Category — Camera Gear

^ RadioPoppers enable full TTL flash control for Canon and Nikon strobes. Unlike traditional wireless TTL, which relies upon a finicky line-of-sight connection between the Master and the Remote - RadioPoppers can transmit this TTL control through walls, in bright sunlight and over extended distances.

Off-Camera + TTL = Better Flash Photography

The number one opportunity to improve your flash photography is to unbolt your Speedlite from the top of your camera and move it… anywhere. If you rely on your camera to calculate the proper flash exposure or if you want to dial the flash exposure up/down independently of the ambient exposure from your camera, you have to shoot TTL (”Through-The-Lens”) flash. So, how to you combine getting your Speedlite off your camera and still maintain a communication link for TTL-flash? That’s the journey that led me to discover the incredible RadioPoppers.

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High-speed sync enables daylight flash at wide apertures by changing the way the flash fires.

According to the 1931 song, only “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun.” Thanks to high-speed sync, flash photographers can now be added to the list. High-speed sync enables shutter speeds way beyond the norm for flash photography. It also opens up a new realm of creative opportunity.  Many shooters are intimidated by high-speed sync. In reality, it’s really easy to use if you [Read more →]

Canon has just launched it’s fall rebate program for a wide range of lenses and speedlights. Through January 19, 2009 you will save up to $125 instantly on select Canon products when purchased through authorized dealers and resellers. Unlike other rebate programs, you get the savings up front at the time of purchase rather than [Read more →]

Adding a copyright notice to your photos is critical before you send them out on the web or to clients. Fortunately, the task has just become a lot easier with Canon’s recently announced EOS 5D Mark II and 50D digital SLRs. Both cameras can be configured to automatically add your name and a copyright notice to each digital capture. [If you're not a Canon shooter, check out the links to important copyright sites at the end of this article.] [Read more →]

Looking for more information or to pre-order the recently announced Canon 5D Mark II?

The expected ship date for the Canon 5D Mark II is “late November” with an estimated street price of $2,699. I’m amazed at the number of people who wrote after yesterday’s post that they’ve already placed their pre-order to assure that they get one of first units available. Can’t say that I blame them. Looks like Canon is back in the mega-pixel race.

Details / pre-order at B&H Photo

Details / pre-order at Adorama

Details / pre-order at Amazon

Details at DP Review

Details at Rob Galbraith

Canon pulled the covers off the EOS 5D Mark II this morning. The full-frame digital SLR features 21.1 megapixel resolution, a 14-bit DIGIC 4 processor, Live View shooting and HD movie recording capabilities. With an estimated street price of $2700, the 5D Mk II packs in a long list of professional features. [Read more →]

The PocketWizard blog has been up and running for six months. Funny. Somehow I missed it’s launch. [Yet another indication of how quickly the blogosphere is growing.]

If you’re a Wizard fan or just want to learn what other shooters are doing with wireless triggers (for strobes and cameras), the PW blog is worth checking out.

It’s no secret that getting your flash off the top of your camera is the quickest way to improve your photography. Flash Zebra is a great, little (as in one-man-band) company that sells a wide range of solutions for getting some distance between your camera and your flash.

I originally found Flash Zebra when I was looking for a way to tie a Elinchrom Skyport (which I love) to my legion of Canon 580Ex strobes. Fortunately for me the $19 wired hot shoe on Flash Zebra was a heck of a lot cheaper that upgrading to the Canon 580EX II. If you’re a fan of Pocket Wizards, you’ll find that Flash Zebra can tie your PW to virtually any device. They also sell the handy PW caddy and many other cool items.

Beyond a great range of solutions, you’ll find that Flash Zebra has great prices. At first, I was put off by the difference in prices between Flash Zebra and larger sites. My first order put my concerns at ease. My items were shipped immediately. Upon arrival I found their quality to be top notch. Through several orders, I’m now able to tie my Skyports to everything from speedlights to monolights to studio packs.

As flashmasters Joe McNally and David Hobby have proven again and again, the first step to getting an amazing photo with your strobe is to uncouple it from your camera and move it to the side/back/top/bottom of your subject. Combine a unique flash angle with TTL flash control and you have a dynamic duo.

TTL (Through-The-Lens) metering of flash is one of the amazing windfalls of digital photography. Not only can your DSLR figure out where to focus and what shutter/aperture combo to use, it can tell your flash when to fire and for how long. Wireless TTL works by sending a series of pre-flash light pulses from the controlling unit atop the camera to the remote unit(s). Both Nikon’s i-TTL and Canon’s E-TTL provide wireless solutions that enable the camera to maintain control of the strobe(s) if… if there’s nothing between the camera and the strobe, if the strobe is not too far from the camera, if there’s not too much sunlight, if it’s not raining, if… Enter RadioPopper, destroyer of the IFs.

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I have the good (and bad) fortune to live on a hilltop halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It’s a great place to live if you like to mindlessly stare out at vineyards and oak-studded hills. It’s a lousy place to live if the Light Magenta cartridge on your Epson 3800 runs dry on a Saturday morning when you are printing for a client. I know from past experience that the nearest replacement cartridge is exactly 132 miles to the south at Samy’s Camera in Santa Barbara.

Let’s see. I don’t have to deliver the prints until Monday afternoon… At $4.65/gallon for gas, the round trip down to Samy’s would cost almost $80 bucks in fuel and waste the better part of my day. My other option, fingers crossed, is that Amazon has one in stock and can still get it out the door. I check online and see that it’s in stock and I have 50 minutes to get it ordered. Here’s the part I love the most… Amazon’s shipping charge for getting it out the door on Saturday and to my studio on Monday morning is $3.99. Just $3.99? [Read more →]