Product Review: Personalized Pexagon Thumbdrive

By Diane Berkenfeld

 

My new pink 4GB Pexagon USB thumbdrive sits atop the box it was delivered in.

Pexagon Technology has been in the digital media business for some time. I stopped by their booth at the recent PhotoPlus Expo tradeshow and saw a great range of products that are ideal for the photographer or studio who needs to deliver digital files and keep their branding at the top of mind with their customers. Pexagon offers a wide range of digital media storage—USB drives in numerous styles and capacities—as well as Store-It drives. The unique thing about Pexagon is that they offer personalization of the USB drives and portable Store-It drives. And they offer bulk pricing.

The USB drives that can be personalized include swivel and traditional style USB drives in 14 different colors, and with capacities ranging from 128MB to 16GB. The portable Store-It and Store-It Pro 2.5-inch hard drives also come in 14 different colors and in capacities up to 500GB. They are Mac and PC compatible and connect to computer via USB 2.0. The Store-It and Store-It Pro drives are bus powered, meaning that they receive power by the computer via USB.

Instead of burning the images you’re delivering to clients on a CD or DVD that will likely be taken out once to download the files and then stored, never to see the light of day again—deliver the files on a USB drive that can be used and reused over and over. The USB drive is something that anyone can utilize and more importantly, it keeps your brand name in front of them. As a photographer, being able to deliver files in a reusable media format that is branded with your business name is to me, a much better solution than using media that is branded with the manufacturer’s logo or name.

Choose the capacity you need, whether its delivering low-res proofs on a 128MB drive or a complete job of final high-res image files on an 8 or 16GB drive.

Pexagon can personalize the swivel and traditional USB drives with two lines of copy on one side and a logo on the other. The Store-It drives can also be personalized with logo and copy. The personalization is crisp and easy to read. And, because it is laser engraved, it will last. Better still, there’s no set-up charges for the personalization.

The company also offers other personalized items as well as various styles and colors of USB drives, including those that take the shape of animals, wood covered drives, USB Jellibandz (wristbands that feature a USB drive in the closure, Jellibeenz (diminutive USB drives), business card USB drives, and more. They also offer a USB drive that is incorporated into a lanyard, making it perfect for staffers or students to keep their media close at hand.

I’ve used both the Pexagon USB media drives and Store-It drives for years, and have never had any issues. They’ve always worked perfectly. The pink 4GB personalized USB drive I just received from Pexagon came in a nice sturdy cardboard box, with an accessory lanyard. The colors that the company offers are really nice shades—very trendy, and they have the look and feel of high quality products. And, delivery was pretty quick after it was ordered.

The company has a dedicated Photo Solutions salesperson, as well as salespeople dedicated to other vertical markets which I think is smart, as they’ll understand the concerns and needs of their customers better. For more information, go to the website at www.pexagontech.com.

Book Review: Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers

Karen Sperling's Painting for Photographers. Cover painting and design by Karen Sperling from a photo by Felicia Tausig.

Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers; Steps and Art Lessons for Painting Photos in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop, (ISBN: 978-0-9818163-0-2) is being released by Artistry Books in multiple formats, including an autographed hardcover edition, complete with a CD of source photos to use with the tutorials, bonus tutorials and brushes, and a 10% donation to charity for $149.95; print on demand softcover edition with downloadable source photos for $85.95; regular softcover edition with downloadable source photos for $39.95; and an e-book with source photos accessible from within the digital edition for $35.95. The author is the founder of Artistry Tips and Tricks, a website that educates photographers by providing tips and techniques for creating painterly images from digital photographs. She was also the author of the first manuals on Corel Painter and has penned several other Painter books as well.

Sperling uses numerous examples to illustrate the techniques including many by other photographers as before images, with her painted version as the finished images. The inclusion of the before and after images is extremely helpful, so the reader can see and fully understand the techniques that are being explained.

Sperling offers a wide range of tips and tricks, for portraits (including people and pets) and landscapes, in addition to more general techniques. This is an important focus as many professional photographers will likely be turning portraits taken of clients into paintings. For the fine-art photographer, landscapes are an important subject to tackle, and techniques for these images are also discussed in detail.

The author begins the volume with a quote by Andrew Carnegie, “If you think you can do something, you probably can.” Sperling explains that painting is 90% thought and 10% execution.

The book offers an introduction to art concepts, which is important for the photographer who may not have taken art classes in the course of their schooling; something that really is necessary to know to turn a photograph into a painting without having it look like you just ran it through a filter or plug-in in Photoshop. Such art concepts include understanding color harmony and tonal ranges.

Sperling also explains how to turn a photo into a painting. She discusses what types of images make great starting points, how to choose an image to take further; and how you can take the best parts of an image or images, while leaving out distracting elements—turning ordinary images into extraordinary pieces of art.

An entire chapter is spent on portraits, detailing body parts and how the different types of painting, acrylic, oils, watercolor, airbrush, etc. vary the look of an image. Another really helpful part of the book is the inclusion of examples from some of the portrait-painting masters, such as Degas, Rembrandt, and others.

Sperling follows a similar tone with the Landscape chapter, showing examples of how different styles of painting can alter the look of an image.

The chapter on pets is segmented into sections focusing on cats, dogs, and horses—which is helpful, as these are the more common animals that photographers will likely be working with.

The author explains the various tools that Corel’s Painter program offers users. She also explains the powerful tools that Photoshop offers the digital imager who wants to use that program. Sperling also includes shortcuts, including explaining the benefits of utilizing a Wacom pen and tablet in turning a photo into a painting because of the added control offered by the device.

Sperling completes the book with a discussion of over-painting techniques and the supplies needed to do so. Over-painting is the technique of painting with acrylic or oil paints on top of the canvas that the image has been printed upon. It is becoming a popular technique and adds an extra quality of uniqueness to images that receive this treatment.

Sperling notes that she finds painting both on the computer and with traditional paint to be more about confidence and suggests that if the reader practices and familiarizes themselves with the materials and techniques used, they’ll be more comfortable in working with these varied media. Sperling closes by bringing the reader back to her opening sentiment that, “If you think you can, you probably can.”

Creating painterly art from photographs is ideal for the professional photographer, who can use this to add a new dimension to their studio’s offerings. The guidance and education in Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers takes the intimidation out of turning photographs into painted masterpieces.

Check out Karen Sperling’s website at www.karensperling.com to see examples of her work. Go to www.artistrymag.com for Sperling’s Painter tutorial site.

— Diane Berkenfeld

Impressions of PhotoPlus Expo 2009

Having just recouped from three days of attending the PDN PhotoPlus Expo (www.photoplusexpo.com), held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC, I thought I’d share my impressions of the show. PhotoPlus is designed for professionals in the photographic and imaging industries, and showcases the latest in photography. October 22-24, 2009 marked the 26th consecutive year of the show.  This year there were a number of companies that chose not to exhibit, including Fujifilm, Pentax, The MAC Group, Calumet, and Adobe. However I didn’t feel that made a big difference in attendance. There were also a number of new companies to the industry showing product for the first time.

Although no registration figures have been released yet—I felt the show was well attended. You see, for someone who has attended dozens of tradeshows over the last 10 years, I judge the attendance on the tradeshow floor by how easily one can navigate through the aisles. If you’ve got to weave among other attendees and stop often to wait for others to let you through, then its pretty crowded. If you can easily and quickly walk the show, then its not that crowded. Well, I’m pleased to say that even though we’re in the middle of a recession, PhotoPlus Expo 2009 was well attended—all three days. Normally the show which is held Thursday through Saturday is more well attended on the weekdays than on the Saturday, however this year there were just as many folks walking the tradeshow floor on Saturday as there were earlier.

In addition to the hundreds of exhibiting companies, over 100 special events, seminars and hands-on workshops were held over the three days of the show. Topics ran the gamut from portrait/wedding, commercial/editorial, lighting, marketing and business, Photoshop and color management, and more.

Stay tuned to the Picture Soup blog for more from PhotoPlus Expo 2009.

[By the way, if you want to put next year's dates in your calendar now, PhotoPlus Expo 2010 will be held Thursday, October 28 - Saturday, October 30, 2010.]

— Diane Berkenfeld

Lark publishes new Magic Lantern Guides book for the Olympus E-P1

Lark Books has published Magic Lantern Guides – E-P1. The new book is authored by Frank Gallaugher, who has years of experience shooting with Olympus cameras. The book (ISBN: 1-60059-671-1) costs $14.95 and will be available November 3, 2009.

Magic Lantern books help new digital photographers take the trial and error out of using and shooting with their new cameras. No matter if you’re a beginner or more experienced photographer, Magic Lantern Guides offer practical information and smart advice, while explaining all the features of a DSLR or interchangeable lens camera, and are written in an easy to read style. The Magic Lantern Guides are easier to understand than many of the manuals that come with these types of cameras.

You can check out the website at www.larkbooks.com to find out more about this book or see the other titles that Lark Books publishes.

— Diane Berkenfeld

[Editor's Note: Read the PictureSoup review of the Olympus E-P1 on this website.]

Camera Review: Olympus E-P1

Text & Photos By Diane Berkenfeld

Last fall, at the photokina trade fair, the bi-annual photography event held in Cologne, Germany, I had a chance to view what was at that time a non-working concept camera that Olympus had developed. Reminiscent of a Leica Rangefinder camera, the body was small yet elegant in its design. Fast-forward to the Spring of 2009 and the debut of Olympus Imaging America’s E-P1. Olympus touts the camera not as a P&S, not as an SLR, but a PEN.

The first-generation Olympus Pen camera appeared in 1959. The concepts embodied in the Pen Series eventually led to the creation of the legendary Pen F Series half-frame single lens reflex system. Check out the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Pen to get a thorough look at the history of the Olympus Pen series cameras.

Its retro-chic look turns heads, from tech aficionados and camera buffs to the fashion-conscious and everyday point-and-shooter.

The E-P1 is a 12.3 megapixel interchangeable lens system digital. The camera offers the quality and flexibility of a DSLR in a compact (stainless-steel) body. The camera can be described as retro-chic and is available in two versions, silver with black accent or white with tan accent. The E-P1 is the first Olympus camera in the Micro Four Thirds system format. Two lenses were introduced with the camera—the M Zuiko Digital Micro Four Thirds 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 (28-84mm equivalent) and 17mm f/2.8 (34mm equivalent).

The camera does not feature a viewfinder—optical or EVF—and that’s the one feature that I truly miss. A 3-inch LCD allows for the composition of images and video as well as playback. For the 17mm lens, an optional accessory viewfinder slips into the camera’s hot shoe. Consumers accustomed to composing and focusing using a P&S camera’s LCD won’t miss the lack of a viewfinder. The camera’s Live Control function allows menu icons to appear on the LCD—over the image you’re composing, for more seamless shooting.

You can shoot Jpeg, Raw, or Jpeg + Raw, which is how I normally shoot. The reason I like the combination of both Raw plus Jpeg is that it offers me the ability to shoot Raw and have access to all that great data, but also Jpegs so I can quickly edit through images. I also like that most cameras that offer Raw + Jpeg recording let you shoot B&W or in the case of the E-P1 by using various Art Filters but if you want to, you can always go back to the Raw file and reprocess the image without the filters or monochrome look. The way I see it, Raw + Jpeg lets you have your cake and eat it too. Images are recorded onto SD/SDHC media cards.

The E-P1 offers four aspect ratios that serve as masks to frame images: the standard 4:3, 16:9, which displays perfectly on a widescreen TV, 3:2 and 6:6.

The camera is fully manual as well as fully automatic, and practically everything in between; offering 19 scene modes, as well as Olympus’ intelligent Auto, program, aperture- and shutter speed-priority modes. One of the more interesting is the ePortrait Mode which enables you to smooth your subject’s face—in-camera and before capture. Additionally, edits can be made post-capture using the ePortrait Fix mode.

I have to hand it to Olympus—the scene modes of the E-P1 were right on the money. When I found myself shooting in tricky lighting situations, I found the scene modes did a better job than the camera set on Program, and faster than if I was shooting completely manual. Considering that this camera was designed for the P&S user that wants to step up to the next level in photography, it makes sense that the scene modes will most likely be used a lot.

The E-P1 offers Face Detection, of up to eight subject’s faces, tracking them within the image area. The Face Detection works well, in fact, I found myself relying on it during portrait shoots, especially with multiple people in the frame.

Images from the E-P1 are as sharp as those of any DSLR I’ve used.

Cropped view - actual pixels, from image on left. Flower is tack sharp.

Full image, macro shot.

Instant Gratification

One of the coolest aspects of this camera is the inclusion of the art filters, first introduced in the Olympus E-30 DSLR. The art filters are accessed through the mode dial. Each of the six filters—Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, and Pin Hole—can be previewed live on the LCD as you’re shooting. For imaging purists who want to shoot without filters, and apply the filters to images inside the camera later, or just edit images back at their computers, the E-P1 provides these options. The art filters can also be used while shooting HD video.

Examples of the Art Filters: (top row l. to r.) Pin Hole, Pop Art, Soft Focus; (bottom row l. to r.) Light Tone & Color, Pale Color, Grainy Film.

In addition to being able to view the Art Filters on the scene while you’re composing, other settings are also WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get). These include white balance and exposure changes.

One feature that is slowly making its way into higher-end digital cameras is the Multiple Exposure mode. The E-P1 allows users to create multiple exposures in camera, in real time, or by capturing both shots separately and combining them in the camera later. This is yet another creative option that photographers using the E-P1 have at their disposal while shooting—which for many folks using digital is ideal, as they don’t want to have to use software to alter images, but create photographs in the camera that can be easily printed out.

E-P1 – Packed with Features

The E-P1 is the first Micro Four Thirds camera introduced by Olympus, however the camera uses the same size Live MOS image sensor as the E-30 and E-620 DSLR models. The camera also utilizes the new TruePic V image processor. Some of the other features of the camera include in-body image stabilization; Olympus’ patented Supersonic Wave Filter for dust reduction; ISO range of 100 to 6400; an internal Digital Level Sensor that detects the camera’s pitch and roll; manual and automatic focusing; as well as a MF Assist Function and magnification display that lets you magnify the image on the LCD by up to 10x. Metering modes include spot, center-weighted and the 18×18, 324-division ESP metering.

The camera includes Olympus Master 2 software, for the Mac and PC. The software allows users to organize images and process Raw files. The software is also used for updating camera and lens firmware. The software is easy to navigate and offers more detailed EXIF data on the image files than does Photoshop or Lightroom.

In addition to video, the camera also has a built-in stereo microphone and can record audio narration. The E-P1 comes with five built-in background music options so users can mix stills and video in-camera to create multimedia slideshows, which can then be viewed on any HDTV via an HDMI cable.

As I mentioned earlier, I had to get used to composing via an LCD instead of a viewfinder, so a photographer who normally only shoots with a DSLR may feel the same way I did when they first pick up the E-P1, but you quickly get used to composing on the LCD.

The beginner or intermediate photographer will have no problem picking up the E-P1 and getting started. This type of user most likely has owned or used a digital P&S camera in the past and will be used to composing on an LCD, as well as using program and scene modes. The manual modes are in the camera so they can step up to the features as they learn how to use them.

For the enthusiast or professional photographer who has used Rangefinder cameras in the past, and want a more compact camera to take with them on vacations [i.e. when not working], the E-P1 would be a great choice.

And if this type of photographer already shoots with Olympus’ E-series digital SLRs, they can utilize their Four Thirds lenses with the E-P1 using the MMF-1 Four Thirds System Lens Adapter. This adapter also allows Four Thirds System lenses from Sigma, Panasonic, and Leica to attach to the E-P1. For photographers who go back further still, and were Olympus film SLR shooters, their OM lenses will work on the E-P1 with the MF-2 OM Lens Adapter.

The other feature that I miss on this camera is a built-in flash. Most compact digital cameras, super zoom digital Point & Shoots and even many DSLRs offer a built-in pop-up flash. The E-P1 does not. The camera does have a hot shoe so you can add the optional FL-14 accessory flash. Without the flash, you may be limited in low-light use.

As I did not have enough time to truly test out the video and audio features of the camera, this review only includes my views on the still capture features.

Overall, I enjoyed using the E-P1. It’s a great little camera. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more Micro Four Thirds format digital cameras from Olympus in the future. Oh, and the E-P1 does turn heads, so be prepared for the attention it will bring you!

Estimated street prices for the E-P1 body only: $749.99; E-P1 body with the ED 14-42mm f/3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens: $799.99; and E-P1 Body with ED 17mm f/2.8 lens with the optical viewfinder: $899.99.

For more information about the E-P1, check out the website at www.olympusamerica.com.

[Editor's Note: Read about the new Lark Books Magic Lantern Guide about the Olympus E-P1  on this website.]

Product Review: Datacolor SpyderCube

By Diane Berkenfeld

Earlier this year, Datacolor introduced the SpyderCube RAW calibration device. To use it, you simply place it in the same light as your subject, and take one frame with the SpyderCube. Then continue on with your shoot. The real magic comes during post-production. Using the SpyderCube, you are able to precisely adjust all photos taken under the same lighting conditions. You can use the SpyderCube with either RAW or JPG images, however its best used with RAW image files.

According to Datacolor, the company designed the product using ABS Cycoloy, a hybrid resin that is fade proof and extremely durable, so it will last. The colors are through-pigmented for durability, and carefully formulated for optimal color values.

Capture Phase

To begin, place the SpyderCube in the frame, in the same light that your subject will be photographed in. The SpyderCube doesn’t have to be in focus—and you can either hold it, hang it from the attached loop or put it on a tripod (the base features threads that fit a tripod or monopod). I found it easier to hold the SpyderCube or if I was shooting on a level surface, placing it in the shot. You want to make sure that you can see—and photograph—the specular, white, gray, black and black trap areas.

Let the Magic Begin

No special software is needed. Any RAW conversion software will do. Basically, once you’ve got the shot open with the SpyderCube in it, you correct the white balance and exposure. You can then set a preset and batch process the rest of the images taken under like lighting conditions.

Each feature of the SpyderCube is designed to provide a unique solution to RAW adjustment needs, yet work together to produce precise white balance and overall image adjustment when shooting in RAW. For example, the silver sphere is used to record the catch-light or specular highlights; the White face of the SpyderCube helps define highlights in relation to the catch-light; the Gray face measures color temperature and mid-tones; the Black face defines shadows in relations to the Black Trap; and the Black Trap defines absolute black.

For my review, I used Adobe Lightroom 2, which I normally edit images with; as well as Photoshop’s Camera Raw for review purposes.

The image when first opened in Capture Raw. No changes have been made at this point yet. Set white balance first, then exposure, brightness and black levels.

To get the white balance, you use the white eyedropper (sometimes called the gray eyedropper), clicking on the lighter gray area. This lighter side represents the primary light source.

After setting the white balance, you then correct the exposure, making sure that none of the color channels are clipped in the histogram.

The next step is adjusting the brightness by checking the RGB values of the lighter gray face. This area is 18% gray, you’re now adjusting the mid-tones.

Lastly, you set the black level. If your RAW converter doesn’t have a black eyedropper, use the black slider. You want to show a clear distinction between the black trap and the surrounding black area.

This is the order that Datacolor suggests you utilize, however I’ve read a number of other reviews suggesting that you may end up with better results if you perform it in this order: white balance, then exposure, then black level, then brightness.

Once the image with the SpyderCube in the frame has been corrected, you then set a custom preset and batch process the rest of the shoot.

The image at left is Raw, uncorrected. The image at right is the final image.

Results

The SpyderCube works really well. Like I described earlier, it’s meant to allow you to batch process your images in post-production with consistent results. And unlike some of the devices on the market that help you set the white balance before you start shooting, the SpyderCube helps you with your entire exposure, not just the white balance. Another thing I like about it is that the SpyderCube is small enough to throw into a camera bag, or even in a pocket.

Anything that can help give you consistent results from shot to shot is a good thing, and if it’s easy to use, that’s an extra bonus!

For more information or to view video tutorials on using the SpyderCube, check out the Datacolor website at www.datacolor.com.

Book Review: The Art of Digital Photo Painting; Using Popular Software to Create Masterpieces

By Diane Berkenfeld

As a photographer, I can take great photographs, but I can’t draw, sketch or paint, so when I first discovered software that allows you to transform your digital images into artistic masterpieces that have the look of a painting, I was giddy with excitement. Then I saw the great images that professional photographers and Corel Painter Masters have created and thought to myself, “there’s no way I can do that.” And then I read The Art of Digital Photo Painting; Using Popular Software to Create Masterpieces, by Marilyn Sholin; published by Lark Books, (www.larkbooks.com) ISBN: 978-1-60059-101-3.

Author Marilyn Sholin is a professional photographer, Corel Painter Master, and educator. She is known for her digital photo paintings, and has authored a great book for photographers who want to learn how to fulfill their painterly visions of enhancing their own images.

Corel’s Painter XI is such a great piece of software—it’s the best around for emulating the look and feel of a variety of painting/drawing media. It can also be intimidating when you see the amazing photographs that have been enhanced using the software, not to mention the freehand pieces that talented artists have created with the program.

The majority of the book covers Corel’s Painter program, although the author mentions a few other software titles and plug-ins that are great additions to any digital imager’s repertoire. A chapter is dedicated to explaining the basics of Painter, including an overview of the palettes, tools and more.

The publisher created a website with downloadable files that are used as examples in the book, so readers can follow along with the tutorials, and be able to see how the final product should look. It’s almost like being in a class or workshop—you’re doing the work so you’re learning—but you’re going at your own pace.

The author discusses multiple ways of using Painter’s powerful tools, including some great shortcuts. Sholin writes in an easy to understand tone so readers won’t feel overwhelmed. She offers step-by-step instructions for painting from multiple sources, portrait painting, and mixing media in one image. The book includes techniques for digital photo painting of portraits, landscapes, still life, and an entire chapter dedicated to flowers. Dozens of examples, screenshots and tips are included throughout the book.

Whether you want to add a realistic painterly effect or go wacky with color, this book will show you how.

Examples of different ways you can “add to” your images with digital borders—complete with instructions—shows readers a great way to add a little “oomph” to their final images.

Sholin also includes examples of painterly photographs from other pros, which is great, because it shows varied styles and techniques that different photographers specialize in.

I love the look of images that have been enhanced with Corel’s Painter software or other such digital photo painting techniques, and as I photographer, I want to be able to create such masterpieces of my own. After reading The Art of Digital Photo Painting; Using Popular Software to Create Masterpieces, I’m not intimidated anymore. In fact, I’m more excited than ever about working on my digital painting skills.

If you’ve thought that you couldn’t turn your photographs into digital paintings, buy this book—the $19.95 will be money well spent.

To see more of Marilyn Sholin’s work, go to her website at www.marilynsholin.com. To learn more about Corel Painter software, go to www.corel.com.

Book Review: Creative Digital Monochrome Effects; Go Beyond Black and White to Make Striking Digital Images

By Diane Berkenfeld

Photographer and author Joe Farace has penned his 29th book, on the subject of creating monochrome images from digital cameras. Creative Digital Monochrome Effects; Go Beyond Black and White to Make Striking Digital Images (Lark Books, www.larkbooks.com, ISBN: 978-1-60059-264-5) includes techniques for capturing great monochrome images with a digital camera’s monochrome or B&W mode, as well as exploring some of the many creative picture styles that today’s digital cameras offer.

Farace also discusses many of the software programs and plug-ins that you can use to turn a color image into B&W, sepia, duotone, tritone, quadtone, etc. The book doesn’t include a full listing of all of the programs on the market however, as the author notes that he chose to include programs that offer unique features apart from other titles on the market.

The book is written easy enough for the beginning digital imager and includes a wealth of information to interest the enthusiast or professional photographer. However, enthusiasts and pros will be familiar with the discussions of more advanced Photoshop features such as actions, layers and channels.

Creative Digital Monochrome Effects encompasses a wide range of what you might think constitutes B&W and offers even more. The author’s extensive knowledge of photography—of the history as well as a working photographer’s background—lends him the ability to write a book that truly encompasses a study of B&W digital imagery; with the anecdotes of his own experiences in the field.

Dozens of tips and techniques are discussed, from B&W Infrared (with a camera or via software) to adding color to monochrome images, and digitally recreating the look of many of the early photographic processes. For the die-hard photographer who misses working in a wet darkroom this chapter is a real treat. Other chapters include techniques for turning plain images into unique works of digital art and printing. For the beginner, the chapter on printing is a good addition; the advanced photographer may skim over it though.

Creative Digital Monochrome Effects is well worth the $24.95 price tag.

To see more of Joe Farace’s work, visit his website at www.joefarace.com.

Product Review: Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5 EX DC HSM Lens

By Diane Berkenfeld

The Sigma Corporation of America released the Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5 EX DC HSM lens earlier this year. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 throughout the entire zoom range, and minimum aperture of f/22. Sigma offers the lens in mounts for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony and Pentax DSLRs that utilize an APS-C sized image sensor. What that means is, if you’ve got a DSLR with a full frame image sensor, or use the lens on a film SLR, you’re going to see vignetting in the image.

The Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5 EX DC HSM is made up of two ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements and a SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass element for correction of color aberration; four aspherical lenses provide correction for distortion and allow for a compact lens. A Super Multi-Layer coating reduces flare and ghosting. The lens also utilizes a Hyper-Sonic Motor for fast and quiet auto-focusing. You can also manually focus the lens if you’d like. Pentax users: Sigma notes that Pentax camera bodies that don’t support HSM will not be able to auto-focus this lens.

The image on the left was captured with the lens zoomed out to 10mm, and the image on the right was zoomed into 20mm. Photos © Diane Berkenfeld.

The lens offers a super-wide angle view of 102.4 degrees at 10mm and 63.8 degrees at 20mm. Place your subject(s) close to the edges and you’ll get an exaggerated perspective; center your subject(s) for minimal distortion. Sigma ships the lens with a nice padded case with a zipper closure, and a petal-type lens hood. The lens will take 82mm filters. At 18.3 ounces, the 10-20mm lens is pretty light.

I tested out the Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5 EX DC HSM lens with a Nikon D100 DSLR, which utilizes the DX image sensor. With the DX image sensor, which has a 1.5x magnification factor, the zoom range of the lens is equivalent to a 15mm – 30mm lens on a 35mm camera. One subject the lens is great for, is street photography. I used to shoot such photojournalistic style images with a 24mm prime lens on a Nikon F3 film SLR and loved the wide view I had.

This photo was taken with the 10-20mm lens set at 16mm. It was shot during the Two Worlds, One Dream workshop. Professional photographer Doug Gordon led this portion of the workshop. Photo © Diane Berkenfeld.

For this image, the lens was zoomed into 18mm. This photo was also taken during the Two Worlds, One Dream workshop. Photographer Doug Gordon shoots the couple with attendees behind him. Photo © Diane Berkenfeld.

There are some folks who feel you can’t get high quality lenses from third party manufacturers, but this Sigma lens throws that argument out the window. The lens is bright and clear, and sharp. The minimum focusing distance of the lens is 9.4-inches throughout the entire zoom range. This is such a great feature, because once you’re at your minimum focusing distance, you know you can zoom in or out if need be and not have to move the camera to keep focused on your subject. I really liked the Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5 EX DC HSM lens. It offers great quality for the price.

The street price of the Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5 EX DC HSM is $649.99. For more information, check out the website at www.sigmaphoto.com.

PHOTOSHOP Features: Drag Brush Resizing

By Gary Small a.k.a. Photoshopman

Have you ever stopped to think how many ways you can resize your brushes when you use the painting tools (Paintbrush, Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, Eraser, and History Brush) in Adobe Photoshop?

• You can go to the Options bar and click on the little drop down arrow and move the slider to resize.
• Or you could go to the Brushes Panel, where there are many options for modifying your brushes.

Up through Photoshop CS3, my favorite trick for brush resizing had been the keyboard shortcut using the left and right bracket keys, [ and ]…where the left bracket key makes the brush smaller and the right bracket key makes the brush bigger. In addition to that, you could also change the brush hardness (or softness) by holding the Shift key with the bracket keys… Shift + left bracket key to make the brush softer and Shift + right bracket key to make the brush harder.

Then along comes Photoshop CS4, and with it, a whole new and comprehensive method for quickly and easily resizing your brushes.

• Give this a try: On the Mac, hold down the Control and Option keys, then drag the mouse to the right to increase the diameter of the brush or to the left to decrease the diameter of the brush. In Windows, hold the Alt key and the right mouse button down and drag left to decrease and right to increase diameter of the brush.

You can also use drag resizing to change the hardness or softness of your brushes. On the Mac, hold the Control, Option and Command keys down and drag the mouse to the right to get a harder edge and to the left for a softer edged brush. In Windows, hold down the Alt and Shift keys while holding the right mouse button down and drag the mouse as above.

As someone who does a lot of retouching, this has just become my favorite shortcut in Photoshop.

• Now let’s take this idea a step further. If you use a tablet, like the Wacom Intuous 4, you’ll really appreciate this method of brush resizing. I don’t know about you, but when I’m using a tablet and I have the stylus positioned over the area I want to retouch, the last thing I want to do is lift my pen up and move away to go over to a menu or keyboard to resize the brush to fit what I’m doing. What I did with my pen and tablet is as follows: The Wacom Intuous pens have 2 side buttons. I programmed one of them to be a right mouse click (yes I use Windows!). So now while I’m retouching, I just hover my pen over the area I’m working at, hold down the Alt key on my keyboard, and at the same time, hold the programmed side button on my pen and, while hovering (not pressing the pen onto the tablet) I move the pen to the right to make the brush bigger or to the left to make it smaller, same as rolling the mouse. It works great and is very convenient. You would be amazed at how this one simple shortcut has sped up my retouching and increased my productivity.

♦ Look for regular contributions by Gary Small a.k.a. Photoshopman to the PictureSoup blog. Gary is a Professional Photographer, Photoshop Guru and master of color management.