Podcast: Embed
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In this episode Jim and Darin sit down to discuss big things in the news this month. Jim & Darin share what has been making the photography headlines and talk about what is going on in the industry.
What's in this episode
- How PhotoClasses.com can help you improve your photography skills by working with Jim & Darin.
- Canon slashes the price on 26 of their lenses and celebrated their 80th Anniversary on September 2, 2014.
- Speculation on whether Canon & Nikon are going to have the hold on the industry ten years form now.
- The NBA is decreasing the number of photographs allowed on the baseline in the upcoming season.
- Find out how far is too far when trying to capture a certain photo.
- The no drones in national parks rule.
- Looking at the possible impact of iStock dropping prices pretty dramatically.
Resources Mentioned
- Squarespace (Get a Free Trial AND 10% off with offer code ‘IMPROVE')
- Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ballhead
- Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 DI VC USD for Canon or Nikon Cameras
* Improve Photography requests your feedback! Please comment on whether you prefer one or two weekly installments of the Improve Photography Podcast. We realize there was a point in time when we were not doing two per week and want to make sure we are coming out with the right number of episodes per week. Comment below with your choice of one or two IP Episodes per week.
Two please
I say two!
I think one per week is perfect. I used to love reading the transcript of each podcast via email. Any chance of bringing back the transcripts?
Hey Jennie,
I would love to continue producing the transcripts, but they are really expensive to make. It costs me about $80 per episode, and very few people actually read them.
Jim
I think two episodes is perfect. I like one with photo news, q&a and with you guys just talking about techniques or whatever. Then one episode with a interview.
Ryan
Hello,
I run a pet photography business in Melton Australia.
Recently I went into hospital, to have my vertebrae fused in my neck. Prior to this I downloaded all your pod casts so I could listen to in hospital and make notes in my photo journal. I am old fashioned in that I prefer paper and pencil rather than electronic for my journal.
Anyhow the result of the surgery, my vocal nerves were severed, which has effectively destroyed my ability to speak louder than a very hoarse whisper. Hence I am not recording a question for the pod cast. On the plus side I am now able to hold my gear with no pain.
So my question is this, do you have any tips to communicate to clients with my aforementioned limitation?
I really love your pod casts and I am currently up to number 30, listening (rationing) myself to one a day in the evening which I re-listen to the following morning.
Thank you in advance.
Belinda
Hi Jim, Excellent podcast, keep up with the great work. I have a question regarding lenses, maybe a good question for your new project… but I cannot find where I can record the question for your podcast. Where can I do this?
Cheers,
Ed
I love having two episodes! I like when the episodes vary- sometimes discussion from you two, sometimes answering listener questions, and sometimes interviewing other photographers. I learn a lot from each type of episode. Thanks!
RE; The “blanket rule” of not allowing “drones” in national parks. Are you kidding? It has nothing to do with the noise. The parks are full of people, the people are were other people want to fly these “drones”. If you want to hike from here to there and spend the night you will need a permit and pay a environmental impact fee. If you plan on farting on this trip you will have to pay extra. The national parks are full of people and they don’t need other people crashing their Quadra Copters into people or into hot springs were they can not be retrieved. I am a bit into kite making and flying, I have kites that will easily lift a go-pro, but I bet if a ranger saw me flying a kite over “Old Faithfull” he will put a stop to it. BTW I hate the term “Drone” , why cant people just call them radio controlled helicopters, like they did back in the “olden days” before military drones were ever heard of?
@Mrtobin – I agree that there are other factors than noise. But the park service cited that as one of their major reasons, and we commented on that reasoning.
Jim,
I have listen to most of your podcasts and generally find them interesting and informative. However, your comments compairing the use of an iphone over a Canon 1d and I am assuming a Nikon d3 is completly absurd. An iphone is not a camera. It is a pda that has many functions including a camera. As I listen to ramble on about an iphone costing $700.00 and a 1d costing $7000.00 I was waiting for the joke. But it never came. And mirorless is not the answer or replacement for professional photographers. It is an option in some situations, but there is to much of a lag between live and and the time it takes to process the digital image.
James
James, perhaps you should listen again to what we were saying. Nobody was saying an iPhone is better than a $7,000 DSLR. That’s ridiculous.
What I said was that it’s ridiculous that our $7,000 DSLRs still don’t have the SHARING capabilities of a $700 smart phone, with features like wifi and NFC.
Jim,
I did listen to your podcast. You compare the amount of technology that is in a $700 iPhone to the $7000 Canon’s and Nikon’s. Your compliant is a cell phone has NFC, WiFi, browser, faster processor, internet and sharing. other than WiFi, that is a nice to have, what do I need any of those features for? My 5D III has all of the features I need to do my job as a photographer. a $7000 camera is a heavy duty tool that is made to be abused and last for years, not to share selfies on my instagram account.
If I am so off base on this, what technology should be added to the top of the line camera that will improve or add benefit to me as a photographer? I have no idea what i would use NFC for in my camera other than paying for my coffee at Starbucks
James
Hi James,
I’d love the ability to share my photos directly from the camera, which proper wifi could do.
I’d love to have an NFC sticker that could set up proper camera settings for different situations in an instant.
I’d love to have GPS in my camera to geotag my photo locations.
I’d love to see bluetooth so I can connect my cell phone to the camera to use it as a remote trigger and remote viewfinder.
I’d love to be able to pinch to zoom on my camera like a cell phone screen will.
I’d love to have a 2k display for my LCD like many cell phones do.
How about bluetooth so it can grab the more accurate and quick-to-lock GPS data from your phone like the new Samsung NX1 does, but Canon and Nikon are much too slow to implement?
I could go on and on… For example, why are we seeing CELL PHONES that can record 4k video, when DSLRs at $7,000 don’t yet do that?
The truth is that many of the technologies made inexpensive from cell phone makers are NOT making their way into DSLRs at ANY price point. You can spend $7,000 on a DSLR and you still don’t get that stuff in your camera. My question is… why?
Jim,
Considering I shoot only in RAW, I will not be sharing to many of my photos directly from my camera. I will admit that it is a nice to have and the 70D I just bought as a backup camera and for my wife to use has Wi-Fi and I have the app on my cell phone to transfer photos and control the camera.
Your NFC features were covered by the Wi-Fi and you would have to be right next to the camera to make the changes. It would be just as easy to make the changes in the camera.
GPS is a nice to have and I would probably use it especially if I were shooting landscape photography. The 6D does come with both GPS and Wi-Fi. I would assume those feature will make their way to both the next gen 5D’s and 1D’s.
Again, the Bluetooth features are covered by the Wi-Fi. What is the point of having three different systems to chew up battery life that will all do the same thing.
How do you argue against pinch to zoom? Nice to have, I don’t know if it would sway me to buy the camera.
Bluetooth for GPS data? Can’t we do that with Wi-Fi? It seems like we only need one wireless system in the camera. Whichever one works best.
I believe I heard it on your show as to why there is no 4K video in a $7000 camera and that was because Canon polled it photographers and only 10% were using the cameras for video. So there does not seem to be a big demand for 4K. And really 4K video has only started getting popular in the last year or so and both the 5D and 1D have been out for more than a year. These cameras don’t sell million and millions of units like cell phones and do not have a life cycle of 12 months or less.
The fact is cell phone are toys and are designed to last about 2 years before the cell phone companies are hoping that you will replace them with the latest and greatest new gadget. How many pictures that come from a cell phone are crap? Unless you are shooting something in perfect lighting and the person is standing perfectly still, they suck. Tonight I will be taking my low tech piece of hardware to a poorly lit concert with lights changing constantly and I will be able to take extremely sharp pictures from the front of the stage and from 50 feet away in the balcony. That is something that cannot be done any cell phone and many of the DSLR’s that are on the market today.
You rip on a group of cameras that don’t have the latest and greatest features, but you ignore the incredible feature they do have. I have pictures taken at ISO 12800 that are spot on. That is something that could not be done until a couple of years ago and there is no way a cell phone is going to be able to shoot anything close to that. My 5D can focus on someone’s face from over 50 feet away in very low light without a flash to pre-light the subject. All of the stuff you have said you have wanted to be added to DSLR’s does nothing to help me be a better photographer, improve my work flow or increase my productivity. They are all nice to have. Not that they should not be added to cameras, but none of these features should be a demand of a $7000.00 camera.
I would much rather Nikon and Canon focus on increasing ISO performance and the ability to focus in low light that I would them adding pinch to zoom to my display. Don’t get me wrong, I love tech, I have two PC’s, a tablet, smart phone, two smart TV’s and my car has My Ford Touch.
I think I have made my point, I am happy to continue with the debate anytime you like 🙂
James
Hey James,
Most of your comments assume that I’m saying a cell phone is a competitor to a DSLR. I’ve already said many times that it’s not even close.
The reason bluetooth is a useful technology aside from wifi is that when you use wifi to sync things from a cell phone, you have to set up a private wifi network on either the phone or camera and then attach the two. Bluetooth can connect automatically when they are in range and immediately sync settings. Also, wifi protects the device from intrusion, so it blocks data grabs without an app telling the phone it’s okay.
Some cameras have GPS, but that GPS is usually slow to lock. Grabbing the phone’s GPS through bluetooth would quickly and more accurately get the data and not require re-acquiring a satellite every time you take a picture.
NFC is actually pretty cool. On a cell phone you can have an NFC sticker on the doorjam of your car so it automatically turns off the ringer so you won’t answer the phone while driving. Another sticker at your home to remember to turn on the volume and stop work emails from notifying you, etc. On a camera, you could have an NFC sticker on your landscape filter to change the settings to landscape, another NFC sticker on your monopod to change your camera to your default sports photography settings, another sticker on your flash to automatically change your settings to your default flash settings. It’s cool!
Obviously DSLRs need to do a good job with ISO performance and focus and such. But a wifi antenna costs less than $1 when purchased in bulk–even less for a bluetooth or NFC chip. These are easily implemented into a camera, but Canon and Nikon are ignoring them. Cameras like the Samsung NX1 are actually paying attention to this stuff and I think they’ll kick butt once their lens system catches up.
Jim and Darin, thanks for the exposition on the Tamron. I’ve been debating over it, the Sigma, and the Canon versions, and you helped me make up my mind. I don’t have the extra grand laying around, and will be saving toward the ultimate purchase of the Tamron. Thoughts on the 28-70 mm lens by those three (I’m shooting a 7D Mk I)?
Jim,
I don’t assume that you are saying a cell phone is competitor to a DSLR. But you did try and compare and complain about the readily available features on a cell phone to a top of the line DSLR. It is apples to oranges and there is very little need for those features on a Canon 1D or Nikon D1. Yes they are cool, and yes they are nice to have, but really how long does it take you to change the setting on our camera between the landscape setting and the sports settings? I would never rely on a NFC sticker to set my camera for me and not check the settings. And more than likely adjust them for whatever the lighting is at the venue.
I have an annual pass to Disneyland. We go often at all times of the year. I see people from all over the US and the world. Being a photographer and look to see what kinds of cameras people are caring around with them . About 80% of the people have either a Rebel or the Nikon version of the Rebel, which think is the D3800. I see a few people with higher end crop sensor camera, a few 5D’s and D800. I think I have only seen one or two Canon 1D’s. Whenever I bring my camera into the park, I get asked if I am there for personal or professional work. That is how few top of the line cameras are brought in. My point is, there is not a lot of these camera out in the world and are only used by a very few and select group of people. Change will always be slow.
At the top of your web site this morning you have a story about the new 7D Mark II. It says that the original 7D was released in 2009. That makes it a 5 year old camera. What were in cell phones 5 years ago? The iPhone was only two years old. The Android phone was only a year old. Both of the current versions of the 5D and 1D were released in 2012. At best they will be upgraded next year. That is 3 years between models.
I love my tech. I like being able to change the TV with my cell phone. I like being able to check my email anywhere any time. I like being able to buy something from Amazon while I am at dinner. But my camera is a tool and Canon has spent millions of dollars perfecting over the years. I have no complaints about the lack of tech in this piece of equipment. In fact, I am highly impressed with all of the tech that is in the camera. It may not be wireless, NFC or Bluetooth, but I can take in focus low lite images from a balcony and I can take 7 frames per second if I wanted to. Show me cell phone that can do that?
In this podcast you ask about apps that could give you more than 30 seconds when used as a timer. Have you see or tried Triggertrap (http://triggertrap.com/triggertrap-in-uk/) this thing is awesome !!
it not only does cable release in various modes, its a timer, interval-ometer, star trails ….. and on and on. It needs a dongle to attache to your camera but the price is about the same as a mid range third party cable release – the app is free and just be used to trigger your smart phone.
This is a “Do Da” of the month – I’ve had one for a week or so and am just amazed at what it can do.
Check it out I’m sure you will be impressed
regards
John
Sorry should have said that the app can used on the device’s camera or with the correct dongle any camera, there is even a flash adapter to allow a flash to be triggered by the app