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Posts Tagged ‘used’

Study finds news photography quality drops when non-professionals are used

03 Jan

In 2013, the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, NY, laid off its entire photo staff, electing to replace them with a mixture of professional wire service photos and images taken by non-professionals. This business decision remains in effect years later, and a new study warns the publication’s news imagery has suffered as a result.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, looked at 488 images taken by professionals and 409 images taken by non-professionals, all of them having previously been published by the newspaper. The photos were analyzed across four categories: Informational, Graphically appealing, Emotionally appealing and Intimate.

According to the results, more than 8 in 10 images taken by non-professionals fell into the “Informational” category, which is described as photos that provide info but lack emotion and creativity. In comparison, 49% of professional news images fell into the Informational category.

News images captured by non-professionals were often basic, lacking aesthetic and emotional appeal

As well, the study found that only 10.3% of non-professional images were classified as Emotional versus 25.4% of professional images, and that 7.6% of non-professional photos were Graphically Appealing versus 23.6% of professional images. Finally, while 1.8% of professional images were considered Intimate, none of the non-professional images fell into that category.

The researchers noted some other differences between the two photographer categories, including that professional photos were more likely to feature action and that the Times Herald-Record more often prominently featured images taken by professionals.

Though some questions remain, such as whether professionals were given more options to capture compelling subject matter, the results are still clear: news images captured by non-professionals were often basic, lacking aesthetic and emotional appeal. Whether such conclusions will reverse the trend of laying off photo staff is yet to be seen.

The outcome of the study is far from surprising, but it’s nice to see numbers back up what would seem like common sense. Sure, the best camera is the one you have with you, but a professional photographer with the right equipment in their hands is much more likely to create an impactful image, be it with emotion, composition, color, or some combination of all the above.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: Five tips to keep in mind when buying used film cameras

15 Dec

YouTuber Casey Cavanaugh, whose work has been featured before on DPReview, has produced a handy video guide for those looking for buy their first film camera. Posted on his GxAce YouTube channel Casey runs through five top tips for checking over some of the essential functions of an old film body and lens to make sure it is going to be worth buying.

He shows how to check shutter speeds and ways to spot problems, as well as pointing out the importance of the integrity of the camera’s light seals. He also has useful information on examining the condition of a lens and discussing what is repairable and what should be avoided. Buyers should take a spare battery and a flash light/torch with them, Cavanaugh says, to ensure lenses are clean and that the camera is functioning normally.

If you have an eye on a second hand film body this might help you avoid buying a dud.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Gear Offer is an online marketplace for buying and selling used camera gear

13 Nov

When it comes to buying used photography gear, there are plenty of options around the web: eBay, Amazon, KEH, B&H, and Adorama. Now, there’s a new option — Gear Offer, a photography-specific marketplace for selling and buying used camera equipment.

Based out of Scottsdale, Arizona, United States, Gear Offer is a self-proclaimed “marketplace just for photographers that’s hassle free, priced fairly and continually improving” founded in March 2017.

Trusting a new online marketplace isn’t always easy, but Gear Offer clearly lays out its terms of service and guidelines on how selling and buying items works.

Listing items on Gear Offer is free. There’s even a built-in pricing tool that uses recent sales of identical products as a guideline for what price you should set your item(s) at. Once the gear is listed, it’s a matter of waiting for someone to click the “buy now” button on the product page or make an offer that’s accepted.

Once an item is purchased, the funds from the buyer will be transferred to their Gear Offer account. The seller then packs up the item, ships it off, and adds the tracking number to the purchase on Gear Offer. The buyer will then receive updates until the item (hopefully) safely arrives on their doorstep. After the payment has cleared, which Gear Offer claims is “typically in 2 business days” the seller will receive their funds. Below is a chart provided by Gear Offer that illustrates the timeline of the buying and selling process.

To protect against fraudulent accounts and activity, Gear Offer says it uses machine learning to continually evaluate the risk of certain sales and transactions. It also relies on reviews from buyers and sellers to help build trust between frequent users. In the event something does go wrong, Gear Offers says customer service is provided by “real live humans,” and not ones in offshore call centers.

To confirm this claim DPReview tested the Gear Offer contact line by calling at roughly 4pm ET on a Saturday and after stating its name via a Google Voice operator service, DPReview was connected to a line that was eventually directed to a voicemail that said we would hear back “as soon as possible” regarding its inquiry. DPReview called again five minutes later in a secondary effort to contact the Gear Offer team and was immediately connected with a representative from the company.

Gear Offer makes its money is through a 6.9% processing fee when an item is sold, similar to how eBay and Amazon works, although at a lower rate — Gear Offer notes that eBay charges 12.9% (plus a standard $ .30 fixed processing fee).1 The 6.9% fee comes from the income of the seller of the item.

Head over to Gear Offer to find out more and browse around the current listings. To list or purchase photography gear sign up for an account.

1 The eBay processing fee is 10% and the PayPal processing fee is 2.9%, which makes for the 12.9% total fee.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Rumor: Canon full-frame mirrorless already ‘being used by select pro photographers’

24 Mar
So far, the EOS M5 is the nearest thing Canon has made to a high-end mirrorless camera.

Rumors of a Canon mirrorless full-frame camera are heating up. Just days after our own Canon interview from CP+ 2018 seemed to hint, quite strongly, that a “high-end mirrorless” from Canon is in the works, Canon Rumors is reporting that they have “confirmed from a couple of good sources” that a full-frame mirrorless Canon is indeed being tested by select pros.

The Canon Rumors report, published earlier today, claims that “a full frame mirrorless camera is well into its development cycle,” and is in fact being used by “select Canon pro photographers” in the field. This matches up with what Canon told us during our interview at CP+ 2018. Specifically, the Canon executives we spoke to said:

In accordance with the full lineup strategy, we will be tackling [the mid-range and high-end mirrorless market] going forward.

And when we asked if it was “realistic” to expect a Canon full-frame mirrorless camera within a year, their tongue-in-cheek response was:

That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Read our full Canon interview from CP+ 2018

Canon Rumors is “very confident we’re going to see something announced before the end of Q1 in 2019,” while other outlets have predicted something for Photokina in September. Either way, as rumors and reports heat up, it seems more and more likely the industry will be getting a major shake-up in early 2019 or late 2018.

The major unanswered question is: what about lenses? Will Canon release a new lens mount with this rumored full-frame mirrorless camera—thereby taking advantage of the shorter flange distance offered by mirrorless—will the new camera be compatible with EF lenses out of the box, or will it be some sort of hybrid arrangement?

When we spoke to Canon, the company said it “can’t simply ignore the [130 million EF lenses] in the market,” but that “we’re considering the technical advancements that are possible” with a new mount. In the end, they didn’t give us anything definitive, encouraging us instead to “let your imagination suggest some possibilities.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Ben Von Wong used 4,100 pounds of E-waste to create these futuristic portraits

07 Mar

Photographer Benjamin Von Wong recently teamed up with computer maker Dell to try and make recycling “cool.” Together, they took 4,100 pounds of electronic waste and used it to build three futuristic scenes that show how e-waste can be used to power the future of tech instead of languishing in some landfill—in other words: how e-waste can serve as a bridge between the past to the future.

For the past several years, Von Wong has taken his talent for capturing and creating incredible scenes in-camera, and used it to help push for various causes in the world of conservation. That’s how he wound up photographing this model in shark infested waters, or capturing these images of ‘mermaids’ swimming in 10,000 plastic water bottles.

His latest project finds him continuing his quest for conservation and social responsibility, this time alongside computer company Dell.

As Ben explains in his blog post about the project, he got in touch with Dell after finding out that the company has the world’s largest global recycling program. But for all of their cool recycling tech—like, for example, ‘Closed Loop Recycling’ that reuses metals and plastic from old computers to build new ones—the company struggles to get people to recycle.

“After all, how do you convince people that recycling e-waste can be cool?” ask Von Wong. These photos, this project, is supposed to be the answer to that question… or at least the beginnings of a conversation.

Wistron GreenTech gave Ben 4,100 pounds of e-waste to use on this project—the approximate amount a single person will generate over the course of their lifetime—and together with 50 volunteers over the course of 10 days, they build three ‘epic’ sets using simple tools, glue, paint, and wood.

Using keyboards, laptops, and circuit boards, Ben worked together with David Jeter and used forced perspective to try and make the sets look larger than life.

Here are a few behind the scenes photos of the build process:

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And here is what all of that hard work produced. Ten days of building and shooting for just three epic hero shots:

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In Ben’s mind, however, the whole process was definitely worth it.

“It took only 4 hours to clean up 10 days of hard work,” he laments, “but the images will hopefully live on forever and empower every individual to tell their friends and family to Rethink electronic waste, Recycle them responsibly, so that responsible companies like Dell can Revive them as brand new computer parts.”

To read the whole story and see many more behind the scenes photos and details about things like lighting and set design, head over to Ben’s blog by clicking here.

All photographs by Benjamin Von Wong and used with permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Tether Tools reveals it used an image without permission, issues public statement and apology

23 Dec

Tether Tools CEO Josh Simons has preemptively apologized for the company’s use of an image without the permission of the photographer who took it. In a letter published on December 14, Simons explained that an image used as a placeholder in concept mockups for the company’s redesigned website accidentally went live on the final site.

Explaining the process that led to this image’s accidental use, Simmons wrote in his letter:

One concept used behind-the-scenes candid images of photographers using Tether Tools’ gear. Behind the Scene Instagram images, similar to what you would see here @tethertools were added For Placement Only (FPO) during the design phase, to show an example of the type of photos that could be rotating regularly on an embedded Instagram API feed. This API mock-up, which included a customer’s Instagram BTS photo, was placed near the footer of one page in the proposed layout.

Over the course of time, through various layouts and edits the design was approved but embedding the Instagram API on this page was overlooked by the web design team. At launch the new website had close to 1,400 pages and finalizing this element on this page was missed. The use of the image was accidental and simply an oversight. The photo was never used in any other way, not in advertising campaigns or print materials, nor to promote any specific product.

Simons says Tether Tools was alerted to the image’s presence by a third-party, and that the company has since removed the image and contacted the photographer. The photographer, who is said to be a Tether Tools customer, has been compensated for the image’s use and was given an apology for the mistake.

In a statement to Fstoppers, Tether Tools said, “Both parties are satisfied and most of all we are gratified by the nature in which everything was handled.”

Via: Fstoppers

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Bokeh Market site tracks used camera market value, offers alerts on price changes

11 Nov

A new website called Bokeh Market aims to take some of the work out of buying and selling used camera gear by providing users with real-time market value info. The website, which is free to use, provides a graph showing an item’s value over time, its individual seller rating and, when possible, its trusted seller value. The site also culls active listings for the item from various online destinations, including eBay and B&H Photo.

The website is search-based, meaning users search for the gear they’re interested in. Though an account isn’t necessary to use the Bokeh Market, registering one allows users to create their own gear list, making it easier to see its value. Additionally, accounts can be used to get price alerts for specific items and to create bundles of items, the value of which is provided based on Bokeh Market’s data.

Via: PetaPixel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Shooting with a used DSLR kit that cost me just $80

14 Oct

Cameras and lenses are expensive. Really expensive. Even the cheapest entry-level DSLR kit today costs $ 500 and upwards. But what if you would buy the cheapest possible used DSLR? A camera that is over 10 years old? How would it stack up against today’s modern cameras? I was curious about this, and decided to find out for myself.

After two weeks of watching classified ads closely, and missing a couple of good bargains because I wasn’t fast enough, I finally managed to purchase a Canon 400D(also known as Rebel XTi) with a battery grip and a Canon 50mm f1.8 II lens on it. All this for only $ 80. It seemed like a great deal to me. It even came with a 2GB CF card!

I took the camera for a long walk the same day I bought it, and to summarize my experience: I was amazed by how good it was!

The sensor outputs 10 megapixel photos, meaning that they measure roughly 3900×2600 pixels. This is more than enough for posting on social media or viewing photos on a computer screen. And what amazed me even more, was that with a fairly good lens, which the Canon 50mm F1.8 is, these pixels get utilized very well. A 100% crop looks very crisp and sharp in most cases.

See the video above for image samples and 100% crop examples.

The only major downside with using an 11-year-old camera is that the dynamic range in the sensor falls far short of my modern Sony A7. If you do not nail the exposure really well when you take the photo, you have far less latitude to correct it later. With my modern cameras I just shoot everything slightly underexposed, and lift the exposure later in Lightroom. That would not be a good idea with the Canon 400D.

This camera’s weak dynamic range also makes it hard to capture scenes with strong light and deep shadows in the same frame. But other than that, this $ 80 camera kit has already, after a couple of days, given me a lot of photography joy for the money. I will definitely keep this camera—it’s a fun tool to take out once in a while to add some variation to my photo walks.

This little experiment taught me that if you just want a good camera to take nice looking photos in your everyday life, and you don’t have professional needs (such as 50 megapixel files) $ 80 will take you surprisingly far. And as an added benefit, 10 megapixel files give you such a swift and fast editing experience in Lightroom!

Micael Widell is a photography enthusiast based in Stockholm, Sweden. He loves photography, and runs a YouTube channel with tutorials, lens reviews and photography inspiration. You can also find him as @mwroll on Instagram and 500px.

This article was originally published on Micael’s blog, and is being republished in full with express permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to buy used gear (and not get burned)

20 Aug

Don’t get burned!

Photography gear is pricey, and buying used is a great way to keep your wallet from getting too thin, but it also comes with quite a few risks. The high price associated with photo gear sometimes attracts unsavory folks disguising themselves as reputable sellers, as a means to part you from your hard earned cash. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to avoid this from happening.

I’ve been buying gear on a budget for thirteen years now, mostly via eBay and Craigslist, and in that time have come of with a basic set of rules to protect myself from getting burned. And after recently reading a gear-buying horror story, I felt compelled to write down my rules – with the input of my DPReview colleagues – and share them with you.

Note: There are exceptions to these rules and following them does not necessary guarantee you won’t get burned by a bad deal. As with any big-ticket purchase, common sense is the best and safest policy.

Buy from reputable used retailers

Buy from reputable used retailers like KEH or from the used department of reputable camera retailers like Adorama or B&H. If you are unsure of whether a camera retailer is reputable, if they are based in the USA, a quick search of the company’s name on the Better Business Bureau website should provide you the answer.

As a rule, always be sure to check and understand the retailer’s return policy, just in case you have an issue. For instance, KEH offers a 6 month return window.

Buy from sellers with a positive history

The advantage of buying from a used retailer is generally piece of mind; the disadvantage is you will likely pay more than buying direct from a selling party. That’s where consumer-to-consumer sites like eBay and more recently, Amazon Marketplace* come into play.

If you plan on purchasing from a seller on one of these sites, I can not emphasize enough how important it is that they have a positive selling history with multiple completed transactions. At least ten is a good place to start, but the more the merrier. Checking a seller’s history is simple on both of the above-mentioned sites.

DPReview.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon but is editorially independent of our parent company.

Use safe payment methods

Only pay using a payment method you trust. PayPal is the obvious option, especially if buying on eBay, but there are others out there. And be wary of anyone who wants you to pay by wiring money to them via Western Union. If you choose to do so, make sure you’ve developed a sufficient level of trust with the seller.

Buy from other photo enthusiasts and ask questions

Buy from sellers who are photographers/photo enthusiasts. They’ll likely have taken better care of their gear and know more about its operation. The language used in an item’s description is usually a good indicator of whether the seller is a photo enthusiast or just someone who picked up some gear at an estate sale. If you are still unsure, reach out to the seller and ask them a question about the gear. If their reply doesn’t satisfy you, don’t buy it.

Try Craigslist gear paired with your own

If you plan on buying off Craigslist, try the gear with your own lenses/camera before you buy. One of my colleagues went to check out a prospective lens from a Craigslist seller. The lens seemed to function great on the gentleman’s camera, but when my buddy mounted it on his, the AF motor started to squeak. My friend had done his research and knew this particular lens occasionally suffers from premature failed AF motors, so he politely said ‘no thank you’ and moved on. Had he not tried it on his own camera, he might have ended up with a lemon of a lens.

Know the warning signs of gear failure, and ask for shutter counts

This is in a similar vein to the previous tip: Always, ALWAYS research warning sizes of failure for a piece of used gear you are considering purchasing. Some used gear holds up surprisingly well over time; some does not. For instance, early production Nikon 17-35mm F2.8 lenses suffer from the aforementioned failed focus motor. Knowing the warning signs of failure is essential. And don’t be afraid to ask the buyer if ‘the AF motor squeaks at all.’ These kind of questions and their answers can help protect you.

On a similar note, if purchasing a used camera, always ask for the shutter count. In the same way the odometer in a used car provides a metric for how much wear and tear it’s received, so does a shutter count. Because shutters are only guaranteed so many actuations by the manufacturer, it is crucial to check before you buy.

Skip grey market gear

Avoid grey market gear. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it refers to gear that is sold in new condition, but without a corresponding warranty for the country in which it is being purchased. To be clear: ANY camera or lens bought new from a reputable dealer will always have a warranty card issued by the manufacturer. Grey market cameras have usually been imported illegally. Some will come with a third party warranty, some will not.

While the prices might be tempting, it’s best to avoid these ‘deals.’ If you end up having a problem with the gear or there is some kind of recall, you may run into issues when sending it back to the manufacturer. Not to mention that grey market sales undermine the integrity of the photography gear market as a whole.

Look into alternative versions, save some dough

Look for alternative versions of gear that may be less expensive. This is less a tip about protecting yourself and more a tip about finding the best deal, but what the heck, we included it anyway. A good example of this is the Leica CL, which goes for a lot more money than a Leitz Minolta CL, despite being the same camera.

Check compatibility

Double check your prospective gear’s compatibility with your current gear. This one is pretty commonsense, but if you accidentally buy a Canon FD mount lens for your 5D Mark III, the screw-up is on you, not the seller. Likewise, if you buy a Nikkor-D lens and your DSLR doesn’t have a built-in AF motor, that’s your problem – not the seller’s.

Patience is key

Be patient. If buying on Amazon Marketplace or eBay, you can set automated searches or notifications for products of interest. Don’t rush into buying something because you don’t see a lot of copies for sale.

Update the gear’s registration info

Make sure if the seller had registered their gear with the manufacturer that you coordinate changing the registration info to your own. I recently heard an unfortunate story of a photographer sending a piece of gear, bought used, to the manufacturer due to a recall, and the manufacturer sending it back to the original buyer. A sticky wicket for sure! Don’t let that happen to you.

Have any used-gear-buying tips of your own? Share them with us. If they’re solid enough will include them in our list!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Pixel Peeper can now show you what Lightroom preset was used on a photo

08 Jul

Last month, a website called Pixel Peeper launched with the ability to determine which Lightroom edits were made to an image. Thanks to a recent update, users can now also use Pixel Peeper to determine which Lightroom preset was applied to an image.

The Preset Finder feature requires users to upload their previously-used Lightroom presets. Once uploaded, the system will identify which preset was applied to any image uploaded to Pixel Peeper. This feature only works with presets the user has already purchased and uploaded, however—it doesn’t identify presets that haven’t been uploaded to the system.

The new feature is limited to 10 presets that expire after 30 minutes for free users, but it’s unlimited for premium users who pay the $ 25/year fee.

In addition to finding presets, Pixel Peeper retains its original ability to figure out which Lightroom settings were used to edit an image, something it presents using a series of sliders for settings like exposure, tint, clarity, and more. The tool also displays EXIF data when possible, including the camera model and lens used to take the image, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and more.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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