FAQS for Buyers of Photography at Fine Art America

The Apple Watch
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How to Check your Canon Camera Shutter Actuations

Before You Buy a Used Canon Camera

New camera bodies come out and busy professionals discard their 2 year old camera bodies with wild abandon. They are always looking for an edge, a technical improvement. That's good for all the rest of us who aren't in the business of high output fashion photography. But there's a caveat we all need to be aware of, and that's the shutter count. Every manufacturer places a life on their shutters and in general they are pretty accurate.

There are a lot of other considerations to be aware of, such as dead pixels, burned in dust on the sensor, or non-functioning menu settings. And if you are buying online, you are either dealing with a reputable firm, where you may have a 30 day warranty for checking out the camera, or you are buying from an individual without a warranty of any kind. But for the purpose of this article, I am focusing only on a camera you can field test before buying, or your own camera.

 How to test for shutter actuation's.

It used to be that only 1D Canon bodies were capable of counting and retrieving shutter actuation's. While not all of Canon's DSLR's are capable on their own today, many of them are capable of this through an Active-X control piece of code. The website which has been offering this since February of 2012 is eoscount, and after checking the site's safety through websiterecord it appears safe.

There is also an app for Windows or Mac operating systems at Direct Studio for $1.99 through Oct 2014. Download to your device that your camera is connected to and power the camera on.

And if you decide to try out a shutter count on a single image, you can get the shutter count by going to Camera Shutter Count. And all of the following Canon models are supported. Some model names are from another country outside the United States.

• Rebel XS / 1000D / Kiss F
• Rebel XSi / 450D / Kiss X2
• Rebel T1i / 500D / Kiss X3
• Rebel T2i / 550D / Kiss X4
• Rebel T3 / 1100D / Kiss X50
• Rebel T5 / 1200D / Kiss X70
• Rebel T3i / 600D / Kiss X5
• Rebel T4i / 650D / Kiss X6i
• Rebel T5i / 700D / Kiss X7i
• Rebel SL1 / 100D / Kiss X7
• 40D
• 50D
• 60D
• 70D
• 7D
• 6D
• 5D Mark II
• 5D Mark III
• 1D Mark IV
• 1D X
• 1D C
• Notice the 5D (Mark I), the 1D Mark III, and the 1Ds Mark III are not supported because of their Digic II and Digic III sensors, nor are the M models (mirrorless).

By the way, if you want to check for dead pixels, place your lens cap on, assure you are at the camera's base ISO, usually ISO 100 and shoot. Open the image file on your computer at 100% magnification and examine for missing or dead pixels. All sensors have dead pixels, some only one, some have a dozen or many more. Don't worry if you have a few, unless they are all in one block, which on an enlarged print may show and be distracting, or worse, cause the buyer, or you, if you wish to gift it or hang it, to look for another camera.

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To Purchase New Uploaded Art

Two New Images Uploaded to Pixels.com

Dandelion

Gladiola Photo Painting

prices start at just $22 

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You Control How to View my Site

It's Your Choice How to View my Website

Have Fun with it

Link to the site itself Shooting Outside, after reading the article by closing out the box. Now look at the black horizontal band above for choices of viewing selections. You'll see the following choices.

                   
• Classic
                   
• Flipcard
                   
• Magazine
                   
• Mosaic
                   
• Sidebar
                   
• Snapshot
                   
• Timeslide
 

You'll see that the view 'Timeslide' is slightly highlighted. Choose another view, and you'll change the way you see my site. It differs with visitors such as yourself, who might not like the way I have designed the standard 'Timeslide' layout. The choices offer you a format that will make it more pleasurable to locate certain articles that may better pertain to the reason you visited initially.

Some have told me they like the layout called 'Snapshot' for its casual appearance, while others choose "Sidebar' for its simplistic look. Or you could take the traditional 'Magazine' type. For the ultra contemporary try 'Flipcard'.

Under 'Flipcard' you can even sub-classify your ability to locate a subject by choosing between 'Eecent', 'Date', 'Label' or 'Author'. Its really quite maneuverable.

I think you'll find it's nice to be able to control your choices at a website, rather than being forced to view it the way only the author prefers.

I'd appreciate your backlinking your choice to whatever social sites you visit most often. Just take this link for Shooting Outside and copy and paste into your new post or comment. Thanks.     

     

     

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Photography Rentals help You Decide

Renting Photography Equipment Works

There are a few companies out there renting great Canon and Nikon equipment, both camera bodies and lens. But only one I could find that rents Medium Format equipment, though I haven't as yet found anyone offering Phase One as a rental. How do they stack up?  All offer insurance policies, all offer lens and camera bodies, some offer other equipment, such as flash units and battery packs.

But how can you be sure their equipment is in top shape, and how do they differ when it comes to insurance waivers and deposits? It's kind of a wild west approach out there. I'll give you some direction but you'll need to read the fine print, regardless how you feel after reading my article. Its a buyer beware landscape out there in this field.

The takeaway, if you're looking for a new body or lens, is that rentals aren't that expensive if you can accomplish some testing in a day or two. If you are taking them on a week long shoot, well it will cost what it costs.  Still you can't know what you want unless of course you have been lucky enough to have someone who loaned you equipment and you already know what you want. Here's my comparison with three of the most well known rental companies.

Aperturent

Starting with Aperturent, you are effectively locked into a minimum 3 day rental, not something that appeals to anyone, unless you are familiar with the body and have been hired to do a shoot for that time period. For a Canon 5DMIII the cost is $110, a Nikon 800 $105 and a Canon 1DX $268. They also carry some Sony, Fuji and Panasonic bodies. No MF equipment but plenty of lighting, video accessories, battery packs and extenders, really a plethora of associated equipment, but no video cameras and again 3 days is the minimum.

Aperturent's insurance policy reads like this:

If you get insurance, you are only responsible for a maximum of 10% of the total value of the equipment. For example if a $1,000 lens is damaged, and the repair costs are $400, without the optional insurance you are responsible for the $400, but if you get the insurance you are only responsible for $100 (10% of the cost of the lens). TOS

 ATSRentals

 

 

ATSRentals doesn't lock you into 3 days, but their cost is similar even for a 1 day rental. A Canon 5DMIII is $100 for a single day, Nikon D4 $198, and a Sony A99 is $111. So if you are choosing between Aperturent and ATSRentals, I'm going for the 3 days at just a few dollars more. Where they shine is in their SD and HD video camera rentals. They are not low cost but they have them in stock.They also have projector, audio and PA equipment as well as lighting and accessories. 

ATSRental's insurance policy reads like this: 

Security Deposit

For some orders, we will place a security deposit "hold" on your credit card. When applicable, this security deposit amount will be shown during the checkout process on our web site. This hold is released as soon as the equipment is returned undamaged.

Accidental Damage Coverage
We do not require you to carry separate insurance on the equipment. The cost of accidental damage coverage is built into your rental. There is an accidental damage deductible of 5% of the value of each item on the order. The value will be printed on your packing list. This deductible covers damage to the item and extends to any accessories included with that item. TOS

Borrowlenses

And now for the Grandaddy of them all, Borrowlenses. Once again you are locked into 3 days minimum, this seems to be an industry standard but when compared to ATSRentals, it doesn't matter, the cost is only a slight increase over the 1 day price. At some point ATS will succumb. BL rents the wides variety of bodies and lenses and equipment but there are entries missing.  Camera bodies, from Canon and Nikon, to Sony, Leica, Olympus and Pentax. Medium Format is strictly Hasselblad, no Mamiya, but they also offer Rangefinders, Micro 4/3's and GoPro. They also offer plenty of video cameras and a full range of accessory equipment. Lighting and battery packs are easy to locate as are tripods and monopods and audio mixers. BL is in a class by itself when t comes to variety. And when it comes to cost they are just a couple pf dollars more.  The Canon 5DMIII is only $102 for 3 days, the Nikon D810 is $110.

Borrowlenses's insurance policy reads like this and is a bit more complicated:

What is a damage waiver?
Damage waivers purchased through BorrowLenses.com gives you peace of mind and protects you from liability for unintentional damage to the rental item after paying a deductible. If you do not purchase a damage waiver, you will be responsible for 100% of the cost to repair, or a replacement item. If you do purchase damage waiver and an item is damaged, you only pay a deductible of 12% of the replacement value of the item, or the repair fee- whichever is cheaper.

But you really need to read the whole 11 paragraphs, to avoid any unpleasant financial surprises.TOS

Scroll down to Damage Waiver and Damage from the left column.

Conclusion

I'd give ATSRentals the first try, simply because of their costs and simple insurance policy, but that's me. It may not make any difference at all if you are really careful with using rented equipment and don't fear any damage or loss of equipment. The point is no matter who you choose, if you're looking to purchase new equipment, and don't want to gamble, take some time to read in photography forums, they are easy to find, and take a look at renting prior to buying. Purchasing lenses won't hurt you if you need to resell, as they don't lose much if any value, but camera bodies can drop rather quickly because of new models, age and actuations. This is a perfectly reasonable approach for most of us. 

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Multnomah Falls Base and Pool

The Least Chosen Angle of Multnomah Falls

This is not your classic shot of Multnomah Falls in Oregon. It is indeed not your classic shot of any waterfall. The base is always a secondary subject. But many have their own beauty, if taken at the correct angle. This one has a lot going for it, chosen for the rock, the moss, the ferns, the semi-soft water spilling over the lower falls, even the dry look lower right. The juxtaposed barren look of this angled hillside, is such a contrast to the lush green and wet. There's a sense of power, dynamics and yet a dead calm to the scene. Even the logs tucked into the area below and to the right of the falls grabs your attention. How big are they? And I could have lowered the shutter speed so the falls appear smooth, tripod-assisted, but there are times when the buttery-smooth shot needs to take second place to a realism the scene demands. 

When you are out shooting a scene, looking for a particular look, don't forget to include a few angles, or exposures outside of your goal for the day. This one is an outside of the box example. 

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The Mysterious ISO Factor

Is ISO Really Such a Mystery?

One should ask a few questions about the use of changing ISO settings for differing lighting conditions. It is standard practice in the photographic community to reach for a higher number when lighting is poor. What we do is crank up the numbers from 100 to as high as we feel the need to capture better detail in low light. And we get more light, more detail, specifically in the shadows, or if the whole frame is dark, a broad increase in detail across the light spectrum. And we do so almost without regard to the actual number. We might find that we need to run to as high as 1800 or 4000 to capture an image so as to be able to view it or print it. 

But it has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. Are we in fact, gaining exposure and detail by using an ISO of say 1600 rather than 100? The simple response would be, yes and no. There's a bit more to it than that. The photo below will illustrate why answering this makes more sense when we delve deeper. Study for a moment this image shot at 1600 ISO and brought up to 400% magnification for the sake of clarification. You see a fair amount of noise. And here's why without getting too far out in tech-know-land.

 

When we push 1/3EV (or exposure values) stops of ISO, i.e, 100-125-160-200 and so on we force the sensors to capture on each photon, an excess of light than they are designed to capture. As a result, hang with me, both the analog (available light) and digital (bit conversion-8 bit/12 bit/16 bit) signals work together while working against each other. So when the analog signal, the available light, is too low, such as in the image above, by pushing up the ISO, your digital sensor response is to amp up the digital signal. Now back to simplicity. 

Underexposed available light forces the ISO increases, in this case to 1600, to overexpose the digital photon signal, resulting in higher noise, and a loss of detail in the shadow areas. There is a way to balance to a degree this loss of detail, and fortunately its rather simple. In fact there are two ways. the first is increase the available light, the second is to stay to one full stop, rather than 1/3 stops. So if you cannot introduce a flash or a reflector or somehow open a shutter or a door or any other way to increase analog light, you can stay within the full stop adjustments of ISO, such as moving from 100 to 200 to 400 to 800 to 1600 to 3200 to 6400 and so on up to your camera's ISO limitation parameter. 

Since I'm no physicist I cannot explain why this works, but I can assure you that it does work. Shadow detail is better when you stay within full stop ISO increases. Feel free to comment or ask questions in the Comment section below. I'd be happy to discuss this with you.

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Next Month is Upload Month

 

 

 

I wanted to let my readers know that I will be uploading more photographic image files to pixels.com sometime in September of this year, 2014. Clearly the purpose will be to offer the photography for sale to individuals for home prints and companies for their walls or websites, and for advertising, as well as any other media use such as magazines and books. Since they also offer cell phone covers and t-shirts and coffee mugs buyers will have choices beyond the typical printed wall art.

I have been using them, as I have numerous others for quite some time, so you can if you wish, link from here to my existing Profile, Rich Collins @ Pixels.com . However as the year unfolds, each month you'll discover more and more to choose from.

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