Category: Cameras & Equipment

10 Super Cool Gadgets and Gizmos for Geek Photographers

By Davlin Ann
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Hi there! In this post you can find 10 coolest and creative photography-related gadgets and gizmos which you probably have never seen and used. Surely it is not an exhaustive list of crazy devices for photographers but from our point of view these ones will be of a great use for professional and amateur photographers.

The technical world develops rapidly and probably some of these photography gadgets are well known for you, our advanced photo fans. But we hope that there are some things which are foreign to your experience and so you’ll try them on the tip from us.

The iPhone Telephoto Lens

gadgets and gizmos for photographers

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What is a Digital Camera? Here’s a Snapshot

By Blogger
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The world of technology is developing quicker than we are. Professors and engineers design and invent gizmos, gadgets and appliances which are ahead of their time, and possibly ours. This means there is no longer any shame in admitting you are not aware of a certain product or device. Electronic manufacturers release new models and versions of products almost every 6 months. Our TV screens becomeg bigger than our walls, our kitchens are dominated by can-opening robots and you can’t spend five minutes with a group of friends or family before someone brandishes a mobile phone and in a flash (literally) you’re Facebook’s next tagged atrocity.

So let’s take a minute to get comfortable with what has become one of life’s most essential, useful and fun technological advances – the digital camera.

Differences Between The Conventional and Digital Cameras

mechanical camera

 

 

 

 

 

So, what is a digital camera? Try thinking of it as your traditional cameras big brother. Your old film camera had a ball with mixing chemicals and flamboyantly conjuring up its artistic delights via many evening sessions spent in dark rooms.

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Is film photography for you?

By John Watson
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Back in the long ago time, there was film. Sheets of chemicals and magic that transformed when they were struck by rays of light. And it was good.

But it was also kind of a pain in the ass because you could only shoot 24 or 36 frames at a time before you had to change the film. And you had to carry around lots of film in bulky little cans. And you couldn’t preview or delete your shots. And sometimes you’d find that you shot an entire roll with the wrong exposure but you didn’t find out until you got the film back from the developer a week later. Good times.

But some say there is also a certain quality to film photography that hasn’t been replicated by digital. A special and ineffable charm, difficult to express but instantly recognizable. And, contrary to what you might expect, there are quite a few new-to-film photographers out there, drawn to film by the novelty or the look or the antiques or the desire to practice arcane arts on the verge of becoming extinct. Film is Not Dead,

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Top cameras and lenses used by the White House photography staff

By John Watson
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I was browsing through The Official White House Photostream on Flickr today. The photographs are excellent. Pete Souza is the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama and Director of the White House photo office.

I noticed that the EXIF data was available for just about every photo and it contained lens information. Naturally, being a programmer/photography geek, I decided to download the EXIF data for all 1,433 photos (as of today) and find out which lenses the White House photography staff likes best. Here are the results:

Cameras

Camera # of photos
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 1074
Canon EOS 1DS Mark III 31
Canon EOS 5D 23
Canon EOS 1DS Mark II 2
Unknown 303

Lenses

Lens # of photos
EF35mm f/1.4L USM 439
EF50mm f/1.2L USM 179
EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM 166
EF135mm f/2L USM 136
EF24mm f/1.4L II USM 69
EF85mm f/1.2L II USM 34
EF70-200mm f/4L USM 16
EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM 27
EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 20
EF28mm f/1.8 USM 10
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM 5
EF135mm f/2L USM +1.4x 3
EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM 3
EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM 3
EF24mm f/1.4L USM 3
EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 2
EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM +1.4x 2
70.0-200.0 mm 2
EF20mm f/2.8 USM 1
EF35mm f/2 1
EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x 1
EF200mm f/1.8L USM 1
Unknown 310

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DIY Photography Projects

By Ray Davis
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Photography can be an expensive hobby but if you’ve got a tiny bit of DIY skill, a few tools, and some free time then there are plenty of DIY photography projects to have a go at. Here are five worth a try:

Camera Chest Strap – designed to allow you to take photos while spinning a child around with two hands, though I imagine you could use to photograph any number of things while using your two hands in other activities. Looks like fun to play with and only requires scissors, some strong material, a needle and thread, and a luggage strap to make.

Remote Shutter Release – mainly for Canon cameras but apparantly also works with some Pentax and Nikon ones too. This requires a cheap handsfree phone headset and a knife and claims to be “so easy a 1st grader could do it”!

Photo  Puzzle Blocks – You know those puzzles for little kids that are made of wooden blocks? Well, here’s how to make one with your own photo (or photos) printed on.

Digital Picture Frame – This won’t be saving you any money (it costs around $100 to make) but it will make you way cooler than your other digital picture frame owning friends!

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GND & ND Filters…What the heck?

By Ray Davis
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So there were a couple of comments on this post (actually all the comments!) related to GND and ND filters so I thought a quick post devoted to explaining the two might be appreciated by some readers. Here goes…

GND, or Graduated neutral density filters (also known as just graduated filters) are different from other filters in many ways, one of which is that they are often rectangular rather than circular but the functional difference is that part of the filter is a darker (neutral) colour that fades into the clear sections. The transition from neutral colour to clear can be either abrupt or gradual but the function is the same, reducing the difference in brightness between the ground and the sky. Therefore they are used mostly for landscape photography. GND filters also have numbers which indicate how many stops of light they reduce the brightness by.

ND or neutral density filters reduce light from all wavelengths passing through the lens across the entire filter (there is no clear part of the filter). They have three uses, firstly to reduce the brightness of light, secondly to allow the use of a larger aperature and finally to allow the use of a slower shutter speed.

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Review: Crumpler 8 Million Dollar Home

By John Watson
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Crumpler 8 million dollar home Crumpler was kind of enough to send me a review copy of their “8 Million Dollar Home” bag. The 8 Million Dollar Home will run you about $170. That’s a bit pricey for my taste but you definitely get a lot of bag for your buck.

It’s a big bag. When Crumpler contacted me I had no idea what to expect. “Sure, send me the bag,” I said, and then forgot all about it. It’s just a bag, right? This isn’t just a bag. It’s like a 3-story Barbie dream house + jacuzzi for camera gear. My first impression when it arrived was that it was enormous. My current bag is a Tamrac Pro 5. The design is about the same, zipper front, velcro + zipper closures, front pocket, lid pocket, movable dividers, etc. But the Crumpler seems about 50% bigger all around. The Crumpler’s extra space is luxurious in comparison.

It’s actually not all that enormous but it’s bigger than I would like. Of course, I don’t even bring my current bag with me anywhere anymore if I can help it. I prefer to travel light. And not just because I’m lazy.

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A Beginners Guide to Photography Accessories

By Ray Davis
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If you’re new to photography or you mostly just point, shoot, and hope for the best then there’s probably a whole bunch of photo equipment whose names you recognize but whose function you’re not really sure of. Well, here at Photodoto we live to help you out so here’s a few of those gadgets explained.

Lens Hoods: I mentioned printable lens hoods recently, which are free, but a sturdy plastic version will set you back anywhere from $10 to $500 depending on the lens you want it to fit. What do they do? Put simply, they eliminate glare and lens flare caused stray light.  Sometimes lens flare can be desirable in a photo but more often than not you want to eliminate it. Lens hoods usually have a completely non-reflective inner surface (for example felt) which absorb that unwanted light and prevents the flares on your photo. They come in petal and round styles with petal styles usually being more effective. Another effect of lens hoods is a deeper saturation and therefore richer colours in photos. Who needs one? Anyone who’s photographing outside, especially in sunny conditions will find a lens hood useful but they are especially useful on telephoto lenses because the smaller field of vision means the hood can be longer without obscuring the viewing angle.

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Lego Camera & Pinhole Cameras Your Kids Can Make at Home

By Ray Davis
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legocamera_1240492cIf your looking for a cool looking camera to get your kids enthusiastic about photography Lego may soon be able to help you. They recently announced that they’ve teamed up with Digital Blue to produce a range of children’s electronics, including a camera. Dad’s might be pleased to hear you don’t actually have to assemble the thing (it looks like traditional Lego blocks but doesn’t come apart and snap together), although personally I think that takes most of the fun out of it!

The Bionicle Camera (pictured right) is due to arrive in Toys R Us stores this autumn, in the meantime if you want a camera your kids can actually build check out these instructions for pinhole cameras made from a matchbox or a juice carton. Or for something truly unique find yourself and old Mac and check out the instructions for the happy little mac pinhole camera! If you make any of these at home let us know how it turns out in the comments.

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Video review: Canon Selphy CP760 Compact Photo Printer

By John Watson
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Girls think it’s cute but don’t count on it getting you any phone numbers on walks in the park. It’s cheap and easy but not a tramp. Give up? I’m talking about the Canon Selphy CP760 compact photo printer, of course.

I purchased the Selphy Sunday evening and through the miracles of the internet and a global transportation infrastructure it arrived on my doorstep Wednesday. And I’m so glad I did. It’s a fun little printer.

Despite it’s tiny size, the CP760 leans more toward the non-portable end of the spectrum than, say, the CP770 which comes in a plastic bucket or the ES30 which has an integrated handle and optional wireless and can run on batteries. No, this guy is intended to sit on a desk or table unobtrusively and quietly until needed. Although, technically, it’s small enough and light enough to move about if necessary and doesn’t require a connection to a computer to operate.

selphy_cp760

Color reproduction is very good at the default settings although reds are a little oversaturated for my taste.

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