DPReview has been one of the top photography review sites and forum hosting for photographers for over twenty years.
This week we were all shocked to discover its closing down. I never knew that the site was owned by Amazon, and in the current cutbacks that Amazon are making the site is one of the loses.
There’s a lot of knowledge that is going to be lost. Hopefully Amazon can be persuaded to at least keep the site available for people to read even if there is no new updates, but so far to looks like the site will be deleted.
Hard light is often considered a no no, and I have a post on hard and soft light coming. If your into hard light, then I can recommend a magnum reflector.
Here we have a Profoto B10Plus with a magnum reflector. The magnum reflector is not a modifier I call upon often but if you’re after very strong directional light, and a good stop of light boost to what your flash can produce its quite a useful device.
Here I am using it to mimic strong sunlight flooding onto the landing off to the right.
An optical high quality viewfinder is extremely useful in many situations, but the electronic viewfinder also gives photographers aids to getting the shot.
You will never please everyone, so highly customisable cameras are what we need. Someone may want nothing but the scene in their viewfinder; others like in the shot above, where blowing out the highlights was way to easy needs for me a camera with realtime histogram.
Also on the subject of high contrast scenes like above, blinkies, zebra guides etc are available in any mode on Leica and Sony mirrorless cameras. The photo above, I needed to ensure that whilst the window could blow out at all white, none of the highlights on Lilly’s back did so. With highlight warnings this is easy to achieve, but for some unknown reason, neither Canon or Nikon allow them when in photography modes, only video modes. I could take a shot and review it with highlight warnings but not while taking the shot. In a changing light situation this is not good enough. I have to give a shout out to Sony and Leica, as their high end mirrorless models do allow custom highlight warnings, live in the viewfinder in real time.
If you’re a registered Profoto user, you may have received an email today about their new desktop app. You have been able to control your Profoto flashes from your phone for a while and update the firmware. Now with the desktop app you can also control your flash heads.
I have only done a quick test with my A10 but despite being beta it seems to work well. For when your working tethered in the studio it could prove very useful.
If you have been shooting for as long as I have, you have a cupboard full of old equipment. Often old gear is not worth selling. My old f mount 180mm f2.8 AF lens is a lens that people are not going to buy. Unless you have a camera body from that era or a pro spec SLR with a built in AF motor, it will not auto focus on the current F bodies, or on the Z bodies. For many that’s a deal breaker.
It is in fact a lovely lens and in the studio with modern mirrors bodies, using older classic lens is not really an issue. With an EVF and the ability to zoom in the viewfinder to get focus right, you can in fact get some great shots.
This was a set I took recently using hard light; its a single beauty disk over head, black background and the model wearing a black top and black trousers.
Nikon Z7, Z 50mm S f/1.2
The majority of the shots were taken with a F mount 105mm f/2.8 macro lens, which makes a very nice portrait lens. I also used a 50mm f/1.2 for some of them.
So I suggest next time you’re shooting a set, as well as your usual go to lens for that situation, try something a bit different. If you own a current mirrorless camera then have a look around at old lens, you may find something you love.
I’ll be giving it a good long hard look, but also looking at the previous version. Its a real statement lens, and I’ll be looking at testing one at the earliest opportunity.
As I have not used it there is little for me to say.
NIKKOR 50MM F/1.2 @ F/1.2
If the 50mm is anything to by its 85mm big brother is going to stunning.
Matt Irwin has already had his hands on it so I’ll leave this video down below for you to check out.
