Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez

Lighting with new equipment good bad an ugly

 

above assistant Bennet Farkas standing in as I set my lights

Last month a friend asked me to start a big portrait project. 140 people in 3 cities. My first thought was "I need new lights!" I've been using Elinchrom Ranger Quadras and an Elinchrom 600 monolight happily for a couple years. But I knew I'd have to light entire office spaces so I wanted to add a couple extra monolights. While I like the 600 I'd always been bothered that it is 110volts only. Lots of my work does happen over seas so a multivoltage light seems better. The Elinchrom BX500Ri seemed to be the perfect light for me. Almost as bright as the 600, 90-220 volts, plus it takes the same flash tube as my Ranger Quadras. Sounds perfect so I ordered 2 along with a 27.5-Inch Rotalux Deep Octabox.

So are they perfect? Well maybe half perfect.

3 new cameras, what to buy?

In the last month or so 3 new pro video cameras have been announced. The Canon EOS 1D-x, the Canon EOS C300 and the long awaited Red Scarlet. 3 years ago we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but the lines between stills and film is so blurred now that I check the specs on new video cameras as often as I check the specs on new still cameras.

To start with lets set aside that we've only seen footage out of one of them, and that no mear mortals have had access to the cameras yet. If you are a still photographer who also shoots some films what camera makes sense?

I’m not throwing in the new(ish) sony and Panasonic cameras because I only want to talk about cameras that would apply to my situation (ie preloaded with canon EF glass).

Theses three cameras are set apart by price. Both the Red (actually tricked out to work as a still camera) and the C300 are in the 20 grand range. The 1D-x tricked out to work as a video camera is in the 10 grand range.

So lets go through them high to low:

Location photo equipment you never think of, the umbrella

above, the umbrella doing its job on Waterloo Bridge photo by Robbie Shone

There is great, everyday photo equipment that we never pay any attention to. The hand truck, A clamps, gaffers tape. Today I'd like to praise one of my favorites, the Umbrella. 

The more I use the GF2 the more impressed I am

 I am finding the Panasonic GF2 a joy to use for one major reason. Every time I push the shutter button the camera goes off. The other small digital cameras I've had -the G10 and the X1- had issues. The X1 in particular would take its own sweet time about firing. Sometimes the camera fired when I wanted, sometimes when IT was good and ready.

I push the button on the GF2 and it goes off. I've been using it up to iso 1000 and while it certianly isn't a 5D MK II replacement it is pretty good.

Late Night in Les Halles

above Panasonic Lumix GF2 14mm lens 1/15sec at 2.5  iso 400

Worked late last night, much too late to say anything coherent today. Luckily Ira has a review of the Panasonic GF2 on his site (here) so you all can read that while I get some rest. 

Stephen Alvarez

Paris

Sony announces the NEXFS100UK, its official DSLR video is over

Most of us working in DSLR video will remember today as the day working with still cameras for video died. Today Sony announced the NEXFS100UK (here). This sub $7,000 camera has a super 35mm sensor CMOS sensor from the much more expensive PMW-F3, interchangeable lenses and xlr sound inputs. 

At 7 grand it is more expensive than a dslr, but by the time you add all the bells and whistles to make your still camera act like a video camera you can get close to 7 thousand dollars pretty fast. Plus just think of all the time you will save in synching second system sound. You'll save 7 grand in time on your first project.

So am I buying one? I don't know, lets see what Canon announces at NAB. 

Stephen Alvarez

Sewanee, TN

Ira Block on Mirrorless camera systems

Ira has a blog post on the new generation of mirroless camera systems here. Point and shoots you say? Think again,  Mike Yamashita is using one of the Sony cameras on his China Train story, David Alan Harvey is using a Panasonic GF1 as his primary camera on the Outer Banks and I have even seen Reza walking around with a Sony. Is the age of the dlsr that looks like a film camera over?

-Stephen Alvarez

 

5 bags for 2010

Black friday is just around the corner, so just in time is my round up of the bags I've used this year. As I have said before most photographers are unconcerned with the camera that they are using, bags though get us worked up. Here are 5 bags I have used A Lot this year...

 

5 things to help me shoot better

Photography is a funny thing, it is all about the image, but also about the things you use to make the image.  I am a Canon shooter, I have friends who use both Nikon and Sony. At a certain level it doesn’t make that much difference what camera is in my hand. But there are things that help me make photos that are pretty critical. 

Here are 5 things I’ve picked up this year that are helping me shoot better.

Canon 7d vs Barbie Video Girl

Thanks to my friend Liz Grady for brining this to my attention. Maybe the video girl can get us all through until the 1ds MK IV shows up...

-Stephen Alvarez

Sewanee, TN