Hama Maxi Multi Card Case Review

The Hama Maxi Multi Card Case is a storage wallet for your compact flash and SD memory cards as well as batteries and memory sticks. The case has plenty of space for memory cards and will fit 8 CF (Compact Flash) cards as well as up to 12 SD cards inside.

The case has plenty of space for memory cards and will fit 8 CF (Compact Flash) cards as well as up to 12 SD cards inside.

The Hama Multi card case also allows you to store up to 5 AA or AAA batteries inside as well as the CF cards giving flexible storage options when carrying equipment in your camera bag.

There is also a net pocket that can store other small items of equipment such as a filter in its case or smaller flat batteries.

The whole case zips up to protect the contents and prevent them falling out loose in your bag.

Memory card case

 Camera cases 

Photo Editing in 1900s - Before Photoshop - Darkroom Photo Manipulation

Photo Editing in 1900s - Before Photoshop - Darkroom Photo Manipulation

 

I was contacted recently by someone selling a postcard of Berengrave Lane Rainham on Ebay that was virtually identical to one that is on the Rainham History site. Nothing strange there you might think - except on closer inspection the majority of photo is completely identical - all the people are in the same poses and same positions but with the addition of 2 young lads in the foreground.

There are a couple of possibilities. Firstly that 2 shots were taken and the lads wandered into one shot. The other that the lads were added or removed in the darkroom at a later date which looks to be the more likely possibility as everything is identical otherwise between the shots!

Have a look and see what you think!

Samsonite Photo DF50 Colt Camera Bag Review

The Samsonite Photo DF50 Colt is a compact camera bag suitable for entry level cameras such as the Canon 1000D, 550D or 600D. Due to its copmact size it is not suitable for larger cameras such as the Canon 5D or 1D series.


Canon 600D Case
Camera Cases

The Canon 600D fits snugly inside the Samsonite Photo DF50 Colt giving a good level of protection against knocks and scratches. The bag has some very useful pockets to the front and the side that allow you to store a spare battery and memory cards when you take the camera out.

Overall the Samsonite DF50 Colt is a very handy compact DSLR bag that is ideal for carrying your Canon 550D or Canon 600D to protect it from knocks and scrapes but without taking up masses of room or being very bulky to carry unlike some other bags.

Canon 600D Case 

Camera Cases 

Canon 1DX Shutter Speed Test - Sound of the 14fps frame rate continous shooting

Hands on the Canon 1DX to see how fast the frame burst rate is in real use. The speed of this camera is amazing! Not only can it shoot at 14 frames per second but it can also shoot at up to ISO 204,800 which is a level that was unheard of for digital cameras

Canon 1DX Hands On - The Shutter Speed and High ISO King!

Yesterday I got my hands on the Canon 1DX to test in London. Unfortunately we were unable to get images from the Canon 1DX to test the high ISO performance and image quality at ISO 204800 but the ISO range on the back of the camera settings is phemonenal. To see an ISO range that goes from 100 to 51,200 in normal mode and with H1 and H2 settings of 102,400 and 204,800 is incredible. This is certainly one area where digital has now surpassed film by some considerable margin.

Canon 1DX Hands on - incredible frame rate and shutter speed

Canon 1DX High ISO - massive ISO range to 204,800

Canon 1DX hands on testing

The Canon 1DX is released in the UK in March 2012 so we still have a little time before we can get hold of this camera for use in the field or the studio

STS (Stage Theatre Society) Les Miserables Rainham School for Girls

Stage Theatre Society Drama at Rainham School for Girls- Les Miserables - I Dreamed a Dream by ...

I Dreamed a Dream by Gemma Scholes from Les Miserables

STS (Stage Theatre Society) will be performing the musical Les Miserables at Rainham School for Girls from 26th to 29th October 2011

This promotional video was shot on the Canon 5D Mark 2 with the Azten external microphone for Canon DSLR. 

Canon 1DX - The Megapixel race is over?

Canon have announced the new Canon 1D X DSLR camera to replace both the Canon 1D Mark4 and Canon 1Ds Mark 3. Interestingly the new Canon 1D X has 18 Mp replacing the Canon 1D4 that had 21Mp.

We will be having a hands on look at the Canon 1DX this week and will post a review of the findings plus hopefully a few photos after the event.

Despite the numbers the actual difference in pixel count between 18Mp and 21Mp is minimal so it could be a good sign that finally image quality and noise performance are more important than the headline grabbing mega pixels. Does this mean that the megapixel race is finally over and features other than the sensor pixel count are starting to be more important. Certainly from a photographic point of view an ISO range up to 200,000 is of more use than a few extra pixels especially for low light wedding shots and the massive files generated by big pixel counts are a negative for long term storage.

Does this mean that the Canon 5D Mark 3 will feature less pixels than the Canon 5DII? As the 1Ds3 featured the same sensor as the Canon 5D2 we could speculate that this new 18Mp sensor will find its way into the Canon 5DIII when it is released.

Composition: The Importance of Backgrounds

A Lesson in Composition and How to Avoid Poor Backgrounds in Your Photos

I was at a competition recently where a few images show had issues with the backgrounds and the judge commented that a slight movement would have vastly improved the images by removing background clutter. This gives some advice on how to remove background objects from your photos.

It is crucially important to always look at the background behind the subject not just the subject themselves. A slight change in position to the left or right, up or down can often make all the difference to a photo looking professionally composed or being just a snapshot.

The two example shots below show how easy it is to recompose a shot to remove background clutter and to give a nice neutral out of focus background to your photos.

shots were taken with the Canon 600D and the 35-80 USM lens.

 These shots of our cat were taken in the garden at home. The first shot above shows the legs of the children's climbing frame that are distracting and ruin the shot. The shot below was taken from a very slightly different viewpoint by raising myself slightly up thus giving a different angle towards the cat. This mean that the climbing frame was no longer in shot and all the background behind the cat is a nice soft neutral colour.

shots were taken with the Canon 600D and the 35-80 USM lens.

So as you can see above it is very easy to adjust the position for taking a photo that will vastly improve the background and make the subject stand out as they should. These shots were taken with the Canon 600D and the 35-80 USM lens.

How to copy slides using a Digital Camera

How to Copy Slides using a Digital Camera

Are you looking to copy your old slides into digital photo format but can't afford to invest many hundreds of pounds in a high quality slide scanner? Or are you finding that the copying of slides using a scanner is not fast enough and are looking for a quicker way to copy slides to digital images?

If so then there is a very cheap solution that allows high quality copying at the standard resolution of your camera. You can buy a slide copier for a few pounds on Ebay or elsewhere that attaches as a lens to the front of your full frame camera and allows you to copy the slides directly to the card in the camera at the resolution you choose. So on a Canon 5D Mark2 it means you can scan slides at up to 21.8 Megapixels, far higher than most dedicated slide scanners.

I picked up my Ohnar Zoom slide duplicator copier on Ebay a few years ago having previously owned one some years for its original pre-digital purpose of copying slides to enable you to crop out unwanted objects or to recompose a slide. It is important to note that the original slide copies were designed for film cameras so they are only suitable for full frame DSLR cameras. If you use a slide copier on a crop sensor that it is not designed for then the crop factor will mean that you lose part of the slide image.

I've just checked Ebay and there are still bargains to be had - this Ohnar Slide duplicator to copy slides onto your digital SLR camera sold for £1.24 plus £4.50 P&P - an absolute bargain to get high resolution, very fast copies of your slides into a digital photo format and much quicker and better value than a dedicated slide scanner.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OHNAR-ZOOM-SLIDE-DUPLICATOR-/170698333419?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27be69dceb#ht_500wt_1413

Canon 24-105 Lens Shows Error 01 on different cameras

If you have suffered from Error 01 on your Canon 24-105 Lens, shown as a message on your camera as Unable to Communicate with Lens or similar then you may like to see what causes the error. This error is particular prone to occuring on the Canon 24-105 f4 EF lens.

These shots are of the internal iris mechanism that had failed on my Canon 24-105 f4 lens on my Canon 5D Mark 2 and was giving error 01 on multiple cameras.

 

The point of failure is the cord that attaches the iris mechanism to the lens body. With the constant motion of the lens barrel for zooming and focus it can fracture or fray and the communication error Canon Error 01 is generated with Canon lens 24-105 f4.

Canon Camera error 01 problem with 24-105 f4 lens

It doesn't even need a complete break in the cord to generate error 01 in your Canon lens, sometimes it can occur at certain points in the zoom range when the cord is either stretched or compressed more which causes the fracture to widen and break the communication link.

Photos of 24/105 lens with Canon error 01

Canon 24-105 lens error 01 Canon 5D2

How to Copy Slides to Digital Photos without Scanner using your Canon 5D/Nikon D700 or Sony A900

Are you looking to copy your old slides into digital photo format but can't afford to invest many hundreds of pounds in a high quality slide scanner? Or are you finding that the copying of slides using a scanner is not fast enough and are looking for a quicker way to copy slides to digital images?

If so then there is a very cheap solution that allows high quality copying at the standard resolution of your camera. You can buy a slide copier for a few pounds on Ebay or elsewhere that attaches as a lens to the front of your full frame camera and allows you to copy the slides directly to the card in the camera at the resolution you choose. So on a Canon 5D Mark2 it means you can scan slides at up to 21.8 Megapixels, far higher than most dedicated slide scanners.

I picked up my Ohnar Zoom slide duplicator copier on Ebay a few years ago having previously owned one some years for its original pre-digital purpose of copying slides to enable you to crop out unwanted objects or to recompose a slide. It is important to note that the original slide copies were designed for film cameras so they are only suitable for full frame DSLR cameras. If you use a slide copier on a crop sensor that it is not designed for then the crop factor will mean that you lose part of the slide image.

I've just checked Ebay and there are still bargains to be had - this Ohnar Slide duplicator to copy slides onto your digital SLR camera sold for £1.24 plus £4.50 P&P - an absolute bargain to get high resolution, very fast copies of your slides into a digital photo format and much quicker and better value than a dedicated slide scanner.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OHNAR-ZOOM-SLIDE-DUPLICATOR-/170698333419?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27be69dceb#ht_500wt_1413

Using a Canon 600d in a photography studio for a Model Shoot

Is it possible to use a Canon 600D in a photography studio? The answer is a definite yes. There are a few ways to fire the studio flash lights, either with an infra red trigger that sits on the hot shoe, a radio trigger again via the hotshoe of the Canon 600D or using a cable. The Canon 600D does not have a PC socket so you would need an adapter to fit on the hot shoe to convert it to a PC socket. These adapters are readily available for a few pounds at photo shops or online.

These photos were taken on a Canon 600D in our photography studio as a trial of different lenses. You can use any EF or EF-S lenses on the Canon 600D in a photography studio but the distance between subject and camera may be an issue with longer lenses due to the 1.6x crop factor on the Canon 600D.

Taken using a Canon 600D in a photography studio

Model photo using a Canon 600D in a photography studio

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20, 620 Film Camera

My first camera was an old Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 Camera that I was given from a jumble sale. It took 620 film and produced square photos, unusual for a 10 year old compared to friends with their 110 cameras. I guess it was released in the 1950s due to the style of images on the box. The big difference was the quality of the photos though, the 110 photo were generally very poor as the negatives were so small but the photos from the Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 were pretty good due in part to the very large negatives. I searched high and low for a flash gun for the camera but without success. Eventually the camera got sold and I moved on to a Lubitel and Zenit TTL cameras.

A few years ago when I was in the States I spotted a Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 for sale on Ebay. I managed to aquire it for the princely sum of $5 and this one came fully boxed and with the flash gun.

The Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 is a twin lens reflex camera so unlike the current SLR cameras there is a separate lens for the viewfinder. The viewfinder is also on the top of the camera and you look down into it to compose the shot.

Photos of the Kodak Brownie Reflex 20

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 Outfit in box

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 camera

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 viewfinder

You can download the manual for the Kodak Brownie Reflex 20 as well as many other Kodak cameras on this website
http://www.brownie-camera.com/manuals.shtml

Stage Theatre Society present their production of Les Miserables

Shot on the Canon 5D Mark 2, this video of I Dreamed A Dream performed by Gemma Scoles is from the forthcoming STS production of Les Miserables.

Stage Theatre Society present their production of Les Miserables at Rainham School for Girls

26th - 29th October at 7.30pm (Sat Mat at 2.30pm)

Tickets are £10, and £8.50 for concessions.  Ring 07791 359939 to book your tickets.

Les Miserables by Stage Theatre Society - I Dreamed A Dream performed by Gemma Scoles

First Video shot on Canon 5DII - Motorway Fire

M2 Motorway Lorry Fire Video shot on Canon 5D2

My first video shot on the Canon 5D Mark2 of a lorry fire on the M2 motorway has now had over 150,000 hits on YouTube. I've been amazed at the quality that the 5D2 can shoot and even on YouTube the exceptional resolution can still be see. You can view the video here

Video of M2 Motorway fire - Car transporter lorry fire with Kent Fire & rescue

Update: 22 October 2011, the video has now had 219,000 hits on YouTube, an incredible 70,000 more views in just 2 months!

Canon develop 120Mp Megapixel Sensor

Canon has announced it has successfully developed an APS-H-size CMOS sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280x9184 pixels) the world’s highest level of resolution for its size.  
 
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/news/120_megapixel_apsh_format_cmos_sensor.do

When the 18Mp sensor of the 600D produces files that are 20+ Mb in size and the 21Mp sensor of the Canon 5D Mark 2 produces files of nearly 30Mb just imagine the storage and processing power that your computer will need to edit the files from a 120 megapixel sensor.

I guess it won't be coming soon but shows what can be done. When the first Canon D30 DSLR was released with 3Mp sensor and the top of the range now has 21Mp (7x the size)around 10 years later, it is entirely possible that we will see 120Mp sensors in the not too distant future as it is "only" 6x the current sensor resolution.

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 USM Lens Review & Info

I've written in this blog previously about the Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 and what a great lens it is for the money.

There are a number of different versions of the Canon 35-80mm lens that have different characteristics and value. The main variants are the mark I, mark II and mark III versions of the lens but in addition there is also a very rare and far more useful USM version of the Canon 35-80mm that uses the Canon Ultra Sonic Motor for focus rather than the standard micro motors, making it much smoother and quieter to focus.

Overall although this is a very cheapie lens, it is excellent value and as you can read in the review of it on this blog at 9x6" print size it is impossible to see any difference in quality between this and far more expensive lenses.

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 USM - verdict: an absolute bargain!

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 USM lens

Canon 35-80mm USM Lens Review

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6

Canon 35-80mm f4 - f5.6 lens

 

Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens - Which Version? Mark 1, Mark 2 or Mark 3?

There are now three versions of the Canon 100mm f2.8 EF macro lens, the mark 1, 2 and 3. All have different characteristics and unless you know which version you are buying you may not get what you were looking for.

The Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens mark 1 was released along with some of the very early EF film cameras. It has a 52mm filter thread and the lens extends as it focuses which can cause issues when shooting very close up. This lens is not USM which is one of the differences between it and the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens mark 2. If you see a Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens advertised that does not have the distinctive gold USM banding around the lens barrel then it is the mark 1 version.

Photo of Canon 100mm f2.8 macro MARK 1 (Note no USM logo)

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens mark 2 was released in the mid 1990s to replace the mark 1 version. Unlike the mark 1 it features a USM motor and internal focus so the lens length does not vary as you focus.


Canon EF 100mm f2.8 L IS macro lens mark 3was released in 2009 and is the first Canon lens to feature their new IS Image Stabilisation mechanism. This is an L series lens unlike the first two versions and with a price tag to match.

Either the mark 2 or the mark 3 versions of the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens are ones I would recommend. The mark one version has too many drawbacks and is too close in price to the mark 2 to make it worthwhile in my view.

Land Rover Range Rover Spy Shots - What are the disguised test vehicles?

As you may have read in my previous blog post I spotted a disguised Range Rover being tested near Warwick, West Midlands a couple of days ago.

Having loaded the details to my blog I thought I would check the number plate details using the MyCarCheck app for my iPhone. There were 4 different number plates that have been seen on disguised spy shots of the Range Rover 2012 model and surprisingly they all generated information using this app.

All vehicles are registered as Land Rovers which confirms the Range Rover identification. The variants are both petrol and diesel and despite the zebra patterns are registered as both black and brown models. The engines are 3000cc diesel (heavy oil) and 5000cc petrol. The one piece of information that is missing is the model name - LandRover are clearly trying to keep this bit secret still.

Canon 5D Mark III Rumours - Announcement Sept 2011?

There seem to be some fairly strong rumours circulating that Canon will be announcing a new camera in Sept 2011 which could well be the long awaited Canon 5D Mark III. It is now 3 years since the Canon 5DII was launched and 6 years since the original Canon 5D so on the same 3 year cycle a new Canon 5D3 is due now.

I've no inside knowledge from Canon but based on the Canon 600D that I am currently testing I would fully expect the following features to all be part of the Canon 5D Mark 3 when it is announced.

• Tilt/rotate LCD screen
• Flash controller built in as per the Canon 600D
• Video zoom up to 10x
• Video modes to include 50fps/60fps at full HD
• Additional JPG modes for smaller size files
• Convert RAW to JPG in camera applying various settings
• ISO up to 102400

Resolution of the Canon 5D III is likely to be an increase given that the Canon 600D is 18Mp and the current Canon 5D2 is 21Mp but I guess that the ISO performance is more important to most photographers than increasing the resolution above the current camera. Personally I still use my original Canon 5D in preference to the Canon 5D2 for some shoots as I just don't need the higher resolution and the subsequent slower response to opening the CR2 files on my PC.

As the Canon 5D was the first affordable full frame DSLR and the Canon 5D Mark II was the first DSLR to feature full 1080p HD video there is also likely to be an additional feature in the Canon 5D Mark III specification or spec sheet that is completely unexpected.

What Feature is Missing on the Canon 600D? How to convert a Canon 600D CR2 file into JPG on Netbooks

I've now had my Canon 600D for almost a month. In virtually every respect it has an unbeatable spec and pretty much every feature that you would want in a DSLR. Excellent resolution, HD 1080p video, wireless flash control, rotating LCD screen and so the list goes on. However I've found one missing feature that Canon have omitted from the Canon 600D that is a real pain but hopefully something that they could easily add with a firmware upgrade.

Firstly some background. Yesterday I was away from home on holiday when I spotted a new model disguised Land Rover Range Rover being tested. I managed to grab a few shots of it before the driver sped off after being spotted.

Having grabbed the shots I realised that they had been taken in CR2 raw format. I only had my netbook with me and although DPP was loaded it does not run on the native resolution of the netbook as I have used an external monitor in the past. Zoombrowser was loaded on the netbook so I thought I would give that a try. Wrong! Zoombrowser was not the latest version so did not support CR2 files from the Canon 600D. Easy - use my 3G connection to download the latest version for the 600D from the Canon website.

Wrong again! Canon in their wisdom have removed the facility to process CR2 raw files from within the latest versions of Zoombrowser so the only supported software from Canon for Canon 600D files is Digital Photo Professional (DPP) which will not run on the screen of a netbook.

At this point I was beginning to dispair - I needed to get these images onto my blog to make them public but until I could convert the Range Rover photos to JPG this was not possible.

One option was to use the Canon 600D itself. The camera is able to process CR2 files and allow you to add Creative Filters to them and then save the file again as a JPG. Perfect I thought. And it would have been if the photo was one that I wanted in grainy black and white, distorted as a fish eye or to look like a toy camera photo. Sadly none of these were suitable for a photo that needed to be in true colours and without any distortion.

The only option that Canon do not include on the Canon 600D is the ability to save a CR2 raw file as a plain, standard JPG with no effects applied, just the standard Picture Style. So the question to Canon is why? It would seem like an obvious option when you can have every weird and wonderful effect applied to the Canon 600D raw images but cannot create a standard JPG.

Please Canon, can you add this to the next firmware upgrade for the Canon 600D? If all the creative filters are possible adding a standard JPG must also be achievable.

In the end I managed to download the wonderful FastStone Image viewer. It is a very small download and an amazingly full featured piece of software that finally enabled me to convert the Canon 600D CR2 raw file into a JPG to allow me to crop it in the ancient Photoshop CS2 version that runs on my netbook. After a long and frustrating evening I had finally managed to get the photo loaded to my blog!

Range Rover 2012/2013 spy shots - Disguised Land Rover spotted out testing near Warwick

A disguised range rover believed to be a brand new 2012/2013 model has been spotted out testing near Warwick. The car was parked in a layby obscured from view of the road by trees when it was spotted. I managed to grab my new Canon 600d to get some shots. Unfortunately once the driver realized he was being photographed he drove off at high speed. I did get a number of spy shots of the 2012/2013 Range Rover with it's zebra disguise before he got too far away. It shows the massive resolution of the Canon 600d that even with the small zoom range of the 17-40 lens I had attached the photos could be successfully cropped to show the land rover range rover full screen on a monitor.

Spy shot of disguised Range Rover 2012 model being tested

Spy shot of Range Rover 2012 model being tested

It appears that there are at least 6 versions of the new 2013 Range Rover that are being road tested as the number plates on other ones spotted over the last few months are not the same as this vehicle.

Range Rover VX11HND as above, spotted near Warwick
Range Rover VU11DXP Spotted in Spain
Range Rover  VU11DXB Spotted near Birmingham
Range Rover VU11DVM Spotted in Birmingham
Range Rover VX11HSK Spotted in Nurburgring
Range Rover VX10JCO - first "mule" spotted in 2010

The Wanted - Glad You Came Live Performance at Leeds Castle July 2011

The Wanted performed Glad You Came at their live performance at Leeds Castle July 2011 celebrating its second week at the number 1 spot in the UK charts.

The Wanted - Glad You Came Live Performance

The Wanted performing Glad You Came live

Choose Your Wedding Photographer Carefully - Simple Checks to avoid wedding photography disasters

A couple of friends have recently had some bad experiences with their wedding photographers, unfortunately they only asked for advice after the event rather than before making their choice and parting with money.

There are a few simple checks you can perform before you book your wedding photographer to try to avoid the pitfalls of wedding photography disasters. Generally with wedding photography all money is paid up front before the day so it isnt possible to withold payment in the event of poor service.

One couple were very disappointed by the results from their wedding photographer. He had charged a premium price of £1500 for a basic service but even so the couple were disappointed by the results for someone supposed to be a professional and claiming membership of the SWPP and BPA professional photography bodies. When I was told the name I immediately popped it into Google to run some checks. What I found both shocked and amazed me.

Firstly the photographer's website was no longer operational, a single address on the page surrounded by Google adwords. More suprisingly the photographer had been convicted of a criminal offence a couple of years previously. Finally despite claiming professional membership it appears that this had lapsed and he was no longer a member of SWPP.

All of this information would have been available before the booking was placed. The conviction was at least 12 months before the booking was placed and was on the website of a national tabloid.

I would urge anyone thinking of booking someone for wedding photography or indeed any other service to use Google to perform some basic checks. Sometimes this isn't possible when a name is very common but often a search will throw up some very useful information that could confirm your decision one way or another and possibly save you the heartache of a wedding photographer disaster.

How do I fix the black screen on Windows Movie maker?

I've recently found a problem with Windows Movie Maker having a black screen in the video that is rendered after publishing. The video appears fine in preview but after publishing the final video produced plays to start with but at a certain point during the video the picture goes black although the sound continues as normal.

One suggestion I found was that audio clips that were muted could cause this behaviour so I set those sound clips to not be muted and just set the volume to be 0. This improved the output slightly in that the black screen at a later point in the video but it still appeared and turned the screen black.

One suggestion was that the Windows Movie Maker project included too many clips and transitions and that to fix the black screen error you could split the project into two parts and once those videos were created then combine them again. Having tried this it works perfectly and although annoying to do, it does enable you to use all the transitions and audio that you included in the project.

I did also investigate whether Windows Movie Maker Live 2011 would fix the problem but it doesnt appear to allow multiple sound tracks to overlay as the Vista version does.

How to upload Video to YouTube from the Canon 600D

The Canon 600D produces files in the MOV format. If you have taken advantage of the new video clip features on the Canon 600D and produced a video in camera that is ready to load to YouTube then you may find that the MOV format is not suitable for loading or is too big to load.

Canon now supply a utility with the Canon 600D camera called the Canon Movie Uploaded to YouTube - snappy name eh! But it does what it says on the tin.

Choose your MOV file, enter your YouTube account and password and the file will get uploaded.

Simple and an example of another Canon tool that works perfectly on the Canon 600D to simplify and speed up the process of editing video and photos.

When should I start to charge for photos? How do I know if I'm ready to charge for shoots?

I've recently been asked by new photographers when they should start to charge for photos and how do I know if I'm ready to start charging for shoots?

It is a very difficult question to answer but there are a few guidelines to bear in mind.

1) As soon as you accept money for doing a shoot you are now working as a business. As such you need to make sure you have the right equipment and insurance. Being paid to do a shoot but your camera breaking half way through would be a disaster. Working on a professional basis means you need appropriate liability insurance cover. If someone trips over your gear or worse still you injure somebody (the example I've heard was a photographer knocking over an old lady when he stepped backwards) then you could be sued. Without suitable insurance you could be personally liable.

2) You need to know how your camera inside and out. It is no good getting to a shoot and finding a setting or error that you are unable to resolve. If a dial changes then you need to know how to immediately reset it back to normal. You need to know how to use light, when & how to use flash, how to creatively use depth of field and shutter speed.

The first rule to me would be item 2 - unless you know how to use your camera then you should not even consider charging money for a shoot whether that is a wedding or a family portrait. By all means sell prints after the event but accepting money to provide a service is setting a contract in place to deliver that service that you are then responsible for delivering!

Why buy a Canon 7D DSLR Camera not the Canon 600D? Compare 7D to 600D

Having studied the specs of the Canon 600D and finally had a chance to use the camera over the last 24 hours I have to say that it is probably the best value for money camera vs specification that Canon currently have in their lineup.

So far I can only see one reason why you would want the Canon 7D instead of the Canon 600D and that is the faster frame rate. Unless you are shooting sports or are particularly clumsy and drop cameras I can see no benefit in the Canon 7D compared to the 600D.

In fact the Canon 600D has a lot of features that would be very useful on the Canon 5D MarkII, the rotating screen, video crop mode, flash control in camera and additional "small JPG" S1/S2/S3 options will undoubtedly be in the Canon 5D3 spec sheet.

Why buy the Canon 60D instead of the Canon 600D? Is the Canon 600D Better?

Having studied the specs of the Canon 600D and finally had a chance to use the camera over the last 24 hours I have to say that it is probably the best value for money camera vs specification that Canon currently have in their lineup.

So far I can only see one reason why you would want the Canon 60D instead of the Canon 600D and that is the faster frame rate. Unless you are shooting sports or are particularly clumsy and drop cameras I can see no benefit in the Canon 60D compared to the 600D.

In fact there is one feature that the Canon 600D offers that the Canon 60D doesn't have and that is the wireless flash control. The Canon 600D can wirelessly control EX flash guns such as the 430EX and 580EX which the Canon 60D cannot according to its spec sheet.

For the price I think the Canon 600D is an unbeatable package and by far the best value for money camera that Canon have at the moment.

The Canon 600D also has a lot of features that would be very useful on the Canon 5D Mark II and are likely to appear on the Canon 5D Mark 3, the rotating screen, video crop mode, flash control in camera and additional "small JPG" S1/S2/S3 options will undoubtedly be in the Canon 5D3 spec sheet.

Canon 600D Review - Whats in the Box? Canon New Tutorial Guides

Unlike previous Canon DSLR cameras the Canon 600D includes a few booklets on photography and how to get the best out of your camera. This is a great idea, good publicity for Canon and a way to help new photographers learn more about their camera than the manual can show.

The booklets are:

1) Using Image Stabilised Lenses for Better Results

2) Do More With Macro

3) Flash Classroom

The flash manual is a particularly good idea as the Canon 600D includes control for off camera flashes - a first for this range of camera which started with the Canon 300D back in 2003.

Military Odyssey 2011 - Detling Kent

Military Odyssey 2011 - Detling Kent

Military Odyssey 2011 takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend at the Detling Showground near Maidstone Kent.

2011

Saturday 27th August

Sunday 28th August

Monday 29th August

Canon 550D compared to Canon 600D - Review of which camera is better?

I've just taken the plunge and sold my Canon 550D that I had as backup for shooting wedding video.

I decided to go for a Canon 600D instead, I think the following features over the Canon 550D are for me well worth the upgrade. Overall the deal was cash neutral as the price for the Canon 550D covered the cost of the Canon 600D.

1) Rotating LCD screen - definitely a real bonus for shooting video and Live view.
2) Video crop mode - far more flexible feature on Canon 600D compared to the Canon 550D
3) Wireless flash control built in - will be very useful and save needing to use the Canon ST-E2

Other features that are available on the Canon 60D such as faster frame rate, higher Raw buffer are not things that I would need. The additional focus points that the Canon 60D offers compared to the Canon 600D/Canon 550D are of no use to me as I primarily only use the central focus point anyway.

Whats in the Canon 600D box - coming soon!

The Wanted Live at Leeds Castle - Glad You Came & Lose My Mind

The Wanted boys celebrate their second week at No 1 with a fantastic set at Leeds Castle. Performing Glad You Came and Lose my Mind 
Watch the video here

The Wanted - video of performance at Leeds Castle Kent

Alexandra Burke performing Hallelujah Live at Leeds Castle Kent, July 2011

Alexandra Burke performing Hallelujah Live at Leeds Castle Kent (Shot on Canon 550D)

This video of Alexandra Burke performing Hallelujah Live at Leeds Castle Kent was shot on Canon 550D using the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS lens - quite a heavy combination to hold in the air hence the movement during the song.

The video was shot on Canon 550D as MOV format, converted to AVI using Cineform and then edited with Windows MovieMaker and published as 720p WMV file for upload to YouTube.

Canon 5D Mark II - Canon Lens Error 01 - Unable to Communicate with Lens

If you have suffered from Error 01 on your Canon lens, shown as a message on your camera as Unable to Communicate with Lens or similar then you may like to see what causes the error. This error is particular prone to occuring on the Canon 24-105 f4 EF lens and also on the Canon 17-85 EF-S lens.

These shots are of the internal iris mechanism that had failed on my Canon 24-105 f4 lens.

 

The point of failure is the cord that attaches the iris mechanism to the lens body. With the constant motion of the lens barrel for zooming and focus it can fracture or fray and the communication error Canon Error 01 is generated.

Canon Camera error 01 problem with 24-105 f4 lens

It doesn't even need a complete break in the cord to generate error 01 in your Canon lens, sometimes it can occur at certain points in the zoom range when the cord is either stretched or compressed more which causes the fracture to widen and break the communication link.

Photos of 24/105 lens with Canon error 01

Canon 24-105 lens error 01 Canon 5D2