11. Pimp My Ride
ISO 100 • 1/125 sec. • f/16 • 32mm lens
Upgrades and Accessories to Expand Your Camera’s Creative Potential
If you bought your camera with a lens, you basically had everything you needed to begin shooting with your Canon EOS Rebel T6s / T6i. I took great care to ensure that almost all of the techniques covered in the book were not beyond your basic camera setup. That being said, some accessories are essential for certain types of photography. Other accessories aren’t necessarily essential, but they will improve the look of your images.
Let’s take a look at some items that I believe are must-have accessories for your photography.
Poring Over the Picture
One of my favorite rainy/cold day activities is shooting floral arrangements. Not only can you capture some great images, but it’s also a great way to practice different photo techniques. This simple shot was the product of a close-up filter and an off-camera Speedlite. I put the flower in a small vase on a black background, and then focused closely with the filter and fired my Speedlite through a diffusion panel using the wireless pop-up flash on the camera. These accessories offer limitless options to expand your photo portfolio.
ISO 400 • 1/125 sec. • f/13 • 105mm lens
Filters
You should have several filters in your camera bag. Each one serves a unique purpose. Some say that digital imaging programs such as Adobe Photoshop can duplicate the effects that the filters offer. This may be true, but I would rather screw on a filter than spend countless hours trying to replicate an effect on my computer. Here’s another benefit to using a filter: lens protection.
Skylight
Probably the cheapest, yet best investment you can make for your camera is a skylight filter. This filter is used more for its protective effects than for any visual boost. At one point in time, the skylight/UV/haze filters were used to filter out UV light in order to add sharpness to distant subjects, correct a minute bluish colorcast, and reduce the effects of haze in a film image. A digital camera offers the benefit of having filters that are built into the camera in front of the image sensor to eliminate the effects of haze, UV, and infrared light. Therefore, most of the visual benefits of using a skylight filter are not evident. So why, if there is no real visual difference, should you use a skylight filter? Because what it does offer is protection for your valuable lens for a relatively low price.
A Canon EF-S 18–135mm IS lens will cost you about $550. A 67mm HOYA Skylight 1B filter costs around $21. As someone who often either forgets or loses lens caps, it’s reassuring to me that a $21 filter protects the precious glass on the front of my lens without degrading the quality of my image. If it does get scratched, I just unscrew it and buy another. That beats the heck out of $550 or thereabouts to replace or repair a scratched front lens element.
Polarizing
This one ranks right up there at the top of the list of must-own photography accessories. You won’t find a self-respecting landscape photographer who doesn’t have at least one polarizer in his camera bag (Figure 11.1).
Light travels in straight lines, but the problem is that all those lines are moving in different directions. When they enter the camera lens, they are scattering about, creating color casts and other effects. The polarizer controls how light waves are allowed to enter the camera, only letting certain ones pass through. So what does that mean for you? Polarizing filters will make blue skies appear darker, vegetation color will be more accurate, colors will look more saturated, haze and reflections will be reduced, and images can look sharper (Figure 11.2 and Figure 11.3). Not bad for a little piece of glass.
ISO 800 • 1/125 sec. • f/11 • 120mm lens
Figure 11.2 Without using the polarizing filter, the scene looks a little low on contrast and has a blue color cast from the sky.
ISO 800 • 1/60 sec. • f/8 • 120mm lens
Figure 11.3 Once I add a polarizer, the colors are much more accurate and the color cast is now gone.
Most polarizers are circular and allow you to rotate the polarizing element to control the amount of polarization you need. As the filter is rotated, different light waves will be allowed to pass through, such as a reflection on a lake. Turn the filter a little and the light waves from the reflection are blocked, making the reflection disappear. Another benefit of the filter is that it is fairly dark, so when used in bright lighting conditions, it can act as a neutral density filter (you’ll learn more in the next section), allowing you to use larger apertures or slower shutter speeds. The average polarizing filter requires an increase in exposure of about one-and-a-half stops. Figuring out your exposure change for the filter should not be an issue for you since you will be using the camera meter, which is already looking through the filter to calculate exposure settings. You should consider it, though, if your intention is to shoot with a fast shutter speed or use a small aperture for increased depth of field.
Neutral density (ND)
Sometimes there is just too much light falling on your scene to use the camera settings that you want. Most often, this is the case when you want to use a slow shutter speed but your lens is already stopped down to its smallest aperture, leaving you with a shutter speed that’s faster than you want.
A classic example of this is shooting a waterfall in bright sunlight. To get the silky look to the water, you must set the shutter speed to about 1/15 of a second or slower. The problem is that a proper exposure for bright sunlight is f/16 at 1/100 of a second with the camera set to ISO 100 (this comes from the Sunny 16 rule). If your lens has a minimum aperture of f/22, the slowest shutter speed you would be able to use is 1/50.
The way around this problem is to use a neutral density (ND) filter to make the outside world appear to be a little darker. Think of it as sunglasses for your camera. ND filters come in different strengths, which are labeled as 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9, and so forth. They represent a one-stop difference in exposure per each 0.3 increment. If you need to turn daylight into dark, the 0.9 ND filter will give you an extra three stops of exposure (Figure 11.4). This means that, in my earlier example, you could get an exposure of f/16 at about 1/10 of a second. This would be an ideal exposure for getting a silky smooth waterfall (Figure 11.5).
ISO 100 • 5 sec. • f/20 • 24mm lens
Figure 11.5 Using a 0.9 ND filter allowed me to use a long shutter speed in broad daylight to capture this silky smooth waterfall image.
My personal favorite filters come from B+W. If you would like to learn more about B+W filters, check out www.schneideroptics.com.
Graduated ND
Another favorite of the landscape photographer, the graduated ND has the benefit of the standard ND filter but graduates to a clear portion (Figure 11.6). This allows you to darken just the upper or lower portion of your scene while leaving the other part unaffected. This filter is most commonly used to darken skies that are too bright without affecting the ground area. If a regular ND is used, the entire area will get darker, so there is no visual change in the image as far as the brightness ratio between the sky and the ground is concerned.
You can purchase the graduated ND as a screw-on filter, but most photographers prefer to use the larger 4x6-inch version, which allows them to control exactly where the filter transitions from dark to transparent in the scene. There are many different options when looking for graduated ND filters, such as the density factor (number of stops), as well as how gradual the transition is from dark to clear. A hard grad filter has a very distinct line where the filter goes from dark to clear. This is usually the choice when there is a flat horizon line to work with, like where the sky meets the ocean. A soft grad filter has a more gradual change from dark to clear, with the darkest area being at the top and then a gradual change to the clear area of the filter. This is a better choice if you have uneven horizon lines like you might find when photographing a mountain range.
Tripods
If you only buy one accessory for your photography, do yourself a favor and make it a tripod (Figure 11.7 and Figure 11.8). In general, any tripod is going to be better than no tripod at all. A tripod helps you take sharper photos and lets you shoot in any lighting condition. There are more choices in tripods than there are in DSLRs. So how do you go about choosing the right one for you? The main considerations are weight, height, head, and of course, cost.
The weight of your tripod will probably determine whether you will carry it along with you farther than the parking lot. Many different types of materials are used in tripods today. The lightest is carbon fiber, which is probably the most expensive as well. More than likely, you should consider an aluminum tripod that is sturdy and has a weight rating that is suitable for your camera as well as your lenses.
Make sure that the tripod extends to a height that is tall enough to allow you to shoot from a comfortable standing position. Nothing ruins a good shoot like a sore back. Taller tripods need to be sturdier to maintain a rigid base for your camera. You will also want to consider how low the tripod can go. If you want to do macro work of low-level subjects such as flowers, you will need to lower the tripod fairly close to the ground. Many new tripods have leg supports that allow you to spread the legs very wide and get the camera low to the ground.
The other determining factor when purchasing a tripod will be the type of head that it employs to secure the camera to the legs. There are two basic types of tripod heads: ball and pan. Ball heads use a simple ball joint that allows you to freely position the camera in any upright position and then clamp it down securely (Figure 11.9). This type of head is flexible and quick to use, but it can sometimes be difficult to switch between portrait and landscape orientations. They also tend to be slightly more expensive
Pan heads employ a swivel and usually two hinged joints that allow the camera to pan left and right, move up and down, and adjust the position along the horizontal axis (Figure 11.10). Handles are typically employed to allow movement of the camera and lock down the position. The pan head is by and large the most popular tripod head style on the market. If you plan on shooting a lot of video with your T6s / T6i, you might want to consider the pan head style since it will deliver more functionality for your videography, specifically panning from side to side.
If you want to make your tripod shooting move faster, consider buying a tripod that uses a quick-release head (Figure 11.11). There are many styles of quick-release brackets; most use a small plate that screws into the bottom of the camera and then quickly locks into and releases from the tripod head. This allows you to go from handheld shooting to the tripod in just a matter of seconds.
The other thing to consider when purchasing a tripod is the leg locking system. Whether it is a lever-lock, locking rings, or some other system, make sure that you test it thoroughly to see how easy it is to lock and unlock the leg positions. Also check to see how smoothly the legs retract and extend. Avoid legs that stick because they will probably only get stickier over time.
You can find more information on Giottos tripods and accessories at www.giottos.com. Manfrotto tripod products can be found at www.manfrotto.com.
Cable Release
When shooting long exposures, you can use the self-timer to activate the camera or you can get yourself a cable release. The cable release, which is an electronic release, attaches to the camera via the remote port and lets you trip the shutter. It is also the preferred tool of choice when shooting with the camera set to Bulb. The idea of the release is that it allows shutter activation without having to place your hands on the camera. This is the best way to ensure that your images will not be influenced by self-induced camera shake. If you are taking long exposures, the remote cord allows you to hold open the camera’s shutter without having to have your hands on the body. The RS-60E3 remote cord will handle most, if not all, of your cable release needs (Figure 11.12). It sells for around $19 and will not only work with the T6s / T6i but with several other Canon DSLR models on the market.
Figure 11.12 The Canon RS-60E3 remote cord lets you activate the shutter without touching the camera.
Macro Photography Accessories
Extension tubes
Extension tubes are like spacers between your lens and your camera. The tubes are typically hollow, and their sole purpose is to move the rear of the lens farther away from the camera body (Figure 11.13).
A lens can only get so close to a subject and still be able to achieve a sharp focus. This is because as the subject gets closer, the focal point for the lens moves back to a point where it is actually behind the image sensor. Using an extension tube lets you move that focal point forward by placing the rear of the lens a little farther away from the camera sensor, thus letting you get the lens closer to the subject and enlarging it in your picture.
The tubes come in varying sizes, which are typically measured in millimeters. The more common sizes are 12mm, 20mm, 25mm, and 36mm. The longer the tube is, the greater the magnification factor (up to 1:1). The tubes are best used with lenses that are 35mm in focal length and longer. A wide-angle lens will have such a short focusing distance that you will be right on top of your subject. Canon manufactures several extension tubes, or you can buy them from third-party manufacturers. Prices vary, but you will pay more for tubes that use optics in their design. You can also purchase sets of tubes with varying lengths that can be used individually or stacked together for greater magnification.
Close-up filters
Another great way to jump into macro work is by purchasing a close-up filter (Figure 11.14 and Figure 11.15). Close-up filters also come in varying magnifications but tend to be a little more expensive than extension tubes. This is because they are usually made of high-quality glass that works in concert with the lens. The filters and lenses can have some advantages over tubes, too. Because they screw onto the front of your lens, they don’t interfere with any of the communication functions between the lens and camera body. They also result in less loss of light, so exposures can be slightly shorter than when you’re using extension tubes. They do, however, work similarly to tubes in that they allow you to shorten the minimum focus distance of your lens so that you can move closer to your subject, thereby increasing the size of the subject on your sensor. Close-up lenses usually come in magnification factors like +1, +2, +3, +4, and +5. They can also be stacked, strongest to weakest, to increase the magnification factor.
ISO 400 • 1/125 sec. • f/13 • 105mm lens
Figure 11.15 I used a close-up filter to help capture this flower image.
The other difference is that they are usually screw-threaded onto your lens, which means that you have to purchase a specific thread diameter. So if your favorite lens has a 68mm filter thread, this is the size you would use for the close-up filter. The big downside to using this type of macro device is that if you want to use different lenses that have different thread sizes, you will have to buy multiple filters. This is why I prefer to work with a zoom lens so that I can have a range of focal lengths to use with just one filter. Also, just as with most glass filters, the larger the diameter, the higher the price.
Hot-Shoe Flashes
In Chapter 8, “Mood Lighting,” I covered the built-in flash and what you can accomplish with it. Now that we have covered that topic, let me say that you really, really need to get yourself a hot-shoe mounted flash if you want to take better flash images (Figure 11.16). For one thing, the external flash is going to be much more powerful than the pop-up version. Also, much more flexibility is built into the Speedlite system of flashes than you could ever hope to get from the built-in version.
Canon currently has several Speedlite flashes for sale, but my recommendation is that you purchase the 320EX or, better still, the 430EX II Speedlite. They will run somewhere in the neighborhood of $220 for the 320EX to $300 for the 430 EX III, which can be a pretty hard pill to swallow at first. The pill will go down much easier once you have used one of these powerful and flexible flashes. Not only will your on-camera flash photography be much better, but you also gain the option of moving to a wireless configuration for even better flash results.
Getting a Grip
If you do a lot of shooting over extended periods of time and find that your camera runs low on juice before your shooting day is done, you might want to consider using the BG-E18 battery grip (Figure 11.17). The grip has three advantages. First, it lets you shoot with up to two batteries in the camera so that you can extend your shooting sessions. Second, it has a duplicate set of dials and a shutter release that make vertical shooting much more comfortable. And third, if you have large hands like me, you will find that the grip gives you a lot more camera body to hold, which also makes shooting a more comfortable experience. You can secure the BG-E18 from any decent camera shop for around $165, and don’t forget to buy a second LP-E17 battery.
Diffusers
Since we just covered flashes, let’s discuss a tool that lets you improve the light you are using in your portrait photography. A diffusion panel is a piece of semitransparent material, usually white, that you place between your light source and your subject (Figure 11.18). The fabric does as the name implies: it diffuses the light, spreading it out into a soft, low-contrast light source that makes any subject look better. You could make your own or buy one of the many commercially available versions. I prefer the 5-in-1 Reflector Kit made by Westcott. It not only has a very nice diffusion panel, but also has reflective covers that slip over the diffusion panel so that you can bounce some fill light into your scene. Best of all, the entire system is collapsible, so it fits into a pretty small package for traveling.
Figure 11.18 A diffusion panel can reflect or soften light to add soft shadows or a nice fill light.
You’ll find more information on Westcott diffusion panels at www.fjwestcott.com.
Camera Bags
This topic is tricky because I have yet to find the perfect bag for my own gear. All I can do here is tell you what I like to use and let you base your opinions on that.
First of all, I like to travel with my photo gear. Typically, my travel involves flying. This means that all of my camera equipment will be traveling in the cabin with me, not in the luggage compartment. I can’t emphasize this enough: Do not pack your camera in your checked luggage! Thousands of cameras, lenses, and accessories are lost and/or stolen from checked luggage each year. The best way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to take your gear on board and place it in the overhead storage. I like to bring my laptop as well, so I have found a couple of backpack camera storage systems that allow me to fit a camera body, several lenses, some accessories, my laptop, and even some snacks into one backpack-style bag that still fits under the seat in front of me. I also prefer a backpack because I like the freedom of slinging the bag over my shoulder, leaving my hands free for other luggage. I have been using a Lowepro Fastpack 250 for most of my travel needs for the past few years (Figure 11.19). The thing that I like about this bag is that it doesn’t look like a camera bag, so it doesn’t automatically scream “Steal me, I’m worth thousands!”
The other bag that you should look into is a more traditional, shoulder-style bag. These bags are made to handle all sorts of camera bodies, lenses, and accessories, and they’re usually completely configurable, with movable padded partitions so that you can completely customize the bag to your own needs. My current bag of choice is the Lowepro Magnum 200 AW, which sells for about $150 (Figure 11.20). This small-looking bag just swallows up my gear and never quite seems full.
These two bags are the ones that I am using currently, but finding the perfect camera bag is truly the Holy Grail for photographers. The fact is that you can go through a lot of them searching for one that perfectly fits your every need and never find it. I know; I have about six bags presently taking up residence in my closet.
You can check out the full line of Lowepro camera gear at www.lowepro.com.
Bits and Pieces
Since I just covered camera bags, let me share with you a couple of items that always travel in my bag.
The battle against dust is always a losing one, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have your small victories. To help in the war against the dust speck, I carry three weapons of cleanliness.
The lens cloth
A good microfiber lens cleaning cloth always comes in handy for getting rid of those little smudges and dust bunnies that seem to gravitate toward the front of my lens. I use one called a Spudz, which folds into its own pouch and has the added benefit of being gray (Figure 11.21). This means that I can use it as a gray card to get meter readings in Spot metering mode, or as a way to correct the white balance in my images down the road when I bring them into my imaging software.
More information on Spudz cleaning cloths can be found at www.alpineproducts.com.
The LensPen
For stubborn smudges on my lens, I pull out my trusty LensPen (Figure 11.22). This nifty little device has a soft, retractable dust removal brush on one end and an amazing cleaning element on the other that uses carbon to clean and polish the lens element.
More information on LensPen products can be found at www.lenspen.com.
Air blowers
Some folks prefer to use canned, compressed air to blow away dust, but these cans may release fluid when they are tilted. For this reason, I always use my Rocket-Air Blower from Giottos (Figure 11.23). This funny-looking device is great for getting rid of tough dust, and it uses a clean air path so that the dust that you are blowing away doesn’t get sucked into the ball and rede-posited on your equipment the next time you use it.
Better LCD vision
Having a large LCD screen is an amazing thing. The only problem is that it can be hard to see in bright daylight conditions. I overcome this by using a Hoodman Loupe (Figure 11.24). The loupe doesn’t magnify your screen; it just provides a light-tight little tent for you to get a better look at your rear LCD. It has a handy little lanyard so you can let it hang around your neck and keep it within easy reach for checking out those great shots you just took. If you are going to work out in the bright sun, you will definitely want to get one of these for your camera bag.
To check out all of the Hoodman accessories, head to www.hoodmanusa.com.
The Bottom Line
You can spend a lot of time worrying about having the right gadget, filter, or accessory to make your photography better. It can become an obsession to always have the latest thing out there. But here’s the deal. There isn’t a thing you can buy that will have more of an effect on your images than knowledge and practice. Everything else is just icing on the cake. So, while I’ve introduced a few items in this chapter that I think will make your photographic life easier and even improve your images, don’t get caught up in the technology and gadgetry.
Explore your camera and learn how to use all of its hidden gems. Then, if necessary, start adding some tools to that can get your images to the next level. My recommendations for getting started? (1) a decent tripod, (2) a Canon Speedlite, and (3) a polarizing lens. These three items will cover most of your immediate needs and allow you to explore all sorts of photographic possibilities. Just watch out for G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Don’t say I didn’t warn you.