PhotographyBanzai.com

A friend offered me a ticket to a local hockey game. I was initially really excited because I though I could get some great photos of the event. My excitement lessened a bit when I saw this on their website. Cameras, Video Cameras, Audio Recorders Cameras are permitted at Rockford IceHogs games. Cameras with lenses that are 3 or more inches in length are not allowed. Video cameras and audio recorders are also prohibited in the BMO Harris Bank Center unless specifically approved. Professional cameras are prohibited unless accompanied by appropriate media credentials. What’s with that? I wondered… I’m not one to attend sporting events often so I don’t know how things go down usually, but that seems excessively strict. I just assumed that “professional” was any DSLR camera, so I started looking for other options. It was Thanksgiving Day, so there were a ton of deals on super-zoom bridge cameras. I almost justified buying one, but there just wasn’t enough value in those cameras given...

Quite the title, eh? It’s well known that the DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM lens is the successor to the FA* 85mm f1.4 lens. The difference is that the DA* 55mm lens is designed to take the crop factor into account to give the user an equivalent of 85mm on all current Pentax cameras. So I was thinking today, why not compare the two lenses, but instead of a direct comparison, let’s consider things like crop factor (focal length multiplier), sensor size, and equivalence. What do we really lose with using lenses on crop sensors and how are things affected with additional tools like a teleconverter (TC).  I don’t have a full-frame camera to test with, so I can only give you so much data here in regards to how crop factor affects output. I’m going to speculate and measure example photos to give you (and myself) a better understanding of what type of lens these two would be like if we had Equivalent full-frame lenses. Equivalence is a touchy topic with some photographers. Some say it doesn’t e...

I needed to get some fresh air, so I took some macro photos around the house today. My favorite thing about macro photography is that you can find interesting things everywhere because the small world isn’t seen with our naked eyes. I might be trying to make this a consistent effort moving forward. This time I used a slightly different setup. The Sigma flash was used in wireless mode in tandem with the built-in flash to trigger the Sigma. I positioned the flash to the left and as close to the fully extended lens as possible to maximize light on the subject. The Ant buffet. They were snacking on some cat food. What that exactly is I don’t know, but it’s interesting. The lens and teleconverter setup can produce very pleasing results. This fly allowed me to have a little photo session. It even appeared to mimic my movements as I bobbed up and down trying to get it in focus.

Now that the Pentax Q has started shipping, there is a lot more information available. I mentioned the Q back in June and I think a lot of what I said is still valid. I’m personally still on the middle road with the Q. I see positive aspects, but at the current price and lacking a few Pentax features (WR for example) it isn’t something I would be willing to spend my limited funds on at the moment. The main appeal to me personally is the possibilities of experimental photography that I’ll get to later in this article. The first week of sales in Japan look pretty strong (first noticed that link on pentaxforums.com and then 1001noisycameras.com). The white version was at #11 and the black at #17). This result proves an idea I had recently… The Q is certainly something unique. From my perspective it seems like an offering that is meant to show people how fun photography can be anywhere and everywhere (well besides rain, no WR sadly). It has a very Japanese flair to it. I really thin...

Why bother using Photoshop to do “artistic vignetting” when it’s as simple as attaching something to your flash unit that distorts and shapes the light? The answer would probably be lazyness, but Photoshop probably can’t produce the such unique lighting as I’ll be showing you below! First, let’s start off with the result: The goal was a sharp well lit subject with unique unevenly darkened corners. Here is a picture of the camera setup: The light modifier consists of: Cardboard that was shaped around the flash unit on one end and on the other it was tightened more to produce a slight cone effect. Electrical tape wrapped around the cardboard. A silver translucent anti-static bag I had lying around. This was the first thing I could find that I though would work to smooth out the light coming from the flash. A lens hood used backwards to hold the bag in-place as well as to produce a round shaped hole on the end of the modifier. The camera settings were as follows: Flash in HSS (High Spee...

I recently put together a basic home studio, so I could take some self-portraits. My goal here was to make post-processing a bit faster by having a uniform background and decent lighting. As this is a self-portrait setup, I wanted to implement a few tricks to make taking the photos easier and also get some nice creative framing without much repetition. First off, the camera setup: The photos above are a Pentax K-5 + battery grip, Pentax DA 14mm f2.8 lens, Sigma DG 530 Super flash with Sto-fen diffuser, Custom Brackets CB Mini, Vagabond ball head, and Slik Pro 700DX tripod. While I have light stands and slave flashes available, I felt this single setup was sufficient. The wide angle lens means I can achieve a larger depth of field such that I can avoid any issues with focus. To take photos of myself, I use a simple wireless infrared remote. It would be best to use a remote that can auto-focus the camera, but I don’t have one. That coupled with a camera that can do face-detection in...

I hooked up my Pentax K-5 to my LCD screen a few days ago to test out the functionality. As you may well know, the K-5 and K-7 are able to display live-view to an HDMI screen (and presumably standard composite). Pentax K-5 HDMI out My little test consisted of setting up the K-5 on a tripod hooked up to the LCD. I then filmed the LCD screen with my K-7 to display what the K-5’s live-view screen looks like displayed through HDMI out. Here is the K-5 with a HDMI cable attached (technically a down-converter that turns a standard HDMI connector into one of those mini-HDMI connectors): Here is a short video of the K-5 in action .  That screen I used is 1080p, but the K-5 wasn’t able to output that resolution. I’m not sure exactly what it was running at, but it looked pretty decent and as you can tell from the video that when absolute sharpness was obtained it was easily visible on the screen. Notice how the K-5 is able to do face detection. That feature plus the use of an external scr...

I just tried out the new flash bracket at a convention last weekend. I always like trying unique setups that do not really fit into intended design parameters. Using a Custom Brackets CB Mini flash bracket , I was able to get a compact convention setup where it functions in both landscape and portrait, while not requiring a camera bag making it quick to access. It is also very compact and keeps the camera’s flash connector safe from having a large weight on it. A fully kitted out bracket with camera, cable, and flash. Get the Custom Brackets CB Mini Camera Flash Platform Bracket here: B&H Photo Video , Amazon , Adorama , and eBay . As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  2023 Update: A viewer asked me if the Custom Brackets CB Mini would work with a pro camera. The larger camera I have on-hand is the Nikon Z5. That video is over 11 years old but funny enough I still have the bracket! (and it looks like CB still sells it) This bracket should be alright...

Disclaimer: There is no warranty or assuredness that the text provided is accurate, so you must try at our own personal risk. Know that you could screw your camera up if you are not careful and the risk is only yours to take. If you don’t want to take the risk, send the camera in to Pentax for servicing. It’s that simple! Now with the Myth Busters-esque disclaimer out of the way… I recently took the K10D w/ FA 50mm f1.4 to a park around sunset after a meeting with my friend. I was planning on using the images for a review of the FA 50mm f1.4 lens. Upon skimming through the resulting photos such as the one below: Missed focus My thoughts from this previous post I had made about an auto focus anomaly the K10D had with the DA 14mm f2.8 were confirmed. My most used shooting style is to be in selectable point auto focus mode with a gravitation toward the 4 “rule of thirds” points. I had noticed in those images that the subject I had intended to be in focus was not. What was in focus...