If you’ve been reading this blog a while, you might know I am pretty frugal when it comes to equipment purchases.

I usually don’t compromise when I need a piece of gear but I know from years of experience how to get around a lack of gear.

Things are a lot easier these days thanks to places like Borrow Camera, Samys Camera or even Calument in our area which rent out equipment.

In a pinch, I can usually borrow from my extensive circle of photographer friends and they know I will return the favor.

I picked up a refurbished Canon 580EX Speedlite recently.

It arrived today in a nondescript brown box. Continue reading Refurbished 580EXII from Canon →

Every so often a change occurs in an industry where folks describe it as a game-changer.

When I came across this latest camera made by Lytro, I viewed it as with most journalist, with some level of skepticism.

After looking over their website and pictures, I’m not entirely sure what to make of it.

The thought appeals to me that I don’t have to decide what I want sharp and in focus when I press the shutter.

If there was a downside to photography moving from film to digital, it was this: still camera owners no longer had to be choosy and picky before clicking the shutter.

That means if those same camera owners also hear ‘pros’ say shoot only RAW and not jpegs, their hard drives would fill very quickly with out-of-focus bad pictures, almost like someone shooting video the whole time.

Why sweat it when memory cards allow you to shoot thousands of images? Right?

So now we have yet another technological advancement which allows still camera owners to grab even more pictures without any planning or  decision-making. Continue reading From auto-focus to no-need-to-focus →