Smoother Than the Smoothest Thing

The Wacom Intuos 4 was quite a leap from the Intuos 3. It doubled the pressure sensitive levels, and it added multifunction Touch Ring trackpad, on-screen radial menus, and eight user-definable buttons with OLED tags—called ExpressKeys—in a thin, ultralight 2.2-pound package. The Wacom Intuos 4 Wireless has all those characteristics, and they work equally as well over the Bluetooth connection.  — Jesus Diaz

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Review by Dennis Hays

When I was a boy, I watched Marlon Perkins’ Wild Kingdom on television and was fascinated by the images of live animals on the screen. I knew a photographer had to be in the background to capture the action. Someday, I told myself, I’d like to do that.

While I’m grown up now, the wonder of nature still enthralls me and so do the photographers who put themselves "out there" to get the images. A few years ago, I had a conversation with Andy Rouse, one of the preeminent nature photographers in the world. While we talked about his photographic work-flow, we did have a side conversation about the field work. Being a nature photographer is not just walking out into the brush with your camera; there is quite a bit to learn to do it right.

Reading Ralph Clevenger’s book, Photographing Nature , was an eye opener for me as to what’s needed to be proficient. He covers quite a bit, gives away some secrets and provides a first-rate course in this subject. Photographing Nature is a photo workshop from the famed Brooks Institute, where Clevenger is an instructor.

Clevenger takes you step by step and leads you through a process to learn what you need in the way of equipment, lighting, wet-belly photography (it is what it sounds like!), and even ethics.

There is no way a book, even one as comprehensive as Ralph A. Clevenger’s Photographing Nature is going to make a weekend shooter into a professional nature photographer; not without hours and hours of practice and thousands of images.

However, if you have any thought of heading to the great outdoors to try your hand at some simple subjects, Photographing Nature will make your initial steps easier and give you some methods with which to evaluate your product.

Most of us will not be nature photographers, but will, from time to time, go camping or hiking and, while away, have opportunities to photograph plants and animals. The techniques Clevenger presents can assist you in making sure the images are framed correctly, have effective lighting and know what makes an appealing and possibly a salable picture.

As for me… I still have a wee part of my curiosity that wants to explore some of Clevenger’s methods, but not so much that I want to give up a comfortable bed for a sleeping bag.

While I’m grown up now, the wonder of nature still enthralls me and so do the photographers who put themselves "out there" to get the images.    — Dennis Hays

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On the surface the Adobe Bridge, particularly Bridge CS4, looks a lot like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Beneath the surface though there are two fundamental differences. First and foremost, the Bridge is a “browser” which means that you have to tell it where to go when you want to look for your digital media files. Lightroom, on the other hand, is a database. I go to Lightroom and use its search box when I want to find files whose location–the exact sub-folder where the file lives–has slipped out of my memory.  — The Lightroom Lab

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this amazing little camera.. the new modular Ricoh GXR… comes with two basic parts.. the lens&sensor, and the viewfinder/battery/storage.. Cool idea..  — Iris and David

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The Composer is the base lens of a system, where you change the optics to achieve various results. With the default double glass optic , you can move the front of the Composer, within its ball-and-socket axis, to adjust the "sweet spot" in any direction. This allows you to change the area of focus and force other areas softer. Once moved, the Lensbaby stays where you put it–there is no lock—it is secure to use for multiple shots or to point in any direction.

Lensbaby Composer with Double Glass Optic

Operating the Composer is easy. After putting it on your camera (it approximates a 50mm lens), twist the manual focusing ring to adjust the focus and then tilt the front of the Composer in any direction. This is a manual focus lens—there is no electronic connection between the lens and camera.

Changing the aperture is more involved than any other lens you have in your kit. You have to remove the double optic lens (or any of the other optics of the Optic Swap System) from the Composer body and replace the aperture disks This is the primitive nature I alluded to in the first paragraph. The aperture disks supplied with the Composer double-optic are: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22.

All of the Lensbaby series of optics come with aperture disks and a magnetic tool to remove an existing disk. The tool has a built-in container to hold the unused aperture disks.

The Composer is not like a tilt-and-shift lens or a large format camera where you can extend the depth of field or adjust parallel line convergence. It has but a single purpose; to move the sweet spot within the angle of coverage.

Years ago, we used to take an old glass filter and gently put Vaseline over it, leaving a clear spot in the center. The Lensbaby is essentially a "dryer" form of this, albeit, with the ability to tilt the optics in any direction, while keeping the film plane parallel to the object.

As I said previously, the Lensbaby Composer is the base of the system. Using the top of the plastic case of one of the  Optic Swap System lenses , you remove the double glass optic and replace it with one of the other optics.

Lensbaby Composer with Fisheye Optic

I used the single glass optic , which simulates the optics found on an antique camera; the plastic optic that simulates the lens of a toy camera with a large amount of chromatic aberration; Pinhole and Zone Plate; Soft Focus Optic with which you can vary the amount of softness by replacing or stacking aperture disks; and the Fish Eye Optic with an ultra-wide 12mm focal length and 160 degree field of view.

Since all of these are part of a system using the same base device, when you purchase any of the other Optic Swap system units, you keep the versatile tilting base. None of the Optic Swap System connect to your camera’s electronics; therefore, everything is manual–focusing, aperture adjustment and degree of softness.

 
Lensbaby Composer with Soft Focus Optic

To change any element, optic or aperture, you have to remove the optics and replace the optic and/or an aperture disk. This is not as simple as removing a lens from you camera and replacing it with another. Changing the Lensbaby requires some effort, so using any of the Optic Swap System items is not a spontaneous decision. You must think about the shot you want and not just set your camera on five frames a second and wave it about.

While some photographers, using the automatics of the digital SLR, may find using the Lensbaby cumbersome, I heartily disagree. The Lensbaby Composer and the rest of the Optic Swap System are a set of devices to help you acquire your artistic vision. You are not just capturing an event, you are painting a digital canvas.  

Lensbaby Composer with Zone Plate Optic

The Lensbaby is not expensive and definitely worth considering, whether you are an amateur or professional photographer. The $270 retail price the of the Composer is within the means of both the professional and the hobbyist and the individual lenses from the Optic Swap System are also affordable (Single Glass Optic $34.95, Plastic Optic $34.95, Pinhole/Zone Plate $34.95, Soft Focus Optic $89.95, Fisheye Optic $149.95).

This is a different way of working and unlike any optics or lens available, therefore it safely sets its own niche. I found their best use in portraiture and still life, but I’m certain I have only touched the surface.

Lensbaby Composer Specifications

• Available in mounts for Canon EF (EOS), Nikon F, Sony Alpha A / Minolta Maxxum, Pentax K / Samsung GX, Olympus E1 / Panasonic Lumix DMC cameras.
• Double Glass (Multi-coated Optical Glass Doublet) included.
• Focal Length: about 50 mm
• Focus Type: Manual
• Aperture Type: Interchangeable, magnetic aperture disks
• Apertures: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
• Minimum Focus: about 18" (45cm)
  Maximum Focus: infinity
• Size: 2.25"(5.7cm) h x 2.5"(6.35cm) w / Weight: 3.7 oz (104.9g).
• No electronic communication between the lens and the camera body.
• Automatic light metering is possible by shooting in aperture priority mode for almost all digital and film SLR camera bodies except certain Nikon bodies including the D40, D50, D60, D70, D70S, D80, D90, D100, N50, N65, N70, N75, N80, Kodak 14N and ProN, & Fuji S1, S2, and S3.

Single Glass Optic Specifications

• 50 mm focal length
• Uncoated double convex optical glass singlet
• Shipped with clear plastic storage case
• 1.75" (4.44 cm) x 1.37" (3.5 cm)
• Compatible with the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak

Plastic Optic Specifications

• 50 mm focal length
• Uncoated double convex plastic singlet
• Shipped with clear plastic storage case
• 1.75" (4.44 cm) x 1.37" (3.5 cm)
• Compatible with the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak

Lensbaby Pinhole/Zone Plate

• 50 mm focal length
• Pinhole: f/177
• Zone Plate f/19
• Shipped with clear plastic storage case
• 1.75" (4.44 cm) x 1.37" (3.5 cm)
• Compatible with the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak

Soft Focus Optic Specifications

• 50 mm focal length
• f/2 to f/22
• Multi-coated optical glass doublet
• Magnetic disk aperture system
• Degree of softness controlled by changing the aperture disks
• Includes 3 special multi-hole soft focus aperture disks
• Part of the Lensbaby Optic Swap System
• Compatible with the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak
• 1.93" (4.9 cm) x 1.93" (4.9 cm) x 1.34" (3.4 cm)

Fisheye Optic Specifications

• 12 mm focal length
• 160 degree field of view
• Minimum focus: .5" (1.3 cm) from front of optic. Allows for extremely close focus (zero inches from the front of the optic) when used with the Control Freak.
• Maximum focus: infinity
• Six element multi-coated optical design
• f/4 optic with aperture disks that range from f/5.6 to f/22
• Shipped with clear plastic storage case
• 1.89" (4.8 cm) x 1.89" (4.8 cm) x 2" (5.08 cm)
• Compatible with the Composer. Special adapter required for Muse and Control Freak (sold separately).

Lensbaby web site: http://www.lensbaby.com

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The P100 is a 10.3MP superzoom camera with a 26x optical zoom lens and optical VR image stabilization.  The sensor is a backlit CMOS and uses Nikon’s EXPEED processing, which is found in high-end Nikon DSLRs as well.    — Eric Reagan

Source and Read More: photographybay.com

The HS10 is a DSLR-like camera in terms of size and handling.  What makes the HS10 so special though is the 30x zoom lens, which is equivalent to a 24-720mm lens on a 35mm camera.  — Eric Reagan

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