Gear

When deciding to buy tripods, ball heads, lightstands, and umbrella brackets, I quickly learned that it's worth it's weight in gold to buy the best there is out there, and the best is usually made by Manfrotto. So I was a little curious when I heard they were releasing a new tripod head that allows smooth pivoting found in a video fluid head with the quick versatility found in photo ball head. Drew Gardner got his hands on the new Manfrotto MH055 Photo-Movie tripod head, and I must say this thing looks like it was made by aliens or something. It should be interesting to see the reviews on this once it comes out in June. Nothing is more annoying than having to carry around two different tripod heads for stills and photos so maybe this could be our answer. Check out the video below for a demonstration on why photo heads can't be used for video and vice versa.

Everyone claims that they know how to shoot subjects on pure white but many of them still struggle with the background light washing out their subject. In the video below, Olivia Speranza shows us how she created the look for a video but the same techniques apply to flash as well. The key is to light the background as evenly as possible and expose it so that it is just barely pure white. If your background is a few stops past pure white, the light will begin to eat into your subject.

Gary from F8 Photography and Mikey from Lightenupandshoot have crossed paths while traveling through Hong Kong. Lee and I ran into Mikey out at WPPI in Las Vegas a few months ago where he told us of some up coming adventures he had planned for Southeast Asia. These guys are really laid back and excited to break out into a photoshoot at any given time. In this video they take a ferry over to a local island to capture a few images of some friends they made in Hong Kong. Around 2:30, Gary talks about using a Variable Neutral Density Filter to almost completely destroy the ambient light while still shooting wide open at f1.2 and maxing out his shutter sync speed at 1/250. I've never attempted this technique, but it has been made famous by many photographers including Joey L. Does anyone have an opinion about these variable neutral density filters or use this technique in their own work? If so feel free to post an image in the comments below.

A few months ago Patrick and I flew up to NYC and filmed our first ever full length DVD (dual DVD actually) with Peter Hurley. The DVD is still being edited but we can finally see an end in sight. Initially we didn't plan on having a pre-order but when Peter Hurley decided to start teaching workshops, we decided to create a special pre-order deal. When the dual DVD is released, it will cost $300. If you purchase it before October 1st, 2011, we will give you a $300 credit towards any of Peter's workshops (and this can be used at any time) so you are actually getting the DVD for free. Peter is also going to personally sign all of the pre-ordered DVDs. Patrick and I are working as fast as we can to edit this DVD while managing Fstoppers.com and also shooting a wedding every weekend. Things are busy but we hope to have this DVD released sometime this summer. Head over to Hurley's website to sign up for "The Headshot Intensive," his new 2 day workshop. There are currently 4 slots left for his first workshop on May 21-22.

Lighting with a ring flash is a common technique among fashion and beauty photographers, yet it is often one of the most misunderstood and abused lighting setups among novice photographers. Simply using a single on axis light is hardly ever appealing but when coupled with other lights the ringflash look can become very flashy and dynamic. You often see this sort of light in music videos, glamour photos like Playboy, and of course high fashion shoots. In this video Tom Antos not only shows you an easy ring flash lighting setup he used for a music video but he also shows you how you can make your own constant light version for video productions. These same techniques can easily be adapted for still photos, and if your model is not moving much you can actually use the constant light version for stills as well.

A few months ago at WPPI I met Dennis Wood the president of Cinevate. Dennis told me that if we had a chance to play with Cinevate's DSLR rigging gear it would totally change the way we shoot. So we ended up getting a few pieces of gear from Cinevate, the most exciting piece to me being the Atlas 10 slider. The Atlas 10 turned out to be the best built slider I have ever gotten to play with. The track was long and amazingly smooth but there was one problem. This thing was big and heavy. The Atlas 10 is actually rated to hold a 40lb camera which means it was really built with cinema cameras in mind. The slider is a dream to use but quite difficult to travel with. Well I was just about to send Dennis a message to tell him I wanted them to make something that was smaller but still just as smooth when I realized they had read my mind. Cinevate just released the Atlas FLT and for my DSLR shooting and traveling needs, it is my "dream" slider. I literally JUST went over to their website and ordered one. At $579 it is way more expensive than our previous slider, but there is honestly no comparison when it comes to quality. Check out the full post to see a video of the Atlas 10 in action.

Yes, it has been done to death but everyone loves to see it so we will keep posting it. Digital Rev TV has been doing a series called the "Cheap Camera Challenge" and so far they have created 3 videos with 3 different photographers shooting on 3 different cheap cameras. Check out the full post to see all 3 videos.

I released The iPhone Fashion Shoot back in July of 2010 thinking that it would be a fun way to prove a simple point (that people can create compelling images with any camera). I never thought 1, that the video would become so huge and 2, that 50% of everyone who saw it would totally miss the point. Half of the comments made on my video are about my expensive studio lights, professional model, professional hair, makeup, and retouching. People still didn't want to admit that they were capable of taking great shots on whatever gear they had. Still to this day I get emails all the time where people suggest that I do another iPhone Fashion Shoot outside with natural light and without a professional model but I was never interested. I really don't want to become known as the "iPhone photographer" and these videos are a lot of work to produce. Well I just got an email from Pye at SLR Lounge and he did all of the work for me! Pye takes a normal girl outside and uses 2 reflectors to create stunning images... It does not get any more simple than this... The point has now officially been made. No more excuses people.

Many photographers claim that they will never shoot a wedding because there is too much pressure. If you miss some of the key moments, you will never get another chance. I agree with this to an extent but at least weddings have hundreds of "moments" over the course of a day. If I miss a couple, it's usually not a big deal. A first descent is another story though. In the video below, Lucas Gilman shows us all of the work that goes into capturing just 5-10 seconds. When it comes to something like this, there is absolutely no room for error.

If you are a budding photographer, you are probably a lot like I was when I first picked up a camera: somewhat naive about lenses. Knowing when to use a wide angle lens verses a telephoto lens is both a creative decision as well as a logistical one. Readers often ask which lenses to buy over at the Fstoppers Forum, and recently Mark Wallace shed a lot of light on the topic in his latest Adorama TV episode: Choosing The Right Lens. Not only does Mark talk about the practicalities of using one type of lens over another but he also demonstrates exactly how perspective, distortion, and compression look at different focal lengths. Knowing the tools of your trade is extremely important so if you haven't tackled this topic yet we hope this will be useful. We have also outlined a few of our favorite photo and video lenses on our Lens Guide.

When you first heard of GigaPan, it was probably from David Bergman's famous inauguration photograph. Years after David captured the first gigapixel images of crowds of people, scientists are now creating all sorts of images using the GigaPan technology. One new project recently announced is Time Machine. Essentially a video player with 100 megapixel frames, the Time Machine allows us to explore nature in both time and space with unbelievable amounts of information. Anyone can create these videos using any of the GigaPan Epic Mounts and upload them to the GigaPan website. It's pretty amazing what photos are now able to capture and reveal with super high resolution and timelapse. Check out more of these videos over at the Time Machine website.

I'm convinced GoPro and Redbull have the best extreme advertising on the planet. In this latest extreme skiing video, Matthias Giraud and Stefan Laude use two GoPro's each to document their parachute escape from an avalanche in the French Alps. If you don't already have a GoPro Hero, you need to get one. If you already have one, then we all need to start filming more near death moments by living life on the edge! Click the Full Post for a cliff jump skier equipped with at least 5 GoPros in a single run.

If you ever need to carry your gear through a storm or even a waterfall, the Lowepro DZ 200 waterproof backpack is your ticket. But that's not what this post is really about...no way! Craig Pulsifer is a videographer and photographer based out of British Columbia (that's Canada for you across the sea). Instead of waiting for clients to come to him, Craig decided to start making his own commercial videos for products he personally uses like the Lowepro bag. While covering a story in the Philippines, Craig decided to hire a few local assistants to help him film video and audio clips for an exciting extreme style commercial he wanted in his port. The results might actually be better than the normal videos created by Lowepro themselves! By pushing his own creative talent and keeping the production level high, Craig has produced a compelling advertisement for his own personal show reel that will certainly help land him bigger jobs down the road. I still don't think I'll lend him any of my gear for his next adventure through the jungle!

We have featured many of Mark Wallace's excellent tutorials with Adorama TV, and it is apparent from the comments that everyone appreciates his simple and thorough explanations. Recently Mark released a full length DVD that covers a wide range of topics for all levels of photographers. There must be over 15 different lighting setups, and he covers everything from portraits, headshots, fashion, and glamour to camera gear, light modifiers, and the properties of light. We always feature quality videos for free on Fstoppers, but we also realize a lot of work can go into these extensive DVD tutorials. If you've enjoyed the tutorials Mark has given for free, take some time to check out his Studio Lighting Essentials DVD. If you prefer a more hands on approach, Mark has several Studio Lighting 101 classes which we hope to check out ourselves next time we are in Phoenix, AZ.

Apple has been hard at work completely redesigning their flagship video editing software Final Cut Pro X which is set to ship in June 2011. At the recent Nab 2011 keynote in Las Vegas, FCP architect Peter Steinauer unveiled some of the new features as well as previewed the new user interface in a working version of the software. As a Premiere CS5 user, I have to admit I'm a little envious of some of these new features found in the competitor's software. Check the highlights in the video below, and click on the full post for the complete keynote presentation from Vegas. You are going to want to become familiar with this software if you are looking to start editing behind the scenes videos or promotional videos for your business.

Sometimes it's a pain to bring a client to your studio, or maybe you don't even own a studio. In these situations you must figure out a way to bring the studio to the client. Diana Deaver shows us a quick glimpse of her last shoot that involved bringing a paper background and a single large parabolic reflector into a clothing store.

Most skydiving videos are extremely high energy. This video, produced by BettyWantsIn.com, has a totally different vibe though. Instead of the heart pounding "plummeting to your death" feeling, this video creates a calm almost floating sensation by taking advantage of the 60fps that the GoPro can shoot. I thought it was creative so I figured I would share it.

This video has been hitting the blogs recently, but I didn't really watch it until it wound up in our inbox a half a dozen times. I guess I should say that this is probably the absolute textbook way to clean a lens but does anyone actually own all these rocket blowers, cleaning brushes, and cleaning supplies? I guess since I've never scratched a lens, I've always found one of these to be acceptable. Instead of using compressed air, I've always just used my mouth...am I a really bad person?

Yuri Arcurs is probably the most successful stock photographer on the planet. The last time we featured him on Fstoppers he was explaining a lot of his lighting setups for great stock images as well as how to get great reactions out of your models so the images sell. Now he has a new ridiculously expensive studio filled to the top with profoto gear, and he is giving us a first person tour of the place. I can't imagine how anyone could need this amount of gear but at the rate he turns images out it is all probably well justified. Does anyone know how to use the lowering metal mount he has for his lights? It seems like making adjustments would be difficult when they are suspended that high above you.

When the iPad was announced I laughed. I thought "this is just an over-sized iPhone that can't even make calls." I then figured out how to tether my DSLR to it and now I bring it on every shoot. Don't get me wrong, it does have some annoying quirks but when it does something well... it does it very well. Adobe may take the iPad to the next level and make this "toy" an even more powerful tool for photographers. In the video below Shawn Welch shows us a quick run through of his new iPad app that will work directly with Photoshop on your computer. Hit the full post to see 2 videos of Adobe's work in progress. Maybe one day the iPad can will be able to compete with this.

This is by no means the most thrilling video but it is really interesting. I've always wondered what was officially the "first" digital camera, and I guess I now know. Steven Sasson claims that he invented digital photography when he created this strange looking camera. The camera could shoot stills and record up to 30 of them on a digital tape. It's amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time.

We have posted about Twixtor before but today I was sent 2 great examples of it being put to use. Instead of simply slowing frames down, Twixtor actually can create as many frames as you like for super smooth ultra slo mo. Obviously nothing beats actually shooting at 1000fps but this program is quite good in most cases. We used it on every frame for the intro of The Wakeboard Studio Shoot. Check out the full post for a second video.

Everyone likes a good time lapse right? Well Philip Bloom just created one but it has a unique twist. Bloom's video was created with 3 cameras shooting simultaneously outside of his hotel window. He shot with a 5DMII, T2i, and T3i all shooting towards different areas of the landscape at different focal lengths. Check out the full post to see the finished product.

We've featured Patryk Kizny a few times here on Fstoppers and his content is always mind blowing. Recently he decided to test a new portable and modular slide rail for the DitoGear PortaSlider. This time lapse video uses 14 one-meter long track units connected to make one single long track. Everything was shot on a few Canon DSLR Cameras and mainly wide angle Samyang 14mm and 8mm lenses. The location, Ogrodzieniec Castle, is one of the largest ruined castles in Poland and Eastern Europe and a pretty remarkable place to film. Check out more about the PortaSlider at http://ditogear.com/featured/porta-slider-prototype/

DitoGear PortaSlider Prototype Testing (timelapse) from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.

I created the iPhone Fashion Shoot to attempt to prove this point. 50% of the people who saw it "got" it and the other 50% claimed that it only looked good because I used $10,000 worth of light. Well I've always said "light is light" and all those expensive light modifiers do is make the light source bigger or smaller. Don't believe me? Bert Stephani will take over where I left off shooting with these work lights (the same ones that I used for part of the iPhone shoot) and a shower curtain.

I've seen a lot of videos that attempt to explain why you would use a beauty dish over a softbox but I've always had a hard time understanding the subtleties. Jay P Morgan created a video that not only explains everything in great detail, but he also shows 3 lighting examples with each type of dish configuration. If you have always wondered about the magic of the beauty dish, all your questions will now be answered.

Chris Marquardt has developed a really mind blowing new camera called The Invisible Camera. Using ground breaking technology developed by the Max-Planck Institute in Germany, Chris has designed a camera that can properly expose an image even when the film is exposed to ambient light. The special film uses a technique called "directional desensitization" which prevents the emulsion from capturing light; the only light registered is from the very small projection created by the tiny pin hole. What's even more mind blowing is this technique might allow for images to be captured at ISO 1/500th or 15 stops lower than ISO 100! Chris estimates that this increase in resolution would be equivalent to about 3,000 5D Mark II cameras which I can't even imagine. Hopefully some of our more technical readers can explain this to me since I have a feeling it's going on sale a week from this Friday and The Invisible Camera has offered a demo model to Fstoppers.

Now we don't usually post product review videos on Fstoppers, especially for gear that we don't currently use, but in this case I have to make an exception. Although I may never get my hands on a Red camera, I can dream can't I? Honestly this video isn't even really a review but by the end you will know that this camera is "pretty coo'". But hey, it still got me all excited.

A few weeks ago Lee and I went out to Las Vegas to club it up check out WPPI which is the largest wedding convention in the US. While out there we were able to meet quite a few of our readers, check out the new gear at the Photoflex booth, and play with a lot of new photo related toys. One of the photographers we met was Michael Corsentino who teamed up with Photoflex in this behind the scenes video on outdoor bridals. Michael is using the new Photoflex Triton Flash along with an octabank and a stripbox to create some studio style portraits outside.

Behind the Scenes: Unique Bridal Portraits w/ Michael Corsentino and Photoflex from Photoflex on Vimeo.

Harry How is a sports photographer without any prior photography training. With hard work, determination, and a pressing urge to create images that hold up against his peers' photographs, Harry now has a career shooting for Getty Images. In this video Harry explains in detail what it takes to make the transition from hobbyist to full time professional and outlines his gear and little tips throughout his own transition into a sports photographer. If you enjoy this type of candid interview, be sure to hit the full post to watch part 2 and part 3 of this video series.

Fstoppers was created in part to help show the faces of the photographers behind the lens and also to give insight on how they approach their photography. But have you ever wondered who the people are behind some of tools and software we use day in an day out? Well Adobe recently released this video featuring many of the names behind their industry standard software Photoshop CS5 as they explained some of the difficulties they faced in the newest update. I've always wondered why it often takes longer for the mac version to appear on store shelves than it does the PC version and now I know why. via PetaPixel

Thank goodness for the GoPro HD or else this viral video wouldn't exist. If you are ever near a cliff, make sure yours is recording too.

Celebrity photographer Brian Smith has a great video online that describes his workflow when shooting burlesque dancers in Las Vegas. The video is an advertisement piece for X-Rite Color Checker calibration tool but Brian gives some really good advice on how he took his career from working at a newspaper to now shooting celebrity portraits. In this video, Brian is mainly shooting with just a Profoto Ringflash and a Sony A900, and the results look great. Anyone know how in the world he is using pocket wizards on top of the Sony? I thought Sony DSLRs used to have some funky hotshoe jack? //--> //--> //--> //-->

Every now and then someone comes out with a product that really makes me say, "why didn't I think of that?" If you've ever been on the set of a serious movie production, you know that the camera operator or steadicam operator hardly ever focuses the lens himself. Instead he relies on a well paid focus puller who can perfectly eyeball every focus distance and follow focus any lens set on any aperture. It's really amazing to watch. Well now a company called Okii has developed a USB focus puller for Canon cameras that can not only pull focus but also record and save a specific movement. I have no idea why they did not include audio on this video but if you watch if you can see two different points of focus being saved and then automated. Click the full post to see a second demonstration that shows off the actual recorded footage.

Last year Zacuto started a great series called The Great Camera Shootout where they compared film cameras with digital cameras and DSLRs. We featured the first two episodes but somehow overlooked the final show in the series. Some of these tests seem a bit excessive to me but it's good to know that there is a discussion going on with the top professionals in the field. Some of topics covered are camera resolution, color vibrancy, green screening, and shooting video in raw. As photographers, we are still going to hear people making an argument for not shooting video on DSLRs but if you watch the 3 full length short films presented in this episode I think the DSLR video haters' days are numbered.

The Great Camera Shootout 2010 Web 3: The Revolution Begins... from steve weiss on Vimeo.