Camera with remote shutter release

Have you ever wanted to trigger your camera without actually being right there to press the shutter button? Ever had trouble obtaining crisp sharp shots when shooting in low light – even when using a tripod? The DSLR Remote might just be your night in shining armour.

Whether wired or wireless, a basic DSLR remote is little more than a switch, just like your shutter button. Some more advanced remotes have additional features such as built in timers, and others are completely programmable but they all provide the same basic function. They allow us to trigger the shutter button without having to touch the camera. In this post I’m going to discuss the humble DSLR remote, and where you might find one useful.

Wireless DSLR Remote

Although it’s not something I do myself, shooting wildlife is one such situation where a wireless remote should be considered. Wild animals and birds are startled very easily. Animals in the wild are very wary of anything out of the ordinary. A photographer hovering around their camera, waiting for a shot will usually be enough to scare the animals away. A wireless DSLR remote allows the photographer to keep some distance between themselves and the camera, and not scare the animals away.

Another area where the wireless DSLR remote might come in handy is when shooting your own family photos. Have you ever tried doing this with out a remote? The scene usually plays out like this. Everyone is in position but you. You set up the shot, estimating how the frame will be composed with you in the shot. Finally, once everything is perfect, you set the camera’s built in timer and press the shutter button. This is usually where the fun really starts. After pressing the shutter button, there’s panic. You have to run like mad and fit yourself into the shot before the shutter triggers, and all while attempting to look natural and not bump any of your family members out of position. The wireless DSLR remote allows us to calmly set the scene, stand in position, and click the button on the remote from a concealed location. Simply, magic.

Wired DSLR Remote

A wired DSLR remote is handy when you want to be right at the camera but still be in a hands-off situation. I regularly shoot in low light and when doing so, a wired DSLR remote is an important part of equipment for me. You see, there’s an inherent problem with slow shutter speeds. The camera is sensitive to movement whenever the shutter is open. When we manually press the shutter button we can’t help but wobble the camera a tiny bit and this gives us blurred photos. It’s all but impossible to get around with long exposures, even when using a tripod. The DSLR remote allows me to trigger the shutter without touching the camera – no more blurred photos.

For extended long exposures and when using bulb mode on my camera, my wired DSLR remote has a latch. The latch allows me to keep the shutter open for extended periods of time without having to physically hold the button down with my finger. An example of a situation where you might need to latch your DSLR remote is when shooting star trails.

The bottom line is this; I would recommend that all amateur photographers should have a DSL remote in their kit. Whether you purchase a wired or wireless DSLR remote is completely up to you and how you intend on using it, but you will find it a valuable piece of equipment no matter what style you get.

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Check out DSLR Remotes on Amazon to find a DSLR remote to suit you! Please note that this is an affiliate link. I will make a commission if you purchase anything as a result of clicking this link.

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DSLR Remote originally appeared on The Hobby Photographer on October 28, 2011.

Camera Tripod

One piece of photography equipment that I really can’t do without is my camera tripod. In fact, I actually have more than one. One is a lightweight aluminium tripod (aluminum tripod for USA readers) that I use most of the time and the other is a small, pocket sized, bendy tripod that I use in special circumstances. My primary camera tripod really isn’t anything special – It’s a cheap telescopic unit that I purchased from a camera store for about $30. The tripod extends to about 1.2 meters in height, and it’s very light and easy to travel with. It’s made almost solely from aluminium and polycarbonate which makes it resistant to damage from the elements. Honestly though, it’s not going to last forever and I’ve become acutely aware of it’s shortcomings…

Professional photographers invest a lot of money in good equipment, including tripods, but it’s important to understand that professional equipment is usually specialised and isn’t always suitable for a hobbyist. For example, A studio photographer’s large heavy camera tripod isn’t likely to be appropriate for the occasional landscape photographer. If you’re likely to be trekking through bushland or climbing  rock faces to get to a location,  think about something light and portable.

My point is that just like professionals, it’s important for hobby photographer’s to understand the equipment options available before making any commitment to buy. But unlike a professional who will buy equipment for a specific purpose, hobbyists often need to find equipment that will suit a broader range of situations. Keep in mind also that just because something is the biggest and the most expensive, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be appropriate. For someone like a hobby photographer who shots only occasionally a cheaper option is often good enough.

Why do we need them?

Why do we even need tripods? Tripods offer us a stable platform to shoot from. They allow us to take multiple photos from exactly the same position time and time again. They allow us to leave the shutter open for extended periods of time without blurring our photos. They can even offer our camera protection from a fall or other damage by holding it up and away from danger during a shoot. I can’t actually think of a reason why any photographer would NOT have one. There will be situations where a camera tripod isn’t required, but there will always be situations where a camera tripod is absolutely necessary.

I’m going to list out a few features to consider when looking to buy a camera tripod. It’s important to have some idea of how you intend on using one so that you can buy a tripod that will suit your requirements. Do you want a tripod for a specific purpose, or one that will be suitable for a broad range of activity? Think about this question prior to buying and know the answer before you walk into the store.

Features:

Portability: unless you’re working solely in a studio or otherwise stationary location, you’re camera tripod will need to be portable. This is so that you can take it from place to place as needed, and with as little effort as possible while still providing a solid stable platform to shoot from. Telescopic and collapsible tripods help you to compress the amount of space required when transporting your equipment. Especially keep this in mind if you plan on travelling.

Weight: If your intention is to climb mountains to shoot panoramas from the ceiling of the world, it’s probably not smart to invest in heavy equipment. On the other hand, if your intention is to set up a studio in your garage, by all means get something heavy and solid. If you want to shoot a little bit of everything, you’ll need to find a balance that suits you.

Bendy: small, pocket tripods are great for setting up on a table, fence, on the roof of your car or anywhere you need a quick and dirty platform on the spur of the moment. I honestly recommend that everyone with a camera should have something like a gorilla pod on standby. When buying, just be aware of the weight of your particular camera and whether the camera tripod you’re looking at will handle the weight.

Extra Height: In my opinion, if you’re shooting landscapes, the taller the capability of your camera tripod, the better. Shooting from a high vantage point helps to add a point of interest in your photos because your offering a viewpoint that people don’t normally see.

Weight Hook: is there some method to stabilize your tripod? Many camera tripods these days have a hook underneath the frame where you can hang a sandbag or some other form of stabilising weight. The weight will pull the tripod down, lower the centre of gravity and provide a lot more stability in the tripods supporting structure.

Ball-Head: A ball head will offer you the utmost of maneuverability for your camera. x-y-z axis heads often offer close to the same maneuverability, but setup of a ball-head mount will usually be much quicker and easier.

Inbuilt Level: Personally, I believe tripod levels aren’t reliable and are somewhat of a gimmick. There’s no way for us to know if the level has actually been inserted into the tripod crooked or if the markings on the level are calibrated. If a level is something you really need you would be far better off spending you money on a hot-shoe level. Take the reading at the camera, not at an arbitrary point on the tripod.

Environmental Considerations: When buying a camera tripod it’s important to take note of the matierials that have been used to manufacture it. You should have a good understanding of how you intend to use the tripod before comparing models. And pay particular attention to things like the fastening hardware. Clamps, screws and clips often have small components that can be made from metals that are prone to corrosion. Just be aware or your requirements and consider your options.

Conclusion

Well, that just about wraps it up for my rant on the humble camera tripod. The bottom line is that I believe that no photographer should be without one, no matter what your level of expertise. You don’t always have to go for the biggest and the best either. Buy to suit your budget and your needs and remember that you can always upgrade later if you need to!

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Don’t have a camera tripod yet? Here are a few below to look at to get you started, or click here. And if  you want to learn more awesome photography secrets, check out “Digital Photography Success” by Amy Renfrey. Please note that these are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase from these links, I will be payed a commission. You are under no obligation to do so.

Camera Tripod – Photography Equipment originally appeared on The Hobby Photographer on September 6, 2011.

Canon 50mm f 1.8 mk ii camera lens

I have quite a few different lenses in my camera bag. Some are good, some aren’t so good, but one that I use regularly is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens - AKA the “nifty fifty”. I read a lot about this lens before buying it and the general consensus was that they had pretty poor build quality with reasonable optics. That opinion had me sitting on the fence as to whether I would buy one or not, but then I saw the price. Here in Australia they retail for about $120 which is exceptionally cheap for any lens, even a bad one. At such a cheap price I really couldn’t see any reason not to get one.

First impression:

Out of the box, the build quality of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens is of pretty low spec. for a lens. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not going to fall apart in your hands or anything, but compared to most (all?) other lenses this one feels a bit like a kids toy. Everything on it besides the glass itself is plastic, including the mount, which I feel may wear with continued swapping. But, like anything, if you treat it with care it will last and you will get your moneys worth. Whatever you do, just don’t drop it…

Black plastic aside, once you take the lens cap off the F/1.8 aperture is immediately noticeable. At the time I purchased this lens I think f/3.5 was the widest aperture I had available to me. In comparison, the f/1.8 aperture offered here looked big enough to drive a bus through.

The lens has a 52mm internal screw for mounting filters which, at the time was a little bit of a pain for me because all of my accessories were for 58mm mounts. The lens also has a rather small focus ring which most other reviewers tend to complain about, but this is pretty standard for Canon consumer lenses. It doesn’t bother me so much.

Using:

The lens has a standard Canon EF mount so it wasn’t a problem to attach, even on my now antiquated EOS 5 film body. Once attached, I turned my camera to manual and started focusing on objects near and far. I’d read in other reviews that this leans can be noisy, and they were NOT kidding. I mean, it’s not going to wake a baby but it has to be the noisiest lens I’ve ever heard. The noise is simply a side-effect of the cheap plastic housing and the gears attached to the micro-motor. Canon could have charged an extra $5 to add some sort of dampening to these lenses without any kick back from consumers – I wonder why they didn’t do it? Noise aside, I’ve also read many reports that this lens tends to hunt quite a bit when presented with lots of potential focus points, and I can confirm this also.

I’ve tested the lens out on both full frame film and cropped sensor digital cameras and it performed very well for me in all regards. As a personal preference, I rarely use flash in low light. Instead, I much prefer to slow the shutter down and use a tripod if I have to because I usually want to keep the lighting as natural to the scene as possible. The the wide aperture of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens has allowed me to be able to take shots in much lower light than I would normally and all while holding the camera in my hand.

Concerns:

I do have a few concerns with this lens when it comes to this lens. There’s the plastic mount, which I mentioned earlier in this post, and the noise, which isn’t a performance issue but more of a personal gripe. I have another concern that could be more of a long-term issue though: When the lens hits the extent of its focus range, it hits hard. I don’t think there’s any sensor there to tell the motor to stop driving so it seems to slam into the end of the focus range like a car into a brick wall. Long term, this may cause focus problems due to gear damage or potentially burn the motor out. On the other hand, I refer to the price once again.

Something else that I have become acutely aware of is just how lazy I had become by using a zoom lens all of the time. Having the 50mm fixed focal length means that you must physically move toward or away from your subject to compose the frame. I thought that I had always tried to do this anyway, but when you don’t have a choice it’s something that you immediately notice when using a prime lens.

Conclusion:

The bottom line is that the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens is a great little lens, and unbeatable for the price – I truly recommend you get one even just to try it out. I’ve read that the optics on the f/1.4 version are far superior, but it’s an extra $250. For the price of the f/1.8, even if it only lasts a year, I don’t think it can be beat. I say: Modern zooms have made us all lazy and it’s time to get on the photographic treadmill! Leave it on your camera for a full week or two and watch your abilities grow.  Use it until it breaks, then decide if you want to upgrade. Oh, and I have a new name for this lens too – I’m calling it the “Plastic Fantastic”.

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To get your own Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens, just click on the link below, or you can click here. Also, if you’d like to learn more awesome photography secrets? Check out “Digital Photography Success” by Amy Renfrey. Please note that these are affiliate links – I will earn a commission if you choose to buy from these links. You are under no obligation to do so.

Canon EF 50mm f 1.8 II Camera Lens – The Nifty Fifty originally appeared on The Hobby Photographer on August 25, 2011.

Camera Filters

Neutral density filters, commonly called “ND Filters” are a special kind of photographic filter. They’re designed to reduce the amount of light entering the camera. Visually, they tend to look grey or black but they don’t colour your photos in any way. Neutral density filters filter all wavelengths of visible light equally and, in a way, I guess you could imagine them as being sunglasses for your lens.

Neutral density filters are available in a variety of different densities.The model numbers differ depending on the manufacturer, but they’re all rated based on the number of stops that they represent. Some examples are shown below:

ND2 (optical density 0.3) = 1-stop neutral density filter
ND4 (optical density 0.6) = 2-stop neutral density filter
ND8 (optical density 0.9) = 3-stop neutral density filter

Just like most other filters, neutral density filters can be purchased as screw-on types. These simply use a thread to screw on to the end of the lens. Other types include square filters that slide into a special mount that is attached to the front of the lens or camera.

Neutral Density Grad Filters

ND Grad filters (or Neutral Density Graduated Filters) behave the same as standard neutral density filters, but they have one major difference. A grad filter is graduated from top to bottom. This means that the top half of the filter is tinted and the bottom half has no filtering at all. In the middle is a transition, or graduation. There are two types of graduations available. Hard grads graduate from fully filtered to zero filtering over a small area, and soft grads graduate over a much longer area, providing a soft transition.

What are they used for?

Neutral density filters give us some very special abilities by reducing the amount of light that enters the lens. Our aperture can be larger and/or our shutter times can be longer than we would use normally. This gives us the ability to slow the shot down and capture things that we wouldn’t normally be able to capture. Using neutral density filters, we can capture the motion of a stream or brook in the middle of the day and obtain that “milky water” look. Or, we can capture brilliant colours from a sunrise or sunset without overexposing the film or sensor on our camera. Some more advanced methods involve taking a photo of a building in the middle of a busy street using a very dark neutral density filter and a very long shutter speed. Because of the dark filter, the traffic and people simply disappear as they don’t remain in the shot long enough to be captured.

ND grad filters are often used by landscape photographers to capture stunning skies while keeping everything at ground level clear and full of detail. The darkened area of the filter allows the photographer to soften (or correct) a bright skyline while capturing detail and shadows on the landscape itself. Hard grads are most useful with sharp horizons, and soft grads are better suited to scenes with rolling hills, or with an otherwise uneven landscape.

Neutral Density Filters originally appeared on The Hobby Photographer on August 14, 2011.