Photoscout

• Wide-angled Wonder

  Panoramas and wide-angle shots are always a wonder to look at. These are the shots that you normally see in travel and scenic magazines. You might have stumbled upon such a shot in National Geographic magazine or maybe even TIME. These are the shots that will leave you breathless and fixated at them for a long period of time—they are shots that will astound you.

  So how does exactly one get a particular “wide-angle” shot just like the pros? The secret is in their lens. Most of the professionals opt to use super wide to ultra wide lenses for these particular shots. It is important to get these lenses if you are interested in landscape photography or if you want to take more interesting pictures of people, landscapes, buildings and other ordinary scenes, you might want to try investing in an expensive but well-worth it wide-angle lens. This is one of the most important pieces of equipment that you will own if you’re a photographer.

  Many people try their hand on wide-angle photography by simply starting out with a not-so-wide zoom lens with the 16-35mm f/2.8 of Canon. This is an excellent workhorse because it has a wide focal length that ranges from 35mm to as wide as 16mm. This is one of the best lenses that one will be able to own as it can serve as a lens that’s perfect for documentary photography or journalism photography.

  If you would like a slightly wider version of a wide-angle lens, you might want to try your hand in the 15mm fisheye lens. This lens is perfect for those occasions that need a wide point of view with a little touch of creativity. This lens will be able to give you that since the curvature is not rectilinear and will thus give you a “fish eye’s view” of the picture that you’ve taken, thus the name of the lens.

  Finally, if you’d like to take a wide-angle picture of a horizon without distorting it as the fisheye does, your best bet is the excellent 14mm f/2.8 lens by Canon which will give you astounding pictures that will not distort your subject in any way. This way, you get to take the entire landscape with you without altering the natural curvature of the horizon.

  Those are the different lenses that you can use if you want to take wide-angle shots. Try them out at first before you decide. But when you finally do, be prepared to be astounded with their wide-angled wonder!

  Posted in Equipment

  November 8th, 2007 / No Comments

• Lens Choices For The Photographer

   

  So you’d like to take better pictures? Well, aside from having a really good SLR in hand, you should also remember that the lenses will make or break a photograph. Choosing specific types of lenses should be a seasoned photographer’s primary concern because it is in these lenses that a good picture is ultimately achieved. There are lenses that work best in specific types of situation and there are even those which produce a specific effect. Whatever situation the photographer is in, whether it be in a sporting event or maybe an indoor event which doesn’t require any flash, the type of lens is the one thing that ensures a good photograph. Knowing that, here are some lenses that you should look into if you’re looking to diversify your pictures as well as improve them.
  
  Wide-Angle Lens
  Even though some people are in the habit of taking landscape pictures using telephoto lenses, most photographers who take shots of landscapes opt for wide-angle lenses. These lenses are especially suited

  

  for large, dynamic landscapes where background and foreground are suited to catch the viewer’s attention. This is a type of lens that also can focus on the foreground and background and because of the wider field of vision, it is a better choice in getting all of the things that you would like to highlight in any scenery.
  
  Zoom Lens
  A zoom lens is used to either shorten or widen the lens’ focal length. This is especially helpful if you would like to increase the magnification of a subject. This feature is used in different types of photography such as portrait photography or landscape photography. The only drawback in zoom lenses is that they have small aperture openings which doesn’t enable them to take pictures in low-light conditions.
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  Posted in Equipment

  May 30th, 2007 / 1 Comment

• Canon EOS 1-D Mark III

  Following off their success with the EOS-1D Mark II, Canon has released the Canon EOS-1D Mark III. This is another milestone for Canon as it has a new “Dual DIGIC III” imaging processor. This gives this new professional digital camera an edge because of the new processing power that it has. It also has an “integrated cleaning system” included in it and its shutter cycle has been upgraded to 300,000 shutter clicks. It has several other improvements that will definitely catch the eye of amateur and professionals alike. The Mark III is definitely both eye candy and a technical marvel for photographers of all walks.

  The Mark III, as mentioned earlier, has a Dual DIGIC III Imaging Processor which gives the photographer excellent resolution. It enables the high resolution of the 10.1 megapixel of the camera. All of these technologies combine to work with a more improved buffer capacity to effectively deliver a maximum of 110 frame bursts of JPEG quality pictures and 30 frame bursts of RAW quality. This is also complemented with the astounding 10 frames per second rate of the shutter. This is quite excellent for those who dabble in sports photography or for those who would like to capture that perfect moment just right when they see it. This type of frame rate is quite important for those who want to capture the right emotion at the right time.

  Another feature of this photographic marvel is the high ISO sensitivity that it has. Aside from reproducing life-like colors, the Mark III also has a high light sensitivity which peaks at ISO 3200. This is even adjustable to the lowest ISO which is ISO 50 and can be cranked all the way up to an amazing ISO 6400. Knowing how Canon has mastered the high ISO and low grain/noise equation, this is a great thing for those photographers who need to capture an important yet discreet moment without flash. This particular technology is also partly due to the DIGIC III imaging processor that can effectively work for all shooting conditions as well as bulb setting exposures. The processor also works well to reduce the different false color and moiré effects that one gets whenever the shooting conditions or angles are not optimal. Infrared filters that are found in the camera setting also reduce fringes of red as well as specific color casts.

  There is also a “Live View” mode that the user can employ when shooting. It enables the photographer to see the image that they are composing in real time using the LCD monitor. The different exposure adjustments of the images will be viewed when you are trying to frame your subject. Because of this new feature, overexposed and underexposed pictures will be a thing of the past.

  With this type of technology on hand, the amateur and professional photographer will only be limited by his imagination. Underexposed and ruined shots, lost candid moments will be a thing of the past simply because the future of photography has finally arrived.

  Posted in Equipment

  April 28th, 2007 / No Comments