Spartan Photo Center

The New Canon 320EX The past few days I have been able to sit down and play with the new Canon 320EX flash. With this flash it seems that Canon went back to the drawing board to create just a basic flash with a few extra perks. With its manually adjustable flash head for 24mm or 50mm lens coverage (equivalent to 15mm or 32mm lenses on APS-C cameras) it covers a ton of range for the first time DSLR buyers who don’t want to drop $500 for their first flash. One of my favorite things about this flash would have to be the remote control transmission which is a new feature where you can fire the camera with the Speedlite 320EX. When held off-camera, press the flash’s remote release button, and fire the compatible EOS camera*. Another totally new innovation: a large LED illuminator for video lighting of nearby subjects, or for use as a viewing/focusing assist during still shooting which would come in handy for any low-light situation.

* Compatible EOS bodies for Remote Control Transmission: EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, EOS Rebel T3i, T2i, T1i, XSi, XTi, XT, and original EOS Digital Rebel

I am a Nikon shooter, and I absolutely LOVE the Canon 60D. There. I said it.

With its new in-camera processing, vari-angle LCD screen, Full HD 1920×1080 video at 30, 25 or 24 fps, you can’t go wrong. And don’t forget its electronic level, which is really helpful when shooting landscapes and large groups.

Using in-camera processing, you can edit the exposure, saturation, contrast, and more on your images without even taking the card out of the camera! This works for both jpeg and RAW. Furthermore, using its star-rating system, you can rate your images so when you import them into your photo-editing software, such as Lightroom, you can already have your favorites sorted out.

Now, you can’t talk about the 60D without talking about its video capabilities. It is the first in its class to have video capture. It can shoot up to 60 fps. If you’re shooting in Full HD, it will shoot 30 fps. 

It does NOT have autofocus when shooting video. However, if it did have autofocus for video, I’m not convinced it’d make for better video. When the camera is switched to LiveView (it has to be on LiveView in order to shoot video), the autofocus is sluggish. When you manually focus, you can be faster and more precise. Furthermore, at this point in time, the focus motors in these cameras are loud enough for the mic to pick up. So manual focus is quieter, faster, and more precise than autofocus would be.

The autofocus for still photography on this camera, however, is better than the Rebel T3i’s. This is due to its 9-point crosstype autofocus system. The crosstype points detect horizontal and vertical lines, allowing for better, more precise focus.

Another new, useful feature on the 60D is the manual audio control. This gives you better control over the audio than the 7D, for instance, which only has automatic audio capture. The 60D also has wind filters which useful for shooting outside.

A more fun feature on the camera is the use of “creative filters.” My favorite is the “miniature effect” which is fun to use when shooting objects or buildings from far up. It gives the effect of a tilt shift lens. Some of the other filters are grainy b&w, toy camera, and soft focus. (Below are some

This is an example of the miniature effect. Better when used on objects or buildings from high up. (This is straight from the camera, no post-processing)

One of the toy camera filters. (again, straight out of camera, no post-processing)

The body of the camera is a little different than its predecessors. To me, it’s easier to use. The placement of the buttons on the Canon cameras have never made much sense to me. The 60D has been completely rearranged to where you can use your right hand to press the majority of the buttons. Also, the back dial and the D-pad are now integrated, which again, makes a lot more sense than having two controllers in different places. The body of the camera is a little lighter than the rest in its series due to its polycarbonate shell (it does have an aluminum frame, however).

One of my favorite updates on the body of the camera (as can be seen in the below picture) is the four buttons along the top of the LCD screen. They match up to  corresponding settings. (The ISO button is directly above the ISO setting on the top panel screen).

Another cool feature is its aspect ratio simulation. Let’s say you’re shooting an image that you know will be used for a 5×5 print. When in live view, you can set your aspect ratio for whatever size you need, in this case we would use a 1:1 aspect ratio. Red crop lines will appear on the live view screen. You can also set the aspect ratio to 16:9 and 4:3; the camera will automatically shoot with a 3:2 aspect ratio. When shooting in jpeg, your images will be saved with the crop. When shooting in RAW, the files will be saved as 3:2 but will be tagged with crop lines and can be viewed with Canon’s digital photo professional software. This is really a nice feature, especially when shooting with a particular print size in mind.

So, to answer my first question: What’s not to love? Well, not much. This camera is super fast, super smart, and really fun to use. I do have one complaint, however. Canon has removed the option to make lens AF microadjustments to compensate for lenses that aren’t tuned just right. This doesn’t seem to turn too many people away from the 60D, however. I mean, really, how many photographers do you know that sync their lenses? I think this is also Canon’s way of making the camera more user-friendly for entry-level users.  Canon has made the 60D more appealing for professionals as well since they’ve added the capability of the pop-up to control external flashes wirelessly. One other complaint is its polycarbonate shell. When I get this level of camera, or anything beyond entry-level really, I’d like a heavy-duty body. They’ve made the 60D fairly light. Even though it still has the aluminum frame, it still feels light, plastic, and almost like a toy. Other than those two complaints, I really REALLY love this camera. Too bad all my lenses are Nikkor…

-Meredith-

Technology advances everyday and it has become a way of life it seems. You buy a computer only to find out when you get home that you are already outdated. Cellphones, TV’s and of course, our favorite little gadgets: digital cameras, are all victims. Cameras are updated about every 12-18 months. They perform better in low light, the megapixels keep climbing to a point that it is pointless, they add 72 focus points on top of the 52 that was on the previous model… I get it. Upgrade. Upgrade. Upgrade. But it has reached a point where I think it is too much of an upgrade. Let me explain.

There is a little known company (right now) called Lytro based out of Mountain View, California and yes, this is where a once little known company and now ‘king of the internet’ called Google is from so this little town is packed full of innovative thinkers, designers and inventors. Lytro has an idea that will change photography and it is both very exciting and very scary. They are developing a camera that will allow you to change your point of focus after you have taken the photo. Yes, you read that correctly, I said AFTER.

Why is this so exciting? Well, think about this scenario. You and your family take a road trip to the Grand Canyon. When you finally get there and pick your jaws up off the floor from awe of how beautiful the canyon is, you ask another tourist to take a photo of you and your family with the canyon behind you. That kind tourist snaps the photo for you and hands you back the camera, then something amazing happens. A massive eagle flies by and you run off to take some photos of the eagle and completely forget to glance at the photo of you and your family with the canyon. Days pass, vacation is over, and you are now back home uploading all of your images to view them. You scroll through and then devastation ensues. That one photo of you and your family with the canyon is out of focus. You scream, break stuff and yell four letter words.

That scenario doesn’t sound too pleasing does it? Well, if that family photo was taken with a Lytro camera then you wouldn’t have a broken computer screen and apologizing to your children for those four letter words that you belted out.  You would be able to simply click on you and your family in the photo and magically you all come into focus. Ta-Da! Awesome, right? Well of course but this is where it gets scary.

Photography has now become one step LESS of an art form in my eyes. What will define a professional photographer from a novice? What will define knowledge of photography over automated photography? Yes, we have auto white balance, auto ISO and auto focus which help a lot of people but now with the control of your depth of field AFTER you make the mistake; that is too much ‘mistake correction’ in my eyes. I say learn your camera and lenses, learn how photography works and practice it. Do not relay on machines to correct your mistakes because you will never learn. That is what the scary part about the Lytro camera is. If this becomes mainstream, all the ‘old school’ photographers will be the only ones left in the world that know what depth of field is and how to control it.

So how does it work? Without getting too technical, basically this camera can capture a ‘light field’ which is the amount of light traveling in every possible direction. Traditional cameras can not capture all that light. The Lytro, however, can and thus, allows you to control your depth of field in post processing because all the light and information was captured from the beginning. Pretty cool, huh?
Do not get me wrong though, if I ever get my hands on the Lytro camera I will try it out and see what it can do. But when I am done, I am going back to my Nikon.  As a good analogy: You are not a chef if you cook everything in the microwave and the same goes to photography, you are not a photographer if you make zero decisions in your shot. Learn your camera people.

-Brandon