Current Leica Special Editions

Have you seen the current Leica Special Editions yet?

*note that we are currently not carrying these, but they were too awesome not to share. For more info, you can visit the Leica site here.

Gary Fong Light Accessories Part II

The Gary Fong products work better than a naked bounce flash because they extend the bounced area, intensify the light, and even out the reflected light. Using one of these makes your subject pop while eliminating harsh shadows.

More test photo examples below using a person on a white wall (with white ceiling).

natural light

left: direct flash, right: regular bounce flash

Lightsphere II- Clear. L: with out dome, R: with dome

Lightsphere II- Frosted. L: w/o dome, R: w/dome

Shot with The Whale Tail, as is.


For more info. on Gary Fong and the line of products, click here.
For our inventory of used Gary Fong products, click here.

-JAF, photos © Jenn Alexander Fletcher

Gary Fong Light Accessories Part I

The Gary Fong Lightsphere has been a favorite accessory amongst wedding photographers and photojournalists since its inception in 2004. Gary Fong being a wedding photographer himself found an inventive and effective way to deal with the harsh and unflattering shadows created by on camera strobes, both pop-up and hot shoe.

There is now a plethora of Fong products to choose from based on your needs as a photographer, The Whale Tail, Lightsphere I, II (Clear or Frosted) and the Puffer to name a few. I’ve tested several Fong products in the field namely the Lightspheres and The Whale Tail.

The Whale Tail upon inspection looks like a basic light modifier but it is one of the more complex of all Fong products. Its super powers include high modulation, the ability to accept colored gels, compartmental bounce cards and a creative mounting system. The Whale Tail is seemingly the most versatile of the Fong products I’ve tested.

The Lightsphere products have inverted domes that snap into place, which creates the softening effect we photographers crave. The inverted dome can be shot on or off the Sphere. If you use the Sphere with the dome on it intensifies the light a bit more, dome off is going to give you a softer light as more light escapes the dome bouncing off the ceiling.

Product: Lightsphere II- Clear, with snap-on inverted dome

The Fong Spheres were ideally designed for wedding and journalist photographers but they perform pretty well shooting basic table top also. I suggest you tap into your creative powers when using the Gary Fong products, which in my opinion are useful and must have tools in any gadget bag.

Table top example shots:

left: direct flash, right: with Lightsphere II

Left: direct flash, right: w/ Lightsphere II

Tip: When shooting a wedding or event it would be a good idea to observe the ceiling color and distance. Ideally you want a white or close to white ceiling to bounce off of, a dark colored ceiling isn’t going to reflect much light if any. If you have the convenience to take a couple of sample images, do it. Play around with the positioning of your bounce flash to get the desired effect you want.

Above images & text © Michael Reese

*Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow with portrait example shots!

IS and VR Lenses

First things first... what is IS & VR? IS is image stabilization in Canon lenses, and VR is vibration reduction in Nikon lenses. Some other brands also produce similar lenses, such as Sigma with OS, optical stabilizer. These functions help to reduce blur from camera shake. When using this function, you can acheive sharper images when hand holding your camera and shooting at slower speeds. Since it's not always possbile to use a tripod, this function comes in handy in many situations including lower light settings, such as shooting indoors, or when trying to capture something that is moving, such as sports or wildlife.
Why not always leave the IS/VR ON? Because it doesn't always work to your advantage. If you are shooting in one of the conditions mentioned above, keep it on. If your camera is on a tripod (especially with a higher speed or using a remote release), and there isn't any vibration to reduce, the lens will still continue to look for one. In this searching process the motor inside the lens is virbrating or jiggling. Because of this, you may end up with a shaky and unsharp result.

*Note that some of the newer lenses being produced, such as Canons third generation IS lenses do not need to be turned off when tripod mounted. They have made them to be able to detect if it is completely stationary, and the function will turn itself off.
Now, what about when the lens is not in use? There's two sides to the argument, just like most things. Some photographers recommend keeping it on, so that in a split moment you can grab the lens, not have to think about turning it on, and shoot. The other side to that is while it may take a fraction of a second longer to turn it on, and you'll need to remember to turn it on, you are better protecting the mechanics of the lens if the function is turned off when not in use. This is especially pertinent when on the move, becaue when on, the function is most vulnerable. If the lens is in your camera bag and is being jostled around, it is less likely to (simply put) brake, if the function is off.

Because a lens does not have a battery, it relies on the camera bodys battery. Having the IS and VR functions on will use slightly extra batter power. So, another reason to consider paying attention to when the function is on vs. off instead of constantly leaving it on.

-JAF

The Lomo Fisheye

Article posted on Techlicious, on the Lomo Fisheye Camera by yours truly

Read the article HERE

-JAF

Photoshop Turns 20

Adobe Photoshop officially turns 20 this month!

Although Wikipedia says that the very first version came out in 1988, Adobe's official release date was February 1990.

For the release history of the program via Wikipedia, go here.
For the Adobe site, here.
To take a quiz on the history of Photoshop done by NAPP, go here.

G9 Franiec Lens Ring

If you happen to purchase one of the Franiec lens rings for the Canon G9, (shown here- it's all back vs. the Canon's stock ring which has a silver stripe around it), be aware that there's a slight trick to getting them on properly.
The ring must be mounted with the small bayonet flange facing up. Be gentle, and let it click into place. If it's forced on, the only way to remove it is to cut it off. This seems to be a common problem, as we've seen many of these that have been forced on.

Shooting TTV: When Old Meets New

Shooting TTV for the digital age
Images and text by Christina Hodgen

Shooting real TTV: You may be wondering what to do with your old film cameras that may or may not be in working condition. An interesting way to combine old and new technology is to shoot through the viewfinder, or TTV. One of the most common cameras being used for this technique is the Kodak Duaflex, but any camera with a large waist level type viewfinder will do.

The Duaflex has a convex viewfinder which creates a nice edge effectIn addition to the Duaflex, you will need a digital SLR with a macro lens. A lens with an extension tube or a close up filter would also work. In order to keep most of the light out and avoid glare on the viewfinder, you will also need material to build a shade which you will shoot the viewfinder through. I used cardboard and duct tape that I spray painted black. To determine the height of the box, focus the SLR and lens you are using on the viewfinder so that it fills as much of the shot as possible and measure the distance between the SLR camera and the top of the Duaflex (or other viewfinder model).

My finished product looked like this:

The images have a vintage feel with the immediacy that comes with using digital technology. This technique is also nice for creating texture and a different look without using Photoshop.

Shooting "fake" TTV: You can also create this effect in Photoshop if you take one shot TTV on a white background to use as a "filter", or download a pre-made TTV filter.Once you have the TTV image, pick any image you would like to transform. Open both images in Photoshop. Select "all" in your TTV image and copy your selection. Now click on your regular image and paste the TTV image into this image (I resized my image to more closely match the TTV image). You will not be able to see through the pasted TTV shot until you select the layer with the TTV image and switch the drop down menu from normal to multiply. Now you can choose to manipulate the opacity until the desired effect is produced. I also selected my background layer and adjusted the brightness a little higher since the TTV layer darkened the original layer.

Either way you do it, this process produces a fun effect that is rapidly growing in popularity!

All images © Christina Hodgen

Repurposing Old Lens Cases

A simple way to add some vintage style to your life with items you already have laying around, or can find super cheap...

Use an old lens case as a plant or flower vase holder for the office or home

Use them to organize office supplies

Use one to leave a note or treat in for someone (a la message in a bottle or special delivery style)

Use an old filter case to hold your memory cards, or other small items. (Also a good case to put jewelry in when traveling)

The possibilities are endless!

Images © Jenn A. Fletcher

Digital Pinhole

I don't know about you, but I had not tried shooting digital pinhole before. It's not something that really crossed my mind... I either want to shoot digital, or pinhole. Well, I recently decided to try it out.

I used these cats as my test subjects, but not in a laboratory kind of way of course

And a homemade pinhole cap (with filter glued on the front so dust would not get inside the lens mount and reach the sensor)

Shot straight from the camera using pinhole cap

Shot using pinhole cap AND a fisheye adapter screwed into the filter (that's glued on the cap)

I wasn't quite expecting either result. Instead of making the area of view wider with the fisheye adapter, it made it much smaller as if looking through a doors peep-hole.

The softness also threw me for a bit of a loop... aren't pin-hole images supposed to have a huge depth of field where everything is in focus? I did some research and it turns out this is what happens when the element of digital is introduced to pinhole photography, and diffraction is the culprit.

So if you didn't already know this, now you do. For more on the diffraction/pinhole/digital issue, refer here & here.


Images © Jenn A. Fletcher

Newsworthy Links

Some links to interesting things happening in the photo industry:

- Magnum sells entire collection of prints- a pretty big deal

- Photographers- How To Deal With Infringements- a great article full of information from A Photo Editor

- Lady Gaga named Creative Director for specialty line of Polaroid products- slightly old news now, but still... interesting.

- The U.S. National Archives joins the Commons on Flickr- Flickr is growing rapidly

An Inside Peek

Since most of you have never seen inside of KEH, here's a tiny little peek...

Our lobby

A section of our warehouse

KEH Catalog in PDF Format

In an effort to be more green, KEH is now offering its monthly catalog online in PDF format! Customers will be able to view (& print) the catalog, anytime from anywhere that has internet access. Another added benefit is that you will be able to view our catalog and inventory much quicker than if it was sent by snail mail.

If you're an international customer, we've already switched from sending you a paper catalog to a link to the PDF catalog as of this month. For U.S. customers, you're still receiving them by mail, but you now have the option to view it in its entirety online too.

And coming soon, we will also begin maintaining back issues of the catalog in PDF format starting with January 2010 issue.

Check it out here: http://www.keh.com/catalog/KEH_Current.pdf

*We've added a new "tab" at the top of the blog page where the link to the current online catalog will always be available for quick reference.

Digital Troubleshooting Sensors & CCDs

If you're having an issue with your (straight out of the camera) digital images, it may be one of the following things...

Dust on your sensor... If you see little specks on your images, probably in the same areas, it's most likely dust. This is very common, and pretty easy to fix. There's a few options to clean your sensor including: by the cameras "sensor clean" in the menu, by store bought kits, or by a professional repair shop. This will only occur on a digital SLR, happens often, and is mostly preventable. For tips to keep this mess out of your life, refer here & here.
This is an example image from a bad CCD. This can happen in both point & shoot digital cameras and digital SLRs. This is especially a common issue in many of the older p&s. This is an extreme case of bad CCD, but they sometimes go out gradually and you may have your actual taken image with some minor lines or discoloration through it. This is not an easy problem to fix, and is not an issue for home repair. If you have this problem, you will need to send that camera out to a repair shop, or in some cases may be under warranty through the distributor.

-JAF

Post Preview 2

A few things you can expect to see here in the next few weeks:
- Guest write-up on Gary Fong flash products
- Digital pin-hole test
- Tips for IS & VR lenses
- A Peek inside KEH
- Troubleshooting- sensors & CCDs
- Noticing current photo trends
- Guest write-up on shooting TTV
- And more!


*We're also wondering how you're liking the site so far? Are you finding the information useful and/or interesting? Do you have any suggestions? Let us know, we would love your input!

Camera Resource Books

We are constantly researching camera equipment that comes into KEH, and refer to certain sources on a regular basis. If you're interested in learning more about cameras, specifically pre-digital ones, we recommend these books:
McKeown's is a massive price guide to antique and classic cameras. It covers over 40,000 cameras with over 10,000 photos. It has an easy to follow layout and covers the make & model of a camera, the approximate years of production, a bit of important history on the item, and a price range for what the item is worth, depending on its condition.
Hansen's Complete Illustrated Guide To Cameras is fully illustrated & indexed and includes detailed descriptions with listings of different versions and variations. Both volumes also include yearly production charts of 35mm cameras from 1936-2002. These books are ideal for camera stores, schools, collectors, & the photo enthusiast.

To see our inventory of reference books and magazines, go HERE.

Navigating Our Blog

We are now closing our third week here on the new KEH blog and I wanted to take a few minutes to go over some page information. If you're just joining us, welcome! We really hope you enjoy this new site and look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to leave comments on individual posts, or if you have questions or concerns related to this page, you can email jenn[at]keh[dot]com. Please do not email this address for customer service issues unrelated to the blog. (Any KEH.com or company related problems, please email to customerservice[at]keh[dot]com)

If you're new to the blogging system, here's how the information is displayed- Posts run in chronological order, the newest posts being at the top of the page. You can scroll down to the bottom and by clicking on "older posts" will be taken to the previous page. To find a specific type of post, over on the right side bar are two sections for quick searches- "Topic Quick Links" and "Blog Archive". We categorize each post by topic and under the "Topic Quick Links" you can click on a topic to be shown all of our posts under that category. All posts are also archived by year and month with the title of each post shown.

We thank you for taking the time to visit our new blog page and hope that you will check back often. If you like what you see, help us to spread the word of kehblog.com!

Keeping Things Clean

An important part of camera & lens maintenance is to keep them clean. Last week I went over the importance of keeping your digital SLR sensors dust free, and keeping your lenses fungus free. Today I'm going to offer a few tips for easy, at home cleaning.

Below are a few cleaning tool options including a fabric lens cloth, a disposable lens cloth, & a lens brush. The last two items you probably already have in your home- an eraser and a Q-tip.

Sometimes the contacts on your camera and/or lens get dirty... you may not see anything, but it can cause connectivity problems so that your camera may not recognize your lens. An easy way to clear this up is to rub the contacts with an eraser. You can also do this on battery contacts, charger contacts, or anywhere else that you see those little metal spots. If you are rubbing contacts inside the lens mount of the camera, be very careful not to get any eraser crumbs inside the camera, they could get under the mirror and get stuck on your sensor which will cause spots on your images. You can also rub the contacts with a Q-tip that has some Windex on it.

For cameras or grips that use AA or AAA batteries, and has been stored for a length of time, it may have corroded batteries. In this case, an eraser or Windex may not do the trick. You can use regular white vinegar on a q-tip and rub it on the corroded areas.
To clean your lens glass, a lens cloth works fine for minor marks like a finger smudge. For more intense jobs, first blow the glass element off (with canned air or a bulb blower) so that there is no harsh particles like sand or dust on it- it could scratch the glass during the next step if it's not first removed. Then, take a Q-tip with some windex on the tip and gently wipe the glass in a circular motion, and then dry it with the other dry end of the Q-tip.

Windex may also be used on the camera body & the outside of the lens itself if there are scuffs or dirt, but prevention is also key!

Smoking near your equipment and storing it in smoky places is also a big no-no. The smoke gets in to all the little nooks and crannies and can not be removed. In addition to a smell, and possible internal damage, smoke leaves a brown coating on equipment that is very hard to get off.

Protecting your equipment will help in keeping it working better and for longer, as well as to retain it's value come trade-in time!

*If you have a dirty sensor, you can take either of these approaches: 1) send it to our repair center for a professional clean, or 2) purchase an at-home sensor cleaning kit available HERE. Our repair center also offers preventive maintenance on all 35mm, digital SLR cameras, & camcorders. The preventive maintenance includes: cleaning inside & outside of the body, replacing light seals, checking all functions (including meter, lens, circuitry, etc.) make any minor calibrations, & we will also clean the sensor on digital cameras.

-JAF

KEH.com Update

Dear KEH.com customers,
Just an update on the current status of our ongoing website project. As many of you know, we rolled out a new website in November of 2009. We have had our fair share of challenges along the way and feel that despite the initial glitches, this new site will really "rock and roll" once we've got the bugs worked out. As I've said in a recent email sent to our customers, it's important for KEH to be upfront and honest about all aspects of our business, even when we've made a mistake or the news is sometimes not what you may want to hear. One of the primary issues with our website has been frequent server timeouts. A big reason for this has been an outdated framework, or skeleton. We are currently finalizing the complete re-write of the framework and expect to see a big difference. We've also gotten some feedback regarding some funky results when using the search functions and we are currently discussing a re-design of that feature also. In conclusion, we appreciate your patience and additional time you've sometimes needed to take to place an order with us or retrieve a quote from our search engine. Our incredible sales staff has truly "risen to the occasion" during this time and many of you that would have normally ordered online, have experienced the fantastic service and wealth of knowledge that the KEH sales crew provides. Once again, we appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in the future.

Regards,
Todd Murphy

General Manager
KEH.com

Vintage Finds For You or Your Sweetie

In honor of the upcoming holiday of love, we've put together a little gift guide with some sweet vintage finds for the photo enthusiast, collector, & kid at heart.

Click the description to be taken directly to the item on our website for purchasing.

Leica postcard set- set of 8 in sepia and black & white. Reprints from 1932-57.
"Leica 80th Anniversary, 1994", $11.00

Novelty Snapshot Jigsaw puzzle, $0.99

Selection of Nikon lapel pins, $1.99- $12.00
Kodak pin- "You press the button, we do the rest", $1.49

Mickey Mouse camera strap, $3.00

Wonder camera friend (worm pop style), $0.99

Polaroid 3-D glasses, cardboard, set of 6, $1.99

Nimslo original dealer process kit with example 3D photos, $17.00

Kodak Oil Color Set with box and instruction book, 1934, $3.00

-JAF