Reader’s ask questions

It’s here: Q&A Friday. And I must say I was really pleased with the questions I received.   I’m going to do my best to answer as many of these as possible, but those I don’t get to I’ll plan on addressing next Friday.   So here we go—

Q–Gina–What kind of camera do you shoot with and what are your favorite lenses to use?

A–I primarily shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II and my favorite lens depends on what I’m shooting –  but I must admit I do have a love affair developing with my 85mm.   However, the lens I use the most is my 24-70mm.

Q—Maria–When traveling…Do you download your pics in your laptop, take dozens of memory cards, have a portable hard drive with card slots…or any other method?

A–  I always have spare memory cards with me.  Plus, I almost always travel with my laptop and an external Passport hard drive.   If I’m unable to bring my laptop, then I typically will use my Colorspace back-up device.   On my last trip, I would shoot for the day, come back to the hotel and back up to my laptop– then make another back up on to my external Passport drive.   Currently, I use a Sandisk 32 gig card and I typically am able to get two days worth of shooting on the one card before I need to reformat it.   When traveling, though, I always make sure I have two back-ups before reformatting.  Side-note… I prefer keeping my external drive in a safe (in the hotel) or in another location other than with my laptop just in case my laptop were to get stolen (call me paranoid).

Q—Lauri– In this digital day and age, what is the best way to scan or convert my old negatives and/or prints in order to be able to submit them as higher res digital files? I have so many great prints that I’d like to be able to sell/submit but need them in a digital format.

A–  There are many services that will scan your negatives/prints at very low prices. I have used Scanmyphotos.com in the past and have been very satisfied with the results.  You can read more about it HERE.

Q- Karen–I know that vision is more important than gear, but when the gear you have isn’t getting you your vision anymore, what or how do you afford to buy what you need? Not what you want, but what you need? I’m a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom and my husband was laid off from work several months ago. Just wondering…

A–  Photography can be a very expensive hobby/profession.   Here are some options to consider:   Use what your friends use—if your friends shoot with a Nikon then shoot with a Nikon, because a good friend will always share their gear.  When I first started out my friends and I would always share gear.  2.  Consider buying used:  B&H, Calumet, E-Bay, and Craigslist all have used camera gear for sale.  Just be careful to fully understand the condition of the equipment.      3.  Make sure you focus on your needs versus your wants.   You might want a carbon composite tripod but you may only need a basic tripod (huge price difference).   4.  Lastly, consider renting from a company like Borrrowlenses: I really thought I needed a 500mm lens.  I mean who doesn’t?  I rented one and realized immediately that I would never need to own that particular lens.  Renting can really be a beneficial way to test drive equipment, not to mention separating wants from your needs.

Q-Keith–When shooting HDR and shooting in RAW, do I have to shoot 3 separate exposures or can I just shoot 1 at the proper exposure and then make the other two (+1 stop and -1 stop) from that one?

A–  I’ve done it both ways. I typically take three separate exposures using the AEB setting but it takes more time. I like to spread my exposures by 2 stops.  If I’m doing it down and dirty, I’ll take one shot then use  Lightroom  to create two virtual copies.  Expose one of the virtual  copies at +2 and the other copy at -2 then merge in Photoshop or Photomatix (my preference).

All the unanswered questions I’ll plan on doing next Friday.  Thanks for the great response…John

If you found this helpful consider subscribing to my blog HERE or check out my mentoring program HERE.

No related posts.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 8:20 am. It is filed under General, Q&A, Software and tagged with "hdr soft", Q&A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.