TeachMeToShoot blog

Pentax has set up a special rebate program for photography students. They are offering various rebates on DSLRs and lenses purchased between April 1 and June 30, 2008. Fill time High school and College students are eligible for these rebates.

You can save $75-100 on the K200D and K20D bodies and $50-75 on a wide variety of zoom or macro lenses. The 380F and 540F flashes are both getting $50 back into your pocket.

Your typical kit of a camera body, 2 lenses and a flash can net you a total savings of between $200 and $275.

For many years film photography students flocked to the rugged and reliable Pentax K1000. It was the perfect entry level camera. Pentax has always been know for producing a quality camera system, even branching into medium format cameras like the 645N.

Their current digital offerings are wonderful cameras that would suit the needs of most photographers. Since you can save a bit of cash, visit your local camera store and check out the K200D and K20D. Visit the Pentax website for tech specs too.

I’ve written before about why You Should Own a 50mm Lens and now there’s another choice besides the manufacturers lens. Sigma recently introduced a 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM lens that will work on both FF and APS-C sensor DSLRs.

Having a 50mm f1.4 lens available to you means you can shoot in low light with ease. Since so many new DSLRs perform so well at high ISOs this lens would be a great addition to any shooters camera bag. Portrait shooters using APS-C sized sensors will get a beautiful, light lens that can blur the background perfectly.

Being an EX series lens with their HSM (built in motor in the lens) means this should be a rugged, well built, fast focusing addition to your lens arsenal. You can check out all the specs on the lens at Sigma’s website.

The lens will be available to fit Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony bodies. Pentax and Sony users are cautioned that the AF may not work if your camera body does not support Sigma’s HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) technology.

As of yet, pricing and availability are not yet published.

Since this week marks the beginning of Spring, it’s time to do some Spring Cleaning of your equipment. Here’s a few suggestions.

Clean your lenses, front and back. A microfiber cloth works best for this. Just make sure there’s no sand or grit on the lens before you start wiping with the microfiber cloth.

Clean your DSLR’s sensor. Either have it professionally done (cost about $50) or get the tools to do it yourself. Visit Cleaning Digital Cameras to find the right way to do this.

Format your memory cards. Always do this in the camera and not on your computer. Less problems that way.

Set up your camera bag with your basic kit. Camera, lenses, flash, batteries etc. Put together your standard items and keep that camera bag handy. Having it "ready to go" at a moments notice means you’ll take it with you more often.

Lastly, take a look at your collection of equipment. Is there an item or two you could sell? Something you rarely use that could benefit someone else more than you? Maybe you could finance the purchase of that macro lens you always wanted. Or another flash and the wireless radio triggers to go with it. Hmmmmmmmmmm…

**3/17/08 Update: Adobe has pulled these files from their website. appears there are some problems with DNG conversion, Oly RAW files, and more. Don’t install the updates, or go back to the previous versions if you have already. Thanks Adobe !!

Another round in the game of camera hardware and software Leap Frog. Since a few new cameras have been introduced it’s time for Adobe to push out some updates.

Camera Raw has been bumped to version 4.4 and Lightroom steps to version 1.4. Happy news for certain camera owners and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard users.

Here’s the skinny -

Added support for RAW files for some of the new cameras. Specifically, the Canon XSi/450D, Fuji S100FS, Nikon D60, Olympus SP-570, Pentax K20D and K200D, and the Sony A200, A300 and A350.

There was also a problem with legacy print drivers under Mac OS X that’s been fixed. The last item corrected had to do with Greyscale conversions. Seems that Color Noise was set to Zero and some B&W conversions looked like Tri-X pushed to 3200! (Or something close to that) Color Noise is back on during B&W conversions.

Dash on over to Adobes Updates Download section to grab these.

Nothing like taking your new $5000 camera and throwing all kinds of crap on it. This guy certainly must feel confident in the quality of the D3 and the 24-70 lens on it.

Admittedly, the pro series Nikon bodies are tough as nails. I just don’t think I’d want to try to find the limits of that toughness on my camera. Maybe this camera belongs to a buddy of his?!?!

Check out the video here. WOW !!

(There appears to be some problems with Youtube and this video. The direct link is http://youtube.com/watch?v=3hjBv9wYOEE but it may change, like it did yesterday. You can search for Nikon D3 Overload on Youtube too.)

Getting free magazines is cool. Getting free USEFUL magazines is better. Studio Photography is one of those and you can now view an online version instead of a dead tree version.

As you may guess by the title, this magazine is geared for professional photogs who are running a studio. I’d urge almost anyone to read it as there are always articles about lighting, posing, presenting photos, and more.

For instance, the January issue had a great article on Pet Photography that would apply to anyone trying to get a nice shot of Rover or Fluffy. Since it’s online now you can sneak a peek and see if it’s for you.

Check out the online version of Studio Photography here. Old school folks can still get the paper version at ImagingInfo.com and then Subscribe.