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by Gavin Seim: Here’s the latest from the Photo Couch podcast. The baby brother of Pro Photo Show. Short five minute bursts of photo ideas, musings and information. If you want them as they come out, you can subscribe in iTunes or use the direct feed in any podcatcher. Give em a listen and get some ideas or maybe a few laughs. If you have thoughts you’d like to discuss in depth, visit the Photo Couch board on the forums. Enjoy… Gav

Photo Couch #012 MP3. 03/13/10 Pitfalls of a Newbee.

Photo Couch #0011 MP3. 03/08/10 Stepping out in B&W.

Photo Couch #010 MP3. 02/11/10 Shooting Groups.

Photo Couch #009 MP3. 12/28/09 How to Print BIG.

Well the images are in and so is this lens. I think Canon nailed it. Now granted their can be differences between one lens and another of the same model and my V1 lens is a few years old. It’s still in excellent working order however so I feel the comparison is pretty fair. These examples were all shot in RAW on the 5D MK2 under the same conditions and settings for each sequence. Images were processed in Lightroom 2, but no adjustments were added except that Camera Calibration in was set to Camera Standard.

Aside from the image quality I found a couple of interesting things. The V2 seems to shoot nearly 1/3 stop brighter and with a tad wider view than the V1. I checked this using a tripod for the detail tests to make sure the camera position would be the same. The V2 does indeed seem to be a few mm wider. I don’t know what that would be, I’m just showing what I found. I don’t see this as a big problem however. In fact the V2 letting in more light seems a good thing.

So far I’m impressed. See for yourself below. I’m posting full frames alongside tight details crops of each image. You can click any for a larger view,. You can also download the package of full res JPEG files at the bottom of the post if you want to take a close look. You can find this lens here on B&H or here on Adorama or here on Amazon. OK lets get started.

Image Stabilization Tests.
For each test I hand held 2oomm at 1/20th, supporting the lens barrel with my left and pressing the body firmly against my face. I took 5 consecutive shots for each comparison so I could account for variations in my own steadiness (or lack thereof). The results shown are the sharpest image from each sequence of five images, as well as crop zoomed in view of the same. While the V1 was good, the V2 of the lens was clearly better, producing consistently better IS performance.

It can't be said that IS is not useful. Even on the V1 it makes a huge difference. But on V2... Well read on.

Yes the V2 is better. It's amazing how clear this is for 200mm hand held at 1/20th. I'm impressed.

I knew IS was a good thing, but I was actually amazed how blurry the scene was without it. And just like the other sequences, this was the best of the five.

Contrast & Detail Tests.
Here are three comparison groups for image quality. Each group was taken exactly the same settings on a tripod with a cable release. Like I said before, my V1 lens, while is perfectly functional condition, has been heavily used for about 3 years. Though I don’t feel the use I’ve given it should have significantly effected the optics, since the glass in near perfect condition. The decision. I definitely found the V2 was better here as well. More contrast, about 1/3 stop more light let in and overall more detail, especially in certain area (like the camper in the second sequence). You can DL the full res pack below if you’d like a closer look.

The results are not widely different on this first test. The V2 seems to have a bit better contrast, but the detail seems fairly close on both the V1 and V2.

In this set I defiantly notice a difference in detail. Especially in the house numbers and the camper in the corner (which in V1 feels blurry by comparison).

Again, noticeably more contrast and detail in the V2 compared to my old V1. Neither are bad considering the zoom factor of the crop, but you can see it in the details. The V2 wins it again.

The Bottom Line.
I say the Canon 20-200 2.8 IS II nails it. It looks pretty much the same on the outside, but it’s what’s inside that counts. It also focuses slightly closer and best of all, contrast, detail and Image Stabilization are all improved. It is just a tiny bit fatter, but no big deal (specs on Canon’s site). Bottom line. I want this lens. While I love my V1, the V2 wins hands down.  If Canon maintains quality control I foresee this lens being king of the hill. Will I be upgrading? Lets just say I’d like to. It’s not at the top of my budget, but I could definitely see myself selling my V1 off for a V2.

You can find this lens here on B&H or here from Adorama or here on Amazon. Happy shopping… Gav

- Download Full Resolution JPEG Files ZIP -

What more is there to say. Obviously these are stripped down form the pro versions, but useful tools just the same. You can get the free downloads here. By the way we also have a PPS reader deal with OnOne so if you decide you want to pick up any of their paid products use code PRPHTPC at checkout and you’ll save 15%. Enjoy… Gav

by Barry Howell: I have been a professional photographer since the early 80’s and am in the throws of embracing change like I never could have imagined. I have photographed hundreds of weddings and thousands of high school seniors. I was honored with the first ever Haga Wedding Album award for the best wedding album in Minnesota, and have entered many competition prints over the years. I began shooting weddings for a couple of studios, worked part time on my own for several years, and bought a very large studio operation in 1995.   My first digital camera was a Fuji S2 and that is where my journey into the digital world really began. A good friend (and former employee) encouraged me to take a look at Lightroom and then Gavin’s presets from Seim Effects.

My years of experience (and significant volume) causes me to very careful how much “post production” we commit to. Having studied with the likes of Monte Zucker, Frank Cricchio  Don Blair, David Ziser and others, I learned to produce near perfect images in the camera. There just wasn’t much editing we could do with our C-41 in-house lab printing from medium format Hasselblad negatives. I am the “techie” guy that loves everything shiny, new and cool, but I didn’t jump into digital until I felt the cameras and output options rivaled film quality.  My journey from film to digital has been a long and at times very frustrating path. If you are just starting out (i.e. have never shot a roll of film-I know you’re out there), appreciate my story and be glad you can develop a workflow without  transitioning from anything else. Take the time to think about ways you can do it right from image capture to customer delivery.

Can you imagine doing vignettes, soft focus, precise highlight/shadow control, exposures (that if not correct, couldn’t be fixed later) all in the camera for every frame you shot?  That’s what we had to do with film and I have carried this approach forward with how I capture my digital images.  I am a big believer in the Photovision Exposure Target by Ed Pierce.  I try to use the maximum dynamic range my camera provides to give me the best balance of exposure, contrast and detail possible.  The most frustrating aspect of “post production” for me was that it seemed really difficult to develop any consistency from session to session let alone image to image.  Lightroom presets will help you develop some consistency and a more efficient workflow.  Any image I can edit without having to roundtrip through Photoshop is a huge bonus for me. I still need Photoshop, but will continue to use it only when needed to do the polishing work Lightroom and Aperture just can’t do at this point.

I played with a random batch of about 120 images in preparation for some focus groups with area High School Juniors and Seniors.  I was amazed at how quickly I was able to find presets that really made my images come to life.   Gavin’s presets were logically organized and labeled so it was really easy to experiment with lots of different treatments and effects.  The feedback we are gathering from these focus groups will no doubt be shared in a future podcast. Surprisingly a few “trendy effects” aren’t resonating like I would have thought.   My own nephew and his bride have expressed a strong preference for “a more traditional, film like look” and frankly don’t like the jacked up color, contrast and effects.  Remember, it doesn’t matter what we like, it’s what the client likes that matters. I have found the following presets to be really great:

Lightroom Default – Creative Aged Photo,  SCF (Seim Color Fantasies) Simple Vignette, SCF Magical Lomo, SCF Catwalk, SCF Morning Coffee,  Seim Effects Dark Vignette. Also grain in LR3 (of course the film guy likes the grain)

Dennis Zerwas (ProPhotoShow contributor) gave me a few Lightroom tips before I edited a January wedding (using LR3 Beta).  I have been a long time Aperture user, so all this new fangled LR stuff got me really excited and the more I worked with it, the more I liked it!  I had been using Lightroom for some of my images, and we use it for all our production work in the lab, we just hadn’t done much with presets before now.

On the last Podcast, the statement was made that pretty much every file that comes off today’s digital cameras looks dull.  While I can’t imagine being able to tweak every file of everything I shoot (over 90,000 actuation’s on my main camera in 21 months)  I will admit, there is some real truth to that statement.  ”Upon further review”, I looked back at a number of my images and it hit me;  I haven’t let my clients see the finished product, until they pick up and pay for the order.  Hmmm,  what kind of first impression have my images been making in this digital era to my clients, their families and friends?   You and I know how much we can pop the color, tweak the contrast, boost this, fix that… makes perfect sense to me.  Are my customers able to have such vision?  No chance.

Take a quick stroll through the images which show both a before and after examples of what I produced.  The comparisons range from wow, to shocking, to maybe a bit too much, but bottom line, there is no question that that well executed post production is becoming a very important skill set to acquire in this brutal competitive marketplace.

One of my favorites was shot in U.P. Michigan of an old abandoned building.  The cool old wood door and red bricks with the apron of snow was an amazing scene and looked great in the camera, but after a little Lightroom cooking,  the scene just jumps off the page and will be hanging soon in my newly setup home office (shot in RAW, Canon G9).

In summary, I am more convinced than ever that any of us proclaiming to be “professionals” owe it to our clients and our own artistic stamp on the world to take the extra time to really make our images sing.  If we don’t, we’ll all be out of business letting everyone else just snap away on automatic, delivering fine jpegs on a CD for fifty bucks to our past clients. In a day when “everyone is a photographer”, it takes a lot more than it used to if you want to rise above the competition.  I may come from the “Old School”, but look out, I might just prove that you can teach an old dog a few new tricks.

Technical Data:  Nikon D300, Nikkor 12-24, Nikkor 70-300VR,  55mm Micro-Nikkor 2.8, Manfroto Monopod, 2 or 3 remote Nikon Flashes with Fong Diffusion. Custom WB (with the Ed Pierce exposure target) images shot in RAW. MacBook Pro Adobe  Lightroom 3.0 Beta.

Dynmaics. One of Gavin's free Aperture presets from the Light Study1 pack (linked below). Mouse over for before/after.

Free Aperture Presets Directory by Gavin Seim (Updated Feb 25 2010)

So with the release of Aperture 3, Apple finally added support for presets similar to what us Lightroom users have been enjoying. Now that their here I decided to start a list of FREE aperture presets similar to the free Lightroom presets list I maintain here on PPS. I’ll be continuously updating this one in the same manner.

If you’re an Aperture user jump right in, because presets are king when it come to fast effective workflow. You can get a more creative toolkit easier that saying burn and dodge. There’s not a giant list yet, but it will grow.

• Aperture Presets by Gavin Seim:
  The Light Stydy1 pack is my first foray into Aperture presets. I’ve been making Lightroom presets for some time, and wanted to test the waters with Aperture so I jumped in and made a variety pack if six presets that are pretty universal with some POP and other creative effects.
• Aperture Assistant’s Preset Gallery:
  The Aperture assistant site has started a nice list of Aperture presets that allows people to submit effects and results samples. Looks to be a growing list.
• Gian Zurly’s presets pack.
  The site is not in English, but that does not hurt the presets. A nice assortment of effects in this one.
• David Schloss:
  Presets pack1 from the Mac Create network has a variety of presets, including some Holga, Lomo and a few other simulated effects. I’ve not used these yet myself but defiantly worth a peek.
• Nathan Smith’s Presets:
  Nathans blog has an assortment of FREE presets. Most look to be color twists and tones. Go take a peek.
• Pavel Sigarteu’s Sin City:
  Just one preset, but still a neat looking effect. Kinda of a grunge meets vintage.
• Terry Chay’s Presets:
  Terry has a presets catagory on his blog with a few downloads. Looks like some mild color enhancements as well as a few B&W effects.

Click To Listen>> Photography Podcast. PPS #66
Review in iTunes – Vote on Podcast Alley – Direct Podcast Feed

The Panel... Gavin Seim – David Ziser – Dennis Zerwas – Douglas Coon – Barry Howell
This week the panel discusses the latest news, nigh photography, Ansel Adams, business ideas and more.

Podcast #66 forum discussion:

Notable Time Indexes:

• 00:00 Random news and ideas.
• 47:43 Lets talk tips and business.
• 1:15:24 Zisers Secret. FUTURE FEELINGS.
• 1:51:20 Promoting to venues.

Viveza2 is here. You can save 15% with code PPS.

LumaVue panels are a great way to stand out.

OnOne’s new suite is here too. Save 15% with code PRPHTPC.

Olympus E-PL1 a $600 pen camera.

Get David Zisers new book. Captured by the Light.

Aperture3 is here. What do you think.

Treys. World in HDR book is available.

Gavin’s Color Fantasies Lightroom presets are here and ready to rock.

PICKS:

• Gavin – Ansel Adams 400 book.
• DZ – Scott & Adina’s Textures. Get $20 off with code prophoto10.
• David – Lensflare35 & the up coming free Live show.
• Douglas – MIni AV LED projector

Thanks all… Gav