The Digital Photo Copy Cruiser

Tags

Alera Technologies, blast from the past, CD, CD writer, CD writing, CF cards, Digital Photo Copy Cruiser, history of photography, memory card, microdrive, SD cards, transfer of images from memory card

The year was 2003 when I purchased my first DSLR, spent ₹ 1.75 lacs on the 6mp camera body & another ₹16000/- for 2 Compact Flash cards of 512 mb each. Thankfully the existing SLR lenses were compatible. It was the time of transition from film to digital technology for professional photography . With film cameras editing was taken care of at client’s end, there was no real need of laptops/computers at the time and location of shoot.

This was also the time of shooting with both technologies, film as well as digital, the clients were not sure about the output and quality of digital cameras. The camera which I was using, Fuji S2Pro, had the option of clicking in TIFF mode besides JPEG, RAW processing was not common as editing software were not very advanced unlike today.

On a 512mb memory card, there was a possibility of storing only 28 images, each file size being around 18mb, lesser than a film roll with 36 exposures and almost double than medium format film rolls. Two memory cards were always insufficient for the days shoot considering exposure bracketing.

Buying more memory cards was not a cheap option and laptops were not inexpensive either.

As a standby during that time I requested my friend to bring the Digital Photo Copy Cruiser by Alera Technologies from USA, it was never launched in India and I paid around ₹10000/- for it. I read about this product in an international photography magazine, not much of information was available on internet during those days.

This product was revolutionary which enabled the copying of digital photos directly from camera memory cards to CD without a computer. Each CD can store 700mb data which was more than sufficient for one memory card of 512mb.

This device with two memory cards and lots of blank CDs became an integral part of my camera kit bag and served my purpose for many years till the time memory cards started coming with higher storage capacity and became affordable.

Photos from memory cards could be added to the CD in multi-session format so the full capacity of the CD could be used, though I never used this feature . It could also be used as a USB 2.0 36x CD recorder when connected to a computer. The Digital Photo Copy Cruiser supported the following Digital Memory Card formats: CF Type I and II, SD, MMC, SM, MS, MS Pro, and Micro Drive.

I read somewhere that this device became very popular with intelligence and detective agencies as it didn’t leave a trail since no computers were used to transfer the images from the memory card resulting in utmost secrecy.

The technological advancements in last fifteen years or so has made a tremendous impact on photography, cameras have become much more affordable resulting in democratisation where more people are able to pursue the craft either as hobby or profession. The initial days of transition from film to digital was a great learning experience, things were changing at a rapid pace as compared to present. It is now the time again to concentrate on the art of photography rather than worrying about the changing technology.

©️ Ravi Dhingra

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Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI Review

Tags

Auto Intelligent, canon, Canon EOS 50, Canon Flash, Canon India, Canon Speedlite, Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI, EOSM50, External Flash, Flash Photography, Learn flash photography, mirrorless, portrait, portrait photography, portraiture, Speedlite

New products, new models  are launched almost every day, most of these are either result of remodelling of the existing range or some improvements in the previous ones. A technical breakthrough is not very common, to come up with something innovative and unique decides the future of technology. The innovation opens up avenues for advancement and improvements and further opens doors for more innovations. 

There are various models of speedlites available for the photographers, some are dedicated ones manufactured and marketed by camera companies and some are sold by third party vendors. Most of these camera flashes are identical in nature, these are “kind of standardised” and offer default features. 

The new Canon 470EX-AI can easily be called a revolutionary product which is breaking barriers. A true innovation which will change the way speedlites are designed and used. AI stands for Auto Intelligent and is actually intelligent enough to make flash photography extremely simple even for amateurs.

 

Photograph below is taken without flash in extremely low light situation resulting in noise.

Camera EOS M50 , Lens: EF-M15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM, 45mm, f6.3, 1/16sec, ISO 6400

Direct flash whether in-built on the camera or external speedlite though light up the subject but cause unpleasant shadows.

Bouncing the light either using white ceiling or white walls using external flash is widely used by photographers to evenly light the subject. Using bounce flash is complicated, need experience and expertise. Canon 470EX-AI, world’s first flash with an AI Bounce function, has made this process extremely simple, press of a button on the speedlite invokes the intelligence and makes flash photography a cakewalk. 

Besides working as a normal external flash with all controls typically present, setting it on  F(Full)-AI.B mode totally changes the way this speedlite acts. After composing the scene in the frame and pressing AI.B button, the speedlite performs a few operations- measuring camera/subject, and subject/ceiling distance, the flash head swivels in multiple directions to formulate the ideal bounce flash angle and automatically sets for optimum flash output for bouncing the light, no more unpleasant shadows. While changing the orientation of camera from horizontal to vertical or other way round, pressing shutter release button twice realigns the flash direction and gives the exact same result.

When the subject-camera distance is changed, pressing the AI.B button will repeat the process and recalculate the ideal angle for bouncing the light and optimum output.

In AI.B Semi-auto mode, photographer can set  their own bounce angle settings and the flash can automatically maintain its angle even when there is a change between horizontal and vertical camera orientation. By pressing the shutter button twice the flash head automatically moves into the preset angle and position.

In the photographs below the mode chosen is S, Semi Automatic and the flash head is pointed towards wall on the side, once on left side and next on right side. The flash head automatically rotates towards the set angle when camera orientation is changed from horizontal to vertical. With the light bouncing off the wall on side, there is a nice play of light and shadow on the face.

When it is difficult to autofocus on the subject in low-light or when contrast is low during viewfinder shooting, the infrared AF-assist beam built into the flash is automatically emitted to help in autofocus. With this flash mounted on the camera, focusing in low light conditions will no longer an issue. All these photographs have been clicked in low light and there was no issue in focussing on the subject whatsoever.

As mentioned before, the M (Manual) mode will make the speedlite like any other normal external flash, the flash head can set in the desired angle manually  irrespective of camera orientation. It is only in S (Semi) and F(Full) Auto Intelligent Bounce mode the speedlite takes control of the situation and sets the angles according to the distance between subject/camera and subject/ceiling.

Canon 470EX-AI is meant for both professional photographers who are seeking more automation as well as for amateurs who are clueless about flash photography. The speedlite is most suited for covering events, clicking portraits and even products where the subject get evenly lit with nice soft bounced light.

All the Portraits above are taken with the mirrorless camera from Canon:

EOS M50 , Lens: EF-M15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM

Model: Arnav Dhingra

See how the Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI works

for more information, click here:

Canon 470EX-AI Features and Specifications

Canon R Full Frame Mirrorless Camera

Tags

Camera review, Canon 28-70 f2 Lens, canon EOS R, Canon EOS R review, Canon EOS R system, canon full frame mirrorless, Canon India, Canon mirrorless, digic 8, full frame mirrorless camera, mirrorless, mirrorless camera, R Mount, RF mount

The wait is finally over, as expected Canon has come up with a full frame mirrorless camera. Canon introduced crop sensor mirrorless cameras around four years back but did not aggressively promote these till EOS M50 was launched sometime back. With the competition increasing in full frame mirrorless category cameras, Canon has come up with EOS R system – Reimagining future. It is almost after 30 years after introduction of EOS and EF mount , a major change is being brought in with the new R mount.

Continuing with the philosophy of selling cameras which provide excellent image quality, ease of use and durability, the magnesium alloy body with the patented grip and placement of buttons makes this camera not only durable, easy to handle but good looking too.The diameter of mount remains the same at 54 mm but the distance between the mount and sensor plane has come down to 20 mm which in future will help in designing better quality compact lenses with wider aperture like f 1.0

The programmable ring on lens to control exposure and touch bar with multi functions on the body are the new, unique and innovative features offered, both of these will make clicking photographs faster with more ease.

Powerful image stabilisation (IS) effect of upto 5 stops

The algorithm to detect camera shake is an evolution from that of EOS DSLR cameras. This IS system acquires camera shake data from both a gyroscopic sensor in the lens and image data from camera’s CMOS sensor. The Dual Sensing IS system can accurately detect and compensate for low frequency (slow) blur that used to be hard to detect with gyroscopic sensors alone. As a result, camera-shake blur is reduced by the equivalent of a 5-stop faster shutter speed.

Combination of optical and electronic IS systems greatly reduce blur caused by low frequency camera shake. When a compatible lens is attached, the camera’s combination IS system uses both the Electronic IS for movies( in the camera) and optical IS in the lens, to significantly improve the performance of 5 axis camera-shake blur compensation.

Right now four R mount lenses have been announced but with the adapter all EF and EFS lenses can be used. The battery remains the same as in 5D & 6 D series, LP-E6/LP-E6N and so does the memory card. All these features are added advantage for photographers who are already using Canon DSLRs or new users who are planning to buy one and want to buy the R mount camera as their first body or an extra body.

Specifications

Image Sensor

Type

36 x 24 mm CMOS

Effective Pixels

Approx. 30.3 megapixels

Total Pixels

Approx. 31.7 megapixels

Aspect Ratio

3:2

Low-Pass Filter

Built-in/Fixed

Sensor Cleaning

EOS integrated cleaning system

Colour Filter Type

Primary Colour

Image Processor

Type

DIGIC 8

Lens

Lens Mount

RF (EF and EF-S lenses can be attached using Mount Adapter EF-EOS R, Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R, Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R. EF-M lenses not compatible)

Focal Length

Equivalent to 1.0x the focal length of the lens with RF and EF lenses 1.6x with EF-S

Focusing

Type

Phase-difference detection system with image sensor (Dual Pixel CMOS AF)

AF System/ Points

With Area 88% horizontal and 100% vertical

AF working range

EV -6 – 18 (at 23°C & ISO100)

AF Modes

One Shot

Servo AF

AF Point Selection

Automatic selection: Face + tracking

Manual selection: 1-point AF (AF frame size can be changed)

Manual selection: AF point Expansion 4 points (up, down, left, right)

Manual selection: AF point Expansion surrounding

Manual selection: Zone AF (all AF points divided into 9 focusing zones)

Manual selection: Large Zone AF (Vertical)

Manual selection: Large Zone AF (Horizontal)

AF Lock

Locked when shutter button is pressed halfway or AF ON is pressed in One Shot AF mode. Using customised button set to AF stop in AI servo

AF Assist Beam

Emitted by built in LED or optional dedicated Speedlite (flash)

Manual Focus

Selected on lens

Exposure Control

Metering modes

Real-time with image sensor, 384-zone metering.

(1) Evaluative metering (linked to All AF points)

(2) Partial metering (approx. 6.1% of viewfinder at centre)

(3) Spot metering: Centre spot metering (approx. 2.7% viewfinder at centre)

AF point-linked spot metering not provided

(4) Centre weighted average metering

Metering Brightness Range

EV -3 – 20 (at 23°C, ISO100, with evaluative metering)

AE Lock

Auto: AE lock takes effect when focus is achieved

Manual: By AE lock button in P, Av, Fv, Tv and M modes

Exposure Compensation

+/-3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB)

AEB

+/-3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments

Anti-flicker shooting

Yes. Flicker detected at a frequency of 100 Hz or 120 Hz. Maximum continuous shooting speed may decrease

ISO Sensitivity

Auto 100-40000 (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments)

ISO can be expanded to L:50, H1: 51200, H2: 102400

Shutter

Type

Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter and silent CMOS sensor readout

Speed

30-1/8000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

Shutter Release

Soft touch electromagnetic release

White Balance

Type

Auto white balance with the imaging sensor

Settings

AWB (Ambience priority/White priority), Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten light, White Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom, Colour Temperature Setting

White balance compensation:

1. Blue/Amber +/-9

2. Magenta/Green +/-9

Custom White Balance

Yes, 1 setting can be registered

WB Bracketing

+/-3 levels in single level increments

3, 2, 5 or 7 bracketed images per shutter release

Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/Green bias

Viewfinder

Type

0.5-inch OLED colour EVF

Dot count

3.69 Million dots (1280×960)

Coverage (Vertical/Horizontal)

Approx. 100%

Magnification

Approx. 0.76x 1

Eyepoint

Approx. 23mm (from eyepiece lens centre)

Dioptre Correction

-4 to +2 m-1 (dioptre)

Viewfinder Information

AF point information, Exposure level indicator, Number of remaining multiple exposures, Exposure compensation, HDR shooting, Highlight tone priority, Multiple-exposure shooting, ISO speed, Dual Pixel RAW shooting, Possible shots, Multi Shot Noise Reduction, Number of self-timer shooting, Digital Lens Optimizer, Maximum burst, AF method, Battery level, AF operation, Exposure simulation, Drive mode, AEB, Metering mode, FEB, Anti-flicker shooting, Still photo cropping, Shooting mode, Aspect ratio, Scene icons, Auto Lighting Optimizer, AE lock Picture Style, Flash-ready, White balance, Flash off, White balance correction, FE lock, Image Quality, High-speed sync, Bluetooth function, Shutter speed, Wi-Fi function, Multi-function lock warning, Histogram, Aperture, Electronic level, Lens information

Eyepiece shutter

N/A

LCD Monitor

Type

8.01cm (3.15″) Clear View LCD II, approx. 2.1million dots

Coverage

Approx. 100%

Viewing Angle (horizontally/vertically)

Approx. 170° vertically and horizontally

Coating

Anti-smudge. Reinforced glass incorporated

Brightness Adjustment

Manual: Adjustable to one of seven levels

Colour Tone Adjustment: 4 settings

Touch-screen operations

Capacitive method with menu functions, Quick Control settings, playback operations, and magnified display. AF point selection in still and Movies, touch shutter is possible in still photo shooting.

Display Options

(1) Basic Camera settings

(2) Advance Camera settings

(3) Camera settings plus histogram and dual level display

(4) No info

(5) Quick Control Screen

Flash

Modes

E-TTL II Auto Flash, Metered Manual

X-sync

1/200sec

Flash Exposure Compensation

+/- 3EV in 1/3 increments with EX series Speedlite flashes

Flash Exposure Bracketing

Yes, with compatible External Flash

Flash Exposure Lock

Yes

Second Curtain Synchronisation

Yes via Speedlite

HotShoe/ PC terminal

Yes/Yes via Battery Grip BG-E22

External Flash Compatibility

E-TTL II with EX series Speedlite, wireless multi-flash support

External Flash Control

via camera menu screen

Shooting

Modes

Stills; Scene Intelligent Auto, Flexible priority AE, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Bulb and Custom (x3)

Movie: Scene Intelligent Auto, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Bulb and Custom (x3)

Picture Styles

Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Fine Detail, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3)

Colour Space

sRGB and Adobe RGB

Image Processing

Highlight Tone Priority

Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings)

Long exposure noise reduction

High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings) (still and video)

Lens optical correction:

– Peripheral illumination correction, Chromatic aberration correction, Distortion correction (during/after still photo shooting, during video only)

– Diffraction correction, Digital Lens Optimizer (during/after still photo shooting)

Resize to M, S1, S22

Cropping: JPEG images can be cropped (Aspect ratios 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, 1:1)

– 45 cropping sizes selectable, from 11% to 95% (diagonal)

– Switch between vertical and horizontal cropping orientation

– Image straightening

– Cropping frame can be moved using touch screen operation

RAW image processing3

Multiple exposure

HDR

Drive modes

Single, Continuous High, Continuous Low, Silent Single, Self timer (2s+remote, 10s+remote)

Continuous Shooting

Max. Approx. 8fps. speed maintained for 100 JPEG, 47 RAW, 78 C-RAW images456

Max. 5fps with AF Tracking

Interval timer

4k time lapse movie

Live View Mode

Type

Electronic viewfinder with image sensor

Coverage

Approx. 100% (horizontally and vertically)

Frame Rate

59.97 fps (smooth) / 29.97 fps (power saving)

Focusing

Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen)

Autofocus: Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Face Detection and Tracking AF, 1point AF, Expand AF Area Zone AF, and Touch shutter

Metering

Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor (384-zone)

Partial metering (approx. 6.1% of the centre of the screen)

Spot metering (approx. 2.7% of the centre of the screen)

Centre-weighted average metering

Active metering timer can be changed

Display Options

3 levels available Basic shooting information, Advanced shooting information and Advanced shooting information with Histogram

File Type – Stills

Still Image Type

JPEG: 2 compression options

RAW: RAW, C-RAW and Dual Pixel RAW (14-bit, Canon original RAW 3rd edition)

Complies with Exif 2.31 and Design rule for Camera File system 2.0

Complies with Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1

RAW+JPEG simultaneous recording

Yes, any combination of RAW + JPEG possible, including Dual Pixel RAW +JPEG

Image Size

JPEG:

3:2 ratio (L, RAW, C-RAW) 6720×4480, (M1) 4464×2976, (S1) 3360×2240, (S2) 1696×1280

1.6x (crop) (L) 4176×2784, (S2) 2400×1600

4:3 ratio (L) 5952×4480, (M1) 3968×2976, (S1) 2976×2240, (S2) 2112×1600

16:9 ratio (L) 6720×3776, (M1) 4464×2512, (S1) 3360×1888, (S2) 2400×1344

1:1 ratio (L) 4480×4480, (M1) 2976×2976, (S1) 2240×2240, (S2) 1600×1600

Folders

New folders can be manually created and selected

File Numbering

(1) Consecutive numbering

(2) Auto reset

(3) Manual reset

EOS Movie

Movie Type

MP4 Video: 4K (16:9) 3840 x 2160, Full HD, HD

MPEG4 AVC/H.264 variable (average) bit rate, Audio: Linear PCM

Movie Size

4K (16:9) 3840 x 2160 (29.97, 25, 24, 23.98 fps) intra or inter frame7

Full HD (16:9) 1920 x 1080 (59.94, 50, 29.97, 25, 23.98 fps) intra or inter frame

Full HD (16:9) 1920 x 1080 HDR (29.97, 25 fps) inter frame

Full HD (16:9) 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25) light inter frame

HD (16:9) 1280 x 720 (119.9, 100 fps) intra frame

Colour Sampling (Internal recording)

4K – YCbCr4:2:0 (8-bit)

Full HD/HD – YCbCr4:2:0 (8-bit)

Canon Log

Yes Log 1

Movie Length

4K and Full HD – Max duration 29min 59sec. (excluding High Frame Rate movies). No 4GB file limit with exFAT CF card

High Frame Rate Movie

MOV Video: HD – 1280 x 720 at 100fps or 119.9fps

Recorded as 1/4-speed slow motion movie

Single scene maximum recording up to 7min 29sec.

4K Frame Grab

8.3-megapixel JPEG still image frame grab from 4K movie possible

Bitrate / Mbps

4K (29.97p/25.00p/24.00p/23.98p): ALL-I Approx. 480 Mbps

4K (29.97p/25.00p/24.00p/23.98p): IPB Approx. 120 Mbps

Full HD (59.94p/50.00p): ALL-I Approx. 180 Mbps

Full HD (59.94p/50.00p): IPB Approx. 60 Mbps

Full HD (29.97p/25.00p/24.00p/23.98p): ALL-I Approx. 90 Mbps

Full HD (29.97p/25.00p/24.00p/23.98p): IPB Approx. 30 Mbps

Full HD (29.97p/25.00p): IPB (Light) Approx. 12 Mbps

HD (119.9p/100.0p): ALL-I Approx. 160 Mbps

HD (59.94p/50.00p): ALL-I Approx 80 Mbps

HD (59.94p/50.00p): IPB Approx 26 Mbps

HD (29.97p/25.00p): IPB Approx 13 Mbps

Microphone

Built-in stereo microphones (48 Khz, 16-bit x 2 channels)

HDMI Display

External Monitor only, External Monitor only without information display or Simultaneous on camera and external monitor

HDMI Output

4K (UHD) recording only, uncompressed YCbCr 4:2:2, 8-bit or 10-bit, sound output via HDMI is also possible

Focusing

Dual Pixel CMOS AF with Face Detection and Tracking AF, Movie Servo AF Manual Focus

ISO

4K – Auto: 100-12800, H: 25600, H: 32000, H1: 51200, H2: 102400,

Full HD/HD – Auto: 100-25600, H: 32000, H1: 51200, H2:102400

Dimensions, Weight & Body Materials

Body Materials

Magnesium Alloy body and polycarbonate with glass fibre parts

Operating Environment

0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity

Dimensions (W x H x D)

135.8 x 98.3 x 84.4mm

Weight (body only)

Approx. 580 g (660 g with card and battery)

Click below to view Canon R Full Frame Mirrorless Camera video:

https://youtu.be/Jwwf9YWnSZI

Tips for posing in a group photograph

Tags

group photograph, photography tips, photography tutorials, Posing tips, Tips for posing