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Sigma shows EF-M mount primes for Canon cameras at WPPI

29 Feb

Hands-on with Sigma’s APS-C primes for Canon at WPPI

Sigma’s DC DN EF-M primes have been the talk of the town for EF-M mount users for months now, but they’ve been in relatively short supply (we’ve only got the 56mm F1.4 in the DPReview offices so far). But during our time at WPPI, we got a chance to see all three in-person and find out how they balance on Canon’s latest APS-C mirrorless flagship, the EOS M6 Mark II.

Pictured above is the most compact of the three, and the most recently released – the 56mm F1.4 DC DN. Offering an equivalent focal length of around 90mm (remember, Canon’s APS-C crop is 1.6x), it’s a fantastic option for portraits. Actually, in the EF-M system, it’s really the only native option for portraits, though you can of course make do with the kit zooms or adapt DSLR lenses.

As you can see, the 56mm is light on external controls, with only a large, rubberized manual focus ring on the exterior that is smooth and well-damped.

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN

Around the front of the lens is a 55mm filter thread, and down the barrel are nine aperture blades. The lens weighs 280g and feels dense without being heavy, and balances exceptionally well on the EOS M6 Mark II. It will focus down to 0.5m (~20″) with a maximum reproduction ratio of 0.14x.

The optical formula is composed of 10 elements in six groups, including one ‘super-low dispersion’ element. Unfortunately, there’s not much to see around the back of this lens. There’s no rear gasket for keeping out moisture or dust on any of this trio of lenses.

Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN

Up next is Sigma’s 30mm F1.4 DC DN. This lens is basically going head-to-head with Canon’s EF-M 32mm F1.4, but we don’t mind a bit of competition. The Sigma gives you a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 48mm, while the Canon gives you 51.2mm. That type of difference is unlikely to really influence your purchasing decision, though the Canon’s much greater magnification ratio (0.25x to 0.14x) and higher price point ($ 479 to $ 339) might.

In any case, the Sigma 30mm F1.4 balances quite well on the EOS M6 Mark II, being a bit lighter than the 56mm F1.4 but a bit longer as well. A well-damped rubberized focus ring is likewise the only external control.

Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN

The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN has an optical formula of nine elements in seven groups, with one of those elements being aspherical and another being double-sided aspherical. There are nine aperture blades and the front filter diameter is 52mm.

We actually reviewed this lens back nearer to its release, and on a Sony APS-C camera, we found it to be excellent.

Read our review of the Sigma 30mm F1.4 for Sony E-Mount

Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN

Last and largest is the Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN. It’s actually one-and-a-half times longer than the 56mm F1.4, and the heaviest of the three by 125g, or more than a quarter of a pound.

This lens is likely to be of interest to EF-M users, who up until now had only one native wide-angle lens at their disposal: the excellent (but slower-aperture) 11-22mm F4-5.6 zoom. This 16mm F1.4 should be a great option for lower light shooting, events, astrophotography and more.

It balances fairly well on the EOS M6 Mark II, but is a bit front-heavy. It’s not a very comfortable combination in the hand on Canon’s grip-less EOS M200.

Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN

Down the barrel, past the 67mm filter threads, we see a nine-bladed aperture, just like the other two. This should be great for creating 18-point sunstars in landscape scenes. In addition to being the biggest, it’s also the most optically complex of the group, with 16 elements in 13 groups, including a total of seven specialty elements, and it can focus down to as close as 0.25m (9.84″) for a maximum magnification of 0.1x.

Hands-on with Sigma’s APS-C primes for Canon at WPPI

And that’s it for Canon’s trio of DC DN F1.4 prime lenses, now becoming readily available for EF-M mount. We find that these lenses make an enormous difference in the appeal of Canon’s mirrorless APS-C system, but what do you think? Are you planning to pick any of these up for yourself? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Hands-on with the Nikon D6 at WPPI

27 Feb

Hands-on with the Nikon D6 at WPPI

The Nikon D6 is the company’s latest full-frame, high-speed sports DSLR, and we’ve just had the chance to get a look at one in-person at the 2020 Wedding and Portrait Photography Expo in Las Vegas. While the camera was operational, we weren’t allowed to capture any images with it – only images of it, for now anyway. Let’s take a closer look.

Behind that lens, and grip and front function buttons

No surprises here, Nikon’s not going to mess with a good thing – as someone who’s used the D5 extensively, I can confirm that the D6’s grip feels very familiar indeed, and is very comfortable. Those front function buttons are all very well-placed for easy access.

While we weren’t able to take the lens off this pre-production unit, the D6 comes with the same 20.8MP resolution of the D5, but a new Expeed 6 processor boosts burst shooting and should help with high-ISO performance, especially shooting JPEG.

Top plate

Top-plate controls are all-but identical to the D5’s as well, though we can see there’s now a polycarbonate cover around the hotshoe that likely houses the camera’s wireless antennas. On the top left shoulder, the ‘Mode – BKT – Metering’ controller is a bit more raised-up than we saw on the D5, and that’s really about it up here.

Rear plate

The rear of the camera is likewise going to be familiar to previous Dx-series users. Like, really familiar. Looking at the D6 and D5 side-by-side, the only difference I can find is the painting of a microphone symbol by the Fn3 button on the lower left corner. This means that this is likely the default button for recording audio notes to accompany images.

The side ports also look familiar, but there has been one change: the headphone jack and HDMI ports of traded positions, but that’s not likely to trip anyone up. Change just for the sake of change isn’t always the wisest choice on this type of camera. Many users will be picking one up and immediately setting it up exactly like their older D5’s and D4S’s and going out shooting. These types of professionals rarely want to reprogram their muscle memory.

Card slots

The Nikon D6 is the first camera in the series to eschew the use of CompactFlash cards entirely. Whereas the D5 could be configured with either dual CF or XQD cards, the D6 only accepts dual CFExpress cards. We think this is a good thing; these cards are durable and incredibly speedy.

We’ve been reliably informed that production sample cameras will ship without gaffer’s tape (applied to prevent show-attendees from sneaking in a card for unauthorized test shots).

Viewfinder autofocus

This is where Nikon’s concentrated most of its efforts. The autofocus system in the optical viewfinder is all-new, with 105 points, all of which are cross-type and use what’s called a ‘triple-sensor arrangement.’ The coverage area is very similar to that of the D5, though Nikon claims that the area of coverage is ‘1.6x denser’ than that of the D5. The whole array is sensitive down to -4EV, with the center sensor sensitive to -4.5EV.

In our brief hands-on with the D6 and the new AF-S 120-300mm F2.8 lens (which we’ll be featuring in a separate slideshow), the camera focused impressively fast from both near-to-far focus, and based on ‘Demo’ image review on the rear display, incredibly accurately. The D5 has been a benchmark for absolute autofocus performance for some time, and if Nikon’s made the D6 even better, that’s an impressive achievement. When we get a full review unit, expect lots of real-world sports AF testing.

Wireless connectivity, rear screen and burst shooting

The Nikon D6 comes with built-in wireless connectivity, which is likely to be well-received by end users (no more being forced into attaching an expensive external accessory). Hiding down at the bottom of the screen, you can also see the camera is set to its new maximum burst speed of 14 fps with autofocus and auto exposure. Firing off a handful of bursts, blackout is very well-controlled, and 14 fps is still going to be plenty fast for many types of action.

The rear screen is touch-sensitive, as with the D5, but there’s a new ‘swipe’ functionality in playback that brings up connectivity options right there to streamline the process of sending images off after they’ve been taken.

Hands-on with the Nikon D6 at WPPI

The D5 has been a personal favorite of mine for professional shoots for a long time, and it’s still one of my top choices for wedding photography today. I would expect the D6 to continue in this tradition – if the viewfinder autofocus system can get me even better results in even lower light, this will be a wedding-and-event photography winner. After all, that’s probably why it’s being showcased at a wedding photography expo.

Let us know what you think of Nikon’s latest professional DSLR in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon shows off EOS R5, RF 100-500mm lens under glass at WPPI

27 Feb

Canon EOS R5 at WPPI

The upcoming Canon EOS R5 was on display at the company’s booth at the 2020 WPPI Expo in Las Vegas, so we stopped by (and nudged our way past other attendees as politely as possible) to get a closer look. The representatives present at the booth couldn’t provide any details beyond the development announcement; “what’s been published is all we know,” was the common refrain. In case you missed it, here’s what we know:

Newly designed CMOS sensor (we’re guessing ~40MP)
In-camera image stabilization
20 fps continuous shooting (silent shutter)
12 fps continuous shooting (mechanical shutter)
8K video capture
Twin card slots

Still, we took some photos to get a better idea of what Canon’s done ergonomically to its upcoming full-frame mirrorless model.

We can see right away that the grip is deeply sculpted, with an almost-certainly customizable function button near the lens mount. Just behind the ‘EOS R5 DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENT’ label there’s another port door that’s hard to see, but may conceal a socket for a remote release or wireless transmitter.

Card slots

Here down the side of the camera we can see the card slot door. Again, all we know is that there are dual slots behind there; but the advertised provision of 8K capture means that they’ll need to be speedy, even with a good compression algorithm. Dual-type slots on the EOS 5D Mark IV could be a hint here; perhaps we’ll see one SD slot and one CFExpress slot. Or maybe just dual UHS-II SD card slots. Time will tell.

Top panel

On the top right of the camera, we can see what looks to be an identical control layout to the existing EOS R. The same status panel, and the same Mode + Dial combo for changing your exposure modes. Do you prefer this way of working, or do you long for an old-fashioned mode dial like Canon put on the lower-end RP? Let us know in the comments.

On/Off switch

On the opposite side of the camera is the on/off switch, similar in size to those on the EOS R and RP, but there’s a bit more of a protrusion near the back, perhaps for easier operation with your thumb. That also looks to be a polycarbonate panel surrounding the flash hot shoe, which is likely a ‘window’ for the camera’s wireless connectivity antennas.

Rear plate controls

Apologies for quality of this image, but the camera was nearly up against the back of the display, and there was no visibility from back there – so we have to make do with this top-down angle.

First of all, in the place of the EOS R’s touchbar is a traditional AF joystick and better-placed AF-ON button. Just underneath that is a dedicated ‘magnify’ button for checking focus, along with ‘INFO’ and a ‘Q’ button for pulling up the on-screen quick menu.

Underneath this is a thumb-dial surrounding a ‘SET’ button; this is a familiar setup from many of the company’s DSLRs, and is making its first RF-mount appearance here. No surprise, the screen looks to have the same swivel-out and rotate design as the R and RP, but next to the ‘Menu’ button on the top left is a dedicated ‘RATE’ button, which is accompanied by a microphone. It could be that the R5 lets you attach audio clips to your images using this control.

Rounding out controls on the back of the camera are the traditional ‘Star’ and ‘Focus Selection’ buttons on the top right.

Ports

Again, given the nature of the display, this is the best view of the ports I can get you – but everything is legible, at least. So we know that there will be microphone and headphone ports, a remote port, and a USB (likely type-C) port and HDMI output. You can also get a clearer view of the port cover on the bottom-front of the camera.

It looks like there may be enough distance from the screen hinge to the mic and headphone ports that they won’t get in the way of each other, so fingers crossed on that.

Let’s take a look at the RF 100-500mm lens, also under development.

Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L

In amongst the EOS R5 announcement was the teasing of ‘nine RF lenses’ coming later this year, including the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM on the right side of this image. For comparison, it’s sitting next to an existing EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II; the 100-500mm is a little chunkier, but of course, you’d need a teleconverter on the 100-400mm lens to get the same reach and that would add bulk of its own.

Canon RF 100-500mm controls

Here we can see the ‘smooth / tight’ ring the new RF 100-500mm shares with the EF 100-400mm. This basically sets the resistance of the zoom mechanism, depending on your preferences, or if you just want to eliminate zoom creep when you’re not actively shooting. We can also see the AF/MF switch and a focus limiter option.

Canon RF 100-500mm controls

Way down there, we can see the rest of the switches on the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L, which include a stabilizer on/off switch and a ‘stabilizer mode’ option, giving users an option to bias the stabilizer depending on whether you want absolute stability or if you’re doing panning.

Canon EOS R5 at WPPI

And there you have it – Canon’s upcoming high-end, full-frame mirrorless camera, under glass. We’re hoping to learn more soon, but in the meantime what are you most excited for about this camera? Would you consider getting one yourself? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Confirmed report: PDN is retiring its print and online magazines, PhotoPlus and WPPI to stay

29 Jan

Over the past few weeks, there have been rumblings behind-the-scenes that Photo District News (PDN) is shutting down. Curious to know the veracity of these claims, DPReview contacted PDN’s publisher, Emerald Expositions, last week and were connected with a high-level source who confirmed off-the-record that the details in the rumors were indeed true and an official statement would follow ‘in the next few weeks.’

This afternoon though, American Photography’s Pro Photo Daily published a statement from an Emerald Expositions spokesperson confirming the exact news we were told was off-the-record: that PDN would cease operation of its print magazine and no longer post new articles to PDN Online, but continue to publish Rangefinder Magazine as well as continue both the PhotoPlus and WPPI tradeshows.

A look at what will be the final six print issues of Photo District News.

We have confirmed, via our aforementioned source at Emerald Expositions, that Pro Photo Daily’s quotes were from an Emerald Expositions spokesperson, but that they were said off-the-record and not meant to be shared at this time. Thus, we’re now at a point where Emerald Expositions hasn’t publicly confirmed its closure but has confirmed the now on-the-record statements are indeed true.

Until Emerald Expositions publicly shares further details, we will stick to quoting only what Pro Photo Daily shared in its article:

‘PDN’s current owner, Emerald Expositions, has confirmed that the print edition of the magazine will no longer be published, and that no new content will be added to its online edition. Rangefinder magazine, also owned by Emerald Expositions, will continue to be published […] “The PDN online content will not vanish, and we’re looking for ways to ensure that what content there is will continue to be easily accessible, but there won’t be new content,” said a spokesperson for Emerald Expositions, which operates business-to-business trade shows in the United States, including the PhotoPlus show in New York and the WPPI show in Las Vegas, the largest trade show for wedding and portrait photographers and filmmakers. Both trade shows will continue.’

Our source at Emerald Expositions also shared with us the following statement, paraphrased for clarity with permission:

‘We [at PDN are] extremely appreciative of the PDN community and photo community at large. Our goal is to give our engaged and committed community the info they want when and where they want it. PDN, in its current form, is being retired [but] our community and content isn’t going away; it will just be servicing the community in different ways.’

We will share more information regarding PDN when the details are made public by Emerald Expositions.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The people and the sights of WPPI 2017

11 Feb

The people and the sights of WPPI 2017

This year’s Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) conference took place in Las Vegas from February 6th through the 9th, and DPReview was there. While we did see a few surprise announcements at this show, WPPI is chiefly an opportunity for industry leading photographers to showcase their work, provide workshops and information sessions, and for visitors take in a wide array of accessories that you never knew you needed and now can’t live without (and, of course, many that you probably can).

We spoke to some of those leading photographers about what their chief takeaways were from WPPI this year, as well as took in some of the sights as we traversed the show floor in the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center.

Sights of WPPI 2017: Print competition

First up, it’s important to note that big parts of WPPI are the print and album competitions, with literally hundreds of stunning prints on display for all to see. They run the gamut from contrasty staged portraits to black and white wedding photojournalism, with a good amount of abstracts thrown in for good measure. It’s a fantastic (and easy) way to kill a couple of hours on the show floor.

People of WPPI 2017: Peter Hurley, with hair

He’ll never look the same. Well, at least not for a very long time. Here seen showing off his trademark ‘squinch,’ Peter Hurley actually shaved and donated his hair to Locks of Love on the final day of the show, after this photo was taken.

When asked what stood out to him about this year’s conference, Hurley said, “we have fifty people here as part of the headshot crew, and after starting it just five years ago, it’s been amazing to see how the community has grown.”

Sights of WPPI 2017: Fresh lenses

In case you missed it, we saw some announcements for lenses from both Sony and Tamron at the show this year. Tamron announced new ‘G2’ versions of two zooms, their 70-200mm F2.8 and 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 lenses, which will retail for $ 1299 and $ 499, respectively, when they arrive this Spring.

Sony also had some surprise announcements, including an FE 100mm F2.8 STF G Master that promises to have some exceedingly smooth out-of-focus characteristics, as well as an FE 85mm F1.8 that brings an affordable 85mm option to the lineup. They will retail for $ 1500 and $ 600, respectively, and are expected to arrive come March.

People of WPPI: Cliff Mautner

Cliff Mautner is a wedding photographer who serves both Philadelphia and New York and has a background in photojournalism at the Philadelphia Inquirer. We got a chance to catch up with him at this, his fourteenth time attending WPPI.

For Mautner, WPPI is “all about community…this is worldwide recognition. What comes out of this convention generally sets a tone for the wedding and portrait industry globally.”

Sights of WPPI: Furry animals

Given the wide variety of styles and conventions for portrait photography, there was an abundance of themed backgrounds, knit outfits and hats for toddlers, and of course, stuffed animal props guaranteed to up the ‘cuteness’ factor of your newborn and children’s photography.

We found ourselves particularly drawn to a small assortment of imitation chicks, all holding differing poses poses and mimicking varying activities to suit whatever your creative cuteness needs may be.

People of WPPI: Brian Smith

Brian Smith is a portrait photographer specializing in celebrities, athletes and executives, and despite an extensive and impressive list of such clients, he is approachable, unassuming and professional. Smith’s favorite part of WPPI is the general attitudes of the attendees, which are chiefly of expanding creative expression and overall improvement. He enjoys being a presenter and giving attendees tools to make their photographs even better.

Sights of WPPI: Printing products before your eyes

3D printing has been around for a while, but we DPReview editors still felt we got a little dose of science fiction when we stopped by the 3D Flex Flash booth. Their products, designed to act as light modifiers for professional flash guns, are flexible (and therefore easily packable), and are created entirely via 3D printing, as they were demonstrating throughout the show. They offer the Wyng, a bounce diffuser (or flag if you get it in black) as well as the Nest, which is a sort of mini softbox and has optional grid attachments.

People of WPPI: Kenna Klosterman

Kenna Klosterman is a Seattle-based photographer and tour guide specializing on photo tours in Cuba, though she’s traveled to over 40 countries in total. She’s also a Host + Community Connector at CreativeLive, and finds that what she likes most about WPPI is getting to interact with people in the portrait and wedding photography industry in person. “So much of what we do is online,” Klosterman says. “It’s not so much the products for me [at this show], it’s all about the people.”

Sights of WPPI: Coffee faces

I mean, it wouldn’t be a photography show if you couldn’t get your headshot printed into a latte, would it? They’re whipped up in a special Sony lounge section of the show floor. Simply show your Sony camera (our own Wenmei Hill was toting an RX100 V in her purse) to get a caffeinated consumable of your likeness for your very own.

People of WPPI: Dixie Dixon

We ran into Dixie Dixon this year at WPPI’s Nikon booth before the hit the stage for a talk on ‘Bringing the Soul of Fashion to Life.’ Dixon is a commercial fashion photographer whose work takes her around the world. Dixie’s first camera was a Nikon FG which got her into photography at the age of twelve, and she’s become one of the original sixteen Nikon Ambassadors of the US.

Sights of WPPI: Touch the future of photo booths

Foto Master is hoping to bring some ease to the photo booth business. The Mirror Me Booth hides a touchscreen and digital camera behind one-way glass, making for a polished (pun intended) and intuitive photo booth experience. You simply tap to initiate the process, and can later input your printing or delivery preferences, as well as sign your group selfies.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Professional school and sports photography programming added to WPPI 2016 schedule

05 Nov

Emerald Expositions, the company that owns PhotoPlus Expo and the WPPI Wedding and Portrait Photography Conference, announced today the formation of a new association – the Professional School & Sports Photographers Association. The group will exist under the company’s Photo+ umbrella, alongside properties that include PPE, WPPI, PDN and Rangefinder magazine. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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10 Things I Discovered at the WPPI 2015 Trade Show

18 Mar

Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) holds an annual conference and trade show. It’s a massive photography convention with over 10,000 attendees converging on Las Vegas, Nevada each year. I’ve personally attended it over 12 times – both as photographer and trade representative. This year I decided to go just to see some old friends I haven’t seen in way too long, meet some others I’ve only ever seen online, and to make some new contacts.

In this article I’ll share with you my top 10 things I discovered at the trade show this year at WPPI 2015, and how you could apply some things to your photography:

10 things I discovered at the WPPI 2015 trade show

#1 Westcott’s Ice Light

This seemed to be the hot ticket item of the show with constant line ups just to see and order one. Weighing in at just 1.3lbs (0.58kg), The Ice Light is an ultra-portable, battery operated, LED light you can take anywhere. It’s not cheap though – while the light itself is light, the price is a bit heavy at $ 450 USD.

This finn promo video will give you an idea what it’s all about:

Will it help you take better photos? Probably not – educating yourself will do that. But it might be a fun tool (aka toy) in your arsenal if the budget allows.

#2 Photographer’s Ignite

From Wikipedia: Ignite is a style of presentation where participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced.

Photographer’s Ignite started in 2006 and has become really popular. As the last event at WPPI 2015 the large room was filled pretty much to capacity. You can see some sessions from their archives which I shared the other day.

There were some really great five minute talks, many of which inspirational. A great way to end a conference and head home – with ideas in your head. But remember, only taking action will move you forward. So watch as many of the sessions as you want – then get moving and DO something.

#3 Some really cool camera bags for ladies

Sorry guys there were man-style bags too, lots of them – I just didn’t scope them out this time around. One of my favourites (unisex) are ThinkTank – check those out!

Kelly Moore Bags

This were literally flying off the shelves at the show, I even saw men purchasing them for their wives and people arguing over the last one of a particular style. They were that hot.

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What’s so great about Kelly Moore bags? Well, they don’t look like a camera bags – they look like purses. The inserts come out too so you can put in lots of camera gear and fill them, half gear and personal stuff, or just use it as a purse without inserts. I know many female pro photographers that swear by these bags. Some can even double as a diaper bag for mom photographers.

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They look pretty well made and stylish, I have to say.

Porteen Gear’s design your own bags

I found these online a while ago but hadn’t seen one in person. One of the booth’s had some on display and they lived up to my expectations.

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Well made, high-quality materials, and you get to pick all the materials and colours so you can make a totally unique bag that only you own. You can even play with their Bag Builder tool online to see your bag virtually before you order. Select your bag size and style, leather color, accent color, the interior lining material and the strap and see your bag built in front of your eyes. With over 30 leathers and 100+ accent colours – you can be conservative or go crazy and show your style!

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#4 – Some of our dPS trusted suppliers

As Editor of dPS I also took some time to stop in and meet some of our trusted vendors and suppliers like Tamron (who will be supplying one of our writers with their new 15-30mm f/2.8 lens to review for you), B&H Photo Video, and Adorama (more than a camera store). If you’re even in New York City, stop in and visit both of those stores. They are massive and you can get lost inside – but I do forewarn you – you may want to leave your credit card behind for safety!

I also found some new companies and make a few connections with some third party brands to see if we can get some items to review for you. Stay tuned to the Cameras and Equipment section for more when that’s available. Two products I found particularly interesting were the Nissin flashes and Sirui tripods.

#5 Storage and backup solutions

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No the photo above has nothing to do with storage but photos of hard drives is a bit boring, so it’s a the token photos of an Elvis impersonator singing the Beach Boys instead. Only in Vegas!

How to save, backup and archive your images can be a big issue. I’ve been researching (okay my tech husband has) solutions for a while. One we’ve been looking at is the Synology system. I found three others I hadn’t heard of before at the show as well. Here is a list of them – keep in mind this is not a recommendation only a list as I know very little about them. Before purchasing and setting up any backup system do your due diligence and research to find the one that’s right for your situation.

Qnap – might be an excellent option for a small home user or photographer.
CRU – have a free backup information booklet available on their site.
G-Technology – these guys had a lot of really well known photographers endorsing their products. The only thing I disliked about them was that you have to use their drives, they are proprietary. Most other systems allow you to put any brand of drive into the system.

All of these are available on Amazon, but remember, please do your research before buying anything.

#6 Friends

Attending a photography workshop or conference is a great chance to make new friends, or see old ones. I did a little of both on this trip.

Longtime friends

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One of my past incarnations, and why I’ve been to so many WPPI conferences, was the role of client support (North American representative) with Queensberry albums in New Zealand. They make some of the best wedding albums for professional photography studios (for wholesale resale to clients only). I worked with them for over nine years and made lifelong friends with my fellow workers and the company owners. Above you see Sonya (company director, used to be my boss), and Raktim (he’s my brother from different parents, mine in Canada, his in India).

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It’s been six years since we have been in the same room together and we all agreed it’s been too long. Have you made friends at a conference or event in the past? Did you keep in touch? It’s a small world now – there’s no excuse not to – reach out to your “old” friends now.

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I also got to see my friend, photographer Renee Robyn speak for the first time. She does amazing work with models, Photoshop and light. She’s travels regularly and does workshops all over the world. If this style is up your alley check out her work. I will warn you she’s not G-rated though (her images and her language), so enter with caution if you’re sensitive.

New and online friends

Along with connecting with some longtime friends I also met some of my online or virtual ones for the first time. That included Mr. Frederick Van Johnson who’s podcast This Week in Photo I’ve had the honour of guest hosting several times. We even recorded an episode from a hotel room in Vegas (it was me and about nine other guys in the room, could have used dPS writer and another TWiP host Valerie Jardin for some extra female energy).

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Don’t you just love the high-tech lighting going on here for the video? They had every lamp in the room in front of us. It was a lot of fun as we discussed the show, where photography is going, what’s hot and more. You can watch or listen to the episode here.

I was also honoured to be interviewed by Frederick in the Panasonic booth for a women photography entrepreneurs Q&A session, with Catherine Hall.

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#7 Education overload

There were LOTS of choices opportunities for learning including: books, workshops, DVDs, online courses, and more – an almost overwhelming number of choices are available. The best plan is to pick one or two sources for education and stick to those – we hope you pick dPS – and then focus on doing and putting it into practice. We even discussed this on the podcast (link above), that learning + action is one of the keys to doing better photography.

#8 – That an 8mm fisheye lens is a really cool toy

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Just days before I left for Vegas my much anticipated Amazon shipment arrived with a new Rokinon 8mm fisheye lens, for my Fuji X-T1 mirrorless camera (APS-C sensor). On the cropped sensor it’s equal to about 12mm and man is it cool.

It’s completely manual (manual focus and exposure) and the camera doesn’t even recognize it. I have to shoot in a mode that tells the camera there is no lens on the front. But the camera does still adjust the exposure. Focus is a bit tricky but using the focus peaking feature on my camera helps. I have more than a few out of focus shots, so more use of the lens and practice is required yet.

Notice how wide the angle of view is; I had the lens touching the fence in this image and it’s still in the shot.

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If you’ve never tried a fisheye lens give it a go, you can be super creative. But learn to use it wisely. You must put something in the frame close to the lens as the subject or you’ll just have a wide mess of nothing. See if you can borrow or rent one, or perhaps even pick up an old film lens and adaptor.

An obligatory selfie in the car’s reflective surface.

#9 That I really love travelling with the Fuji X-T1

A few months ago I invested in a mirrorless system and chose the Fuji X-T1. I admit I’ve had some issues with it, including it completely quitting on me in Nicaragua and having to be shipped back to Canada. But it’s got a new motherboard now and that seems to have been the issue (I got a dud – great!) as it has had no further issues.

The whole reason I added this camera (I didn’t switch, I still use my Canon 5D MkIII for portraits) to my lineup is for travel. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m getting tired of hauling around so much heavy gear all the time. On this occasion I just grabbed the camera, 35mm f/1.4 lens (super light-weight and small) and the Rokinon 8mm. With the camera and lens around my neck, I was able to walk around every day carrying just my purse and extra lens inside. It was awesome!

Not convinced – read some dPS articles on mirrorless cameras and you decide if it’s right for you. It may be – it may not be.

#10 Sometimes getting away is a good recharge

You’ve probably heard this before, but getting away from home – if even only for a couple days – can be a great energy reboot and boost for your creativity. You don’t even have to go far – a neighbouring town, a drive in the country for the afternoon even, just a change of scenery and routine can be just the thing you need.

So that’s what I discovered at the 2015 WPPI show. Have you attended WPPI or any other photography conference? What were your take aways?

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The post 10 Things I Discovered at the WPPI 2015 Trade Show by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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18 March, 2014 – WPPI Trade Show Report

19 Mar

There has been a lot of announcements by manufacturers in the last few months and a few more to come soon. The Luminous-Landscape team of Kevin and Chris recently headed to Las Vegas to visit the Trade Show at the WPPI Convention. They visited a number of manufacturers’ booths and caught up on some of the latest information. Their report with video interviews of the Trade Show at WPPI is now available.

On Monday March 18th, X-rite released ColorTRUE a new app that calibrates your portable devices. It’s very easy to use and is a glimpse into how all our devices will be calibrated to showing the same image accurately no matter what device. We’ll be reporting more on this app and its uses in the near future.

You can win an all-expenses paid photographic expedition to Antarctica, along with air fare from anywhere in the world. The value of this prize is $ 15,000.

The Luminous Landscape wants you to try any of our more than 60 training or travel videos and our new free video player. Each purchase is an entry, and an annual subscription that includes all previous as well as new videos counts as six entries. The winner of a free lifetime subscription is also chosen from each month’s entries.

FIND OUT MORE

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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

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