mostly about my adventures in learning to use equipment and technique. Next year the PAW (as such) will be dropped; its replacement will be photographic but non-geek in nature.

For many readers, LightDescription is about the G series of Canon PowerShot cameras; however, it really is not. I happen to find the G series to be a good fit to my needs, purposes, and preferences and therefore have chosen to use them as my primary cameras (although I have, uh, many other, cameras). By “using” a camera, I really mean to become proficient with (nearly) all its features and doing so takes me quite a while. Organizing my thoughts for a blog post helps me in the process – hence LightDescription.

In much the same way as becoming proficient with a camera, I want to learn to use a flash. This “want” has led me to many flashes, add-ons, gadgets, techniques, etc. In many ways, flash is even more geek-like than a camera and lens. I have a long way to go in the learning-about-flash process.

In 2011, there have been nearly 60,000 visits to LightDescription. Most days there are between 100 and 300 visitors. Most visitors are new to LightDescription and find their way here through a search engine looking for information about a piece of camera or flash equipment. On average, a visitor views two posts before exiting.

The most popular posts for the past 30 days are shown on the left hand side of the blog. The most popular post during 2011 has been about the Yongnuo 460 flash which still works well for me and is used regularly.

I’ll summarize the PAW experience and popular pictures in another post.

As for being the “G12 blog”, that almost certainly will change in 2012 as will the need for focusing on the G12. I could continue using the G12 for my photography or, based on past choices, I could be getting and writing about a G14 but who knows what Canon will be doing and when they will be doing it?

PAW 51

2011-12-24T09:38:00.001-06:00

My wife made this Nativity set years ago in her ceramics club and we’ve displayed it every year since.

Merry Christmas!

S100 Review – New G Coming?

2011-12-23T15:01:00.001-06:00

Combining and commenting on two newsy items …

An extensive and largely positive review of the new PowerShot S100 has been posted by DPreview. It appears that Canon’s upgrade of the popular S95 has been successful. In particular, Canon’s CMOS version of the 1/1.7 inch CCD used in both the G12 and S95 enabled new features to be added to its compact enthusiast camera.

About the same time, CanonRumors began speculating on a successor to the G12. Interestingly, follow-up discussions in the CanonRumors Forum vary widely with respect to a wish list or even the need for such a camera. The points made by Canon and interpretation by CanonRumors seem to point to a new “G” (variously being called G13, G14, Gx) being introduced in 2012.

My own opinion about the “G14” (my previous guess about the product name) has changed and is changing again. I’d made my own wish list and then decided that the days of the G series as we know it were over. When the S100 came along, I began to think that the next G would really be a souped-up S100 and use the same sensor. Later, I again decided that the days of the G were over but that Canon would introduce a compact “mirrorless” camera with interchangeable lenses. Now I’m back to believing that the “Gx” will be a non-interchangeable lens camera with CMOS sensor but somewhat larger than the S100 sensor. Surely the “Gx” will have virtually all the features of the S100. I hope it will include the features from my own wish list.

PAW 50

2011-12-18T20:03:00.001-06:00

This was a fun picture. More precisely, it was a fun day and a picture quickly assembled from my iPhone and G12 photos. My granddaughter and I put up a few Christmas lights outside my house. In the process, I grabbed a quick shot of her with my iPhone. Later I got a shot of the lights using the G12 at ISO 80, f4, 1/4 second – tripod mounted of course. Actually, my original thought was to do an HDR assembled from several shots. Fortunately, one of those shots underexposed everything except the lights and I didn’t even attempt the HDR. Although this particular selection was processed from RAW, the JPG version (shooting in RAW+JPEG) was nearly the same. The iPhone photo was simply pasted into the G12 photo and then partially erased.

Although I don’t use the iPhone as a camera frequently, I do use it and have been wondering if and when one of the iPhone photos would make it into my picture a week series.

PAW 49

2011-12-11T19:51:00.001-06:00

Perhaps not one of my more artistic photographs but one that I suspect will be treasured for many more years. This is from my granddaughter’s Christmas program. She is singing her heart out (top row, 3rd from left).

Photo taken with the 7D plus 580EX II flash direct mounted on the camera. Camera settings were ISO 1600 and manual exposure of 1/60, f5.6 – which gave a very slightly underexposed histogram without the flash. The flash was set for +1/3 flash exposure compensation.

YN565EX Cross References

2011-12-05T20:33:00.000-06:00

Here are cross references to previous posts on LightDescription about the YN565EX flash:

Introduction to the YN565EX
External power
YN565EX with the Canon G12
YN565EX with the Canon 7D

Posts on LightDescription about the older, simpler YN460EX flash:

Introduction to the YN460-II
YN460-II with the Canon 7D

Additional articles and information on the YN565EX:

ThePhotoGadget
Speedlights Review
An ongoing discussion on POTN forum

I continue to use and like both the YN460EX-II and the YN565EX.

PAW 48

2011-12-04T20:50:00.001-06:00

When I undertook the picture a week challenge, my intention was to avoid “manipulated” pictures such as “Photoshopped” and especially
“HDR” post processed images. In the course of doing this for nearly a year, I’m reminded that I do like HDR post processing for certain situations and images. On the other hand, my HDR preferences are now tending towards less dramatic contrast and saturation.

This particular picture was taken on an overcast day with the handheld Canon 7D (although set for high speed) using Av mode and auto bracketing at +/- 2 stops. Processing was done first in ACR and then Photomatix using the “Adjust” method. After processing three images in Photomatix, the final version was slightly tweaked in Photoshop.

YN565EX on External Power

2011-11-30T20:37:00.001-06:00

One of the selling points for the YN565EX is that it can be used with an external power supply. As shown above, the standard Canon three prong power connection is next to the old style “PC” flash connection and protected by a rubber cover. As reported previously, I have a Pixel TD-381 external battery pack; I wanted to see how well it worked with the YN565EX flash.

As expected, the TD-381 simply plugged right into the YN565EX and worked fine. My TD-381 is fitted with NiMh batteries. I recharged the batteries and made a few simple recycle time tests with the YN565EX.

A few years ago I began to use the XNote Timer as a stopwatch to get approximate timing for shutter lag, flash recycle, etc. I again photographed the XNote Timer to get an idea of the recycle time for the YN565EX with and without the TD-381 power pack.

With four freshly recharged NiMh batteries, the YN565 can get off five full power flashes in about 10.7 seconds. When powered by the TD-381, recycle time is reduced such that five flashes can be done in about 6 seconds. As reported previously, the YN565EX recycles somewhat faster than the Canon 580EXII when both are powered by internal batteries; however, when connected to the TD-381 power pack, the recycle time is about the same.

On a somewhat related note, I used the YN565EX as a slave flash driven by the 580EX II mounted on a Canon 7D camera over the Thanksgiving Holidays. It worked well.

PAW 47

2011-11-27T19:38:00.001-06:00

Although in fits of sprinkles, the rain fell just often enough that I cowered under a roof on a pier instead of taking the long beach walk that was planned. While waiting, I practiced my BIF (Birds in Flight) photography without much success. Eventually I noticed this nice, even though somewhat static, scene and zoomed the 100-400mm lens on the 7D to this composition. The result was processed from RAW in ACR but otherwise pretty much untouched and not cropped.

To some, this may be a cluttered picture but to me this is a vertical format with a horizontal top. The horizontal portion is another pier in the background and a bridge even farther in the background.

PAW 46

2011-11-20T20:48:00.001-06:00

Even in south Louisiana, the hibiscus flower wraps up in itself at night and sleeps while awaiting early sun beams. I know this but still was surprised to find sleeping flowers this morning. After all, the sun was up even though somewhat hidden by clouds and fog. Suddenly realizing that I had no photos of sleeping hibiscus flowers, I retrieved my 7D and got this shot.

As usual, shot in RAW and processed with Adobe Camera RAW before cropping for composition.

YN565EX and the G12

2011-11-18T20:39:00.001-06:00

The G12 and any large flash become an ungainly, but sometimes useful, combination. In my introductory remarks about the YN565EX, I noted that it was not purchased for use on the G12 and implied that there were problems. Indeed, the YN565EX should be considered as incompatible with the G12; however, it does work on the G12 in certain modes. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

The YN565EX does not work at all – that is, does not even flash – when the G12 is in manual flash mode. This was completely unexpected. I expected some kind of odd ball behavior but it never crossed my mind that the YN565EX would not fire at all when mounted on the G12. Curious, I tried the YN565EX on my G9 only to find the same behavior (after changing batteries in the G9). Next, I tried the YN565EX on the G6 and G3 and discovered that the YN565EX is completely incompatible with those older G series cameras.

On the positive side, the YN565EX does work on the G12 when the G12 is in P, Tv or Av mode. The YN565EX zooms with the G12 zoom and Flash Exposure Compensation can be controlled either by the YN565EX or by the G12. The YN565EX seems to work in either direct or bounce orientation (I say “seems” to work because I did not attempt to check the accuracy of the flash exposure). Again, I’ll comment that the YN565EX is noticeably louder than the 580EX II when flashing. Also, to my eye, the YN565EX produces a more noticeable pre-flash when used on the G12. I would not be confident in using the YN565EX mounted on the G12.

But I didn’t get the YN565EX for direct mounting on the G12; I got it for use in the Canon wireless system. The G12 does not have its own internal wireless controller as does the 7D but the 580EX II can act as the master, or controlling, flash. My first attempts to set the 580EX II as the master flash were unsuccessful and I was beginning to think that the 580EX II was itself incompatible with the G12. Then I discovered that the G12 requires a menu setting to enable the Canon wireless system. As soon as the wireless system was enabled in the G12 menu, the 580EX II immediately became the master flash. Alas, the YN565EX did not respond to the 580EX II as a master when the 580EX II was mounted on the G12.

In my frustration, I got out a Canon 420EX and set it to slave flash mode using the same settings as the YN565EX. Side-by-side with the YN565EX, the 420EX responded to the 580EX II as expected but the YN565EX did not. More frustrated, I removed the 580EX II from the G12 and placed it on the 7D, noting that the settings did not change. When triggered by the 7D, both the YN565EX and the 420EX fired as expected -- end of compatibility tests.

Well, almost the end of compatibility tests. In optical slave flash mode, the YN565EX does respond to the G12 internal flash and also to the 580EX II when mounted on the G12. The YN565EX also responds to the simple Yongnuo RF-602 wireless trigger. These are very useful features.

My conclusion is that although the YN565EX is not totally incompatible with the G12, it is best to declare the YN565EX as being incompatible and therefore avoid the frustration of attempting to remember which settings and modes work and which do not. I won’t be using the YN565EX with my G series cameras except as an optical slave flash or with the RF-602 trigger.

… but I’m still OK with having purchased the YN565EX.

Clone Batteries Kaput!

2011-11-17T20:57:00.001-06:00

My G9 became a (mostly) unused spare camera when I got my G12 even though the G9 is used on occasion to photograph the G12 and its accessories. As part of testing the compatibility of the YN565EX flash, I put it on the G9 only to discover that the G9 battery was dead. No problem, I had spares. Whoops, that spare was usable but weak so I tried yet another spare battery and this one was usable. Then I noticed that the weak batteries were both clones whereas the usable battery was the original Canon battery.

For camera batteries, I follow a philosophy of one in the camera, one in the pocket and one on the charger. As this practice is both debatable and expensive, I usually use inexpensive cloned batteries. Most of the time I get those clones from Sterlingtek.com (I have no affiliation with Sterlingtek except as a customer).

The next step, of course, was to recharge the weak cloned batteries; however, the charger changed from “charging” to “charged” all too quickly for both batteries so something was not quite right. After only a few shots and screen displays the G9 again indicated that the batteries were weak.

This post is really not a rant or even a gripe. These particular batteries, NB2L Li-ion, were purchased as spares almost exactly four years ago (I write the purchase date on the batteries). It does seem strange for both clones to go bad at the same time. Perhaps the lack of use was a contributing factor? I know that the G9 was used on July 4th this year and also that all the G9 batteries were recharged before a vacation in mid-July.

The problem does not appear to be with the G9 or the battery charger because the original Canon battery works and charges fine. On the other hand, what if the original battery is on its last legs? Even though the G9 is not used very often, I want it to be available so after a few minutes of internal debate, I placed an order with Sterlingtek for two NB2L batteries ($30 plus shipping).

PAW 45

2011-11-13T20:00:00.001-06:00

Soccer season is over for the five year olds and the kids got to run through the “tunnel” one last time. I’m pretty sure that running through the tunnel is their favorite part of the game. Interestingly, I don’t recall any of the kids asking whether their team won or lost the game.

Shooting the kids soccer game has been a learning experience for me. My best approach seems to be with the 7D, 15-85mm lens, ISO 800, JPEG only, daylight white balance, AI focus using 9 center focus points, and rapid fire in manual exposure mode at f8 and (usually) about 1/640 second. I simply follow the ball and shoot in bursts. The result is not exactly sports journalism quality but produces decent snapshots.

I decided to shot in JPEG (“Faithful”) for the soccer games because my plan was to make a slide show as a gift for the coaches and parents (and my granddaughter). I wanted the photos to have a consistent appearance without my having to process hundreds of shots from RAW. This approach worked out fairly well and the slide show was appreciated.

I was standing on the sidelines of the small (these are five year olds) soccer field for all the games. For portions of a few games, I used my 70-200 lens at f2.8 to get head shots during the action. Most of the time, the 200mm was too long. Something along the lines of 24-135, f4 would have been great.

Wait ‘til next year!

YN565EX and the 7D

2011-11-10T20:21:00.001-06:00

My YN565EX performs as expected on and with my Canon 7D. The YN565EX does not have high speed sync and cannot function as the master flash for the Canon wireless system but the lack of those two features was expected. Otherwise, the YN565EX seems to work well with the 7D. In fact, the easiest way to describe the YN565EX is that it is almost a Canon 580EX II.

While playing around with the YN565EX and Canon 580EX II, I realized that the YN565EX is perceptibly louder and sounds a bit “harder” as well when it flashes. The sound and volume is not particularly objectionable but is definitely noticeable when the two flashes are activated side-by-side. On the positive side, I found that the YN565EX recycles a bit faster than the 580EX II. With one flash in each hand, I manually triggered them at the same time and watched the ready lights. Both flashes were in manual mode and flashing at full power. The YN565EX ready light always lit first – even after swapping batteries. This may be nothing more than an indication that the YN565EX ready light comes on at a different point than does the 580EX II; even so, it is sort of reassuring.

To get the (first) photo of the 7D with mounted and flashing YN565EX, the camera was turned off and the flash was set to optical trigger (SL 1) at lowest power (1/128). The picture was taken with my G12 using its manual internal flash set to minimum power. A YN460-II, also in SL 1 mode, was placed outside my homemade light tent as the main light. The YN565EX (and YN460-II) work well in both SL 1 and SL 2 (ignores Canon pre-flash) modes.

On the 7D, the YN565EX works as expected. Again, there is no high speed sync and the YN565EX cannot be used as the master flash in Canon’s wireless system. The YN565EX zooms with the 7D lens (15-85mm Canon in this case) and indicates the true focal length (not the 35mm equivalent) on its display.

Off-camera, the YN565EX could be triggered wirelessly by the built-in flash of the 7D or by the 580EX II mounted on the 7D. Exposure compensation on the 7D was passed along to the YN565EX. Using the 580EX II mounted on the 7D as the “A” flash and designating the YN565EX as the “B” flash, the flash ratios could be set in the 7D system.

The YN565EX and RF-602 were used to make my most recent PAW (and many more that day) so this combination works well together (shame on Yongnuo if they did not!).

My intention is not to use the YN565EX mounted on the 7D but as a second flash with Canon’s wireless system or as a manual flash to be triggered by my Yongnuo RF-602 wireless triggers. The YN565EX seems to meet my requirements and expectations.

Next, the YN565EX and the Canon G12 …

PAW 44

2011-11-06T20:01:00.001-06:00

Strictly speaking, my granddaughter is the photographer for this shot but since I helped by setting up the lights, camera, the remote triggers, etc., I don’t feel bad about using it for PAW 44.

Today was picture day for our extended family. I set up flash through umbrellas in our garage and triggered them with Yongnuo RF-602s. The backdrop was a painter’s drop cloth (canvas) from Home Depot. Camera was the 7D with a 50mm Canon set at f4, 1/250 second, ISO 100.

This was the first time that I’ve really used the Yongnuo YN565EX with the RF-602 other than a brief test. It worked well. Power setting was 1/4.

NiZn–NOT!

2011-11-03T20:57:00.001-05:00

It’s one thing for the fast recycling NiZn batteries to fail and another thing for the failure to occur at Grandparents’ Day! After unexpected problems in mid-August, I sorted through my NiZn batteries with a volt meter, discarded a few and gave the remaining ones another try. A month later, I used those batteries at my granddaughter’s birthday party and my confidence in NiZn returned. Today, six weeks later, two of the four batteries in the 580EX II (right, not yet using the YN565EX mounted on my 7D) let me down.

I admit to not recharging the NiZn batteries last night before using them today. I think the last time the batteries were charged was mid-October and they’ve been used for perhaps 10 flashes since that re-charging. Still, I’m unhappy to get only five flashes from the NiZn batteries today before I noticed my wife waving her arms and mouthing, “The flash is not working!”. I immediately removed the 580EX II and popped up the little built-in flash in the 7D. Fortunately, my granddaughter’s small classroom was well lit and, with the 7D set for ISO 1600, the built-in flash generated sufficient fill flash.

Why didn’t I simply change batteries once I realized that the NiZn’s had failed? Because I foolishly, but intentionally, left my camera bag in the car – that’s why. I didn’t even drop a spare set of batteries in my pocket. After all, we were only to be there for an hour.

Tonight I checked my supply of NiZn batteries. Of the 13 spare batteries, 2 were bad. So of 17 total NiZn batteries, 4 were found bad today. For all I know, the remaining batteries are fine but I no longer have faith in NiZn.

PowerEx 2700 mAh NiMH batteries served me well for several years and were my battery of choice before NiZn. I’ve also tried Sanyo Eneloop 2000 mAh batteries. The Eneloop batteries definitely hold a charge longer than the PowerEx but also do not produce quite as many flashes. My strategy now is to first use PowerEx but to have the Eneloops in my pocket. Of course, I can’t really bring myself to toss out all those NiZn batteries so I’ll keep them around for a while as unreliable extras.

Signing off to order Eneloops …

YN565EX

2011-11-01T20:19:00.004-05:00

The Yongnuo YN565EX flash is a near clone of the Canon flagship 580EX II. I say “near clone” because the YN565EX does not look exactly like the 580EX II and is not controlled exactly like the 580EX II. Even so, the YN565EX is obviously intended to be a low cost variation of the 580EX II. Although I already have a 580EX II, you can never have too many and at one-third the price, the YN565EX was well worth investigating. I ordered my YN565EX from ThePhotoGadget and waited more or less patiently during the two week delivery period.

I’ve had good experiences with my Yongnuo YN460-II and use it regularly as an off-camera manually adjusted flash. My intention was and is to use the YN565EX as an ETTL slave unit to be wirelessly triggered and controlled by either my 7D on-camera flash or by the 580EX II. Alternatively, the YN565EX can be triggered as an optical slave or by the RF-602 wireless triggers; however, these simpler alternative triggers do not include ETTL control.

Because my Canon G12 has bugs – undocumented features – in flash mode, I was fully prepared for the YN565EX to be incompatible with the G12. In this I was not disappointed as the YN565EX does display a few quirks when mounted on the G12 (more on this in another post). As I’m always reminding others, flash on the Powershot G is not the same as flash on Canon’s DSLRs.

ThePhotoGadget site and the Yongnuo store but especially Speedlights contain specifics and technical details of the YN565EX so I’ll just say that it is generally expected to perform like a 580EX II. On the other hand, the YN565EX does add the two optical slave trigger modes that have been very useful to me on my 460EX-II.

My YN565EX arrived in a sort of soft and squishy cardboard box but the package inside (top photo) was well protected and undamaged. The flash survived its journey from China apparently intact and undamaged. My quick inspection and abbreviated tests so far indicate that my YN565EX works as it is supposed to work but I’ll have more on this in future posts.

After a few test shots, I was forced to skim through the instruction manual in order to turn off the very loud and irritating BEEP-BEEP (page 58, custom function 14).

The YN565EX is a nice looking flash and much more robust than the YN460EX II – especially the battery door. I do prefer the foot locking mechanism of the 580EX II but the more conventional screw lock on the YN565EX is OK. The YN565EX flash head is swiveled and tilted without having to press and release any locking buttons. If the friction resistance holds the head in place, this is an advantage -- time will tell.

The controls are just enough different from the 580EX II that I’ll have to remember both systems but, if anything, the YN565EX controls actually seem more intuitive. Button presses all seem OK to me.

Next: Using the YN565EX with the Canon 7D

PAW 43

2011-10-30T17:57:00.001-05:00

With my granddaughter playing soccer, I’m spending more time with my 7D than with my G12. Today, in my attempt to recover from watching the Saints football game, I grabbed the 7D and walked around in our garden looking for close-ups. Normally I prefer to use the G12 for “macro” photography but it seemed natural to use the 7D today. At first, I tried the Canon 85mm prime lens but it really doesn’t focus close enough so I switched to the 15-85mm zoom because it has “macro” focusing.

I planted “Butterfly Weed” last year in hopes of getting many easy photos of butterflies. Maybe next year. Meanwhile, the butterfly weed is very colorful and does attract various critters. This shot was taken at ISO 400, f11, 1/250 second from about a foot away (not the minimum focus distance) and is cropped to perhaps one third of the original.

There’s no need to discuss how many attempts it took to get this shot!

PAW 42

2011-10-23T17:05:00.001-05:00

It’s that time of year when I begin my annual search for hay bales to photograph. This one, not too far from my house, was taken in mid-morning with my Canon 7D. This is another HDR composited image and made from five shots: -2, –1, 0, +1, +2 EV exposures. Looking at the above HDR image as I write, it appears to show some haloing; however, the full screen version and the print version do not show this effect.

HDR processing was done in Photomatix from .tif files processed from RAW in ACR. Although I often use the “compressor” mode in Photomatix, this one was processed with “details enhancer”. The tonemapped version was then opened in Photoshop for final processing.

PAW 41

2011-10-16T20:33:00.001-05:00

Still trying for my pier-in-fog picture, I captured this early morning scene with my G12 at ISO 800, f3.2, 1/100 in manual exposure mode. The shot was taken in RAW and converted in ACR to color, then converted in Topaz B/W to the final version. The B/W conversion used one of the Topaz presets that is supposed to produce low contrast with vignette and simulate Tri-X film.

Ultra-Micro Camera-Like Device

2011-10-13T19:50:00.001-05:00

LightDescription is pleased to announce the development of a new photographic capture tool: the Ultra-Micro Camera-Like Device (UMCLD). The UMCLD represents the ultimate miniaturization of digital cameras. Key to the commercialization of the UMCLD is the continued development of the tri-layer Sensor/Processor/Display Unit (SPDU).

I can already hear the detractors: “Hey, wait a minute! That’s just a lens cap with a piece of duck tape on it!” OK, so it’s a mockup of the concept. The mockup clearly illustrates not only the current direction of digital camera development but also the problems of optics and physical size.

It seems that we (well, not me personally) know how to continually reduce the size and simultaneously increase the performance of electronic devices such as computers and cameras – yes, the “camera” is now an electronic device. In fact, the modern “camera” could easily be lumped into the category of “computer”. While the “camera” is ever being reduced in size, lenses are a different matter. Apparently the laws of optics are strongly enforced and continue to impose restrictions on the physical size of lenses.

One has only to glance at recent camera announcements to realize that, instead of attaching the lens to the camera, the camera is actually attached to the lens. The UMCLD is a logical extension of this trend.

True, the UMCLD will be highly menu driven and operated but that trend is also well underway. Perhaps some controls could be moved to the “lens” (even though a true photo enthusiast will want an adaptor for attaching the UMCLD to his existing lens collection).

Thinking of adaptors for the UMCLD, the iUMCLD Adaptor is a natural!

… and the UMCLD is pocketable*!

* pocketability varies with pocket size and style as well as personal preferences such as fit of the garment. Lens not included.

PAW 40

2011-10-09T19:38:00.001-05:00

Not much time for photography this week – unless you count the thousand plus shots I took at two soccer games for five year olds. Of those shots, I like this one best even though it is not of my granddaughter.

Taken with the Canon 7D, 85mm lens at f1.8, 1/640 second, ISO 400. Processed from RAW in ACR, slightly cropped.

Steve Jobs R.I.P.

2011-10-05T20:20:00.001-05:00

I just learned of the death of Steve Jobs. It is said that Steve Wozniak invented the Apple computer but Steve Jobs invented the Apple company. Although I did not know Steve Jobs personally, I came to respect him greatly as a visionary. He made his mark and the world, especially the world of technology, will miss him greatly.

In the ‘80s, I bought an Apple IIc “for my son”. It was interesting but not quite what I needed or imagined. Later I considered an original Mac but could not see how it could be programmed for engineering use. I was correct in both cases but still missed the Apple/Mac experience.

I now have an iPhone and iPad. The Mac looks ever more interesting, especially for photography.

Thanks, Steve.

Visual Science Lab–Gone?

2011-10-04T21:12:00.001-05:00

Kirk Tuck of the Visual Science Lab Blog has signed off or, perhaps better said, blogged off. He gives his reasons in a final post but I suspect he is simply burned out. Kirk is a very prolific writer and it seemed that he posted a new entry every day – sometimes more than one. I usually checked Visual Science Lab every day and included it in my list here of “Blogs I Like”.

Then again, perhaps Kirk will not be gone very long. Already he has been invited to be an occasional author for The Online Photographer and readily accepted the offer. I hope so.

In the meantime, I’ll leave the link to Visual Science Lab here as a blog that I like. Apparently it will remain online for some time and contains much good information and food for thought.

Best wishes to Kirk Tuck (and hurry up with the next book!).

Popular Pics

2011-10-04T08:41:00.001-05:00

Based on views at SmugMug, PAW 35 is the most popular of my PAW photos during the last month. PAW 25, also an HDR rendering, is second most popular.

Looking at the year-to-date (not entirely fair to the more recent PAW), PAW 6 (below) is by far the most popular picture. PAW 3 is a distant second for the year.

My own favorite, so far, is also PAW 6 although I’m not sure it will be moved into my Top Ten gallery. For my Top Ten, based on SmugMug statistics for the year, the most popular picture is “Plantation Bedroom”.

PAW 39

2011-10-02T15:37:00.001-05:00

As mentioned previously, my daughter was featured on HGTV’s “Bang for your Buck” yesterday. Last night we had a little party to celebrate.

Yes, these are simple family snapshots and not at all what I intended to use for my Picture a Week series. On the other hand, they are decent snapsnots and, in all honesty, the best shots from last week. Taken with Canon 7D, 580EXII with Stofen diffuser, 1/2 CTO gel, ISO 1600, 1/100 sec at f5.6. Processed from RAW in CS5. Noise reduction using Noiseware Pro.

Off Topic: Real Estate and TV

2011-09-27T21:08:00.001-05:00

My daughter, Laura Buck Smith, will be featured on HGTV’s “Bang for your Buck” on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 1:30pm (Baton Rouge time and COX cable). Laura and a designer from New York walked through three homes in south Louisiana and discussed the pros and cons of renovations.

PAW 38

2011-09-25T15:44:00.001-05:00

I returned to the Rural Life Museum for their Harvest Days festival and quickly visited the old blacksmith’s shop with my fingers crossed that the blacksmith would be there. Using the Canon 7D with the (inexpensive) 50mm prime at f1.8, ISO 800 and 1/125 second, I got several variations on this theme but liked this one best.

PAW 37

2011-09-18T19:50:00.001-05:00

When I want to try out a new piece of photo equipment or a new technique, I often go to the Rural Life Museum. I’ve been wanting to re-visit my Canon 50mm f1.8 lens for some time and today seemed a good day for it. The Canon 50mm is not a great lens but is OK and does offer an out-of-focus background that some like to call “bokeh”. I walked around for a couple of hours today shooting my 7D only with the Canon 50mm almost always at f1.8. Of the pictures I took, this is my choice for PAW. It was taken at ISO 800, f1.8 at 1/30 second in the “schoolhouse” at Rural Life Museum.

Although my first thought was to covert this image to B/W, I prefer this somewhat desaturated version as processed from RAW in ACR because it is more representative of what I was seeing in that dim light. This version is slightly cropped to 1024x768 screen resolution (as are most of my PAW shots).

S100 Announced

2011-09-15T09:37:00.001-05:00

Today Canon announced the launch of its latest PowerShot camera, the S100. The S100 appears to be a significant upgrade to last year’s S95 and manages to squeeze quite a lot of features into a small package. More details from Canon at the S100 page.

CanonRumors first predicted that the S100 would be announced Tuesday and then revised that prediction to be today.

In my own predictions, I was both right and wrong but missed many details. First of all, my prediction was built around a successor to the G12 – which I called the G14. However, I acknowledged that the emphasis would be on the successor to the S95 – which I correctly predicted would be called the S100. (Seems obvious now but many thought that S100 would not be “reused” because of the S100 Digital Elph in 2000.) I thought that the announcement would come in late August and would include both the G14 and S100.

I got the “Digic V” right (duh) and even the new sensor and 12MP but gave up too soon on Canon using CMOS in that size sensor. Because I’d given up on CMOS, I did not predict full HD video. I didn’t think to predict a lens both wider and longer for the S100. On the other hand, I did predict GPS (for the G14).

In predicting the G14, I once again thought that it would be the last of the G series but now it appears that the G12 is the last G standing. Or is it? Canon has not said that the G series has ended. Canon has simply not announced a new G series camera. The new CMOS sensor in 1/1.7 inch format is a key consideration. At this point, the only Canon cameras using the 1/1.7 inch sensor format are/were the S and G series. If Canon does not continue with a CMOS G14 then the S100 will be their only camera using that sensor. This makes me think that there will be a CMOS G14 in the near future (well, probably early next year). Enticingly, that CMOS G14 probably out-specs the S100!

Dpreview has posted their hands-on preview of a pre-production S100. Very interesting.

PAW 36

2011-09-11T20:47:00.001-05:00

First official soccer practice! Soon these five year olds will be playing their very first game – should be a blast!

I like my Canon G12 but for these action shots I very much prefer the 7D; in fact, it is not much of a contest. For future practices and games, I’ll be using the 7D with 70-200mm zoom as I prowl the sidelines.

TS Lee Damage

2011-09-09T20:47:00.001-05:00

Although when posting PAW 35 I thought we had completely escaped Tropical Storm Lee without any damage, the next day I found this tree blown over. This is the same tree that blew over in Katrina and then in Gustav. Although it is now upright and braced, I’m pessimistic about its recovery this time.

(I don’t intend to belittle TS Lee because it damaged many homes and lives. I’m thankful we were spared any real damage.)

PAW 35

2011-09-04T18:23:00.001-05:00

With Tropical Storm Lee raining down on us for a few days and thankful that I’ve been without resulting photojournalism opportunities, I arranged (that is, walked into the dining room) a High Dynamic Range (HDR) scene. Even with the overcast sky, outside was much, much brighter than inside. Checking a few exposures, it seemed that there was about a six stop difference without the overhead light.

With the G12, I took eight shots, one stop apart at ISO 80 and f5.6. I then turned on the overhead light to illuminate the flowers and got one more shot. The eight bracketed shots were combined in Photomatix to get the 32 bit HDR image and then Tonemapped to a 16 bit TIF. The lighted flowers were added as a 50% opacity layer in Photoshop and everything masked off except the flowers. More Photoshopping and then cropped to this oblong aspect ratio to eliminate some background clutter.

This is one of the better HDR images that I’ve made in a while so I’m pleased to call it PAW 35.

Triumph TR6

2011-09-04T16:29:00.001-05:00

So what does my long-ago Triumph TR6 have to do with photography? Well, for one thing, this shot was among my first attempts to learn photography. The camera was most likely my Konica T2, which I still have – unlike the TR6. If the Konica, then the lens was certainly the Hexanon 52mm f1.8 because that was the only lens I had for many years. The film was probably Ektrachrome – I didn’t make note of it when the slide was scanned probably 15 years ago. Someday that slide will turn up again and I’ll take notes while scanning on a better scanner.

PAW 34

2011-08-28T19:54:00.001-05:00

I watched this scene for several mornings while hoping in vain for a good sky to develop in the background. Good thing I got this shot as soon as I saw it because the sky just would not cooperate. Yet another reminder to immediately take the photo if a scene attracts your attention. After that first shot is in the bag (can? sensor?), you can look for the optimum composition and timing.

Taken with the Canon G12 at ISO 100, 1/400 second, f4.5 through a sixth floor window. Processed from RAW in ACR, saturation pushed up a bit, cropped.

Of course, I could “Photoshop” in a few clouds. I’ve even taken cloud photos for that very purpose. But that would be wrong.

PAW 33

2011-08-21T19:51:00.001-05:00

I sometimes like to have my morning coffee on the patio but the temperature now is far too hot – even in the mornings. Predictions are that we will not have the “high” temperature below 80 F until late October!

Taken with my G12 using Av mode, ISO 100, –2/3 exposure compensation resulting in f2.8 at 1/250 second. Processed from RAW in ACR, slightly tweaked and cropped in Photoshop.

(See PAW 2 for a point of reference and “Coffee?” for more info.)

PAW 32

2011-08-14T17:39:00.001-05:00

Ah, the challenge of trying out for soccer! The kids don’t really know the difference between a game and a “try out”. (I’m sure everyone who wants to play will be able to play.) I’m no soccer player but, to me, all were equally skilled.

For outdoor situations like this, I always choose my Canon 7D and the 70-200mm zoom. This particular shot was taken at ISO 400, f5.6 and 1/400 second. The somewhat slower shutter speed than might be expected for a bright mid-morning day was due to using a polarizing filter that was probably not needed.

Shot in RAW mode and processed in Camera Raw, cropped in Photoshop from horizontal format to vertical format using about 1/3 the original frame .

NiZn RIP

2011-08-13T20:45:00.001-05:00

Using NiZn batteries in my 580EX flash, I can get off a second or third shot very quickly. Because I don’t normally use machine gun techniques, I don’t worry too much about overheating the 580EX. Fire one! OK, fire two! Wait a minute, what happened! No flash?

To my chagrin, three of the eight NiZn batteries that I bragged about only a year ago have gone bad. They will not hold a charge over time and, right out of the charger, output voltage drops from about 1.8 volts to less than 1.2 volts after about ten full power flashes. Not acceptable.

My first thought was that, perhaps, the charger was recharging batteries in pairs and that the problem was simply a matter of the recharging procedure. To compensate, I recharged the four battery set then switched the batteries around several times and recharged again. No difference in performance. Then (instruction manual) I learned that the NiZn charger will work with 1, 2, 3 or 4 batteries.

At this point, I’m not quite sure what to do. The second set of NiZn batteries, purchased about six months ago, seem to work fine. I’ve been using the NiZn batteries in my flashes routinely but that doesn’t equate to heavy usage. My plan is to continue to use the NiZn batteries but to monitor performance carefully.

I sure like the fast recycle time but is it worthwhile if the batteries last only six or eight months?

Stay tuned.

Epson 3880

2011-08-10T20:38:00.001-05:00

My Epson Stylus Photo 2200 printer had been acting up since earlier this year and finally died the death. The first symptoms were “fixed” with a reset procedure that I found was all too well known on the web. After a few more months, all the lights began to flash. I partially disassembled the 2200 and cleaned every surface I could get to; cleaning and another reset gained a few more months but cost lots of ink – especially light cyan. Last month all the lights began to flash again and it was decision time: repair or replace?

Although the 2200 had been a good printer for about eight years, I felt that it was not worthwhile to repair and elected to replace it with an Epson Stylus Pro 3880. The 3880 can print on wider paper and also has larger ink cartridges. After shopping the web for a while, I decided on a refurbished 3880 from Adorama. Buying a refurb saved about $350!

Whereas the 2200 used seven inks, the 3880 uses nine! Plus the 3880 cartridges have an 80ml capacity in comparison to the 11ml capacity of the 2200. From what I’ve read, the 3880 uses ink much more efficiently than the 2200. I sure hope so because the cost of a full set of 3880 inks is about $500 compared to $85 (but multiply by about 7 for volume) for the 2200.

My refurb 3880 came in looking good – new as far as I could tell and, so far so good, has delivered good prints. In all honesty though, I’ve compared a few 3880 prints to some of my better 2200 prints and can hardly tell the difference. The 3880 is supposed to be significantly better at Black-and-White printing and I’ll be trying BW next.

PAW 31

2011-08-07T19:26:00.001-05:00

Like I said in the previous post, I had every intention of posting some sort of balloon picture this week; however, I didn’t know that my granddaughter would be getting a puppy!

I know I said that I would attempt to minimize posting pictures of my granddaughter but then could not resist the temptation. Besides, isn’t this a “paw” theme?

Picture made with Canon 7D, 15-85mm lens, 580EX II bounced off wall behind me. Settings were ISO 800, manual exposure of 1/160 second, f5.6; shot in RAW and processed in ACR; cropped to about half the original frame.

Balloon Festival

2011-08-06T18:19:00.001-05:00

I awoke early today to go to the Baton Rouge Balloon Festival with the specific intent to capture my “Picture of the Week”. Today was a good day for photographing and, apparently, for ballooning as well because many balloons floated right over the field and very close to the target. I got a number of nice photos although truthfully none is spectacular.

The balloon festival is held every year although I’ve missed the last two or three. Seems like, in my last attempt, I felt zoom challenged with a 70-200 so this time I carried the longer 100-400mm zoom. Because the balloons came in so close, the 70-200 would have been the better choice this time. I used my 7D at ISO 800 and manual exposure around 1/500 sec and aperture around f8. All shots were taken using auto focus with the center spot and “AF-ON”. There were probably a hundred or so photographers with good equipment surrounding the balloon target area so I suspect that there are at least a hundred sets of pictures similar to mine from this morning’s event. Still, these are mine.

Rather than feature a single photo, I quickly put a slide show together using the wizard from Proshow Gold. This was my first time to use the Proshow Wizard and also my first attempt to upload to YouTube from Proshow. The quality from my first attempt was not very good because the defaults are set for YouTube’s “standard” quality. I changed the quality to be 720p and that video is much better; however, it still is not particularly good. Now to retrace those steps and find a better workflow …

PAW 30

2011-07-31T21:04:00.001-05:00

“Turn around, look behind you.” I’m always (well, attempting to) telling myself to look around and not to get locked into the scene or setting that I imagined would make the best photograph. That was certainly the case for this photo. I imagine a scene of a pier in the early morning fog but that scene simply did not “work”. As I retraced my steps, the scene directly opposite from the one I had in one was by far the best shot and is this week’s featured photograph.

Once again I was using the G12 – it is so convenient and easy to use. This time, anticipating slow shutter speeds, the G12 was mounted on a tripod. Exposure was 1/60 second at f5.6 as set by Av mode for ISO 80. Processed from RAW in ACR, the histogram is shifted towards the right because there are few dark areas. I did not attempt to salvage the dark and bright details because those details simply were not there in the actual scene. Likewise, the colors are muted and unsaturated.

A different sort of picture for me but one that I like.

PAW 29

2011-07-24T21:04:00.001-05:00

Returning from vacation, I was browsing through a thousand images for this week’s PAW but pretty sure that one of the photos of my niece, Elise, would be this week’s choice. This one in particular just felt right when the shutter button was pressed.

I still struggle with flash but was careful to set exposure for the background and dial in the flash for fill. We were on a balcony in the shade, the camera was my 7D and the flash was the 580EX mounted inside a Lumiquest LTp softbox on a lightstand to the right of the camera. The flash was triggered and controlled by the little popup flash of the 7D. This system worked well (in the shade) so long as the 580EX could “see” the 7D flash. Exposure was 1/200 second at f8 for ISO 400; the 580EX was set at +2 (I think).

My thanks to Elise for her patience as I fumbled and experimented with camera and flash.

The Sand Castle

2011-07-22T19:54:00.001-05:00

Swiss Army Knives are known for being technical and versatile – exactly the tool to have with you in a difficult situation. MacGyver always had his Swiss Army Knife and I almost always have one with me as well. I’ve enjoyed photographing my Swiss Army Knives in challenging and amusing situations. Some of those photos have been featured in this blog and additional ones are in my SmugMug gallery. I even made a book of my Swiss Army Knives. Lately, though, I’ve had a feeling that something was going wrong – I was having to work harder and harder to get a good photo whereas the little knives were contributing little except to enjoy their celebrity status.

To prove my point, I secretly made the video below during a recent shoot in Destin, Florida. Clearly, the Swiss Army Knife is not contributing except to pose as the “talent” and take all the credit!

The story behind the photograph

(Video shot with G12 in “miniature” movie mode and edited in Premiere Elements 9.)

PAW 28

2011-07-17T21:58:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite subjects: Swiss Army Knives. This one is from a walk on the beach in Destin, Florida. Picture taken with the G12 at f2.8, 1/1000 second, ISO 80, handheld to get a low view. Processed from RAW in ACR and cropped in Photoshop.

Yes, he did get wet!

PAW 27

2011-07-09T08:55:00.001-05:00

This week’s picture is the composite of my fireworks shots using the 7D. My various attempts to automatically use my fleet of old cameras are described in a previous post. The individual shots making up this composite were all taken with the 7D.

Fireworks Fiasco

2011-07-05T20:31:00.001-05:00

Well, almost, anyway. I wanted to photograph the neighborhood fireworks display and play with a handful of cameras in the process. Here’s what I did:

G3 using the built-in intervalometer at 1 shot per minute for 100 shots. ISO 50, 2 second exposure, f4, manual focus at infinity.

G6 set up the same as the G3 but pointed in a different direction.

The G9 doesn’t have an intervalometer and no external connections to use one so the G9 was set in its “HD” movie mode (1024x768 at 15 fps).

G12 connected to a cheap no-name external intervalometer (worked fine). ISO 80, 2 second exposure, f4, 1 shot every 4 seconds, manual focus at infinity.

7D triggered manually using wired remote, ISO 400, 2 seconds at f8.

I knew I was trusting to luck on the G3 and G6 but it never occurred to me that my luck would be so bad. Nothing.

The G9 movies were pretty bad and had lots of noise.

Of the 298 G12 shots, a handful were OK. That is, when the intervalometer got lucky, the photo was OK.

I got by far the most keepers by triggering the 7D myself. I used the old tried and true method of watching for a rocket launch and pressing the remote button – or just taking a random guess that it was about time for another launch.

The picture above is a composite of five shots that were combined in Photoshop. Not bad but not what I hoped for.

PAW 26

2011-07-02T20:18:00.001-05:00

A simple photo of a bee hard at work in a magnolia blossom this morning. The articulated screen of the G12 came in very handy for this shot as I was holding the camera above my head. Shot in Manual mode, f4, 1/640, ISO 400 after a trial shot using Av mode. A white handkerchief hanging below the camera bounced a little sunlight into the scene. Cropped after converting in ACR followed by post processing in Photoshop.

GX: Wishin’ and Hopin’

2011-07-01T20:41:00.001-05:00

In my G14 predictions, I emphasized prediction and not wishing. As a result of attempting to be realistic, my prediction is not particularly exciting but I’ll stand by it (even though rumors of the S100 indicate a new lens might be coming). Several readers have let me know that they hope I am wrong and, actually, I do too. I can’t imagine buying the predicted G14 but I could buy a “GX” if it were an innovative expansion and upgrade of the G12. Here’s my wish list.

Thinking in terms of photography, the four basic parameters need upgrading on the G12:

1) Sensitivity – increase ISO, dynamic range plus reduce noise
2) Shutter speed – remove 1 s max in Av, 15 s max otherwise
3) Aperture – one more stop at all focal lengths
4) Optics – wider and longer zoom

Of course, optics, aperture and physical size are linked so these wishes mean the GX would probably be physically larger than the G12. That’s OK with me as long as the GX remains smaller than, say, the old G3. One way to vary the optics would be interchangeable lenses. The GX could come with a small, inexpensive “kit” lens, say 35mme to 70mme at f4, and have three or four optional lenses available – including a small “pancake” design with fixed focal length. Ideally, a lens adapter would allow existing Canon DSLR lenses to be used on the GX. If the GX is to be adaptable to existing Canon DSLR lenses then image stabilization will be a part of the lens design and not the sensor. No doubt someone would reverse engineer the GX adapter so that lenses from other manufacturers could be used as well.

Why do we wish for a larger sensor? OK, I’m aware of all that stuff but my point is that we should ask for sensor features at high quality and not presume the physical size – let the Canon engineers worry about the sensor size. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Canon came out with new technology that produced APS-C results from the current sensor physical size?

And then there’s video. As a believer in the convergence of video and still photography, I almost included video in my basics list. It is easy and obvious to wish for the upgrade from 720p HD to full 1080p HD video as part of the GX feature set but don’t forget about manual controls. Give me an optical zoom, please (but a quiet one) and a plug-in for an external microphone.

Thinking of features, I’d like to see the following on the GX:

Dramatic improvements in focus and shutter lag
a manual “street” mode (display off, instantaneous response)
RAW + adjustable JPEG simultaneous shooting
Flash control like Canon DSLRs including master controller
Touch screen for menu-like settings (only)
Larger and higher resolution screen (articulated)
graduated neutral density filter (in addition to existing ND filter)
something cutesy that I won’t be able to imagine.

Things I can give up … well, why give up anything? Maybe the optical viewfinder.

I’ll accept all this in August but am not expecting it.

Oh, and keep the $500 price tag!

PAW 25

2011-06-26T21:30:00.001-05:00

This week, I just couldn’t resist a little trickery, or more appropriately a little Photoshopery – but actually done with HDR and Photomatix tone mapping followed by tweaking in Photoshop. I’d been wondering about making an HDR image when using slow shutter speeds to get a blurred falling water effect. This one was made with seven shots. Of the seven shots used to make this HDR image, the shortest exposure – 1/40 second – was needed to get the sky correctly exposed; however, the water fall was not blurred. The longest exposure – 1 second – definitely blurred the waterfall and burned in the shadows as well. I suppose it is a little “over the top” as most HDR shots tend to be but still sort of interesting.

PAW 24

2011-06-19T21:08:00.001-05:00

My granddaughter, singing to us on Father’s Day, was too much to resist for picture of the week.

Canon 7D with 15-85mm IS lens and 580EX II flash mounted on-camera. Settings were ISO 1600, 1/60 second, f5.6, manual exposure. Flash with 1/4 CTO gel and bounced off a wall behind me. Using high ISO and and light fill flash bounced from walls behind me is a new technique for me but I’ll be using it more often.

PAW Favorite

2011-06-17T08:36:00.001-05:00

Judging from my SmugMug statistics for year-to-date, PAW 6 is by far the favorite image so far. In a way, it’s unfair to some of the later PAW because PAW 6 was one of the early shots but but the number of views for PAW 6 is overwhelming.

In a distant second place is PAW 3 and my cute granddaughter is in third place in PAW 1. Coming on strong and most viewed in the last 30 days is the most current picture, PAW 23.

PAW 23

2011-06-12T15:05:00.001-05:00

This picture of the week is the latest addition to my collection of Swiss Army Knife pictures. This one is PAW 23 and also the seventeenth in my Adventures of the Swiss Army Knives gallery at SmugMug.

Of course, the little critter could not possibly eat everything on that plate and I had to finish it. Knives!

PowerShot G Prediction

2011-06-08T21:20:00.001-05:00

It’s that time again. For the past few years I’ve made my prediction for the next G series camera about this time. I predicted the G10, G11 and G12. This is not to say that my predictions have been particularly accurate; in fact, my predictions have been pretty far off although I have got a few things right. What I’m trying to do here is predict – not wish (although I’ll do a bit of that as well). I have no affiliation with Canon and no secret sources of information. These predictions are simply what I think will happen. I make these predictions because it is fun to do so.

Previously, in predicting the G12, I began with the G series and mentioned the S series. For this prediction, I would like to first acknowledge the S series – even though I don’t have one -- and move on to the G series. Briefly, the G series will continue for one more year as a variant of the S series – instead of the other way around – because the S series is so popular. Next year, I expect the G series, as we know it, to disappear and be replaced by an entirely new product line -- I think of it as the “GX” -- having a larger sensor. I expect the S series to continue for a few more years. Now back to the next G …

It is a real challenge is to predict the next PowerShot G product name. G13 would be the obvious choice except that Canon appears to be somewhat superstitious about product names. The best example of this superstition is that Canon skipped from the PowerShot G3 to the G5 (although you can easily find discussion of “G4” attributes on some discussion forums!). Canon also skipped “G8” as a product name. Supposedly, G4 and G8 did not sound appealing or invoked unfavorable superstitions in some languages. Noting the numerical sequence of G4 and G8, some thought that G12 would also be skipped but I did not and accurately predicted “G12”. But now I’m thinking of unlucky “13” and am predicting that the next PowerShot G will be labeled G14. While I’m at it, I’ll predict that the new S series camera will be called the S100 even though there was a PowerShot S100 Digital Elph in 2000.

So I think that there will be another PowerShot G and that it will be called the G14. I think that the PowerShot G14 will be announced sometime in late August and available in mid-October 2011. These dates are typical of past announcements and availability and are probably the most accurate of my predictions. What features will be included in this G14?

First, foremost and almost certainly, the PowerShot processor will be updated and called the “Digic V”. The current Digic IV dates to 2008 and it is time for an update. Digic V will be faster, more powerful, etc., etc. than Digic IV. Digic V means that the G14 will be more responsive than the G12. Perhaps the G14 will obtain focus more quickly although it still will not be hyperactive- granddaughter quick.

The G14 will retain the form factor and general appearance of the G12, including the optical viewfinder, articulated display screen and too-small control dial. The back of the G14 will have a few more contours in an attempt to prevent inadvertent button pressing (I hope, I hope).

In addition to the new processor, the G14 will have a new sensor. The S100 will use the same sensor although, as noted previously, the real progression is that the G14 will share the sensor of the S100. That’s an easy prediction because every G series has had a new sensor (although the G12 sensor may be nearly the same as the G11). Canon will be unable to resist the siren call of the Pixels and will increase the G14 pixel count to 12MP. The sensor size, in spite of many wishes to the contrary, will remain the same as the G12 and the sensor will continue to be a CCD – not a CMOS sensor. This is a popular sensor size and Canon outsources it (from Sony according to rumor). Even while increasing pixel density, Canon will claim improved noise and high ISO performance. I hope these claims will be correct.

Features? Yes, the G14 will have additional “features” although most of these will be added with software. Add something, remove something. Most likely, the new features will be so cutesy that I cannot begin to imagine them. Perhaps there will be additional in-camera editing. The Movie Digest Mode from the SX230HS looks interesting and will be added to the G14.

A GPS system, similar to that used in the SX230HS, will be added to the G14. This is a popular feature and many have been wishing for it.

Although tempting to predict that the G14 will have full HD video (1920 x 1080), I think that the 720 HD video limit will remain although I predict that 30 fps will be added. I don’t think that optical zooming or automatic focusing during video will be added. Apparently Canon has serious reservations about noise generation during such mechanical adjustments. I do expect that some sort of audio notes will be included in the G14 – probably like the G3 or G9.

My G12 has some undocumented features (bugs) that have not been addressed with firmware updates and I think these will be corrected in the G14. Most notably, the irritating “screen blanking” when using non-Canon flash accessories will be fixed. Also, once again, the “My Colors” adjustment will be applied to JPEGs generated when shooting RAW + JPEG. On the other hand, long time shortcomings such as the 1 second shutter speed limit in Av mode will not be changed in the G14.

There you have it. I predict a rather boring evolutionary step from the G12 to the G14 except that, when you think about it, the G14 (as predicted) will be quite a nice camera. Will I buy a G14? I don’t know. Nothing in my predictions causes my wallet to vibrate. What would it take for me to get a G14? Oft debated hardware and optical features such as a larger aperture, increased focal length on the long end of the zoom and a larger control dial would be very nice additions to the G14. A really quick auto focus would be irresistible. Sadly, I don’t expect such significant changes.

The G14 will be, I think (once again!), the last of the “G” series although the classic G characteristics will be readily identifiable in the “GX” series to be announced next year. The PowerShot GX (PowerShot G is far too powerful a brand name to drop) will be a compact camera with a larger sensor (and it will be CMOS) than the current G series. The GX will not have an interchangeable lens and will not have an optical viewfinder or an electronic viewfinder. The GX will necessarily be larger than the G. I’m looking forward to the GX!

PAW 22

2011-06-04T15:55:00.001-05:00

With three days of record high temperatures and no rain for … hmm, can’t remember the last time water fell from the sky – whatever, it was past time to haul out the sprinkler. In between moving the sprinkler, I put my G12 on a tripod and set it for ISO 80, f8 and turned on the built-in neutral density filter. I don’t use that feature very often but it sure comes in handy for shots like this when a slow shutter speed is wanted. Without the ND filter and in Av mode at f8, the shutter speed was 1/100 second. By using the ND filter, the shutter speed was reduced to 1/13 second. After looking at the histogram, I decided to shoot at 1/8 second for a better exposure and even more motion blur. I changed from Av mode to Manual exposure and set for f8 and 1/8 second.

I took three shots – well, better said – used three shots to make this image. The three were processed identically from RAW using ACR. Two of the shots were stacked on the third as layers using the “lighten” blending mode. Yes, “Photoshopped”, but easily done and I couldn’t resist.

G12: AC Adapter Kit

2011-06-02T20:54:00.001-05:00

Canon’s AC adapter kit for the G12 is the ACK-DC50 – a rather imposing product name. Strangely, the instruction sheet accompanying this adapter calls it the “CA-PS700”. I suspect that the difference is the fake battery in the ACK-DC50 is the G12 battery and the other components are used with many different fake batteries. Whatever the difference, the box was labeled ACK-DC50 and the innards worked with my G12.

As shown above, the kit consists of a fake battery, an AC to DC converter brick with hard wired connector and a power cord. The specs (that is, the CA-PS700 specs) say it is OK for 100- 240 V AC at 50/60 Hz and outputs 7.4V DC. The instructions contain useful information like “Do not use this apparatus near water.” but no illustrations or even text to describe how to connect and use the kit. On the positive side, specs and warnings are given in eight languages. Fortunately, using the kit is easy.

The connecting cord is plugged into the fake battery and the fake battery is slid into the G12 battery box as shown above. Like the real battery, the fake battery will go into the G12 only one way. Notice though that the connecting cord should be aligned with the notch on the camera body (so that’s what the notch is for!).

With the cord properly in the notch, the G12 battery door closes easily.

Finally, plug in the ACK-DC50 and the G12 has power – it thinks that a battery is installed.

I must admit to having used the AC adapter only a few times but I have grand plans!

PAW 21

2011-05-29T16:11:00.001-05:00

Gonzales, Louisiana calls itself the “Jambalaya Capital of the World” and celebrates this status with a Jambalaya Festival every year. This year’s events included a car show. I snapped this shot while walking around on a very hot and bright day. The owner and customizer of this Mustang had also made a model exactly like his pride and joy. Even though shaded by the open hood, there are quite a few hotspots and reflections but our mind’s eye recognizes and accepts this as “chrome”. G12 at ISO 80, f2.8, 1/100 second, processed from RAW in ACR.

PAW 20

2011-05-22T17:49:00.001-05:00

This simple picture was taken with my G12 at ISO 80 in Av mode at f5.6 at 1/400 second – a little overexposed according to the “Sunny 16” rule but it seems about right. The starkness of this dead, burnt tree against a bright sky grabs my attention as I drive past it regularly. I kept thinking “Stop and get its picture. It won’t be there much longer.”

PAW 19

2011-05-15T17:51:00.002-05:00

For Mother’s Day, we decided on a non-traditional cookout. In the process, I grabbed this shot of the burgers with my 7D, 15-85mm and 580EX II flash. In Av mode at ISO 200 and f8, the shutter speed was 1/250 second. I turned down the flash exposure compensation to –1 and also had the flash in high speed sync.
Usually my shots of food on the grill do not turn out well but I liked this one. I think the flash made a significant difference.
… and the burgers were great!

PAW 18

2011-05-08T17:53:00.001-05:00

This little shore bird, a Stilted Sandpiper (I think – let me know if otherwise), slowly worked his way towards me as I both waited patiently and fired away with my Canon 7D fitted with 100-400mm IS zoom. This picture was one of the better views and the bird was so close that little cropping was required.

An interesting aspect of this shot, taken in RAW mode, is that serious desaturation was required in ACR in order to have a realistic image. My first attempt at post processing produced an over saturated image which, although I liked it at first, did not look right the next day.

Gordon’s Top Ten

2011-05-04T20:00:00.001-05:00

I have a gallery at SmugMug in which I maintain my ten best photographs. I’ve not changed those top ten very often. When I check the statistics developed by SmugMug, this picture, “Plantation Bedroom”, invariably gets the most views. This is an HDR picture developed blending (as I recall) seven shots at varying exposures. I like it a lot.

PAW 17

2011-05-01T19:57:00.001-05:00

This is the first time in my PAW series that I had a pre-conceived selection. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the first Easter Lily blossom. Actually, I thought the first blossom would pop out last week and perhaps even on Easter Sunday but no such luck. Taken with my G12, on closer inspection, this uncropped image includes a “bonus” bug.

PAW 16

2011-04-23T21:03:00.001-05:00

Getting this week’s picture was a matter of being in the right place with the right camera and lens – in this case, the Canon 7D with 100-400mm zoom maxed out. At ISO 400, the Av exposure was f8 at 1/800 second. I sure appreciated the 8 frames per second firing rate. This one was the third shot in a five shot series. Converted from RAW in ACR and slightly cropped.

G12: Unused Features

2011-04-19T20:00:00.001-05:00

The G series Powershot cameras have so many features that they are a veritable “Swiss Army Knife” of cameras. I really like Swiss Army Knives and have, uh, quite a few. Like my Swiss Army Knives, my G12 has a number of features that I don’t actually use but am glad to have around because, well, you never know when they might come in handy.

Before anyone gets upset, I’m not saying that the features about to be listed are useless. I’m just saying that I haven’t used them – yet.

For starters, look no farther than the Mode Dial on top of the G12. I never use Auto because Program mode is preferred for automated shooting (although I rarely use Program mode either). Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve never used the “Quick Shot” setting – no particular reason, I just haven’t. Perhaps I’ve missed something useful. Also on the Mode Dial, I’ve rarely used the “Low Light” setting but this rarity seems reasonable. I’ve used the “SCN” (think of “Scenes”) setting on occasion, especially the HDR and Nostalgic features but that’s about it. I’ve used my G12 to make videos but have yet to use the Miniature mode (although I intend to play with it).

Also on top of the G12, I rarely use the Exposure Compensation dial although I’m glad exposure compensation is provided. My usual practice is to shoot in Aperture Priority (Av) mode and, instead of using the Exposure Compensation dial, switch to Manual Exposure if the Av exposure isn’t quite right. I probably should use Exposure Compensation more often.

On the back of the G12 at left top is the Quick Print or Shortcut button. I agonized over which feature to assign to it as a shortcut and finally selected i-Contrast; however, I promptly forgot that assignment and have never used it. I don't use i-Contrast either. Also, I never print directly from the G12 so the Quick Print feature is wasted on me.

There are Dynamic Range and Shadow corrections that can be accessed through the Function button on the back of the G12. These adjustments do not apply when shooting RAW or RAW + JPEG – my normal practice – so they remain unused.

In the Main Menu, I immediately turned off these features: Digital zoom, AF-Point zoom, Servo AF, Continuous AF, Safety MF, Red-Eye Correction, Red-Eye Lamp, Blink Detection and Date Stamp.

After taking a picture, I’ve never used the G12 for editing. That is, from the Playback menu, I’ve not used these features: Smart Shuffle, Protect, Rotate, Favorites, My Category, i-Contrast, Red-Eye Correction, Trimming, Resizing or My Colors. (Actually, in finding these features, I should learn more about them.)

Well, my list of unused G12 features is shorter than I thought it would be. Plus, I’m now curious about some of these unused features and will be learning more about them.

PAW 15

2011-04-16T20:33:00.001-05:00

I’ve been wanting this picture – or one similar to it – ever since I saw children playing in these fountains in front of the Shaw Center in Baton Rouge. After a few trial shots, I set the G12 in manual exposure mode at 1/640 second and f4.5 using ISO 80. Because the G12 suffers from shutter lag, I used the half pressed shutter button technique to lock exposure and focus, waited for the right moment and finished the shot.

G12: Hot Shoe Cover –> No Flash

2011-04-14T19:38:00.001-05:00

From time to time there are reports of the G12 internal flash absolutely refusing to work in spite of (almost) every possible corrective action – including resetting – that could be imagined. Frequently the problem is related to a small micro switch located in the hot shoe, see the above image. The purpose of the micro switch is to inform the G12 that an external flash has been attached but if the micro switch has become stuck or unintentionally depressed then the G12 is misinformed. Result: no flash.

The problem is not confined to the G12; the micro switch is used on all the G series Powershots. The photos in this post are of the Powershot G9. The image above shows the G9 hot shoe with a cover designed by Richard Franiec. Notice that Richard cleverly engraved his design with “G” for “Gordon” (although some believe there were other reasons).

Knowing that the G series hot shoe has a micro switch, the Franiec cover is relieved along one side so that the micro switch is not activated when the cover is in place. There are other hot shoe covers available but all are not compatible with the Powershot micro switch. The G series internal flash will not work if an incompatible hot shoe cover is placed in the hot shoe.

I bought my G9 hot shoe cover directly from Richard and the G12 hot shoe cover from Lensmate. The same cover is used for G7 through G12. My G3 and G6 also have the micro switch but the Franiec cover is just a bit too wide to fit.

There have also been reports of a stuck micro switch but more often the “flash doesn’t work” problem seems to be an incompatible hot shoe cover.

PAW 14

2011-04-09T19:32:00.001-05:00

When I first began my Picture a Week project, one of my ideas was that the picture would tell a story, be complete in itself, etc. I did not intend to fully document the details of the picture, equipment or technique. Of course, I can hardly help doing just that!

From time to time I like to take on the challenge of making a self portrait and this week’s PAW is my latest effort. It represents quite a bit of effort. First, I wanted a self portrait that showed me doing something and not just a head shot. So, what do I do? You see me at one of my major activities. I decided to use the computer screens as the light source; this both to provide a different look and also to minimize my cleanup efforts. A piece of black art board was placed behind the laptop to further hide my junk. My Canon 7D with 15-85mm lens was placed on a tripod to be triggered by the Yongnuo RF-602 wireless remote. A little rearranging, a few trial shots to set exposure and the rest was up to the model.

PAW 13

2011-04-03T20:19:00.001-05:00

We were riding down Front Beach in Ocean Springs, Mississippi hoping to get in a sunset shot or two but running late when I saw this scene developing in the rear view mirror. I pulled over, grabbed the camera and fired off a few shots. This one was the second shot with the old Canon 20D and 100-400mm lens at full telephoto. When I pushed the button, I could see the print as being cropped to square but it actually cropped to an odd aspect ratio. I don’t particularly believe in commercial aspect ratios anyway – although they certainly can be beneficial when shopping for frames!

When people ask if a picture has been “Photoshopped”, I’ve learned to just say “Yes”. I normally shoot in RAW and consider the conversion process from RAW as a second chance to get it right (meaning the way I want it). This one was a bit difficult to process because of the very bright sun. It definitely was a big yellow ball and the RAW conversion required some extreme settings to retain that yellow sun.

PAW 12

2011-03-26T17:16:00.001-05:00

This week’s picture is from my garden and taken one morning this week with my G12 in RAW, Av mode at ISO 200, 1/30 second and f4. Those blooms are now full blossoms; in fact, my yard and gardens are bursting with color. I’ve been walking around with the G12 and just snapping away.

LED Ring Light

2011-03-24T20:41:00.000-05:00

Intrigued by the concept of continuous lighting and the results of a ring light, I bought the cheap “Neewer” LED ring light recommended by Kirk Tuck. Kirk (should I call him Mr. Tuck? I don't really know him although I read his blog regularly and recommend it. Also, I bought and liked his first book “Minimalist Lighting”.) has been working with continuous LED lighting and has a book on using LEDs in the works. I got the cheap ring light, fitted it to my G12 and have been enjoying tinkering with it for a week or so.

The Neewer LED ring light slides over a thin plate that is molded onto a filter-looking screw thread. Six such mounts are included in the package. One of those mounts had 58mm filter threads – just right for attaching to my Lensmate adapter (the others are 49, 52, 55, 62, 67mm). At first, I used both the “A” and “B” adapters but quickly realized that the “B” adapter produced vignetting so it was removed.

The battery case mounts to the G12 hotshoe but does not use the G12 battery. The battery case can fit onto the hotshoe facing either way. The kit includes an AC power supply.

From my early trials with the Neewer LED ring light, I discovered a few quirks:

best to use reading glasses when doing close up work
must actually be turned ON or will produce misleading results
do not attached the connecting cable to the “DC 3V In” connection (no damage but lights do not come on)
using old rechargeable batteries, lights blinked then went dim but remained lit

The level of lighting is not adjustable. Neewer claims a 1-1/2 hour service time using the recommended NiMH batteries but I haven’t confirmed that (yet).

Naturally, I had to “test” some aspect of the LED ring light. I suspected that the light output and color would vary with the type battery used. The battery pack holds two “AA” batteries. I tried conventional alkaline, NiMH and NiZn batteries in macro type close-ups. Note that these batteries each have differing voltage outputs. Although my tests were not particularly rigorous, I could not tell any differences in light output or color. The test procedure was to get a RAW image of red, green and blue pins (RGB – get it?) shown below and convert using Adobe Camera Raw. In the conversion process, the exposure adjustment (based on pushing the histogram to the right) and color temperature (sampled from the white base) were noted. Pictures were taken in three settings: 1) indoors using fluorescent lighting, 2) inside a light tent with overhead lights off and 3) outdoors under bright sunlight.

According to my simplistic tests, the Neewer LED ring light tends to have a color temperature of about 6000 K. As compared to normal room lighting, when used up close, the Neewer LED ring light provides about 3 stops of exposure. That is, instead of shooting at 1/25 second without the LED light, I was able to shoot at 1/250 second with the LED light. Outdoors was, of course, a different story. When used outdoors in bright light, the Neewer LED ring light reduced exposure by only about 1/3 stop. Remember that these results are with the light close to the subject.

The photo above was taken in RAW mode with lighting only from the overhead fluorescents. Automated exposure in Av mode was f 3.5 at 1/25 second using ISO 80.

This shot was taken with the overhead fluorescents plus the LED ring light. Notice the softer shadows but also notice that each pin shows a reflection of the ring light. Automated exposure in Av mode was f 3.5 at 1/250 second using ISO 80.

I like the cheap LED ring light. I wouldn’t have bought it at a higher price but it will be useful for getting macro photos.

PAW 11

2011-03-19T22:16:00.001-05:00

Tonight was a “super moon” so it seemed natural to get a shot of it for Picture of the Week. This was taken with my 7D, 100-400mm zoom, 1.4X teleconverter and cropped. Tripod mounted, of course and shot at ISO 400, f8 and 1/100 second. This crop is about 1/4 the captured scene. This is the second shot I took and, although I persisted with several variations, the one I liked best. The moon really was a bit golden early on and became increasingly white. This is my second attempt at photographing the moon, the first one was an eclipse.

G12: Focal Lengths

2011-03-16T20:44:00.001-05:00

The G12 has a 5 to 1 zoom lens with focal lengths ranging from 6.1 mm on the “wide angle” end to 30.5 mm on the “telephoto” end. The lens is not infinitely adjustable; there are 14 different focal lengths. The available focal lengths are:

6.1 mm 12.1 mm

6.8 13.8

7.4 15.7

8.1 18.1

8.9 21.5

9.8 25

10.8 30.5

These are the focal lengths needed to do depth of field calculations using programs like DOFMaster. There is also a DOFMaster App for the iPhone that is very handy and accessible in the field. The iPhone App does not always have the precise G12 focal length as part of its database. For those focal lengths, I just use the closest available value.

PAW 10

2011-03-12T19:07:00.001-06:00

I had yard work to do and needed supplies from Home Depot so took along my G12 and got this shot. I’m always pleased to have conceived of a shot and then accomplished much that same image. This was shot at f2.8 and focused up close in macro mode to minimize depth of field. I could have framed it a little differently so that the store details in the background were not visible but actually wanted to show a blurry store scene. This was processed from the RAW file and saturation/vibrance bumped up a bit – seemed appropriate to the subject.

Gorillamobile

2011-03-09T19:41:00.001-06:00

I’ve been wanting a “tripod” for my iPhone and finally decided to try the Gorillamobile by Joby. So far, so good.

The Gorillamobile is a frame and tripod combination. The two piece frame surrounds the iPhone and slides onto a clip on the adjustable tripod. The tripod is adjustable by virtue of its flexible joints and legs. The frame is easily assembled around a naked iPhone but not a dressed-up iPhone inside a case.

In a moment of humility, I have to admit that I thought the frame snapped onto the tripod clip (and it can). The frame does not, however, easily snap off the clip. In fact, as is “clearly” illustrated by the pictorial instructions, the frame is supposed to slide onto the clip. On close inspection, one corner of the frame is relieved so that the clip on the tripod can easily slide on or off at this corner. (In the above picture, this relieved corner is at top left. Yes, I snapped the clip onto the frame in the wrong location.) In addition, the frame has slightly raised support ribs in the middle of both a long side and a short side. When sliding the frame onto the clip, additional holding power is provided by sliding (push harder) the clip over these support ribs.

In use, the Gorillamobile seems study enough, especially remembering that the iPhone shutter is triggered by removing one’s finger from the shutter button. The iPhone doesn’t have a built-in shutter delay and, up to now, I’ve not installed any of the camera Apps that include a shutter delay (hey, a good blog topic!). Adjusting the iPhone and Gorillamobile for composition of a photo takes a bit of trial and error but can be done reasonably well.

The flexible legs of the Joby tripod can be used to wrap around other supports such as tree limbs, rails, fences, etc.

An adapter to be attached to the standard threaded tripod mount in most cameras is included with the Gorillamobile. The adapter does fit my G12 and the G12 can be used on the flexible tripod; however, when doing so, the G12 is easily vibrated. If I ever use the G12 on the flexible tripod, I hope to remember to use the shutter delay.

PAW 9

2011-03-05T17:49:00.001-06:00

This week’s PAW is an HDR image processed in Photomatix and further tweaked, then cropped in Photoshop. It probably doesn’t look “HDR” – at least, I hope not. The G12 was used in manual mode to get exposures at f4, ISO 400 and bracketed shutter speeds of 1.6, 6 and 0.4 seconds. Manual mode was necessary because of the 1 second shutter speed limit in Av mode for G series cameras. The scene is from the country store at Rural Life Museum that was shown in the previous post.

G12: SCN Variations

2011-03-02T20:01:00.001-06:00

Sunday I roamed the Rural Life Museum looking for PAW candidates and also to give the G12 SCN modes another try. The above picture is a scene from the old country store, shot in Av mode at 1 second exposure, f3.5, ISO 80, tripod mounted of course. This is the in-camera JPEG. I suppose this is a “normal” image.

Above is the in-camera “HDR” version of the “normal” scene. This particular variation is the “sepia” HDR. The exposure was determined automatically as 1/20 second (must be the first shot of the series), f3.5 and ISO 1600. A nice variation to my eye.

The above variation is the “B/W” HDR.

Next, getting out of HDR mode and into “Nostalgic” mode, the above shot was automatically exposed at 1/10 second, f3.5, ISO 800. Within Nostalgic mode, the amount was set at maximum; that is, 5 bars of the available 5.

Again in Nostalgic mode, the above variation is with the amount set to 2 bars of the 5 available. I like this one best.

PAW 8

2011-02-26T18:10:00.001-06:00

For this week’s picture, I decided to do a little backyard “hunting”; that is, I used my G12 in macro mode to shoot critters. This is the one I liked best. Exposure was 1/200 second at f4 and ISO 800. Shot in Aperture mode at mid-zoom. The RAW image file was processed in Adobe Camera Raw. This image is about half the uncropped scene.

PAW 7

2011-02-20T19:55:00.001-06:00

According to my rules – which are made up as I go along – I’m still meeting my goal of a picture a week (PAW). This picture was taken yesterday and today was a travel day.

This picture was taken with the Canon 7D and 70-200mm lens at 85mm, ISO 200, f2.8 and 1/1000 second. It was shot in RAW + JPEG but cropped and processed from the RAW image. The processing mostly consisted of increasing contrast and letting the dark tones go darker.

PAW 6

2011-02-12T17:39:00.001-06:00

Junk, I suppose, and clutter as well but I like it.

Shot with the G12 in RAW mode with manual exposure of f5.6 at 1/500 second using ISO 80. Getting the exposure right took a few tries because the G12 was willing to overexpose the bright white wall in favor of the shadow areas but I was not.

Even though I was without a tripod, I attempted to get an HDR version of this scene by using auto bracketing. I’m also making a print of this one.

More Tweaks

2011-02-06T14:49:00.001-06:00

It seems that, unlike the Blogger editor, images uploaded using Live Writer are viewable only at the display size. For example, with Blogger I could upload a 1024x768 pixel image but display it at, say, 256x192. If the reader “clicked” on the reduced size image, the original uploaded size image would show in a separate window. This feature was not needed for all images but handy for a more critical view. I want my PAW images to be viewable at 1024x768 pixels.

I’d always intended to make a PAW section in my SmugMug gallery so I’ve done that. I edited the PAW 5 post to link the image to the PAW section in SmugMug.

Of course, the Blogger editor had reached the point to where it was not working for me so I still prefer Live Writer.

PAW 5

2011-02-05T19:30:00.001-06:00

My dad loved woodworking. He made a clock (and many other things) for me. On giving me the clock he told the story of making it – including showing me every mistake he’d made. I have the same tendency with photographs in spite of myself.

This week’s picture was supposed to be a very simple one and very quickly done. I wanted a picture that showed the pedaling action on my stationary bike (call it proof of exercise!). It seemed to me that dragging the shutter would show the blur and a quick pop of the flash would freeze a bit of detail. Although I tried many combinations, that simple approach just did not work out. I finally realized that more than one pop of flash was needed. This shot was taken with the G12, Canon 580EX (still using the NiZn batteries) directly mounted on the camera and RF-602 remote trigger to trigger the G12.

The G12 was set to ISO 80, manual focus and manual exposure at 1 second and f8. This setting gave a slightly underexposed image without the effects of flash. The 580EX was set to stroboscopic flash mode; I think something like 8 flashes at 8Hz and around 1/16 power. The 580EX was fitted with a green gel to somewhat match the overhead florescent lighting and also a Stofen diffuser. I think the flash was pointed directly at the pedals in this one. The room is small with many reflective surfaces. I also tried bouncing the light off the freezer and washing machine; frankly, all looked about the same.

It worked!

2011-02-04T20:56:00.001-06:00

Windows Live Writer worked and worked well the first time I used it.

In the process of changing the look and feel of Light Description (a new template from Blogger, not related to Live Writer), some of the statistical data tracking was lost. I finally remembered that a piece of code had to be pasted into the template and have now done that (I think).

Not photography, I know, but part of learning to blog.

Windows Live Writer

2011-02-03T20:31:00.001-06:00

Here’s my first attempt at using Windows Live Writer instead of the Blogger Editor. So far, so good. Installation of Live Writer was simple and setup was almost completely automatic. In fact, the process so far has been so easy that I’ll be surprised if Live Writer actually works!

Although when using a new camera I’m inclined to read the manual, I don’t go to that extreme when using new software. Plus, the Live Writer menus and options appear to be relatively familiar and simple. It is easy to forget – and forgivable to have never known – that, not too long ago, user interfaces for nearly all computer programs were different. Instruction manuals were absolutely an essential read and study. Windows and the mouse (thanks be to Apple <-- Xerox) changed all that to the point that software instruction manuals are often available only on disk and now rarely read except in case of emergency/frustration.

In contrast to software and software manuals, consider cameras. Not that long ago (but before computers), there were only three adjustments to be made to the camera: aperture, shutter speed and focus (and my first camera, a Kodak Brownie Holiday Flash, had no adjustments). Although the adjustment devices might have different locations or movements, the actual adjustment was largely intuitive between cameras (after the initiation to the fact that there even were adjustments!). Even as cameras became somewhat automated and the ASA film speed (now the ISO sensitivity) was incorporated into the system, the actual setting of the camera controls remained relatively simple. The instruction manual for my 1972 Konica T2 was 71 pages – which included the English, French, Spanish and German versions!

In contrast to my classic Konica T2, the manual for my Canon G12 is 213 pages in length – available only as a pdf file -- and that is only the English version! Of course, the T2 didn’t even have a clock much less auto focus, video, playback or a real time display; however, I have to think that the lack of a common camera user interface (dare I say CCUI – no, I dislike acronyms) is the major reason for the substantial operating manuals that are required for modern cameras. Someday there will be a common user interface and camera operation will again become almost intuitive.

(Wow, I began this post as a test case of Live Writer but it developed into a thoughtful – for me – essay. Now to save this text just in case Live Writer does not work and then hit the publish button.)

A New Look for Light Description

2011-02-01T19:50:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to try a new look for Light Description for some time now and finally took a deep breath and made the plunge. Of course, as you can see, I did not wander too far from the old layout!

As it turns out, the template that I originally selected must have been outdated long ago and therefore some of the newer features do not apply to it. My main complaint has become a difficulty in uploading pictures. I hope this new format will resolve that problem. I also wanted to increase the screen width of the blog page and that could not be easily done with the old template.

Bummer. Just tried to upload an image and the Blogger Editor balked just as it did with the old template.

I will probably try a new editor, Windows Live Writer, instead of the Blogger Editor -- hope I don't mess up the old posts!

PAW 4

2011-01-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

A four year old with an iPhone! OK, so the phone is her mother's, my granddaughter loves it: talking, games, camera and learning to send text messages. To get this shot, I set the G12 in the low light mode and shot without flash. The low light mode uses "pixel binning" to combine pixels and increase light sensitivity. In pixel binning, image size is reduced from the normal 10MP to 2.5MP. This shot was taken at ISO 6400, 1/15 second and f4.5 with tungsten white balance. I used Noiseware to reduce the still visible high ISO noise and then made slight level adjustments in Photoshop before downrezing for PAW 4.
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PAW 3

2011-01-22T20:23:00.001-06:00

In only the third week of PAW, I've managed to break one of my "rules": The photo should be complete and tell a story. The photo above is a set of shadows that I found interesting. The shadows are from the old St. Gabriel Church shown below.

The picture of the church is better taken on a spring day -- perhaps I'll remember to do that. The history is interesting, see the plaque below.

All pictures taken with the G12 in RAW mode and processed very simply and quickly in Adobe Camera Raw..