What's in Andy's Camera Bag?

While I was out on safari in Tanzania a few weeks ago, I decided to set up a tripod and shoot a quick video on how I pack my Gura Gear Kiboko bag.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts, I would love to hear them!

Update: Some people have been asking me how I created the video, so here are the details: Canon 5DMk2 camera, 50mm f/1.2 lens, SONY UWP-V1 wireless microphone with audio recorded on a Roland R-09 portable recorder.

Safari Update - Gear Used

Rather than give a morning wrap up of what we saw this morning, I thought I would write about the gear used by my safari group, as well as a few comments about them.

This safari has 11 participants, plus Troy (my assistant) and myself. The gear used is roughly split 50/50 between Nikon and Canon. We also have a Panasonic shooter, who has a pair of GH2 bodies and a GF1 for grab shots.

In the Canon camp we have 1DsMk3 bodies, 5DMk2, 1DMk3, 7D, and a few Rebel bodies. In other words a good sampling of the current available cameras on the market. Troy is primary shooting with the 7D for wildlife video, as 60p is preferred over 24p or 30p in many situations.

As far as Canon lenses go, we have 500mm, 100-400mm, the new 70-300mm, 70-200mm and smaller zooms. No issues whatsoever at this time with either cameras or lenses.

In the Nikon camp we have many D3s bodies, as well as D3, D700, D3x and D7000 units. The D7000 is the most intriguing to me, primarily based on the cost and ability to do video. We have had a D3s temporarily die on us, but it was caused by the dropping of the camera in one of the vehicles. All seems to be better after cleaning around the mirror (mirror was stuck).

The Nikon 200-400mm is the most popular Nikon lens in the group, and we also have 500mm, 600mm, 70-200mm, 28-300mm and other smaller lenses. The Nikon 80-400mm rarely shows up on these trips, as it has horribly slow autofocus. Nikon, please please update this lens.

We are all using bean bags to support our lenses, as they are the most stable and morphable solution out there. A gimbal could work, but you have to work fast. I have concerns about a gimbal head in the types of vehicles we are in, as they are slow to setup, the angle is often sub-optimal, and moving from side to side isn’t easy. In southern Africa they work great, though.

One of the most useful accessories I bring is gaffer tape. Before I leave home I make small rolls of tape that I can put in every camera bag pocket I can find. It helps with fixing eyepieces in place, image stabilization / VR switches and the fixing of sunglasses if broken. Almost every person on this safari has had their IS or VR button turn off without their knowledge. This happens when shooting in vertical mode on a bean bag. Gaffer tape to the rescue.

75 percent of the travelers are using Gura Gear Kiboko bags. The others are using various products from other brands.

Storage is a big issue on these trips, and a few people are shooting more than they anticipated. I always bring a few extra hard drives to loan out, just in case. As I migrate to larger and larger external hard drives (I am now using 1TB), I have extra drives in 250GB and 500GB to loan out if needed. I prefer that people bring laptops over Hyperdrives and Epson storage devices, as reviewing images at the end of each day is a great learning tool. We mostly have Macbook Pro laptop computers, and a few Macbook Air and PC laptops. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is the gold standard, with a single person who is using Aperture. One person is new to shooting, and hasn’t decided to go PC or Apple yet, and also between Lightroom or Aperture.

So that’s the technology in a short entry!

Canon's new 200-400mm f/4 L IS lens

Well, Canon finally did it. They are bringing a 200-400mm f/4 lens to the market, supposedly before the end of 2011. This is excellent news for wildlife photographers! I have been waiting for a Canon lens like this for many years, and the main reason why I switched to Nikon 2 years ago. What makes this lens so unique is that the new lens has a 1.4x teleconverter built-in. What you say? Yes, there is a small, mechanical switch near the top of the rear of the lens that can move a 1.4x teleconverter into place when needed. This makes the lens a 280-560mm f/5.6. Very very cool and a nice feature.

So, the question of the day: will I move back to Canon? Possibly. I have enjoyed my time with Nikon, however most of my customers are Canon shooters. I do love my Nikon D3x camera, which is a better camera than the Canon 1DsMk3, however neither of these two cameras shoots video. My intention is to shoot more video, and Canon does rule the roost in this area right now. We shall see. What pains me is that Nikon doesn’t have an answer to Canon’s 100-400mm, which was a workhorse for me for many years. The Nikon 80-400mm is extremely slow when focusing, which makes it a non-starter for my own needs.

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Photographer

Now that I have made my holiday book recommendations, next up are my Christmas gift ideas that are (mostly) under $100. If you have a loved one that is into photography, and you have no idea what to get him or her, here are just some ideas to help make the holidays a little brighter.

 Canon Tea Coffee Cup Lens Camera Mug over at Amazon.com. Be the talk of the office with your cool lens mug. $49.99

Gaffer Tape. I know, I know, not the most exciting thing around, but trust me when I say that this stuff is invaluable. I always travel with some in my camera bag, as you never know when you will need it. It isn’t just for laying cables down onto the floor. What makes gaffer tape so amazing is that it doesn’t leave behind a residue that will take years and tons of elbow grease to get back off. $12.95.

Black Rapid RS-4 Camera Strap. I tried the strap on a recent workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and I have to say that I love how comfortable my camera was. Definitely recommended. They have a few other models available if you want to pimp yours out a little more. $54.00 at B&H.

Synology DiskStation DS1010+. OK, this is not exactly an under $100 gift, but since I recently bought one of these I thought I would say just how awesome it is. :-). This baby has 5 bays, and can act as a web server, iTunes server, bittorrent client and tons more. What is cool is that I am setting up a VPN to my home and I will have one unit at home and one at the office, and I can have each unit backup to the other through the WAN. Instant off-site backups! Roughly $800 online.

Photography Book Recommendations for the Holidays

OK, I constantly update my book recommendations throughout the year, and the books below are all items that bring me inspiration, knowledge or a combination of both. Yes, some are Africa specific, however many of these books are general in their content.

My favorite Photoshop Plugin: Nik Software's Viveza 2

I have been chugging along as a happy Adobe Lightroom guy for the past 4 years (since the beginning of the public beta program), and I really thought I had all of the control I needed within 1 application. Well, that changed a few months ago when I downloaded a demo of Nik Software’s Viveza 2 plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom. I am not stupid when it comes to complex masking techniques in Photoshop, but I really don’t enjoy the process and I the process just takes too long.

I don’t want this to be a formal review of the product, but rather I would like to quickly illustrate what a before and after may look like with a few challenging images of mine from Botswana.

Image #1

Challenges: overall contrast, subject is too yellow, need subject to pop from background and surroundings

Solution: I added control points in all corners and darkened the corners, I cooled off the background to make the leopard have both a hue and luminance contrast when compared to background (leopard is warm and background is slightly cooler, and leopard is brighter than background), and I increased the contrast on the leopard. Oh, and I also slightly desaturated the leopard, because big cats tend to look too yellow / orange when the global saturation is increased in an image.

Before

After

Image #2

Challenges: Similar to the image above, I had issues with overall contrast, subject is too yellow, need subject to pop from background and surroundings

Solution: Similar to the image above, I added control points in all corners and darkened the corners, I cooled off the background to make the leopard have both a hue and luminance contrast when compared to background (leopard is warm and background is slightly cooler, and leopard is brighter than background), and I increased the contrast on the leopard. Oh, and I also slightly desaturated the leopard, because big cats tend to look too yellow / orange when the global saturation is increased in an image.

Before

After

I am now evaluating Nik’s newest offering: HDR Efex Pro. There are definitely circumstances where I can use such a tool, and based on my experience with Nik’s Viveza 2 I am certain that I am going to be happy with it. I am currently a user of Silver Efex Pro 2.0 for all of my black and white work, and I am finding new ways of working on my images right now. It’s a great feeling to see that I can get the quality that I need in a short amount of time, without all of the long steps of complex masks in Photoshop for each and every adjustment.

When to use teleconverters?

Canon 1.4x II teleconverter

What is a teleconverter?

A teleconverter is an adapter that is used in between your lens and your camera, and they typically magnify your focal length by 1.4x or 2x. If you have a Nikon lens you will get the best quality with a Nikon teleconverter, and the same goes for Canon and other lens manufacturers. I am not a fan of off-brand manufacturers, such as Kenko.

• Canon makes 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
• Nikon makes 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x teleconverters
• Other manufacturers make 1.4x teleconverters at a minimum

A 300mm lens with a 2x teleconverter becomes a 600mm effective focal length. A 400mm with a 1.4x teleconverter becomes a 560mm.

Canon 2x II teleconverter

When you use a teleconverter, you also lose light coming into the lens. With a 1.4x you lose 1 f/stop of light, a 1.7x you lose 1.5 stops, and with a 2x you lose 2 stops. With a 300mm f/2.8 lens mated to a 1.4x teleconverter you end up with a 420mm f/4 lens.

Nikon 1.7x TC-17EII teleconverter

When do we use a teleconverter?

You will want to use a teleconverter when you would like to have more focal length.

What are the downsides to using a teleconverter?

Unless you are using the best glass on the market, you are likely losing optical quality. You are also losing 1 to 2 stops of light, so you will need to make sure that you can afford the light loss. I am often shooting at ISO 1600 and above at the end of the day, and I usually do not use a teleconverter when I am at the edge of my minimum shutter speed. Additionally, some cameras cannot autofocus when a lens is wide open at f/8. For example, for Canon shooters with a 500mm f/4 and a 2x teleconverter, you will be at f/8 as your wide open aperture, and on some cameras you cannot maintain autofocus with that configuration. A big down side, for sure. Canon 1-series cameras can maintain autofocus at f/8, however only with the center AF point.

Kenko 1.4x teleconverter

Which lenses can be used with a teleconverter?

A rule of thumb is that fast telephotos are the only lenses that you can use a teleconverter with, and zoom lenses will not work. There are exceptions, but not many. Here is a short list of lenses where you can use a teleconverter, and there are certainly more:

• 70-200mm f/2.8
• 70-200mm f/4
• 300mm f/2.8
• 300mm f/4
• 400mm f/4 DO
• 400mm f/2.8
• 200-400mm f/4
• 500mm f/4
• 600mm f/4

You technically can use a teleconverter on the popular 100-400mm, but please do not attempt it. Yes, technically it will fit together, however the optical quality absolutely sucks. Really sucks. I see this attempted all of the time, and I cannot emphasize strongly enough that it isn’t worth the effort.

I always travel with at least a 1.4 teleconverter for my longest telephoto lens, so it is an easy for me to gain more focal length without carrying more lenses and more weight.



...Of Wildlife Photography and non-digital equipment

Well, you probably are wondering what the heck this headline is all about. Well, I am ditching my Nikon digital camera equipment on my next Tanzania safari. I am shoving off soon, and I am only taking a single still camera with me, and it happens to be a Fotoman 6x24cm panorama film camera. I can only take 3 photographs per roll of 120 medium format film. And it takes me about 10 seconds to shoot, wind, cock the lens, compose and shoot again. I am looking forward to the challenge, for sure. I am challenging myself to see if I can create images that can truly tell the story of the wide open savannah of the Serengeti, and this may be the ticket.

Fotoman 624 panorama camera with 180mm lens and cone

I purchased the Fotoman 624 about 3 years ago, and I have only used it once. I think it was January of 2008. At that time I only had a 180mm lens on the camera, and that really didn't work out too well. That is equivalent to about 45mm in 35mm camera terms. This time I am going with a huge 300mm lens on the front, and the camera cannot be described as being a small camera. I am making up my hyperfocal chart right now for the new 300mm lens, but check this out for absurd depth of field with the 180mm lens:

F/9 = 263 feet (130 feet to infinity)
F/11 = 209 feet (100 feet to infinity)
F/14 = 166 feet (83 feet to infinity)
F/16 = 148 feet (75 feet to infinity)
F/22 = 105 feet (52 feet to infinity)
F/32 = 74 feet (37 feet to infinity)

To interpret what I just wrote down, in the first line I could focus at 263 feet with the helical mount on the front of the camera, and everything that is 1/2 that number, or 131.5 feet, to infinity is sharp at f/9. I am sure the 300mm lens is going to be just silly when it comes to the depth of field, but it is going to be a fun challenge.

I am also taking my new JVC GM-HY100 high definition video camera. This is actually my primary tool for the safari, as I have been itching to get more and more into video. My goal for the trip is to just capture what a typical day is like, from sunrise to sunset. Hopefully I can piece together enough clips to have a 2 minute 'day in the life of an African photographic safari' kind of video on this blog. We shall see.

I am only taking 20 rolls of Fuji Provia 400F film with me, so I am only good for 60 exposures. I will have some Fuji Neopan 100 as backup, but I doubt I will need it. Wish me luck.