PhotographyBanzai.com

A great overview by Gerald Undone on his experiences in the field of camera gear related videos! It is an important topic. The more open the better, I’d say. After over 13 years making photography and videography gear videos, I’ve not had a huge amount of success comparatively, but I’ve also never been especially brand safe to begin with for these companies to consider me. 🤣 I think his mentions toward the end of the video are especially important. The unwritten pressure, or worse with companies like Insta360 , shouldn’t be acceptable and should be publicly called out more often. That’s probably the only way things will actually change for the better. I created a video detailing my opinion on the topic further: More of my comments on the video… His YouTube channel. 4:30 I understand that’s what Gerald does, but are there situations where companies are paying for flights and hotel costs of other reviewers with the expectation of a video/article being produced? (EDIT: I’ve seen confirm...

Here’s a video talking about photography at Anime Central 2023. Midway through the video I talk about guidelines I follow and suggest that people wanting to do photography at conventions also follow. This applies to attendees with smartphones as well as general photographers unfamiliar with convention photography. I’d hope that convention and cosplay photographers already keep these considerations in mind! Photography at Anime Central Pretty simple, but a good way to have fewer issues and not accidently make the convention a bad experience for others. https://youtu.be/n_3U2ofvwlE In my vertical YouTube Short I condense the video so it’s focused on the guidelines aspect. Ask for a photo. Avoid taking candid photos. I often motion with my camera and they give me a nod or whatever which works too. Don’t ask for a photo when cosplayers are eating, on the phone, or clearly in a rush. I also tend to not ask when they appear to be in a serious conversation with someone. If there is a big grou...

How much does online video and two websites pay a collective viewership of probably a bit over 1 million views/interactions per year? I’m talking all of my YouTube channels, on-site Amazon videos that get commissions, affiliate links I place in descriptions and on my websites. Not bothering to count Instagram and TikTok , but I do post videos on those websites too even though I can’t do click-able links or receive ad revenue sharing due to not meeting their requirements. Plus, only one of my 8 YouTube channels is monetized which accounts for 810k of the total in 2023. The YouTube channel homepage. The largest YouTube channel that is in YPP. You can see a clear downtrend over 2023 in addition to 13% fewer views than 2022. I post normal videos and Shorts on the channel. My best guess is that a lot of my 950+ videos have aged out of relevance besides global trends and YouTube itself.   Channel statistics for 2023. A bit less than $10k USD for the year before tax. My Amazon efforts...

I heard recently that the owner of my local camera shop is looking to retire. According to this article on Rock River Current he’s soon to be 67 so that makes sense. I wish him well! Camera Craft Tom’s father Bob had purchased Camera Craft in 1966, so for its current run the shop has been in their family for effectively two generations. That’s a lot of built up knowledge and expertise. Here is a statement in the Rockford Current article about the shop’s overall age: “Camera Craft has enjoyed an excellent reputation in our community for nearly 100 years, and it is due to a long list of dedicated team members over the years who are passionate about photography and sharing their expertise with our customers,” he said.Tom Brady Before them it looks like the shop had been around a long time. Impressive longevity! I do personally remember going to their Edge Brook location a few times many years ago. In a local photographer group, Tom made a post about what he would like to get out of the e...

Today I’m talking about a possible direction for the Canon EF-M system. While I had the original EOS M camera, I eventually sold that and didn’t get back into EF-M until the Canon EOS M50. Let’s start with more context first. Canon EOS M50 Update 10/2021: Since this article I’ve picked up a used M6 Mark II, which has changed my perspective a bit. It’s generally a pretty impressive camera, but I’d always like to see more. I use it a lot in combination with an Atomos Ninja V recorder to get past the 30 minute time limit per video clip. I have a video going over most of the important points I brought up in this article if you prefer video. Before the M50, I experimented with the Canon Rebel SL2 Digital SLR because I was trying to improve my online video work in quality as well as making videos easier to produce. The fully articulating screen and decent microphone pre-amp in combination with DPAF helped me a lot. From there I sold everything and went to a pair of Canon EOS M50 cameras in ...

Note to self, don’t agree to be an “extra” for a person’s video job that you barely know. The training video extra might turn out to be you being cast as the past abuser in a mock trial. Technically it appeared to be the judge going over having the restraining order released. Writing this out now so I remember it happened, and to make it public on my social media incase the training video somehow surfaces years into the future. I’ll have posts about it to bring up… An awkward situation all around. :/ On a different note, I was able to pick up a discounted Sony Alpha A6000, so expect more content on that camera! I couldn’t pass up the clearance price considering used prices like KEH are around double that. It’s a good reminder to check out your local big box stores like Target every so often to see if any of their camera gear is on clearance. A good price on the A6000! Sony Alpha A6000 Digital Camera: Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wunTn9 B&H: https://bhpho.to/3whmIHw ebay: https://shrsl....

I like trying to slowly improve on how I work. In the software industry it’s called iterative development. The same ideas can be applied to video production. In this case, over 9 years of making YouTube videos I’ve usually had to setup a camera and take it down for any recording I did at home.  The compact recording setup. That takes a good deal of time that could be avoided with a dedicated recording setup. The constant slight changes also introduced unwanted variability to the result. Links are potentially affiliated in this article, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Here is my related video on YouTube about the change. Basically, I’m referring to the type of videos where I’m talking to the camera or recording some type of mixture of content where a lot of it will be voiceover, but I still want my face in the video sometimes.  While I can’t totally dedicate a camera to this type of recording, I can often have one of my Canon EOS M50 bodies for that task. There isn’t t...

I recently joined in on a two-day photoshoot Kings Cosplay had scheduled with the local model Ari Jade. The theme was race queen with most of the secondary subject being motorcycles. Here are a few highlight photos: Day one equipment: Nikon 28mm f/1.8g lens Two flash with a stand, umbrella, and a 6×8″ diffuser. The first day was a bit rough photo wise. All we initially had to work with was a home garage and by the time we got out to a downtown parking garage later in the day it was really dark, so the background wasn’t usable.  The main issue I didn’t properly compensate for was the sodium vapor lamps the parking garage used, which produces monochromatic light. I also tried gels on my flash, which didn’t have a strong enough orange to match the garage lamps. The parking garage photos were best in monochrome. The garage lighting didn't work out well.  Day two equipment: 28mm f1.8 lens 70-210mm f4 lens Two flash with a stand and large 42″ brolly box softbox umbrella. I also had...

It’s difficult dealing with a large number of photos. Over the years I have accumulated a lot and I’ve also deleted a lot. Though I’m sure not as much as some people, right now I have around 1.25TB. Before I go into more specific details about my personal quest to get things organized and backed up to some degree, I wanted to mention the main purpose of this article. To get things organized into the most logical format possible, it was difficult finding something that would work, at least on Windows. After some experimentation and searching I wound up using Exiftool . It’s a somewhat simple command line tool that can do batch processing on images and source EXIF data in that process. Other tools I found didn’t work as I had expected, or were a hassle to use. In Windows, you download the standalone EXE from Phil’s Exiftool website , extract the EXE, rename it by removing the (-k), and copying it to the C:\Windows directory for ease of running from the ...

I recently finished acquiring all of the decided upon replacement gear after selling off my entire Pentax tool set. Although there were various reasons, the main was to go “full frame” with the Nikon D600 as my main camera (D7000 being my second). The D600 is lacking in some aspects such as maximum shutter and flash sync speeds, but besides that it is a very solid camera specification wise. The added benefit is that it isn’t too much larger than the D7000, so whatever type of bag I can fit the D7000 in, I will at least have a good chance of fitting the D600 in there too. Mirror selfie but car window. I received the camera on the 12th and have just started getting use to it. The transition is pretty easy considering control and function are similar to the D7000. There are a few odd quirks like some changes to button placement, but for the most part, very similar. I’ll probably start compiling a list of positives and negatives for a future review of the camera. Which reminds me, I ...

Around September, I made the decision to switch to a system that supports full-frame imaging sensors. I currently have all of my previous gear on consignment, so I’ve only been able to get a few things to hold my photography over until it is liquidated.  Me and the camera. I was hoping that consignment would be quick and painless, but it looks like it will take a long time to get most things sold off. While I could handle everything myself by selling online, I don’t particularly like the risk and other issues that come with it. Look for the Nikon D7000 through my links: KEH (180 day warranty for most gear) , eBay , B&H , and  Amazon As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  I was able to pick up a few tools in the new system that I could use to get started with. More specifically a Nikon D7000 and a 50mm f1.8g lens. Half of it is thanks to a friend that offered up his D7000 for a good price. So far, I’m liking it. The taller grip makes holding...

I recently consigned my last DSLR camera body. While I am still hanging onto some lenses for a potential local sale, I wanted to move forward with selling as much of my equipment as possible. I do have a very old digicam that I mostly used in 2006, but I thought something low cost, yet new, would be a good idea. The Optio WG-II line just dropped in price at my local camera shop, so while I was there, I picked up a solid black unit.  This of this article as basic overview of the camera before I’m able to do something more extensive with better equipment. Taking quality product shots and video for a detailed review isn’t really possible at the moment. Here are a few webcam based videos that I’ve already made with the camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXLzEG_aHKA Using it with one hand modification. Being taken seriously with a small camera. Get a second battery (especially with small digicams). How to hold a small camera. Optical fisheye effect with the WG-II (not the digita...