My (Shortened) Wishlist

I’ve been assembling a wish list of equipment I think would help me ranging from a new computer to lenses. These are definitely wants and not needs, they would make my life easier and help improve my work but, I have what I need to do quality work right now, so no excuses. I also have resources to borrow some things I might need and I can always rent extra things I need for bigger jobs. It’s not a super-long list and some of it is not too expensive so I think these things are attainable within a reasonable amount of time. I will start with the post-production side (computer stuff) and then move into the fun camera side.

Post-production Side

As I’ve posted before, my main computer is a fairly new 13” MacBook Pro. I switched from a desktop to a laptop many years ago but I still use my MBP as a desktop when I am home. I have an Apple 20” monitor, an external keyboard and a magic mouse. The main drawback for me is the amount of storage space, or lack thereof, which makes external drives a necessity. That’s not an altogether bad thing but creates extra work and potential for forgetting important files when I want to work remotely.

Bottom line, I am a desktop user. I can’t design on a laptop with a small screen and trackpad and I don’t think the monitors are consistent enough to do quality post-processing of photos. So the first item on my list is a 27” iMac. I’m going to go all out with this one because I want it to last. Apple recently refreshed the iMac line with the Intel i5 and i7 processors and Thunderbolt port so I think they will be valid for a while. I am going to upgrade to the i7 option and also get a 256GB solid-state drive in addition to the 1TB internal hard drive. The OS and applications will run on the SSD and files will be stored on the internal drive. This set-up will make this computer scream. It will be purely a production computer. No email, iTunes, Excel, Word or porn on this one. Just pro production apps. I’m going to keep it lean and mean.

As my workload increases I need to have a workflow in place with an emphasis on safeguarding my growing library of images and possibly video. I bought a G-Technology G-Raid mini to consolidate my photography library and have a redundant copy of it. Now it’s time to take it to the next level. Enter the G-Safe RAID drive with removable hard drives. I love this thing. I can fill up a hard drive (two, actually because they’re mirrored) and then swap them out with new ones. I’m envisioning having these drives dated and stored, to be used as backups and archives. If one goes bad, I can restore it from the other drive.

Unlike horseshoes and hand-grenades, close is not good enough when it comes to the quality of my photography. My monitor is getting old and calibrating it by eye is not cutting it. I’ve had my eye on the X-Rite ColorMunki Photo for calibration. At $500 it’s not too bad for calibrating monitors, projectors and printers. I almost rented one from borrowlenses.com but if you add in insurance and shipping it would be almost $80 for one calibration. The wonderful people at X-Rite recently released the ColorMunki Display, which is available from B&H for $169. This is perfect for me because I don’t do my own printing (I don’t even own a printer anymore). So, for less than the cost of renting one twice, I can buy my own and calibrate my monitor regularly (highly recommended). This will most likely be my first purchase from this list.

I’m still using a mouse to do my design and photography post-production. I know many photographers swear by the Wacom tablet. I think there will definitely be a learning curve to getting efficient with the pen and tablet but, from what I’ve heard, once mastered, it makes the workflow much more efficient. I can definitely see how many touch-up techniques would be easier and more accurate. I’ve been using a mouse for so long, I am definitely curious to see how long it will take me to get used to it. This purchase may get bumped up on the priority list for the reason that I would like to have it down before I get really busy.

Photography Side

Speedliting has come a long way since I started. My wishlist used to include a Profoto AcuteB rechargeable power pack. That’s great if you have assistants to cart that heavy stuff around with you but speedlites make that a luxury reserved for shoots with a production budget. To help with my location portraits, I will be getting a softbox with a flash mount and a set of remote triggers so I can get the flash off the camera, shape the light and not be tethered to anything. This will definitely be useful as I continue to work on my Buskers project.

After having recently solved my focusing issues while using my Zeiss manual lenses, getting new Canon lenses has become less of a priority. Still, having auto-focus lenses has it’s advantages including speed and accuracy.

The first on my list is the Canon 24-70mm 2.8L zoom lens. I like the versatility of this lens as well as the faster glass. I’ve mostly heard good things about this lens but found some complaints from people shooting with this one wide-open. All lenses have their sweet-spot and wide open isn’t usually it. Most complaints are edge clarity, which leads me to ask what these people are shooting at 2.8 where they need edge clarity.

Next on the list was the Canon 50mm 1.2L. Obviously, it’s the fast glass that makes this one attractive as well as the autofocus. With the ability to use my Zeiss 50mm 1.7, this purchase is not a top priority. I’m also considering the Zeiss 50mm 2.0 Makro Planar (not to be confused with the 50mm 1.4 Planar which, from what I’ve read, doesn’t deserve the Zeiss name). I’m giving up a stop (and a half, I think) but the great thing about Zeiss is you can shoot them wide-open with the same quality as f/5.6. So, even though the Canon is 1.2, I might only like the results when I shoot it at 2.0 or higher.

An 85mm is also a good idea for a portrait shooter and again, I’m torn between the Canon and the Zeiss. The obvious advantage to the Canon lenses is the auto-focus. But, I’m starting to get used to the manual focus and like the control it gives me. It also makes me more conscious of the focus. I’ve lost many good shots because the camera refocused on something else while I wasn’t paying attention. Having the manual focus makes me pay attention.

Last, and certainly least on my list of lenses is a tilt/shift lens. The effect has gotten increasingly popular, especially with many iPhone apps adding the effect. But, I prefer to do as much in-camera as possible. The ‘effect’ is still not quite like the real thing. The tilt/shift function can produce some very cool looks for portraits. I’m not sure what focal length I’d like to get. I will probably rent a few different ones to try them out. This would be a fun purchase when I have extra cash and need a tax write-off.

So that’s my current (shortened) wishlist. I could put many more things on this list like a Canon 5D Mk III (when it finally comes out) because it’s a good idea to have a back-up body. I’d also like to replace my Speedotron lights with a full set of Profoto lights, including a ringflash. There are a whole host of lighting and light modifiers that I have not included. Mostly, because they are not immediate needs and I am trying to determine how much I need to own and how much I lighting I should just rent as needed. If I am going to be working in New York, less is definitely more. I don't think I want to lug gear around Manhattan. Just something I want to consider.

Trouble Focusing

I'm not talking about a mental thing here, though since it's been over 3 months since my last post, I may need to talk about the mental thing, too. This is about using manual lenses on cameras that have evolved to depend completely on autofocus.

My first SLR camera was a Contax RTS 35mm after I borrowed a friend’s Contax kit for my first trip to New York City. I decided on Contax for the sole reason that the lenses were Carl Zeiss T* (I’m also a bit of an outlier). My next camera was a Hasselblad 503 ELC, which also used Zeiss lenses. Later I sold my Hasselblad and bought the Contax 645 medium format camera. So, up until I bought my first digital camera (Canon 20D) in 2004, I had only owned Zeiss lenses. You could make an argument for either Zeiss, Leica or Schneider as being the best glass in the world. I think the T* coating makes the difference.

After switching to digital I had two lenses for my 20D, a Canon 17-40mm 4L and a Sigma EX 105mm 2.8 macro. Theses seemed to cover most of the focal lengths I needed due to the 1.6 crop factor of the 20D. Meanwhile, I had a full compliment of Zeiss lenses just sitting in a bag. I had a 28mm, 50mm, 24-80mm and a 70-200mm. I stumbled upon an adapter ring on ebay that would allow me to use my Zeiss lenses on my 20D in full manual mode. I was excited to be able to use my favorite lenses on my digital camera. There was just one problem: focusing those damn things was almost impossible.

The Challenges

Today’s DSLRs are definitely not made for manual focus. The focus screens are optimized for maximum brightness not for focusing sharpness. Gone are the focus prisms and split screen focus assists. In addition, the lenses are fully manual meaning the aperture is set on the lens making it impossible to focus when using small apertures. The solution is to stop down to a wider aperture, focus and then stop back up to your desired f-stop. It works but if you are trying to capture a moment the moment will pass before you manage to do all that. Also, because the lens is manual, the camera must be set to manual or aperture priority. Some exposure compensation can be needed when shooting aperture priority.

The Solutions

Canon makes additional focus screens for their cameras as does Nikon. For the Canon, the EG-S is the ‘precision’ screen. They retail for $45 and are easy to install yourself. The matte screen makes the range of what’s in focus more… well… precise thereby aiding accuracy.

Several companies make focus screens with micro-prism and split image screens just like the old-school manual film cameras. One company making a variety of screens for most camera brands is focusingscreens.com. I am going to try out the split-image screen soon. I have the EG-S and it definitely helps, but my eyes are not the best so the split-screen gives me an indicator that goes beyond relying on my eyes to focus.

For those of you who never used the old-school cameras, here are a couple of examples of the different focusing screens:

Split-image with the foreground subject in focus.

Close-up of the split-image screen showing the hand out of focus.

Close-up of the split-image screen showing the hand in focus.

Micro prism with the foreground subject in focus.

Close-up of the micro prism screen showing the hand in focus and the background out of focus.

Adapter rings with the focus assist chip is another solution. The first adapter ring I bought was just a basic ring. There was some play in the fit, which had me concerned about light leaks but also made me wonder how accurate I could focus on something that let the lens move slightly. As it turns out, not very.

The Fotodiox adapter ring with the focus assist chip.

I found another adapter with the focus assist chip on it made by Fotodiox. The focus assist uses the focus points in the camera to check focus and the squares light up and it beeps when it detects focus. Just like auto focus except you’re the motor. The one I have works pretty well when the aperture is set to f5.6 or wider but is iffy with less light than that.

Bottom line for me is I can use my Zeiss lenses but I will sacrifice speed for quality. I have not done any pixel-peeper comparisons of the lenses so I don’t know if I’m getting the full benefit of the Zeiss lenses. Zeiss is currently making lenses to fit Canon and Nikon. They are manual focus but have calibrated focus assist chips and automatic aperture so no need to worry about stopping down to focus. They are actually priced pretty close to the Canon L series lenses. I have used them a couple times and have been impressed with what I’ve seen. The manual focus also makes them ideal for doing video. I will rent the 50mm Makro Planar and the Canon 50mm L lenses for a long weekend to compare quality and see if I can live with the manual focus. But, for now, I will use the Zeiss lenses already in my arsenal.

The Slippery Slope of Equipment Upgrade

A while back, I wrote a post about figuring out the right time to gear up. It's been quite a while since I bought new equipment. Aside from a portable tripod I bought for my Project: 90 Days, I haven't bought any camera equipment in over 5 years. It's also been over 3 years since I bought a computer. I'd been wanting a new camera since the first Canon 5D came out and really wanted a new camera when the Mk II was released. I've rented 5Ds and 1DS's for magazine shoots so I could really appreciate what I was missing with my 6-year-old 20D. I'd hear photographers say ISO 800 is the new 200 and be thinking, "not for me".

I recently was hired to shoot and edit two videos for a paving company. I was planning on shooting it with a rental 5D Mk II. I priced it out at the only camera rental place in Phoenix at a whopping $650 for the week (double the price of renting it in NYC). I started thinking about how much I had spent renting the camera and made the decision to use the job to fund some much needed equipment updates.

One of the first images I shot with my new camera and Lensbaby lenses.

Here's where the slippery slope comes into play. I, for one, can clamp down on spending when it's absolutely necessary. But, once the wallet is open, I have a hard time shutting it again (some people have this issue with drinking). Unfortunately, that is not the only pitfall along the path. I discovered, once I upgraded one piece, glaring inadequacies were revealed on other equipment. This led to a little shopping spree that burned through the revenue from the video job and then some. I had a little buyer's remorse but (almost) everything I bought was needed and will be used regularly. And, most importantly, everything was bought with cash and not put on a credit card.

Here's the result of the shopping spree:

Canon 5D Mk II - I love, love, love this camera. I love the way it feels, the way it sounds and, most importantly, the way it shoots. Being a film shooter originally, I was coveting a full-frame camera. Love shooting with my 17-40mm lens as wide as it will go (17mm for those not paying attention) and actually being able to see the lens vignetting that was cropped off on the 20D (I also love vignetting). I also love the low-light capabilities of this sensor, especially compared to my 20D. And, of course, the 1080p HD video has added a new dimension to what I can create.

MacBook Pro 13" - I started trying to edit HD video on my 3+ year-old MacBook and quickly realized it was not up to the task. I had upgraded my hard-drive and memory but that wasn't helping. I couldn't even record audio with Garage Band. I've been wanting an iMac but I knew they were getting ready to come out with a new version (which they did, today). So I decided to go with the small MacBook Pro to use until I was able to get a new iMac. I put 8GB in it and now I can record audio and edit HD video no problem.

Lensbaby Portrait Kit - I would say this is the frivolous part of my purchases. I didn't need these lenses but wanted to give myself a little creative boost and also put a little directional spin on my style. I had my eye on the Composer but looked at the portrait kit and decided on that. I hate to admit, but I was seduced by the special edition red Scout that was exclusively offered with the kit. These are fun lenses but will only be used sparingly.

G-Raid Mini - I had photos all over the place with some backed up and others not. I needed to get them organized and backed up. So I got the G-RAID mini and set it up for mirrored RAID. I am protected against mechanical failure but if something happens to the entire drive (theft, water damage) I'm not. I have it backed up on another hard drive for now but I have other plans for back-up.

Various accessories - Most notably, I needed to get some higher capacity memory cards. I had 2 1GB cards because my 20D was only 8 megapixels so that was enough. Now, with 21 megapixels and 1080 HD video, I decided to get three 16GB cards. I also got a Hoodman loupe kit for the camera. This is mostly used for video but the loupe can be useful in checking focus, especially when I use my manual lenses.

A video I did while playing with my new camera and Lensbaby Composer lens.

But I'm not done yet. Here's a few more things that are on my list for this year:

iMac - I'm going to wait, at least, until the new Mac OS (Lion) comes out to get this one because the completely new Final Cut Pro will be released at the same time. I've been wanting to get a desktop computer for a while. I currently use my laptop more as a desktop with an external monitor, keyboard and Magic Mouse.

G-Safe - This is a great drive for redundant back-ups. It has two drive bays with removable drives. I'll be using this to backup and store all my important files. I'm going to reconfigure my G-RAID mini drive to be a striped RAID for speed and use it as my working drive.

Lenses - Now that I have a full-frame camera, I have some significant gaps in the focal lengths that are ideal for what I do. My top two priorities are the Canon 50mm 1.2L and the 24-70mm 2.8L. I would like to get the 50mm first but will probably end up getting the 24-70mm because it is less expensive and more versatile.

Like I stated in my previous post: "if you can't afford it, you probably shouldn't buy it." I'm paraphrasing but I'm also walking the walk. Any of the future purchases I want to make will be on a cash basis because, at this point, I refuse to get into debt when it is not necessary.

Hard Drive Dilemma

I have many external hard drives. Used them to backup and store my photography, design work all my files from my previous life as publisher of kontaktmag. Some of my external drives are over 5 years old. That’s pretty old in hard drive time. Until recently, all my hard drives have been LaCie drives. I started out with their regular line but then bought some new ones when they teamed up with Porsche Design and Red Dot Design winner Neil Poulton. They have proven to be very reliable as I don’t think one drive has gone bad on me. I wish I could say the same for my internal drives in my various computers I’ve had over the years. You could say I’m a very satisfied LaCie customer.

So, you might have noticed I wrote until recently, which implies I have made a change. In fact, I have. I had my photos scattered across many drives and some of them weren’t even backed up (this is a big no-no). Late last year I started using Lightroom to process and catalog my photos. I spent the holidays consolidating and organizing all of my digital photos. When I started looking for a new drive to put it all on, I started looking at LaCie. I was looking for something small enough to be portable, but also with plenty of space (1TB+).

I started looking at less expensive drives but then decided this was not the place to skimp. A friend has a small G-Drive that he loved so I started looking into G-Technology drives. They were similarly priced to LaCie and had a very nice form-factor. I started getting more interested when I found the G-RAID mini, which was a portable drive with built in RAID for seamless mirrored backup. So I bought one.

Then, I found a video on YouTube of Chase Jarvis showing his workflow. When I saw the G-Safe drive, I knew that I was going to go G-Technology moving forward. The G-Safe drive is actually two RAID 1 (mirrored) drives that can be swapped out when full or if one of the drives fails.

I can’t say that Chase Jarvis touting the drives hurt their cause any. I’m not a fanboy but this guy is a hardcore user, so if he likes them enough to trust his workflow to them, I think I can trust them, too.

To Gear or Not to Gear?

Let’s face it, almost all photographers have a healthy dose of geek in them; in the digital age even more so. We’ve always loved our cameras and lighting and couldn’t wait to get our hands on the latest photo gadget. Digital photography has exacerbated this for many reasons. The top two that come to my mind are the fast evolution of this relatively new technology and the tight intertwining of photography and computers.

While writing a term paper in college, I came across the tidbit that if flight would have evolved as fast as the computer did, man would have set foot on the moon 9 years after Kitty Hawk (that’s 1928 for the non-history buffs). Digital photography has taken a similar fast track. With every camera manufacturer releasing updates regularly with the latest features it won’t be hard to imagine the 5D ‘Mark II’ to start looking like the latest Super Bowl designation–5D Mark XLV.

I rented a 5D MkII and Profoto ring flash for this portrait of Phoenix artist Kyle Jordre.

Unless you are lucky (and good) enough to be so busy you’re turning work away or have a trust fund to decimate, you’re going to have trouble keeping up with the latest “must have” gear. So, how do you determine when the right time to buy new gear has come? There are several answers.

The easy answer is: when you can afford it. It is hard enough to make a living as a photographer without going into debt from the start. Aspiring photographers can turn an uphill climb into an impossible Himalayan ascent by maxing out their credit cards outfitting themselves with all the latest gear right from the start.

I was listening to Zack Arias talk about his path on the Depth of Field podcast. Like me, he is on his second go-around in photography. The first time, he went into debt buying gear and ended up having to sell it all to try to get even. On his second go around he has taken the frugal approach to the extreme. He is known as the master of one-light photography because he forced himself to work with what he had (which was… you guessed it, a single light). He has more lights now, but refuses to go into debt to buy any equipment. I share this philosophy.

Another answer is a little more complicated and requires a little self-honesty. You have to ask yourself “Do I really need this to do the job effectively?” (which also presupposes you have worked out the difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’). If the answer is yes, the next question is “Is it just for this job or will I use it regularly?” If you can afford it and will use it regularly, let’s go shopping. If you can’t afford it and/or won’t be using it regularly, renting gear is a great way to go.

There are so many advantages to renting gear, from being able to write it off to including it as a line item in your invoice to your client. And, of course, saving you from having to buy expensive gear you may only use once or twice a year. Renting is ridiculously easy in larger cities and even people in remote areas have online options like borrowlenses.com. It is also a great way to test out new gear to make sure it’s something you want to buy.

A fashion image I made with the same rented 5D MkII and Profoto ring flash.

For my situation, I am still shooting with my first digital camera (Canon 20D). It is past time for an update. Since this is something I will use every shoot and I have a couple of good jobs confirmed, I am getting ready to buy a 5D Mark II. I have rented it several times because I needed it but couldn’t afford to buy it at the time. I have also rented a Profoto ring flash several times. I love shooting with it but I know it’s something I use infrequently so it is not worth shelling out $6000 so I can get my greedy little hands on it anytime I want.

Like anything in life, we need to find a balance. Between what we want and what we need and what we can afford and what we should just rent. Of course that last part doesn’t really work in all areas of life, but in this case, we’ll go with it.