Scott's Photo Blog

Our Thanksgiving Thanks to You

Gertrude Stein famously said "Silent thanks aren't much good to anyone," so let me take her advice and express our thanks to everyone who's been listening, commenting, and spreading the word on Digital Photography Life.

Michael and I have been working hard to make our new show the best it can be. I'd be embarrassed to tell you just how much effort it takes to collect the stories, schedule the interviews, record the audio, put it together, and get out the word about the show. We're not nearing perfection yet, but we hope we're getting better as we go along.

And every time we get a nice email at digitalphotographylife@gmail.com, a kind comment on this blog, or a five-star review on iTunes, it makes us feel that all our labors are worth it.

A few weeks ago, Scott Kelby told us our audience was the greatest one out there. We agree. So, this Thanksgiving, we count you among our blessings, our listeners and readers, who make Digital Photography Life possible and so rewarding.

Whether you observe Thanksgiving or not (we have many overseas listeners) we hope you remember to take time to acknowledge all that you have to be grateful for in this season of reflection. Although some of us may not be as financially or otherwise as we were even a year ago, there is still so much to be thankful for. As the Buddha instructs:

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Show Notes for Digital Photography Life #3: Everything You Wanted to Know About Adobe Photoshop CS4

We learn all about Adobe Photoshop CS4 this week, as we are joined by Bryan O’Neil Hughes from Adobe. He tells us about some of the coolest new features in CS4, whether or not it truly is a more user-friendly program, and why it costs so darn much.

But one lucky listener will get the full version for free, just by entering this week's contest. It's the biggest prize we've ever offered on Digital Photography Life (or on any other podcast, for that matter). It come to you courtesy of the good folks at Adobe, and we greatly appreciate their generosity. Just answer the question on the show, and send your response to us at digitalphotographylife@gmail.com. We'll pick a correct answer at random on January 1, 2009.

We also appreciate the support of Digital Photography Life's inaugural sponsor, SmugMug. SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - should you chose to accept this assignment - selling your photos. SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

• 50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
• A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here.

As usual, Michael and I also go over the digital photography new of the day, including these earth-shaking stories:

• Red's very interesting approach to high-end, modular cameras.
  Canon's rebate-less rebates (thanks CanonBlogger!)
  DXOMark's sensor rating and review page
  Popular Photography's positive review of Sony's new A900 and their groundbreaking 12MP camera phone
  And, most importantly, the sad tale of Susan and her cheatin' husband's magic iPhone.

Show Notes for Digital Photography Life #2: Photoenthusiast Jeff Revell and Two Great Offers from SmugMug

On today's show, we talk about the Nikon D90 and the Canon 50D with uberenthusiast Jeff Revell and we feature a fifty percent discount on SmugMug and a free camera strap to every listener of Digital Photography Life.

But first, Michael and I talk about our photo adventures this week and what's in the news. After an unfortunate circumstance involving some kind of mold/fungus or a strange visitor from another planet, I'm in the market for a new camera bag. I'm leaning towards a bag from ThinkTankPhoto's Urban Disguise Line. I live and work in a major metropolitan area, and ThinkTankPhoto may have it right with these designs that don't look like camera bags.

Despite The Terror That Lurked in My Camera Bag, I did get some nice shots this weekend at the Lincoln Memorial. You can see them on my personal SmugMug page here.

You might also want to take a look at the ShootSac that Michael and I use.

MIchael tells us to check out Carson Kressley's How to Look Good in Pictures series, hosted by Nikon. Who isn't interested in making themselves - or their subjects - look their best?

Interested in saving some money on camera equipment? If you live near one of the 154 Circuit Cities that are going out of business, you can grab some (final sale) goodies at 20%-30% off. Here's a list of the closing stores.

Or, you could just go for a free camera by buying one of these nifty Target giftcards.  Not only do you get a free 1.2 MB camera, but you get forty free prints for just the cost of your $50+ giftcard.

Meanwhile, if you need a reason for a pocketable camera that you'll always have with you, how about the fact that we're probably just a few years away from our first Close Encounter with one of our neighbors from outer space. It's true - click here! When ET lands in your neighborhood, don't you want to be the one with a camera?

Just when you've had enough of our ramblings, it's time for our first guest - the wonderful Jeff Revell of PhotoWalkPro.com. Jeff has had hands on time with two of the cameras we talked about last week - the Canon 50D  and the Nikon D90 . Jeff loved the 50D. He thought the picture quality was great, and he admired the ergonomics (well, not counting the depth of field preview button, but who ever uses that, right?) He liked the D90, but was pretty unimpressed with its HD video (see his example here).

Then, it is our great pleasure to welcome SmugMug on a sponsor. SmugMug did us - and we think you, too - a huge favor by making Digital Photography Life possible by signing on as our inaugural sponsor.

On today's show, SmugMugger Chris MacAskill  comes on to tell you all about what makes SmugMug so great, and the perfect fit for the digital enthusiast like you. Even better, they extend a special, limited-time offer exclusively to our audience: They're taking 50% off the first year of service, at any of their three tiers, to anyone who hears them on Digital Photography Life.

The coupon code is "Flickr." 50% off for typing six characters? It works for us.

And if a 50% discount isn't good enough for you, how about an out-and-out freebie? SmugMug is giving away a free camera strap to any Digital Photography Life listener who asks for one. You can make your request here. It may take awhile before you get your strap, but, at that price, it's worth waiting for. UPDATE: Please enter "DPLife" for the account name.

As always, thanks for listening! Please leave your comments below - we love to hear what you thought of the show.

Note to Camera Companies: Focus on the Basics

The new E-30 DSLR from Olympus looks promising. A step up from their entry level model, the E-30 has some features - and the estimated $1,300 body-only street price - that makes it clear that it's intended for the hard-core enthusiast.

I'm totally behind the E-30's cool and useful swivel LCD, the built-in image stabilization and its "advanced" dust cleaning technology.

But what, I wonder, is the market for some of the E-30's other "features?" According to Pop Photo,

Equipped with on-board Art Filters... the E-30 makes it possible to shoot artistic photographs without the need to apply post-processing effects in the camera or on a computer. The six Art Filters include Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color (soft light and pastel colors), Light Tone (soft highlights and shadows), Grainy Film, and Pin Hole.

Who's spending $1,300 on a DSLR who wouldn't prefer the control and flexibility of applying those kinds of effects on their computers? It's not clear from the Pop Photo article if the camera also saves the unadulterated version of your photo. If it doesn't, you'd have to be nuts to take a chance on messing up a great shot with one of these filters. But even if it does, why bother?  Applying any of these filters is the work of a minute in almost any photo editing software.

Not to be a grinch or anything, but wouldn't you rather the R&D folks applied their efforts to developing better noise reduction and higher dynamic range capabilities than gimmicks like this?  I just don't see these as compelling or useful tools for this market. If anything, the inclusion of "features" like this make the camera feel like a less mature product for beginners, rather than an enthusiast's tool.

PS: I just tried it - it took about 45 seconds to open this image, hit "Filter Gallery," and choose this effect from one of the many offered. Plus, I had a bunch of sliders that let me dial in just the settings I wanted. That has to be more power and options than anything I could get in camera.

At the Lincoln Memorial: Welcome President Obama!

For the first time in awhile, I got to break out the camera and take pictures in a new place - at the Lincoln Memorial. It was a beautiful fall day, warm for November, and the crowds - and we - were out to sign a Welcome to Office poster for Barack Obama.

More photos after the break.

Show Notes for Digital Photography Life #1: Scott Kelby Sheds Some Light on Lightroom 2

On today's show, Scott Kelby tells you everything you need to know if you're interested in buying Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, or if you already have the program and want to make the most of it.

• What does Lightroom 2 do?
• How is it better than Lightroom 1 and Adobe Bridge?
• If you can only afford to buy either Photoshop or Lightroom, which one should you get?
• What the fastest way to sort through hundreds of photos to find the best shots?\

You'll learn all this and more when the Kelbinator joins us on Digital Photography Life.

Scott also gives away a copy of his new book, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 for Digital Photographers and a free year's membership to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (a $99 value!).

Before our chat with Scott, Michael and I talk about our vision for Digital Photography Life. We want to bring you the best digital photography news, reviews and tips and tricks out there.

On this episode, we talk about the pretty-good but less-than-earthshaking reviews of the new Canon 50D, why you might be better off buying the cheaper Canon 40D (hint: it's cheaper!) and the apparent awesomeness of the Canon 5D Mark II.

We also want you to be part of the fun. Send us a note at digitalphotographylife@gmail.com and tell us about you - what you shoot with, what equipment you have, and what you'd like to hear on the show. You can also ask us questions - we love questions! We'll answer you in email or maybe on the show.

Here are some links to subjects discussed on the show:

• Round up of Canon 50D reviews
• Amazing Canon 5D Mark II video: Vincent LaForet's Reverie
  
• The new Micro 4/3rds cameras

Thanks to SmugMug for coming aboard as our inaugural sponsor! SmugMug is our choice for displaying our photos. If you're interested in making money off your photography, SmugMug gives you a full set of tools for selling prints and digital downloads. They really are the greatest. Stay tuned for next week's show, when SmugMug will have a special offer exclusively for listners of Digital Photography Life.

As always, thanks for listening and please leave your comments below.

Olympus Expands Its Line

One of the things that always distinguished Canon and Nikon is the width of their DSLR product selections - you can get entry-level, midrange and professional DSLRs from both companies.

While Sony might arguably also offer cameras in each of those classes, I think Olympus is more purposefully positioning itself as a full-range provider. Their E-3 is geared to the pros at a street price of under $1.500, the E-52 is a crazy-cheap beginner DSLR at $499, and the new E30 straddles the fence with a list price of $1,299.

With the E-3 selling for $1,429 on Amazon, the E30 better street at less than $1,299 if Olympus expects anyone to buy it over its barely-more-expensive big brother.

One thing I love about the Olympus's (Olympi?) are the articulating LCD's. While I don't have much use for Live View on DLSRs, a rotating screen makes it much more usable for over the head Hail Mary shots and knee level macros and baby shoots.

You Guys are the Greatest!

I just subscribed to my own podcast in iTunes (can you go blind doing that?) and saw that there are already 11 five star reviews for Digital Photography Life!

I can't believe how nice you all are! What a great start for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We always took great pride in the huge number of five-star reviews we had for that other podcast we did - The Show That Shall Not Speak It's Name. It was a great testimony to what a terrific community we had.

All the elements of the first episode of Digital Photography Life are done - now, all we have to do it put 'em together and makes sure it works.

Scott Kelby is the definition of awesomeness on the first episode. Be sure to listen through to the end of his interview - he gives away not just a copy of his latest book, but a free one year membership to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.

One show, two prizes. You gotta love it.

I hope you don't mind the length, though. Michael and I got a little overzealous - the first episode is about ninety minutes. Yikes! If you get stuck in traffic, you'll thank us.

HDR on the Cheap

Interested in trying your hand at high dynamic range (HDR) imaging on the cheap? If so, and if you're on the Mac platform,Maczot is having a weekend half price sale on Bracketeer.

Bracketeer is a low-priced alternative to the more fully-featured and user-friendly leader in this field, Photomatix. I've used Photomatix and it rocks. It also costs $99 while, for the rest of today, you can get Bracketeer for only 15 bucks. If you're looking for an HDR bargain, you can't beat that price.

According to Maczot:

Bracketeer is a front-end GUI for Enfuse. Enfuse is a command-line freeware utility which uses multiple exposures of a scene (bracketed exposures) and merges them together to form a uniformly lit scene. It is similar to tonemapping with an HDR image except that no HDR image is ever created, and there is no ghosting. It works with any kind of bracketed image set, not just panoramic equirectangular images. Bracketeer can even auto-align hand-held shots! The results are almost always much better than anything that can be achieved with Photoshop's HDR Tone Mapping.

Apparently, the same serial number you get for Bracketeer can also be used for PanoPreviewer, so you get that Photoshop plug-in for free. What is PanoPreviewer? Damned if I know. Even after reading this explanation on their site, it's over my head:

PanoPreviewer is a Photoshop plug-in for Mac OS X that allows you to preview equirectangular images as VR panoramas. Normally when editing an equirectangular image you're constantly saving the file out and loading it into a utility like CubicConverter so that you can preview it and see what needs touching up. With PanoPreviewer the tedium of that process has been eliminated since you can now preview the pano right in Photoshop!

I'm for anything that eliminates tedium!