BetterPhoto Instructor Insights

Should You Pay More for a Photo Printer Using Pigment Inks?

By Peter K. Burian

Q: I'm ready to move up to a 13x19-inch photo printer and I wonder if I should get one that uses pigments? Those machines, like Epson's new R2000 or the Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II, are more expensive than others that use regular inks, like the Epson R1900 or the Pixma Pro9000 Mark II. Is it worth paying more to be able to use pigments for photo printing?

Answer: Well, there are several reasons why some of the printers employing fade-resistant pigment-based inks are more expensive than others that use dye-based inks. Check the specs for the new Epson Stylus Photo R2000, for example. Aside from the different types of inks, the R2000 benefits from new technology. That includes a superior AMC print head with more accurate dot placement and reduced maintenance, plus wireless 802.11n and Ethernet support.

Pigments are more fade resistant than dyes but, as discussed in a moment, some of the machines using dye-based inks can provide impressive print permanence. To maximize fade-resistance when displaying photos, be sure to frame them using a matt and glass, preferably glass with a UV filter. (c) Peter K. Burian

The difference in specs is not always as great. Compare the two PIXMA machines, for example: the Pro9000 Mk II (which uses dyes) and the Pro9500 Mk II (which uses pigments). The most important benefit provided by the latter is its inkset: ten vs. eight for superior quality in both colour and monochrome printing.

Whether you should pay more for a machine that uses pigments also depends on your needs in regards to print permanence. Pigments are more lightfast than dyes, as a general rule, but the cost of ink is higher. On the other hand, new dye technologies make the Epson R1900 quite competitive with printers using pigments. Its prints should last over 100 years on display under glass when framed and matted, according to Wilhelm Research. The difference in on-display print permanence is more significant with the PIXMA machines: 100+ years for the Pro9500 II vs. 50 years for the Pro9000 II.

While the Epson Stylus Photo R3000 (which prints using eight pigments) will satisfy pros and galleries, the more affordable R2000 (which prints using six pigments) targets photo enthusiasts. It includes some of the useful features of the R3000 but not all of the latest technology and it's not as impressive in black and white printing. If you primarily make colour prints, however, the R2000 should be a fine choice.

Frankly, few photo enthusiasts display their photos for much longer than 20 years. Hence, I would recommend buying the machine with the speed, features and print quality that meet your expectations. Also check out the Epson Stylus R3000. This is a brand new model with numerous features for great convenience and versatility as well as the latest technology for superb prints in both color and monochrome.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Peter Burian teaches two terrific online photo courses at BetterPhoto's digital photography school online - Mastering the Digital Camera and Photography and Mastering the Canon EOS Digital Rebels. Also check out Peter's Pro BetterPholio website: www.peterkburian.com.

How Do GPS Devices for Digital Cameras Work?

By Peter K. Burian

Question: I noticed that an increasing number of cameras include a built-in GPS device. How do these work? And how effective and how complicated are they? Also, is GPS for photography a really useful option?

Answer 2: Yes, an increasing number of digicams with built-in lenses are equipped with a GPS receiver as is one DSLR, the new Sony a55. You can also buy accessory GPS devices such as Nikon's GP-1 (compatible with some of the newer Nikon DSLRs), a Samsung device for the brand new NX100 and Sony's GPS-CS3KA (compatible with any camera that uses SD or Memory Stick Duo cards). Whether built-in or external, either type can record data as to the exact latitude/longitude for each of your photos for later recall with imaging software or with an app such as Picasaweb http://picasaweb.google.com/ or Panoramio http://www.panoramio.com/ or Google Map http://maps.google.com .

While a few cameras are equipped with a built-in GPS receiver, geo-tagging is also possible with other cameras, using one of the external devices such as the Sony CS3KA or the Nikon GP-1. Photos courtesy of Nikon Canada and Sony Canada

These GPS receivers acquire data from three of the satellites orbiting the earth and use triangulation to calculate your exact coordinates at the instant you take each photo. This data is added to the EXIF (or metadata) file that also contains information as to camera settings that were used to make the photo. After downloading the images to a computer, you can view all of the information with imaging software by accessing the Properties or EXIF Data. You can also view each photo on a map when using one of the applications mentioned above.

Note: The Sony GPS-CS3KA (like other devices that work with many different cameras) requires an extra step to transfer the information from its internal memory to the image files' EXIF data folders. This step is not complicated but it's unnecessary with in-camera GPS or the Samsung and Nikon devices. After shooting for some time, insert the memory card from the camera into the Sony device. Pressing a couple of buttons causes it to apply the geo-tag data to 60 images per batch, taking a couple of minutes.

All of the external devices used for geo-tagging (except the Nikon GP-1 and the new Samsung GPS for the NX100) require you to match each image with the location data that was recorded by the device. This is an extra step but the process is simple and reasonably quick. Photos courtesy of Sony Corporation

A camera with a built-in GPS is the most convenient and adds little to the price but it does consume power so you'll want to buy a second battery. Of course, this feature is available with only a few cameras. As well, the Sony and Nikon devices that I tested also provided faster signal acquisition than the digicams' built-in GPS receivers. Especially if you're a frequent traveler who shoots a lot of images that you plan to upload to photo sharing sites, geo-tagging will be a real benefit. While location mapping is not essential, it's definitely nice to have.

NOTE: Peter Burian teaches two excellent online photography workshops - Mastering the Digital Camera and Photography and Mastering the Canon EOS Digital Rebels - at BetterPhoto's online digital photography school. Also see Peter's Pro BetterPholio website: www.peterkburian.com.

Is a DSLR 50mm f/1.4 Lens Better Than a 50mm f/1.8 Lens?

By Peter K. Burian

Q: I have two zooms with a maximum aperture of f/4.5-5.6 so I'm planning to buy a "fast" 50mm lens for low light photography without a tripod. What is the difference (besides price!) between a 50mm f/1.4 and the 50 mm f/1.8? It seems like such a minimal difference but the f/1.4 lens costs about $300 more. Do you think I should buy the more expensive model?

You're right: An aperture of f/1.4 does not sound much wider than f/1.8. In fact, it's less than one stop so the shutter speed in a dark location will not be substantially faster. And yes, the f/1.4 lens (of any brand) is significantly greater in size, weight and price. That's partly because the wider aperture requires a barrel of wider diameter and larger pieces of optical glass. Note too that the lens elements must be more effective at correcting optical aberrations which are more problematic at f/1.4 than at f/1.8. All of this drives up the manufacturing cost.

In addition, a 50mm f/1.4 lens is larger/heavier - and far more rugged, with tank-like construction - than its more affordable f/1.8 counterpart. Some, like the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G, are also weather-resistant, useful when shooting in a dust storm or during inclement weather. The superior construction makes sense, because a 50mm f/1.4 lens is usually bought by professional photographers or by very serious photo enthusiasts. Both expect the very best in build quality.

The difference in shutter speed is not great at f/1.4 vs. f/1.8. This image, made at f/1.4 at ISO 100, required a shutter speed of 1/25 sec. If I had used an f/1.8 lens instead, the shutter speed would have been around 1/15 sec. but switching to ISO 200 would have allowed me to shoot at 1/30 sec. (c) 2011 Peter K. Burian

Even with high-grade optical elements, it's very difficult to make a lens that will provide superb image quality at f/1.4. Often, the 50mm f/1.8 model will provide comparable quality at f/1.8. Hence, you should be perfectly happy with the less expensive lens unless you're certain that you need the slightly wider aperture and more rugged construction. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised to find that the f/1.8 model provides decent image quality at f/1.8 and excellent from f/2.8 to f/11.

NOTE: Peter Burian teaches Mastering the Digital Camera and Photography and Mastering the Canon EOS Digital Rebels BetterPhoto's digital photography school online. Also check out Peter's Pro BetterPholio website: www.peterkburian.com.

Is HDR Mode better than Dynamic Range Expansion?

By Peter K. Burian

Q: Most digital SLRs seem to have a dynamic range expansion function but I noticed that some also offer a High Dynamic Range mode and it's listed as a major feature. What exactly is this mode and how does it differ from the typical dynamic range expansion or optimizer feature?

A: The recent Pentax and Sony DSLRs (and the Canon Powershot G12) do provide an HDR mode, and it's very useful. When it's activated, the camera fire three shots - each with a different exposure level - and then merges them into a single photo. The final image exhibits dramatically increased shadow detail. This is quite different from dynamic range expansion, a function which provides greater shadow detail by extra processing of a single image.

For example, imagine a scene inside a cathedral on a sunny day. Small windows allow the sun to enter to illuminate some areas, while much of the interior remains significantly darker. A photo made with dynamic range expansion will exhibit lighter shadow areas than a conventional photo. Of course, the shadow lightening also makes digital noise (graininess or coloured speckles) more obvious. And when a very high expansion level is used, the photo can look unnatural. A camera with an HDR mode can provide a more dramatic improvement in shadow detail and as a bonus, image quality will be better.

Sony was a leader in providing a very versatile Dynamic Range Optimizer in its earlier DSLRs. The newer Alpha models (i.e., A55 and A33, both shown above) provide both DRO and an Auto HDR mode (that does not require a tripod) so you can use the feature that's most suitable given the lighting and the circumstances.

An HDR mode is particularly useful in extremely high contrast. Imagine a scene inside a cathedral or castle on a sunny day. Small windows allow the sun to enter, making some areas extremely bright. The unlit areas are significantly darker, of course. Shoot an HDR image and you'll get a great deal of detail in the shadow areas. The process should also tone down extremely bright highlight areas, but frankly, it's less impressive in this respect.

To illustrate the value of an HDR mode, I shot a conventional JPEG of this beautiful lobby and then activated the in-camera HDR mode. The HDR photo (a composite made up of three shots) definitely exhibits more detail in dark areas and is quite clean, without obvious digital noise. (Sony a55, hand-held; ISO 800; 1/15 sec.) (c) 2011 Peter K. Burian

Earlier DSLRs with an HDR mode required the user to mount the camera on a tripod when taking the three shots. The more recent Sony a55 and a33, as well as the Pentax K-5, allow for shooting the series hand-held. (The user can set the amount of exposure difference that the camera will use when taking each of the three shots.) Avoid serious camera shake - perhaps by bracing the camera against a solid object - and do not change the composition. As long as the three photos are quite similar in framing, the DSLR's processor can micro-align them so the final image should look perfect.

NOTE: Peter Burian teaches two excellent online photography workshops - Mastering the Digital Camera and Photography and Mastering the Canon EOS Digital Rebels - at BetterPhoto's online digital photography school. Also see Peter's Pro BetterPholio website: www.peterkburian.com.

Buyers Guide: Aftermarket Inks for Your Photo Printer

Hi All,

Peter K. Burian, pro photographer and BetterPhoto online instructor, has written an excellent article. Check it out:

Buyers Guide: Aftermarket Inks for Your Photo Printer

It's subtitled the "pros and cons of inexpensive inks".

Enjoy!

Thanks,
Kerry

Online Course on Canon EOS 7D

Learn how to get eye-catching photos and the best performance from your Canon EOS 7D in BetterPhoto.com's online photography course.

Taught by author and pro photographer Charlotte Lowrie, this 4-week online class - Learning the Canon EOS 7D - is packed full with tips, techniques and insights related to this awesome DSLR camera. In short, you'll learn how to get great exposures with stunning color, while also discovering how to customize the camera to suit your shooting style.

Charlotte is a popular instructor at BetterPhoto's online photography school, and she is the author of the Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide and a dozen other books on photography.

Along with easy-to-read and easy-to-understand lessons, BetterPhoto courses feature personal feedback from master photographers and a flexible method of instruction. Also check out the other excellent online photo courses at BetterPhoto's digital school of photography.

Teleconverter and Serious Photography

By Rob Sheppard

Recently, I had the chance to work with a set of tele-extenders from Kenko (THK) while doing an advertorial for THK and Outdoor Photographer magazine. They had sent Nikon mount extenders so I used a Nikon D3x and Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 lens. The results were, to be honest, really quite good. I was impressed with the excellent sharpness that I got with both the 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverter.

That said, it is important to understand that you could take these same tele-extenders with a different lens that you have and get terrible results. People will then say how terrible it was that I “sold out” and promoted crappy gear. Well, I never promote crappy gear, which isn’t hard today because digital camera equipment today is so very, very good. And I really, truly did get superb results from these extenders and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone, regardless of doing an advertorial or not.

So how can it be possible someone could get poor results from the same extenders? Very easily, it turns out, and this has nothing to do with Kenko or THK, but everything to do with extenders. Extenders can only deal with the optics of the original lens. A good lens is more likely to give good results. The tele-extender is not only magnifying the view, but also any defects in the lens.

But it isn’t that simply. With an extender, you are adding complexity to the optical path by adding new optics. No matter how good those new optics are, they still have to work with a totally new set of optics in the original lens. Many low-priced zooms, for example, don’t adapt well to the addition of new optics from a tele-extender, so their results are not good.

Bottom line is that how well an extender will work for you depends on the lenses you use it with. Unfortunately, that can be difficult to predict ahead of time because few people put extenders on all lenses and test them. I can say that many zoom lenses, because of their complexity, don’t adapt well to extenders, but many do, which the Nikkor 80-200mm lens I used obviously did.

Extenders also drop the light to the sensor. The 1.4x cuts it by one stop, the 2.0x by two stops. In addition, extenders often work their best when the original lens is stopped down a stop or two from the maximum aperture. This can mean a serious drop in light that can result in a definite loss in sharpness due to no fault of the extender, but from DSLR camera movement. The extender will magnify the view, but also any camera movement during the exposure. Many people are disappointed in 2.0x extenders from any manufacturer and think they are not sharp. Often the problem is not unsharp extender or other optics, but an extreme sensitivity to camera movement, even when the camera is on a tripod. For that reason, I have actually gotten better results at times when using an image stabilization feature on camera or lens to help deal with that movement.

Another challenge is autofocus. Your digital SLR camera may or may not autofocus when using an extender, but again, this is not the extender causing the problem. What happens is that the loss of light to the sensor can make the light level drop to such a point that the camera does not have enough light to autofocus. It depends a lot on the camera, and I am not familiar with all cameras. When you use the 1.4x, you lose a stop of light. That may put your lens beyond the AF capabilities of your camera, or maybe not. It definitely will limit AF capabilities in low light. This is simply something we have to put up with for the use of any teleconverter.

More photo tips: Along with being Outdoor Photographer's editor-at-large, Rob Sheppard also teaches for the BetterPhoto digital online photography school courses. Rob's Internet photography tutorials includeBetterPhoto.com, including Creating Storytelling Photos and Impact in Your Photographs: The Wow Factor.

A Guide to Digital Camera Filters

By Brenda Tharp

Used a 2-stop Soft Step Grad ND filter to hold detail in the mountains.

I was just reading about Tony Sweet’s Soft Ray filter by Singh-Ray, and that got me thinking about how confusing it can be to decide what to buy, what sizes to buy, etc. I noticed a reader’s comment about investing in expensive digital camera filters only to have them not fit any new lenses he buys. Well, here’s a great solution to that!

For years, I have purchased my filters for digital photography at the largest size I need for my standard kit of lenses. I then buy step rings to make those filters fit my other, small-diameter lenses. It’s been a great way to lighten the load in the camera bag. I buy a couple of extra lens caps for the larger size filter, too, so when I have the filter on any lens I can always cover it for protection if needed.

It can also be confusing now to figure out what filters are needed. With digital, we no longer need to carry warming filters (e.g. 81A, 81B or C) as we can simply change the white balance on the camera, or in the computer later on. But there are still filters that are essential to creating quality photographs, and there are great filters that help make pictures a little more unique. Here are just a few that I use and a bit about what they can do for you:

Note: Why buy an expensive lens only to put a cheap filter on the front?? The optics in your lens are affected by less expensive, lower quality glass that is put in front of them. So consider buying top quality filters. Rob Sheppard wrote about this in a recent issue of Outdoor Photographer, too. Singh-Ray filters are top-quality, worth the price. You’ll have them for a long time, if you handle them with respect, and they will produce fine results with any lenses.

Hi-Lux UV Filters: For many many years, I didn’t use protective filters on my lenses - it was just too much trouble/time to remove them before I put on a polarizer, or warming filters, etc., and sometimes that extra time meant I’d miss the shot - in travel/street photography anyway. And, I confess, I was guilty of buying less than quality UV, SKY or Haze filters - whatever they sold me, I bought it! Yikes. But these Hi-Lux filters from Singh-Ray are terrific - they actually improve the contrast in the scene, giving me great clarity and protection at the same time.

Since most landscape/nature photography doesn’t require fast response (except wildlife), I don’t have to worry about losing time changing filters, and I feel better having my expensive lenses protected. Case in hand: my 100-400mm recently took a dive for the pavement, and the polarizing filter I had on the lens saved the front element (destroyed the polarizer, split the ring that holds filters on the lens, etc. but the element was saved! So only a checkup for re-alignment and filter ring at the end of the lens instead of a new optic was required. Whew!)

Variable ND (Neutral Density): I LOVE this filter! Yes, it’s pricey, but when you add up the cost to have several solid ND filters to give you options when you want to slow the shutter down more than you can in the existing lighting conditions, it makes sense to have just the one - less clutter in the camera bag, that way, too!

Graduated Neutral Density Filters: I still use them, for situations where I know I can’t work the gradient tool in Photoshop or Lightroom effectively and because it does save me time later with less processing to do. I typically carry a Soft Step 3-stop and a Hard-Step 3 stop, and a Reverse Graduated 3 stop as well. The main blog image was done with a 3-stop Grad ND - I wanted to hold detail in the boulders in the middle ground area, without making the back mountains and sky go too light, or I’d lose the layering effect I saw.

Color Combo: This filter saturates the colors in the scene, while polarizing at the same time. All of the Singh-Ray filters that combine polarizing with some other filter effect are great - saving you from stacking filters and creating vignetting problems at the edges of your picture, and saving space/weight in the bag!

Polarizing Filters: I use both a Thin LB Neutral Polarizer and a Thin LB Warming Polarizer. There are times when the built-in warming filtration doesn’t work - when you have pastel blue skies, the warming filter can turn them muddy looking to my eye, so that’s when I pull out the non-warming polarizer instead. See the polarizer examples below.

Above - no filter used.

Polarizer used to reduce glare, boost colors.

Tony Sweet’s Soft Ray: I just started using this filter a little bit, but this link will show you a few examples of it. It’s a specialized filter, but a nice one!

SO that’s a wrap up of the digital camera filters I tend to use, although there’s a few more thrown in at times for special effects. Heck, I still have one that has hairspray on it to create my own diffuser filter!! Filters for digital photography can be great for special effects, or just to get the best image you can from a situation.

Go forth and look at the world through some great photography filters!

Additional details: Give your photography the "wow" factor in Brenda Tharp's excellent online photography courses, including Creating Visual Impact and Travel Photography: Capturing a Sense of Place. In addition, BetterPhoto's online digital photography school offers many more Internet photography tutorials.

Note: All photos copyright by Brenda Tharp

Understanding the Histogram

By Kerry Drager

For me, the histogram is one of the best and most useful tools to be found on a digital camera - whether it's a simple point-and-shoot or the most sophisticated DSLR cameras.

I use the histogram regularly to double-check exposures. Now if I'm shooting action or candids, I won't look at the histogram after every shot - I don't want to miss a key image while I'm looking at the monitor! But I will check it as often as possible. And, during breaks in the action, I'll even run a "test" shot to make sure the camera is reading the scene the way I want it read! But how does the histogram work? For many digital shooters, it remains a mystery. BetterPhoto instructor Doug Steakley has written a terrific article on the subject. Check it out at BetterPhoto.com: Digital Exposure: Histogram Made Simple

Lensbaby Fisheye Lens for Creative Photography!

By Tony Sweet

self-portrait copyright by Tony Sweet

It's Heeeeeere!!

As of 0800 today, one of our favorite companies released the Lensbaby Fisheye lens. It's really different and after getting a feel for it, I couldn't put it down!

Very far out and verrrrry different look!

The full circle fisheye is what you get with a full-frame SLR camera.

Note: To see more examples of Tony Sweet's fisheye pictures shot with this camera lens for creative photography: Lensbaby fisheye photo gallery. In addition, Tony teaches an outstanding online photo workshop at BetterPhoto.com: Creative Nature Photos with Lensbabies.