Amateur Photographers Underpricing Professionals

Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred for The New York Times

Interesting article in The New York Times:
For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Published: March 29, 2010
Amateur photographers, happy to accept small checks for snapshots, are underpricing professionals.

Here's a permalink to the article: For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path

Don't "cheap-out" on your Legs and Head

We've all seen this type of post..."Looking for an inexpensive tripod or head". As is typical with these type of inquiries, you learn the person just spent a $1,000 or more on their new SLR and another grand on a heavy, high quality 300mm lens (or other combination of body and lenses that are not likely to yield optimum results by hand holding at very slow shutter speeds even with in-camera or in-lens shake reduction systems).

Having just spent this type of money for a great system, it always concerns me how these folks think they'll be able to take advantage of their great optics if they do not buy the right support. In many cases, learning that one can't cheap out on key accessories like legs and the proper head unfortunately comes from experience. And I can attest to learning this early in my career (smile).

Part of the challenge in buying support accessories is first realizing that there is no single set of legs and head that will serve you well for all your various photography pursuits.

For instance, I have a wonderful support system that I acquired years ago when I was spending a lot of my time shooting surfing with a big 600mm lens. Without a doubt, the Gitzo Carbon Fiber 1325 set of legs with my Wimberley Gimbal Head is perfect for surfing and nature photography. The Gitzo legs provide the type of rock solid support I needed and the Wimberley head provides unparalleled freedom of movement when working with large telephoto lenses.

However, the Gitzo/Wimberley combo is far too heavy, cumbersome and certainly overkill for my everyday photography, where a minimal amount of support is needed. Therefore, I use a much smaller set-up for my walk-around photography...a 10-12 year old support combination using the Linhof Universal I Ballhead I and a fairly lightweight, compact Bogen 3000 series aluminum tripod.

Now, before anyone posts a rebuttal or starts a debate on whether the Linhof/Bogen combo is the best combo, please remember choosing the correct support for your camera, range of lenses and your type of photography is a very personal decision. The fact that I have found this combo to work very well for my type of photography and I have not had to upgrade it for over ten years is one of the key points of this post.

Don't run out a buy the first support system you find. Don't make your purchase decision based on looking for the lowest price solution. I can't tell you how many times I have told fellow photographers that I can save them a lot of money by helping them buy the "right" support from the start.

There is also a lesson in economics at play here when discussing camera accessories. Unlike most camera bodies which will depreciate rather quickly, high quality optics, tripods, heads actually retain their value over time. In some cases, a well cared for head or tripod can be worth the same amount years down the road, as when you bought them new.

I thought of this point last weekend when I was using my Linhof ballhead. So, I rummaged through my closet to find the original Linhof box. (Note, although my wife thinks I am excessively anal, make sure you keep all your camera gear original packages. It definitely increases the resale value if the day comes and you want to sell that mint lens, set of legs, or ball head.)

To support my recommendation about considering your accessories an investment in both pleasure, functionality and potential ROI, it looks like I bought the Linhof ball head from Cal's Camera for $140 over 10-12 years ago. Since this was the sticker price, I probably paid $120 or so for this item. In checking prices for this same head today, it appears it's going for $200-220. While it's highly unlikely I'd ever want to sell this item just to realize a slight profit on paper, it's somehow comforting to know that I've had years of wonderful, reliable use from this Linhof head and it hasn't lost any of its value.

So, just remember, it's very tempting to want to immediately accessorize that new camera or long, heavy lens with a new tripod or head. However, don't cheap out and get the first one you find on sale. Experience shows you'll regret that impulse buy and within six months you'll be on your way to buying that "second" tripod or head, which if you've taken anything away from this post, should have been your "first" purchase.

There are many sources for reading up on how to select the right support for your camera and lenses. While I don't see a need to list them all here, Thom Hogan has a rather old editorial on camera support that is still valid and insightful today. Here's a link if you're interested:

"...just buy the right stuff the first time"

Steve Huff's Review of the K7

Steve Huff, who's primarily a Leica shooter, posted a review of the K7 based on his perspective as a photographer who is not enamored with large bulky SLR cameras. As I shot early on in my career (60's through early 80's) with M4's and Summilux and Summicron lenses, I also enjoyed reading his observations about the FA 31mm and 77mm Limited lenses, as well as his comparison shots with the 35mm Summilux and the FA 31mm Limted. The link to his blog and review is below.

Pentax K7 Real World Review

Sukiyabashi Jiro: Japanese Living Treasure

Photo of Jiro's hand by Craig Mod

For anyone that appreciates the art of sushi, Craig Mod's black and white photographs of sushi chef Sukiyabashi Jiro are worth checking out. Here's a link to the photographs on his blog:
Sukiyabashi Jiro: Sushi Chef, Japanese Living Treasure

If you like the portraits of Jiro-san, check out the rest of Craig's blog, as he has some other really beautiful photographs on display.

There was also a good article in the March 5th Technology Section of The New York Times about Craig's views as a former book designer on the transition of books from paper to interactive devices. Here's a permalink to the NYT article:
Former Book Designer Says Good Riddance to Print

Field of View with DA 35 Macro

Based on a recent email I received, there are still some folks that don't understand or fully appreciate the benefits of the "close focus" feature in the DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited lens. I was reminded of this today as I used the lens to take some backyard shots for our landscape designer.

So to illustrate why it's great to have a small, normal view "walk about" lens with close focus capability built in, I quickly shot the sequence below. I started shooting from about 18 feet away to capture a fairly wide angle view of our teak Kennebunkport chairs and ended with a close-up from a few inches away of the missing wood plug on the left arm of one of our chairs.

Needless to say, there are probably more beautiful compositions I could have chosen to show the range of this lens, which I invariably use when I only want to take one lens on an outing or walk around town. However, I hope this sequence helps the curmudgeonly old man that sent me the email challenging the design philosophy of this lens. Somehow I doubt it as he'll likely find something wrong with my photos :)

(Note: Photos shot with K-x and DA 35mm Macro in RAW at ISO 400. I used CS4 to covert the RAW files into jpeg's for posting here on Blogger. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger file.)

Passion for Coffee and Photography?

This post is slightly off topic, except that coffee can be an integral part of your lifestyle and pursuit of excellence in photography. Many an evening, I have a fresh cup of coffee just to the right of my MacBook Pro as I peruse images in PhotoShop or prepare my files for printing. For me coffee is part of my workflow. I can sit back and compare different adjustments I've made to an image, while sipping a great cup of java. It slows the process down and gives me a chance to really consider what I want to do with a given image.

Coffee for me is also a craft or interest that I'm just as passionate about as my photography, growing heirloom tomatoes and collecting/storing fine wines from around the world. Therefore, the equipment I use for making great coffee and espresso is somewhat analogous to the gear I've used over my career for making my photographs. In general, the coffee gear I've come to enjoy the most over the years are simple, straight forward products that perform their chosen task very well with no additional bells and whistles.

So with this in mind, and thinking that there must be other Pentaxians that share a similar passion for coffee and espresso, here are my "2010 Glorious Bean Awards" for various coffee related products. As I frequent several coffee forums as much as I do the photo forums, I'm sure my choices might elicit some debate, but I guess that's the point of my post...to mix up the dialogue here for a change. And, to remind folks that just like coffee, photography is supposed to be an enjoyable, enriching part of your life.

Best Coffee Machine:

Technivorm KBT 741. These electric coffee brewers are hand made in the Netherlands and are good enough to be certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). They are the only machines I have found that brew at the right temperature (205 degrees) every time.


Best Grinder for Espresso:

Rancilio Rocky grinder. The Rocky is a top-grade, consumer mill made in Italy. It has the best quality burrs and a straight-forward adjustment to dial in the precise grind for espresso, regular-drip or other brewing methods. You can get it as an all-around mill, with a convenient front-mounted switch, or as a dedicated espresso mill, dressed up with a doser and coffee handle holder.


Best Grinder for Coffee:

Baratza Virtuoso. With its 480-watt gear-reduction motor and anti-static device, the Baratza Virtuoso’s high-end design proves its power and versatility. The Virtuoso features 40mm commercial-grade conical burrs that can be adjusted to 40 different settings.


Best Espresso Machine:

Espresso machines fall into three basic categories: Super Automatic, Semi Automatic and Manual. Knowing which one's right for you is more complicated and emotion provoking than selecting an SLR or deciding which FA Limited 31mm, 43mm, or 77mm to add to your camera bag.


Therefore, saying unequivocally what is the best espresso machine is hard to do. However, if you're serious about your espresso, want to have control over your shots and don't want to break the bank, the Rancilio Silvia (Version 3) is a machine with a reputation that speaks for itself. The Silvia is one of the most highly recognized semi-automatic machines in the business.


Best All Around Coffee:

Major Dickason's Blend
Peet's Coffee & Tea's most famous blend. Combines the best coffees from the world's premier coffee-growing regions. Very full-bodied, complex, rich, and smooth. A dark roast blend that's consistently good and readily available.


If you're a coffee aficionado, I'd love to hear feedback, your favorite products or your coffee experiences. And if you couldn't care less about coffee, here's a little data on the above photo. Shot with FA31mm and K-x in RAW at ISO 400, AV mode with aperture at f/8.0, exposure of 0.6 second, image de-saturated in Adobe Camera Raw. You can double click on the image thumbnail to see a larger file.

White K-x gets mention on Huffington Post

Photo by Sandy Hensen Corso

Sandy Hensen Corso, Huffington Post writer, blogs about getting her white K-x and using it at a Black Eyed Peas concert. She attached her photos from the concert as well. Here's link to her post:

Fergie and My Night as a Concert Photographer