Friday, August 31, 2012

Tip: Time Exposures and Night Photography

This 4 minute exposure (with LED light painting on tree and silo) was taken with long exposure NR.


     
In recent months I have been doing a fair bit of night photography, from late evening-twilight city shots in Vancouver, to aurora borealis (northern lights) under really dark skies in the Fraser Canyon, to an attempt at shooting the Perseid meteor shower east of Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley a few weeks back. In all cases, I was shooting on a solid tripod and was doing exposures ranging from 5 seconds to 10 minutes in duration, at a wide range of ISO settings. In this article, I will give you some pointers for successful nighttime shooting of city shots and star trails...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Nikon D800E - In Stock!



Finally! Our backorders are fulfilled, we have happy customers and now have a handful of D800E bodies in stock. In addition, we now have one in our rental dept. too. Come on down if you want to rent or buy one today!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

GoPro GO BEAU!

GoPro Cameras are here!  Capture the last days of summer on your new GoPro camera so you will have some warm memories for those cool autumn nights.

These are the greatest cameras to capture amazing photos that you would never risk using your expensive DSLR for! Sports photographers and videographers have have been using GoPro cameras for years, and now wedding, portrait and commercial  photographers / videographers are realizing that using a GoPro will get them the shot that takes their work to a whole new level.

GoPro cameras are used by more professional athletes, sports filmmakers and core enthusiasts than any other camera in the world. The HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition is the most advanced GoPro camera yet. Wearable and gear mountable, waterproof to 197′ (60m), capable of capturing professional full 170º wide angle 1080p video and 11 megapixel photos at a rate of 10 photos per second, the HD HERO2 is the world’s most versatile camera. Whether your goal is to capture a great day out with friends or you’re gunning for the cover of a magazine, the HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition can help you nail it and look like a HERO too!

Check out all the great shots and videos at: http://gopro.com/


Monday, August 20, 2012

More DSLR Video!

Did you know that when shooting video, more often than not, audio is more important than the video itself?  On this lovely example of one of our rental Canon 5D Mark III ($225/day), we have attached a Sennheiser MKH 416 48 U shotgun microphone, and a Beachtek DXA-SLR PRO professional audio adapter.

The Sennheiser MHK 416 48 U microphone has a supercardioid pattern well suited for studio use and also outdoors. This mic has very low susceptibility to wind and pop noise.
$40/day

The Beachtek DXA-SLR PRO is a two channel, active XLR adapter with built-it preamps for attaching external mics and other audio gear to any DSLR that has a built-in mic input. Very easy to set-up and use, this unit has exceptionally low noise and wide bandwidth preamps for superb audio. $25/day

*** For aesthetic purposes, I have intentionally omitted the cables that run from the mic and audio adapter into the camera.
 

Rent a Camera Stabilizer Today!

We have procured some more DSLR video stuff in our burgeoning video section in the rental department!

First is a Glidecam HD-2000 handheld camera stabilizer which will transform your hard to watch, shaky camera footage into hypnotically smooth, professional footage.
$30/day
Another camera stabilizing tool we recently received is the Steadicam Merlin2. This unit is more compact than the Glidecam but just as stable.
$40/day

*** Please note that there is a significant learning curve in balancing these units properly. If you are a new user, please budget at least 1.5 ~ 2 hours for set-up.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

New ! In Rentals: Canon 1D X

We have just gotten in the amazing new Canon EOS 1D X!

Canon's new flagship of the EOS line, the EOS-1D X is a full-frame 18.1 Megapixel CMOS sensored beast and its all-new Dual DIGIC 5+ Image Processors deliver high quality image capture at up to 12 fps (14 fps in Super High Speed Mode) and a powerful ISO range of 100 - 51200 (up to 204800 in H2 mode).  This new sensor & processor combo provides sharp, low-noise images even in the dimmest low-light conditions. An all-new, 61-Point High-Density Reticular AF and 100,000-pixel RGB Metering Sensor that uses a dedicated DIGIC 4 Image Processor, makes the EOS-1D X reach new levels of focus speed and accuracy delivering advanced tracking even for the most challenging shooting situations. Taken all together, the EOS-1D X's improved HD video capture, numerous connectivity options, combination of processing power and durable construction, including shutter durability tested to 400,000 cycles, make it the ultimate EOS camera.  Try it today!

$300/day


Images taken with Canon EOS 1D X + 500mm f4L IS USM Lens at the Abbotsford International Airshow, August 11, 2012.
Images copyright of Jason Kazuta.

Nikon D800 Bodies... IN STOCK!

Awesome, awesome, awesome! Finally, we are caught up on our Nikon D800 pre-orders. We now have the most pre-ordered camera ever (as far as I can recall) in stock and on the shelf to sell. Come on down and get yours today!

Unfortunately the outlook for the D800E is still a bit bleak. We haven't seen any shipments for many weeks now and are still waiting for some hint from Nikon as to when they might get caught up on those. Apologies to anyone who is still waiting on our D800E pre-order list... hopefully we'll get some more soon.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

New in Rentals!

A unique and indispensable addition to Canon's series of EF lenses, the new EF 40mm f/2.8 STM offers an ultra-slim and lightweight design. Incredibly compact in size, the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM delivers high image quality from the center to the periphery thanks to its advanced lens configuration including an aspherical element, a bright 2.8 aperture, and optimized coatings that minimize ghosting and flare while providing exceptional color balance. The EF 40mm f/2.8 STM's unobtrusive design helps the photographer avoid overwhelming their subjects with a large lens and to remain discreet in sensitive shooting situations with no compromise in performance. Its diminutive design is complemented by features such as a newly developed stepping motor for smooth and quiet continuous AF while capturing video with the Canon EOS Rebel T4i DSLR, a circular aperture (7 blades) for beautiful soft-focus backgrounds, and a short minimum focusing distance of only 0.98 ft./0.30 m.

$25/day