It might look like a Lightsaber (not really), but it certainly is a great LED light with many uses for Still and Motion Photography. I take a look at PERGEAR MTL-900 PRO and its functions on the video below:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNtG-F_byc4
I like how the light uses LED bulbs only on one side, enabling one to feather and direct the output. I also think that being able to remotely control the output can be useful, although as this uses infrared I found it to be difficult to use, particularly if the light is obstructed or the environment is generally well lit (outdoors for example). The digital intensity control works well, and enables gradual enough adjustments, although it would have been even better if the LED bank could be controlled by rows or columns, which would obviously allow for even more gradual adjustments, and control of direction.
If you have ever used the Icelight before (especially the first version), you will appreciate the ability to use exchangeable batteries on the MTL-900 PRO. Not only can you charge one battery while using the other (two batteries and one charger are included), but you can also power the light with the included AC-adapter, giving you even more ways to continuously use it almost anywhere.
For less than $150, this is an amazingly versatile tool that will help you to fill-in shadows, add effects, mimic practical light, and even serve as a key light. You can order yours directly from www.linkdelight.com
If you have ever wondered why cine lenses are so expensive, well, then this post won’t answer that question (more complex configuration, better built, etc.). This post is actually to show how easy it is to convert a manual vintage lens for cine use by adding cinegears and de-clicking the aperture. These vintage lenses can be had from Pentax or any other manufacturer, and the process of de-clicking is similar on all of them. What makes this a great value proposition is that these lenses often offer great image quality, but can be had for around $100 (some are more, some are less). Is this ideal? No, cine lenses are much better to work with, especially if you have the budget to own or rent them, but if you don’t, converting older manual lenses for cine use is the next best thing, and it is very affordable.
It probably hasn’t escaped your attention, but a few days ago a new “gadget” called tetherboost was introduced. The claims are that this device will provide power to your connected camera when tethering, thus reducing the power requirements for your computer and your camera. The result should be longer battery life when tethered, and a more stable and presumably faster connection. So what is this thing then?
Well, it is nothing more than a powered usb 3.0 hub with a power bank attached to it (or AC if you work in a studio). Instead of paying well over $100 for an entire thetherbooster set, you can make your own. I have been using a similar setup for years now, and if anything, it reduces the power requirements on both the laptop and the camera. You are therefore not eating through batteries as quickly, especially when you are shooting on location. My setup has a few advantages:
it is more affordable than the tetherbooster
it adds a flashlight, so makes it more versatile on location
items are readily available on amazon, so if you break them, you can easily replace them
the battery pack has higher power outputs, thus allowing you to tether longer, as well as charge your phone or other devices via a secondary high power (2.1A) usb port.
The battery pack also has twice the rated capacity of the other solution
Let’s Make Our TetherBooster
You can substitute with whatever else you feel is working for you, however, the items I list below are those that work for me with both usb 3.0 and usb 2.0 tethered connections:
USB 3.0 portable powered hub (includes AC adapter) on AMAZON
USB POWER BANK with LED and 2 outputs (10000 mAh) on AMAZON
USB to DC cable (connects the hub to the power bank) on AMAZON
As of this writing, you will spend less than $40 on all of these. All you really have to do is to connect the USB hub to your computer (with the cable that comes with the hub), connect your camera via USB to the hub, and make sure that you either power the hub with the AC adapter, or your power bank. Use the 1A connector on the power bank and leave the 2.1A output for your tablet or other devices (in case you need a charge on location). That’s it. You just made yourself a tether booster for less than half the cost of the other solution, while also getting a better power bank (with built-in flashlight and 10,000 mAh rated capacity).
If you haven’t tried CaptureFix yet to get your Pentax 645Z images imported into Capture One, you will find out once you do, that PhaseOne not only deliberately blocked 645Z images from importing, but they also no longer assign an ICC color profile that allows you to get a true representation of the colors when you took that image. As I am always using a color calibration target in my workflow, I have gotten used to the quirky way of managing color in C1, but others probably never saw the need for it. I received many requests from CaptureFix users as to how they can adjust the color, or if I could provide my ICC profiles to them. Although I have a base profile, I usually shoot a target and make adjustments where necessary. As this is really no rocket science I felt the need to make a quick video showing how you can easily make those adjustments yourself going forward. I will also include my basic color profile and settings in this post, free for you to download and use. Keep in mind that these are “close enough” starting points. They are not meant to be perfect, but they will get you close to where you probably would want to start or be at with your adjustments. The below video was made using C1 8.1.1 and files modified with CaptureFix.
645Z CaptureFix for Capture one (8.1.1) and ICC/Color calibration
As you probably noticed, there are several ways to apply the color correction you made. You can apply it as a default ICC profile for the 645Z (in the ICC tab) once saved as an ICC profile, or you can simply apply it upon import to each file as a user color preset. I think the ICC approach may be easier, if you want to use your (or my) profile as a base from where you will make additional adjustments as needed. On OSX make sure to put the ICC profile into ~/Library/colorsync/profiles/ so that C1 is able to find it. As always, this is provided free and as is. Make sure to reach out and let me know if you have other issues or found the perfect ICC you would like to share with me. Enjoy!
CaptureFix C1 645Z ICC/Color Profile
This package includes both the color profile, as well as the ICC profile for using 645z images in Capture One
There are many reasons for how we pick our cameras: sensor resolution, max ISO, image quality, max. shutter speed, handling, weight, and so on. The list is probably just as long as the number of different models available today. Some reasoning is rational, some pure emotion. I have shot with pretty much any manufacturer over the years, and to what it comes down for me, is how the camera feels, when I use it. I believe that no camera is able to replace creativity and an artist’s vision, no matter how spec’d out it is. You can create amazing images with your iPhone, or any other camera for that matter, so for me, it has always been about the experience: the camera needs to become a natural extension of my creative vision.
Shooting with the Pentax 645Z Medium Format Camera
That said, there are many cameras that can do that, but none of them offers the resolution and pixel sharpness I get from my 645Z. I shot with Hasselblad, I shot with PhaseOne, and the handling on the 645Z is very close to a DSLR, which cannot be said for any model made by the other medium format guys. Autofocus is quick, and works well. 3fps is nothing to call home about when compared to a DSLR, but then again, this is not your average DSLR. For a medium format camera, 3FPS is very impressive, and it allows me to have a workflow similar to what I would have with a full frame DSLR.
The 645Z is not perfect. There are a bunch of things I wish they would have done differently, but there is hope. RICOH has been very responsive to feedback, and I believe that they are genuinely interested in turning the medium format market upside-down. The 645z is an almost perfect start, and with the exciting things happening around the 645 system now and in the future, for me, this is the system I can trust and enjoy working with. Your opinion and workflow may be different, and that’s OK. The 645Z is not for everyone, and it doesn’t pretend to be. But if you know its strength, this is definitely the most powerful medium format tool out there today. And yes, tethering is right around the corner
Some of you are probably curious to find out whether the 28-45mm ED AW SR is able to replace the 25mm f/4.0 at 28mm. 3mm focal length reduction isn’t really a lot, especially if you consider that you gain a total of 20mm zoom range, making this a much more versatile wide to ultra-wide lens for the Pentax 645 system. Image quality wise (non scientific just by looking at the crops), the 28-45mm offers greater center sharpness (and resolution) at 28mm, whereas the 25mm seems to have a slight advantage as you go look further towards the edges of the frame. YMMV.
This is taken with the 25mm at f/9, 125th/sec.
This is taken with the 28-45 at f/9, 125th/sec.
Both images were shot from the same position on a tripod (SR disabled on the 28-45mm). To really get an idea what you will gain (or lose) when shooting with the 25mm or 28-45mm I decided to overlay both images. They are not a perfect fit (because of different distortions), but I am sure you get the idea.
Shake Reduction aside, both are heavy lenses, but I feel that at a similar price point, the 28-45mm ED AW SR is a more versatile choice, which also happens to offer better center sharpness. All images shot on a 645z.
It’s no secret, I love my Broncolor Move 1200L packs.
I love them so much, that I take them with me almost everwhere I go. They became part of my shotkit, and Broncolor does a good job providing a backpack/trolley when you get on eof their kits. It looks pretty good next to my other bag I often use, and I can attest that the backpack is working (although you may not necessarily want to haul this around on a hike, as the pack with two heads is heavy).
Gotta love the broncolor move 1200L
What I noticed though is that when you use the backpack as a trolley to bring the move packs and heads on set, they are quite bulky and not sturdy enough at all for a tough on-location life. What I mean is that they take up space in your car or truck in a less than most efficient way, while only providing little protection against rough handling. This issue becomes worse when you are forced, as I was recently, to check this backpack and hope it’ll all survice the lovely and careful handling by TSA and airport employees. One of my kits had an umbrella and softbox inside, and both were bent somewhat after the flight. The backpacks are also rather bulky to store. They don’t really fit into my shelves, and they take up quite some space on the ground. I am sure you movepack owners out there have experienced this as well. For me, there was only one solution: get rid of the backpacks (repurpose them), and create my own custom carry cases.
So when I started out with my design, I wanted to make sure that these cases can be locked, that they are air- and watertight, that they have solid and durable wheels, that they come in bright colors (much easier to spot on the conveyor belt), that they look unsuspicious from the outside, and that they can carry at least two move 1200L packs at any given time. While I initially wanted these cases to be carry-on’s, I soon abandoned this idea, because available cases were simply not able to caryy two packs and a few accessories reliably. I also wanted to focus on portability and versatility on the shoots that are more local to me, so I ended up settling for the smallest size possible (which is no longer a carry-on). Next up was to decide on how many packs I want to be able to fit into these cases, and whether I wanted to include the heads as well. I decided against putting the heads into the same case. Here’s why: I figured that I could design a case that would house 8 heads, or simply use an off-the-shelf case to keep lamp heads together. Getting heads into the same case with the packs would just have made it much heavier, and also much bigger. So this is what I ended up with:
move pack custom case
This is the smallest case I could find that was able to accomodate two Broncolor move 1200L packs, as well as some accessories. After thinking about it for a while, I also decided against adding room for spare batteries. I only twice ran out of battery power on a location shoot, and whenever I shoot near an outlet, I can always use the broncolor power adapter to charge the batteries while I am using the packs. It is that the 1200L packs are just so powerful, and I get so many flashes out of them, that it is unlikleyu that I will run out of power, even with only one battery per pack. The cutout of the foam looks like this:
move pack custom case
As you can see, the case allows to securely and safely carrry two broncolor move 1200L packs, as well as up to four RFS2.1 trasmitters. Although not designed for it, the cut outs will also fit some pocket wizards if that’s your poison. I prefer RFS 2.1, because it allows me to control the modeling linghts, as well as the output on each channel for several packs. This comes in handy if one or more of your lights are in remote or difficult to access locations, or simply if you work on your own, or with a lazy assistant As you can see, the packs fit nicely into the custom case:
move 1200L case
What I wanted to make sure when I designed the case is that the move packs would’nt move around when you toss the case, or even have to ship it somewhere. As you can see below, the packs slightly extend through the top of the base foam, which provides just enough pressure on them with the lid closed.
move pack custom case
That said, I love that new case. It provides a safe and secure way for shipping and carrying two move packs to almost anywhere. Next up? A case for four packs, my lampheads, and one to hold a para88 & para133 at the same time. Want one of these for yourself? Message me, and I can hook you up!
Oh, do I miss the good old film days, when all we had to worry about was white balance. Regardless of where we used a particular film, if the light source matched the emulsion composition on the film, we got nice colors. STOP. REWIND. I TAKE THAT BACK!
I do not miss those days. In fact, thinking about it, while digital color calibration is more complex, it is also much more refined, and it allows you to adapt to a changing environment on the spot, without having to change your roll of film, or using a filter. So no, I do not miss those days, but there are some thoughts I want to share with you about color calibration, and why it is important today.
Why Color Calibrate?
See, not all sensors, and most importantly all the processing of sensor data, is equal. Additionally, lenses often introduce a color shift. With some lenses, this high contrast, punchy look is preferred, but what if you switch lenses? What if you shoot with several cameras, maybe a main body and one or two backups? If these are the same bodies, color shift will likely be minimal, but what if your backups use different sensors, because they are different models? Even if they use different firmware versions, the rendering of colors can be different.
Imagine you shoot an event or assignment, and you change lenses in between. All of the sudden, some of your images may look different. Yes, you shoot in raw, and yes, you will be able to correct that color shift in post-processing. Doing so, however, can be very time intensive. Your solution to this problem is to color calibrate your cameras and lenses to a known baseline. Once all your images are color calibrated, any post-processing you will apply then will get you the same and consistent results. So how do we do that?
It is actually rather simple, if you use Lightroom and CameraRaw, if you use some other programs, such as CaptureOne for example, this process is less intuitive. For the purpose of this post, I will focus on Lightroom and CameraRaw, as this is straightforward for these tools. To get started you need a MSCCPP color calibration target. One of such targets is the colorchecker passport. I actually prefer the passport to other targets, because it also has a greycard, as well as additional calibration patches that make your post-processing workflow much faster and more consistent.
Shooting the Target
For the purpose of this quick tutorial I recommend you shooting in a controlled environment, meaning that when you take pictures of your target with different cameras and lenses, you should use the same time of day and location, or even better simply use a flash mounted to your camera (there is no need to make this overly complicated). What you then do is take a shot of the calibration target. Make sure you properly expose the image, as colors look different, if your image is under, or over exposed. To do this, use a light meter. If you do not have one at hand, you can use the greycard on the colorchecker passport with the lightmeter built into your camera.
I strongly advise you to set a custom white balance before you start shooting. You only have to do this once if your lighting conditions don’t change (hence why using a flash is coming in handy). Simply consult your camera’s manual to find out how to do that. The colorchecker passport has a grey target, so this is easily done with the tools you already have. If you do not set your whitebalance, you will have to do this later in post and then EXPORT each file, to make sure that the new white balance has been set. This is just an easy way to streamline your workflow and keep your results consistent.
Once exposure is dialed in, shoot away. Take one image of the colorchecker passport, filling at least half of the frame. Do that for all of your lenses and camera bodies. If you have two bodies and 5 lenses, you will end up with 10 images (each lens on both bodies). Make sure you shoot in RAW (not s-raw), and if you can, shoot in DNG, as this will save you one additional step in this process. When done, you should end up with one image for each body and lens combination you have.
If your raw file format is NOT DNG, you need to convert those files first before you proceed, or use a tool provided by X-RITE, which will allow you to create a profile right out of lightroom. To keep this universal, I will focus on the DNG workflow. So assuming your file is not DNG, simply use the free adobe DNG RAW CONVERTER to convert your raw files into DNG files. If you have set the correct whitebalance before you took these images, you are ready to go. If not, you will need a program, such as lightroom for example, and use the white balance eye-dropper on the 18% grey patch to adjust your white balance. You need to do that with every single image, and then export these images as DNG with the correct white balance set (if you use lightroom, there is an export preset that automatically creates a profile, but in order to keep this simple, we will focus on the DNG approach).
So now you have a bunch of DNG files, one for each camera/lens combination. Simply open the X-RITE DNG profile creator (Adobe has a similar tool which I personally prefer), and load your first image. Follow the instruction and name your profile so that you are able to recall and assign this later on, where applicable. For example if you shoot a Pentax K3 with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, you may want to name your profile “K3-50mm-1.8-smc”, and so on. Once selected, the application will create and save your DNG color profile and make it available in both Lightroom and Camera Raw. Lightroom does a good job in automatically picking a profile once it has been created, but occasionally you may have to manually select the correct corners.
When you start to work with your raw files, all you have to do is select the correct color profile for your camera/lens combination, and all of your images will more closely and consistently represent true colors. The advantage is that you can swap out bodies and lenses during a shoot and still get comparable results for your post-processing baseline. This not only results in more natural looking skin colors, but more importantly in a more accurate representation of what you actually intended to capture.
One last note on this matter: If you add a filter to your lens, such as a CP for example, you will introduce a color shift. Some filters are worse than others, but keep that in mind. Often this shift is desired, but sometimes it may not be at all. A quick workaround is to just shoot your colorchecker passport again and create a new color profile for this setup. The same goes for a change in color temperature. This is in particular apparent when you shoot outdoors and into the sunset for example. While I have found that using a calibrated profile and applying correct whitebalance somewhat solves this issue, colors will shift, and look different in your final image. I can therefore recommend to shoot your colorchecker passport once again in those extreme conditions, and simply create a new profile. This 5-minute step will not significantly slow down your workflow, but you will notice the difference in your images.
Unfortunately, if you are using CaptureOne, you are out of luck, because CaptureOne does not support DNG color profiles. You can create an ICC profile, but there is no automatic matching of colors to baseline swatches available. You have to manually match colors to swatches by using their known RGB values as a reference. If you know of a better way, let me know, because I find this approach rather limiting and tedious.
Did you know that any still or motion professional photography in the City of Los Angeles, and most publicly accessible parks and property in the LA County area, need a permit? Many photographers operating within the LA city boundaries do not have a permit when they are taking pictures, but why is that?
Not Professional
Most of them are simply not professionals. Meriam-Webster says that “a professional is participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a professional golfer>“. By definition then, if your photographer is not taking images for gain or livelihood, they are maybe a semi-pro at best. But this is not really about whether your photographer makes a living or not. This is about attitude, professionalism, and goals. Attitude means that a professional photographer should follow rules and regulations. These rules are in place for a reason (and not just for the city to make money): to protect other citizens, public property, and clients alike. Professionalism starts with knowing the rules and following them, but it also means that as a truly professional photographer, your photographer is fully insured for at least $1 Million (some counties require a minimum of $2 Million). One of the requirements to even get a permit is to be fully insured. If your photographer did not apply for a permit, or claims that they don’t need one, that can only mean two things:
Your Photographer is not insured, which puts you in danger. What happens if something happens during the photo session?
They do not consider themselves a professional photographer, and as a result, neither should you!
The Los Angeles Charter and Administrative Code clearly states in Section 22.350:
No person, as defined in Section 11.01 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, shall use any property belonging to or under the control of the City of Los Angeles for the purpose of making any commercial motion picture, or still photograph, of, or including such property, without first having obtaineda use permit to do so from the City Council, or whomever the Council by order, resolution or ordinance may delegate such authority. No such use permit shall be issued until the permit applicant has paid the application fee and the use and service charge required in connection therewith, and until the permit applicant has furnished proof of insurance with coverage as required by the Director of the Office of Administrative and Research Services in a form approved by the City Attorney.
I have heard it before that some professionals try to argue themselves out of this by claiming that what they do is not considered commercial, and that only whenever they would do this for a client, let’s say an advertising agency for example, then this would be considered commercial. This argument, as much as any assumptions with it, is wrong.
If you pay your photographer, then this is a commercial transaction. You pay them to take images of you. But what if you don’t pay them? Well, if the photographer (or you) are using these images for financial gain (meaning to advertise and get paid work out of this), then the purpose of the photo session was of commercial nature.
So before you hire someone, make sure they have a permit for the location you are shooting at. Furthermore, if they do not, insist on one, and while you’re at it, make sure they are insured. As a certified professional photographer (CPP) I am fully insured, and only shoot on location, if a permit was obtained first (if one is required at that particular location). As you may have noticed, I have a permit to shoot at many places in the greater Los Angeles area. These include most beaches, many parks and other locations. Alternatively I shoot in my studio, on our downtown L.A. rooftop, or any other location that is worth exploring. Interested? Get in touch with me for details and to book a session.
Not so fast, before I get started with today’s post, I want to apologize for the site’s erratic behavior yesterday. As you may recall, I was planning on transitioning to a new design, and that switch happened yesterday. The site is now cleaner and easier to navigate, but most importantly loads 3-4 times faster, and looks great on mobile devices as well. There are still a few little things here and there that will hopefully get sorted out over the next couple of days. For now enjoy the faster speed and better looks.
Meet Yendi!
I recently had a chance to work with Yendi on a fashion project. One part of the shoot involved some beauty shots, but the majority was about shooting on the rooftop. One of the advantages of having a studio with rooftop access in Los Angeles is, well, the rooftop access We managed to shoot into the sunset which gave us not only a nice looking skyline, but also the amazing colors associated with the “golden hour”. If you always wanted to shoot on the rooftop to get some amazing and unique images, make sure to get in touch with me. Most photographers get never a chance to take images on any rooftop, especially not on a regular basis.
Make sure to come back soon as I will be posting some amazing images of my session with Sarah shortly, followed by a fashion shoot in Pasadena with Marita and Lauren with the support of an amazing local designer. If you like these kind of images, make sure to checkout my commercial photography website, where you will be able to see more images.
As you can see, the packs fit nicely into the custom case:
We managed to shoot into the sunset which gave us not only a nice looking skyline, but also the amazing colors associated with the “golden hour”. If you always wanted to shoot on the rooftop to get some amazing and unique images, make sure to get in touch with me. Most photographers get never a chance to take images on any rooftop, especially not on a regular basis.
