Monday, April 23, 2012
Mastering Microstock hits $3,000 milestone!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Poor Man's Pancake: Industar 50/2 3.5
This is one of the best-kept secrets in the M42 manual focus field. Instead of spending $300-400 on the Canon nifty-fifty 1.4, I probably should've picked up one of these years ago when I started shooting digital. I acquired this solid aluminum gem a few months on Ebay from a Ukrainian seller for about $35 total. I am still looking into getting another one in case this one gets crushed or dropped by accident. As you can tell from my previous posting in which this lense was mated with my GF3, the colors and bokkeh are spetacular and it is sharp wide open.
It stays on my T1i almost permanently, as the metal dial is wonderful for candid video. Most of these sold on Ebay come without lense covers, but this is easily solved. I bought a camcorder adapter ring and lense cap for the front. You just can't build quality like this anymore; even the plastic 50 from Canon will set you back $80, which is more than double the cost of this lense.
If I had a T3i with the flip-out LCD, this would be the perfect low-profile street cam. The Industar makes the rebel look like a non-threatening bridge camera.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
GF3 + M42 adapter + Industar 50/2 3.5
Here are some sample shots from my favorite new street cam and one of my favorite M42 lens. The Industar 50/2 3.5 is probably one of the best-kept secrets among manual focus aficionados. The Industars are clones of the Zeiss Tessars and the stock lens for the Industar bodies produced in the Soviet Union. They are remarkably lightweight and sharp wide open. They are also some of the smallest lenses out there. If you want a pancake prime for cheap, you can't get much better than the Industar 50/2 3.5. Shipping from the Ukraine will probably cost just as much as the lens, but considering how popular manual focus has become with the release of micro 4/3 cameras, SONY NEXs, and almost everyone's try at mirrorless cams, costs are just going to go up in the years to come. I have a nice set of M42 Takumar primes that I bought for about $20 each including shipping. Nowadays on Ebay some of these are selling for between $50-100, and that's just for the lens. Heck, I think I'll probably order another Industar from the Ukraine as a back-up. They shoot great on Canons as well.
The GF3 processing engine tends to be pretty faithful in reproducing real world colors and is wonderful in not blowing out highlights.
Interchangeable Lens Camera in the palm of your hand: GF3
Here are some photos showing the difference in size between a DSLR and mirrorless camera. The 5D is pretty much a 2-handed affair no matter how you cut it. The GF3 fits in the palm of your hand. I have it with a EF 50 F1.4 here, which bulks it up a little, but with a Panasonic pancake prime (which I don't have yet) it is absolutely Lilliputian in size.
Both are great cameras. The 5D is a pro for low light and vivid, almost 3-dimensional images. The GF3 is wonderful for incredibly light, discrete shooting.
Panasonic GF3
I received the Panasonic GF3 for Christmas 2011 and have taken an immediate liking to it. It does not have near the image quality of my 5D or even my Rebel. The Micro 4/3 sensor on the GF3 cannot compete with APS-C sensors and noise is evident in shadows even at the base ISO 160.
However, all of this is beside the point. What this wonderful little camera does is bring back the days of snapshot heaven. My very first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 3100 which I took everywhere with me. It fit in my pocket and I literally broke the camera by shooting some 65,000 frames on it. I love shooting with my Canons, and would never replace them with another brand for my microstock business, but I don't always want to lug around several pounds of weight with me. So they mostly stay in their bags except for when I do my studio, landscape, and architecture shots. However, the GF3 is so incredibly light that I can just sling it around my shoulder and barely notice it all. It's incredibly snappy like a P&S, but also takes interchangeable lenses--including those of almost every other camera maker both past and present. Shown below is the GF3 fitted with a EF 50 F1.4 via a Fotodiox adapter with stepless aperture adjustment. I also have an M42 adapter which is equally a joy to use with this tiny mirrorless camera. Stay tuned for some sample photos.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Steve Jobs: 1955-2011
Apple computer's homepage recently changed due to the passing of the much respected and beloved Steven Paul Jobs on October 5, 2011. I, like many others, feel Mr. Job's passing deeply even though I have not purchased any Apple products in recent years. Perhaps the way in which he changed the face of computing, telecommunications, and digital entertainment makes most people feel like they have a personal connection with him even if they have never met him.
My first experience with an Apple product was the IIc, which was a slim-downed version of the original Apple II, and was prescient of today's laptop in terms of it's portability and fold-down briefcase handle on the back. Indeed, I spent many a day of my childhood riding my Huffy bike to friends' houses with the IIc preciously tucked between towels in my school backpack so we could play some of the best games ever created (even by today's standards).
Steve Jobs is what we should all aspire to be as people, as Americans. Like a modern Horatio Algers story, Steve came from nothing and left, in his own words, a "dent in the universe." He refused to settle for anything less but the achievement of his dreams, and vehemently encouraged others to do so as well. I will endeavor to "stay hungry, stay foolish."
Mr. Jobs, you are now in iHeaven. Thank you for your contributions. Rest in Peace.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
For Sale: NEW Canon PIXMA IP3500 Digital Photo Inkjet Printer
I have a NEW Canon PIXMA IP3500 Digital Photo Inkjet Printer for sale on Ebay:
It's new in the box and has a buy it now option. Better act quick, because my stuff is going fast nowadays!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
SOLD: NEW Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens, No Reserve!!
SOLD! To a happy buyer for $179.99. Thank you for bidding! I have a NEW Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens for sale with no reserve on Ebay.
If you win this bid, you will receive:
1) ONE Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens
2) ONE front lens cap
3) ONE rear lens cap
4) ONE cardboard box with original packaging
5) ONE instruction manual
6) ONE warranty card
Happy bidding and the best of luck to you!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Editorial Time-Lapse of Dayglo Colors Building
This video is currently pending review at Pond5.
Tell me what you think.
Tell me what you think.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Canon Announces Rebel T3i
Well, here's the latest warm-over from Canon:
The speed of these releases which truly don't add much new to the previous version of the camera have left me a little jaded.
The T3i has a articulated LCD and integrated wireless flash control and some other software doo-dads (video cropping) for the soccer mom/dad market. Otherwise, it's exactly the same camera as before.
What would I have liked to see?
1) Native intervalometer
2) Native HDR like on G12
3) Dual card slots
5) Microlense adjustment
6) Rotary control dial like on xxD series and above
Yes, yes, I know... Canon will never cannibalize feature sets on its higher-end DSLRs and put them in the entry-level series. Well, that's just too bad. Pentax doesn't have any problems offering even base-level nicely-specc'ed cameras. Too bad Pentax hasn't been doing at that great for the last couple of years.
The first two things on my wish list can be accomplished on the T2i thanks to the hard work of the people over at Magic Lantern. Canon could take a tip from groups like CHDK and Magic Lantern, and offer the same features in future camera firmware with a professional polish. If they did this, their cameras would have an edge over competitors and sell even better. But no, what they do is adjust the firmware to make it harder for CHDK and Magic Lantern to tweak the firmware. With the G12, they have even taken issue with people using third-party accessories; if one uses a Cybersyncs, the screen blanks out. Uh... OK... loyal customers keep coming back and buying your stuff because they can spec it out. You cut them off at the knees. Hmm, maybe they'll stop coming back?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Pond5 Video
I've started submitting videos to Pond5 under the name of "editorialfootage."
Here is my most recent upload of a Houston light rail train going by.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
For Sale: Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer
SOLD for 159.39
Here's the bid link:
The previous winner of my bid was very happy and you can see his comments here for yourself.
Friday, January 21, 2011
$2000 Mark Achieved on Shutterstock
This image tipped me over the $2000 mark at Shutterstock.
A big thanks to whoever bought it. I hope you get good use out of it.
My resolution for 2011 is to reach $3000.
Thank you for your support of Mastering-Microstock!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Count Down to $2000 in earnings on Shutterstock
First of all, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. I want to thank buyers for purchasing my photographs and making it possible for me to continue shooting. I want to thank those subscribed to my blog for not losing interest, and by increasing the visibility of images in search engines by clicking through the blogposts here.
I am now at $1995.35 in earnings on Shutterstock. When I was near $1000 last year, I could only chip away with $0.20 downloads. But now I have on-demand, video, and enhanced downloads to help me out. So the next download could very well be the magic one which puts me over!
I will post images here which help me cross the $2000 threshold. Thank you all for supporting Mastering Microstock!
Link to images for purchase:
Thursday, December 2, 2010
For Sale: Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer
SOLD! For $231.50 to a very lucky Ebay buyer. Thank you all for bidding!
I got a Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer recently with a Canon bundled DSLR deal. I want to sell it to you. Bidding starts at $0.99 on Ebay with $49 for shipping. If you follow the link, you could get a very nice BRAND NEW printer for Christmas for 1/3 to 1/2 the price that you pay on Amazon. I will send you the original purchase invoice on request.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Halloween Baby Pictures
Halloween is more than a month away, but I am already uploading pictures related to this creepy day. You'll find that most microstockers upload their season-related photos 3 to 6 months in advance.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
My Texas Flag Image in Use
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