The build quality of the camera itself is very good, since it is basically a box with a removable lens. In fact it feels very much like a Hasablad camera with the LCD screen on the top of the camera. The build quality drops a bit when you start to bolt on the accessories that come with the camera. The handle that holds the microphone and viewfinder feel a bit flimsy and the handgrip is just a bit better. I had these same opinions almost a year ago when I got the camera, but none of the accessories have broken in that time. Even if those accessories are not great, Sony have put several mounting points to mount monitors, rail systems and more rugged handles to hold the camera.

Image quality has been fantastic and overall, I have been very happy with the camera. But no matter how good the camera was, my Canon DSLRs, and the great lenses I own, always trumped the FS100 when I needed optimum quality and low light shooting. There have been many companies to manufacture lens adaptors for the Sony NEX cameras, which the FS100 is a member of, but most of those adaptors didn’t give you any control of the aperture of the lens, and you were forced to shoot wide open on your lens, which wasn’t very practical. You could bolt older, non-EF lenses, or older Nikon lenses if you had them, but if you were using a new Canon DSLR for your video work, none of your lenses would work.

That was until the Metabones Canon lens adaptor was announced in January of 2012. This adaptor allowed for the use of Canon EF lenses on the FS100, and allowed for control of the aperture through the camera body, with no external controls or battery involved. Just take the old lens off, bolt the adaptor on, and then attached the Canon lens. All controls are the same for the Canon glass as they for the Sony, except there is no control for auto focus with the Canon lens.

I did a short video over the use of the Metabones adaptor and the Sony FS100, showing off the features of the adaptor. In doing that video I demonstrated two things, how easy the adaptor is to use, and how bad my voice sounds.

With this adaptor, it opens a new world for shooting possibilities for DSLR shooters. Now you have a great sensor, removable lenses, plus audio controls with two XLR ports to plug in different audio sources like microphones, line feeds from audio boards, and wireless microphones, without an external audio recorder. Add in real time code features, which can work in tandem with other professional video cameras, real tripod mounting points, no recording time limits, and you start to see why this camera may be far better than a DSLR for shooting video.

I do want to point out that the FS100 is not better than DSLRs in all video areas. It is suited best when shooting documentary work, or when you need to record audio at the same time as video, like interviewing subjects. If you are strictly shooting video, and adding audio later, then DSLR cameras are still top on that list for pure visual quality.

One issue with the FS100, and the lens adaptor, is that if you want to attach heavy Canon lenses, like the 70-200mm lens, you will need some sort of rail support system to take the weight off of the lens mount of the FS100. This will add to the cost of fitting out the FS100 for use with all of your current gear.

However, there are a few marks against this super team of the Metabones adaptor and the Sony FS100. The first is the cost, at almost $5,000, it is much more than many DSLR cameras out there, plus it is not a very good still camera, so it can’t serve double duty like a DSLR camera. That cost does not include the Metabones adaptor, which is another $400. That is a high cost to pay for a camera, but the lack of a need of an external recorder, worrying about matching audio later in post, and dealing with multiple devices may just off set the cost of the FS100. I know for the work I am doing, and plan to do, that the FS100 is my next camera for video, and not the Canon 5D Mark III.

One last item to point out about the FS100 is that you can also attach more professional PL mount lenses to the camera, so you can rent or buy PL lenses and use them with other cameras as you upgrade bodies. With Sony announcing the FS700, and I assume the Metabones adaptor will work with that body, this line from Sony is growing, and investments you make in lenses, monitors and mounting kits will go a long way in the future.

Controls

Both the 600EX, the flash unit, and ST-E3-RT, the wireless controller, have similar controls, and those controls are fantastic. The new interface, with a dynamic menu that loads over 4 selector buttons, is easy to navigate. I also love the Wireless button that you press to enter the different modes of stand-alone flash, master and slave. As you press the Wireless button, you switch between the old optical wireless mode, and the new radio wireless mode. Each mode is easy to see because of large icons, and what could be one of the coolest interface designs ever, a change of color to the entire screen, green for Master and Yellow for Slave.

The 600EX set to Master (green screen) on the left, and Slave (yellow screen) on the right.

The good news is that if you have worked with older Speedlite models, and you have worked with Canon’s wireless system, the learning curve is very low. I was able to be in wireless mode, shooting in ETTL and Manual mode in just a few minutes.

Features

There are so many new features in the new wireless system, I am still sifting through them all, but of course the biggest feature is the new radio wireless system. No longer do I have to have to worry about lines of sight to each Speedlite for them to be triggered. I don’t have to worry about where the sensor is pointed, and for the first time, I don’t need my precious extra long ETTL cable. This means, I set the Speedlite where I want it, and then control all of the functions from either another 600EX or the wireless commander. (I have decided that I am not going to keep typing ST-E3-RT, it sounds like a robot in Star Wars).

I also love how easy it is to tell if the Speedlites are linked up to the Wireless Control, with a simple red light, green light indicator lamp. Red means that there isn’t a link between Master and Slave, but if the light is green, the Master and Slave are connected. This wireless communication is not one way, but a traditional two-way communication. I put each of my Speedlites into a separate group, and was able to monitor if those groups had recycled to full power and when they were ready to shoot again. A simple audible tone has been missing from Canon Speedlites, but to now have that signal come back to the commander, and see what group may be slow or having errors is beyond my wildest dreams.

The Canon ST-E3-RT. The best piece of technology Canon makes, with the worst name.

The new gel holder is very nice, which was first done by Nikon. I have yet to really play with the features of the gel holder, but when I attached it, the camera recognized it and work as advertised.

Some of the other features were not available because I am shooting a Canon 7D, and I need to have the new 5D or 1D to take advantage of the new Group mode, GR on the menu, which is something I know I will be using so much in the future. And by future, I mean when I can find someone to buy my kidney on the black market so I can get a new 5D Mark III.

What is There to Love?

This is not only a leap for Canon technology, but also a leap for all small flashes. These units are amazing and offer so much to photographers who are looking for big power in a small package. There is just not enough time, and caffeine, to talk about all the great new technology.

While the radio wireless mode doesn’t work on older flash units, the old optical mode is still there, so if you want to add a 600EX to your older 580s and 430s, you can do so.

What is There Not to Love?

The Wireless Commander, and new Star Wars villain, do not work with the older optical wireless system, so your older units will not work. But you can use the 600EXs to do the job.

One of my big pet peeves is that my 7D camera cannot use all the features of the new flash system. I find it very hard to believe, but it does force me into buying a new camera body much sooner than I would like. You would think all the heavy lifting of flash control would be done in the Speedlite and Wireless Commander, and it would be camera independent.

Another item, and a very petty one, is that with the new gel holder, and gels, supplied with the Speedlite do not fit in the supplied case. So the Speedlite is in one case, and the gels and holder are in another case, that looks like a complete after thought. Of course there still is no dome diffuser supplied, but if there were, it wouldn’t fit either. Nikon gets this right with their Speedlights, and all the accessories fit in the supplied case. I guess this is why Canon’s cases have always stayed in the box, and so will these.

But the last ugly point about the new system is by far the biggest, and that is the price. The old Canon flagship Speedlite, 580EX, was about $450, while the new 600EX is $629. That is a huge price jump, and since you really need more than one to really take advantage of the new features, you are looking at some serious cash.

Many on the Internets are saying that Canon has lost their mind, and that this system is far over priced. While they are right about how it is hard to swallow the price, they are wrong about it being over priced. Take the older Canon 580EX, buy a new Radio Popper with only a few of the features that the 600EX, and you are paying $700. While I am sure not many Nikon shooters are jumping ship, they would have to pay $800 to get the same features of the 600EX with previously mentioned Radio Popper.

Could you pay a fraction of that for an Alien Bee? Get a used set of Profotos for less than three 600EXs? The answer is yes to both questions, but you can’t put those solutions in a small camera bag, take a few light weight light stands, and run off on location, setup and shoot in a fraction of the time as those previous units, and with many more options available to you.

To put this idea in motion, with the little time I had, I set each of my three 600EXs in separate rooms of my house, and gelled each one with a different color. I then walked outside and with my Wireless Commander, set the units to manual power and trigger the units without any sort of line of site to the units, and with out the units being able to see each other, to rule out the idea just using optical slaves on less expensive units. It is not the best shot, in fact it is terrible, but the technology is there, and I can’t wait to try it out on real shoot in the coming days.

A terrible picture to demonstrate great technology. Three 600EXs, each gelled a different color, trigger over radio.

One last point I want to make about the 600EX, if you are looking to buy a single Speedlite for your Canon camera, I would stay with a 580EX or 430EX model, since the real power of the system comes into play when you have multiple units.

While many zoom lenses have a macro feature, that allows you to get close, they are nothing compared to using a true dedicated macro lens. A good dedicated macro lens gives you the ability to get extremely close to your subject, and many new models have built in image stabilization to make those hand held macro shots possible.

At the top of that list is the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. This Canon macro is one of the new macro lenses that have built in image stabilization, which comes in very handy when you don’t feel like hauling a tripod out into the field. The image stabilization technology is also the next generation stabilization technology from Canon, and it makes it a big difference. The lens is tack sharp, and the stabilization is as good as the corporate marketing make it out to be.

The Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro

But this macro also serves as a great portrait lens and continues to reinforce my claim that prime lenses are one of the best tools for any photographer to purchase. The 100mm macro is perfect for headshots and portraits and has an amazing shallow depth of field for separating your subjects from the background.

The Canon 100mm Macro is a fantastic portrait lens.

These are all the great features, but there are a few bad. First is the price, at around a thousand dollars, this is not a cheap lens, and may be out of the financial reach of many photographers. But that is not the biggest issue.

While the lens is amazing, it may not be the right one for you. It falls in a very narrow gap of the great Canon portrait lenses. First, at a maximum aperture of f/2.8, it is not the fastest lens that Canon makes in the price range. The 135mm f/2.0 is a bit less money, and while very old, it is one of the sharpest lenses that Canon makes, and it gives you that extra stop of light. While the 135mm is about the same price as the 100mm macro, the 85mm f/1.8 is far cheaper, at around $400, plus it gives you 1 and half stops of extra light, at a much cheaper value, but with about the level of sharpness. On the more expensive side is the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II, which is not only a mouth full to say, but as I mention in a previous post, maybe the best lens that Canon makes, and one of the most expensive.

While I shot this on the 100mm macro, I could have used the 85mm or the 70-200.

While I have never used the 135mm, I do own the 85mm and I can say it is almost as sharp as the 100mm, as is the 70-200mm. So it is hard to say if the 100mm is worth the price and the space in your bag if you are just looking for a great portrait lens.

I bought my 100mm Macro before I could afford the 70-200mm, and it was my go to lens for all of my portrait work. I had rented the lens before, and was really impressed with the quality of it, and I also could afford it at the time, where the 70-200 was not only out of stock, but also out of reach. Since the 70-200 has entered my life, it has become my go to portrait lens of choice, and the 100mm macro has only been brought out on rare occasions. The lens had seen such little use, that for a moment, I thought I would just sell it, and make most of my money back. But if when I used it as it was intended, as a macro, I really saw the lens’ qualities shine and remembered what drew me to it in the first place.

On a recent trip to see my folks in Oregon, I pulled out the macro and just walked through my mother’s garden. With a slight drizzle of rain, and clouds overhead, the light and texture on the plants was amazing. Each frame captured contained that joy that so many photographers loose while on the path of making a career out of photography. I even had a bee that stayed on a flower for almost a minute, making for a great subject. For that moment, and moments since, the macro has let me explore photography with out the stress and business that seems to follow almost every other photo shoot as of late.

Me and the bee, brought to you by the Canon 100mm Macro.

While there isn’t a place in my camera bag for the macro, stuck between the 85mm and 70-200mm on the shoots that make the cash. Maybe the macro has a better place in the bag, not for those shots that pay the bills, but those that recharge the battery of the photographer’s spirit. It will still see those paid shoots, especially when I need that macro for wedding or product work. But now I will reach for that lens first, to remember what is it means to be a photographer, and that is the love of taking photos.

Pure and simple joy from a macro lens.

This is huge news in the world of small flash, because it means that with this new gear, you do not need to worry about line of sight issues, long TTL cables or third party radio triggers to fire your flashes, or change power settings.

While the new Canon 5D is cool, this new flash and transmitter is ground breaking technology. It is also cool that Canon beat Nikon to the punch, since we Canon shooters take so much flack from our fellow Nikon Speedlighters, whom have been standing at the top of the hill for so long. I say this in good fun, but it is really nice to have the nicest toy on the playground, at least for the moment.

You can get the total break down on the new Speedlite and Transmitter at Syl Arena’s blog He got a hold of a few 600EXs and has produced some videos on their features, so I won’t waste your time on the details here. Syl also did a video review as well, which he was kind enough to let me put into the blog.

But the one thing that did stand out from all the cool updated technology was the price of the units. Canon announced that the 600EX-RT would sell for $629 and the ST-E3-RT would be over $400. The sticker shock almost eclipsed the actual announcement of the Speedlites themselves. This means if you wanted a simple one light, off camera setup, you are paying over a grand for a single Speedlite and the transmitter to fire it from your camera.

Now, that seems like a ton of cash, and while I agree with many on the web that this may be far too much money, keep in mind about what it costs to add radio-transmitting functionality to your current gear. If you buy a new 580EX, $420, then get a Pocket Wizard radio FlexTT5 Transceiver, $229, for control on the camera, and a Mini TT1, $199, for each off camera flash, you are getting close, if not past the cost of the new Canon system. Plus you need to add the zone controller for another $80 to control the power over the different groups of flashes. So maybe the extra cash that Canon is asking for is really not out of line, in fact it is much cheaper with less troubleshooting. Plus you add in the extra groups that Canon now allows you to add with the new system, D and E, and the powerful digital controls with two-way transmission and the cost doesn’t seem so out of line.

There are of course many who will think that spending this much money on small flashes is ridiculous. I really can’t argue with that feeling. A cool grand for one light and a transmitter is steep, and it always comes down to how much you want to budget for your gear. I do want to point out that those same individuals are also the ones that said that $400 plus dollars for the previous generations Speedlites were too high as well. While this sounds very snobby, and corporate, but neither Canon nor Nikon is trying to compete in the used Vivatar flash and generic radio control market. They are separate types of markets and shooters.

But there are some things I still don’t really like about the new system. While the new 600EX can work in the old fashion optical trigger system, the ST-E3 only works in radio, so your old flashes will not work with the new transmitter. I even cut some Canon some slack on this issue. Their old system was not great, and they really needed to start over and that means leaving the old way behind. This is a very Apple like mentality, which has no problem saying the new way is the standard, and the old way is dead.

The biggest issue I can see is that the new flash has the same power as the previous model, the 580EX. While the 600EX does have a higher guide number, that is only because it zooms to 200mm, and not 105mm. But at the end of the day, the same amount of power is coming out of the units. So you get new features, but not more bang for the buck. Which means that if I want to continue to shoot similar work as I am shooting now, I will need at least 4 600EXs to get the same look out of my setups, and in case you are troubled with math skills, that breaks down to over $2500, and this before I include the transmitter.

It also bothers me that there is no optical slave on the flash, so it can be triggered by any other flash, regardless of manufacture. This is SU-4 mode on a Nikon Speedlight, and it makes you small flashes work with large studio ones, there by expanding your system and getting more use out of your investment.

I do hope that Canon releases a smaller version of the 600EX, like the 430EX, because I find those smaller units give me the power that I need for many situations, and that may make the sticker shock a bit less to get to similar setup that I have now.

Keep in mind that for over $2000, you are talking about a different price point for flashes and strobes. You are now entering Elinchrom and Profoto territory, not Speedlites or Alien Bees, and while you may only get one or two flash heads for that money, you are getting a huge jump in quality.

But then consider that Speedlites are small, light, and run off of AA batteries, so if you are out of juice, a trip to any store can bail you out. No need to worry about cable length or finding a power outlet. I am able to pack all of my Speedlites in the same bag as the rest of my photo gear, and that makes only two bags I have to take out into the field when shooting. While David Hobby did point out on his Twitter feed that you can get a lot more for the same amount of money if you bought an Alien Bee and accessories with that same $600 plus dollars, I know for sure I don’t want to carry several of those flashes on a hike over several miles to a location. Like laptops, you pay for small and lightweight in photography gear.

Over a 2 mile hike to location, with no one to help carry gear, Speedlites were the only solution for this shot.

So who wins here with Canon’s announcement? Well I think shooters who know what small flashes offer them, and how that small footprint can outweigh the power output of bigger units. I think these shooters are going to be on location, or traveling for a good deal of their shoots. The radio control features are huge, and many may not have issues with the price, as they have already been buying extra radio transmitters to get similar features out of their Speedlites. Plus, unlike Elinchrom and Profoto, you can upgrade slowly with a much lower overhead per flash head, which doesn’t require buying more battery packs as you add heads. Currently Elinchrom only supports two heads on a Quadra pack, and Profoto only allows one head per pack on their cheapest battery pack.

The other group of winners here are the shooters that are going to find a great deal on used Speedlites soon. I personally think I will make the jump to the new system over the next year, so that means selling some of my old gear, which will be gobbled up on eBay or Craigslist at a great price.

I applaud Canon for jumping into the new realm of technology. There are going to be naysayers about the price of these units, and they do have a point, they are expensive, but I can tell you from shooting small flashes for years, the features, size and power of these units still make these the go to lighting option when I leave the studio, and now with radio control, may be the only lights I consider when walking out the door when weight and size are an issue.

I may have more books on the business side of photography, than on the creative side at the moment. And when I go to conferences, I spend more time in the business courses that I do the lighting and posing one, because I know how important the business side is, and how crucial it is to my career as a photographer.

So with all of that in mind, it pains me to say, that most of that business information went in one ear, and out the other.

But one thing I have always stood my ground on, was the idea that many of the hard and fast rules of the business side of photography didn’t apply to me, because I live in such a small market. Sure it is great to never work for free, or only focus on aspect of photography, and that great information is usually pushed by photographers in markets like LA, Atlanta or NYC. But I live in Reno, NV, one of the hardest hit states in the home mortgage crisis. Our focus here is whether to pay the power or the phone bill in a given month. There is just not the amount of work here to allow many photographers to specialize, which forces you to become a bit of a generalist.

You also find so many photographers in my area doing free work, which is where I have drawn the line over the last 4 years. While I am open to shooting personal work to expand my portfolio, I am not open to shooting for someone for free, with exposure or credit offered as payment.

At least I wasn’t until a month or so ago.

I have found it is hard to say no to friends, especially when those friends are models, makeup and hair stylists, or in this case both. And so a month ago I was approached by a friend to do a cover shoot for a local publication, that doesn’t pay photographers, but grants the universal pitch of “photo credit”.

Before I go any further with this tale of woe, let me be clear. I am not pointing fingers at anyone but myself. This is not smear piece against anyone, but rather a warning to those photographers that, like myself, may think, “this will never happen to me” or “the rules don’t apply to me”. I am at total fault for this failure, and I had multiple chances to do the right thing for me, my friend and the other model involved in the shoot.

Back at the story at hand, when asked by my friend to shoot this cover, which would feature her, and two other models, I initially thought it was a bad idea. This particular publication has photographers shoot for it all the time, and never pays them anything. They use the idea of exposure and credit to lure photographers into doing work for them. While I can’t argue with someone that gets work done for free, I can say that I haven’t fallen for this concept in sometime. It is not that I don’t believe in working for free, but it has to have a tremendous payoff for me to even consider it, and even then I am always skeptical.

My point of view of working for free is very simple, who is going to see this free work, and what will they do once they see it? Will they hire me? And if so, will it be amazing work with fair to amazing compensation? In the case of this publication, it is free magazine that is dropped off at business throughout town, and their market is more pointed to the community of young people looking for the best places to eat, drink and party. This is not exactly the market that I am focusing on. Plus you can make the case that someone who reads something for free, may not be the same person that is going to spend money on a photographer.

Now, if that wasn’t enough reason to pump the brakes and say no to this job, then what the shoot was about, should have been. Again, not going into details, but the subject of the story and the type of photography needed, was not something I am known for, or do. There is nothing wrong with the subject matter, but it would be like hiring me to do food photography, it is not something I photograph, and it is not something I am really interested in shooting.

At this point, with a free job for a magazine that has a market that may not benefit me, and a photo subject I do not shoot, you may be wondering how I even considered it.

The truth is I am nice guy, nice to a fault, such a fault, that it may kill me someday. My friend/model explained to me, that while the subject is not something I usually shoot, the idea and art direction would be so cool, that it would fall into work that I am more known for, which is crazy visuals. This peaked my interest, since I hadn’t really shot anything visually stunning or crazy in sometime. I figured the power of the publication and the art direction would net me some amazing photos. Plus I am good friends with this particular model, and it is hard for me to say no to my friends.

I was now interested, hooked even. So I said yes, even when I knew I should say no. But I was told that this idea was going to be amazing, the best cover to the publication ever, which also peaked my competitive side. Who doesn’t want to be the best? The planning process was starting very early, always a good sign, and my friend/model, who was also acting as art director, seemed on top of things, even though she hadn’t really art directed before. Which is another red light I should have seen, but we will come back to that later.

Over the next several weeks, the shoot started to go into a downward spiral. We went from 3 models for the cover to only two, which cause a bit of drama. The idea went from a very elaborate idea, which really couldn’t be pulled off, to a smaller scale idea, but it still was an interesting concept. But the biggest mistake I think I made during this process, was that I relinquished creative control, and let someone with little experience in art direction, take control of the shoot. I should have acted as art direction, taking her idea, and made it happen. This is where I really failed my friend, by not giving her the tools to make her concept succeed. I also forgot that no matter what happens, my name is on this photo, and I am the fall guy if it goes south, and man did it go south.

Four weeks before the schedule shoot, it became clear to me, that any really creative idea for this shoot was gone, and it had turned into simple portrait concept. None of the super crazy, hyper creative ideas were going to happen, and this is where I started to gain my senses. Once I saw that any creative payoff on my part was gone, I told my friend I wanted out. This was not easy for me to say, or for her to hear, but it was the truth. What was promised had not come to be and I was no longer interested in working on the project.

Again, being a nice guy would come back to haunt me. While my friend understood why I backed out, she still need a photographer with a deadline looming, and I felt like I was leaving her at the side of the road with a flat tire, because I just didn’t want to get my clothes dirty. It didn’t take long for me to say that I would shoot the job, even though my heart was not in it.

By the way, if I was telling this to you in person, this is the part where you slap me across the face until my eyes begin to close.

What type of work am I going to produce, when my heart is not in it. There is no reward of payment, so the only thing left for me is the joy of shooting the job, and there was no joy in shooting the job, just obligation to helping out my friend. This would be the creative version of helping someone move.

So by the time of the shoot, all the parties involved are not really interested, there is just a sense of, get it done, and move on, especially on my part. During the shoot, the direction by my friend and myself were not connecting, and all that came out of the shoot, was what I should have expected, a simple portrait shot of two models.

To add salt to the wound, the publisher/editor of the magazine decided that the shots were not what he was looking for, and wanted the idea to be re-shot. That should tell you something, that your work is so bad, that even when it is free, it is not wanted.

At that point I did what I should have done over a month and half ago, and I said, “no thank you” to the idea of the re-shoot, and started to lick my creative wounds. But that damage had already been done. I had taken a terrible set of photos, let down a friend, and another model, and shown a publisher of a magazine, that I wouldn’t normally work for, that my work was sub par.

The only way I could have messed it up worse, was if I had killed a litter of puppies during the shoot.

The cover to the magazine will now be shot by another photographer, and while my pictures will not see the light of day, the fact that I failed so badly will spread through this town. The photographer and models will do a last minute shoot to save a cover, I fail to produce, all because I didn’t listen to my gut, and simple say, no.

I should have listen, really listen, during all of those conferences, heard the words coming from pros. So if you were like me, take heed in my words. Even if I didn’t say no, I should have taken control of the shoot, taken charge of the creative direction and made something amazing, and if the amazing didn’t present itself, I should has still taken photos with some sense of purpose, and not phoned it in.

While this mistake will never happen again, because I have paid people to beat me senseless with wiffle ball bats if I even mention something like this again, the damage has been done.

So for those who need to know. Here is a checklists when considering, and you should consider it very hard when taking on free work.

1. Make sure you are complete control of the idea and the shoot. Don’t let someone dictate the look of your photography. If the shoot does not really showcase your talents, or the models and the idea are sub par, walk away. All you are going to get is a OK photo, and you could have shot that on your own.

4. Do you really need this publications exposure? In the world of social media, you may be better off to do your own shoot, take possession of the entire idea, and shoot what you want and do exactly what you want. Let Twitter and Facebook spread the word of your excellence.

Remember, nothing in this world if for free, and this shoot certainly cost me.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have a camera that shoots 17 frames per second, records 4k video, has a useable ISO that is so high that it can see into another dimension, and of course has a sticker price equal to a kidney in Mexico. I am pretty sure that is what I put that on my Christmas list in 2011.

All bad humor and sarcasm aside, I don’t think Canon or Nikon has really released a camera that many can afford, or maybe even needed, until the D800.

The D800, announced this week, has all the features that I think many pros, and serious hobbyists want out of a body. You can look at a list of features here, but the big ticket items are 36 mega pixels, full frame, and useable ISO in low light. Everything a growing photographer needs to become a man/women. (I know I said no more sarcasm, but I am only on my first cup of coffee).

Editors Note: As I have been writing this post, many others are doing the same. And with all gear announcements, you have those who shout praise for no reason, and then a group, that is growing, that constantly screams it is not about the gear, and that a camera will not make you a better photographer. Whether or not your need a new camera, or a camera like the D800, or any other expensive body, is always a decision a photographer should make on their own. Gear is not the end game of photography, but it is a big part of the solution.

This is not to say that Nikon and Canon didn’t get it totally wrong with the D4, (Nikon), and the 1DX, (Canon). I just don’t think that many shooters need or want cameras with those features right now. With price tags north of 6 thousand dollars, it is hard to find that kind of cash for many photographers.

I will give you a perfect example of this idea. A few weeks ago I was shooting a MMA fight, which I hardly do anymore, when I ran into another photographer who shoots Nikon. It was just a few days after the announcement of the D4, and I wanted to get his take on it. While we both agreed the D4 was awesome, he held his D3 close and said, “but I already have my action camera right here”.

The problem with both Canon and Nikon’s newly announced flagship cameras are that they are really pointed at sports photographers and journalists. Two types of shooters that are not really raking in the cash right now. And for many Nikon shooters, the D3 is so amazing, it is hard to justify what you get for another 6 grand investment.

To be fair, when I was criticizing these points on Twitter, many pointed out that photographers will buy these new bodies to naturally keep up with the competition. While the argument is sound, I don’t think either side has proof that those groups will actually bite on the D4 or 1DX. I certainly don’t see budgets growing for those types of photographers, and many journalists are being given video cameras instead of new DSLRs, even though the DSLRs shoot video.

The argument does makes more sense for Canon shooters, who have been looking for a quality action camera body since the 1D Mark II. Canon has yet to deliver the way that Nikon has. If the 1DX is in the same ballpark as the D4, you will see many Canon shooters start to buy that body, if they haven’t already switch to Nikon to get the D3 a few years ago.

But the D800 is a different beast all together. This is camera pointed at commercial, event, and wedding photographers. Many who want medium format size images, without dropping that kind of cash. In just looking at the buzz this morning on Twitter, I think those shooters are now taking notice, and checking for an extra 3 grand in the accounts.

Megapixels Don’t Matter

The new battle cry being shouted by many DSLR shooters is that “the megapixel war is over”. For me, that is the new, “film is not dead”, that we heard a few years ago, and just because it looks good on a tee shirt, doesn’t make true. Sure megapixels don’t matter to some shooters, but to many others, more is better.

I was out having drinks with a few friends, one of whome is an Art Director (AD), and I wanted to get some feedback on some of my images. One image, and his comments, in particular really stood out for me that night. It was of my friend Brittany, whose image has received a lot of feedback both on her portfolio and mine. It is one of those images I show off, because I really like it and I feel that it showcases my work perfectly. The AD took one look at it, and said, “I don’t like it when photographers crop the images”, and moved on to the next image. In that moment I understood the difference between the photographer and the creative designers using our images. They want to control what is and is not seen. So if I shot Brittany head to toe, then cropped the image, I would have gone from 12 megapixels to something closer to 6 megapixels or lower. Then the AD would now complain that the image is too low in resolution. His comment made sense, it also made me curled up into the fetal position and start to cry a bit.

If I only hadn't cropped this image. I could have been somebody.

If you ever wanted to know why so many commercial photographers shoot medium format, with all those megapixels, you now understand at least part of the reason. They shoot loose and let the creative’s make those crop decisions later. Sure there is a lot of directing on set, or even over the internet now, but many commercial photographers I know, still shoot lose and let the client or boss make the cropping choices. They are not paying 20-30 thousand dollars for big clunking cameras, which require tethering stations and special software just for the fun of it.

The same holds true for wedding photographers. My biggest problem in 2011 was shooting the right ratio, to give the client 4×5, 8×10, 16×20 size prints, instead of the natural ratio of 4×6, 8×12, 16×22, which many cannot find frames for. To solve this problem, I used the in camera ratio bars to help me out, but sometimes, I would shoot edge to edge, and be stuck with that ratio. Having more megapixels let’s me shoot loose, and then crop to the 4×5 ratio later, but still have a ton of image sensor information to use for enlargement of prints.

So for many photographers, megapixels do matter, and matter a lot. While the digital printing age is slowing that need down, and I do wonder what one does with 60 or 80 mega pixels, I think the sweet spot of high end megapixels in really in the 30-40 range. Art directors and commercial shooters have become accustomed to that amount of data, and they are not going to turn back.

Now if you are a photographer that doesn’t pay the bills with your photography, all those extra pixels are going to be more pain than pleasure, and a camera like the D800 is certainly not for you. Even the commercial shooter will hate having to fill up hard drive after hard drive in attempts to keep up with the storage and archiving of all that footage.

But it may not all be roses for the D800. No one has their hands on one, in real world testing, and there may be issues with the senor. Usually the more megapixels your jam into a space, the more noise you will see at high ISOs. The same may be true for video, in jamming all the information down into a 1080p resolution space. This may be a deal breaker on the D800, or there may not be an issue at all. We will see more this spring when the camera is released and it is put through some serious real world testing.

Regardless of any issues the camera may, or may not have. I am happy to see a camera release that is directed at my needs as a shooter. I am happy that both Nikon and Canon are pushing the bounds in high frames per second, crazy high ISO and stunning sensor quality. But they are not cameras I need right now. Right now, I need a D800, or more to the point, Canon to release the 5D Mark III.

I did this for two reasons. The first was because I was shooting a lot of action photography at the time and wanted to get closer to the subject, but many times fences, security guards or guard rails kept me from getting closer to the action, so I went for the 100-400 to help me get those tight shots.

I have since moved away from being a sport and action shooter, to more of a studio and portrait photographer and the necessity for the 100-400 has gone away. So far away, that it is no longer in my everyday camera bag and only comes out when I got out for the sporadic action shoot, and it may soon find its way on the used lens market.

The second reason that I didn’t buy the Canon 70-200 is because I really didn’t understand and appreciate lens optics at that time. While many photographers use the lens as a middle ground piece of glass that fits between their wide angle lenses and their super telephoto lenses, many more know the true power of a 70-200, its amazing qualities as a portrait lens.

2011 had been, for me, a year of the prime lens. I have pretty much left the zoom lenses in the bag, unless I was shooting derby or event photography. As mentioned in my previous post about the Canon 85mm f/1.2, I feel that prime lenses are something that all beginning photographers should explore. The movement that the primes force you to make, with zooming with your feet, there by showing you more angles and perspective that a zoom may not show you, because your feet are planted while you work that zoom ring like a mad person.

But Canon’s 70-200 is legendary for being one of the best lenses made for sharpness and quality. Traits that were improved with the second series release of the lens at the bokeh making aperture of f/2.8. I had used the first series 70-200 f/2.8 at one derby bout, and really loved the results, but never really used it for portrait work.

So when my last bout and the wedding of the year were falling on the same weekend, I decided to rent the lens from the fine people at LensProToGo, as well as a 50mm f/1.2, but more on that in another post.

I knew I wanted to buy the lens, but it was out of stock at BestBuy, so I rented it, to give it one final test drive, to confirm the need for purchase.

Before either event, I got in a quick portrait session with my good friend, and fellow shooter, Kelsi Vogel. While I knew the results would be great, I really was not prepared for what that would mean. The images were tack sharp, autofocus was much more accurate than many other lenses I had used, and the compression at 150-200mm was amazing. Shortly after that shoot, the lens was in stock and I bought it without looking back.

I just love the sharpness of the 70-200

(Since I originally started writing this post in October of 2011, I have used the lens extensively for portrait work, and hardly ever reach into the bag for any of my other lens. The only time I grab another lens is when I just don’t have the room to move for the 70-200.)

Now at over $2000, this is not an impulse buy to see if this is something you grow to like. This is an investment, a serious one. I want that to sink in, so you understand how good this lens is, because when I looked at the results, I didn’t hesitate when I hit the buy button on the computer screen.

It is that good.

The images were as good, if not better than my 85mm f/1.8 and my 100mm f/2.8 Macro, my two portrait lenses of choice over the past year. Add in the fact that I now have the range of 101-200mm of lens zoom, for great image compression and fantastic shallow depth of field, and you have a total winner.

f/4.5 @ 70mm (left image) and f/4.5 @ 200mm (right image)

The lens continued to shine when shooting roller derby, giving more consistent shots that were in focus while I held down the shutter button and sprayed and prayed in continues shooting mode. It was also as well suited at the wedding, allowing me to get close to the action of the ceremony, without getting in the way of the wedding party.

And since it has such a low maximum aperture, I can always use an lens extender to get back to the 300-400mm range if I ever need to.

I usually have buyer’s remorse when I buy any gear. Hell, have buyer’s remorse when I buy a game for my Xbox. But even with the high cost of this lens, I haven’t lost a wink of sleep. The only regret I have is that I didn’t pony up the cash when this lens first came out.

Model and friend, Travis Stewart, but the ladies call him Steve.

Now, I know what you are thinking, “There is no way in Dante’s inferno that I am going to pay that much for a lens”. My response is simple, rent the lens for a week, and shoot every possible scenario you can think of, but prepare yourself for not wanting to send this lens back.

If the price is still too hight, you may want to look into a less expensive alternative. Canon, unlike Nikon, manufactures several lenses in the 70-200 range. Two with f/4.0 apertures, one with image stabilization, and one without. They also make two in the f/2.8 apertures, again, one with IS, one without. Nikon’s 70-200 is fantastic as well, but they do not have any lower cost alternatives at this time.

I do want to point out that while all of these lenses from Canon get great reviews, the f/2.8 IS verson 2, is the king of the crop. The IS on the lens is fantastic, allowing for very slow shutter speeds, while zooming in at 200mm.

The downsides to this lens? Other than the price, there is the weight issue. This is a heavy piece of glass, and while you can hold it by hand, you are going to get a serious workout. Combine that with my 7D with the option vertical grip, and I don’t need to go to the gym to work out my right arm.

But the biggest downside to this lens curse of the zoom itself. I found myself at a shoot last week never really moving around at times, because I can just plant my feet and zoom in and out on the subject, making new compositions, without moving around the subject. I had to make myself conscious of this problem, and make sure I moved my feet. This is not good, and I can see myself missing a new angle or perspective because the lens makes me lazy.

While there is a risk of taking it easy and not moving around the subject with the lens, I just can’t stress how versatile the 70-200 is, and how great the images look. I used to think that the must have zoom lens of high value in a camera bag needed to be the 24-70, but I think the 70-200 is far more functional for both action, wedding and portrait photographers. If you are a photographer that is looking for a lens that you are going to get the most out of, this is defiantly it, by far. Of course there are downsides to the lens, cost, weight, laziness, but they all go away once you start to see the images come out of your camera.

Travis showing you how much he loves the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II

The bride? Non other than derby girl Buck Nasty, aka Sarah Buck, of the Battle Born Derby Demons. Sarah approached me several months ago, asking me to bid on their wedding. As she started to give me details about the wedding, she then told me that her soon to be husband, Adam, was also a professional wrestler.

Somewhere Jasmine Star and other instructors at WPII are either jealous or fearing for my well being.

The happy couple.

Part of the wedding package I quoted Sarah included an engagement session. Sarah was not really into the idea of a traditional idea engagement shoot, she wanted something a bit more to the speed and taste of her and Adam. We agreed that they should have some traditional shots, but she and Adam really wanted something different.

Around the same time, I found a piece of art for a wedding invitation, created by a graphic designer for his wedding invitation. The art depicted he and his bride, fighting off zombies at their wedding. I thought it was a very cool and posted it on Facebook.

Sarah and Adam saw this, and just loved the idea for their invitation. We would shoot the “normal” engagement shots in the morning, while their wedding party would go through makeup and be turned into zombies.

The wedding party.

You just read that right, the wedding party would be turned into the living dead, and our happy couple would fight them off with the passion and love for each other, and with a little help from pistols, shotguns, and of course, axes.

And the zombie kill of the day goes to the happy couple.

My job was simple, find a creepy house, setup the lights, and let the magic happen. It took no time for everyone to get into character and soon our heroes were fighting off the dead.

True love conquers all!

Now, a few months later, we are a just days away from the wedding, which I am told will be treated with a much more traditional feel. I am excited to capture the day for Sarah and Adam, so they can remember it and share it with their family. It will be a fantastic day.

But I am not going to lie, part of me hopes the best man drops an elbow from the top rope at the reception.

Here is to true love. In and out of the rink or ring.

For the last 5 years, I have had the honor of being BBDD’s official team photographer, but as the years have passed, my photography business and teaching schedule have become too much for me to continue to give the job the attention that it deserves, and I have decided that this season’s final bout will be my last.

But it is also time for me to step aside and let another photographer have the amazing opportunity that I have enjoyed for so many years. As mentioned in a previous post, when returning from a weeklong course with Joe McNally, I knew I had to find a subject that would push and challenge me, and I found that in roller derby. Every bout, and every promotional shoot, challenged me and taught me more than any course or web video could about being a photographer. It was just what I needed to grow and learn as a photographer, even as a person.

While I haven’t learned it all, it is time to explore new opportunities. But I am excited about the future with my business and my personal work projects. Yet, I am sad to be leaving the BBDD. This has not been an easy decision, and I am sure I will begin to regret it when the next season starts.

This doesn’t mean I am totally done with BBDD or roller derby; there are still personal projects I am working on with the team as well as exploring a book of my photography over the past 5 years with the team.

Even with those projects, I can already sense an emptiness brewing. I will miss the ladies of BBDD, their family and friends, as well as the fans. I have seen and met so many amazing women whose athletic talents are equal to any athlete, in any sport. I have watched many of them retire due to injuries they obtain during the course of the season, while the entire time playing with out getting paid. Many of the players that I started photographing during the first season are no longer on the team due to these injuries. Others have left the team to start the next great chapter of their life, the role of being mothers. All of those experiences have touched me so much more than even my photos can express.

It will be hard on Saturday, watching the clock run down, knowing that my time will be up, and the final frame will soon be shot.

But before all of that happens, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the BBDD, all the players, past and present, for the amazing opportunity to be their photographer. I will miss being a part of the team and capturing those fantastic displays of athletic skill. But I will also miss the great stories and eclectic personalities that make derby such an amazing sport.

If you happen to be in the area, please come down, watch the final bout of the season and say hello. If you can’t make it, please check to see if there is derby in your area and check out roller derby for yourself.

And again, thank you so much to the team and the players for an amazing 5 years. I am forever grateful and will always be in total awe of the talent and passion that I have seen in photographing you. You are all are truly amazing.

Probably my favorite single image I shot for BBDD over the last 5 years.

For the past few weeks, and most certainly for the next few days, we will see almost all of that footage played over and over again. We will hear and see the stories of all of those involved. From the striking of the towers, to the heroes who ran into the burning towers, to those that were lost when they fell, their legacy and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Many photographers not only documented the attack, but also the rescue that followed in the days, weeks and months. The great Jay Maisel took his camera and photographed the faces of the citizens of New York City, as they watched the rescue attempts at ground zero, his gallery and now release book shows the emotion of those closest to the attack.

In the years since the attacks many monuments have been constructed to honor those lost in the attacks. Drew Gurian, Joe McNally’s assistant, showed me the work of Jessica Jamroz, who has worked on a monument in New Jersey, for the citizens of the state that were lost during the attack on 9/11. Her work on the design of the monument is amazing, as are so many others around the nation.

For me, one of the best tributes to the attacks on the towers is Joe McNally’s “Faces of Ground Zero”. Like so many, Joe wanted to do something, needed to do something, and just so happen to be working in a studio, just blocks from Ground Zero, with the largest Polaroid camera.

Over the next five weeks, he took photos of officials, rescue workers, and family members of those lost in the tragedy. The photos turned into a book, which has turned into many showings of the images to the public.

10 years later, Joe has brought us back to those same faces with updated photos and video. This isn’t something that he started this year, but something that he has been doing since that day 10 years ago. Joe has kept in touch with those people and stayed in their lives, keeping us updated on how they continue to live in the wake of everything they went through. They can ask for no better voice than Joe McNally. His words and tenor when he speaks about the that day is truly amazing and to hear him tell their stories in person in a life changing experience.

As a student of history, I am drawn to the personal stories of those who are involved in world changing events. The detail of how individuals have dealt with those events and tragedies is the can be the most reveling. Facts are always necessary in history, historians try to always search for those facts in search of accuracy, but it the stories of those people involved, that is where the truth can be found, that is where we see the human side of any event.

I have no idea if Joe intended to be the caretaker of those people featured in “Faces from Ground Zero”. But in taking those photos, and talking with those people, he has taken their stories and brought them to a light that we will be able to return to for so many years to come. There is no politics or ideology in their images or words, just their story. And in the years that have past, Joe has continued to hear and document their story, through photo, and now video. How these individuals continue to live their lives, either with the tragedy that directly involved them, or the loss of a family or friend, is really the story that must be told.

At Photoshop World, I again had the privilege to hear Joe speak about this ongoing project. He shared the updated photos, as well as the stories. As each photo passed on the screen, the emotion in the audience was palpable. You could hear the tears being held back from many, and once Joe was done speaking, the standard applause given to every photographer presenting, turned into a standing ovation. Every single person in the audience knew exactly what they had heard and seen, touch by the photos and memories of one of the darkest days in American history.

If you have never seen the “Faces of Ground Zero” or haven’t seen the updated images and videos from Joe McNally, you can find them here. You can also donate money to help continue a legacy that will live on, long after we are gone.

To those lost on that terrible, you are not forgotten.

To those that lost family and friends, we will never forget.

Great men and women, like Joe McNally, will never let that happen.